Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After inviting the guests to his home, Zhang Youtie found a moment to ask Gao Shuanzhu to go to the old house and explain the situation there, and then invite the people from the old house to come and entertain the guests.

Having received Zhang Youtie's instructions, Gao Shuanzhu ran off in a flash, eloquently recounting the situation to everyone in the old house.

"What did you say? Xiaxia is a village lady now!" Old Master Zhang was so shocked by Gao Shuanzhu's words that he almost fell off the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Old Master, you heard me right. Our Second Miss is now the Lady of Wenfu Township, personally bestowed by the Emperor," Gao Shuanzhu replied respectfully.

"Good, good! I never thought that Xiaxia would be the most promising girl in our family. I always thought she was a promising girl, and I was right!" Upon receiving the affirmative answer, Grandpa Zhang slapped his thigh with joy.

"Old woman, quickly get me some clothes, bring out the silk clothes, let's go to the third son's house and help greet the guests." She then looked happily at the people inside the house.

"Let's all go together. Put on your best clothes, and let's go together."

After listening to Old Master Zhang's words, Madam Wang looked down at her newly made begonia-colored jacket and cotton skirt, thinking to herself...

'This is already the best, why would you want to change it?' Then she looked at her sister-in-law, Li, who was also wearing a newly made jacket and skirt, and gold jewelry on her head.

"Sister-in-law, why don't we go back and put on all our jewelry? I don't have any better clothes. This outfit I'm wearing is the best one in my wardrobe."

After hearing her sister-in-law's words, Li smiled slightly and whispered...

"We can't dress ourselves up like a jewelry stand, can we?" he said, looking Wang up and down.

"Sister-in-law, go and change the hairpin in your hair to the one Xiaxia gave you, and put on the earrings too."

"Are you still going to wear that bracelet?" Wang stretched out her arm to show Li the bright orange bracelet on her wrist.

Upon seeing the bracelet, Li smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, is this bracelet gilded?"

"Ah? Can you tell?" Hearing her sister-in-law's words, Wang took off the bracelet and examined it carefully. But she also understood what Li meant, so she went back into the room and put the bracelet away. As she had said, she put on the hairpin and earrings that Xia Yu had given her.

The whole family, dressed in their finest attire, made their way to Zhang Youtie's house. Liu wore a silk jacket underneath a fox fur cloak given to her by her grandson. A gleaming gold comb adorned her hair, and a large gold bracelet graced her wrist. Standing tall and proud beside her husband, surrounded by her son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, and other relatives, she truly embodied the air of a wealthy old lady.

By this time, news of Xia Yu being the village head had spread throughout the village, and everyone was filled with envy. Among them, Wang Pingping, who had never gotten along with Xia Yu since childhood, was so jealous that her face contorted upon hearing the news.

"Mother, tell me, why does that idiot deserve to be the county magistrate? Is the emperor blind?" Her words blurted out, startling her mother who quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

"Shut up! How can you say such things?" After saying that, she went outside to look into the yard, making sure no one had heard her daughter's words before going back inside, closing the door, and gently advising her while holding her daughter.

“I know you don’t like that little fool, but our family is entirely dependent on the Zhang family now. Putting everything else aside, we make a lot of money from watermelons every year. There’s also the quota for growing watermelons, and so many eyes in the village are watching! All that silk you’re wearing, the jewelry you’re wearing, and the face cream you’re using—doesn’t all of that cost money? If what you just said gets out, it’s a small matter if we’re not allowed to grow watermelons anymore. If the Emperor hears this, we might lose our heads.”

"Mother, but I'm just not reconciled. Why can she be a village lady and I can't? I'm prettier and smarter than her. If I had the chance to go to the capital, maybe the emperor could grant me a village lady title too." Wang Pingping angrily threw the handkerchief in her hand to the ground.

"Alright, don't be angry. I'll prepare a bigger dowry for you and find you a good husband. He'll definitely be better off than that silly boy."

