Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Wang's mind was in turmoil.

Madam Mei didn't care about her current mood; she only knew that she had suffered a great loss and now she wanted to make up for it.

"Sister Wang, I told you they ran away and took the gold and silver jewelry I gave them. What should we do?"

"How would I know what to do?" In her moment of confusion, Wang blurted out without thinking. But she immediately regretted it. Looking up at Madam Mei's expressionless face on the kang (heated brick bed), she awkwardly explained...

"Sister, I misspoke because I was nervous. Please forgive me."

Madam Mei, not bothering to argue with her, gave a signal to the guards beside her, and they began to rummage through the room. In the end, they managed to find more than eighty taels of silver.

She weighed the bag of silver in her hand; she truly hadn't expected that this Wang woman had hidden so much money.

"I never expected you to have so much money. But this isn't enough. I've spent four years training Liu'er, and her expenses alone are at least five hundred taels. We were just about to see a return on our investment next year, and now she's run away. And that girl Jiu'er, she took a lot of gold and silver with her too. How are we going to compensate for the rest?"

Wang's eyes followed the bag of silver up and down, her heart felt as if a piece of flesh had been ripped out; that was the money she had saved up her whole life.

"Grandma Mei, I'll send you a few more children, I don't want any money, I'll give them to you for free. Please, please give me back my money, I'm so old, I rely on this money to survive. For the sake of our friendship over the years, please spare my life!"

No matter how much she pleaded, Madam Mei still took the bag of silver, but spared Wang's grandchildren out of consideration for their past relationship. When Madam Mei offered to take Wang's grandchildren to pay off the debt, Wang's legs went weak, and she kept kowtowing on the ground, blood streaming down her face, looking utterly pitiful.

After Madam Mei left, only a mess remained in the room and Madam Wang was pounding the ground and crying bitterly. She no longer had the radiant spirit she had shown in the past few days, and in an instant, she looked more than ten years older.

As for Madam Mei, she felt that this matter was somewhat related to Liu'er's family. Upon returning to Mei Pavilion, she arranged for people to investigate Liu'er's village, hoping to find some clues.

Just one night later, for some unknown reason, Madam He Mei changed her mind and recalled all the people she had sent out. The people below did not understand what was wrong with Madam He Mei, but they dared not disobey her.

In the Red Pavilion, Madam Mei clutched a one-thousand-tael silver note, which had suddenly appeared beside her pillow this morning. Next to the note was a slip of paper with a lock of hair tucked inside. The note bore only two words: "Nine Willows." The hair was hers; it had been on her head the night before, but she found it cut off and placed with the note this morning.

Stroking the noticeably shorter lock of hair beside her ear, she couldn't understand who Liu'er and Jiu'er were, and how they could have such powerful connections. If it was Liu'er, hadn't she been safe and sound all these years? But Jiu'er's entry into the Red Pavilion was clearly to rescue Liu'er. Although she couldn't figure it out, she didn't dare to send anyone to investigate further, fearing that when she woke up next time, she wouldn't just have a lock of hair missing.

As for Madam Wang, after Madam Mei left, her eldest son brought his wife and children into the house, and they were all stunned by the scene inside.

"Mother, what's going on? Who were those people just now?"

"Ah... son, I can't live anymore! They've stolen all my money, not a single coin is left..." Hearing her mother-in-law say this, the eldest daughter-in-law hurriedly went out to chase away the people watching the commotion in the yard, then closed the gate before returning to the main room.

When she went in, she heard her husband angrily saying...

"Isn't this robbery? Mother, let's go report it to the authorities. Is there no law in this kind of blatant robbery?"

Upon hearing that her son was going to report her to the authorities, Wang, who was wailing while holding her son, suddenly choked. If he really reported it to the authorities, not only would she not be able to get her money back, but she would probably be thrown into jail first.

“Son, we can’t report this to the authorities. You saw that man’s entourage; they’re a wealthy family, and we can’t afford to offend them.”

The eldest daughter-in-law knew about the things her mother-in-law had done over the years, but her mother-in-law had indeed spent a lot of money and effort for her son. Although she couldn't stand those unscrupulous businesses, she chose to remain silent for the sake of her son. Now, hearing that her mother-in-law wouldn't let her report the loss of money to the authorities, she knew that this matter was most likely related to selling children.

The family discussed the matter behind closed doors for a long time but couldn't come to a conclusion, and they didn't know what to do in the future.

When the second son returned from visiting relatives with his wife, he secretly slipped his hand into his pocket when no one was looking after hearing the whole story. Luckily, he always carried his money with him when he went out, otherwise he would definitely have had it taken away today.

"Mother, we can earn more money if we run out. As long as you're alright, that's all that matters." The second son, with the money in his pocket, was oblivious to his mother's sorrow. After all, she wouldn't give him any of the money anyway. He had long wanted to marry another woman to have a son, but his mother wouldn't allow it. He knew perfectly well that his mother had always favored his eldest brother; otherwise, why would she always drag him into those dirty jobs of selling people while never letting his brother get involved? But he didn't care; as long as he could earn money, that was enough.

"Pah, you make it sound so easy. You think it's so easy to talk? That's something I've accumulated my whole life." Wang felt angry when she heard her son's tone.

"Mother, you're usually such a shrewd person, how could you be so confused now? Why don't you find us another rich father? If you keep the old man happy, all his money will be yours. Think about it, even a family like Old Man Liu's can still squeeze out more than twenty taels of silver. You should choose carefully this time, preferably one with a shop, even if he's ten years older than you, it doesn't matter." The second son suddenly leaned closer to his mother and suggested in a low voice.

Hearing him say such things, both wives felt embarrassed and quickly led their children out, leaving only the mother and her two children in the house to discuss the matter.

"Second brother, you're being ridiculous. Our mother is almost fifty, how can she remarry?" The eldest brother nodded in disapproval.

Wang did not refute it. She was very confident in her appearance. Her second son's words made her mind start to work again, and she felt that it seemed to be a good way.

Although she didn't say it aloud, Wang's mood improved considerably after hearing her son's suggestion, and she momentarily forgot about whether Liu Xiaocui would sue her. She tried to smooth her slightly disheveled hair with her hand, but accidentally touched her newly bandaged forehead, and hissed in pain.