Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"Hehe, don't you want to know why I came to see you?" Shen Jingheng couldn't glean anything from her expressionless face, so he simply stopped worrying about it. They both knew that if even one in ten of what Xia Yu said was true, that would be considered good.

"May I ask what brings you to my house, sir?" Xia Yu asked, following his words.

"The watermelons that were taken from here before were all transported to shops in various places and sold out by my mother. Although I also sent some to the capital, there are too many people who need them, and there aren't enough to go around. So I would like to ask you to help me grow some more."

Looking into his dark, inky eyes, even though his voice was gentle and there seemed to be a hint of a smile in his tone, Xia Yu didn't believe a word he said.

"My lord, is it really necessary to grow watermelons? I can give you more of the water the gods gave you, and you can grow them wherever you want. What do you think of this method, my lord?"

"Hehe, I don't think so!"

"My lord, let's be frank. As long as you can protect my family, I can plant whatever you need."

"Oh, you can grow anything for me? You can grow anything?"

"Yes, as long as you can protect my family, I can grow anything." Seeing Shen Jingheng still seemingly deep in thought, she gritted her teeth and knelt at his feet with a thud. "My lord," she said, "I only wish to be with my family in peace. This extraordinary encounter is both my fortune and my misfortune. It's fortunate that I can live a life of comfort and ease, unlike other farm girls who suffer so much. It's unfortunate that my family are just ordinary people, and carrying this treasure is as dangerous as a child carrying gold through a bustling market. My lord, I am willing to serve you for life, hoping only that you can protect me and my family."

After speaking, Xia Yu looked up at Shen Jingheng's handsome features with sincere eyes. Of course, her eyes did not reflect admiration for his good looks, but rather her determination to protect her family.

Seeing Xia Yu, a child, put on such a serious expression, Shen Jingheng's mind raced, but in the end he decided to believe her. He had only wanted her to do things for him, so wasn't it better that she was so sensible?

"You don't need to swear allegiance to me. I will protect your family and you can help me with whatever you can. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement, so there's no question of you following me."

"Thank you very much, sir. I am deeply grateful." Xia Yu said this was the truth. As long as Lord Shen was willing to protect her family, Xia Yu was truly grateful to him.

"My lord, is there anything you need me to do now?" Xia Yu asked cautiously.

"No for now. Give me some more water from your garden to keep the watermelons fresh. I'm heading back to Beijing tomorrow. If you grow any more fresh watermelons in the future, just go to Manager Ding. Our business is all over the city, so we don't have to worry about selling them."

"Thank you, sir. Can your shop sell those prawns?" Xia Yu was very happy to hear this. Could it be that her family's produce could be wholesaled to the Shen family in the future?

"Shrimp? How long are they?" Shen Jingheng asked curiously.

Xia Yu gestured with her hand and said, "It's as long as my dad's palm."

"I've only ever seen one that big in the sea, and it's rare to see one that big in a river," Shen Jingheng murmured.

"Go find Steward Ding then, he'll help you make arrangements." After saying that, he didn't linger any longer, left the courtyard, got into the carriage, and was about to leave. Xia Yu quickly ran forward and handed him a bucket, with a bowl of water that Xia Yu had hastily scooped into the bottom.

As Xia Yu was placing the buckets onto the cart, she whispered to Shen Jingheng inside, "This can dilute ten buckets of water," before stepping away. Just as the cart was about to leave, Shen Jingheng suddenly summoned Zhang Youtie. Right there in the courtyard, in front of many people, he said something to Zhang Youtie, who immediately knelt down and kowtowed. A neighing of horses followed, and as the cart and its guards drove away, the stunned villagers finally reacted, rushing to surround Zhang Youtie and bombarding him with questions.

Zhang Youtie was still somewhat dazed. He had thought his family was doomed today, but unexpectedly, Lord Shen, after some discussion with Xia Xia, simply left without arresting or killing anyone. He even gave him a special message before leaving in front of everyone.

Faced with the villagers who surrounded him and asked all sorts of questions, Zhang Youtie didn't have time to think much. In response to everyone's concern, he simply replied that there was nothing else. Lord Shen had just come to check on the watermelon's growing environment and to ask if there were any more watermelon seeds. That was all.

Many villagers believed his answer, after all, Lord Shen had only been gone for less than half an hour, and might really have come to see where the watermelons grew.

"Did Lord Shen say whether his family will still be harvesting watermelons next year?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Yes, yes, will the Shen family still be harvesting watermelons next year?" someone else asked.

"No, they didn't say that. They just said my backyard is too messy. Look, I've bumped my forehead," Zhang Youtie said, pointing to the redness and swelling on his forehead.

"Zhang Laosan, did Lord Shen punish you in the courtyard just now?"

"Can't you ever wish me something good?" Zhang Youtie said with a laugh to the person speaking in the crowd.

"Alright, alright, it's nothing serious. Everyone, go back. Let my third brother go back first and take care of his head wound." Zhang Youjin, standing at the back of the crowd, spoke up in time, trying to persuade everyone to go back. His third brother's forehead injury looked quite serious.

"Hey, let's go, let's go, let the third brother bandage his head wound first." Among the crowd were some people who were on good terms with the Zhang family, and they also spoke up to persuade him after hearing what Zhang Youjin said.

"Let's all go, let's all go, it's nothing, thank you all for your concern." Zhang Youtie clasped his hands in thanks to the villagers.

After the crowd dispersed, Old Master Zhang and the Zhang brothers were finally able to go inside and have a chat.

Inside the house, Madam Liu was holding Xia Yu and sobbing. She had been terribly worried about leaving her daughter alone in the house, and she hated herself for being so weak and incompetent. Her daughter had exposed the treasure left by the old sage for the sake of the family, and she and her husband had failed to protect her at the crucial moment.