Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After a while, Granny Liu came out carrying the baby, who had been cleaned and wrapped in a blanket, to offer her congratulations. "Congratulations, sir! Congratulations on the birth of your precious grandson! It's a big, healthy boy, weighing eight pounds and three ounces."

Hearing what Granny Liu said, Zhang Youyin felt a surge of excitement. "He finally has a son!" So, with trembling hands, he tried to go forward and take the baby to see him. But before his hand could even touch the baby, Old Master Zhang hit his hand with his pipe.

“You’re not even steady on your feet right now, be careful not to drop my grandson.” After saying that, she leaned forward to look at the crumpled baby in the swaddle blanket.

He laughed and said, "You're really not thin. Look at your little face, it's bigger than when Changsheng, Changyun and the other brothers were born."

After saying that, he smiled and said to Granny Liu, "Thank you so much for today. Please take the child to his mother. It's cold outside. Remember to come out for the celebratory noodles later."

At this moment, Wang and Liu were helping to clean up the soiled sheets and straw on the kang (a heated brick bed). Li, having exhausted all her strength from childbirth, was now fast asleep.

Mrs. Liu was also exhausted today. She had been up since midnight and busy all day. Now that she was relaxing, she felt even more tired than when she gave birth. However, at least she had a son, which put her mind at ease.

She took the baby from Granny Liu and sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), trying to play with it for a while. Meanwhile, Granny Liu was explaining postpartum care to Granny Wang and Granny Liu.

"Don't rush to drink thick soup. Eat something light for the first few days: millet porridge, stir-fried cabbage, stir-fried carrots, winter melon and lean pork soup, egg drop soup..."

Hearing Granny Liu's arrangement, Wang and Li were dumbfounded. This was too vegetarian! The lean meat soup had little oil; would it help with lactation? And what about the ribs? Could a new mother chew on such hard things? Wouldn't it damage her teeth?

“Grandma Liu! There’s no fatty meat or lard in the food you’ve prepared. How can my sister-in-law have enough breast milk if she eats this?” Wang couldn’t help but interrupt Grandma Liu and ask.

"Don't worry, she'll have breast milk. She's been through a lot giving birth, so she needs to take good care of herself. For the first seven days, prepare the food I told you to prepare. I see that your family can afford to give your daughter-in-law a century-old ginseng, so you must be quite well-off. Her diet during postpartum confinement shouldn't be all oily food; it should be a balanced mix of meat and vegetables." After saying that, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Wang Shi. It was covered with many words.

"These are postpartum care instructions and recipes that I had someone write down for me at home. Just follow them. If you have any questions, you can ask my sister. She knows them too." After saying that, she glanced at Grandma Liu.

Seeing the look that Granny Liu gave her, Granny Liu quickly nodded to indicate that she understood. She just felt bitter inside. Why did her sister have to be so meddlesome these days? The baby was born safely, so why did she have to worry about the new mother's postpartum period? However, she didn't dare to argue. Recently, her sister's temperament had changed drastically; she had a terrible temper and would easily start yelling at anyone she didn't understand.

The two sisters-in-law exchanged a glance; they didn't recognize a single word on the paper. But they could find someone literate to read it to them later.

After cleaning the house, they invited Doctor Qi in to check Li's pulse again. Confirming that Li was alright and only needed rest, the family finally felt relieved. They quickly invited the two midwives and two doctors to the main room for celebratory noodles. Everyone else ate haphazardly that day because of Li's condition. The baby was born safely, and Li was also well. Old Master Zhang then declared that everyone would eat noodles that evening, topped with minced meat and diced white radish. However, Doctor Qi, Doctor Liu, the two midwives, and the apprentice doctor Qi brought each had two extra poached eggs in their bowls. This meal might not be much in a wealthy family, but in Zhang Family Village, it was absolutely the finest food.

Originally, Liu had arranged for Zhang Youyin to stay in the room and look after his wife, but Qiu Yu was really worried about her father's behavior that day, so she told him to go eat while she stayed by her mother's side. Wang knew that Qiu Yu was worried about her mother, so she secretly hid a poached egg in Qiu Yu's bowl of noodles. Anyway, since she was eating alone in the room, no one else could see.

After dinner, it was completely dark. Liu paid Doctor Qi's consultation and medicine fees, totaling one tael of silver. Zhang Youtie originally wanted Doctor Qi and his apprentice to stay the night and return the next day, but Doctor Qi insisted on going back. Zhang Youtie then arranged for Uncle Ma to take them home in a mule cart. After seeing Doctor Qi off, Zhang Youtie was about to arrange for an oxcart to take Granny Liu, but she waved her hand and said...

"I'm not leaving today; I'll stay at my sister's house."

Upon hearing this, Liu hurriedly gave the two midwives their celebratory money, sixty coins each to Granny Liu and Granny Liu—a considerable sum, to be honest. Granny Liu, carrying the heavy money bag, calmly put it into her bosom. Granny Liu, however, was secretly delighted. She truly hadn't expected the Zhang family to value this daughter-in-law so much, giving such a generous sum. She happily tucked the money into her bosom, her face beaming like a chrysanthemum about to bloom. However, when she caught Granny Liu's glance, her smile vanished visibly.

It's no wonder Granny Liu was so happy. In ordinary farming families, helping to pick up a child usually earns ten or twenty coins, at most thirty. The amount depends entirely on the time taken for childbirth, whether it's a boy or a girl, and most importantly, the family's financial situation. Some poorer families don't even give a single coin, only some eggs or pork as a substitute. Now, the money bag felt heavy, and Granny Liu was certain there were more than thirty coins inside.

Actually, Liu hadn't originally planned to give that much. She had only prepared thirty copper coins for Granny Liu, a fairly generous amount. However, she had been in the delivery room the entire time, and she knew that if it weren't for Granny Liu's skill, Li might not have been able to give birth smoothly, and Granny Liu would have to come back in seven days to remove Li's stitches. Just now in the delivery room, she had personally witnessed Granny Liu cut open Li's genitals with scissors, allowing the baby to emerge safely. Finally, she used needle and thread to sew up the incision, stitch by stitch, like sewing clothing. Thinking about that scene gave her goosebumps.

So she originally planned to give each person thirty coins, but then she thought that she would need to ask them to come and help again in a few days, so she gritted her teeth and doubled the amount.

Because Dr. Liu provided medicine, the consultation fee plus the medicine cost three hundred copper coins. After thanking them profusely, Liu saw them off and then went to check on Li's room. Finding her still asleep, she called Qiuyu over and took twenty eggs from the cupboard for her.

He instructed, "Your mother is asleep now, so let her sleep and don't disturb her. When she wakes up, cook some poached eggs for her." After thinking for a moment, he took out half a pound of brown sugar from the cupboard and gave it to Qiuyu along with the eggs. After saying that, he waved for Qiuyu to go back. She was exhausted today and didn't want to say another word. All she wanted to do was go to sleep.

After sending Qiuyu away, Liu called Qinghe over and said a few words to her. Liu could no longer hold on and fell asleep immediately.

Seeing the piece of paper left by Granny Liu, Xia Yu became even more certain that Granny Liu had been replaced by a different soul, just like herself. The paper listed what foods to eat for the first seven days, and what foods could be eaten starting from the eighth day… Xia Yu was certain that Granny Liu's soul was either a maternity nurse or a doctor. She had seen those things outside the maternity ward when visiting a female colleague who had just given birth in her previous life. She just hadn't expected to encounter a fellow villager in this fictional dynasty.