Hearing her mother say this

A hint of joy appeared on Wang Pingping's face as she picked up the mirror on the kang table and admired her own beauty.

It must be said that Wang Pingping is indeed beautiful, even more so than Xia Yu, but unfortunately she is not very bright and suffers from delusions.

Since Boss Jin and his group arrived, Xia Yu's family has been receiving a constant stream of New Year's greetings.

Around noon, someone came to the courtyard again. This time, however, the gatekeeper didn't recognize anyone; he'd never seen them before.

Hearing the description of the newcomer's appearance from below, Xia Yu thought of Zhang Haoran, not expecting him to come today as well.

Xia Yu hurriedly called Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi to come out and greet them, since Lord Zhang was a sixth-rank official in the capital.

The people who were talking in the flower hall saw that Lord Wenfuxiang had personally gone out to greet him, and they began to discuss who had come.

Before long, everyone saw Madam Liu walking ahead, hand in hand with a lady, followed by Xia Yu and Zhang Youtie, each accompanied by a young man in his twenties. From a distance, the young man exuded an air of refined elegance, quite different from the others in the hall.

Upon arriving at the flower hall, Xia Yu introduced everyone...

"This is Lord Zhang, the Assistant Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, who is also from our Ming'an County. He has returned to his hometown on imperial orders for official business."

As soon as Xia Yu finished speaking, everyone in the room surrounded Lord Zhang.

In the past, Zhang Haoran would have been quite unaccustomed to such a scene, given that he was an insignificant figure in the Court of State Ceremonial. However, his experience traveling with the delegation has allowed him to handle the enthusiasm of the crowd with ease.

After Xia Yu brought the people over, he took Gao Shi to the courtyard for the female guests. Several families had brought their wives with them, so Xia Yu's family had specially prepared a courtyard to entertain the female guests.

The Zhang family's lively atmosphere continued until evening, when the guests said goodbye, marking the end of the day's busyness.

For the first time, Xia Yu realized that dealing with compliments from others could be so tiring; by the end of the day, her face was almost stiff from smiling.

After everyone left, the entire Zhang family was finally gathered together.

"Xiaxia, what rank is your title of 'County Lady'?" Old Master Zhang, who had been holding back all day, finally had a chance to ask.

"Um, I don't know either." Xia Yu replied somewhat awkwardly after thinking for a moment. She genuinely didn't know what rank her title of "County Lady" was. The imperial edict didn't say either.

"Then you said Lord Zhang is a sixth-rank official, and he is so respectful to you, so your rank must be higher than his, right?" Wang suddenly asked.

"If you don't know anything, don't talk nonsense." Zhang Youjin glared at Wang Shi, feeling that his daughter-in-law had become increasingly talkative since she started earning money. Now, she dared to say anything out of line in any situation.

“I don’t understand, but you do. Come on, tell me.” Wang glared back defiantly.

"Alright, enough of that. What's with all the arguing on such a joyous occasion?" Liu scolded her son and daughter-in-law. Then she looked at Xia Yu and asked...

"Xiaxia, what's the deal with that Lord Zhang?"

"I helped him once in the capital, and later I became related to Madam Gao. Lord Zhang is very knowledgeable and has a humble personality. It's not out of respect for me, it's just his nature." Xia Yu didn't want to tell the people at the old house that she could speak Russian. She hadn't thought of an answer when the old man asked her about it. Luckily, her uncle and aunt interrupted, giving her a chance to come up with an excuse.

"Oh, I see. But I think that Lord Zhang is a very good person, a steady and reliable one," Old Master Zhang nodded in conclusion.

"Xiaxia, is Lord Zhang married?" Madam Wang suddenly asked.

Hearing Wang's question, Xia Yu felt a heat on her head, as if she was about to sweat.

"Aunt, what are you trying to do? I don't know! I haven't asked that question before."

"It's nothing, just asking casually."