Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

That night, Xia Yu was lying in bed, about to fall asleep, when she was startled awake by something that suddenly came to her mind. She sat up abruptly.

"Selling knives for free, selling knives for free, on credit..." As she muttered to herself, a name suddenly came to her mind: "knife-selling man."

This story, which he had only heard in folk tales in his previous life, was exactly what his father had mentioned during dinner.

Thinking of this, Xia Yu became somewhat uneasy. In her previous life, she had read legends about itinerant knife sellers. Some said they were frauds, while others said they were warnings from heaven. But whether they were true or not, no one could say for sure.

But Xia Yu himself believed it was a warning sent by heaven to the world. If the price of rice and flour rose to thirty coins a catty next year, people wouldn't be able to afford food, and who would have the money to pay for his two taels of silver kitchen knife?

Thinking of the itinerant knife seller's words that rice and flour prices would surge next year, Xia Yu wondered what could cause such a price spike. He believed there were only two possible reasons for such a dramatic price fluctuation: natural disasters or human error.

Drought, floods, and locust plagues were all reasons for poor harvests in this dynasty, and the only man-made disaster she could think of was war. Besides these, she couldn't think of any other reasons that could cause such large fluctuations in food prices.

Thinking this, Xia Yu drifted off to sleep.

This time, Xia Yu slept restlessly. In her dream, she saw a parched land littered with people who had starved to death. She wanted to find her parents and brother, but they weren't there; there wasn't a single living person. She was all alone in the endless yellow sand.

When Xia Yu woke up again, the sky was already beginning to lighten. Rubbing her tired temples, she got dressed and got out of bed. It was time for her daily morning martial arts practice.

But the story of the knife-selling man remained a thorn in her side, making her feel uneasy. At breakfast, she recounted her dream. Madam Liu simply assumed it was a nightmare.

"Xiaxia, I've heard that dreams and reality are opposites, so don't think too much about it. That old man was just saying that. My parents have lived this long, and even when grain was at its most expensive, it never sold for ten coins a pound, let alone thirty coins."

Xia Yu was still unwilling to give up, and earnestly asked Liu Shi and Zhang Youtie...

"Father, Mother, what if a disaster strikes here, and the whole country suffers a complete crop failure? Will the price of grain rise to the thirty coins a pound that the itinerant knife seller mentioned?"

Hearing Xia Yu's question, Liu Shi and Zhang Youtie exchanged a glance, realizing that the matter discussed at yesterday's dinner table seemed to have had a significant impact on their daughter. However, since their daughter had asked, they thought about it seriously for a while before answering.

“If what you’re describing really happens, the price of grain will definitely be more than thirty wen per jin. The price of corn might even rise to thirty wen. But Xiaxia, our country is vast and rich in resources; the situation you’re describing shouldn’t occur,” Zhang Youtie said, trying to comfort his daughter.

“Yes, your father is right. Even if a place suffers a disaster, local governments have granaries, and they will naturally open the granaries to provide disaster relief. Moreover, the government will also step in to control grain prices and prevent them from skyrocketing,” Madam Liu added from the side.

Even after they said that, Xia Yu still felt a vague unease in her heart. This feeling was something she had never experienced before; it was a sense that a great calamity was about to befall her.

Back in her room, she took out paper and pen, thought about her words, and then wrote a letter to Shen Jingheng. She included the knife seller's words and her own speculations in the letter. After all, he was in the imperial court; he might not be able to predict natural disasters, but if war were to break out, those in high positions would be the first to receive the news.

After writing the letter, Xia Yu carefully blew on the writing to dry it before putting it in an envelope. She then sealed it with the sealing wax that Shen Jingheng had previously sent. Only then did she call Nineteen into the room.

"Miss, what are your orders?"

"Nineteen, please help me deliver this letter to Lord Shen in the capital. Make sure it reaches Lord Shen's hands." Knowing that Lord Shen was now married and had a mistress in his house, she was worried that the letter might not reach Shen Jingheng smoothly, so she gave him this extra instruction.

"Yes, Miss, don't worry, I'll go right now." Nineteen carefully tucked the letter into her bosom, went back to her room to scribble on it, and then went out through the back door.

At this moment, a group of guests suddenly arrived at an inconspicuous courtyard in Ming'an County.

"Captain Ding, my name is Wu Yi. We are here on orders from Lord Shen to carry out some errands. Before we set off, Lord Shen said that if we encounter any difficulties here, we can ask Captain Ding for help." Wu Yi, dressed in a close-fitting outfit, spoke very politely to Captain Ding, while taking out a token and a letter from his person and handing them over with both hands.

Captain Ding took the item handed to him, first examining the token to confirm it was indeed a token his master had made for a trusted confidant. He then opened the letter to read its contents before carefully folding it and looking at the visitor.

"I wonder what kind of help Brother Wu needs from me?"

“One of our brothers got separated from us a few days ago. He was carrying something the adults wanted. We last saw him on the mountain. He was injured, and I thought he would go to a nearby town for medical treatment. However, we are on a mission assigned by the adults, so it is inconvenient for us to search for him outside. We came here today hoping that Brother Ding could help us find him.”

"Finding a person is no problem, but I'd like to know if you have any secret codes or markings, and what the person's name is, and if there are any distinctive physical characteristics, so I can send my men out to search. Otherwise, even if they're face to face, they might not be able to recognize the person," Captain Ding asked after a moment's thought.

"Yes, that person's name is Xiao Wu. There's nothing particularly special about his appearance. He's about my height, and his skin is fairer than average. There doesn't seem to be anything else special about him," Wu Yi said after thinking for a moment.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wu Xiaoqi, who was standing behind him, spoke up.

"Boss, how come you didn't remember Fifth Brother's very obvious feature?"

Hearing him say this, Captain Ding, who had felt somewhat troubled after hearing Wu Yi's description, quickly looked at the person who had spoken.

"Oh, brother, what else makes him stand out from the crowd?"

"Fifth Brother has a red birthmark the size of an egg on his butt." The man glanced at his head and then answered smugly, quite proud of his keen observation skills.

"..." Upon hearing his answer, Captain Ding paused for a moment before turning to Wu Yi and asking...

"Brother Wu, is this fellow also working for the master?" He couldn't understand why the master, a man of such meticulous thinking, would send someone like this along on a mission. A birthmark on his buttocks—did he expect his men to go out into the street and pull down people's pants to check them one by one?

Faced with Captain Ding's question, Wu Yi naturally understood the unspoken meaning in his words.

He wanted to stop Wu Xiaoqi as soon as he opened his mouth. But he needed Wu's help, and if he didn't let Xiaoqi speak, it would seem like he was deliberately making things difficult. However, the thought of that tiny, watermelon-sized head of his made him feel uneasy. It was one thing to lose face in front of his own people, but to reveal all his secrets so soon after arriving on someone else's turf.

So, Wu Yi smiled somewhat awkwardly.

“Brother Ding, Xiao Qi is indeed the master’s subordinate. Although he’s not very bright, he’s loyal. Please don’t take his words to heart. However, we have a way of communicating. Do you have paper and pen? I’ll draw it now.”