Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

In the past, Xia Yu often played with Er Ya and Chun Hua from her village, but recently she had something important to do: she had to get all the golden thread lotus in her space out and sell it.

Seeing Changyun and the village children run off into the distance, she also picked up her basket and went out. She still had to go into the mountains. This time, she didn't go too far. She just entered the mountains, found a secluded spot to hide for a while, and then came out with a full basket of golden thread lotus. After carrying the basket home, she dried the herbs in the backyard and went into the mountains again. She did this three times. Seeing that it was getting late, she prepared to go to the kitchen to cook.

She scooped three bowls of cornmeal from the flour bin, added some boiled well water from her spatial storage, and stirred it into a flocculent state. Once it was cool enough to handle, she kneaded it vigorously into a dough. While kneading, she added a spoonful of rendered lard, continuing until all the dough was combined into a single ball. She then covered it with a damp cloth and let it rest. While the dough was resting, Xia Yu took out a large bunch of chives from her spatial storage, washed them clean beside the water bin, and then chopped them into three-centimeter-long pieces, placing them in a bowl for later use.

Water boiled in the earthen pot. Xia Yu stood by the stove, using a small stool as a stepping stone. She pinched off a small piece of dough, shaped it into a thin round cake, and carefully stuck it to the side of the iron pot. She was very fast, not afraid of the steam rising from the pot. In just a few minutes, she had covered the entire rim of the pot. Then she put the large lid on and placed a stone on top of it.

Seeing that the flames in the stove were getting small, she took a moment to put a dry twig into the hole.

"Xiaxia, Xiaxia, look what I caught!" Changyun's excited voice came from outside. Excited, Changyun didn't see Xiayu cooking in the kitchen and rushed to Xiayu's room, only to find that Xiayu wasn't there when he opened the door.

"Brother, I'm in the kitchen, come help me cook!" Xia Yu called out to her brother from inside the house.

"Hey, Xiaxia, how come you can cook?"

"Dad and Mom are both busy, what's the big deal about me helping Mom with some chores?" Seeing Changyun holding something like a treasure in his hands, Xia Yu asked curiously, "What did you catch? A little rabbit?"

"No, look, I found a lot of small shrimp under the rocks by the river," Changyun said, handing what he was holding to Xia Yu.

Sure enough, it was a small handful of tiny river shrimp still jumping around. "When Mom comes back in a little while, let her heat them up in the pot for us. They'll be delicious."

"Didn't you go up the mountain to catch rabbits? Why are you going to the riverbank again?"

"Sigh, rabbits aren't so easy to catch. We chased them for ages but couldn't catch them, and we got all dirty and sweaty. We were just thinking of washing our hands by the river when we found lots of little shrimp there. It's a pity I didn't bring my bucket today, otherwise we could have caught even more."

"Give me the shrimp, go wash them first, then come help me cook." Xia Yu took a small basin, took the shrimp from Chang Yun's hand, and scooped water from the water tank outside to wash them several times. While Chang Yun went to wash his face, she took a wooden basin that wasn't commonly used at home, scooped half a basin of water from the water tank, put it into her spatial storage, added half a basin of spatial water, and then moved a few shrimp into the space to keep them, hoping they could grow bigger and produce more small shrimp so that there would be another dish on the family's dinner table in the future.

All of this was done in the blink of an eye. Changyun, who was washing his face nearby, didn't notice anything unusual about his sister. Carrying the small river shrimp that had been washed several times, Xia Yu returned to the kitchen. She moved the kettle that was on another stove and put a small iron wok on it. At this time, Changyun also washed himself clean and sat on the small stool that Xia Yu had used to light the fire.

Xia Yu scooped a large spoonful of lard from the lard basin and melted it in the pot, then heated it up. She poured the drained river shrimp into the oil and stir-fried them. An irresistible aroma instantly filled the kitchen. Chang Yun, who was tending the fire, couldn't help but swallow hard.

"It smells so good, Xiaxia! These shrimp are so fragrant when stir-fried with lard!"

"It smells so good too! Brother, no need to add more firewood, the embers are enough," Xia Yu, who was stir-frying, swallowed hard. While talking, his hands never stopped moving. He stir-fried the shrimp in the pan until they changed color, then continued to stir-fry until they were dry, before scooping them out and placing them in a bowl. Seeing that there was still a lot of oil at the bottom of the pan, Xia Yu used a spatula to scoop some more and put it back into the oil basin, leaving only a little oil at the bottom of the pan. He poured in the washed chives and stir-fried them until they turned green, then added the small bowl of river shrimp, a little salt, and stir-fried them evenly before serving them on a plate. The glistening chives, dotted with tiny red shrimp, looked incredibly appetizing.

