Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Back home, Liu had already prepared lunch and was sitting inside waiting for her son and daughter. Zhang Youtie had just put down his farm tools and was washing his hands and face in the yard. Today's meal was cornmeal porridge. In the past few days, apart from Jinghe, who had been eating cornmeal, everyone else had been drinking a dark mixed grain porridge. Next to them was a basket half full of golden cornmeal buns. In the middle of the table was a small dish of pickled radish cubes, which smelled delicious; Jinghe knew it must have been seasoned with sesame oil.

After the family had a warm and intimate meal together, Jinghe pulled Liu Shi into her small room.

"Mother, I have something I want to tell you."

"Hmm, what is it, little girl?" Madam Liu looked at her daughter tenderly.

“Mom, when I fell and hit my head a few days ago, although you thought I was unconscious for a few days, I actually went to another place. I lived there for more than 20 years and learned many things that are different from here…”

Before she could finish speaking, Jinghe was pulled into Liu's arms, who held her gently and said, "Mother knows everything. From the moment you opened your eyes and called me 'Mother' for the first time, Mother knew."

Seeing Jinghe's questioning gaze, Liu said to her: "When you were just a few months old, your mother and your maternal grandmother went to a temple to burn incense. There was an old monk there who was traveling and staying at a temple. He told you your fate. He said you would face a calamity when you were eight years old. If you survived it, you would be blessed with wealth and honor in this life. If you didn't survive this calamity, your mother would never have a daughter in this life."

"Besides, although you weren't stupid before, you were a bit simple-minded. You couldn't roll over even after five or six months. The old monk said that your three souls and six spirits were not quite complete, and they would be restored when you passed your tribulation at the age of eight. All the adults in the family knew about this, and that's why our family was separated. The old monk said that you couldn't live in a place with many male members until your tribulation at the age of eight, otherwise you wouldn't be able to save your life, so your grandfather separated us. But now everything is fine. I don't ask you to be rich and powerful, I just hope that you can live a peaceful and smooth life."

"Mother, I'm sorry to have worried you. I'm all better now, and I'll definitely take good care of you and Father from now on," Jinghe said sweetly, snuggling into Liu's arms. "I always thought Grandpa and Grandma separated us because they disliked us. It seems I need to be filial to them from now on."

"Sigh," Liu sighed helplessly. "Your grandfather is reasonable, but he's determined to produce a scholar in the family. Your grandmother favors boys over girls; your fourth uncle and aunt are her darlings. Only a few grandsons are worthy of her attention. Don't provoke your aunt; no matter how badly she behaves, she's still an elder. Besides, we don't live together now, so we don't see each other much unless we go to the old house." She paused for a moment, then sighed again. "Your eldest aunt and I both have sons, so your grandmother won't do anything to us. The most pitiful one is your second aunt, who only has two daughters. It's so hard for her to make a living under your grandmother's care!" Her tone was full of worry for her sister-in-law.

In the afternoon, Jinghe and her older brother went to the fields with their father, while Jinghe stayed home with her mother to process the wild vegetables they had gathered that morning. After confessing to her mother at noon, Jinghe no longer hid anything and told Liu Shi about some things from her past life. Liu Shi listened intently, as if hearing a fairy tale. Finally, Liu Shi asked Jinghe nervously: "Xiaxia, do you miss that place you went to? Were your parents there good to you?"

"Oh no, Mother. My parents there treat me badly. They never feed me and give all the good food to my younger brother. I'm often hungry. I want to come back and eat the steamed eggs you make, Mother," Jinghe said, mixing truth with falsehood, finally putting Liu Shi's anxious heart at ease.

After the mother and daughter had talked things out, the atmosphere became even warmer. That evening at dinner, Jinghe told Zhang Youtie and Liu about her desire to go to town to sell herbs the next day. At first, Zhang Youtie disagreed, worried that a young girl like her would be taken away by flower sellers. Liu explained that it was market day the next day, and she and her two sisters-in-law had already decided to go to town to buy and sell things, and they would be taking Changyun and Jinghe with them. Hearing that Liu was also going to town, Zhang Youtie stopped objecting. In his view, what could a child possibly sell herbs for? She simply wanted to go to town with her mother.

Before going to bed that night, Jinghe closed her bedroom door and made sure her parents were in their rooms resting. She then slipped into her private space. As soon as she entered, she was stunned by what she saw. What had she seen?!

All she could see was a large patch of wild vegetables and golden thread orchids that had just been transplanted that morning, densely covering the ground. She had only transplanted a few plants, so how did this acre-long patch of wild vegetables and golden thread orchids come about? And when did these things become rooted? How come they're spreading like strawberries?

Seeing that the printing was still continuing, Jinghe quickly used her mind to uproot various wild vegetables and *Anoectochilus roxburghii* (a type of orchid). Although it was a bit mentally taxing, it was still quite fast. Wherever her mind focused and her eyes could see, the plants were quickly pulled out and neatly piled up. After dealing with the spatial issues, Jinghe quickly went to bed, as she had to get up early the next day. As she drifted off to sleep, Jinghe thought of something: was she in the North or the South? There was a kang (heated brick bed) here, which in her previous life belonged to the Northeast, but *Anoectochilus roxburghii* was a plant that grew in the South. Before she could figure it out, she had already fallen into a deep sleep.