Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

When the second batch of noodles was cooked, Liu and Wang came in with smiles on their faces.

"Mom, where's Second Aunt? Is she pregnant?"

"Yes, it should be, but we still need to find Doctor Liu to come and check the pulse. I've already told your grandmother that we'll find the doctor after dinner," Liu said with a smile, very happy for her second sister-in-law.

"Xiaxia, serve your eldest uncle another bowl, and tell him to finish it so he can go to the fields and bring your second uncle back," Wang said from the side.

"Sister-in-law, let Xiaxia's father go. Yesterday, it was my eldest brother who was in charge of watching the fields."

"Oh, it's nothing, we're all family. Xiaxia, this is your uncle's bowl, have another bowl of noodles." Wang said, handing over the large bowl in her hand.

"Okay, sure," Xia Yu replied, filling a large bowl with noodles and handing it to Wang Shi.

Liu also took out two bowls of noodles, one for Li, who felt nauseous whenever she entered the kitchen and smelled the cooking fumes. There was meat in the topping today; she wondered if Li would be able to eat it.

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"Qiuyu, after you finish eating, steam some soft-boiled eggs for your mother." Liu said as she came in with two eggs in her hand, looking at Qiuyu who was eating noodles.

"Okay, I understand, milk."

Qiu Yu had just gone back to her room to check on her mother. She hadn't eaten any noodles; the smell of meat made her want to vomit, and she lay listlessly on the kang (a heated brick bed). Seeing her mother's condition, Qiu Yu felt heartbroken and tears streamed down her face.

Seeing that her grandmother had brought over two eggs, she was overjoyed. She responded to her grandmother in a clear voice, no longer as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

Liu looked at Qiuyu with some curiosity, feeling that the girl seemed a little different, but the thought only flashed through her mind and she didn't dwell on it. She had never cared much about her granddaughter. Now that Li was pregnant again, she was naturally happy. At least her second son would be born, so that there would be no one to carry the funeral banner and break the urn after she passed away.

After Liu left, Xia Yu looked at the happy Qiu Yu and reminded her, "Qiu Yu, why don't you go back to your room later and ask your second aunt if she wants boiled eggs or steamed eggs, or sweet and salty poached eggs? Ask her which one she wants?"

"Okay, I'll go right away." Upon hearing Xia Yu's suggestion, Qiu Yu immediately sped up the noodles she was eating.

"Eat slowly, be careful not to choke," Xia Yu reminded her worriedly as she watched her movements.

"..."

"Second sister, I'm finished eating. I'm going to ask my mother." Qiu Yu wiped her mouth haphazardly with a handkerchief, put down her bowl, and ran out.

Watching her run away, Xia Yu felt a mix of amusement and sadness.

Soon Qiu Yu ran back, "Second sister, my mother said she wants to eat a hot and sour poached egg with soup."

"Spicy and sour with soup?" Xia Yu repeated the question.

"Yes, that's what my mother said. Do you know how to make it, second sister? If you do, please teach me."

"I can do it. Watch me do it." Xia Yu readily agreed.

Xia Yu took out two red dried chili peppers from her purse. Qiu Yu looked on curiously and asked, "Second sister, what are these red things in your purse?"

"This is chili pepper, and it tastes similar to dogwood, but I think this spiciness is more fragrant than dogwood."

"For cooking? Then why would you use and package it?" Qiu Yu was even more puzzled when she heard it was for cooking. It wasn't strange to put sugar, melon seeds, or coins in a purse, but she couldn't understand why her second sister would put a few chili peppers for cooking in it.

Upon hearing her question, Xia Yu's mind raced as she tried to come up with an excuse. She couldn't very well say that she had just taken it out of her spatial storage, could she?

"Um, I just put these in this morning. I don't know why, I also find it strange, but I just wanted to put a few in." Xia Yu couldn't think of a suitable reason, so she just made up a random excuse.

"I know the reason, Second Sister."

Xia Yu's heart clenched when she heard what she said. She looked up at Qiu Yu, waiting for her to continue.

"Second sister, this is fate. You didn't know my mother was pregnant this morning, but you wanted to carry some chili peppers with you, and it just so happens that my mother wants to eat spicy food. Isn't this a destiny in the dark?"

"What you say makes a lot of sense. It seems I have a special connection with our unborn little brother." Xia Yu was delighted that Qiu Yu could come up with such a perfect excuse, saving her the trouble of racking her brains. She felt that in the future, she could use "fate" to explain things she couldn't think of.

