Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

As his voice faded, six women emerged one after another from the small door. The woman in the lead, the older woman he had mentioned, appeared to be quite old. The others were likely their daughters-in-law or daughters. Several men followed behind the women.

Xia Yu carefully observed the hands of these people and noticed that while their facial skin wasn't particularly good, the skin on their hands was very well-maintained and not rough at all. Their nails were also neatly trimmed, and there wasn't a speck of dirt under their fingernails.

The old woman taking Xia Yu's measurements noticed that Xia Yu was staring at their hands, and smiled.

“Our whole family are tailors. We don’t care much about food or clothing, but we never neglect the protection of our hands. When doing rough work, we wear specially sewn handkerchiefs, and every night we soak our hands in hot water to soften them, then apply a thick layer of grease. Protecting our hands prevents us from scratching the fabric for our customers.” She finished speaking to Xia Yu.

"Miss, please raise your arm a little so I can take your measurement again."

Xia Yu obediently raised both arms. Thinking about the "skin" she mentioned, she figured it must be something like gloves.

The entire measurement process was not quick because everyone was measured very carefully.

Finally, Master Lou said to them

"Go back now, and come back in four days."

"Is that all?" Shen Luo couldn't help but ask.

"Okay, that's fine. I've noted down your requests. Also, you need to send over one of that person's undergarments. Let's do it this afternoon, otherwise it will be delayed."

Then, the group left.

After walking quite a distance outside, everyone fell silent. This was truly the first time they'd ever seen a tailor like this. Xia Yu began to doubt whether coming here was the right decision—over a thousand taels for leather and fifteen hundred taels for labor. Putting aside the money, if this couldn't be done, they'd all be freezing when the weather turned cold.

She and Changyun each had a cloak given to them by Madam Shen, but Shijiu, Daniu, and Gou Dan were all wearing cotton-padded clothes made at home. It was unclear whether they could withstand the wind and snow in the north.

While these people were still taking measurements at the tailor shop, an elaborately decorated carriage arrived outside the Li residence.

A well-dressed maid stepped forward and knocked on the gate of the Li residence.

"Madam, I am a court painter from Madam Shen's household. Our lady sent me to deliver some gifts to Young Master Zhang and Miss Zhang. I wonder if they are in the manor at the moment?"

Upon hearing that it was the scholar's residence, the old woman who opened the door quickly opened it a little wider and stepped out.

"What bad luck! Young Master and Miss left early this morning. Why don't you come in and rest for a while, Miss Shihua, and have a cup of tea?"

Hearing the old woman's words, the maidservant's face showed a hint of regret, but she still smiled brightly.

"When we came out, my master assigned me other errands, so I won't go in now. I just need to trouble you to give these things to Young Master Zhang and Miss Zhang." Shi Hua pointed to a box being carried by the people behind her and several boxes being held by them.

"Alright, Miss Shihua, don't worry, I will definitely deliver these things to the young master and young lady safely." After saying that, she opened the door so that the person delivering the gifts could carry the box into the courtyard.

Finally, the old woman politely helped Shihua onto the carriage, watched it turn the corner, and then turned back to close the gate again.

There were only a few people left in the house, so as not to delay the gatekeeper, the old woman at the second gate called out a few times.

"Sister Hu, Sister Hua, come to the gate quickly."

"Here I am, here I am."

Hearing someone respond, the old woman at the gate quickly ran to the gatehouse, worried that someone might knock on the door and she wouldn't hear it.

"What's wrong! You're all flustered!" Sister Hua shouted as she walked over. These people were left here to look after the house. Since their master wasn't around, the usual competition and rivalry had vanished; years of companionship had made them more like family.

When I first heard her shouting, I thought something had happened at the door, so I threw down the rag I was using to wipe the table and ran over.

"These are gifts that Madam Shen from the Scholar's Residence just brought to the young master and young lady. They don't look good in the gatehouse. Why don't you come and help us carry them to their courtyard?"

"Gifts from the Imperial Academy? Who are these two people? Madam Shen even sent them gifts."

"No matter who they are, our master has already sent them to live in the mansion. We just need to do our job and not say anything more." These were the words of Granny Hu, who had just arrived.

"I know, I only said that because there are only a few of us here," Granny Hua muttered.

The group then carried all the gifts to Li Taifu's courtyard, where, as servants, they were not allowed to open the boxes directly to inspect them.

Xia Yu, though feeling somewhat uncomfortable because of Master Lou, quickly found her attention drawn to the shops lining both sides of the street.

There were many things they had never seen before in Ming'an County. Xia Yu touched this and picked up another, liking them all very much. She really wanted to buy them and put them in her spatial storage for Liu Shi to take back, but thinking of Shijiu and Daniu beside her, she gave up the idea. She'd wait until she returned from the Russian border to buy them; otherwise, carrying them all the way would be too cumbersome.

The eldest daughter didn't think that much about it; she always bought whatever fun little gadgets she saw. Nineteen reminded her...

“We still have a long way to go. Wouldn’t it be a waste if you carried something that got broken or lost along the way? You might as well buy something on the way back.”

"No, what if they sell out? Besides, I've already decided to store them in the house I'm living in now, and I'll bring them back to my hometown when I come back from the border." Da Niu was very stubborn and insisted on buying them.

Nineteen looked at the red rattle drum she was holding and couldn't understand why a teenage girl like this didn't like flowers or pink, and only liked these kinds of things that children like, except for food.

Since she had already made up her mind, Nineteen stopped trying to persuade her, but secretly glanced at Uncle Hu who was with them. She was worried that Da Niu's habit of automatically treating other people's residences as her own might be annoying.

The group had lunch at a restaurant. Changyun, Xia Yu, and Shen Luo sat at one table, while Changyun arranged a separate table for the others. Although he had specifically told Da Niu before the meal that she should just eat as much as she wanted and that it was all you could eat.

Da Niu put down her chopsticks after eating very little. Watching the others eat so heartily made her mouth water, but she just couldn't eat anything. The reason was simple: her mouth hadn't stopped moving all morning.

Fortunately, Xia Yu was not an ordinary young lady. She didn't feel ashamed at all, even though the girl's behavior attracted frequent stares from passersby.