Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Liu tried to negotiate a lower price for the cotton, but the weather was uncooperative. The sun, which had been barely visible, was now completely hidden behind thick clouds. The sky darkened rapidly, and the wind picked up. The shopkeeper remained firm, refusing to lower the price by a single penny. Looking at the sky outside, Liu knew she couldn't delay any longer; it might snow. She quickly paid the money, and the shop assistants helped load the cotton onto the cart. Eighty pounds of cotton were stuffed into several burlap sacks and piled high on the mule cart.

After leaving the grocery store, Zhang Youtie cracked his whip and started driving the mule cart home. But halfway there, salt particles began to fall, blowing in the wind and hitting people's faces, making it impossible for them to open their eyes.

Liu hugged Xia Yu tightly, hiding her behind a cotton bundle. Although it was still a bit cold, the cotton bundle at least blocked some of the wind. At this moment, the one who was suffering the most was Zhang Youtie, who was driving the carriage ahead.

"Father, are you cold?" Liu asked Zhang Youtie, who was driving the carriage, with some concern.

"I'm fine. I'm wearing the new cotton vest you made for me underneath. Have your daughter bring out a quilt, and you two can cover yourselves with it. Be careful not to let the wind blow on your heads."

Hearing Zhang Youtie's words, Xia Yu remembered that she still had two quilts in her space. They were used to be on her bed. After her mother washed them when it got hot, she put them in her space.

"Dad, stop the mule cart for a moment!" Xia Yu shouted loudly. The wind was too strong, and Zhang Youtie in front wouldn't be able to hear her if she spoke softly.

Zhang Youtie didn't know what his daughter was going to do, but he still tightened the reins, and the mule cart slowly came to a stop. Xia Yu first took out a quilt for her mother to cover herself with, and then jumped off the cart to give her father another quilt.

"Dad, put this on." The wind was too strong, and Xia Yu felt the wind rushing into her mouth as soon as she opened it, making it difficult to breathe.

Zhang Youtie grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around himself. The wind was getting colder, and his hands were almost numb.

When they arrived home, there was already a thin layer of snow on the ground. Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma, wearing cotton-padded coats, were waiting outside the yard, looking in their direction. Seeing them return, they quickly ran over to lead the mule cart. Liu Shi and Xia Yu crawled out from under the covers; although it was a bit stuffy, it was quite warm.

"Madam, let me help you out of the car." Aunt Ma stepped forward and supported Liu's arm.

"Oh, thank you, Aunt Ma." Liu helped Aunt Ma down from the mule cart. Suddenly, Liu looked up into Aunt Ma's eyes.

"Aunt Ma, your eyes..." Liu asked in disbelief.

"Madam, my eyes can see again." Aunt Ma looked at Madam Liu and Xia Yu with tears in her eyes, her eyes filled with tenderness and gratitude.

Xia Yu had noticed this when Aunt Ma came to help Liu Shi earlier. Seeing Aunt Ma's focused eyes now, Xia Yu felt a pang of sadness; regaining sight was better than anything else. It seemed that her space, besides allowing plants to grow rapidly, also had some benefits for people's health. After more than a month of giving Aunt Ma eye drops three times a day, she was finally seeing results.

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Youtie came over and, seeing that Aunt Ma's eyes were no longer lifeless, was genuinely happy as well.

Uncle Ma came over to help Aunt Ma up, and the two of them exchanged a glance before kneeling down in front of the three of them with a thud. Madam Liu quickly reached out to help them up, saying, "What are you doing? Get up quickly, be careful the snow on the ground doesn't hurt your knees."

"Master, Madam, Miss, we can never repay your great kindness in this lifetime. We will repay you in this life and the next, even unto death." After saying this, Aunt Ma and Uncle Ma kowtowed three times heavily on the ground.

Hearing Aunt Ma's words, Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi looked at each other, wondering what Aunt Ma meant. They could understand what she said before, but what did "tying grass" mean? Oh well, if they didn't understand, they didn't understand. They figured it must be something nice.

"Mom and Dad, stop daydreaming! Quickly wake Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma up!" Xia Yu whispered, noticing her parents were lost in thought.

"Hey, Uncle Ma, Aunt Ma, get up, get up!" Zhang Youtie called out to the two people on the ground, and together with Liu Shi, they pulled them up.

