Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Xia Yu wasn't in the mood to play with him. She needed to go back to her space to grow grain. Regardless of what the peddler meant, the gist of it was that grain prices would skyrocket. She needed to grow more grain in her space to store up, so she wouldn't be in a rush when she needed it.

Upon entering the space, the first thing to do is harvest the golden, ripe wheat, collecting the ears of wheat separately in baskets, and bundling all the straw into neat stacks.

Then, the prepared wheat seeds were scattered on the ground, along with some water from the space well. The wheat sprouted, grew taller, headed, and turned yellow before Xia Yu's very eyes at a visible speed. The entire process took less than fifteen minutes.

Once the wheat was fully ripe, Xia Yu repeated the previous actions: harvesting the ears of wheat and baling the stalks. She accomplished all of this using her mind within the spatial dimension. Later, Xia Yu discovered through experimentation that she could indeed thresh wheat using her mind within the spatial dimension. However, it was extremely mentally taxing; after threshing only ten ears of wheat, Xia Yu felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her head, and from then on, she never attempted to thresh wheat within the spatial dimension again.

She planted crop after crop like this until her head started to ache and the space was filled with wheat ears and straw. Only then did Xia Yu come out of the space and lie down on the bed to fall into a deep sleep.

In an abandoned house in the town, the man, enduring the burning pain all over his body, sprinkled medicinal powder on his wounds, large and small. The stinging powder made him groan involuntarily, cold sweat trickling down his forehead and face. After applying the medicine, he forced himself to put on his clothes, took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket, poured out two black pills, swallowed them, and then leaned against the wall, falling into a deep sleep once more.

The morning sunlight shone through the dilapidated window onto the man's face. His pale complexion was alarming, and if it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, he would probably be mistaken for a corpse.

Several beggars surrounded the still unconscious man, wanting to search him for anything valuable. However, the blood on his clothes and the sword in his hand made them hesitate to approach.

As the group hesitated, the man suddenly opened his eyes. In that instant, he drew the sword he had been gripping tightly and pointed it directly at the group in front of him.

"Hero, spare us! Hero, spare us! We didn't do anything!"

In an instant, the beggars all knelt down, kowtowing to the man who was struggling to sit up. Upon seeing their attire, the man's hand, holding the sword, fell limply to his side.

"Get up, all of you. Who are you?"

“Reporting to the hero, we are all beggars, and this is our home. We live in those few rooms, and we only found you this morning when we woke up.” The older man spoke up, and although the others did not kowtow again, they remained kneeling on the ground.

"I'm hungry, is there anything to eat?" the man asked.

"Uh, yes, yes, I just got a steamed bun yesterday, and I was planning to save it for this morning. Since you're hungry, sir, I'll offer it to you." With that, the man pulled a slightly discolored steamed bun from his pocket.

The man saw his dark, grimy hands and dirty clothes and didn't take the bun.

Looking at the few people still kneeling behind him, he continued to ask...

How many people are there in total?

"Reporting to the hero, there are five of us here, all of us are here." The oldest man answered; his face was so dark that his age was impossible to discern. The others didn't look very tall either, and it was unclear what their relationship was.

"Is there a well nearby? You guys go wash yourselves clean before you come back. I'll give you some money later so you can buy some food." The man spoke to them with a brisk pace, but he seemed to be in good spirits.

"Yes, yes, there's a well in this courtyard. Let's go fetch water and wash ourselves clean now." The beggar leader said excitedly upon hearing that there would be silver to buy food.

"Come on, come on, go out and wash your hands and faces, clean yourselves up, the hero will reward you with food later." Hearing their eldest brother's words, the few people kneeling on the ground happily got up and followed the leader towards the well.

After everyone left, the man clutched his chest in pain; the movement of drawing his sword had nearly reopened his wound. He took out a porcelain bottle from his robes, poured out two dark pills, and swallowed them with water from a nearby water pouch. Shaking the empty bottle, the man pondered what he needed to buy.

Within minutes, the beggars had washed their hands and faces clean.

“Great hero, we’ve all washed up, please take a look.” A row of five people stood in front of the man. They varied in age, the oldest being no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, with very youthful faces. However, their voices were somewhat deep, making them appear to be a middle-aged man of short stature.

The man glanced at it a few times and then asked...

What's the relationship between you guys?

"Reporting to the hero, the three of us are brothers. My name is Ding Yi, this is Ding Er, and that is Ding San. The taller one is Wu Shu, and the shorter one is Wu Lin. They joined us later. Their parents are dead, so we just decided to be together." The eldest one explained to the man.

"Ding San and Wu Lin stay here. The three of you go buy things." The man pointed out two people from among the group.

After saying that, he took out a ten-tael silver note from his tightly clasped sleeve and slapped it on the ground.

The lead beggar picked up the silver note, glanced at it, and couldn't read the words. Wu Shu, standing beside him, looked at it, a mixture of curiosity and excitement in his eyes, then glanced at the man sitting on the ground before speaking to Ding Yi.

"This is a ten-tael silver note from Huitongbao Bank."

The man stared at Wu for a long while before asking...

"You can read!"

"Yes, my father was a student who taught me to read."

"Go out and buy some food, then go to the clinic and buy me some medicine for sword and knife wounds, as well as some medicine for abscesses. Also, go and buy me a set of clothes."

After saying that, he pointed to the two children he had specified to stay and threatened them.

"Don't even think about running away. I may be injured, but I still have the strength to kill you all. And don't bring anyone back with you, or those two will be the first to die."

"Yes, yes, hero. We wouldn't dare. Don't worry, we'll definitely buy the goods back honestly. We haven't had a proper meal in ages. Since you're willing to give us money, you're our provider. From now on, we'll acknowledge you as our leader. You tell us to chase dogs, we'll never chase chickens. You all agree, right?" Ding Yi, far from being afraid of the man's threat, showered him with flattery. Then, he forcefully appointed a leader for the group.

Upon hearing his words, the previously serious man couldn't help but grin. He found this kid quite amusing; this kid was trying to cling to him and even acknowledge him as his boss.

"Stop talking nonsense and get on with what I told you. If you do it well, I guarantee you'll have plenty to eat every day for the next few days."

"Alright, we'll go now. Ding San, Wu Lin, you two stay home and take good care of our eldest brother, remember?"

"I've got it, big brother," Ding San said, his voice still that of a child.

"How could you forget so soon after you said that? From now on, I'm the second brother, and the hero is our eldest brother. Got it?"

"I'll remember that, brother."

"I remember, Second Brother," Ding San and Wu Lin said at the same time, but Ding San called him by the wrong name again.

Ding Yi looked at his younger brother with some helplessness, rubbed his head, and then led Ding Er and Wu Yi out the door.