Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After locking the door, Xia Yu went straight into the space. The first thing she looked at was the trees. She was right; the trees were in bloom, though not many flowers—large, white blossoms nestled among the leaves. She moved closer to get a better look, but the trees were too tall and the foliage too dense. She could only see the yellow stamens inside the double white petals and faintly smell a delicate fragrance. She couldn't discern anything more.

"Well, at least it's bloomed and there's some change. Eventually, something will grow out of it. Let's keep waiting!" Xia Yu said to herself.

After observing the trees, she wondered if it was just her imagination, but the space seemed a bit larger than before. She remembered that the trees were right next to the edge of the space before, but this time there seemed to be a gap between the trees and the edge of the space. However, she wasn't sure. Could it be that this space could grow?

She glanced at the small crack a few more times, making a mental note of it and deciding to observe it more closely in the future. She then surveyed her own space again. Currently, nothing was planted on her land, but on the other side, there was a large pile of crops she had previously grown. The main reason was that the crops here grew too quickly, and her family dared not sell them; they could only consume them slowly, making the process very inefficient.

Thinking of the watermelon seeds she bought today, she decided to plant a batch in her spatial dimension first, and then plant some more in her backyard. They hadn't planted any new vegetables since the last harvest, so planting watermelons was a good idea since they had some free time. Without further ado, she ran to her storage area, took out the packet of seeds, and scattered a dozen or so on the soil in her spatial dimension. Then she sprinkled some diluted well water where the seeds were. She took another fifty seeds out of her spatial dimension, went to the kitchen, grabbed a rough porcelain plate, filled it with ordinary water, and added a few drops of well water from her spatial dimension.

As she carried the plate back to her room, Madam Liu heard her voice: "Xiaxia, is that you?"

"It's me, Mom. The food was a bit too strong tonight, and I was thirsty, so I came out for a drink of water. Would you and Dad like some water?"

"I'm not drinking anymore. I already had some before bed. You should go back to your room and get some sleep; you've had a long day."

"Okay, Mom, I'm going back to sleep now."

Carrying the plate back to her room, Xia Yu carefully placed it on the small table beside her bed before taking off her clothes and going to sleep. She hadn't felt tired during the day, but as soon as she lay down, Xia Yu fell asleep instantly and slept soundly without any dreams.

The next day, Xia Yu opened her eyes and immediately looked at the plate on the small table. Sure enough, as she expected, it was full of lush green seedlings. She went into her spatial dimension first and harvested the watermelons she had planted the day before. From the dozen or so seeds, she harvested about a hundred large watermelons, each weighing about twenty pounds. The round, plump watermelons with their colorful rinds were a delight to behold. After finishing all this, she took the plate out to show her parents and brother, only to be told by Liu Shi that her father had left before dawn.

"Oh, why is Dad leaving so early?" Isn't there nothing else going on today?

"He said buying cattle couldn't be rushed, but last night before bed he said he wanted to go to the livestock market in the county town first. If he couldn't find anything suitable in the county town today, he'd go to the town tomorrow. He wanted to look around as much as possible. I couldn't dissuade him, so I just let him be. Anyway, there's not much work to do these days." After saying that, he noticed the plate of lush green seedlings Xia Yu was holding and asked curiously, "What are you holding?"

"Where's my brother? Isn't he up yet?" Xia Yu didn't answer her mother's question, but put the plate on the table and instead asked about Changyun.

"He's not up yet. He must have been exhausted yesterday. Let him sleep. I've already made breakfast. Are you hungry? Let's eat first. You can save your brother's separately."

"Mom, I'll give you something delicious to eat."

"What delicious food is it? And why are you being so mysterious?"

Before she could finish speaking, she saw that her daughter had a green ball in her hand with patterns on it.

Xia Yu carefully placed the watermelon on the table, then went to the kitchen to get a knife. She told her mother to watch it and make sure it didn't roll off the table. Liu Shi stood beside the table, looking at the round, green watermelon, and curiously reached out to touch it, then gently patted it, but couldn't figure out what it was.

Just then, Xia Yu ran in, holding a knife for chopping vegetables. Her movements startled Liu Shi, who was afraid that Xia Yu would trip and cut herself.

Xia Yu had barely touched the watermelon with the knife before it cracked open with a "bang," revealing the red flesh inside, and a unique watermelon fragrance wafted out.

"What is this?" Liu asked in shock, looking at the watermelon in front of her.