Liu took a handkerchief and wiped away the tears from Aunt Ma's face, saying gently, "Aunt Ma, your eyes have just healed, so you mustn't cry anymore. You need to take good care of them."

Aunt Ma nodded with a thick nasal tone, saying, "Yes, I understand, I understand."

Zhang Youtie and Uncle Ma went to the yard to unload the mule cart first, while Aunt Ma helped Liu Shi into the main room with her daughter. After Liu Shi sat down at the table, Aunt Ma quickly ran to the kitchen and brought out a kettle wrapped in thick cotton cloth.

"Madam, Miss, this is some brown sugar ginger water I just boiled. Please drink some to warm yourselves up." As she spoke, she poured two steaming bowls of brown sugar ginger water from the pot.

Liu held the porcelain bowl and drank a large bowl of brown sugar water. The spicy brown sugar water quickly warmed her head. She breathed a comfortable sigh of relief, finally feeling warm from the inside out.

"Aunt Ma, sit down, let's talk."

"Hey," Aunt Ma moved a small stool over and sat down at Liu's feet.

Liu had originally intended for her to sit next to her, but seeing her behavior and knowing her personality, she didn't try to persuade her further. She simply asked, "When will you be able to see again?"

"Reporting to Madam, it was this morning after I got up. When I opened my eyes, I found that I could see things."

"Is there anything else that's bothering you?" Liu asked again.

"When I first opened my eyes, the oil lamp was a bit too bright, but it got better after half a day."

Hearing her say this, Madam Liu sighed with relief and said, "It's good that you can see it. You are destined for good fortune. Let's forget all the bad things that happened in the past and live a good life from now on! I just don't know when we will meet that itinerant doctor again. If that day ever comes, we will have to thank him properly."

“If it weren’t for the master and mistress, I don’t know where Old Ma and I would be now. At that time, the brokerage firm was about to sell us to the quarry. Madam, Madam… I… I…” Aunt Ma was filled with gratitude, but because of the overwhelming emotions, she choked up several times and couldn’t say a word.

"Aunt Ma, I know what you want to say. Be good to us from now on. We're all family now." Liu patted Aunt Ma's hand reassuringly.

"Yes, yes, thank you, Madam, thank you." Aunt Ma's voice was thick with nasal congestion, as if her throat was stuffed with cotton. All her gratitude was stuck in her heart and she couldn't express it. She could only nod repeatedly.

Zhang Youtie and Uncle Ma carried the fabric in. There was only one table in the room, and now there was nowhere to put all the things.

"I have a small table in my room, I'll go get it." Xia Yu thought of the small table in her spatial storage. After saying that, she went back to her room and quickly brought out a small table. Aunt Ma saw it and hurriedly took it from her, placing it in a corner of the room.

Zhang Youtie and Uncle Ma put the whole bolt of fabric on the table, and placed the pieces that had been cut off on Liu's table.

"Aunt Ma, what do you think of these two bolts of fabric I bought?" Liu called Aunt Ma over to look at the two bolts of silk fabric.

“Madam, this is perfect for a nightgown in spring and summer,” said Madam Liu, touching the plain floral silk fabric.

"Yes, that's what the shopkeeper at the cloth store said too. But Xiaxia and I don't know anything about these things. You used to work in a wealthy family, so we thought we'd ask you since we're back. Take a look at this one too," Liu said, pointing to the silk horse next to her.

Aunt Ma first touched it with her hand, then pulled out a piece of cloth and looked at the pattern on it in the direction of the door.

"Madam, this is Pi Luo!" Aunt Ma exclaimed in surprise.

"Are you familiar with this material?" Liu asked.

"All I know is that this is a very special textile technique. It takes several times longer to weave a piece of this than other silk fabrics, and it's very expensive. Summer clothes made from this will be cooler in the covered areas than exposed areas. I don't know much else about it. However, this fabric is somewhat different from the ones I saw many years ago; it seems more complex. Madam, this fabric must be expensive, right?"

"This material has flaws, but the shopkeeper sold it to me for 115 coins per foot."

After listening to Liu's words, Aunt Ma silently considered for a while before saying, "This price is very fair. Although there are some flaws, they do not affect its use."

After hearing Aunt Ma's words, Liu felt even better. In her daughter's words, she had found another bargain. She had indeed found a bargain on the cloth, and it seemed that she had also found a bargain by being able to buy Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma's items.