Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Despite this, Xia Yu's family hired quite a few day laborers to help. They paid them twenty-five coins a day, plus lunch. The day laborers were chosen from a consistent pool of reliable and capable workers selected over the past few years.

These people all had one thing in common: they had many children but little land. Even though it was the wheat harvest season, and the men were out working, the work at home wouldn't be neglected.

After the first batch of wheat was transported to the Zhang family's drying yard, Xia Yu's daily routine consisted of taking a stroll around the yard after dinner, using this time to shake the wheat ears from the cellar onto the drying yard and mix them with the other wheat. She would then collect the wheat that had already been threshed from under the stalks into her storage space.

In this way, using this method, all the wheat ears in the cellar were finally threshed during the wheat harvest season. Although no one noticed her actions, the workers felt that this year's wheat threshing was more difficult.

In the past, it would have been enough to remove the wheat grains by rolling them with a stone roller for a long time, but this year it seems to be taking longer.

Hearing the servants' gossip, Xia Yu felt a little guilty. She only instructed Zhang Suozhu, the kitchen manager.

"Uncle Zhang, there's a lot of land and heavy farm work this year, so please don't skimp on our meals every day. We'll make sure there are two meat dishes for lunch and an egg for everyone for breakfast."

Following Xia Yu's instructions, the people in charge of cooking in the kitchen put in their best effort every day, preparing a variety of dishes for everyone.

With each meal lavish and flavorful, everyone felt that their master (the employer) was kind and considerate. No one complained anymore about how difficult it was to thresh the wheat. Everyone worked with great enthusiasm and energy.

If you want a horse to run, you have to feed it. Xia Yu's family now understands this principle well. That's how things should be; they just did it this way, and they earned countless praises, who thought they were kind and considerate of their servants.

After the wheat harvest, corn was planted in the fields, and Xia Yu also planted corn in her space, preparing to do the same process as with the wheat, so that it could be threshed in the autumn harvest. The cellar that was previously full was now much more spacious because of the wheat threshing.

In the capital

Wu Yi and his companions stood before Shen Jingheng, looking at the tokens and a bloodstained letter on his desk. They couldn't understand who had delivered this letter to the official, especially since it had been lost along with Xiao Wu. Now, Xiao Wu was nowhere to be found, yet the letter had reached the official. And the official didn't even know Xiao Wu was missing.

"Are you sure this letter was found on that person?" Shen Jingheng asked the people standing below.

"Yes, this is it." Wu Yi took the envelope from Shen Jingheng, looked at it again, and then answered with certainty.

"Okay, I understand. You said this letter was on Xiao Wu, and after he was being chased, he and the letter disappeared together?" Shen Jingheng stroked his chin, and combining the information Ding Chengxin had reported, he had already pieced together the whole story. It seemed that Shijiu and the others had inadvertently intercepted the letter and killed those who were chasing Xiao Wu.

"You all go back and rest first. Xiao Wu should be out of danger. I will have Captain Ding continue to investigate Xiao Wu's whereabouts."

"Yes, my lord."

After bowing to Shen Jingheng, the group left the study.

Once outside the Shen residence, Wu Qi, who had been holding back his words for a long time, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Big brother, how did the magistrate know that Fifth Brother's life was not in danger? Also, how did that letter end up in the magistrate's hands? Did the magistrate send someone else besides us?" Three questions in a row stopped Wu Yi and the others from moving forward.

"Well, why don't you go back and ask the adults yourself?" Wu Yi sincerely suggested.

Upon hearing his words, Wu Qi thought of the adult's imposing face and unconsciously shrank back.

He muttered softly.

"I don't dare. I'm scared when I see adults."

Looking at his expression, the others couldn't help but roll their eyes. If you don't dare to ask, do you think we dare to ask?

After the others left, Shen Jingheng picked up the letter on the table again and read it through, confirming that he didn't recognize a single character. It wasn't written in their native language.

Shen Jingheng, who was in the "Aoki" position, suddenly called out to the outside after thinking for a while.

"My lord, I am here." Aoki's voice responded from outside.

"Go and invite Lord Zhou, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

"Yes, my lord."

After Aoki left, the study fell silent again. Shen Jingheng took a box from the bookshelf and opened it. Inside were letters. He took the top one and opened it.

"My lord, these past two days a knife seller has been offering knives on credit, saying he'll only collect payment when the price of grain rises to thirty copper coins per catty, at two taels of silver per knife. I also had a dream where the scene was extremely horrific, with corpses littering the ground and only one in ten people surviving. I woke up feeling very worried. I wonder if war or disaster will strike. Is it possible to stockpile grain in preparation for any eventuality?"

It turned out to be the letter Xia Yu had recently written to him. The two had kept in touch from time to time over the years, but it was mostly him who took the initiative to contact her. He would ask her for help with things, and once the task was completed, he would pay her directly with bank drafts. It was a one-time payment, with both money and goods settled on a voluntary basis, and the cooperation was very pleasant.

He was extremely surprised to receive this letter from her a few days ago.

The Emperor's health has deteriorated significantly in the past two years, but the only prince in the palace is the three-year-old son of the Imperial Concubine. Calls for establishing a crown prince have grown louder over the years, as there's a fear that if something were to happen to the Emperor, the lack of a crown prince would destabilize the dynasty. Furthermore, several powerful vassal kings have gained influence and are eyeing the country with predatory intent. War could break out at any moment.

Just then, a soft, delicate voice suddenly rang out from outside.

"My husband, is he inside?"