Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Liu's words to Xia Yu were ambiguous, leaving Zhang Youtie and Changyun, who were standing nearby, somewhat confused. Changyun knew who his sister was referring to, but he didn't understand how the conversation, which was about his aunt's marriage, had suddenly shifted to Lord Zhang.

"Mom, who did you tell Xiaxia about coming back? Who wants to learn Russian?"

“Father, he is Lord Zhang, an official from the Court of State Ceremonial in the capital. His family is from the same place as my maternal grandfather's family, and he came back with us by boat this time. The Emperor ordered him to learn the Russian language with me.”

"Oh, I see!" Zhang Youtie scratched his head as if he understood. But then he thought about it again and felt something was wrong.

"Wait a minute, Xiaxia, when did you learn Russian?"

Upon hearing Zhang Youtie's question, Madam Liu noticed the problem and quickly looked at her daughter, waiting for her explanation.

"Ahem, I learned it from an old immortal in my dream during the few days I was unconscious when I was a child." Xia Yu cleared his throat and once again brought out the non-existent old immortal.

"..." Hearing her daughter say this, Liu fell silent. Her daughter had told her stories about another world, so it seemed that she must have learned that Russian language back then.

"Mother, Xiaxia, is there any connection between Lord Zhang and Aunt's marriage?" Changyun waited for a while and realized that his father hadn't gotten the answer he wanted, so he simply asked himself.

"It's okay," the mother and daughter said at the same time. After saying that, they looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

Changyun smiled good-naturedly, without dwelling on it. His mother and sister's behavior precisely illustrated the problem, but since it concerned his aunt's reputation, it was best not to say anything now.

Zhang Youtie wanted to ask more, but Aunt Ma just then brought up the food with her maid—a hot pot. It contained mutton, sliced ​​pork belly, ribs, fish slices, dried wood ear mushrooms, tofu skin, frozen tofu, bean sprouts, and garlic chives. The most surprising thing was that she also saw some small green vegetables on the table, a rare sight for this season; their vibrant green leaves proved they had been freshly picked.

"Aunt Ma, what's this?" Xia Yu asked, pointing to the plate of green vegetables.

Aunt Ma smiled and nodded at Xia Yu.

"Miss, these are the small green vegetables you mentioned growing in the greenhouse."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu's face lit up with joy, and she asked in disbelief...

"It really grew?"

"It really grew! You came up with this idea, why don't you go and see for yourself tomorrow?" Madam Liu gently tapped Xia Yu's forehead with her hand.

"But right now, this is only enough for our family to eat. The production is too small to sell. And the cost isn't low either," Zhang Youtie explained to Xia Yu as he put the vegetables into the pot.

"Is it expensive?" Xia Yu asked her father.

"Yes, it's not cheap. The main problem is that there are no glass workshops around here, so we have to transport them from elsewhere, which is too costly," Zhang Youtie explained.

"Oh, okay." Xia Yu only thought of this question after hearing Zhang Youtie's explanation.

"Aunt Ma, you should go eat too. We'll manage here. We'll call you if we need anything. Ziyan and Lvyun, you should go too. Don't stay outside waiting."

"Yes"

Having served here for a long time, everyone knew that the master and his family did not like servants to be around when they were together. So when they heard Liu's instructions, they all followed Aunt Ma downstairs.

The meal was eaten slowly, with the family chatting as they ate. The brother and sister recounted the interesting things they had seen and heard on their journey over the past six months to their parents. However, they tacitly avoided mentioning what happened at the banquet at the Shen residence.

It wasn't until late at night, when Xia Yu was yawning repeatedly, that Liu urged the two of them to go back and rest, saying they could talk about it the next day.

The brother and sister were indeed exhausted and understood that their mother was right, so they each went back to their own courtyards. However, just before leaving the courtyard, they told their father about the time they would go to the old house the next day.

When Xia Yu returned to her courtyard with Da Niu, Shi Jiu had already prepared the hot water in the bathroom, waiting for Xia Yu to come back and take a bath.

Xia Yu hadn't returned to her own courtyard when she got home today. Returning to her own room now felt incredibly comforting. She quickly took a bath, climbed into bed, and fell asleep. She didn't even notice when the two girls left the room.

The next day, Liu specially arranged for no one in the family to wake up the people in Xia Yu and Chang Yun's courtyards, so that they could sleep until they woke up on their own.

Xia Yu opened her eyes and saw that it was already bright outside. She slipped on the cotton slippers that Aunt Ma had made for her, put on a cotton robe, and opened the door.

"Miss, you're awake?" Nineteen was the first to come out of her room upon hearing the voice.

"Well, what time is it?"

"It's already past 9 AM, Miss must be hungry! I'll get you some hot water to wash up first. The food is also being kept warm in the small kitchen."

Xia Yu looked up at the sky; the pale sun was almost directly overhead.

"I'm not hungry. Where's Da Niu? I'm going to visit my grandparents at the old house later. Can you help me pick out a gift?" Xia Yu said.

“Da Niu has been summoned by Madam, she’ll be back soon. Shall I help Miss choose first?” Nineteen suggested to Xia Yu with a smile.

When Da Niu returned from Liu's courtyard, she saw Miss and Nineteen rummaging through things in the storeroom.

"Miss, what do you think of these gold earrings inlaid with rubies and sapphires? These were bought from a Russian merchant," Nineteen said to Xia Yu, holding up several pairs of earrings from the box.

"Okay, let's give one pair each to eldest sister, Qiuyu, Dongyu, and sister-in-law!"

"Okay, I'll go get the box and pack it up."

Finally, the three of them, master and servants, spent almost an hour choosing the gift for the old house.

For Old Master Zhang, there was a jade pipe and two bolts of silk bestowed from the palace. For Madam Liu, there was a gold hairpin inlaid with jewels depicting deer and cranes symbolizing spring, and a gold bracelet with a hundred children and auspicious patterns. Xia Yu knew that the older women in the village loved gold and silver jewelry and would often compare their pieces, so both gifts were quite substantial. They were the heaviest of all the old ladies in Zhangjia Village, enough to rival any other gift.

The two uncles each received a jade ring and a bolt of fabric as a gift. The eldest aunt, Wang, received a gold hairpin inlaid with rubies and a pair of gold earrings inlaid with rubies. The second aunt, Li, received a gold hairpin inlaid with jadeite and a pair of jadeite teardrop earrings. All of these were jewelry gifts from the Emperor.

The eldest brother, Changsheng, had a jade pendant with the inscription "No Worries" and a jade ring. The third brother, Changyuan, had the same pendant as the eldest, just with a different design. The second aunt's youngest son, Changle, had a gold filigree necklace inlaid with jade, with a jade pendant engraved with the word "Peace" hanging from it.

The necklace given to the eldest brother's son, Xuan, was also gold-inlaid with jade, somewhat similar to the one given to Chang Le.

As for the sisters and sister-in-law in the old house, they each had a pair of gold earrings inlaid with rubies and sapphires bought at the Russian border, as well as four hairpins of various colors bestowed by the emperor. They were all packed together and prepared for them to choose from.

Before leaving, Xia Yu counted the gifts in his hand one last time, and only after making sure that nothing was missing did he feel relieved enough to go out and meet up with his brother.