Reborn with a Space: Building a Fortune Amidst Famine

Zeng Hongling lifted the lid of the box with a smile, "Oh my gosh, Yuanyuan, come take a look at this wonderful thing."

Su Yuanyuan also moved over to stare at the phoenix crown inside. A smile appeared on her face as well.

"Girls, I've been carefully preserving this for a long time. If it weren't for the fact that I have no descendants, I wouldn't take it out to sell.

You take a look, I have some other things too, I'll bring them over, and you can give me an estimate."

They had been watching them for nearly a day. While others might not know the value of those old items, she knew better than them. The prices the two girls offered were quite reasonable. That's why she called them over.

Zeng Hongling carefully took out the phoenix crown. "Yuanyuan, this phoenix crown is even more exquisite than the one I saw at the Marchioness's. And look at the pearls on it; they must be from the Imperial Palace. This definitely isn't something an ordinary person can own."

Su Yuanyuan didn't understand these things, but she could see it was exceptionally well-preserved, and the phoenix crown was truly beautiful. She imagined the scene of a lovely young bride wearing it.

She glanced at the box and saw a hidden compartment inside. So she carefully pressed the box, and suddenly, a side panel popped open. Inside, there was a stitched-bound book.

"What's this?"

"I don't know. Let's take it out and look."

Zeng Hongling carefully set down the phoenix crown and took out the book. Because she was wearing gloves, it was inconvenient to turn the pages, so Su Yuanyuan took over.

"This is a diary." Su Yuanyuan didn't look through it carefully but flipped through the pages. Wow, there were indeed many entries in the diary.

She placed the diary on the table. Since it belonged to someone, they decided to wait for the elder to come over before discussing it.

"Yuanyuan, this phoenix crown could be priced at three hundred yuan. At least three hundred. The craftsmanship is really extraordinary."

Su Yuanyuan watched Zeng Hongling, enamored with it, and she also found it extremely beautiful, but she didn't have the same level of affection as the girl did.

This was probably a matter of mindset. Perhaps Zeng Hongling still harbored fantasies about marriage and men. At her age, she no longer had that kind of impulse.

Soon, they heard the elder calling from outside.

"Hongling, stay here in the room. I'll go out and have a look."

"Girls, there are two boxes here. You can check them out. If you want them, just give me a price, and if it's reasonable, they're all yours."

Su Yuanyuan tried, but she really couldn't move the box.

"Ma'am, let's wait for my sister to come out and take a look. I can't move it either."

The elder nodded and followed Su Yuanyuan into the house.

At this point, Zeng Hongling was still holding the phoenix crown, and Su Yuanyuan felt her arm hurt just watching her.

"Ma'am, how much do you intend to sell this phoenix crown for?"

"Girl, why don't you name a price."

"Alright then. How about three hundred?" Su Yuanyuan was testing the waters. This elder seemed worldly. Since she didn't offer a price, she suggested a minimum.

The elder laughed, "Three hundred. Alright, three hundred it is."

"Ma'am, don't you think I'm offering too little?" Su Yuanyuan asked curiously.

"This price is acceptable to me."

"Ma'am, look, there's a diary in this box."

Both women had principles, so even though they discovered the diary, they didn't look through it.

The elder nodded with a smile, "I wasn't mistaken. My grand-aunt mentioned this diary belonged to the owner of the phoenix crown. Since the crown is sold to you, the diary is yours too."

Su Yuanyuan smiled and nodded, quickly counting out the three hundred yuan to hand over.

But the elder shook her head, "Girls, let's settle everything together a bit later."

Zeng Hongling carefully packed away the diary and phoenix crown, then carried the box out to place in the car.

"Hongling, take a look at the things inside the two boxes outside."

Zeng Hongling opened the first box and immediately saw an abacus. The four frames seemed to be made from unknown wood, but the beads were of top-quality Jade.

Below were some booklets, along with two scrolls on the side.

"Yuanyuan, you could offer a hundred for this abacus. The remaining booklets and accounts are quite many. The paintings aren't by famous artists, so this box is worth just about twenty yuan."

Su Yuanyuan explained everything to the elder.

"Alright, I'll sell them to you."

The other box contained children's toys, with the lion rolling a ball being the most valuable, while the rest were quite ordinary. However, these items were at least two hundred years old, "Yuanyuan, offer a hundred yuan for this box."

"Ma'am, for everything, we can give you five hundred and twenty. What do you say?"

"Alright, no problem. They're all yours, and you can keep the boxes too.

But I don't want money. I want food."

Being old and with bound feet, she couldn't work. The village looked after her, but the food distribution each year was meager. She had to buy some privately, or else she would starve.

At her age, how much longer could she live? It was better to exchange it for food, so she wouldn't feel she lost out.

"Ma'am, you want to exchange all this money for food?" Su Yuanyuan understood the elder's meaning.

"Yes, my health is deteriorating day by day. I've suffered most of my life. Now, near the end, I want to eat well and have a few good days."

"Ma'am, I can get you food like rice and white flour. Meat and oil too. What do you want?"

"Girl, can you really get meat?"

Su Yuanyuan nodded, "I can. Fresh pork, chicken, beef, lard, soybean oil, all possible. But in this weather, they won't keep.

However, there's smoked meat, and that's wild boar meat. Also sausages, and they can be preserved."

"Alright. Give me ten pounds of fresh pork, the rest smoked meat and sausages, two hundred pounds of rice, two hundred pounds of white flour, and fifty pounds of soybean oil."

"Alright, ma'am, I'll give you ten pounds of pork, twenty pounds of smoked meat, ten pounds of sausages, fifty pounds of soybean oil, and two hundred pounds of both rice and flour, plus another hundred yuan for you."

"Girl, is this...?"

"Ma'am, let's not discuss money anymore. It's just that I'm trading food for these items."

"Okay, okay, I really wasn't wrong about you."

Su Yuanyuan looked at Zeng Hongling, "You stay here and wait. I'll go get the items."

"Yuanyuan, be careful."

"That's what I should be telling you. I won't be gone for a short while, so be cautious here."

"Don't worry about me. Just be careful. I also want to eat smoked meat and sausages."

"I got it. Rest assured, you'll have your share."

Su Yuanyuan drove away directly back to Taolin Village. She drove into the yard and used her space to take down everything from the car. Otherwise, it would have been really tiring for one person.