Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

The mother and daughter in Zhangjia Village were unaware of the events unfolding in the county town. At that moment, Liu was teaching her daughter to sew, while Xia Yu watched somewhat absentmindedly. She had been giving Aunt Ma water from the space well for months, but her eye ailment hadn't improved at all. Aunt Ma's complexion was much better than when she first arrived; she had gained a little weight, and her face wasn't as sallow. Xia Yu couldn't figure out if Aunt Ma's changes were due to better food or the space well water.

"Xiaxia, what's wrong? Why do you seem so listless today?" Madam Liu noticed her daughter's condition and asked gently.

"Mom, do you think the water from the spatial well is so magical that it can cure Aunt Ma's eyes?" Xia Yu told her about her worries.

"Why don't you try it and you'll see?" Liu replied to her daughter as she cut the cloth in her hand with large scissors.

"I tried, but it didn't work," Xia Yu said dejectedly.

"If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. We can still treat them well. I've never heard of anyone who can't see being cured by just a few eye drops."

"Mother, what did you just say?" Liu's words seemed to make Xia Yu realize something crucial, and she unconsciously raised her voice to ask her.

“I said we should treat Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma well and not mistreat them.” Liu glanced at her daughter, wondering why she was acting so strangely today.

"Not that sentence. What else did you just say?" Xia Yu asked anxiously.

"What did I say?" Xia Yu's question left Liu Shi somewhat bewildered, unable to recall what she had said for a moment.

"What did I just say? Don't worry, let me think about it." Seeing her daughter's anxious look, Liu quickly comforted her. She put down the scissors in her hand and frowned, trying to recall what she had just said.

Liu mentally reviewed her conversation with her daughter again and finally figured it out.

"I just said I've never seen anyone who couldn't see clearly and could be cured with just a few eye drops. Is that what you meant?"

"Yes, yes, that's it. How could I not have thought of dripping well water into Aunt Ma's eyes?" Xia Yu exclaimed, slapping his forehead.

"You didn't put any of the 'miracle water' in Aunt Ma's eyes? You said you tried it, how did you try it?" Liu asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I gave it to Aunt Ma to drink, one cup a day, and she's been doing it for several months now," Xia Yu said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Then try putting it in your eyes again and see if that works. If it cures you, we'll all be happy. If it doesn't, don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay, Mom, I'll go right now." She said, and started to run outside.

"Xiaxia..." Liu's voice stopped Xia Yu from running out, and she looked at Liu with some confusion.

"Why are you so careless, girl? Wait until your father comes back before you go, then you'll have an excuse. Otherwise, where will you get eye drops in broad daylight?" Liu said helplessly.

When Zhang Youtie returned, it was already past noon. He then went to the town school to visit Changyun, brought some of the pastries that kept well from the county town pastry shop and sent them to him. He brought the rest back for Liu Shi and Xia Yu to eat.

"Father, have you had lunch?" Liu helped unload the mule cart and handed him a freshly damp handkerchief to wipe his face.

"I ate. I had a bowl of noodles with soybean paste with the kids in town. Have you and your daughter eaten?" Zhang Youtie wiped his face, neck, and arms with a damp cloth and sighed comfortably.

"We've already eaten. We saved your food; it's with our daughter!"

"Where's Xiaxia? Did she take a nap?" Zhang Youtie had been back for a while and hadn't seen his daughter, so he asked.

"Well, she tried to learn how to sew clothes with me today, but she didn't learn it. She was a little discouraged and went back to her room after dinner."

"Let her sleep then. You and your daughter have been exhausted these past few days. I went to the Shen residence today, but Steward Ding wasn't there. I met Steward Qin instead. Madam Shen said they still want our watermelons. Once they're ripe, I'll send a message, and they'll come and get them by oxcart." After saying that, she thought of the shrimp and told Liu about it as well.

After listening to Zhang Youtie's words, Madam Liu sighed, "It doesn't matter who we sell to, our shrimp ponds can't produce any more shrimp. Since Madam Shen doesn't want us to sell to anyone else, then you should just agree."

"That's what I thought too, so I agreed on the spot," Zhang Youtie said with a hint of pride.

Ignoring his boasting, Liu told him about her daughter wanting to get treatment for Aunt Ma's eyes. Zhang Youtie thought for a long time after hearing his wife's words before speaking.

"If she wants to do it, let her give it a try. If she succeeds, it will be a good deed. If she doesn't succeed, she won't have any ulterior motives. But we still need to come up with a source for the eye drops."

"She wanted to go this morning, but I stopped her. How about we say you met a traveling doctor in the county town and bought the eye drops from him? Try it if you want, it won't hurt." This excuse was something Liu had already planned out in her mind, and she felt it was foolproof. Even if word got out, who could find a traveling doctor who had no fixed address?

“Okay, let’s not say it’s inside the county town. Let’s say it’s a traveling doctor we met outside the county town. He hitched a ride on my mule cart for a few miles. We were chatting on the way, and we talked about Aunt Ma’s eye problem. He gave me a bottle of eye drops, saying he couldn’t guarantee it would cure her, but it couldn’t hurt, so he told me to take it back and try it.” Zhang Youtie embellished Liu’s idea, thinking that meeting him on the way would be easier to explain. The doctor hadn’t gone into town; he had only ridden in an oxcart for a while, so who knew where he went after that?

"Hmm, not bad." Madam Liu nodded in approval, thinking to herself that he had changed a lot in the past few months, and now he could lie so easily.

Zhang Youtie was quite pleased to see that his wife approved of the story he had come up with.

After waking up from her afternoon nap, Xia Yu heard this story of good deeds being rewarded. With her parents helping to cover it up, she didn't waste any time. She found a not-so-refined white porcelain bottle, washed it clean, filled it with water from her spatial well, and then followed Zhang Youtie to the pond to find Aunt Ma.

When they arrived, Uncle Ma was tilling the ground in front of his house, preparing to plant some vegetables. Seeing Zhang Youtie arrive with Xia Yu, he quickly put down his hoe and respectfully greeted them.

"Master and Miss, you've come here today because you have something to tell us."

Zhang Youtie directly stated his intention.

"Uncle Ma, on my way to the county town today, I met a traveling doctor. I told him about Aunt Ma's eye ailment, and he gave me a small bottle of eye drops to try. He said it might not cure it, but it wouldn't do any harm. Would you like to give it to Aunt Ma to try?"

"Sir, you...you mean, my wife's eye disease can be cured?" Uncle Ma's voice trembled with excitement.

"They can't guarantee anything, they can only say they'll try. Don't have too high expectations, what if..." Zhang Youtie didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood.

"Sir, I'm willing to try. Anyway, we can't see anymore, so how much worse can it get?" Aunt Ma heard the noise outside and felt her way out. She was now leaning against the doorframe, looking towards Zhang Youtie and the others. Unfortunately, however, her eyes were still unfocused.