Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Jinghe tossed and turned on the hard bed like a pancake, feeling utterly furious. How could she, after finally managing to go on a trip and go bungee jumping, end up dying in an accident? The worst part was, she had just won 30 million in the lottery! Her happy life as a miserable office worker was finally about to begin, and then she was transmigrated—to some unknown dynasty, into a family even poorer than her previous life.

Touching her forehead, which was wrapped in cotton cloth, the faint stinging pain told Jinghe that this was not a dream; she had indeed transmigrated. According to the memories of this body, the little girl named Xia Yu was digging for wild vegetables on the mountain with her older brother Changyun, cousin Changsheng, and older cousin Chunyu when they lost their footing while trying to catch a pheasant and tumbled down a steep slope. Then, her soul was replaced by Jinghe, who had an accident while bungee jumping.

Just then, a soft footstep sound came, accompanied by a very gentle voice: Xiaxia, Mom made you some steamed egg custard. Get up and eat some before you go back to sleep.

Jinghe opened her eyes and looked at the person who had entered. It was a woman of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with slender shoulders, wearing a light green, narrow-sleeved, cross-collared blouse paired with a lake-blue linen floor-length skirt. Although patched, the clothes were clean and presentable. Jinghe felt a wave of disorientation wash over her. This gentle-spoken woman was this body's mother. She was beautiful, but long-term malnutrition had left her skin somewhat sallow, and her hair was dry and frizzy. In her rough, cracked hands, she carefully carried a coarse porcelain bowl.

Seeing Jinghe looking somewhat dazed, Liu Shi placed her hand on Jinghe's forehead and gently stroked it, asking worriedly, "Does it still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore, Mother," came the soft voice from Jinghe's current body.

"Xiaxia, eat the steamed egg. Mom specially added sesame oil for you; smell how fragrant it is!"

Seeing her mother's eager eyes, Jinghe obediently took the bowl and spoon from Liu's hands and ate the steamed egg bite by bite.

The feeling of being watched over by her mother while she ate was warm, something she had never experienced before. This was probably the only good thing about coming here—having loving parents. In her past life, her parents were extremely sexist, favoring sons over daughters, and their only connection to her was asking for money. Thinking of this, Jinghe chuckled again. Thankfully, she hadn't redeemed her lottery ticket yet; otherwise, the thought of leaving them a large fortune after her death would make her want to vomit.

Seeing that Jinghe had finished the steamed egg in her bowl, Liu helped Jinghe lie down, tucked her in, and said gently, "Mother is going to the fields to bring food to your father and brother. I've locked the door from the outside. Sleep a little longer, Mother will be back soon."

Seeing her daughter nod, Liu took the bowl and went out. Jinghe lay in bed, carefully considering her current situation.

According to Xia Yu's memories gathered over the past few days, this family was relatively well-off in the village, owning over ten acres of farmland. Her parents were both very capable, but the harvests hadn't been good in recent years, and they usually ate mostly porridge and vegetable dumplings. Only every few days would her mother make flatbread or steamed buns. These past few days, because she was injured, her mother had been adding an egg to every meal—probably the best food the family could offer.

Unidentified birds chirped outside the dilapidated window, and the sounds of children playing could be heard from time to time in the village. Lost in thought, Jinghe fell asleep again without realizing it.

In her dream, Jinghe found herself in that small world again. This was her second time here. Based on the various time-travel novels she had read in her previous life, she suspected it was a portable space. However, she had yet to find a way to enter or leave the space.

The space, about the size of a football field, was brightly lit despite the absence of direct sunlight. A dozen or so unidentified trees stood there, their leaves lush and green, but bearing no fruit, making their species impossible to discern. A well continuously spewed water, connecting to a small pool. The pool was small, resembling a modern bathtub. Raising fish was out of the question, but a relaxing bath would likely be fine. The rest of the space was ordinary land, seemingly intended for planting. Jinghe was initially excited upon discovering this space, but her excitement quickly faded when she was inexplicably ejected from it and found herself unable to re-enter. If she couldn't freely enter and exit the space, it was utterly useless.

Now that she's finally in, Jinghe decides to try the methods she had previously thought of to see if they work.

She held her right hand to her eyes, closed them, and put her fingers in her mouth, biting down hard. A piercing pain shot through her, and she quickly pulled her hand out, flicking the beads of blood from her fingers onto the ground. A few drops of blood fell to the earth and disappeared instantly. At the same time, Jinghe clearly felt something new within her body—a feeling of connection.

"Could it have worked?" she muttered to herself, then focused all her attention on the extra sensation in her body, trying to get out. When she opened her eyes again, she was indeed back on the bed she had been lying on. Using the same method to try and get back in, she was back in the same space she had been in before.

This time, Jinghe sincerely thanked God and her ancestors for what she had done. Although she had lost tens of millions in the lottery and been transported to this place, at least she had some life-saving items with her. Seeing that Liu Shi hadn't returned yet, Jinghe repeatedly tested the space, moving herself in and out with her items, and vice versa. Only when she felt exhausted did Jinghe feel relieved enough to leave the space and return to her previous bed. She thought about what life would be like with this space, and also how to figure out if it had the function of accelerating plant growth, whether she could raise animals inside, and a whole host of other things.

Perhaps because her body was relatively weak, and because she had entered and exited the space too many times, her physical strength was somewhat depleted. As she thought about it, she drifted off to sleep again. This time, she slept very soundly. When she woke up again, the sun had already set. Her father and brother, who had been working in the fields, had returned and were tidying up their tools in the yard.

"Little sister, does your head still hurt today?" Changyun asked with concern when he entered the room and saw that Jinghe was awake. He felt guilty these past two days because his sister had fallen with him.

Looking at the boy who was only ten years old, she softly replied, "It doesn't hurt anymore, brother." As she spoke, Jinghe lifted the blanket and was about to put on her shoes and get out of bed. Changyun saw her movement and quickly stepped forward to support her, saying, "Slow down, be careful not to get dizzy again."

Jinghe is doing very well now. I don't know if it's because she has the space to rely on, but she slept especially soundly this time, and the weakness and powerlessness in her body have disappeared. Moreover, she can no longer feel pain when she touches the wound on her head.

As the sun set, a crimson sunset blanketed the entire courtyard, with rolling hills stretching into the distance. Jinghe decided to go to the mountains tomorrow to find some plants to transplant into her own space for testing.

Dinner was still brown rice porridge with wild vegetables and steamed buns, but Jinghe added a boiled egg.