As the vegetables were being served, Zhang Youtie and Liu returned from the fields. The moment they entered the yard, they smelled the distinctive aroma of roasted vegetables. Liu put down her farm tools and, without even washing her hands, rushed to the kitchen. Seeing her daughter standing on a small stool serving the vegetables, she clutched her chest in shock, but dared not make a sound, afraid of startling her daughter and causing her to fall off. She couldn't help it; the last time her daughter cooked alone, a whole host of mishaps had occurred, and she still felt lingering fear when she thought about it.

Seeing her daughter steadily hand the plate of food to her son, and landing safely, Liu's heart finally settled. The siblings turned around and saw their mother standing quietly in the doorway watching them. "Mom, my sister's cooking smelled amazing today!"

"Mom, dinner is ready. You and Dad, go wash up and eat."

The brother and sister spoke at the same time.

"Okay, okay, be careful not to burn yourselves when you're serving the food."

The moment Xia Yu opened the lid of the pot for making the pancakes, she remembered something: she seemed to have only made the pancakes and vegetables, and forgotten to make the batter.

"Brother, brother, could you add some more firewood? I forgot to make the porridge," Xia Yu asked her brother for help. As she spoke, she quickly scooped the flatbreads off the edge of the pot into a basket with a spatula. Fortunately, there was already boiling water in the pot; all she needed to do was add some flour porridge.

"Okay, I'll cover the food first."

Xia Yu quickly scooped a spoonful of cornmeal from the flour bin, added water, and stirred it into a thin paste. After Chang Yun added firewood and the water in the pot boiled again, she poured in the paste and stirred it well. Then she covered the pot and waited for the soup to boil again. Because she was making pancakes and vegetables, Xia Yu deliberately made the paste a little thinner. She just didn't know if her parents and brother would like it.

After washing himself clean, Zhang Youtie went to the kitchen to get the food. Seeing his son and daughter still busy, he asked curiously, "Wasn't it ready?"

"Dad, I forgot to make the porridge," Xia Yu said somewhat embarrassedly.

"If it's not mushy, it's fine. It's the same with drinking water. Stop cooking now, just boil the water and drink the cooled boiled water."

"The batter has been poured in, it will be cooked soon. Dad, there are vegetables on the table, take them over first. Brother, one bundle of firewood is enough, you and Mom and Dad go eat first, I'll be right there."

Zhang Youtie couldn't help but chuckle as he watched his daughter, Xiaxia, arrange everything like a little adult. "Alright, we'll do as Xiaxia says today. Changyun, come with Dad to the main room, let's wait there."

Changyun glanced at his sister, added the firewood in his hand to the stove, dusted himself off, and then took the basket of flatbread and followed his father out.

"Hey, why hasn't Xiaxia come yet?" came Liu's voice from outside.

"Just wait inside. Our daughter said she'll be ready soon; let us eat first."

"You all go first, I'll go check the kitchen," Liu said, still a little worried.

Upon arriving at the kitchen, she saw her daughter standing by the stove, stirring the porridge in the pot with a large ladle to prevent it from spilling. Liu went over and took the ladle from her daughter.

"Xiaxia, how come you can cook now? Did you learn it in another world while you were in a coma?" Liu asked her daughter in a very low voice.

"Yes, Mother. I started working over there when I was very young. I could cook when I was five. If I didn't work, they would beat me. Later, I started earning money, but I had to give it all to my parents there. I kept very little for myself. To make sure I had enough to eat, I would buy food and cook for myself."

"Xiaxia, I had no idea you would have gone through so much while you were unconscious..." Liu Shi, with her back to Xia Yu, choked up.

When you talk about something too much, it seems to become true. Xia Yu now really feels that her past life was just a dream, and that she had not traveled through time but had simply returned to her original world.

"Mom, don't cry, I'm back now. I'll be fine from now on. And while I was unconscious, a white-bearded old man gave me a gift." In that instant, Xia Yu wanted to tell her mother about her space.

"Huh? What white-bearded grandpa? He gave you a gift?" Liu's originally sad mood was diverted by Xia Yu at this moment.

"Hmm, he said he'd give me a place to put my things," Xia Yu thought to herself, trying to find the right words. "It's a small space that only I can sense, where I can put small things that won't get lost or be discovered by others. He said it's compensation for me."

Seeing the somewhat bewildered look in Liu's eyes, Xia Yu reached out and took a bowl, then used her mind to store it in her spatial dimension. Liu was so shocked when she saw the bowl in her daughter's hand suddenly disappear that she covered her mouth, afraid that she would scream and attract the attention of others.

"Where's the bowl?" she asked her daughter softly.

"It was received into the little space that Grandpa with the white beard gave me."

"Can it still be taken out?"

"Okay, I'll take it out now." As she spoke, the bowl that had just disappeared miraculously reappeared in Xia Yu's hand.

