Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

“The four of us will each have one skewer, and the other three will be given to the village chief’s three grandchildren. We’ll borrow their oxcart so we can at least bring back some food for their children to sweeten their mouths.”

“My daughter is so thoughtful. But I can’t eat this stuff, it’s so sour it makes my teeth ache. You, your mother, and your brother can eat it,” Zhang Youtie said cheerfully.

It was already early afternoon, and Zhang Youtie and his group were driving their oxcart out of town. Their village was still twenty or thirty li away; if they didn't leave soon, it would be too late to get home. However, just before leaving town, Xia Yu saw a clinic called Baohetang. It seemed this was the shop in the county town that Manager Li had mentioned. Thinking of Manager Li, Xia Yu also thought of the unsold golden thread lotus and the watermelons that were about to be planted.

"Father, shall we buy an oxcart too?" Xia Yu said to Zhang Youtie, who was driving the cart, as she leaned against Liu Shi's chest.

"Hmm? What made you suddenly decide to buy an oxcart?"

"I just feel it's inconvenient to use the village chief's car every time we go out to sell goods. Even though we pay him every time, I wonder what he thinks. Also, Dad, if the watermelon seeds we bought this time can be grown, we'll have to go out to sell them more than once. We can't borrow his car every time, can we?" Xia Yu didn't voice her concerns. If they borrowed a car to go out to sell things too often, their family's secret would eventually be discovered by someone with ulterior motives.

"Let's go home and do the math today. How much money do we have? If we have enough, let's buy an oxcart." For some reason, Zhang Youtie didn't mention his fourth uncle's exam this time and agreed directly.

Xia Yu looked at her mother, who hadn't said a word, and asked her mother curiously.

"Mom, I told Dad I wanted to buy an oxcart, but you didn't react at all! Look how happy my brother is, he's practically a monkey! You haven't said a word, that's not normal!"

Changyun, who was standing nearby, was so happy he was about to jump for joy when he heard his sister say that. He thought to himself: If we can buy an oxcart, then monkeys are monkeys. Do whatever you want.

“This morning, before your father went to fetch the oxcart, we talked about this issue. Just like you said last time, we spend money to make more money. If we have an oxcart, it will be more convenient for our family to go out and sell things in the future, and we can make more money. Anyway, as long as we pay when it is time to pay, your grandparents will not have any objections.”

Hearing Liu's words, Xia Yu didn't say anything on the surface, but she was very happy inside. She was once again grateful to have such parents—not stubborn, but flexible, and she didn't have to be so careful in front of them. Through the past two days of going out to sell shrimp, she could sense that her parents were protecting her. They were originally honest and hardworking farmers. But for the sake of her secret, they tried their best to let her go out and not expose herself to others, so as not to arouse suspicion. She saw and remembered all that her parents did silently.

Xia Yu felt sweet and happy. She had this precious space, and her parents and brother were willing to work hard to provide her with a safe space. She was very happy now.

They hurried home, arriving just as dusk was falling. It was dinnertime for the villagers, so the usual idlers sitting under the big tree at the village entrance weren't there. They drove quietly back home, undisturbed. Once home, after unloading everything, Zhang Youtie prepared to return the oxcart and the wooden barrel from the old house. Xia Yu took out a pound of pork belly from her storage space and put it in the barrel, so her father could take it to her grandparents when he went to the old house. She also took out the strings of candied hawthorns, to give to the village chief's grandchildren when returning the oxcart.

Liu took her son and daughter to the kitchen to prepare their dinner. Perhaps because they had been drinking a lot of water from the well recently, and had been running around all day, they felt a little tired, but their spirits were still good.

Xia Yu brought out the pig intestines that had been soaking for another day. The water had been changed this morning before she left, and now it looked very clear, with no more dirt coming out. Xia Yu decided to make stir-fried pig intestines for dinner tonight, along with stir-fried chives and eggs. There were still a few steamed buns made from the mixed flour in her space, enough for this meal. She would also cook some millet porridge, and everything would be ready.

Now, Xia Yu is mainly in charge of cooking, with Liu Shi assisting her daughter, and Chang Yun taking charge of tending the fire when needed. In Xia Yu's words, her brother has excellent control over the fire, making it as big or as small as she asks. Chang Yun is quite flattered by his sister's praise, and even if he can't go out to play, he's happy to help his sister tend the fire.

Xia Yu sent her consciousness into the space. The chili seeds she planted at the noodle shop had sprouted, thanks to a few drops of water from the space's well. However, they only germinated, grew, and matured quickly within the space; they didn't imprint themselves. The scallions and other vegetables she planted on her way home also grew into seedlings, just like the amount of seeds planted, and matured rapidly within the space, without imprinting themselves. Xia Yu had a vague suspicion about this, but needed to verify it further. She was currently only a suspect, not entirely certain. As her consciousness was about to leave the space, she seemed to glimpse something growing on the trees within, but because she was in a hurry to cook, she didn't go to take a closer look. She planned to go inside and check after dinner.

Xia Yu picked a few bright red chilies from the space and pulled out a few scallions. She also dug out a piece of ginger, a few cloves of garlic, and several kinds of side dishes from the backyard, washed them, and put them all on the counter for later use.

Xia Yu cut the soaked pig intestines into three-centimeter-long pieces, smashed and sliced ​​the ginger, cut the scallions into sections, sliced ​​the chili peppers into rings, and sliced ​​the garlic. He scooped two ladles of water from the large vat into the vegetable pot, added the scallions, ginger, and intestines. Then he put millet and water into the large pot for cooking porridge before asking his brother to light the firewood.

After blanching the pig intestines, remove them from the water. Clean the wok, add a small amount of lard, heat the oil, and then add the pig intestines to stir-fry until the fat and moisture are released. Then add the scallions and ginger slices to the wok and stir-fry with the intestines. Actually, adding some cooking wine would be better to remove the fishy smell, but nowadays alcohol is brewed from grains and is a precious commodity; no one would dare to use it when cooking, especially since they didn't have any alcohol at home.