Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After paying the summer taxes, the next step was to prepare for the autumn planting. Before the planting, Zhang Chengwen and his classmates went to Bailu Academy together. After seeing him off, they didn't have time to reminisce; they quickly threw themselves into the busy work of planting.

Because autumn planting isn't as time-sensitive as wheat harvesting, Xia Yu and the old family home no longer ate together. That day, Xia Yu was preparing food at home when she suddenly heard someone calling outside.

"Are any of my close friends home?"

When Xia Yu came out of the kitchen, she saw that it was Steward Ding from the Shen family.

"Manager Ding, my father isn't home. He's in the field planting autumn crops. Please come inside, I'll go to the field and call him back." With that, she stepped forward, opened the courtyard gate, and invited Manager Ding into the house.

"No, no, it's the same if I talk to you." Manager Ding said, seeing that none of her parents were home, and explained the situation at the gate of the courtyard.

"Looking for me?" Xia Yu asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, this is something my master had someone bring back from the capital. He specifically said it was for you, so please put it away." He said, handing Xia Yu a bundle.

Xia Yu took the rather large bundle, squeezing it with her hands; it felt soft, almost like clothing. Steward Ding, seeing that his master's instructions had been delivered, didn't linger, got into his carriage, and left. Before leaving, however, he told Xia Yu that if there was anything urgent at home, she should go to the Shen residence to find him.

After he left, Xia Yu took the bundle back to her room and opened it. To her surprise, there was another layer of wrapping inside. When she opened it again, she found a brocade cotton-padded jacket. Xia Yu picked up the jacket curiously, wondering why Lord Shen would send her a cotton-padded jacket from so far away.

When Xia Yu lifted her cotton-padded coat, several oil paper packets fell out with a clatter. Xia Yu picked them up and saw that each packet had writing on it. After examining them closely, Xia Yu realized that the packets contained seeds, eight kinds in total. Xia Yu recognized some of the names, but didn't know if they were different from modern names or simply seeds she had never seen before.

Xia Yu also found a letter under the cotton-padded coat. When she opened it, she saw a few simple words: "Grow it in the shortest possible time, and give the fruit to Steward Ding to send to the capital."

"If I had known, I wouldn't have let Steward Ding leave. I could have given him the fruit this afternoon," Xia Yu muttered to herself. Then she shook the bundle to make sure there was nothing else. Xia Yu closed the courtyard gate, went into her room, and locked the door before taking the packets of seeds into her spatial storage.

"Water lily?" Xia Yu looked at the name written on a paper package and thought it was a type of lotus. Shouldn't it be planted in water? Xia Yu carefully took out a seed, intending to throw it into her spatial storage to plant in the shrimp pond she had dug. However, all the shrimp had already been moved to the pond she had dug on her family's wasteland, leaving it empty. But then she thought that the pond was too deep to observe properly, so she simply dug out a wooden basin, filled it with water, and carefully placed the water lily seed inside.

To everyone's surprise, the seeds quickly took root and sprouted as soon as they were placed in the water. Watching the plant grow taller and taller in front of him, Xia Yu couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, what kind of water hyacinth is this? It's just the water hyacinth that's causing all the trouble in modern rivers!"

Thinking of this, she quickly grabbed a few packets of seeds and carried the wooden basin out of her space. She was afraid that the water hyacinths would proliferate in her space, and then she would have nowhere to turn to cry.

Stepping out of the space, Xia Yu looked at the water hyacinths that were still sprouting and growing, and felt like crying. She regretted not using the well water from the space; what was she to do now? The basin was teeming with these things. And she couldn't just dump them on the ground, otherwise these plants would take root in their village. The thought of the river flowing through the village being filled with water hyacinths that couldn't be cleared away sent a chill down Xia Yu's spine.

Xia Yu paced anxiously around the room a few times, then suddenly had an idea. She carried the basin to the kitchen, poured all the water and plants into the pot, and started a fire to cook.

"I'll cook all of these things, let's see how they grow then." It has to be said that Xia Yu's method, although a bit clumsy, was indeed effective. After the water in the pot boiled, she continued to boil it until the water evaporated before scooping out the shapeless things from the pot and throwing them into the stove to burn with the firewood.

After doing all this, Xia Yu dared not plant these seeds in the space again recklessly. Fortunately, she did not plant them directly on the ground in the space, otherwise the consequences would have been severe.

