Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

When I arrived at Changyun's courtyard, I found him looking at a dozen or so boxes in the room, deep in thought.

"Brother, are you ready?" Xia Yu asked as he approached Changyun.

Hearing his sister's voice, Changyun's troubled expression instantly relaxed.

"Not yet, Xiaxia, you've come at the right time. Come and help me think of what dishes we should send to Aunt, Eldest Sister, Qiuyu, and Dongyu."

"Is everyone else ready?"

"Yes, we gave Grandpa a wolfskin rug and Grandma four fox pelts." Changyun pointed to the items on the table in the room.

Hearing his words, Xia Yu felt somewhat ashamed. She felt that giving her grandmother a gold ingot would make her happier than giving her a few fox pelts.

"Brother, do you think Grandma, with her temper, would be willing to use even a few pieces of skin?" At this point, Xia Yu suddenly remembered something and quickly turned to Nineteen.

"Nineteen, go and get two sets of those 'Aida' (a type of ancient Chinese jade ornament) that I bought from the Russian merchant. I'll take them to the old house later. Also, grab two boxes of those gold and silver ingots that the Emperor bestowed upon me."

After Nineteen left to receive his orders, Xia Yu spoke to Chang Yun.

"Among the gifts the Emperor bestowed upon me, there are quite a few fancy gold and silver ingots. You can pick out some to give to the sisters later. As for those fox pelts, you might as well have a tailor make them into clothes and then send them to Grandma."

After saying that, he flipped through the gifts he had given to other people and said to Changyun...

"What do you think of giving Chang Le and Xuan Ge the Four Treasures of the Study bestowed by the Emperor?"

After listening to his sister's suggestion, Changyun clapped his hands and said...

“Yes, how come I didn’t think of that? Chang Le is about to reach the age of starting school, and Xuan Ge will definitely have to study in the future. This is a good idea. But what should we give our two aunts?” Chang Yun asked again.

Xia Yu lowered her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly laughed at herself, though no one knew what she was thinking.

"Brother, why don't you give each of your two aunts a gold ingot? They'll definitely like it."

"..." Changyun looked at his younger sister, who was smiling like a little fox, and felt speechless. Giving her gold ingots as a gift was far too generous.

After Shijiu returned, Xia Yu handed the two pairs of aida to Changyun.

"Brother, take this. Just say you bought it later."

When the brother and sister finally followed Zhang Youtie out the door, it was already noon. Zhang Youtie had already sent a servant to the old house to tell them that he would be going there today.

As Liu saw the group to the gate, Zhang Youtie asked one more question just before they left.

"Her mother, are you really not coming with us?"

"I'm not going. I have things to take care of at home. You guys go ahead. Don't keep everyone waiting too long."

"Then you should eat well at home by yourself, and don't just eat whatever's convenient," Zhang Youtie instructed.

Xia Yu, who was listening nearby, felt her teeth ache. She hadn't eaten breakfast that morning and was starving, but her parents had fed her a mouthful of cloyingly sweet dog food.

Zhang Youtie originally wanted to drive the carriage to the old house, but Xia Yu refused.

"Dad, it's not far, let's walk there."

"Okay, I'll listen to my daughter."

Nowadays, every household in the village is preparing for the Spring Festival. Today is the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, the day for grinding tofu. Since there is a tofu workshop in the village, everyone is skipping the grinding and ordering directly from the workshop to have it delivered today. Xia Yu's family did the same; this year, the Zhang family ordered ten slabs of tofu, and the tofu workshop delivered them first thing this morning.

The group of eight or nine people walked along the road, followed by maids and servants carrying gifts. It was quite a lively scene.

"Xiaxia and Changyun are back? Where are they going?"

"Auntie, let's go back to the old house to see my grandparents." Xia Yu smiled sweetly.

"What are all these things?" the man asked again.

Xia Yu smiled but didn't respond to her question. Instead, she asked...

"Auntie, is that silver hairpin you're wearing new? It's so pretty."

The man gently touched the silver hairpin inserted behind his head and said smugly.

"I just bought it yesterday. It weighs eight qian (approximately 40 grams). I bought it in the county."

"I knew it! It looks different from the ones in town, and the designs are so fresh," Xia Yu continued to praise.

As they were talking, Xia Yu and his group walked past the aunt.

Watching Xia Yu's retreating figure, the aunt touched the hairpin in her hair and muttered to herself.

'Xiaxia has such sharp eyes; she's been out shopping several times, and no one has noticed that the hairpin in her hair is new.'

Still unwilling to give up, she pulled the hairpin out a little more, shook her head, and continued to talk to people, showing off her new hairpin.

As for why Xia Yu didn't mention what gifts he sent to the old house, in the past, Xia Yu would have listed out everything his family had sent to the old house, but now there's no need for that.

Now everyone in the village says his parents are the most filial son and daughter-in-law. Even though they've moved out, the annual gifts and pensions they give are unparalleled in the surrounding area. Not to mention the countless amounts of fabric they provide—their value is beyond calculation.

Actually, this statement is somewhat exaggerated. The fabric that Xia Yu's family gave to the elderly couple was only enough for one bolt per person throughout the year. The other people in the old house were also particular, and they would pay for the fabric every time they came to buy it, although the money that Liu Shi charged each time was far below the cost price.

Someone had previously discovered this loophole and approached the people at the old house, hoping they could help him get cheap cloth from the Zhang family in exchange for some benefits. However, before he could even finish speaking, the people at the old house chased him out with brooms. Liu even spat in that person's face.

"What kind of bullshit is this? Do you think I need your measly few coins? You want us to gang up on my third son? Don't you even know who you are? Forget about your few coins, even if you put silver ingots here, nobody would want them. It's like nobody's never seen money before."

When Xia Yu learned of this, she silently gave her grandmother a thumbs up in her heart. This old lady's fighting spirit was as strong as ever. Moreover, with a son who was an official and a son who was wealthy, she felt that Liu Shi now walked around with her nose in the air to show off her status as an old lady.

When the group arrived at the old house, the food was already prepared, but since they hadn't arrived yet, everyone sat there talking and waiting.

"Grandpa, Grandma, we're here!" As soon as they entered, Changyun was the first to greet them. After all, he was the only male in the family and the old lady's favorite.

As soon as Changyun finished speaking, everyone in the room rushed out.

"Changyun, my dear grandson, you're finally back! Let Grandma see if you've lost weight!" Liu pushed through the crowd, grabbed Changyun's arm, and looked him up and down.

Changyun looked at Liu with a grin and said...

"Grandma, I'm doing great. I haven't lost a single pound, and I've even grown taller."

"Hello, Grandpa and Grandma," Xia Yu greeted Grandpa Zhang and Madam Liu with a smile.

"Oh, it's good to see you back. Come inside, I had your aunt stew a chicken for you, to help you recover." The old man was also very excited to see his grandson and granddaughter returning from their long journey.

"Grandpa and Grandma, my brother and I brought you gifts. Please take a look after dinner and see if you like them," Xia Yu said to the old man.

"Don't worry about gifts, your grandma and I have plenty of things. You can keep the good stuff for yourselves."

"Sir, that was a gift from the Emperor. You really don't want it?" Xia Yu whispered in Old Master Zhang's ear.

"What? A gift from the Emperor? You even saw the Emperor?" Old Master Zhang asked, his voice rising involuntarily after hearing his granddaughter's words.