Xia Yu sliced ​​two chilies into rings and boiled them in a pot for a while. Once they were spicy enough, she scooped them out with a strainer and carefully cracked an egg into them. After the egg solidified into a poached egg, she scooped it and the broth into a bowl, seasoned it with salt, and added vinegar. Finally, Xia Yu added a little lard, and together with Qiu Yu, they took it to deliver to Li Shi.

The two women stood by and watched as Li brought the bowl to her lips, showing no sign of vomiting, before secretly breathing a sigh of relief. They had hesitated when adding the lard, worried that the pregnant woman's sensitive taste buds might trigger the odor and cause her to vomit. However, they felt that without some lard, the nutrition wouldn't be sufficient, so they tried adding a little. They had agreed that if it didn't work, they would rinse the poached eggs with hot water and make a fresh bowl of soup; there was still plenty left in the pot.

Li sipped the soup from her bowl, finding the sour and spicy flavor just right and feeling very comfortable. After finishing the soup, she left two poached eggs at the bottom of the bowl and looked at the children in the room, saying, "Qiuyu, you, your second sister, and your younger sister should eat these two poached eggs. I can't eat anymore."

"Mom, you haven't eaten a single bite of this fried egg," Qiu Yu said anxiously.

"I can't eat anymore, you all eat. It's hot and the food won't keep." Li said gently, reclining as she looked at the children.

"Second Aunt, hurry up and eat. Qiuyu and I have already eaten noodles. There's meat in today's toppings, so we're quite full. You're pregnant with your little brother, so you need to eat to nourish him so he can grow strong."

"Mom, I'm full too," Dongyu said softly, sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and looking at her mother.

"Yes, Mother, we've all eaten. You should eat quickly. Come on, Dongyu, come to the kitchen with me. I'll teach you how to wash the dishes."

Qiu Yu was worried that her mother wouldn't be willing to eat it, so she called Dong Yu and said she was going out.

Li was no longer in so much pain. As she watched the children leave, her eyes were slightly moist.

"Hey, why did everyone go out?" The group of people who came out just happened to run into Zhang Youyin, who was about to come in.

"Dad, could you persuade Mom to eat the fried egg? She hasn't eaten anything. My second sister and I will go cook you some noodles."

"I understand, you can go ahead." With that, she lifted the curtain and went inside.

She glanced at the two poached eggs in the bowl on the kang table and said, "Mom, why aren't you eating? You're pregnant now, how can you not eat?"

"Sigh, I wanted to give the kids some food, but the sisters all said they were full and didn't want to eat."

“These girls in our family are all well-behaved, but you’d better eat quickly. Qinghe has a keen sense of smell; if she comes over later, she’ll finish your food in two bites.” Zhang Youyin always spoke so directly.

Hearing him speak of his sister like that, Li found it somewhat amusing and gave him a reproachful look, saying, "How can you talk about your own sister like that? Be careful, or our parents will scold you if they hear you."

"Don't worry, your parents are asleep. They can't hear you. Hurry up and eat. I'll go tell your mother that you'll have two eggs every day from now on."

"Hey, don't! If you do that, Mother will definitely scold me for being arrogant." Li Shi quickly stopped him when she heard him say that he was going to ask her for eggs.

"Don't worry, this pregnancy wasn't easy for us, she won't scold us." Zhang Youyin knew her mother very well and had a good grasp of her temper. Plus, her fourth brother was coming back, so she could ask for the baby in front of him, and her mother wouldn't disagree.

After her afternoon nap, Zhang Youyin went to fetch Dr. Liu from the village to take Li's pulse. It was indeed a positive pulse; she was almost two months pregnant. Hearing Dr. Liu's words, everyone present felt a pang of fear. The first few months are the most unstable, and for the past seven or eight days, Li had been working in the fields every day; thankfully, nothing serious had happened. Dr. Liu immediately stated that Li would be resting in bed from now on and couldn't do any work. Zhang Youyin seized the opportunity to ask Dr. Liu if the mother should eat two eggs a day to supplement her nutrition. Dr. Liu, being astute, immediately replied that eating two eggs daily would be excellent for the fetus.

Hearing Dr. Liu say this, Zhang Youyin looked at Liu Shi somewhat embarrassed and said, "Mother, look, I'm already thirty, and I finally have another child, this..."

"We still have two eggs at home. From now on, have Qiuyu come to my place every day to get two eggs for Li Shi." After saying that, she followed Doctor Liu out. Although no medicine was prescribed, the consultation fee still had to be paid.

Looking at Zhang Youyin, who was winking at her, Li shook her head with a helpless smile. From then on, every morning after breakfast, Qiuyu would ask Liu for two eggs to supplement her mother's nutrition.