Rebirth: Not Being a Waste - Chapter 132

Yu Xiaoliu bought some medicine for both external and internal use and handed it to Wang Meng, then said, “I understand. I’ll come over to help you change the bandages and boil the medicine.”

Wang Meng hesitated for a moment. “Won’t that interfere with your business?”

“It’s fine,” Yu Xiaoliu reassured him. “I’ll come in the afternoon, it’s the quietest time, and it won’t take long.”

Since Yu Xiaoliu had said so, Wang Meng naturally couldn’t refuse. He also wanted to spend more time with Yu Xiaoliuwhile they the both of them were still unmarried.

When Yu Xiaoliu returned to the store, the eldest aunt and second aunt gathered around him to ask about Wang Meng’s condition. After hearing Yu Xiaoliu’s report, the eldest aunt sighed, but the second aunt, hot-tempered as always, immediately scolded, “What kind of lousy brother is this? He’s supposed to be a scholar? Bah! How can a scholar act like that, living like this?, why does he need to study? Where did he even study?”

Yu Xiaoliu told her that he would be making medicine for Wang Meng every afternoon for the next few days, and the second aunt immediately agreed, “Not many people comes to eat in the afternoon, so you can go without worry. By the way, you should bring some snacks. His leg’s hurt, so he probably can’t cook properly. It’s better to fill his stomach.” Seeing that Yu Xiaoliu was about to speak, the second aunt interrupted, “Just take it directly from the store. No need to pay. Wang Meng has been delivering firewood for so long; he’s practically one of us now. What did Ah’shu say? This should be considered a work injury.”

Yu Xiaoliu nodded. Zhang Shu would probably say the same if he mentioned it to him, and might even offer more. Zhang Shu had always been very good to those he respected. He recalled the winter when he was alone, nearly waiting to die. Thankfully, he had made it through. All he needed now was to marry and have a child, and then his life would be perfect.

In the following days, Yu Xiaoliu went to take care of Wang Meng every afternoon. He never saw Wang Shusheng, who was busy attending poetry clubs after the results of the autumn exam were announced.

Although Yu Xiaoliu never saw Wang Shusheng, the neighbors saw a lot. Since Wang Meng often stopped them to ask for things, the gossip began to spread. Some said he couldn’t stand loneliness and had cheated before marriage. Others claimed he was desperate to marry and had found a wild man. Some even insinuated that he had turned into a secret door and was earning his living through the flesh trade.

Wang Meng didn’t know what the neighbors were saying while he stayed at home, but Yu Xiaoliu overheard it several times. Furious, he ground his teeth in anger and decided to confront them in East Gourd Alley that night.

Having spent several years with Zhang Shu, Yu Xiaoliu had participated in many training sessions, including running and martial arts. Though he wasn’t as strong as Zhang Shu, who could easily take on multiple opponents, he could still handle two at once.

Yu Xiaoliu didn’t bother with the gossipy women, instead targeting the men who enjoyed spreading rumors. From fathers to adult grandchildren, he gave them a taste of his strength, knocking them out one by one.

The next morning, the Sun family was in an uproar. “God, we don’t know what sin we committed, but we’ve provoked a killer who’s beaten up our whole family!” The grandmother of the Sun family sat at the door, slapping her thighs and crying, hoping others would hear her sobs, warning everyone that her family had provoked a strong man.

The neighbors around were quiet as mice. No one wanted to get involved, fearing that if they gossip about this strong man, their families would suffer the same fate.

Yu Xiaoliu looked around the silent East Gourd Alley and snorted. “Don’t worry, the ones who talk the most will get their turn soon.”

In the following days, the people in East Gourd Alley lived in fear. Nearly every family had someone beaten up. They went to the county government office to complain, but were promptly turned away before they even reached the door. The officials had bigger matters to deal with and were uninterested in these petty neighborhood disputes. They were told to report back if anyone was seriously injured or killed.

From that point on, Yu Xiaoliu never saw a group of people gossiping about other families. The gossipers had learned that those who lived decently and didn’t commit bad deeds had never been beaten.

When Wang Shusheng returned, he was met with a crowd of people borrowing grain again. This time, he had brought back several praised poems, which had earned him a lot of attention. It was a joyful time, and this time he was especially generous—so generous, in fact, that the rice jar at home was nearly empty.

