Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

The next day, before dawn, Nineteen heard the sound of a lock being opened outside the courtyard. Glancing at Liu Xiaocui, who was still sleeping beside her, she quickly dressed and left the room, just as she was walking in opposite directions from Zhao Dawei.

"You're awake so early? I brought you breakfast, eat it quickly and we'll leave the city as soon as the gates open."

"Okay, you go sit in that room for a while. I'll go wake up Sister Xiaocui. She was up too late yesterday and hasn't woken up yet," Nineteen said, pointing to the room next door.

"No rush, there's still time."

Nineteen went into the room and woke Liu Xiaocui up, but actually, she wasn't really waking her up. As soon as Nineteen put her hand on her shoulder, Liu Xiaocui suddenly sat up on the kang (a heated brick bed), which startled Nineteen.

"Sister Xiaocui, the people who are seeing us out of the city have arrived. Let's get dressed, have a meal, and then we'll leave."

"Yes, yes, I'll be right there."

Liu Xiaocui tidied herself up almost as quickly as she had ever done in her life, ate breakfast, and perhaps because of years of eating slowly and deliberately, she choked a little while eating a steamed bun.

After dinner, Shijiu disguised himself and Xiaocui, dressing Xiaocui up as a somewhat hunchbacked, mute old man, while he himself became his grandson.

Seeing the two dressed up, Zhao Dawei couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration.

"If I hadn't personally brought you here, I really wouldn't have recognized you. Nineteen, could you teach me this disguise technique sometime?"

"Sure, that depends on when you have time, Brother Zhao," Nineteen said with a grin.

David Zhao's timing was perfect; they arrived at the city gate just as it was opening. These past few days had been a time for visiting relatives, and with nothing happening in the city, no one had the time to question those leaving or entering. The gatekeepers, after opening the gate, retreated to a nearby watchtower to warm themselves by the fire and chat.

Zhao Dawei drove the carriage out of the city gate smoothly. Seeing the city gate being left further and further away, Liu Xiaocui couldn't help but tear up. She had finally escaped from there.

Nineteen knew she was excited. She herself had been chosen to be sent to the young lady's side that day, and she had cried tears of joy, feeling as if she had been reborn. However, thinking of her sister, Nineteen's heart grew heavy.

When the carriage entered the village, some villagers were still eating breakfast. Even those who had left early were already used to seeing a carriage entering the village. After all, they had seen a lot of things over the past year because of the Zhang family's melon-selling business.

"Sister Xiaocui, we're home. Get out of the carriage." When the carriage arrived at the Zhang family's gate, Shijiu jumped off first and then reached out to Liu Xiaocui inside the carriage.

Hearing the noise outside, the four people who were eating in the main room lifted the curtain and came out. Seeing the carriage parked at the door and the people getting out of it, they were all a little confused.

After the two got off the carriage, Zhao Dawei turned his horse around and left without stopping for a moment.

"Who are you?" Zhang Youtie asked the grandfather and grandson standing outside the courtyard.

"Master, Madam, Nineteen has brought Sister Xiao Cui back." Nineteen grinned at the people standing in the courtyard and said.

"..." The Zhang family members remained silent in astonishment.

In the end, Xia Yu was the first to react: "It's Nineteen! Father, Mother, it's Nineteen who's back!"

Liu looked at the thin, dark-skinned old man, tears slowly welling up in her eyes. Tears streamed down his face like a broken string of pearls.

"Big sister, it's me, Xiao Cui!" With a cry, the dark-skinned, thin old man ran towards Liu Shi's outstretched arms.

"Little sister, little sister, is that you?" Liu cried, holding the thin, dark-skinned old man in her arms.

"It's me, big sister, it's me. I'm back..."

"Little sister..."

The two sisters hugged each other and cried bitterly, as if they wanted to release all the worries and longing of the past years through their tears.

Soon the commotion attracted the attention of people on the other side of the pond. Some people wanted to come and see what was going on, but they were stopped by Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma.

"We'd better not inquire about or speculate on what's going on with our master. Just do your own jobs," Uncle Ma warned the group who wanted to find out, his voice low but authoritative.

Hearing Uncle Ma say this, the others didn't dare to refute him and dispersed.

Looking at the two sisters weeping in the courtyard, Zhang Youtie finally patted Liu Shi on the shoulder.

"Her mother, let's go inside and talk! Otherwise, we'll attract other people."

Upon hearing Zhang Youtie's words, Liu quickly pulled her sister's hand and led her into the house.

Xia Yu saw that her mother was now oblivious to everything else and was looking at Nineteen, who was still dressed as a boy, and said...

"Nineteen, if you hadn't spoken, I really wouldn't have recognized you. Is this the legendary disguise? Can you teach me?"

Nineteen felt helpless upon hearing her mistress's words. She'd only just learned she knew martial arts, and now she had to learn lightness skills, and now disguise. The mistress she served seemed different from the other girls. It was all preparation for running away and hiding!

"Nineteen, Nineteen, what are you thinking about? Can you teach me? Or is this a secret technique that your sect doesn't pass on to outsiders? Or maybe I should acknowledge you as my master." Xia Yu waved her hand in front of Nineteen's eyes and asked.

"Um, Miss, you're overthinking it. You don't need to become an apprentice; I can teach you. But it's not something you can learn in a short time. I'll go remove my makeup first." (Nineteen)

"Okay, go ahead and unload in my room. My mother will definitely have some questions for you later."

At this moment, in Liu's side room, Liu Xiaocui, dressed as a dark-skinned old man, finally stopped crying and began to recount how she had been tricked and sold by Wang.

“That day, my father, elder brother, and sister-in-law had all gone to work in the fields, and Wang Shi had gone back to her son’s house and hadn’t returned yet. I was home alone. I cooked lunch and took it to the fields. As soon as I entered the house, I saw Wang Shi coming out. I was wondering why she had suddenly returned. But then she walked up to me and suddenly covered my face with a handkerchief. When I woke up again, I was already in Hongge.” As she said this, Liu Xiaocui’s eyes were almost bleeding with hatred.

"I really don't understand. After she came to our family, although we weren't exactly close to her, we were still very polite to her. Why did she sell me?"

"Weren't Da Mao, Er Mao, and Rou Rou home that day?" Liu asked, somewhat puzzled.

Hearing her elder sister's question, Liu Xiaocui tried hard to recall what had happened that day, and after a while, she finally answered.

"That day, Da Mao, Er Mao, and Aunt Tian's dog, Gou Dan, played at our house until noon. Gou Dan said that her grandma was going to stew chicken today and asked Da Mao and Er Mao to come and eat chicken. Rou Rou can't walk yet, and I was too busy to cook and take care of her by myself, so I asked Da Mao to carry Rou Rou to Aunt Tian's house."

At this point, the two sisters suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" and both understood what was going on.

According to the usual practice at home, Xiao Cui would always take Da Mao with her when she went to the fields to deliver food, while Er Mao would stay at home to look after his younger sister. If the children didn't go to their maternal grandmother's house to eat chicken that day, then when Wang Shi returned home, only Er Mao and Rou Rou would be at home.

"That bitch, she wanted to sell Er Mao and Rou Rou." Liu Xiaocui said through gritted teeth. At this moment, she was even somewhat relieved that it was she who was being sold. If Er Mao and Rou Rou had been sold, just thinking about what she had heard in the Red Pavilion made her tremble.

She had heard firsthand that several handsome young boys had been adopted by men who practiced homosexuality, and their fates were self-evident.

"Big sister, I want to kill that bitch, she's too vicious." Liu Xiaocui said this through gritted teeth as she imagined the scene.