Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Xia Yu took Nineteen to find Xiao Kouzi, who was taking care of her younger sister, and gave her the two money pouches. Zhang Youtie gave the silver notes he had given her to Doctor Zhong at the clinic.

Holding the silver note given to him by Zhang Youtie, Dr. Zhong said with great emotion...

"I thank you on behalf of those three children. I will give the money to Xiao Kouzi in full." After saying that, he glanced at Zhang Youtie and the others a few more times, his lips moving slightly before he continued...

"Little Button is a good child. She stole the money because she was forced to; she had to find a way to keep her younger siblings alive..."

The group felt a little uneasy as they left the clinic, noticing that it was almost time to meet up with Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma.

"Let's go get something to eat first. We haven't eaten anything since this morning. We can come back another day to buy what we haven't bought yet," Zhang Youtie suggested.

Before anyone could answer, they heard a voice from behind.

"Please wait a moment, benefactor." Everyone turned around and saw Xiao Kouzi running over, kneeling down again when he was still five or six steps away from them.

"May I ask your name and address, my benefactor? I will repay the money you gave me."

"Go back and take good care of your sister. You don't need to pay back the money. From now on, live a good life with your younger brother and sister, and don't steal anymore," Xia Yu said at his parents' prompting.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Xiao Kouzi crawled two more steps on his knees and insisted on asking, "May I ask where my benefactor lives?"

"Zhangjia Village," Xia Yu said casually, then turned and walked away, arm in arm with her mother.

Watching them leave, Xiao Kouzi faced that direction and respectfully kowtowed.

At a small eatery, Zhang Youtie ordered several bowls of braised pork noodles per person, but knowing that Da Niu had a big appetite, he ordered three extra bowls for her so she could have a full meal. After the meal, Zhang Youjin went to pay the bill, but Zhang Youtie stopped him. The two brothers argued at the counter for a while, but in the end, Zhang Youtie paid the bill.

After the meal, there was no time to buy anything else. They went to the inn to meet up with Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma. On their way out of the city, they passed a general store, where Wang and Liu ran in and quickly selected some daily necessities before coming out.

On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, people worship the Kitchen God on the Little New Year.

On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, dust and sweep the house.

On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, it's time to grind the millstone and make tofu. Xia Yu's family didn't make tofu themselves, but they had already ordered several slabs from the tofu seller in the village. Early on the morning of the twenty-fifth, before dawn, the old tofu seller delivered the tofu to their home. The word for tofu sounds like the word for "good fortune," so Liu Shi was very happy to have the tofu delivered so early in the morning, feeling it was a good omen.

On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, it was time to buy meat for the New Year. Xia Yu's family always had enough meat in reserve, but that day Zhang Youtie still went to town with his older brothers from the old house, driving an oxcart to buy a lot of meat.

On the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, the New Year's chicken was slaughtered, and the market was bustling. That day, Wang and Liu went to town together again to shop, buying everything they hadn't managed to purchase in the county town last time. Li knew that her sister-in-law and brother's wife had bought silver jewelry for their daughters last time, but since she was in postpartum confinement and couldn't go out, she gave Wang money to buy a pair of silver earrings for Qiuyu and Dongyu respectively. The two sisters-in-law carefully selected two pairs of silver clove earrings for their children at the town's silver shops. They were small and delicate, perfect for the children.

On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, the dough was prepared. All the women were busy that day. Liu led the women in her household to steam all sorts of buns, as well as dumplings with different flavors of meat and vegetables—these were the staple foods to be eaten during the New Year. Fried meatballs, crispy pork, fried fish, fried chicken nuggets, fried dough sticks, fried dough twists, and fried dough sticks were also prepared that day. Throughout the day, the village was filled with the aroma of fried dough.

In the afternoon, children would take their homemade fried dough twists and sesame leaves out to show off, comparing whose sesame leaves were rolled thinner and whose fried dough twists were torn into finer pieces.

On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, couplets were pasted on the door. Xia Yu had taken the red paper she bought in the county town to her fourth uncle a few days earlier, asking him to help write couplets. Zhang Chengwen naturally agreed without hesitation to his niece's request. Xia Yu's family had many houses and needed many couplets, plus some well-connected people in the village came to ask for them, so Zhang Chengwen had been very busy these past few days. Besides his own study time, he also had to find time to tutor Changyun, and the rest of his time was spent writing couplets.

On the 29th, Xia Yu took Chang Yun to the old house early in the morning to get the couplets. The old couplets on the door had been taken down the day before, and today they would put up the new ones to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. The brother and sister put them up in different places according to the content they had written.

"Brother, how does your calligraphy compare to Fourth Uncle's?" Xia Yu asked Chang Yun, looking at the couplets already pasted on the door.

"Uh, there's no comparison," Changyun answered honestly. He didn't think it was shameful, after all, he had only studied for less than a year, while his fourth uncle was already a scholar.

On New Year's Eve, people visit ancestral graves to invite the deceased and stay up all night. Early that morning, Zhang Youtie, along with Changyun and offerings, candles, and paper money, went to the old house to meet everyone. Then, all the men in the family, led by Old Master Zhang, went to the Zhang family's ancestral graves. After solemnly completing a series of rituals at the graves, the group returned home. This was considered inviting the ancestors home for the New Year.

Zhang Youtie took Changyun back to the old house first, chatted with Grandpa Zhang for a while, and then went home. When they arrived home, Liu was packing gifts to take to the old house later.

Seeing the table piled high with all sorts of gifts

Why are you preparing so much this year?

"You think it's too much for your parents?" Madam Liu replied with a smile when she heard him say this, as she was busy with her work.

"It's not that I think there's too much, it's just that I feel there's a lot more than in previous years."

“We didn’t have much money in previous years either, and even if I wanted to give, I couldn’t prepare it. This year we have a little more money, so let’s not let the elderly suffer.” Madam Liu said naturally.

Hearing what Liu said, Zhang Youtie lowered his head and thought for a moment before speaking.

"It's the second day of the Lunar New Year this year, so I should go see my father-in-law. It's been several years since I last went back."

Upon hearing his words, Liu, who was busy at work, slowed down her movements and became somewhat absent-minded.

Seeing that she wasn't angry this time, Zhang Youtie knew her heart had softened, so he tried to persuade her again.

"My father-in-law is getting old, and he used to dote on you the most. It's been years since I've been back. I wonder how he's doing?" She finished speaking with a deliberate sigh.

"If Xiaxia gets angry with me after she leaves home and doesn't come home to see me for several years, I'll be heartbroken."

"Stop talking, let me think about it." Unable to listen any longer, Madam Liu suddenly spoke up and scolded.

Zhang Youtie knew he couldn't push her too hard; it was best to let her figure things out herself. He wasn't annoyed by her scolding and went to the storage room to carefully choose the gifts he wanted to bring to his father-in-law's house.