Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Before dawn the next day, Zhang Youtie ordered his men to deliver all the cooked porridge and steamed buns to the outskirts of town. The soldiers, who were preparing to cook, felt the chill of the night dissipate when they saw the buckets of steaming porridge that had been brought in.

I thought there would only be porridge, but when we ate, I found out that each person also had an egg.

"This lord is truly a kind man, he knows how to care for us soldiers. I haven't had a boiled egg in ages!" One man held a warm egg, his heart filled with emotion. He remembered the last time he ate a boiled egg was the day he was drafted; his mother had boiled one for him.

“Yes, all the important people we’ve met before didn’t treat us like human beings. Only this lord, who comes from humble origins, truly understands the hardships of our lives,” said Soldier B.

“Each of us gets an egg, which costs several hundred. I wonder how much effort the lord went through to get them,” another soldier said.

"..." Not only were the soldiers talking about it, but even the grooms were discussing breakfast, and they were all saying roughly the same thing. In short, Zhang Youtie's reputation was higher than ever before in everyone's eyes.

Nothing happened along the way, and everyone walked in silence. However, once they entered the territory of Zhongzhou Prefecture, the scenery on both sides of the road became noticeably more desolate.

The further you go in, the more desolate the scene becomes. There isn't even any green grass to be seen on the road, and the fields on both sides of the road are full of withered crops and cracked earth.

"My lord, the road ahead may not be peaceful," Deputy General Zhao said to Zhang Youtie beside the carriage.

"Yes, the current situation is not good. Everyone should be careful. Be safe. In an emergency, saving your life is the most important thing," Zhang Youtie said to Deputy General Zhao, implying that they should not lose their lives over food.

"Yes, I understand. I will inform everyone to be on high alert."

After saying this, Deputy General Zhao rode ahead to inform the leading soldiers, while Zhang Youtie turned his horse around and went to the rear of the column to inform them.

Xia Yu also sensed the tension in the atmosphere. She checked the Rainstorm Pear Blossom hidden weapon strapped to her forearm again and instructed Da Niu and Shi Jiu to make sure the safety of the people in the carriage was ensured.

The further they traveled into Zhongzhou Prefecture, the more severe the drought became. Near the market, emaciated people began to appear. They saw a group of soldiers escorting goods; though they didn't know what it was, they could guess from the shape of the sacks that it was probably food.

Some people's eyes gleamed as they looked at the bags of grain, their mouths watering. These people were much like those in Zhangjia Village; they had been eating only vegetable scraps for months. "Do you have any grain at home?" "Yes, but we can't bear to eat it, because we need to hold out until next summer's harvest."

Because they still had food on hand, even though they guessed that the cart was carrying grain, they were not yet desperate, so no one dared to fight the soldiers for the goods.

However, there are exceptions, such as the group of people in front of us.

"Make way! We're escorting military supplies for the imperial court!" the lead soldier shouted at the burly man in front of him, who was armed.

To everyone's surprise, the other party only stared at the bags of grain on the carriage behind, and did not respond to the lead soldier's words. After observing for a moment, he waved his hand and uttered only a simple word.

"Up"

Then, without saying a word, the men behind them pounced on the dozens of soldiers at the front like hungry wolves.

"Ah..." a soldier cried out in pain. He had been slashed.

"Miss, it seems there's been trouble ahead," Nineteen said to Xia Yu, sitting in the carriage and listening to the sounds of fighting coming from ahead.

"Nineteen, go ahead and take a look. If they're killing anyone, don't hold back," Xia Yu instructed Nineteen, having also heard the sounds of fighting ahead.

"Yes, Miss." Nineteen stepped out of the carriage and sped away.

Upon reaching them, Nineteen glanced at them. Without hesitation, she drew her soft sword from her waist and flew towards the obvious leader. The man also saw a girl flying towards them and was genuinely surprised that there was someone with such high martial arts skills among this group. He immediately raised his sword to meet her. But before he had taken two steps, his body suddenly stopped. He looked down at his chest. Crimson blood was slowly seeping from the arrowhead.

It turned out that Nineteen also had a hidden dart strapped to her left arm, just like Xia Yu's. Taking advantage of the other party's attention being focused on her right soft sword, she flicked the hidden dart from her left arm.

"You... sneak attack... shameless..." Before he could finish his sentence, Nineteen's soft sword pierced another bloody hole in his body. This time, he had no chance to curse anymore.

With a thud, he fell to the ground.

Seeing that the man was completely dead, Nineteen began reaping the lives of the other robbers. In just a short while, dozens of people lay sprawled on the ground. Some were only injured, while others were beyond dead.

After tying up the wounded, Deputy General Zhao began to tally the casualties among his men.

"Deputy General Zhao, how is it? Are there any casualties among the soldiers?" Zhang Youtie asked with concern.

"No deaths, two seriously injured, and ten slightly injured," Deputy General Zhao sighed.

"Those two seriously injured brothers probably won't make it."

"I have some medicine here. Let me check on the injuries of those two," Xia Yu said as he walked over from behind and heard Vice General Zhao's words.

"My lady, you'd better not look. It's all bloody; it might frighten you." Deputy General Zhao shook his head like a rattle-drum as he looked at the little girl in front of him.

"General, don't worry. Let me take a look first. Maybe the medicine I have will come in handy," Xia Yu insisted.

"Lord, they're over here." Xia Yu followed behind Deputy General Zhao to the crowd by the roadside. Several people were tearing strips of cloth from their clothes, trying to stop the bleeding wounds of the two men.

Xia Yu looked at the wounds; one was on her chest, and the other on her stomach, with blood gurgling out.

He took out two small bamboo tubes, each about the length of a finger, from his pocket and poured out three black pills from each.

"Bring me some water," Xia Yu said to the person next to her.

Da Niu quickly took the water gourd from her waist and handed it to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu put three pills in each person's mouth, and then poured some water into their mouths so that they could swallow the pills.

"Alright, don't move them yet. Keep an eye on their wounds. If they're still bleeding, call me." Xia Yu said to the soldier taking care of the two men.