Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, families were usually joyfully welcoming or waiting for guests when they were all drawn by a mournful cry coming from outside. They all spontaneously came out of their courtyards and onto the road to look around, wondering what had happened.

"Who is this? Why is she crying so bitterly during the New Year?"

"Yeah, that 'whoosh' sound just now startled me. Whose house was that?"

"I heard something about the Liu family..."

"..." Upon hearing someone mention the Liu family, the people who were discussing suddenly stopped and listened attentively.

"That voice sounds like Wang's," said an elderly woman from the village after listening for a while.

"Wang? Oh, oh, you mean the one Old Man Liu married later?" Another old woman didn't recognize who Wang was at first.

"Isn't that her? I haven't seen her in ages. Why is she making such a fuss on New Year's Day? Let's go see what's going on." An older woman called to the people beside her, ready to go and see what was happening.

"Let's go, the guests haven't arrived yet, let's see what's going on." So one person called out to another, and another called out to the people around them, and they all walked towards the Liu family's house. When the group arrived, they found that the Liu family's neighbors on both sides had already gathered at the gate of the courtyard, craning their necks to see what was going on inside.

Those who arrived later patted those who had come earlier and asked, "What's going on here?"

"Oh, Old Man Liu's second wife is back. The Liu family won't let her in. Wang's son is unhappy and wants the Liu family to give him twenty taels of silver to live on, so he can divorce Old Man Liu." The person who arrived earlier told the people next to him what he knew.

“The Wang family is a very nice person, why won’t they let her in? The Liu family is going too far.”

"What do you know? That Wang family hasn't lived at home for the past two years. Every time she comes back, she stays for a day or two, takes some grain, and then leaves."

"Huh? Is that so?" the man asked incredulously.

“You run a shop in the county town and rarely come back, so naturally you wouldn’t know about these things.” After saying that, he lowered his voice and said, “Everyone in the village knows about this. They all laugh at Old Man Liu behind his back for marrying a fake wife. He can’t see or touch her, and he has to pay back a lot of grain and money every year. Tsk tsk… If it were me, I would have divorced her long ago. Would I still be here making a scene today?” After saying that, the man shook his head, feeling very sorry for Old Man Liu.

"Cough cough..." Suddenly a heavy cough sounded beside the two of them.

The person who spoke looked up and immediately gave a somewhat embarrassed, dry laugh.

"Hehe, come on over." It turned out that the village chief and Old Man Liu's second brother had been standing behind them.

Upon seeing the village chief arrive, the people blocking the entrance made way for him.

The verbal battle in the courtyard continued, but it had to stop when the village chief arrived.

"What are you all doing? You're not young anymore, and you're making such a scene during the New Year. So many people from outside are coming to visit relatives today. Are you trying to make this a public spectacle throughout the entire county?" The village chief frowned and reprimanded them, looking at the situation in the courtyard.

"Let's all go inside and talk, stop arguing outside." He said, then walked into the house with his hands behind his back. But he only noticed Liu Shi's presence when he was almost at the door.

"Xiao Lan is back?"

"Uncle, I'm sorry to have troubled you with my family's affairs." Liu's face was pale, but she still managed a smile as she greeted the village chief.

Seeing her bitter smile, the village chief sighed, wanting to say something, but his lips moved twice without uttering a word. He just sighed again, lifted the curtain, and went inside.

Since the village chief was going to take charge of the matter, the others in the courtyard naturally had no objections. Both sides understood that even if they argued for three days, they wouldn't get to a conclusion; someone needed to mediate. So, they all followed the village chief into the main room one by one.

Liu didn't want the children to come in and hear these upsetting things, but Xia Yu wanted to hear them. She wanted to see what would happen to Wang Shi, this old white lotus. Holding the hands of Shijiu and Daniu, she followed the adults into the house. However, she was clever enough to hide in the inner room as soon as she entered, so as not to get in the way.

"Tell me, are you still going to live like this?" the village chief asked after everyone had found a place to sit down.

"Village chief, of course I want to live a good life, but they won't let me into their home," Wang, sobbing, spoke first.

“Village chief, everyone in the village knows my situation. She hasn’t lived at home at all these past two years. Each time she comes back, she only stays for three to five days, and she always leaves with a lot of grain. Last year, she only came back for a few days during the summer and autumn harvests, and again she left with grain. You be the judge, is this how she lives a peaceful life? Now I’ve come to terms with it. What does it matter if she has a wife or not? My son and daughter-in-law are both filial. Since she can’t let go of her son and grandson, I won’t stop her from reuniting with her family. Let her go back.” Old Liu isn’t afraid of losing face anymore. These past two years, every night when he lay alone on the kang (heated brick bed), he would think of his two wives and inevitably make comparisons. Now he’s heartbroken over Wang Shi and just wants to live a good life with his son and grandson; he doesn’t want anything else.

Actually, even without Old Man Liu saying it, everyone in the village had witnessed these things. They didn't say anything to his face, but they often laughed at Old Man Liu behind his back because of this. It's a good thing that he's come to terms with it now.

“Mr. Wang, what Brother Liu said is true. Now, given the current situation, what are your thoughts?”

Hearing Old Man Liu's words, Wang lowered her head and silently wept. If she were twenty or thirty years younger, her crying would indeed be quite pitiful, but she was already a fifty-year-old woman, yet she acted like this. Xia Yu couldn't help but glance at the expressions of the village chief and Old Man Liu, wondering if a fifty-year-old woman's tears could evoke the pity of a fifty-year-old man.

After looking at it carefully for a while, Xia Yu was a little discouraged, as she couldn't see anything.

“Village chief, my mother has been married to my uncle for almost seven years. We can’t just kick her out like that. How can she face people when she goes back?” Wang’s second son spoke up again.

"So what do you want?" the village chief asked after taking a few puffs of his pipe.

"Give my mother a letter of divorce and twenty taels of silver to keep her safe, and we can part amicably," Wang's second son proposed.

"You..." Upon hearing his words, Sister-in-law Liu couldn't help but want to curse, but was pulled back by Madam Liu, who was standing next to her.

"We have no money. In the past two years, she emptied our grain reserves one trip after another. All the money we had painstakingly saved up before was used to buy grain," Old Man Liu said, repeating his previous explanation.

“Mrs. Wang, twenty taels of silver is indeed too much. We are all ordinary peasant families; who can come up with twenty taels of silver? Besides, this is your second marriage; why would you need so much money to support yourself?” The village chief carefully considered his words before speaking. Although his words weren't harsh, everyone understood the meaning. It was roughly the same as what Mrs. Wang had said before.

"My mother has been with the Liu family for so many years, taking care of the elderly and the young. She can't just be kicked out like this, can she? What would that make her?" Wang's eldest son muttered.

Hearing his words, the village chief knew that money would definitely have to be paid. If not a single copper coin was given, this matter wouldn't be over today. "Since it's a divorce, giving some money to help him out is reasonable. How much are you planning to give?" This question was directed at Old Man Liu.

Hearing the village chief's words, Old Man Liu looked up at his son. Now that all the family's money had been handed over to his son, he didn't know if there was any money left in the family.

Brother Liu received a look from his father and turned to look at Sister-in-law Liu, since all the money was now with his wife.

Seeing that both her father-in-law and husband were looking at her, Sister-in-law Liu knew that things wouldn't end well without paying. After thinking for a moment, she gritted her teeth and said...

"Two ounces"

"Two taels? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar? No way, it has to be at least eighteen taels, not a single copper coin less." Wang's second son was so angry when he heard the amount Liu's sister-in-law uttered that he almost jumped up.