She took out another packet of seeds, labeled "bell peppers." Xia Yu opened the packet and felt the seeds inside were similar to the peppers she grew herself. She took one seed, put it in a bowl, and added some water from her spatial well. She watched as the seed sprouted and grew in the water, eventually producing lush green fruit.

"It's bell peppers! That's good. We can make more dishes with them now," Xia Yu murmured.

She picked up the third packet of seeds at random; the name written on it was "Golden Flower." Upon first seeing this name, Xia Yu thought of daylilies. She placed them in a bowl as before, added some water from her spatial well, and after a few minutes, Xia Yu looked at the yellow, conical inflorescences on the branches and felt a headache coming on. Where did this Lord Shen get these strange things from? This was the Canadian goldenrod that the government had encouraged citizens to report if they found it before she transmigrated. Wasn't goldenrod only introduced to China during the Republic of China era? Why would such a thing appear in this unknown dynasty? And according to him, it shouldn't be native to China, just like water hyacinths.

Xia Yu didn't know what else would appear in the next few packets of seeds, but she couldn't let this yellow flower grow unchecked. She stuffed the flower stalk into the stove, poured the bowl of water into the pot, and started a fire. Just like before, the water boiled away, and the flower stalk was completely burned to ashes before Xia Yu felt relieved.

She picked up another packet of seeds, and seeing the name "Gan Gua" (sweet melon), Xia Yu felt much more at ease. Judging from the name, it was similar to a watermelon, probably a type of fruit. Following the same procedure as before, this time, feeling more confident, Xia Yu poured half a bowl of water from her spatial well into it. She watched the vines slowly grow, crawling out of the bowl like a small green snake swimming away, then blooming small yellow flowers, and finally bearing fruit. A smile slowly spread across Xia Yu's face. Holding one of the seeds, its yellow skin covered in cracks, she could almost smell its sweet aroma even without opening it—it was indeed the Hami melon commonly seen in modern times!

When the cantaloupes on the vines stopped growing and turned yellow, Xia Yu decisively picked seven or eight cantaloupes from the vines and placed them in a corner of the kitchen, while temporarily throwing the vines into the yard.

The fifth packet of seeds was labeled "cugua" (蒲瓜). Seeing this name, Xia Yu felt a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen it somewhere before. Could it be a type of fruit? Following the same method as before, she repeated the process, and finally, looking at the green fruits, Xia Yu was truly happy. This was the zucchini she had heard about in her previous life. Happily, she picked all the dozen or so zucchini growing on the vine and put them in a basket in the kitchen, leaving the vine in the yard to be dealt with later.

The sixth packet of seeds was labeled "Jinlizhi" (锦荔枝). Upon seeing this name, Xia Yu was incredibly excited. Having been here for so long, the only fruit she had ever eaten was watermelon. Lychee was one of her favorite fruits from her previous life, but she didn't even know if it existed in this era, let alone be able to eat it. How could she not be excited to see the words "Jinlizhi"?

This time, she specifically moved the planting spot to the large laundry basin, afraid that the lychee tree would grow too big and break the basin. But when she saw the seeds inside, she was a little puzzled; they didn't look like lychee seeds. Never mind, she'd find out what they were after planting them.

Xia Yu filled a basin with well water from her spatial dimension, carefully placed the seed inside, and watched it sprout with a reverent heart, eagerly anticipating the fresh lychees she would soon enjoy. Soon, the seed stopped growing. Xia Yu stared blankly at the vines scattered across the yard, a hint of resentment in her heart. She couldn't understand what this thing had to do with lychees. Finally, though unwilling, she picked all the bitter melons from the vine. Yes, the thing called "Jin Lychee" turned out to be a bitter melon, completely unrelated to the lychees Xia Yu loved.

There were still two packets of seeds left. Xia Yu looked at the well water in the basin, which was almost full, and decided not to change the container. She would just keep growing the seeds in the basin. One packet was labeled "Prunus mume" and the other "Chestnut." She didn't know what a Prunus mume was, and what was so great about growing chestnuts? They had them here too. But she still threw both seeds into the basin.

The seed called "Pu Tao" quickly took root and sprouted, eventually producing bunches of purple grapes on the vine. Xia Yu picked one and tasted it; it was sweet and sour, and delicious. However, the other seed remained unresponsive. Feeling somewhat unwilling to give up, Xia Yu took out another seed and threw it into the pot, but after a while, there was still no reaction.