Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After leaving the clinic, Xia Yu suggested going shopping. Chang Sheng and Chang Yun didn't understand what she wanted to buy, but since it was still early, they went with her anyway. However, Xia Yu led them to the embroidery shop where Li had sold brocade nets the day before.

"Hello, Auntie. I'm Zhang Youyin's niece from Zhangjiazhuang. I came here yesterday with my second aunt. Do you remember me?" Xia Yu greeted the female shopkeeper inside and introduced herself.

"Oh, it's my niece! Of course I recognize you! What brings you here today? Is there anything you need?"

Xia Yu walked to the place where her mother had looked at things yesterday, picked up the royal blue embroidered lotus pillowcase that her mother had looked at for a long time yesterday, and asked the female shopkeeper: Auntie, how much is this pillowcase?

"These sell for sixty-five coins a pair in this shop. Do you like them, niece?"

"Yes, my mother looked at it for a long time yesterday, and I want to give it to her."

Hearing Xia Yu say this, the female shopkeeper's smile became even more sincere: "My niece is so filial. She's so young and already knows how to buy things for your mother. Then I'll give her a pair for fifty coins!"

Xia Yu knew that the price she offered was fair, so she smiled at the female shopkeeper and said, "Thank you, Auntie, I'll take this pair."

The female shopkeeper deftly rolled up the two pillowcases, tied them with a strip of cloth, and then wrapped them in hemp paper to prevent them from getting dirty. Xia Yu took out fifty copper coins from his pocket, counted them out, and handed them to the shopkeeper. Then the group left the embroidery shop together.

"Do you want to buy anything else?" Chang Sheng asked Xia Yu.

"There's nothing else we need to buy. Let's buy some food and head back," Xia Yu said.

"Okay, Changyun, Xiaxia, what do you want to eat? I'll go buy it." Changsheng asked them arrogantly.

Xia Yu didn't want Chang Sheng to spend money on things, so she said to him: I don't know what I want to eat, let's go and see.

As they walked, browsing the food stalls along the roadside, Xia Yu, taking advantage of their inattention, transferred thirty coins from her spatial storage. Seeing a stall selling steamed buns, she ran straight over and ordered five large meat buns. By the time Chang Sheng and Chang Yun reached her, she had already paid. Seeing the vendor serve several large, fist-sized white flour meat buns on a plate, Xia Yu's mouth watered. "Slurp!" This was the sound Xia Yu couldn't control, and upon hearing it, Chang Sheng swallowed back the words of reproach he was about to utter.

He was older and knew that the family had been struggling financially all these years to support his fourth uncle's education, and his younger siblings hadn't had enough to eat. Now that they had finally managed to come out, they should eat meat buns if they wanted. At the same time, he silently calculated how much money his mother had given him. He planned to give all the money his mother and third aunt had given him to Xia Yu later. As the eldest brother, he couldn't let his younger sister buy him food.

Xia Yu then ran to the stall selling spicy soup next door and ordered three bowls of spicy soup. She asked the owner to deliver them to the stall selling steamed buns and paid the owner in advance. The three bowls of soup cost a total of nine coins.

Xia Yu gave each of her two older brothers two steamed buns, and ate one herself. When the owner brought over the soup, Chang Sheng unconsciously calculated in his mind and couldn't help but sigh. The money his mother gave him wasn't even enough for his meal. As the eldest brother, he was destined to eat his sister's food this time.

The buns were the size of an adult's fist. Xia Yu felt a bit full after eating just one. Although each meat bun cost three coins, the filling was quite generous, with a large meatball inside. Chang Sheng and Chang Yun, on the other hand, ate with rosy cheeks, each enjoying two meat buns and a bowl of spicy soup.

After dinner, Xia Yu wanted to bring back a dozen or so steamed buns for her family, and one for each person at the old house as well. However, Chang Sheng strongly objected, saying that one steamed bun could buy a pound of cornmeal, and buying a dozen more would cost a fortune. Seeing her brother's strong opposition, Xia Yu had no choice but to give up. Actually, she wanted to bring back some steamed buns for her parents, but she didn't want to leave out the people at the old house, so she wanted to bring steamed buns for everyone. But since her brother disagreed, she had to save the money.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they started walking home. To save money, they chose to walk back. Changsheng took the two of them home and, before leaving, stuffed a handful of money into Changyun's arms, saying, "This is the money my aunt gave me this morning. I didn't need it. Please return it to my aunt for me."

Before Changyun could speak, the man who handed over the money ran away.

Watching his elder brother's retreating figure, Changyun had no choice but to put all the money in his hand on the table. He counted it and found there were sixteen coins. He knew his mother had only given him ten coins that morning; the extra six must have been from his aunt. Xia Yu, returning from the restroom and not seeing Changsheng, asked curiously, "Brother, where is our eldest brother?"

“We’re going back now. Look, before my brother left, he stuffed all the money that Mom and Aunt gave him into my hands,” Changyun said, pointing to the copper coins on the table for Xia Yu to see.

"Brother is too honest. Why don't you come back and give the money to your mother? I doubt she'll accept it even if you do."

"Yes, I'll tell Mother when she gets back."

"Changyun, Changyun, are you going to go catch rabbits up the mountain?" came the shouts of several children from outside.

“Go… wait for me,” Changyun answered loudly from inside the house.

"Little sister, Jinbao and the others asked me to go up the mountain to catch rabbits. Do you want to go?"

"I'm not going, I want to take a nap. You go ahead," Xia Yu said listlessly.

"Then I'm leaving, you go to sleep," she said, and then ran out to play with her friends.