Rebirth: Not Being a Waste - Chapter 128

They returned to the inn, and when they did, Zhang Erbao started crying. The boy’s voice was loud, instantly attracting the attention of others around.

“Ah’shu, Erbao is hungry,” Li Mujin said. There were sheep in the corner of the inn’s backyard, and Zhang Shu quickly grabbed a bowl and went over to fetch some milk.

Qianjin gently touched Erbao’s face. “Don’t cry, Erbao, don’t cry. Father will be back soon.” His eyes were round and soft, and when he looked at others, his gaze was very tender.

Feeling a bit hungry, Erbao stopped crying and looked up at Qianjin with misty eyes, his little mouth pouting as if he were silently complaining.

Li Mujin smiled as he watched the interaction between the two children. Zhang Shu was always careful to treat the children equally, and as a result, Qianjin and Zhang Erbao got along very well. Sometimes, Erbao even seemed to prefer Qianjin.

He was beginning to recognize people. At night, he always wanted to sleep with Li Mujin, but if he wasn’t available, he still managed to fall asleep holding onto Qianjin’s hair.

Zhang Shu moved quickly. After preparing the sheep’s milk, he heated it up on the stove, and it was ready in no time. He hurried out to give it to his son.

It was afternoon, and there weren’t many people in the inn. Li Mujin sat at a table near the counter, chatting with Aunt Lin about parenting. In front of her, in addition to Qianjin, there was another little one with her hair tied up in a bun.

Zhang Shu walked over and almost dropped the bowl in his hand. Wasn’t this his eldest daughter-in-law? Though her outline was not very clear now, the mole on her cheek was unmistakable. He remembered it clearly, as the old woman always used to scold her because of that mole, calling her a “starving ghost reincarnated.”

Could it be that she and his second son shared some past-life connection? It had been so long since Erbao was born—could she really have a future with him?

The little girl stood quietly, holding Erbao’s hand, but her eyes focused on Qianjin. It was obvious she was more interested in this slightly older little ger.

Zhang Shu thought of something that lingered in his mind for a long time. He believed that his eldest daughter-in-law had likely shared a similar fate to his own, or perhaps even something more bizarre.

Although Zhang Shu changed greatly, some of his habits and little gestures remained the same, and others still recognized him. His personality only shifted slightly.

But ever since his eldest daughter-in-law woke up after her injury, people who knew her often said that she was a completely different person. For example, she used to love eating celery, but after the injury, she wouldn’t even touch it. She also avoided eating meat, especially fish, no matter how well it was cooked, but after her recovery, she started eating fish and even took the children out to eat it regularly. She showed no sign of dislike for the smell.

Zhang Shu couldn’t help wondering if, in his past life, Zhang Qin had noticed that the wife who shared his hardships changed. And how, there seemed to be an unknown spirit or ghost that entered her body—someone who knew far more than a normal person should.

If it weren’t for Zhang Shu’s own experiences, he probably would have doubted it.

“Ah’shu, why are you spacing out? Hurry up and feed Erbao his milk,” Li Mujin suddenly turned and saw Zhang Shu standing there like a wooden post, unmoving.

“Oh, okay,” Zhang Shu snapped back to reality and stopped worrying about those thoughts. If it turned out that in this life, Erbao was still fated to be with her, all he needed to do was be careful and not let his daughter-in-law get seriously hurt. That should keep any ghostly spirit from taking over her body. In his opinion, his original eldest daughter-in-law was better. Though the current one knew a lot, there was always something about her that felt superior, and sometimes, when she looked at Zhang Qin, there was a hint of disdain.

Though Zhang Shu believed that in this life, he would never let her look down on him again, it was still a bit of a regret that the original wife, who bore Zhang Qin two children, passed away mysteriously.

Li Mujin noticed he was in a daze again and sighed before taking the bowl from him. “Erbao, your Father might not be able to feed you today. Let’s have your Aba do it.”

Erbao kicked his little legs, signaling that it didn’t matter who fed him, as long as they did it quickly.

“Erya, hurry up, we need to catch the boat!” a man shouted. Zhang Shu immediately recognized him as his former in-law from his past life.

They were all carrying large bundles. Zhang Shu’s former in-law recognized him too and came over, saying, “You’re Boss Zhang, right?”

“You know me?”

“You’ve been coming to our village every year to collect spring and potatoes. How could I not know you? Thanks to you, otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to gather enough for the boat tickets to Nanhai County!”

“What are you going to Nanhai County for?”

The man grinned widely. “I’ve got a maternal uncle there. Two years ago, he sent word saying that the family came into some good fortune and invited us to go there to enjoy the blessings. Back then, we could barely fill our stomachs, never mind thinking about boat tickets. But after selling goods to you for the past few years, we saved up enough, so we decided to go look for him.”

Actually, it was his uncle who provided the travel expenses, but the messenger took the money, and when he returned, he said that the family was reluctant to leave their hometown and didn’t want to come. This happened in the past, and it was happening again.

In the previous life, his uncle died childless, and after his death, his inheritance was completely divided up. In this life, however, their family moved and could at least enjoy some family warmth for a time.

Zhang Shu thought for a moment and then spoke up. “The boat journey is tough. The cabins are small, and food is also a problem. Here’s what I’ll do: you go to the Zhang Family Store and bring back two jars of pickled radishes. It’ll be easier to eat on the road with that.”