Liu stared at the bowl in her daughter's hand for a long time without saying a word, just staring. Suddenly, she reached out and took her daughter's hand, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Don't tell anyone about this. Don't tell your father or your brother either. Only the two of us know about this. Don't do this in front of outsiders. That white-bearded old man must be an old deity. If he said it was compensation, then he owes you something. Use it well."

"Yes, yes, I understand, Mother. I will only tell you about this, I won't tell anyone else," Xia Yu obediently promised Liu Shi.

"Oh dear, Mother, the porridge in the pot is about to overflow," Xia Yu pointed at the pot and reminded Liu Shi.

"Oh!" Liu hurriedly lifted the pot lid, stirred it a few times with a spoon, and pressed down the overflowing paste.

"Okay, Xiaxia, bring the soup bowl over, and you go get the bowl."

Liu deftly ladled the thin porridge from the pot into a basin, then poured a ladle of cold water into the pot to prevent the embers from burning it. The mother and daughter, one carrying the soup basin and the other a bowl, went to the main room. They found the father and son sitting at the table waiting for them, the bowls on the dishes neatly covered.

Zhang Youtie stood up, took the basin from Liu Shi, and placed it on the table. Liu Shi ladled a bowl of thin porridge for each person. Zhang Youtie looked at the porridge in the bowl and asked strangely, "Is there no grain left? Why is the porridge so thin today?"

"We still have plenty of grain, Dad. I made pancakes and vegetables today, and I was thinking that such thick porridge might be too dry, so I deliberately made it a little thinner," Xia Yu explained to her father.

"Yes, yes, that's good. Xiaxia is right. Dry food should be mixed with liquid food. That's good. We'll do it this way from now on," her father praised her enthusiastically.

As soon as the bowl covering the dish was lifted, that fragrant aroma wafted out again. The bright green chives were dotted with crispy fried river shrimp, making it look incredibly appetizing, not to mention that it was stir-fried with lard.

Zhang Youtie picked up a piece of chives with his chopsticks, took a bite of the pancake, chewed a few times, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "Mmm, this is delicious, so fragrant! Mom, Changyun, you two should try it, Xiaxia's stir-fried chives today are really fragrant!"

Xia Yu is quite confident in her cooking skills. In her previous life, she really did learn to cook at the age of five. After starting work, the way to eat well and spend less money was to cook for herself. Back then, she brought her own lunch to the company every day. So, while she wouldn't say her cooking skills were comparable to any master chef, they were definitely top-notch among her peers.

The family ate to their hearts' content, because the food was so delicious today. Everyone ate more pancakes than usual, even Liu, who usually ate very little, ate half an extra pancake. After the meal, before the dishes were cleared from the table, Xia Yu excused herself to go to the basket and took out the money she had earned from selling herbs that day, pouring it onto the table. At the same time, she also took out the embroidered pillowcase she had bought for Liu. In addition to the money from the food, shopping, and selling herbs, there were still 899 coins left, which Xia Yu poured all of it onto the table.

When Liu saw the table full of copper coins, she could accept it, but when she saw the pillowcase her daughter had bought for her, her eyes still involuntarily reddened. She had seen this floral pillowcase several times, but had never been able to bring herself to buy it. Who knew that her daughter would actually buy it for her.

"You made so much money? Xiaxia, how much do your herbs cost per kilogram?" Zhang Youtie asked his daughter with some surprise.

"The manager of Baohetang said the quality of the goods was good today, so he gave me twenty-five coins per catty," Xia Yu answered honestly.

"My goodness! That's quite a lot. I usually only earn thirty copper coins a day working for someone else, but this pound of herbs can sell for twenty-five copper coins. It's better to just go up the mountain and dig for herbs!" Zhang Youtie exclaimed in astonishment.

“Her father, where are you going to find so many medicinal herbs for you to dig up? Besides, do you even know what else they are? The most important thing is to cultivate our land well. Don’t think about anything else,” Liu said to Zhang Youtie with a serious expression.

"Yes, yes, I wasn't thinking about anything else, I just had some feelings."

"Mother, this is the money you gave to my eldest brother this morning. He gave it all to me, and even gave me six extra coins." Changyun also took out all the money that Changsheng had given him.

Looking at the dozen or so copper coins her son handed her, and after asking the siblings about everything that had happened in town that day, Liu instantly understood. Changsheng was embarrassed to spend his sister's money on the meal, so he gave all the money his mother had given him to Changyun to pay for it. She couldn't help but chuckle, "What an honest child."

"Mother, put the money away," Xia Yu urged Liu Shi.

"Xiaxia, come in with your mother. Father, go and clear the dishes." Madam Liu collected all the money on the table and called her daughter to come into the house with her.