Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Li Minshi picked up the silver piece; it turned out to be a silver lock engraved with words and beautiful patterns.

"Who sent this?" Madam Li asked her daughter, holding up the silver lock.

"My third sister-in-law also sent three feet of red bougainvillea. Aunt, it's on that cabinet behind you, could you please get it for me?" Li said to her aunt, who was closest to the cabinet.

Following her niece's directions, Li's aunt found a piece of red silk.

"Oh my, this fabric is quite nice. I'll make a cotton-padded jacket and trousers for the child next winter. He'll look just as handsome as the children in the paintings," Aunt Li exclaimed, touching the fabric in her hand.

The material was passed to Madam Li Min, who examined it carefully and said, "Hmm, it's a good piece of material. I feel that this lock is solid; it must have cost a lot of money. Take a look, everyone." After saying that, she handed the silver lock to the others in the room so that they could all see it.

"Hmm, it's so small yet so heavy, it must be solid," said Li's aunt, weighing it in her hand.

"Sister-in-law, those two sisters-in-law of Seventh Sister are really good, much better than the people my girl has met," said Third Aunt Li.

“Fifth Sister is a good person, and that’s better than anything else,” Li Minshi quickly comforted her third sister-in-law.

Li knew that she needed to make her own family proud in her husband's family and give face to her husband's family in front of her own family. She then took out the pair of silver bracelets that Wang had given her.

“My sister-in-law also made a pair of silver bracelets for Xiaobao.” Li took the silver bracelets out from under the pillow and handed them to her mother.

Li took the silver bracelet from her daughter, weighed it in her hand, glanced at her three daughters-in-law, and then laughed, "What a coincidence! Your three sisters-in-law and your eldest sister-in-law all thought of the same thing and gave the children a pair of silver bracelets. These aren't even as heavy as these, so they're definitely inferior!" Li Min said to her daughter with a smile.

Li hadn't expected that her three sisters-in-law would also make silver bracelets for her child. Hearing her mother say this, she quickly smiled and thanked her three sisters-in-law sitting on the kang (heated brick bed), saying, "I thank your three aunts on behalf of Xiaobao. What's the weight? The main thing is that Xiaobao is so lucky to have so many aunts who love him. From now on, I'll have him wear both bracelets so others can see how adorable my Xiaobao is. Isn't that right, Xiaobao? You must be filial to your three aunts from now on, understand?"

"Cough...cough...cough" As if in response to Li's words, the little baby in Li Min's arms started to whimper as soon as she finished speaking.

Aunt Li joked, "Is Xiao Bao protesting? The little guy must be thinking his mother is making a fool of him." Then she said to Aunt Li...

"It's amazing you even thought of that, making the child wear two pairs. Do you have so much wealth to carry around?"

"Hahaha..." Aunt Wu's words drew a burst of laughter from everyone.

"Stop laughing! I think he's hungry; he's about to eat my hand!" Li Minshi patted her daughter, who was laughing heartily.

Hearing that her son was hungry, Li quickly took the child from him, lifted her clothes, and began to breastfeed him in front of everyone.

Everyone else in the room consciously lowered their voices, afraid of disturbing the child's sleep. Just then, they heard the guest address from outside call out...

"Please, honored guests from your family, take your seats!"

Upon hearing the host's call, Madam Li hurriedly addressed the people inside, saying, "Dinner is ready. It's cold, so please go and eat."

"We're all family, it doesn't matter when we eat, let the villagers sit down first," said Li Minshi.

Actually, she was just being polite. She was bringing food to her child, and the main guests were her family. The meal wouldn't start until they were seated. However, it felt awkward for everyone in the room to leave as soon as the hostess called out. It would be like they hadn't eaten at all; she always had to wait for her daughter's mother-in-law or another family member to call her before going out.

Everyone in the room knew this rule and remained seated, none of them leaving. Soon, Madam Wang lifted the curtain and came in, greeting everyone with a smile. Then, she said to Madam Li Min, "Auntie, dinner is served outside. Shall we go out and sit down?"

"Oh, let the villagers eat first. We're all family, they can just eat whatever they want later," Li Minshi said politely to Wang Shi with a smile.

Hearing this, Wang stepped forward and helped Li Min down from the kang (a heated brick bed), saying, "Auntie, you're not hungry. But the most distinguished guests we have today are all in this room. If you don't go out, who will have the nerve to sit down and eat? Don't you think so? For the sake of our younger generation's stomachs, please sit down."

Her words were both witty and flattering, making everyone in the room laugh. Li Minshi, in particular, was delighted and smiled broadly. Since everyone had come to invite her, she naturally wouldn't put on airs anymore, and led everyone in the room, guided by Wang Shi, to the main room.

Three square tables were set up on the floor of the main room, and two more tables were made by pushing together several kang tables on the kang. The Zhang family had arranged two guests at each table. The female elders from Li Village took off their shoes and sat on the kang, while those of the same generation as Li sat at the square tables on the floor. The guests had all been arranged in advance, and as they followed the group into the room, they were warmly invited to sit down, treated with great hospitality. After everyone was seated, the guests busied themselves setting out bowls and chopsticks, and before anyone could even sit down, they were all busy.

When they entered the room, they saw four cold dishes already laid out on the table: sliced ​​pork belly with garlic, braised pork tripe, poached chicken, and sliced ​​mutton. Madam Li nodded secretly at the dishes, quite satisfied; the quality of the food reflected how much her in-laws valued her daughter and her family. The woman who hadn't spoken to Madam Li earlier took advantage of the absence of the guests to whisper among herself.

"I just heard from the villagers that today's banquet was specially prepared by a master chef from a restaurant in the county town," San Niang said to her mother, Li Shi's aunt.

"Hmm, this dish does look quite good. Look at how thin the slices of meat are, they're as thin as paper. Just looking at that knife skill is amazing."

"Oh, if I had known the food would be this good, I would have brought San Dan. That child has been craving it for so long," said one of Li's cousins, somewhat regretfully, upon seeing the food on the table.

"Don't let your mother-in-law hear you say that, or she'll scold you," a sister-in-law who was always close to him warned him.

Hearing her reminder, the young woman continued to mutter under her breath, somewhat dissatisfied, "Fourth Aunt is really something. Just to save face for Seventh Sister, she won't let us bring the children. Anyway, we've already given the gifts, what's the big deal if a few children come and eat a lot?"

“Don’t you think about how many people are in our family? If each family brings a child, the children alone would fill several oxcarts. Besides, this isn’t a new custom,” the wife sitting next to her whispered.