Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Just as Li reached the courtyard gate, she ran into the brothers Changyun and Changyuan, who were running back. The two boys' faces were flushed red, like boiled shrimp.

"Changyun, hurry... hurry... go back and tell your dad to drive the ox... oxcart over, your grandma has fainted. Your grandpa should tell your dad to drive the oxcart to take your grandma to the clinic in town. Changyuan, go with your second brother, hurry up." The two of them were terrified when they heard that their grandma had fainted, and they turned around and ran to call for help.

At this moment, Zhang Youtie, driving the oxcart, was somewhat silent.

"Dad, don't be angry. If you get yourself sick from anger, what will happen to me and the child?" As she spoke, Liu's voice choked with sobs. Zhang Youtie's appearance just now was truly frightening.

Hearing his wife's words, Zhang Youtie felt guilty for having frightened her with his earlier appearance. He gently tugged at her hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll be fine for you and the baby. I was just a little dazed because Mom made me so angry, but I'm alright now."

She paused, then continued, "Don't worry, this time Mom is determined to get Changyun into school. If she makes a fuss again, I won't give my fourth brother a single penny for his schooling. I never intended to take advantage of him; it's just that I'm the older brother, and I can't stand by and watch Mom and Dad suffer. Mom, you and the children have suffered all these years!"

"The past is the past. Aren't we doing just fine now? The Shen family is coming to pick up watermelons tomorrow. I bet the whole village will know that our family is making money then."

Liu didn't want to bring up the previous chapter again, so she changed the subject and talked about selling watermelons.

"Yeah, so what if they know? We didn't steal or rob anything. What's wrong with selling some fresh fruit?" Zhang Youtie, who had been feeling down, felt much better after hearing Liu mention that the Shen family would be coming to pick up watermelons tomorrow.

They arrived home as they were talking. Liu got off the cart first, opened the gate, and helped Zhang Youtie drive the oxcart into the yard. Xia Yu felt sorry for her ox and hurriedly fetched hay and poured water from her space well into the trough, afraid that her little yellow ox would get tired.

"Dad...Dad..."

"Third Uncle... Third Uncle..." The family members were busy with their own things when two shouts came from outside the courtyard wall. Xia Yu recognized the voice as her brother Changyun's.

Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi stopped what they were doing and looked towards the courtyard gate. Soon, two panting boys ran in.

"Father...Father...huff huff huff..." Madam Liu looked at her son and nephew, who were panting heavily, with a touch of heartache.

"What's wrong with you two? Don't rush to talk, catch your breath first."

"Third Aunt...is my grandma...she, she..."

Xia Yu was anxious. What was wrong with her grandmother? It would be better to finish the conversation before leaving it unfinished. This half-finished sentence was making her very anxious.

"Changyun, Changyuan, what happened to your grandma? Tell me quickly!" Zhang Youtie was also frightened by his nephew's words, thinking that his mother had been angered to the point of causing some kind of trouble.

At this moment, Changyun finally caught his breath and was able to say something: "Dad, my second aunt said that my grandma has fainted. My grandpa asked you to drive the oxcart to take my grandma to the town clinic."

"What? Your grandma fainted? What happened?" Zhang Youtie was still angry with his mother, but now that he heard that the old lady had fainted, he was extremely anxious.

"I don't know. I had just entered the courtyard of the old house when my second aunt sent me over to call you. I didn't see my grandma."

“Hey, what’s the use of asking these questions? Hurry up and hitch up the oxcart. Get Mother to the clinic in town first,” Liu reminded him from the side.

"Okay, okay, I'll go hitch up the oxcart right now."

After her father, along with Changyun and Changyuan, drove the oxcart out of the courtyard, Xia Yu went to her mother's side.

"Mom, did I upset Grandma?"

"Nonsense, when did you ever upset your grandma?"

"Didn't I just have a fight with her at the old house? Will my grandma be so angry that she'll die?" Xia Yu asked cautiously, observing her mother's expression.

