Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

The third son's family could have kept the watermelon seeds and their planting experience, and made a lot of money next year with them. But for the sake of the fourth son, he took them without consulting him, which was tantamount to taking money from the third son. The less the third son cared about these things, the more guilty he felt.

"Third son, I'm sorry, I made you suffer because of your fourth brother's education. You should talk to your wife about this and make sure she doesn't have any grudges."

“Father, what are you saying? We know that supporting our fourth brother’s education is for the good of our family. We, as his older brother and sister-in-law, are all willing to do it. Please don’t think too much about it. As for the melon seeds, this is the first time we’ve planted them. We didn’t know what would grow, which is why we didn’t tell the people at the old house beforehand. Now that we know they’re good, I will definitely save the melon seeds from the old house next year.”

"Good, good, third son, I know in my heart that you and your wife are both filial, and Changyun and Xiaxia are two good children." As he spoke, Old Master Zhang's eyes reddened.

When Grandpa Zhang came out of the backyard, he was in a much better mood than when he had arrived. Before leaving, he asked Zhang Youtie and his family when they planned to sell melons so that his eldest and second sons could come and help. The father and sons agreed on a time to pick the melons, and Grandpa Zhang looked at Zhang Youtie's family's cow in the yard before leaving in a good mood.

"Dad, what's wrong with Grandpa just now? Why is he in a bad mood?" Changyun asked Zhang Youtie.

"I don't know, I didn't ask. Maybe he's worried about your fourth uncle. Where's your sister?" Just now at the dinner table, her daughter seemed to have something to say to her, but her father arrived after she had only said two words.

"Father, I'm in the room. Is there something you need?" Xia Yu's voice came from her room.

"What did you want to say to Dad while we were eating?"

"I want to go to town today to sell the dried herbs. Dad, can you take me?" Xia Yu came out of the house.

"Alright, call your mother, let's go together. I'll hitch up the cart, you guys pack up the things to sell." Zhang Youtie was now very interested in driving the oxcart out. Xia Yu thought his father's mood was probably the same as those modern people who have just bought a car, wanting to touch the steering wheel whenever they have free time.

This time, Xia Yu didn't store the golden thread lotus she wanted to sell in her spatial storage. Instead, she obediently packed it into baskets and put them all on the oxcart. Five large baskets were filled, and the oxcart was also full. Zhang Youtie drove the oxcart, Chang Yun sat proudly next to his father, while Liu Shi sat at the back of the cart with her daughter in her arms.

"Giddy up..." Zhang You cracked his iron whip, sending a sharp sound through the air, and shouted a slogan. He pulled on the reins, and the calf began to slowly move forward. It was already midday, and since they lived further in from the village, they were bound to run into other people as they walked through the village roads.

"Oh my, are you driving your newly bought oxcart to town?" I ran into Aunt Li from the village on the road. She was carrying freshly washed clothes.

"Yes, Sister Li, are you coming? I'd like to drag you along," Zhang Youtie said from the front.

"Go? Third brother, you want me to sit on your basket?" Aunt Li looked at the fully loaded oxcart. Only after the oxcart had passed by did she see the mother and daughter sitting in the back.

"Sister-in-law, you'd better hold Xiaxia tight, lest you both be dug down by a ditch."

"Come on, Sister Li, sit next to me. I'll put my arm around you and make sure I don't leave you behind." Liu joked with Aunt Li, which only made Aunt Li laugh and scold her.

Along the way, many people looked at Zhang Youtie, who was driving the cart, with envy. Some would greet him kindly, but many others would make sarcastic remarks. When he passed the village's threshing ground, several old women sat under a big tree, holding their work and chatting as they worked.

"Look, isn't that Zhang's third son?" An elderly woman with poor eyesight pointed to the approaching oxcart. As soon as she spoke, the people around her looked in the direction she was pointing.

"Isn't that Zhang's third son? Have they struck it rich recently? Why did they suddenly buy an oxcart?"

“They have dozens of acres of land, so they must have some money. If you ask me, they should have bought cattle a long time ago.”

"..." Several old ladies looked at the approaching oxcart with great envy.

"Aunties and ladies, are you working here?" Zhang Youtie greeted the group of people under the tree from a distance.

"Go to town, is there any iron there?" an auntie asked.

"Yes, that's right. Let's take the kids out for a stroll. Auntie, is there anything you need to buy? If so, I'll bring it back for you."

"No, no, you guys hurry up and go, the market will close soon if you're late, be careful on the road." Several people chattered with Zhang Youtie.

"Alright, thank you for your concern, Auntie and Auntie." With that, she drove the oxcart slowly away.

"Pah, what's there to brag about? It's just buying an oxcart. They're so poor they eat wild vegetable buns every day, and they still want to show off by buying an oxcart. Driving that jinx of theirs, aren't they afraid of driving it into a ditch and killing themselves?" She spat out a mouthful of phlegm as she spoke. Hearing this discordant voice, everyone turned to look and saw it was Wang Pingping's grandmother, the one who had lost the fight with Liu last time. Some of the people present knew about the lawsuit between her and Zhang Youtie's families, and one busybody chimed in, "Isn't that right? Everyone knows their money goes to supporting Zhang's fourth son, and they still insist on buying an oxcart to show off. I'd say Zhang Youtie is a fool; they've already separated from the old family home, yet they've emptied their savings to support his brother's education. I wonder if Changyun can afford the bride price in two years." The others knew the nature of these two and didn't want to get involved. Some turned to whisper among themselves.

"Speaking of Changyun finding a wife, it reminds me of Old Zhang's youngest daughter. I'm not young anymore, shouldn't she be getting engaged?" An old woman next to me suddenly asked in a low voice.

"Hmm, she's not young anymore. She and her fourth son are twins, a boy and a girl, and she's fifteen this year. I haven't heard anything about her getting engaged! Why are you asking about their daughter? Are you trying to play matchmaker?"

“I have a grand-nephew on my mother’s side. He’s sixteen this year and works as a waiter in a restaurant in town. He earns several hundred yuan a month. What do you think about talking to that old lady from the Zhang family?” the old woman said, revealing her plan.

"I'm telling you, give me a break, it's hopeless. Don't go out of your way to embarrass Liu Dahua!" The old woman listening to her directly rejected her idea.

"Hey, why is it hopeless? My grand-nephew is handsome and pays well. Why wouldn't Liu Dahua agree?"

"Why? It's because their son went to take the imperial examination to become a scholar. If he passes, their daughter will be the scholar's own sister, and she can marry your nephew, a waiter. Don't take offense at what I'm saying, but I'm only telling you the truth because we're close." After saying that, she looked at the other people sitting next to her to make sure no one was paying attention to them, then lowered her voice even further and said, "I've heard that Zhang's old daughter is spoiled rotten by Liu Dahua. She's lazy and good-for-nothing, and doesn't do anything at home. Not to mention other chores, have you ever seen her go out to wash clothes?"

The old woman who wanted to arrange a marriage for her grand-nephew thought about what she had said carefully. It seemed she had never seen the girl go out to work. Thinking about Liu Dahua's temperament, she was instantly terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. If her sister-in-law found out that she had arranged a girl like this for her grand-nephew, she might not let her go back to her parents' home in the future.