Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"Father, the government has issued a notice that my eldest brother and his conscripted soldiers are coming back!" Zhang Eryong shouted excitedly, holding an official document from the government office in his hand.

"Are you serious? Come and let me see!" The village chief, who was sitting on the ground smoking his pipe, looked at the second brother with surprise upon hearing his words.

A loud thud echoed from the kitchen, as a clay pot fell to the ground. Zhang Dayong's wife, wearing an apron, hastily wiped her wet hands on it before hurrying out. She looked at Zhang Dayong and said...

"Second Uncle, is your eldest brother really coming back?"

"Yes, the notices have all been posted. We'll be home in seven or eight days at most," Zhang Eryong nodded heavily and said to his sister-in-law.

Hearing Eryong's affirmative answer, Dayong's wife, whose eyes were already red, could no longer hold back her tears. He was finally coming back. She didn't know how she had endured these past few years. Although she received letters from him from time to time, she was still worried. Now, hearing that he could finally return, she could no longer control her emotions, and tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.

Eryong's wife and mother-in-law quickly helped her up and took her to the room where Eryong and Dayong lived. They didn't try to stop her from crying; they let her cry. She had never cried in front of others in the past two years, and the two women had even secretly worried that bottling it up would cause problems. It was a good thing that she could cry now.

Dayong's wife lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), letting tears stream down her face without wiping them away.

This wasn't just happening in Zhangjia Village; it was happening in several surrounding villages as well. Everyone was conscripted at the same time and in the same group, so they were all supposed to return together. Just as everyone was joyfully welcoming their departing loved ones, a caravan of carriages arrived in Zhangjia Village.

In recent years, thanks to Princess Xia Yu, Zhangjia Village has developed very well. Many people come here to do business, and caravans are frequently seen. Just when everyone thought that the caravan was still heading to Lord Zhang's workshop, they saw the lead carriage turn a corner and finally stop in front of Zhang the Cripple's house.

"Hey, this caravan is going to Zhang the Cripple's house!" The villagers were full of doubt when they saw where the carriages and horses stopped.

"When did Zhang the Cripple get such wealthy relatives?" someone remarked.

"How do you know they're relatives?" someone else disagreed with what the previous person had said.

"Didn't you see the cloth and brocade box on that carriage? What else could they be used for but visiting relatives?" the man retorted indignantly.

"Can't we just be friends?" the other person retorted, arguing illogically.

"..." Hearing the surrounding chatter, a young woman in her early twenties in the carriage was already in tears.

"Madam, please stop crying. The old master and matriarch will be heartbroken if they see you crying." The old woman sitting next to her gently wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, while softly comforting her.

Composing herself, the young woman, wearing a hat, alighted from the carriage with the help of her maids and servants. The Zhang couple, the crippled man and his wife, had already been alerted by the commotion outside. As the young woman stepped down from the carriage, she looked up and saw the crippled man's wife emerging from the courtyard.

Looking at the face that looked much older than she remembered, the young woman's eyes reddened again beneath her hat.

"Mother, I'm back." She took two quick steps and knelt down in front of the lame woman, hugging her legs and sobbing. The broom the lame woman was holding fell to the ground with a 'thud'.

Before he even reached his wife, Zhang the Cripple froze, stunned, upon hearing the woman call out "Mother." Then, his hand trembled as he pointed at the woman, staring wide-eyed, and asked...

"Are you Xiaohua?"

"Father, Mother, it's me, it's Xiaohua. I'm back." The woman's sorrowful cry moved even the women watching nearby.

Like a crippled wife who had lost her soul and then regained it, she struggled to pull the woman on the ground up, gesturing "ah ah" with her hands.

“Alright, let’s go inside, let’s talk inside.” The young woman named Xiaohua seemed to understand what the lame woman meant, and responded to her words, getting up as she was pulled by the woman. Then, she took the woman’s hand and walked towards the lame man, who was a few steps away from them. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to give instructions to the old woman and maid beside her.

"Don't follow me in. Just guard this place."

The family of three went inside and closed the door. Xiaohua took off her hat, her makeup already a mess of tears and snot.

The cripple and his wife carefully examined the face of the young woman who called herself Xiaohua, using the light coming through from outside. Xiaohua knew what her parents were looking at, and without any attempt to hide it, she turned her back and slightly lifted the hem of her upper garment, revealing a plum blossom-shaped birthmark the size of an egg.

"Ah...ah...ah...woo woo...woo woo..." Upon seeing the birthmark, the lame woman first cried out a few times, then hugged her long-lost daughter and began to sob.

Zhang the Cripple sat in a chair and hugged the mother and daughter, tears streaming down his aged face.

“Little Flower, I knew you would come back. My little Flower, you’re finally back. Your mother’s eyes are almost blind from crying…” Zhang the Cripple said between sobs.

"Father, Mother, your daughter is unfilial, it's all your daughter's fault, your daughter should have come back sooner. Waaah..."

The three of them hugged each other and cried uncontrollably, their cries carrying outside. The onlookers at the door recognized who had arrived and marveled at the incredible turn of events. They couldn't believe that a girl who had been missing for over ten years could be found again; it was truly a miracle. Even more astonishing was the scale of their arrival; it seemed that Xiaohua's current status was quite extraordinary.

Some villagers tried to ask the servants and old women that Xiaohua had brought with them about the situation, but they were dismissed with a few words, and they didn't get a single word out of the people they wanted to know.

"Make way, make way, what are you doing crowding in front of my son's yard?" Suddenly an old woman struggled to push her way through the crowd.

Upon hearing this voice, everyone turned to look, and it turned out to be Zhang the Cripple's adoptive mother, Old Lady Zhang.

"Old Mrs. Zhang, your Xiaohua is back! Look at this carriage, she brought it back. Your family is going to be rich this time!" Some villagers teased her when they saw her.

Everyone in the village knew what Old Lady Zhang had done over the years. She had practically tortured Zhang the Cripple to death, leaving him no way to survive. Now, her own son had gone to join the army, and there had been no news of him for over two years. Everyone said her son was dead, and she was childless again. Only then did she remember she had a son, so she would occasionally visit Zhang the Cripple to check on him. However, she had broken his heart before, and Zhang the Cripple had long since severed ties with her. Even if she came to appease him and show concern, Zhang the Cripple was cold-hearted towards his adoptive mother and showed no intention of getting close to her again.

Old Mrs. Zhang was used to bullying the crippled Zhang and his wife, and now that she had taken the initiative to ingratiate herself, they were ungrateful. Enraged, she stood at their door and began to hurl insults, calling the couple ungrateful, unfilial, and heartless. She went around telling everyone how badly the couple had treated her. But everyone in the village knew each other's stories! No matter how pitiful Old Mrs. Zhang sounded, no one believed her.

Once Granny Zhang calms down and assesses the situation, she'll visit Zhang the Cripple's house again to show her concern, occasionally bringing him gifts. However, although Zhang the Cripple and his wife are frugal, they aren't lacking in food, and they'll return everything Granny Zhang brings them. This leads to Granny Zhang cursing again, and this cycle repeats itself countless times over the years.

In the end, aside from providing some amusement for the villagers of Zhangjia Village, Old Mrs. Zhang remained Old Mrs. Zhang, and Lame Zhang remained Lame Zhang; the relationship between the two remained unchanged.