Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

At this moment, the people in the room finally realized what was happening. Liu quickly pulled Xia Yu aside and covered her mouth with her hand to prevent her from revealing more of the truth.

"Mother, don't be angry. Xiaxia is just straightforward and speaks without thinking. She didn't mean anything by it. My sister-in-law isn't fat, not at all..." Actually, before Xia Yu brought this up, only the old man and Zhang Youyin had noticed Qinghe's figure; the rest of the family hadn't really paid attention. Xia Yu had mentioned it once the day before yesterday, but no one had taken it to heart. Perhaps it was because she had brought up the old man's words that everyone collectively realized the issue. At this moment, Liu Shi was saying that Qinghe wasn't fat against her will; she was genuinely guilty, and as she spoke, she couldn't continue.

"You little brat! You argued with me this afternoon, and now you're talking about your aunt like this. I think you're going to fly to the moon. Third brother, aren't you going to do anything about this? If you don't hit her, your only sister will be bullied to death by her." Liu finally finished speaking, but her voice was trembling, indicating that she was very angry.

Seeing that her mother was furious, Zhang Youtie pretended to be stern and scolded Xia Yu, "Xia Xia, how can you talk like that? How can you talk to your aunt like that? Your aunt is a little chubby, so what? Being chubby is a blessing, it brings good fortune to the house. Apologize to your aunt right now."

Xia Yu wasn't afraid of his father's pretentious act at all, and continued fearlessly...

"Guard the house? Guard whose house? If my aunt can't get married, she'll only be able to guard our old house. Being fat means good fortune, so why don't you and my uncles marry fat men...?" Before she could finish speaking, a bowl flew towards her and interrupted her. Xia Yu crouched down, and the porcelain bowl grazed her head before shattering into pieces on the ground near the threshold. Xia Yu turned her head and glanced at the broken, rough porcelain bowl. My goodness, if that had hit her head, it might have knocked her out of this body again.

"Auntie, I'm telling you the truth for your own good, you can't just smash me to death!"

"Xiaxia, you still dare to talk back? See if I don't beat you up. You won't listen to what your father says anymore." Seeing the situation, Zhang Youtie rolled up his sleeves and was about to come over and beat her up.

Zhang Youjin and Zhang Youyin quickly stood up to stop them, while Liu Shi hugged and comforted Qinghe, who was still wailing, while scolding Xia Yu. Changyun quickly ran to his sister and protected Xia Yu behind him, seeing that the room was in complete chaos.

Whether it was Zhang Youtie's immense strength or Zhang Youjin and Zhang Youyin's lack of strength, Zhang Youtie broke through his two brothers' obstruction and was about to grab Xia Yu. Seeing that Xia Yu was about to be beaten, Li Shi and Wang Shi quickly stood in front of Xia Yu to block her. Taking advantage of the chaos and the fact that no one was paying attention to her, Liu Shi whispered two words in her daughter's ear, "Run!"

Hearing her mother's words, Xia Yu knew that if she didn't run, her father might really beat her. Without hesitation, she grabbed her brother's hand and ran outside. If you were to ask why she dragged her brother along, it's because it was too dark outside, and she was scared to be alone.

Finally, someone shouted, "Stop tearing it apart! Xiaxia ran away!" Only then did everyone in the room suddenly realize what was happening.

Zhang Youtie rubbed his hands together and said to his mother with a forced smile, "Mom, don't be angry. That girl has run away now, but don't worry, I'll definitely beat her up when I get home tonight."

Then, turning to Qinghe, who was still sobbing, he said, "Little sister, don't take it to heart with your niece. We don't mind that you're chubby; being chubby is a blessing. Don't you like watermelons? Third Brother's family has plenty. I'll bring you a dozen or so tomorrow. Eat as much as you want. Third Brother's family doesn't have any other watermelons, but there's plenty of watermelon."

"Sigh, third brother, don't bring the watermelon over here. What Xiaxia said earlier wasn't pleasant to hear, but it was the truth. Everyone's here today, and since we've already made such a fuss, I'll just be frank." He glanced at Qinghe, who was still sobbing, and sighed helplessly again.

“Qinghe, you said the day before yesterday that your father doesn’t love you anymore. Actually, it’s precisely because I love you too much that I don’t let you eat so much. What your niece said earlier is right. No matter how capable your fourth brother becomes in the future, you still have to live your own life. We don’t even know if our fourth brother can become a scholar or pass the imperial examination. We all dote on you and indulge you in everything you do with your parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law. But you can’t stay with your parents forever. You will eventually get married. If you still have the same personality when you go to your husband’s family, who will give in to you?” Today, things have come to this point, and Old Master Zhang simply doesn’t care about saving face anymore and speaks out about the problems that have been troubling him for the past few days.

These words were spoken not only to Qinghe, but also to Liu.

However, Mrs. Liu still believes that her daughter's plumpness is a blessing and disagrees with Old Master Zhang's words. Upon hearing this, she retorted...

"Once our fourth son passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, how many good families will be waiting for Qinghe to choose from? We can have him prepare a generous dowry for her then, and she won't have to worry about finding a husband!"

Hearing her sophistry, Old Master Zhang was furious and pointed at Liu, cursing...

"You...you...you're so ignorant!" After catching his breath and calming himself down, he continued...

"According to what you're saying, is she after Qinghe's fourth brother because he's a scholar, or is she after Qinghe's dowry? Besides, even if the fourth brother passes the exam, the younger children in the family will be of marriageable age, and they'll inevitably need their fourth uncle's help. The fourth brother also needs to get married himself, so how much money can he possibly give Qinghe as a dowry? In short, from today onwards, Qinghe will be learning kitchen work from her sister-in-law. Both of you, eldest son's wife and second son's wife, will diligently teach Qinghe how to cook. The wheat harvest is in a month, and Qinghe will be responsible for all the kitchen work during the harvest. Chunyu and Qiuyu, you can't help your aunt, do you hear me?"

"Understood, Father."

"Understood, Grandpa," all the people who were called on nodded in response.

Qinghe, who was still sobbing a little, burst into tears again when she heard her father's arrangement. She felt that she couldn't go on living like this.

"Everyone sit down and eat. Don't worry about her. She'll stop crying when she's tired of it," Grandpa Zhang called to the people still standing in the room.

The men at the table obediently sat down and continued eating, but over here, because of Liu's dark face and Qinghe's crying, no one dared to sit down and continue eating.

"Father, Mother, I don't know where Xiaxia has run off to. You two keep eating, I'll go look for her and her brother."

"Yes, go ahead. Don't say anything about the child when you get back. She's telling the truth, even though it's unpleasant to hear, but she really means well for her aunt. Go and look for her first, and make some food for the child. She and Changyun probably haven't eaten enough either," Grandpa Zhang instructed Liu.

"Yes, I understand, Dad."

After saying that, under Liu's murderous glare, she lifted the curtain and went out to find the child.