Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

That night, under the oil lamp, Zhang Xiaohua recounted her experiences over the years to her parents.

It turned out that after she was sold to a slave trader by Granny Zhang that day, the slave trader took her to a small courtyard where there were several other girls who had been bought. The oldest was seven or eight years old, and the youngest was about her age. They stayed in that courtyard for seven or eight days before they were all put on a boat and sent away.

Then came another large courtyard, where an old woman taught the younger girls to do chores within their capabilities. After about a year there, she was chosen by Madam You, whose family was in business, and brought back to the mansion to be Miss You's personal maid. Miss You had always been somewhat frail, and Zhang Xiaohua served her with exceptional diligence during those years, thus gaining the deep trust of Master You and Madam You, who entrusted her with managing the affairs of Miss You's quarters.

When Miss You turned sixteen, the Zhao family, who had business dealings with Master You, came to propose marriage. Although they called it a business relationship, the You family's business was nothing compared to the Zhao family's, and Miss You was to marry the head of the Zhao family. This was a good match, except that Master Zhao was quite old, almost forty. But there was one good thing amidst the bad: Master Zhao had no sons, his first wife had no children, and his concubines had only given birth to daughters. A fortune teller said that if Miss You married into the Zhao family, not only would the family prosper, but the family business would also flourish for another hundred years.

Even if Mr. and Mrs. You were unwilling, they dared not refuse outright when Mr. Zhao personally came to propose marriage. While they were hesitating, Miss You went to her parents and said that she was willing to marry Mr. Zhao.

She felt that her parents had worried themselves sick over the years because of her health. Moreover, given her condition, she didn't know how much longer she had to live, so she made up her mind to marry into the family and bring some benefits to them.

She didn't tell her parents about her plan, only her closest friend Xiaohua, hoping Xiaohua could accompany her to the new marriage and help her. Zhang Xiaohua agreed without hesitation, partly because of her relationship with her mistress, and partly because she wanted to leverage her mistress's influence to secure a better future for herself.

Although Mr. and Mrs. You were puzzled as to why their daughter had agreed to the marriage, since she was willing, the You family still gave their daughter a grand wedding, no matter how reluctant they were.

Just two months after Xiaohua's marriage, Miss You, with Xiaohua's consent, performed a ritual to formally marry her, making her a concubine of Master Zhao. With Miss You's tacit approval, Xiaohua quickly became a capable concubine, first dealing with several of Master Zhao's long-serving concubines. Then, using the knowledge she had gained from serving Miss You over the years, she offered several helpful suggestions to Master Zhao's business.

Master Zhao had always been fond of the young, beautiful, and intelligent Xiao Hua. Seeing that she also had a talent for business, he decided to mentor her. So, he always liked to take her with him when he went out to discuss business. Later, he even entrusted her with the management of a shop. As a result, under Xiao Hua's management, the shop's profits doubled year after year, making Master Zhao so happy that he regarded her as the apple of his eye.

Miss You's health condition made even consummating the marriage with Master Zhao a problem, let alone conceiving. Just as Master Zhao was deeply troubled by this issue, news arrived that Xiao Hua was pregnant. Overjoyed, Master Zhao wanted to elevate Xiao Hua to the position of a secondary wife. However, Xiao Hua refused, saying that after giving birth to a son, she wanted the child to be raised by the madam. She felt that being the master's concubine was already a great favor from him and his wife, and she dared not even dream of becoming a secondary wife.

It was her humble attitude that deeply moved Miss You, who personally persuaded her for a long time before she finally agreed to the master and mistress's proposal and was elevated to the status of a secondary wife.

Nine months later, Xiaohua gave birth to a son. Master Zhao, over forty years old, finally had a son, whom he cherished dearly. From then on, he doted on Xiaohua even more. A year later, Xiaohua gave birth to another son. From then on, no one could shake Xiaohua's position in the Zhao household, yet she remained humble and polite in front of Miss You. Everyone who knew about the Zhao family affairs praised Master Zhao's skill in managing his wives, noting how harmonious his wives and concubines were.

Now, Xiao Hua has long since taken control of the Zhao family's finances. Master Zhao respects and cherishes her even more, and they live a very comfortable life.

Over the years, she has always remembered that she was sold, but she was too young at the time. She only knew that her hometown was Zhangjia Village, but she couldn't remember which prefecture or county it was in.

Since she took over the household, she had been sending people out to search. They finally found this place not long ago, and upon hearing the description from her servants, she was certain it was her hometown. Master Zhao was also aware of her search for her family over the years. Hearing that the news was accurate, he originally intended to accompany her, but a business deal came up unexpectedly, so he sent Xiaohua back with her own people.

The family of three talked until midnight, and several times they cried together. Once they had completely calmed down, Xiaohua looked around the room and asked Zhang the Cripple.

"Dad, I remember when I was a child we lived in an adobe house, I never thought we would live in a big brick house now."

"Yes, your mother and I have saved a room for you. It's fully furnished. Your mother will make the bedding for you in a bit. It's all newly made, three layers of new bedding inside and out."

Zhang the Cripple said to his daughter

"No, I want to sleep with my mother tonight." Xiaohua hugged her mother's arm even tighter.

The lame woman gently patted her daughter's arm and then made a few gestures.

Zhang the Cripple understood; what his wife meant was...

"You go sleep in your daughter's room, I'll sleep here with her."

“Hey, the bedding and blankets in our daughter’s room are all new. If she wants to sleep with you, you can go sleep in that room,” Zhang the Cripple said to his wife with a sigh.

Upon hearing the lame man's words, his wife tapped her head twice and spread her hands. Then she made a few more hand gestures.

Xiao Hua and her father both understood it and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Outside, the maids and servants still guarding the door exchanged glances upon hearing the sounds coming from inside. Then, the personal maid, Granny Hua, spoke softly.

"Madam, it's late, it's time to get some rest. The old master and madam are getting on in years, staying up late isn't good for their health."

Hearing Granny Hua's words, Xiao Hua took out a pocket watch from around her neck, opened it, and glanced at it.

"Oh dear, it's already this late. Father and Mother, let's talk about it tomorrow. It's late tonight, let's get settled down early!"

Zhang the Cripple, however, mysteriously waved his hand and whispered to Xiaohua...

"Are none of your men still asleep?"

"Only a few maids and servants are here; the rest have been sent to the inn." Xiao Hua lowered her voice, just like her father when they were children playing games together.

“Of course I know who’s going to the inn. I’m talking about the old woman who was speaking just now.” Zhang the Cripple pointed towards the door.

"Yes, they usually wait until I lie down before they go to sleep themselves," Xiaohua said matter-of-factly.

"Where will you sleep? We only have these two kang beds!" Zhang the Cripple asked again.

"It's not cold now, we can just sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor inside later," Zhang Xiaohua said.

"Hey, go to sleep now, don't keep so many people waiting." Zhang the Cripple urged his daughter to go to sleep after hearing her words.

Xiaohua knew that her father was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see people suffer, so she smiled and didn't say anything, then pulled her mother to bed.