Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Xia Yu's family was busy with the land purchase, unaware that their secret had already been partially discovered.

Inside the Shen residence, Shen Jingheng gazed at the potted plant in his study. The few remaining buds had all burst into vibrant bloom overnight. His long, slender fingers caressed the blossoms, his eyes as dark as ink, unfathomable to the turbulent emotions swirling within them.

"Go find Steward Ding," he ordered the servant at the door.

After a "yes" in response, the sound of footsteps running away followed.

A short while later, Steward Ding's voice came from outside the door.

"Sir, what can I do for you?"

"Come in and talk."

They talked for a long time in the study that day. Apart from Shen Jingheng and Steward Ding, no one knew what they talked about. After leaving the study, Steward Ding left in a hurry. No one saw him for the next three or four days. Before leaving, he handed over the things he was in charge of to the servant who had always followed him, and then left the mansion quietly.

In Zhangjia Village, Zhang Youtie laid out the land deeds for his family's dozens of acres of wasteland on the table, much to the delight of Liu Shi and Xia Yu. Liu Shi's feelings were beyond words. Who could have imagined that just a month ago, her family had to budget even for white flour, and now, in just one month, they had acquired an oxcart and more than twenty acres of wasteland?

“Mother, we got a total of 128 taels of silver today. 56 taels were used to buy the land, and 4 taels were spent on the government office to process the land deed. Keep this 50-tael silver note. I plan to exchange the remaining 21 taels for copper coins tomorrow so we can pay the workers when we hire them to dig the pond.” Zhang Youtie took out the silver notes and silver he had earned that day from his pocket and discussed the plans with his wife.

"Don't keep it here, let Xiaxia keep it, it's safer for her. Did you talk to Uncle Village Chief about digging the pond today?" As she spoke, Liu handed the silver note that Zhang Youtie had given her to Xia Yu, who was standing next to her.

“I told you, I said we should dig a pond near the river so we can raise some fish and shrimp. That way we can have another source of income, and we still need a lot of money to send our children to school.”

"What did Uncle Village Chief say?"

"Uncle Village Chief didn't say anything. We've been in this village for so many years, and even though he doesn't say anything, he knows about our situation. He just asked me how many people I needed, and I said I needed ten people, and twenty-three coins a day, excluding lunch."

"Yes, this money is fine even if lunch isn't included." Madam Liu thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Mom, the village chief talked to me about growing watermelons today. He thinks our family could sell some seeds to the villagers so everyone can have an extra source of income." Then, looking at Xia Yu, she added, "Xia Xia, do you think we could sell some watermelon seeds to other people in the village?"

“Dad, you know how our watermelons are grown. I’m just afraid that without the water from that treasure, we wouldn’t be able to grow watermelons at all. You’ve forgotten, the seed shop owner tried to grow them many times before without success.”

"Yes, you can't expect to water all the watermelon fields when the time comes, can you?"

"Dad, don't worry, it's still early. It'll be next year at the earliest. Let's try it on our own land first. If we can grow it without using the space water, that would be great."

At this point, Xia Yu suddenly thought of her grandmother, Liu Shi, and clearly the others at the table had thought of her as well.

"Xiaxia, do you remember what happened when your grandmother fainted? It was because of the watermelon seedlings in the field. We didn't water them, and watermelon seedlings still grew." Liu said excitedly. "Oh, right, I'll go check on the seeds we soaked in plain water at home." After saying that, Liu went back to her room.

Soon, Liu's voice rang out from inside the house, "Those soaked in water are growing rather slowly; they've only just sprouted." As she spoke, Liu brought out a bowl containing a few watermelon seeds in shallow water, though they had only just begun to sprout. The same seeds, planted directly in the ground, had already sprouted, while those soaked in water were growing more slowly. Seeing this, the family fell into deep thought.

Soon, Xia Yu broke the silence in the room.

"Dad, Mom, let's think about this slowly. Shouldn't we start making dinner now? It's getting dark. Also, Dad, what was your appointment with the village chief for when you agreed to start working?"

"Let's start tomorrow and try to get this done before the summer harvest." Zhang Youtie had calculated the time; digging one before the summer harvest shouldn't be a problem.

"Father, is the result of our fourth brother's exam coming out soon?" Liu asked, suddenly remembering this important matter when she heard about Xia Shou.

"Judging by the time, it should be about right, within the next few days. It's been almost a month since my fourth brother left. Sigh, I hope he passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar." Zhang Youtie sighed, then put the matter out of his mind; he had more important things to do.

Dinner was cooked by Xia Yu and Liu Shi together. They had run out of noodles and hadn't had time to buy any more, so Xia Yu steamed white rice, just like at lunchtime. She took out some spare ribs from her spatial storage and made braised spare ribs and stir-fried shrimp with chives. After dinner, Zhang Youtie went to the village chief's house again. Liu Shi checked the cloth that had been soaking in black bean water overnight, turned it over and over, and let it soak some more. Then she took out the fabric they had bought that day and made summer dresses for her daughter and herself.

Xia Yu was worried about Chang Yun at the school and planned to visit him when she went to town to buy grain the next day. She took out the pig offal from her storage space in the yard to clean it, planned to braise it tonight, and bring some to Chang Yun tomorrow. She also wanted to check on him to see if he was adjusting well at school and if he was being bullied.