Rebirth: Not Being a Waste - Chapter 15
“Brother? You’re back so early today! I still want to play for a while longer. I’m not going back yet.” Li Mujin shows no fear of his brother.
Zhang Shu tries to meet Li Yan’s gaze but quickly shrinks back. He’s still afraid of Jin’er’s older brother.
Li Yan grows even more annoyed when he sees Zhang Shu’s timid reaction. A grown man, acting even shyer than his brother! His Jin’er is already timid enough, and now this?
“Go back!”
“No! If you keep being so fierce, I’ll tell Father!” Li Mujin isn’t intimidated at all. He grabs Zhang Shu’s hand and runs down the mountain. He hasn’t seen Brother Ah’shu in so long, and he misses him terribly. How could just sitting together for a short while be enough?
Zhang Shu follows him passively, letting himself be pulled along, but his heart feels warm. Jin’er always stands by him like this. However, the cold glare from behind makes his back stiffen.
He leans closer and whispers a few words into Li Mujin’s ear. He can clearly feel that as soon as he gets close to Jin’er, that sharp gaze behind them becomes like an arrow piercing straight through him.
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.” Li Mujin pouts slightly, reluctant. He lets go of Zhang Shu’s hand and walks toward his brother, dragging his feet. The way he keeps turning back every few steps makes Li Yan’s teeth ache.
Zhang Shu watches as the two brothers argue while walking away, then lowers his head with a faint smile. In his previous life, he never dared to do anything out of the ordinary, so Mujin’s emotions had never been so open. Now he realizes just how deeply Mujin cares for him.
Getting a second chance at life is truly a blessing…
As soon as Li Mujin gets home, Li Aba immediately notices something different about him. While Li Yan handles the prey, he pulls Li Mujin into the room.
“Jin’er, who gave you that silver hairpin?”
“Aba, you noticed? Brother and I walked all the way home, but he didn’t even notice!” Li Mujin beams, even tilting his head so his father can take a better look.
“It was… Zhang Shu, wasn’t it?” Li Aba asks, though he’s already certain of the answer.
“Yes! Brother Ah’shu earned money from working and bought it for me. Aba, doesn’t it look nice?” Li Mujin’s expression is one of pure joy, like a young man in love, and it’s impossible to hide from his father.
Li Aba frowns slightly. His Jin’er clearly likes Zhang Shu. Before, Zhang Shu was more reserved, and Mujin kept his feelings hidden. But now, Zhang Shu has changed, and Mujin no longer conceals anything—he has even accepted such an expensive gift.
“It’s beautiful, but… a valuable thing like this—how could you accept it?”
“I refused at first, but Brother Ah’shu said this was the hairpin he wanted to give his future husband and asked if I wanted it. How could I say no?” Li Mujin’s voice grows softer, and his face turns crimson. He’s clearly embarrassed to be discussing this in front of his father.
“Couldn’t you at least be a little more reserved?” Li Aba sighs. Is his son really willing to be swayed just by a hairpin?
“But what if Brother Ah’shu really meant it? He’s so timid, he might not dare to say it a second time,” Li Mujin counters.
“What do you even like about that boy?” His father doesn’t understand.
“Aba, don’t talk about him like that!” Li Mujin immediately defends Zhang Shu. “When I was little, I had measles. Everyone was afraid of me. They would throw stones at me whenever they saw me. But Brother Ah’shu wasn’t afraid. He came to play with me in secret every day and even gave me all the toys and snacks his parents bought for him. He’s always been good to me!”
Li Aba sighs and shakes his head. His son is already too deep in this. He only hopes Zhang Shu can withstand the opposition from his grandparents and won’t end up breaking Jin’er’s heart.
After his father leaves, Li Mujin closes the door and takes out the copper coins Zhang Shu entrusted to him. He counts them carefully—405 coins in total.
He is stunned. Brother Ah’shu has also given his grandmother one or two of silver and even bought him a hairpin. How has he made so much in just one trip?
Knowing that his sweetheart is so capable fills Li Mujin’s heart with pride. He reaches under his bed, takes out a wooden box hidden inside a clay jar, and opens it. This is where he has been saving his pocket money. Over the years, he has managed to save 136 copper coins after spending the rest.
After adding Zhang Shu’s money, the box instantly feels much heavier. He smiles to himself and decides that from now on, whenever his father gives him pocket money, he won’t spend it—he will save it all.
When Zhang Shu returns home, he immediately notices that someone has entered his room. The backpack on his table has been rummaged through.
There is only one possible culprit—his second aunt. She must have been trying to find out what he brought back.
But she has come up empty-handed. He already took everything important away in advance, leaving only some old clothes for changing.
If this had been the old him, he might have naively assumed his second aunt had been planning to wash his clothes for him.
Zhang Shu picks up the backpack, steps outside, and grabs the wooden washbasin. He draws a bucket of water from the well and begins soaking his clothes.
As he is washing, his grandmother returns home. “Ah’shu, why are you washing your own clothes? Where’s your second aunt?” she asks, frowning slightly. She doesn’t like the idea of a man doing such chores.
Zhang Shu smiles. “Grandma, I can wash them myself. I learned how while working. If I don’t wash my clothes properly, people will laugh at me. Let me practice a bit.”
He doesn’t want his second aunt touching his clothes anymore. It won’t do him any good—she will only gain more praise for her supposed kindness. Taking just a quarter of an hour each day to wash his own clothes is nothing.
As for his grandmother’s opinions? He doesn’t care. In this world, there aren’t only men and women. Why should certain tasks be restricted? The more he learns, the less work Jin’er will have to do in the future.
His grandmother, always trusting of him, says nothing more. She simply pulls up a small stool, sits next to him, and begins helping him wash. As she scrubs, she patiently teaches him how to get the clothes truly clean.
The two of them sit in the yard, sharing a peaceful moment together. The warm sunlight filters through the leaves of the large tree, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Zhang Shu thinks to himself, If only people never had to grow up…
