Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Two servants dragged Granny Zhang to the ground in front of Zhang Xiaohua without any mercy. The onlookers, witnessing this scene, began to discuss it amongst themselves. Some felt that Xiaohua had gone too far; no matter how bad Granny Zhang was, she was still her elder and shouldn't be treated like this. Others, who had always disliked Granny Zhang, felt a sense of satisfaction seeing her suffer such a loss.

Seeing that the Zhang family was about to cause trouble, some people in the crowd quietly withdrew and went to find the village chief.

Although Granny Zhang was tied up, her mouth wasn't gagged. She struggled desperately on the ground, trying to break free of the imperial edict on her body, but despite being covered in sweat, the ropes didn't loosen at all. Enraged, she started cursing at Zhang Xiaohua.

"You wretched girl, you slut, how come you didn't die outside..."

Zhang Xiaohua listened to her vicious curses without getting angry, only looking at her coldly. If she were still getting angry over a few baseless curses after all these years, then she would have wasted all these years.

The village chief arrived quickly. He had heard that a caravan had stopped in front of Zhang the Cripple's house. He thought he would come and see what was going on after he finished his work. But before he could finish his work, villagers came to invite him.

On the way to Zhang the Cripple's house, the man told the village chief everything he had just seen, so that he wouldn't be completely confused when he arrived. The village chief was quite surprised when he heard that it was Xiaohua from the Cripple's family who had returned. If he remembered correctly, Xiaohua was only six years old when she went missing. More than ten years had passed, and he had actually found her again?

Before even reaching the cripple's house, the village chief heard Granny Zhang's foul-mouthed cursing. He frowned; this old woman was utterly shameless. She didn't want the cripple, yet now she was practically begging to come back. If she wanted to reconcile, she should at least show some sincerity; instead, she was always like this, good one day and bad the next. With a sigh, the village chief quickened his pace.

"Make way, make way, Uncle Village Chief is here." The messenger pushed aside the crowd to make way for the village chief.

The village chief pushed his way through the crowd and entered the cripple's courtyard. Looking up, he saw a young, wealthy woman standing there, coldly staring at Granny Zhang on the ground without uttering a word. Her gaze towards Granny Zhang was as if she were looking at a pile of dog excrement.

"Uncle Village Chief" Zhang the Cripple stood up from the small stool and greeted the village chief.

"Hey, sit down, we're not outsiders," the village chief said to Zhang the Cripple.

"Yes," Zhang the Cripple replied and sat down again.

"Hello, Grandpa Village Chief." The young woman greeted the village chief first, giving a curtsy.

The village chief stared at her face for a while, but couldn't see any resemblance to the Xiaohua he remembered.

"Are you Xiaohua?" the village chief asked.

“It’s me, Grandpa Village Chief, I’m Xiaohua,” the young woman replied.

Upon hearing her answer, the village chief squinted and stared at her for a while, trying to find any resemblance between her and her parents in her face.

“Uncle, she really is Xiaohua. My wife and I just saw the birthmark on her body,” Zhang Youtie said.

Hearing the lame man's words, the village chief stopped dwelling on the previous issue. He glanced at Granny Zhang, who had been wailing and howling since he entered, and said to Xiaohua...

"Xiaohua, although she's a bit unreliable, she's still your elder. Isn't it a bit much to keep her tied down like this?"

“Grandpa Village Chief, there’s a reason I’m tying her up like this. I didn’t get lost when I was little; she led me to town and sold me to a human trafficker.”

"What did you say? You weren't lost when you were little, but sold by your grandma! Are you sure? You were only six years old then!" The village chief asked in disbelief. After all, so much time had passed, and Xiaohua was only a six-year-old child at the time. How could she remember so clearly?

"Grandpa Village Chief, I remember it very clearly, it was her. That day I went out to play and met her halfway there. She was carrying a bamboo basket and said she was going to town to buy things, and asked me to go with her and help carry it. My father always told me to be filial to my grandmother, and although she was not good to me, I remembered my father's words and went with her. Who knew that when we got to town, she sold me to a slave trader, and she even received six taels of silver." Xiaohua pointed at Granny Zhang on the ground and said bitterly.

Her words made everyone present gasp. Although they knew that Old Lady Zhang didn't like Zhang the Cripple's family, no one expected that she would dare to sell Zhang the Cripple's only child. This was too vicious.

"You old hag, I'm going to fight you to the death!" This was the first time Zhang the Cripple had heard his daughter talk about what happened back then. He suddenly roared and charged at Zhang the Cripple, who was lying on the ground, with his cane in his hand.

"Rooted"

"father"

"Ah"

Seeing his actions, everyone shouted. The mute woman standing next to Zhang the Cripple reached out and grabbed his arm, but he pulled it away with a strength that seemed to come from nowhere.

Seeing this, the two servants rushed forward, one grabbing his waist and the other his arm, finally stopping him from rushing forward.

"Father, look at me, I'm perfectly fine now, aren't I? I've already reported it to the authorities, and the officials will naturally come to interrogate her. Even if she doesn't get the death penalty, she'll at least get a beating and be exiled." Zhang Xiaohua comforted her father while glancing sideways at Old Lady Zhang on the ground.

Hearing her words, Old Lady Zhang finally became frightened and dared not curse anymore. Instead, she cried and wailed that she was innocent. No matter how pitiful her crying was, no one at the scene pitied her anymore. Zhang Xiaohua had now found her way back on her own, and if Old Lady Zhang was really innocent, she wouldn't bother with her. Therefore, almost everyone present believed what Zhang Xiaohua said.

The government officials arrived quickly and took Old Lady Zhang away from the ground. Zhang Xiaohua sent a clever servant with her prepared complaint to go and respond.

"Everyone, disperse, disperse. Don't stand around here. Let the family members have a proper talk. Go back to what you were doing." Seeing that there was nothing else to do, the village chief dismissed the onlookers. Having done this, he politely declined Zhang Xiaohua's offer to stay for dinner.

"No, your grandmother had already started cooking when I came out, so it should be ready by now. You two have been separated for so many years, you must have so much to talk about, I won't disturb you any longer." With that, he went straight out of Zhang the Cripple's yard and went home.

With the onlookers gone, the servants Zhang Xiaohua had brought back began unloading the gifts from the carriage. Several maids and servants went to the kitchen to start a fire and cook. This was the current situation of the madam's family; they couldn't possibly wait for the old lady to cook for them. If they did, they'd probably be sold off by the madam later.