"No, your grandma isn't that temperamental. It definitely wasn't you who made her angry. I could still hear her cursing when we left." Putting aside the reason why the old lady fainted, even if it was because of her daughter, she couldn't pin the blame on her own daughter.

Madam Liu went over what had just happened at the old house in her mind and confirmed her suspicions: the old lady's fainting had absolutely nothing to do with her daughter.

"Xiaxia, come on, come with me to take a look. While you're at it, bring those few pictures of pig offal too, just say you just bought them today. Take them back to your aunt and uncle, and you can teach them how to make them at the old house."

"Alright, Mother. Take a set over to the aunties. I also want to make some for our family to keep for later. I'll go to the kitchen to get some ingredients; the old house might not have star anise or anything like that."

"Let's go, I'll go check on how the black beans are soaking." With that, she and her daughter went to the kitchen.

Xia Yu went to find the seasonings, while Liu took the basin of soaked black beans out of the wooden cabinet. She scooped up some water with her hand and examined it in her palm, using the afterglow of the sun.

"Hmm, that's about right. Tomorrow night we'll try dyeing one piece first. If it doesn't work, we can use this fabric to make undergarments or quilts, which would be perfect." Madam Liu said to her daughter, looking at the black bean water in her hand, which was as black as ink.

"I'll do whatever you say, Mother," Xia Yu said obediently.

After gathering her belongings, Liu put everything in her small basket and covered it with an old steaming cloth, hoping to mask the stench of the large intestine.

When they arrived at the old house, they found the oxcart still parked outside the courtyard. Liu's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly stopped moving.

Xia Yu looked at Liu Shi, who had stopped walking, with some curiosity.

"Mother, why aren't you leaving?"

"Don't speak yet!" Madam Liu waved her hand to stop Xia Yu, her tone somewhat urgent.

After listening for a while and confirming that there was no crying coming from the courtyard, Liu finally felt relieved and took her daughter's hand to enter the courtyard.

"Third Aunt, you're here?" Chunyu, who had just come out of the main house, saw Liu and her daughter and spoke to them.

"Chunyu, how is your grandma? Why hasn't she gone to town yet?" Liu asked softly.

"My grandma's alright now. My mom pinched her philtrum to wake her up, but I don't know why, she's crying in my third uncle's arms right now. My parents, my second uncle and aunt, and my aunt are all inside. You go in, Third Aunt, I'll go get a basin of water for grandma to wash her face."

"Big sister, let me help you. Mother, give me this basket first, I'll take it to the kitchen."

Liu took the basket off her back and handed it to her daughter, then lifted the curtain and went inside.

At this moment, Liu's lips were still swollen from being pinched awake, but that didn't stop her from crying. Wang and Li, who were standing nearby, now knew why their mother-in-law had fainted. Seeing Liu enter, she seemed oblivious to what had happened. Wang secretly made a gesture to her, and while everyone's attention was on their mother-in-law, they pulled Liu, who had just entered, back out.

The two left the main room quietly, and Wang led her to the vegetable garden in the backyard.

"Third sister-in-law, do you want to know why Mother fainted?"

"Yes, sister-in-law. What exactly happened to our mother? Even if she's awake now, we should take her to see a doctor first, so she doesn't develop any chronic illness."

"Why? It's all because of your family's big watermelon." He said, affectionately tapping Liu's forehead with his finger. "I always said the three of us sisters-in-law were very close, but I've already slapped myself on the face. Your family has caused such a big incident, and you've kept it all from us. Your second sister-in-law and I didn't even know. If it weren't for what happened to our mother, would we have been like everyone else in the village, only finding out when they came to collect the watermelons?"

"Good sister-in-law, don't be angry. We're just afraid that if too many people find out about the watermelons, word will get out. What if some heartless scoundrel takes advantage of our absence and ruins all the watermelons in the backyard?" Liu hurriedly begged Wang for forgiveness.

"Who would spread this? Don't you trust the character of our family members..." Wang's voice grew softer and softer until it finally fell silent.

Most of the people in the old house are good, except for...