When Yu Xiaoliu arrived at the door, he saw Wang Shusheng arguing with Wang Meng about something. Without hesitation, Yu Xiaoliu stepped forward and knocked Wang Shusheng to the ground.

When Wang Meng saw Yu Xiaoliu coming, all the grievances he had been hiding suddenly surged up. His nose felt sore, his eyes reddened, and he wanted to cry.

Wang Meng was stronger than Wang Shusheng, but because of his injury, Wang Shusheng had taken half the rice, and now he was even trying to steal the snacks in his house. Though this had happened before, Wang Meng was usually just angry. But now, seeing Yu Xiao Liu standing in front of him, he felt like he wanted to complain. This was the difference between having someone backing him and being alone.

Yu Xiaoliu’s heart broke at the sight of Wang Meng’s red eyes. His strong ger, now reduced to this, was obviously being bullied. Without a second thought, Yu Xiaoliu rushed over and beat Wang Shusheng a few more times, knocking him down instantly.

Wang Shusheng, weak and powerless, could only bully the injured. In front of a real man like Yu Xiaoliu, he was nothing compared to a woman who only relied on nails and sharp words.

Lying on the ground, Wang Shusheng glared at Wang Meng with hatred. “You’re so good, teaming up with an adulterer to deal with your own brother. Just wait, if I let you succeed, I won’t be surnamed Wang!”

For Wang Meng, the marriage certificate required the signature of elders to be valid. If the elders were dead, then the eldest brother would act as the father. He thought that this threat would make the two of them afraid, but Yu Xiaoliu wasn’t scared by his words at all. As for Wang Meng, he never intended to let Yu Xiaoliu fall into such a trap. He wasn’t afraid of anything anymore. If he couldn’t be Yu Xiaoliu’s husband in this life, he would shave his head and go to the temple. He had already looked into a place in the county that accepted ger like him.

Yu Xiao Liu kicked him once more. After ensuring Wang Meng was taken care of, he walked off with a confident stride. Wang Shusheng, angry but unable to voice it, went straight to the matchmaker and insisted on marrying his younger brother off to the hunchbacked named Zhang San.

The matchmaker was taken aback. hunchback Zhang San was fifty years old this year, never married, old, ugly, and lazy. Why would anyone want to marry their brother to him?

Wang Shusheng went on and on, and the matchmaker, though confused, could tell this man was serious. He felt some sympathy for the boy but didn’t think he could do much. After all, the family didn’t seem to care. It was proper to inform hunchback Zhang San about this news first.

After returning to the store, Yu Xiaoliu quickly hitched an ox cart and drove to the village. He was going to seek advice from Zhang Shu. 

When Zhang Shu and Li Mujin heard what Yu Xiaoliu had to say, they were both furious. Upon hearing that Yu Xiaoliu wanted to marry Wang Ge’er, Zhang Shu patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t let your husband get away.”

Yu Xiaoliu replied, “I’m worried Wang Shusheng might marry Ah’meng off without hesitation. Once the marriage certificate is stamped, it’ll be too late!”

Zhang Shu thought for a moment, then said, “Jin’er, do you remember Wang Shusheng?”

“I remember,” Li Mujin replied with disdain, “That fake gentleman, a leech. He’s bad to his own family but good to outsiders. He probably just wants people to think well of him. Wasn’t Dongdong deceive by him last time? He claimed to be poor but kind scholar, though he can’t even pass the scholar exams.”

Zhang Shu gently patted Li Mujin on the back, signaling him to calm down, then looked at the two of them with a sly smile. “Let’s start with his love of reputation.”

He lowered his head and whispered a plan to the two of them. After a while, the three of them were all wearing identical sly smiles.

Qianjin sat on the rocking wooden horse, observing the strange expressions of the adults, confused. He sighed, thinking to himself, adults really are odd! But when can he go to school? He wanted to play with the others!

Later that night, Yu Xiaoliu drove the ox cart again. Onboard were four big men: Wang Changfa, Zhu Dabao, Lai Er, and Yang Ming. These men had signed a contract to sell themselves to Zhang Shu. Though they had been difficult in the past, they were now much more obedient and honest. Over the past two years, they had almost completely changed their bad habits.

Zhang Shu hadn’t made things too hard for them. Initially, their wages were lower than the others, but later they were brought up to the same level. With savings and improved behavior, Wang Changfa had even married the woman he had secretly loved for years. This success encouraged the other men—if they could live a decent life with a wife and children, who would still want to be despised by everyone?

