Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Because of the imperial relief grain, Magistrate Zhou arranged for all the refugees from Ming'an County to be sent back to their hometowns. Local residents who had run out of food could take over the work of the refugees, receiving porridge and then digging river channels. These people were easier to manage. The relief grain was distributed by town, with each town receiving grain based on the number of refugees in each village. As for the river channels to be cleared, the principle of proximity was applied.

The New Year was rather quiet due to the disaster, but thankfully no one in Zhangjia Village starved to death. Just as the family was preparing for the New Year, the Emperor's decree arrived.

This was an imperial edict bestowing upon Zhang Youtie the title of fourth-rank viscount. His donation of grain and fodder to the army was reported to the court by Commander Murong, and then the magistrate of Ming'an County submitted a memorial reporting that the baron had donated 100,000 jin of his own grain reserves for disaster relief. The emperor not only praised Zhang Youtie highly at the court assembly but also personally conferred upon him the title of viscount.

In just six months, he rose from commoner to fifth-rank baron and now to fourth-rank viscount. Since the founding of the dynasty, no one had ever seen such a rapid rise. For a time, the Zhang family's favor and prestige were unmatched both inside and outside the court.

Zhang Youtie originally intended to keep a low profile, but Magistrate Zhou came with his men to offer his congratulations. In addition, scholars, wealthy men, and business associates from the surrounding area also came to offer their congratulations.

Just as the Zhang family was preparing the banquet, the guests who came to offer their congratulations took their leave after only drinking a cup of tea. Seeing this, Zhang Youtie figured out what was going on. Because of the food shortage this year, even with money, there was nowhere to buy grain, so everyone had agreed to only give gifts and not eat.

The tough times will eventually come to an end. As the winter snow melts, green slowly paints the earth. The crops in the fields finally sprout tender green wheat seedlings.

The village chief and several other elderly people squatted at the edge of the field, looking at the wheat seedlings and feeling an indescribable sense of relaxation.

"Sigh, we've finally made it through. Thankfully, all of us old folks are still alive," an old man said with emotion, looking at his fellow old friends. Although everyone had lost a lot of weight since last year, at least they were still alive.

"Yes, it's all thanks to the old...Lord! If he hadn't gone out to buy grain more than a month in advance, we wouldn't know where we'd be now!" the village chief continued, picking up where the old man left off.

"..." The group chatted amongst themselves, their words filled with gratitude towards Zhang Youtie.

With spring in full bloom, Madam Shen, whom we hadn't seen for a long time, suddenly arrived at the Zhang family's residence, taking Liu's hand and saying...

“Sister, the peach blossoms in my estate will be in bloom in a few days. I’m planning to host a spring banquet and invite all the ladies and young women of Ming’an County to come out and relax. What do you think?”

Her use of the word "sister" completely stunned Liu Shi, who was still in shock when she finished speaking.

It wasn't until Aunt Ma gently nudged her that she realized what was happening, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.

"Auntie, did you just call me sister?" Liu couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, I'm only about ten years older than you. I used to feel a bit embarrassed every time you called me 'Auntie.' But I've come to realize that no matter where you're from, I feel more comfortable calling you 'sister,'" Madam Shen explained with a smile.

Although she said that, Madam Liu had already figured it out and vaguely understood what the other person was thinking. So she smiled and replied.

"Then I'll dare to call you 'older sister' from now on?"

"That's how it should be, call her 'elder sister'!" Madam Shen clapped Liu's hand happily.

"What do you think of what I just said?" Madam Shen asked again.

"That's wonderful, but why did you decide to hold a spring banquet at this time, sister? Is there something to make you happy?"

"Let me tell you quietly, during this disaster in Zhongzhou Prefecture, my family donated some grain. The Emperor was so pleased that he rewarded my second son with a nominal fifth-rank Imperial Guard post. I was happy, but I couldn't announce it everywhere, so I just held a spring banquet and invited my sisters to have some fun. Don't tell anyone about this, or they'll say my family is arrogant."

"Ah, that's wonderful news! Keeping it a secret is like wearing fine clothes in the dark." Liu's face showed timely surprise, and at the same time she understood why Shen suddenly called her sister.

"I don't care about fine clothes or anything like that. It just sounds nice. After all, I didn't pass the imperial examination, so it's not worth publicizing everywhere. It just makes my status look better," Madam Shen said with a wave of her hand and a smile.

"Alright, let me know when you've decided on a good day, and I'll definitely go," said Madam Liu.

"Don't come by yourself, bring Xiaxia with you. I haven't seen her in so long, I miss her terribly, why haven't I seen her come out today?"

"I've kept her confined to her room to learn needlework. She's getting older every day, and she's almost of marriageable age. She can't even produce a decent piece of embroidery. I'm so worried," Liu sighed.

"So what if my needlework isn't good? My needlework isn't good either. The magpies I embroider now look like chicks!" Madam Shen waved her hand dismissively, seemingly disagreeing with Madam Liu's opinion.

"With Xiaxia's status and looks, why would she need to embroider things herself in the future? There are maids and servants to take care of her in the room, and there are needleworkers outside. Now that things are going well for her, don't keep the child confined to the room doing that useless chores," Madam Shen said to Madam Liu.

"Alright, I'll listen to you, sister. I'll definitely take her out for a day of fun on the day of the Spring Banquet. But for today, let her stay put and do her needlework! Don't laugh at me, sister, but you can still embroider a sparrow, while Xiaxia's embroidery... sigh!" Madam Liu sighed helplessly, unable to bring herself to say it. She just couldn't understand why her daughter, who excelled in everything, couldn't learn needlework no matter what. Even if you asked her to embroider the simplest picture of a chick pecking at rice, she couldn't do it.

Madam Shen did not eat here. She talked for a while, drank two cups of tea, had some snacks, and then left.

"Sister, let's have lunch here and chat. We can also try some of the Snowflake wine I brewed last year," Madam Liu urged.

"I can't make it today. I'm not being polite, but I really have other things to take care of at home. I'm leaving now. I'll have a servant deliver the invitation to the Spring Festival banquet to you in a couple of days."

After seeing Madam Shen off, Madam Liu went to her daughter's courtyard to check on her embroidery work for the day. However, Madam Shen's words had given her a new thought.

There didn't seem to be a single maid in the daughters' room who was good at needlework. Actually, it wasn't just needlework; thinking about the two maids, Da Niu and Shi Jiu, I realized that Shi Jiu seemed to be literate and served them more meticulously. As for Da Niu, besides her love of eating, it was hard to find any other talent she possessed.

"What will happen after she gets married? We can't have her personal clothes made by needle and thread!" Madam Liu murmured, looking at her daughter's embroidery.

"Mother, what are you muttering about? How's my embroidery? It's improved, isn't it?" Xia Yu looked at Liu Shi's face, waiting to receive praise. Today's embroidery was the best she had ever done in her life.

Seeing her daughter's expression, Madam Liu carefully examined the embroidery in her hands for a while before saying...

"Um... um... these peach blossoms look very nice, but why are the stamens black?" Liu asked, puzzled as she looked at the embroidery.

"Madam, Miss said she embroidered sunflowers." Da Niu ignored Xia Yu's twitching lips and explained on behalf of her young mistress.