Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Xia Yu was still lost in thought about her name when her fourth uncle, dressed in an old long gown, came in and sat on a small stool next to the stove. Seeing that the flames inside had dwindled, he grabbed a handful of dry grass and leaves and started stuffing them into the stove.

"Wait a minute, Fourth Uncle, don't fill it out yet." Xia Yu quickly stopped him when she saw him doing that.

"Fourth Uncle, this kind is usually used when you first start a fire. It's flammable, but it doesn't burn very well. Now that there's a fire in the stove, you should add firewood. That way, it will burn longer and produce less ash." Xia Yu patiently explained to his fourth uncle, who looked puzzled.

"Okay, I understand." He put down the withered grass and leaves he was holding and picked up a thin piece of wood instead. "Does this look alright?"

"Well, it's alright."

Under Xia Yu's guidance, Zhang Chengwen quickly learned to make a good fire.

Qinghe, who was in the main room, was angry for a while, but then felt she shouldn't be like that; her fourth brother had only just arrived home. After waiting in the room for a while, and seeing no one come looking for her, she became restless and went out on her own. Hearing her fourth brother's voice coming from the kitchen, she followed the sound.

"Ah..." A scream interrupted the uncle and nephew who were chatting. They all stared at Qinghe at the door in surprise.

"Xiaxia, you brat, how dare you order my fourth brother to start the fire? Do you know who he is? He's the top scholar, the number one scholar in the imperial examination, and you're making him do kitchen work!" Qinghe pointed at Xia Yu's nose, who was kneading dough, and started scolding her.

"Qinghe, it wasn't Xiaxia who made me start the fire. I just thought it was too hot and didn't want you to do it." Zhang Chengwen found it hard to believe that his sister was scolding his niece like that. In his memory, Qinghe had always been a well-behaved and obedient little sister. How could she be pointing her finger at her niece and scolding her like that?

"Fourth Brother, you're still defending her? That brat has so many tricks up her sleeve, she must have made you do it." Qinghe felt extremely wronged when she heard her fourth brother speaking up for Xia Yu.

"Auntie, starting the fire is your job, isn't it? If you don't do it, someone else has to! Qiuyu and I are kneading the dough, so we can't free up our hands. If you don't want your fourth uncle to do it, why don't you do it yourself?" Xia Yu was annoyed when she saw Qinghe throwing a tantrum, but with her fourth uncle here, she couldn't be too harsh. However, she still had to make her point clearly and resolutely refuse to take the blame.

"I...I...I had something to do just now. Couldn't you and Qiuyu each take turns tending the fire and kneading the dough? Why did you have to drag my fourth brother along to do the work?"

"We don't have an aunt who's good at everything, but she can't knead dough by herself. If you can, you can knead the dough and roll out the noodles, and I'll keep the fire going, okay?"

"You...you know I can't knead dough, yet you still say that. Are you deliberately trying to annoy me?"

"I'm just trying to annoy you. You're quite proud of yourself for not knowing anything. You're the same age as Fourth Uncle, and he's already a scholar. What about you? You can't read a single word. Qiu Yu and I are not even nine years old yet, and we can do everything in the kitchen. What about you? You're a grown girl and all you can do is tend the fire, and you're always causing trouble. If you keep finding fault with Qiu Yu and me, you can do all the kitchen work yourself from now on. We won't do anything. Let's see if you can escape when we get scolded."

"You...you...Fourth Brother, look what this brat is saying about me, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

"Hey, Qinghe, come sit next to Fourth Brother and have a chat with him."

"Fourth brother...you've all changed. Father has changed, and you've changed too. None of you care about me anymore. You watched me being bullied by my niece, and you didn't even say a word for me." After saying that, she turned and ran away.

Seeing his sister's distress, Zhang Chengwen felt a pang of sympathy. He added a thicker piece of wood to the stove and said to Xia Yu, "I'm going to comfort your aunt. I'll be back soon. Call me if the fire in the stove gets too low."

"Okay, I understand. Go ahead."

"Qinghe, let's go to the main room and talk to your fourth brother about why Dad doesn't love you anymore." Zhang Chengwen patiently led his sister to the main room.

"Second sister, you're really amazing!" Qiu Yu looked at Xia Yu with admiration. She didn't dare to speak loudly to her aunt, for fear that her grandmother would scold her.

"Pshaw, is anything I said a lie? It's all the absolute truth."

Aren't you afraid Grandma will scold you?

"Let her curse me, it's not like it'll affect me. She can't hit me for my aunt's sake, can she? What's wrong with a few curses?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with cursing a couple of times?" Qiu Yu muttered to herself after hearing what Xia Yu said.

The two sisters talked as they kneaded the dough vigorously. Xia Yu saw that the water in the big pot was boiling, and shouted loudly at the door, "Fourth Uncle, the water is boiling! Scrape the hot water into the bucket, I need to stir-fry some vegetables to make a topping!"

"Coming soon," Zhang Chengwen replied from inside the house. Before getting up to leave, he gave Qinghe another instruction.

"You absolutely mustn't tell anyone about the last thing you told me, not even our parents, understand? From now on, you'll keep this to yourself." Zhang Chengwen's expression was very serious. Qinghe nodded somewhat fearfully. She hadn't realized this matter was so significant; thankfully, she hadn't told anyone except her fourth brother.

Today, because Zhang Chengwen came back, Xia Yu cut out a pound of the soy sauce-marinated pork that her mother had marinated, chopped it into minced meat, and stir-fried it with diced eggplant to make a minced meat and eggplant topping.

Zhang Chengwen, who was tending the fire, was somewhat distracted by the aroma wafting from the kitchen as Xia Yu cooked. He was still thinking about what Qinghe had just told him.

"Fourth Brother, I saw that Xiaxia can do magic tricks."

"Xiaxia can do magic tricks? How does she do it?"

"She can make things disappear from her hands and then make them reappear."

"All magic tricks are deceitful, just illusions. There's definitely more to her than meets the eye."

"No, she conjured up a huge basin of pig intestines out of thin air. I saw very long pig intestines. After washing them clean in the river, they disappeared again."

"You mean Xiaxia turned into a pot of pig intestines?"

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. Right by the river, they casually carried a basin to the riverbank. Then I saw her take a huge lump of pig intestines out of the basin, the kind with pig manure still inside. She and Changyun washed it in the river for a long time, washing away all the pig manure, and then put it back in the basin before carrying it away. But I saw it very clearly: as soon as Xiaxia put her hand into the basin, the pig intestines disappeared with a 'whoosh.' I saw it very clearly."

When he heard that Xiaxia had transformed into pig intestines, he knew that this was definitely not a simple trick; no one could carry intestines weighing over ten kilograms on their body.

"Fourth Uncle, Fourth Uncle"

"Ah," Zhang Chengwen looked up, somewhat confused, at Xia Yu and Qiu Yu who were watching him.

"Fourth Uncle, what are you thinking about? Qiu Yu and I have called you several times, but you haven't responded at all." Xia Yu looked at Zhang Chengwen, who seemed a little dazed, with a strange expression.