"Mom, this is what we grew from the seeds we bought yesterday. It's called a watermelon, and it's very sweet." As she spoke, she cut the watermelon into thick triangular slices, took out a piece, and handed it to her mother, gesturing for her to try it.

"Eat the red flesh, Mom, you eat it, it's very sweet."

Seeing her daughter's expectant eyes, Liu took the slice of watermelon and took a bite. A burst of sweet juice exploded in her mouth, and the sweet but not cloying taste was very refreshing.

"This is very sweet, Xiaxia. Is this the melon the shopkeeper said it was called?"

"Yes, this is called a watermelon. It's a summer fruit that's very juicy and great for quenching thirst and cooling you down," Xia Yu explained to her mother, explaining the benefits of watermelons.

"The seedlings in this dish were grown last night using water from my spatial storage. Let's plant them in the backyard later, so we'll have an excuse to go out and sell them. What do you think, Mother?"

"Okay, of course, I'll go wake your brother up. After breakfast, we'll go to the backyard to plant those watermelon seedlings," Liu said. She then thought of the old monk's words: "A daughter who survives a great calamity is the family's wealth god." She hadn't told anyone this; only she, her mother, and the old monk knew. But judging from the changes in the family these past few days, her daughter really might be the family's wealth god. It was a pity her child's maternal grandmother couldn't see it. For a moment, Liu felt a pang of sadness and longing.

"Changyun, get up quickly! Look what delicious food your sister made for you!" Liu called softly as she walked to her son's door, afraid that others would hear.

Hearing her mother's voice, Changyun quickly opened the door and walked out, still sleepy. "Mom, did my sister make something delicious again?"

"Go brush your teeth and wash your face, then come to the main room for dinner."

Seeing that Changyun was already up, Xia Yu went to the kitchen and served the breakfast her mother had prepared, placing each dish on the table. This morning's breakfast consisted of cornmeal porridge with shredded radish and pickled vegetables, along with a plate of scrambled eggs with scallions. The scallions were taken from her space last night. The main dish was steamed buns made from two kinds of flour that Liu had just steamed that morning. As usual, Xia Yu left the portion for this meal outside and put the rest in the steamer basket to store in her space, so that she wouldn't have to reheat it next time and it would save firewood.

After Changyun finished getting ready, Liu Shi and Xiaxia were already seated at the dining table. Seeing the plate of red, fragrant, unidentified food on the table, they asked, "Xiaxia, is this what Mother was talking about? Is it freshly made? Why is it red?"

"It's not a vegetable. This is the fruit we grew from the seeds we bought at the seed shop yesterday. It's called a watermelon. Mom and I have already eaten some. Why don't you try it and see if it's good?"

"No need to taste it, anything you bring out is bound to be delicious." Despite saying that, Changyun still picked up a slice of watermelon and took a big bite. Juice overflowed from his mouth and dripped onto his clothes. Xia Yu watched her brother eat and felt she couldn't bear to watch anymore.

"Eat slowly, I still have plenty left."

"After you finish this piece, have breakfast first, and then you can eat the watermelon rice," Liu Shi advised from the side.

Changyun listened to advice and finished his slice of watermelon without taking any more. Instead, he ate his breakfast as his mother suggested. After breakfast, the mother and her children each ate a few more slices of watermelon. In the end, they were so full they couldn't eat anymore. Half of a large watermelon remained untouched, so Xia Yu put the half into her spatial storage. After cleaning up the watermelon rinds, the group went to the backyard to plant watermelon seedlings.

Ms. Liu gently separated the melon seedlings one by one, being careful not to break a single stalk.

Changyun took a small shovel and dug a hole. Liu carefully placed the melon seedling into the hole and then carefully covered it with soil. Her movements were very light, for fear of crushing the seedling. Xia Yu watched anxiously from the side and said to her mother, "Mother, you don't need to be so careful. Anyway, we have the treasure. Any kind of seedling can survive."

“You can’t say that, Xiaxia. Every seedling is precious and needs careful tending. Also, you have to be serious about everything you plant, not careless. Remember that? Having your baby is a blessing for you and for our family. We should cherish this blessing even more, and we can’t let it stop us from studying. Wouldn’t it be better if we could grow this watermelon even without your baby?” Liu’s voice was gentle, but her tone was firm. Her words brought Xia Yu, who had been feeling a bit lost these past few days, to a standstill. Changyun, standing nearby, was also struck by his mother’s words. Having a baby is a blessing, but it’s precisely because of this blessing that it should be cherished and not squandered. Besides, he’s a boy; he can’t rely on his sister’s baby for everything in the future, or what would he become!