“How can I accept this?” The man scratched his head, feeling like he might have said too much. But that was just his nature—he was a big talker, able to chat easily with strangers.

“Our family’s business depends entirely on your support,” Zhang Shu said. “These two jars of sour radish aren’t worth much. Just take them. I’ll write you a note.”

In his previous life, his daughter-in-law spent her youth in his home, only for her body to be taken away by someone else in the end. He didn’t feel at all reluctant to part with the two jars of pickled radish. In fact, if his family were still as poor as they used to be, Zhang Shu might have just given them the money directly. But his purchase of spring and potatoes, in a way, changed the fate of their family. It was as if there was some divine will guiding things.

The man took the note gratefully and left, while his wife followed with the girl nicknamed Erya. Zhang Shu watched them leave and sighed.

It was during this brief moment of sending them off that Zhang Shu caught the attention of someone else.

“Brother Zhang Shu, how are you?”

“Shopkeeper Yan?” Zhang Shu turned around and saw the former Shopkeeper Yan of Nantong Grocery Store. Since following Master Nan, Shopkeeper Yan became wealthier. Now, when he went out, others no longer saw him as just a shopkeeper but as someone who might be mistaken for a landlord.

The profits from sailing were substantial, especially since Master Nan allowed each of them to carry a certain amount of goods back and forth. As the supervisor, Yan received the largest share, and this business of buying and selling truly increased his wealth.

“Aren’t you sailing with the young master?” Zhang Shu asked.

“I just returned! We were talking about you on the ship. Now that the river bandits are gone, it’s all thanks to you,” Shopkeeper Yan said warmly, still grateful for Zhang Shu’s help with the bandits.

Though to others, Zhang Shu’s role might have seemed like just a bodyguard doing his job, the young master Nan viewed it as a great favor and often mentioned him. Some of Zhang Shu’s customers who bought vermicelli were introduced by Shopkeeper Yan. He watched Zhang Shu’s business grow and never tried to take advantage of it, keeping the favor in his heart.

Having stayed in Nanhai County for several months, Shopkeeper Yan didn’t return until now. When he heard the news about the river bandits being captured and killed upon arriving at Anyang County, he broke out in a cold sweat. He was relieved that the Zhang family was fine—otherwise, he would have felt guilty.

“No, no, it was the court that sent troops to hunt them down. I didn’t do anything,” Zhang Shu replied modestly.

“Haha, don’t be so modest. Come with me to a place. I’ve finally run into you. Come meet the young master,” Shopkeeper Yan insisted, pulling Zhang Shu along.

Zhang Shu couldn’t refuse, so he told Li Mujin. She rolled her eyes and asked him to bring Qianjin along, saying he couldn’t take care of both of them alone.

Zhang Shu didn’t suspect anything, so he took Qianjin with him.

Actually, Li Mujin had his reservations. He didn’t know Shopkeeper Yan and only saw a wealthy businessman calling on Zhang Shu. From their usual conversations about how men with money could go astray, indulging in all sorts of vices, he was worried. Though Zhang Shu only had enough money on hand to buy a piece of cake for Qianjin, he couldn’t resist if someone asked him to come along.

What if something went wrong? What if something really did happen? It would be too late to regret it afterward. So, he had him take Qianjin, just in case.

The Young Master Nan lived in the largest inn in the county, called Kelaiju, which meant “Guests come like clouds.” It was famous for being a bustling place.

Shopkeeper Yan chatted with Zhang Shu along the way. When he saw how cute Qianjin was, he bought a pack of hot thousand-layer cakes for him.

Qianjin, seeing Zhang Shu nod, took the food and sweetly said, “Thank you, uncle.”

Shopkeeper Yan was surprised. Such a young child didn’t act spoiled when food was presented to him. He was so well-behaved.

They arrived at Kelaiju, which was crowded with people in the afternoon, as the storytellers were on duty all day, telling the latest jokes.

Who didn’t want to be in the spotlight if they were rich? When you went out to meet friends, if someone asked, “Have you heard the latest news?” and you shook your head, others might think you were a bumpkin.

Young Master Nan sat at the front in a master’s chair, with coffee tables on both sides filled with fruits and snacks, including some rare fruits.

Shopkeeper Yan squeezed in and said a few words to Young Master Nan.

Young Master Nan stood up and gave all the snacks to the storytelling team.

Zhang Shu was seated in a private room, waiting for Young Master Nan. Qianjin was eating cakes, occasionally feeding some to Zhang Shu.

Father and son were having a pleasant time when the door opened. They looked up together and saw Young Master Nan, which made the atmosphere a little tense.

“Brother Zhang, long time no see,” Young Master Nan said, sitting down with a warm smile, not showing the arrogance he had when sitting in the hall listening to the story.

“Young Master is a busy man. You must have many things to attend to,” Zhang Shu replied with a smile, surprised at the change in address.

“Same here. Brother Zhang’s business has been growing lately. I’ve seen shops selling vermicelli in every county I’ve visited.”

“It’s just a small business, not worth mentioning. Nothing compared to you, Young Master.”

“By the way, what brings you and your family to the county today?” Young Master Nan asked, watching Qianjin carefully tear apart the thousand-layer cake, layer by layer, and eat it with great interest.

Zhang Shu thought for a moment and then spoke honestly. “I’m looking for a teacher to set up a classroom. I plan to build a school in the village, so my descendants won’t have to wander in the dark in the future.”