Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After the pork stall owner packed everything up for them, Xia Yu and his companions belatedly realized they had too much stuff to carry. Zhang Youtie had no choice but to return to the grain shop and ask the shop assistant to find a porter to help transport the goods. He gave the man five coins to help him deliver the spare ribs and pork belly back to the oxcart shop with his family.

It was already noon, and Zhang Youtie suggested that the family eat in town before heading back. However, Xia Yu, smelling the unpleasant odor emanating from the boiled intestines, wanted to hurry back. At least she could store the intestines in her spatial storage when they reached a secluded spot. So, Xia Yu suggested buying some food to eat on the oxcart, which wouldn't delay their journey home. Changyun thought his sister's suggestion was excellent. With the high temperatures these past few days, it was best to process the meat quickly, otherwise it would easily spoil. If it spoiled, he wouldn't be able to enjoy his delicious stir-fried intestines with chili peppers.

Finally, Zhang Youtie took Changyun to buy food, while Liu Shi and Xia Yu rested on the oxcart, keeping an eye on their belongings. Sitting on the oxcart, Xia Yu couldn't stand the smell of pig intestines anymore. She said to Liu Shi, "Mother, let's put the meat and intestines in the basket and put them away." Mother and daughter are of one mind; Liu Shi, who was also feeling nauseous from the smell of the pig intestines, instantly understood what her daughter meant by her suggestion.

"Let's put the pig intestines in the basket and cover them with something," she said. Together, she and Xia Yu lifted the pig intestines into the basket. The moment the intestines hit the bottom, Xia Yu stored them in her spatial storage. Then they lifted the pork into the basket as well, and Xia Yu stored it in her spatial storage as well. After doing all this, the air on the oxcart felt much fresher.

Liu put hats on her daughter and herself. It was noon, and although the oxcart was parked under the big poplar tree, the sun still shone through the leaves onto their bodies and faces, making it quite sunny.

Just as Xia Yu was dozing off, Zhang Youtie returned with Changyun, their hands laden with the food they had bought. Xia Yu opened the oil paper packages and found sesame seed cakes, fried sugar cakes, and meat fritters. The last package even contained a roast chicken! Seeing so much delicious food, Xia Yu unconsciously swallowed. However, they hadn't left town yet, and there were too many people around. Xia Yu and Changyun suppressed their cravings and waited until their father drove the oxcart away from town.

As they got further and further from the town, Xia Yu, seeing no one around, quickly put all the grain and baskets from the cart into her spatial storage, making room in the cart. She then took out two small chairs from her storage to place the food they had bought. The group washed their hands with water from their bags and began to eat. Liu Shi tore the roast chicken apart, giving Xia Yu and Chang Yun each a chicken leg, and then handed a large piece of chicken to Zhang Youtie, who was driving the cart. Only then did she take a piece with the bone and slowly eat it herself.

Eating the roast chicken in her hand, Xia Yu suddenly thought of all sorts of ways to cook chicken: big plate chicken, beggar's chicken, spicy chicken, Sichuan peppercorn chicken, poached chicken, soy sauce chicken… Thinking about it, Xia Yu quickly shook her head; she couldn't think about it anymore, or she'd drool. But she was also puzzled; why, after being here for so long, had she never thought of eating chicken? Today's roast chicken seemed to have opened the door to her appetite. She wondered what would happen if she fed the chicken some water from her spatial dimension. She felt that the few chickens she raised at home weren't enough, and besides, her mother certainly wouldn't let her kill the chickens, since the eggs the family ate all came from those chickens.

After finishing the chicken leg, Xia Yu ate a meat fritter. It smelled delicious, filled with plenty of fatty meat; each bite was bursting with oil. She only managed a small piece before she couldn't eat anymore; she found it too greasy. She thought it would taste better if the filling had less fat and more lean meat. With that in mind, she decided to try making the meat fritter herself when she got home. After drinking a few sips of water, Xia Yu felt full.

Xia Yu didn't like the meat fritters she bought, but Zhang Youtie and Changyun loved them, finding them especially fragrant and satisfying. Liu Shi preferred the sweet fried sugar cakes, eating three in a row before stopping. Seeing that no one was eating the sesame seed cakes, Xia Yu stored them in her spatial storage. Although the oxcart wasn't moving fast, the group ate and chatted, and soon arrived at the place where Xia Yu had first taken an oxcart in town. Seeing that they were almost at their village, Xia Yu quickly stored the small chairs from the cart into her spatial storage and then took out several baskets and placed them on the cart.

"Dad, when are we going to buy land and dig a pond? My shrimp storage space is overflowing!"

“We don’t have an excuse now. We bought an oxcart yesterday. If we buy land and dig a pond next, wouldn’t that be too high-profile?” After saying that, he turned back to look at the expression on Liu’s face. “Mother, when do you think it would be appropriate for our family to buy land?”

"Why don't we wait until our melons are sold before buying them? If we buy them now, our parents might wonder where we got so much money."

“Oh right, how could I forget about that? If we buy land now, Mom will probably get really angry with us. At least Dad knows about our watermelons. If we wait until the watermelons are sold before buying land, Dad can probably calm Grandma down.” Zhang Youtie suddenly slapped his forehead and said.

"Dad, why is Grandma angry that we're buying land now?" Changyun asked, puzzled.

“Brother, have you forgotten what happened when Fourth Uncle didn’t have enough money for his exams? If Grandma knew that our family had saved so much money but was unwilling to give it to Fourth Uncle for his exams, do you think she would be angry?” Xia Yu knew that her father would have a hard time answering this question, so she thoughtfully spoke up for him.

"Then why wasn't Grandma angry when we bought the oxcart?" Changyun asked again.

"Um..." This was a question Xia Yu couldn't answer, because she didn't understand it either.

"Because after the cow at the old house died, neither our family nor the old house had any cows to use. Every planting season, all the physical labor was done by your grandfather, your eldest uncle, your second uncle, and your father. Every year, they would wear several layers of blisters on their hands. Your grandmother felt sorry for them. If it weren't for your fourth uncle, she would have wanted to buy a cow long ago." Liu explained this to the two children.

"Okay, I understand. Let's do as Mother says, and buy land after the watermelons are sold." Actually, if it weren't for the need to earn more money so she could send her brother to school, she would be quite content with her current life. Whether in her past life or this one, she knew she was just an ordinary person, without extraordinary talent or ambition to look down on the world. She only wanted her family to be safe and well, and for herself to live a leisurely life with enough to eat, wear, and have enough money.