Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"Ahem... the watermelon rind was gnawed by a mouse, so Dad cut off the dirty parts." Zhang Youjin knew his wife's personality; she was straightforward and outspoken. If he didn't give her an answer, she would definitely keep asking.

"What? It's been gnawed by a rat? Is it still edible?" Wang suddenly raised her voice. The three children, who were engrossed in eating melons, stopped abruptly upon hearing Zhang Youtie and Wang's conversation and looked up at their parents. Although they were young, they knew that rats were unclean and that food that rats had crawled on should not be eaten, otherwise it could cause fever and death, and could also infect others around them.

"Cough cough... What are you yelling about? Would your parents harm us? If they gave it to us, we can definitely eat it. Stop asking and eat it." Saying this, she took another piece of melon and started eating. "Hey, hey, don't swallow the black seeds inside, spit them out." Seeing that none of the melon seeds in front of the mother and children had been spat out, Zhang Youjin quickly reminded them.

Wang was easygoing, but not stupid. Thinking about what the man had said, and recalling the argument between the old man and woman that morning, as well as the mention of her sister-in-law Qinghe, she understood everything. The rat gnawed on it? It must have been her sister-in-law who was craving it and ate the watermelon in the middle of the night. But since she'd never eaten watermelon before, she just ate the rind like an apple.

Thinking of that scene, Wang couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Zhang Youjin was actually a little guilty, and he lost his composure the moment he heard Wang Shi laughing.

"What's it to you what I'm laughing at? What's wrong with me laughing at a mouse eating a melon rind? That mouse is a stupid mouse, it doesn't even know how to eat the melon pulp." Hearing Wang's words, Zhang Youjin understood perfectly well. He knew his wife must have guessed that his sister was eating the melon rind, and he immediately felt embarrassed, feeling that he had lost face in front of his wife. But he couldn't get angry at his wife, so he stood up to leave, unable to eat the melon anymore.

Seeing his actions, Wang grabbed him and pressed him down onto the kang (a heated brick bed): "Hey, I was just saying a few words, what are you so shy about? Hurry up and eat some melon. This is the first time we've eaten something so special, if you don't eat it now, we won't save any for you." As she spoke, she took another piece of melon and stuffed it into her husband's mouth.

Zhang Youtie knew his wife was worried about him not eating enough, and thinking of his younger sister, he could only sigh helplessly. His mother had spoiled her too much; she was bound to suffer when she married. Actually, his worries were unnecessary. With his sister's robust physique and reputation, whether she could even find a husband was another matter entirely!

Back in his room, Zhang Youyin was puzzled to see the melon without its outer skin. He asked Zhang Youyin why it was gone. "Oh, I don't know what gnawed on it. I guess it was a mouse. My parents thought it was dirty, so they peeled it all off. But these should be fine, otherwise they wouldn't have let us eat them. Qiuyu, come here quickly, your third uncle gave us some delicious food yesterday, it was so sweet." Zhang Youyin hadn't thought much of it; seeing the teeth marks on the melon rind, he only thought of a mouse and hadn't considered anything else. So when his wife asked, he told her everything he had seen, without hiding anything.

Just because he didn't expect it doesn't mean Li Shi couldn't understand it. Connecting the dots, she knew why her father-in-law had lost his temper with her mother-in-law that morning. However, seeing her husband eating watermelon, Li Shi still felt that some things shouldn't be said too explicitly, otherwise her fool might just blurt it out to Qing He at any moment.

Those who understood had their own thoughts, while those who didn't were carefree. Meanwhile, in the room of the old man in the main house, Old Master Zhang sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), puffing on his pipe, the smoke obscuring his expression.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you." It was Liu who said this, and she was talking to Zhang Qinghe, who was sitting next to her. "Mom, this is so sweet, where did Third Brother buy it? I wish we could eat it every day." Her mouth was stuffed with watermelon, and juice was dripping down her chin. Judging from the way she ate, she didn't look like a girl at all.

Old Master Zhang was getting a little tired. This daughter of his had always been a chubby, adorable little thing, and besides their fourth son, she was the one he and his wife doted on the most. His wife even gave some of the best food to their son and this girl. But their son had never had a big appetite and preferred reading. Most of the food they gave him ended up being eaten by their daughter. He just couldn't believe that Qinghe, a girl, had such a big appetite and such a strong body—how could she possibly find a husband?

"Qinghe, stop eating. Put it down!" Thinking of those things, Old Master Zhang spoke up.

"Huh? Dad, what did you say? I haven't had enough yet. This tastes even better than sugar water."

"I told you to stop eating. Your mother and I haven't eaten a single bite, and it's all gone into your stomach," Grandpa Zhang suddenly raised his voice.

Hearing her father lose his temper, Qinghe put down the melon in her hand, stood up, and looked at her father in a daze, not understanding why he had suddenly lost his temper again.

Seeing that his daughter was frightened, Grandpa Zhang regretted his temper. "Qinghe, you're not young anymore, you'll soon be looking for someone to marry." He couldn't continue.

Seeing that Liu, who was sitting next to him, was about to argue with him again, he sighed and said, "Old woman, let's eat together. This is what the children have given us as a gift, we can't not eat a bite. Qinghe, you've eaten quite a lot today, go out and play. I'll talk to your mother for a while."

Hearing her father say this, Qinghe glanced reluctantly at the melons in the basin, not wanting to leave. But she knew that her parents had argued because of her this morning, and her father had just gotten angry again. She was afraid that if she didn't leave, her father would lose his temper again.

She glanced at the watermelon one last time, then lifted the curtain and went outside.

"We haven't even finished eating the melon yet, why are you kicking the child out?" Mrs. Liu said unhappily to Grandpa Zhang.

"Eat, eat, all you know is eating! Look what you've raised your child to be!" Old Master Zhang lowered his voice, but he still couldn't control the anger in it.

"What's wrong? What's wrong with Qinghe?" Liu didn't understand what was wrong with the old man's anger. Thinking about what happened that morning, she continued, "The child is still young and has never seen anything unusual before. It's normal for him to want to eat it. It's all because you said yesterday how delicious it was that the child was so tempted."

"Let's leave aside what happened this morning. Look how strong Qinghe, a girl, has become! Does she even look like a girl anymore?" Old Master Zhang's voice grew softer and softer.

"Why don't you look like a girl? Qinghe is a little chubby, but Qinghe is healthy. She has never been sick since she was a child."

"Sigh, I won't go on and on with you. All the girls in the village her age have people coming to propose marriage. Look how old Qinghe is! Has anyone even asked her?"

"It's good that no one's asking, saving me the trouble of refusing. I never intended for Qinghe to marry an ordinary peasant. Her fourth brother is going to be a scholar, and Qinghe will be his sister. Why would she worry about not finding a good match?" Liu Shi was very dismissive of the old man's words and naturally didn't take them to heart.

Grandpa Zhang was so angry at his wife's words that he snorted and stormed out.