…

The atmosphere in East Gourd Alley was lively. Four or five men were handing out wedding candies to everyone they met. “Wang Shusheng is such a great man! Compassionate and charitable, when he found out my brother, Yu Xiaoliu, was poor, he didn’t ask for a single penny as a bride price. He just married his brother to him! Where else can you find such a good person?”

The people in East Gourd Alley accepted the wedding candies without question. After all, Scholar Wang was known for his kindness, and they were used to hearing such things about him.

After distributing candies in East Gourd Alley, they moved on to the entrance of the lane. By the end of the morning, almost everyone in the county had heard of the kind man named Scholar Wang, who married his brother off without accepting any betrothal gifts, all out of pity for the poor.

Despite what people may have thought privately, they publicly praised him, saying he was the model scholar who didn’t care about money.

When Wang Shusheng learned the full story, he found himself at a loss for words. Was he supposed to say he wasn’t like that? Impossible!

But the candidate could easily be switched from Yu Xiaoliu to Zhang San. 

A cruel glint flashed in his eyes—he was determined not to let them live happily.

Before he could make any moves, Zhang San arrived at the Wang family door, spat at Wang Shusheng, and a thick mouthful of phlegm slid down his clothes.”You so-called scholar, with your evil intentions. I was living a good life, and now you’ve brought a bunch of tough guys to my door. Don’t even think about marrying me to your brother! If you try again, I’ll beat you to death!”

With that, Zhang San turned and left.

Wang Shusheng stood there stunned, then his face turned red with embarrassment. How could someone be so ungrateful? What kind of world was this? It was clear that corrupt officials were in charge, and the public couldn’t tell right from wrong anymore!

The next day, five tall, strong men entered the Wang family courtyard, led by Yu Xiaoliu. “Brother-in-law, thanks to your righteousness, let’s go sign the marriage certificate.”

“Over my dead body!”

“What? You want to back out?” Yu Xiao Liu’s face darkened as he glared at Wang Shusheng.

“It was you who plotted and tricked. I never agreed to marry Ge’er to you. Don’t even think about doing anything to me, or I’ll make sure we both go down together!” Wang Shusheng said this with righteous anger, but his trembling legs betrayed him.

“Brother-in-law, don’t worry. How could I hit you?” Yu Xiaoliu approached and patted his face. “It’s just that I’m really sad I can’t marry Ah’meng, so I have no choice but to let my brothers go out and spread the word. What should we say? We should say that Wang Shusheng is a man who forgets his promises, originally agreeing to marry his brother to poor me, but then suddenly changing his mind out of greed for someone else’s bride price. He’s truly a petty man! What do you think, is this okay? You’re a scholar, so maybe you can refine it a little for me?”

“You!!” Wang Shusheng was about to explode just imagining it.

“By the way, you can still marry Ah’meng off to someone else. At worst, we can be a pair of adulterers sneaking around, which could be even more fun. But if you do that, your family’s reputation, your name, will be tarnished. Forget about your dreams of being an official in this lifetime.”

“You are shameless!” Wang Shusheng was on the brink of fainting. 

Wang Shusheng nearly fainted at the thought, but Yu Xiaoliu quickly pressed on his pressure point, bringing him back to his senses. Yu Xiaoliu then pulled out a marriage certificate. “I’ve signed my name already, and I’m just waiting for you, brother-in-law. You can refuse me, and we’ll go straight to the government office with drums and gongs, making a big ruckus.”

Wang Shusheng ground his teeth in frustration but had no choice but to go with them to the county office and stamp the contract. On the way, people congratulated them, some praising Wang Shusheng’s virtue, others saying Yu Xiaoliu was lucky.

As they walked through the street, Wang Shusheng for the first time realized that reputation wasn’t always a good thing.

“Brother-in-law, tomorrow’s a good day. I’ll take Ah’meng to marry. Since you don’t want any betrothal gifts or a wedding banquet, we’ll just have to trouble Ah’meng to go.”

Yu Xiaoliu’s voice echoed through the alley, and Wang Meng, hiding in the room, was in disbelief. Could it really be this easy to escape from this fire pit? Everything felt like a dream.

The next day, when Yu Xiaoliu came to take him away in the ox cart, Wang Meng was still dazed, carrying his bundle as he walked. The cart swayed all the way to a place where colorful lanterns hung and red cloths were draped everywhere, exuding a festive atmosphere…