Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

That evening, Zhang Youtie called Uncle Ma over, gave him three taels of silver, and told him to keep it.

At first, Uncle Ma refused, saying it was his duty to work for his master. Zhang Youtie said...

“I heard that even servants get a monthly interest. You and Aunt Ma have worked hard these past few months. Take this money and keep it in hand. You can buy something cheaply if you want.” Hearing Zhang Youtie say this, Uncle Ma kowtowed and accepted the money.

Then, Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi led Xia Yu to the old house with five catties of meat and a leg of lamb. Today, when it was time to pay wages, neither Old Master Zhang nor Zhang Youjin came. Although Zhang Youyin didn't come every day, he had come intermittently for quite a few days. Even though they didn't come, Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi had already discussed it and decided that even though they were family members, there was no reason to let them work for free.

When we arrived at the old house, they were still having dinner.

"Third brother is here?" Wang, who was sitting at the entrance of the courtyard, was the first to see them. She put down the steamed buns she was holding and said, "Have you eaten? I'll get you some bowls and chopsticks. Sit down and have something to eat."

"Sister-in-law, we've eaten here, you guys eat. Marinate these few pounds of meat, don't let them go bad." Liu handed over the meat and lamb leg from the basket.

"Why did you bring so much meat? We still have plenty of braised pork at home. Oh, this lamb leg is really fresh." Wang couldn't help but say as she took the meat, then turned to Liu and asked.

"Mom, what should we do with this leg of lamb? Can we marinate it in soy sauce? I've never done it before."

"Marinate the lamb leg with salt first, we'll make lamb noodle soup tomorrow. This stuff has a gamey smell, it can't be used for soy sauce meat." Liu said with some dissatisfaction, glancing at the lamb leg in her daughter-in-law's hand. Even this matter needs to be asked, what else can she make?

"Okay, I know. I'll go and take care of these first, before they spoil. Changyuan, go get some stools for your third uncle and aunt. You're such a big boy now, all you do is eat." Wang Shi carried the meat into the kitchen, instructing her youngest son to do the work.

“We’ll move it ourselves, let the children…” Before Liu could finish speaking, Changyuan, who was engrossed in eating, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and ran off. He quickly came out of the main room carrying two stools, placing one behind Liu and the other behind Zhang Youtie. He then nimbly sat down and continued eating.

When Liu saw Changyuan eating, she couldn't help but shake her head and smile. There's a saying, "A half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home." Changyun and Changyuan are the same age and have reached the age where they can eat a lot. Boys this age are growing taller and eat more than adults.

After the people in the old house finished eating and the children ran out to play, the women stood up to clear the table and wash the dishes. Xia Yu was surprised to find that her aunt was also taking the initiative to clear the table. Curious, she pulled Qiu Yu aside to talk to her. After not seeing her for several days, her aunt was quite remarkable.

Over there, Zhang Youtie, Old Master Zhang, Zhang Youjin, and Zhang Youyin sat on the stone benches in the courtyard, enjoying the cool air and chatting. They talked about crops for a while, then about the ponds belonging to Zhang Youtie's family, before Zhang Youtie took the opportunity to steer the conversation towards wages.

When Old Master Zhang heard that his third son had not only brought meat, but also money, he was astonished.

"What nonsense are you talking about? We're all family. I'm helping you with some work for a few days and I still want to charge you? What kind of nonsense is that?"

"Father, I know you and my two older brothers feel sorry for me, but I can now sell dozens of kilograms of shrimp to restaurants every day. Although delivering is hard work, it's still a source of income. You've been working tirelessly from dawn till dusk digging the ponds, and I feel sorry for you too. Father, you're almost sixty years old, raising several sons. You should be enjoying your retirement, but you still have to work so hard for our family. I can't bear it. Take this money. Changsheng is of marriageable age, and my second sister-in-law is pregnant. We need money for everything... If I didn't have money, I wouldn't be so polite. But I have some spare money now, so please accept it."

As he spoke, he took out three purses from his pocket and placed them on the stone table.

Grandpa Zhang puffed on his pipe, the smoke curling around him, obscuring his face from Zhang Youtie's view. After a long while, a sigh was heard. "Keep them all!" he said, placing a bill in each of his eldest and second sons' arms. "Your third brother is right. There are many places in the house where money is needed. Take this money back and give it to your wives to keep safe."

After saying that, he turned his head and called out towards the kitchen.

"Old woman."

When Liu came over, Old Master Zhang pointed with his chin at the purse on the stone table and said, "This is from the third son. Keep it safe."

Liu glanced at the purse on the table, picked it up, and went back to the main room.

Seeing her mother go back into the house, Qinghe followed her inside.

"Mother, did my third brother give me silver ingots? I heard today that his house was very lively, and everyone got silver ingots. Why don't you open them and see how many there are?"

"Shh, don't shout." Actually, Liu had already found several silver ingots inside. She opened the purse and poured them onto the kang (a heated brick bed). There were five small silver ingots, each weighing one tael.

"Wow, why did Third Brother give so many? I heard everyone else only got two." He said, picking up a silver ingot from the table and taking a bite out of it.

"Mother, my third brother has really struck it rich this year. He gave away dozens of taels of silver to his family today!" Qinghe chattered beside Liu Shi.

Madam Liu naturally knew that her son was destined for good fortune this year. She picked up one of the silver ingots and locked it in her private box, while placing the other four in the communal money box. Qinghe was overjoyed to see her mother put away a silver ingot; half of it was hers.

After Zhang Youtie and his family went back, Zhang Youjin and Zhang Youyin quickly went back to their rooms as well, opened their purses and poured out the silver ingots inside.

Zhang Youjin felt guilty taking the five gleaming silver ingots. He had taken advantage of his younger brother's family again. Wang Shi peeked over and understood that the third son's family wanted to help them. She felt a sour taste in her mouth; these past few months, she had been busy selling braised food, and even though she knew the third son's family was busy, she hadn't helped them much. She felt she hadn't been a good sister-in-law.

Zhang Youyin also noticed the gleaming silver on the table. Li Shi, leaning against the kang (heated brick bed), looked at the five silver ingots and asked...

"What did Dad say? Do we still need to hand it over to Mom?"

"Dad told my older brother and me to take it back to our rooms and give it to our wives to keep safe. We shouldn't have to hand it over, right?" Zhang Youyin said somewhat uncertainly.

Li sighed, "I've been feeling listless these past few months. You've been taking care of me at home and haven't been able to help my third brother's family much. Our father and eldest brother worked their way up from start to finish, but you've only worked for fifty days? Other people in the village worked for over eighty days and only received a little over two taels of silver each, and you've taken so much for half a day. If you ask me, you should send it back to your third brother."

Zhang Youyin blushed a little when he heard his wife's words, and stammered, "I'll send it back to Lao San tomorrow. I feel quite embarrassed after hearing what you said. Luckily, you're virtuous and didn't let me be blinded by money."

Li glanced at him listlessly, too lazy to pay attention to his glib talk. Although she had passed the first trimester, her morning sickness symptoms didn't seem to have lessened much. There was a period when she seemed to have stopped having morning sickness, but after only a few days, she started vomiting again, throwing up everything she ate.