Rebirth: Not Being a Waste - Chapter 20

Zhang Shu climbs up, walks to Li Mujin, gently takes the hatchet from his hand, and pulls him into a hug. “It’s okay, it’s okay!”

Li Mujin is stunned at first but soon buries his face in Zhang Shu’s chest and begins to sob. He is truly terrified—afraid that the wild boar will kill him, afraid that he is useless, unable to save Zhang Shu.

Zhang Shu comforts him softly, but suddenly, a voice comes from behind.

“What are you doing? What did you do to my brother?”

It’s Li Yan! He stands in the dense forest, frowning at his crying brother. The stench of blood in the air is overwhelming, yet Zhang Shu looks completely unharmed.

“Brother?” Li Mujin sees his older brother and immediately feels aggrieved again. “We ran into a wild boar! We almost got killed!”

“I was the one who drove that wild boar…” Li Yan says, looking frustrated.

“What?! You drove it here? Why would you chase it in this direction?!”

“How was I supposed to know someone would be here? Who told you to come up the mountain? Did Zhang Shu bring you here?” Li Yan’s gaze darkens as he squints at Zhang Shu, sizing him up as though deciding where to punch him first.

Zhang Shu swallows nervously and quickly explains, “I’m sorry, Brother Li Yan. I took Jin’er up the mountain on my own. I thought it would be safe.”

“Brother, don’t blame him. He only agreed because I bragged about how strong I was.” Li Mujin immediately wilts.

“You’re the only one who would believe your own lies,” Li Yan scoffs, then adds in a rough voice, “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I’m fine. All this blood is from the wild boar. But Brother Ah’shu got injured—his hand is hurt, and the boar stomped on his chest a few times.”

Li Yan gives Zhang Shu a once-over and, seeing that he is still standing, decides he isn’t too badly injured. Then, he crouches down to examine the wild boar. “You got lucky. Your first strike hit the spine, weakening it. Otherwise, if it had gone completely berserk, the two of you wouldn’t have been able to take it down.”

He is secretly impressed. The strike has severed two thick bones along the boar’s back. Cutting through an animal with such tough hide and dense muscle like this requires incredible strength. No wonder Zhang Shu’s hands are injured.

Both Zhang Shu and Li Mujin lower their heads at his words.

Li Yan finds a bundle of vines, ties up the boar’s hooves, and threads a sturdy branch through them. Then, seeing the two still standing idly, he snaps impatiently, “Well? Are you just going to stand there? Help me carry this thing before we attract something worse.”

Zhang Shu quickly grabs the other end of the branch, and together, he and Li Yan hoist the wild boar onto their shoulders. The animal weighs at least 200 pounds, making it a struggle even with both of them carrying it.

Li Mujin follows behind, carrying Zhang Shu’s backpack and the hatchet. He wants to help carry the boar, but he knows that if he tries, he’ll probably collapse under its weight.

When they finally reach the foot of the mountain, Li Mujin’s mother catches sight of him—covered in blood—and nearly faints. After realizing it’s only the boar’s blood and that her ger isn’t injured, her relief quickly turns to anger. She almost resorts to family discipline on the spot, furious that he has snuck off with Zhang Shu without telling anyone what they were really up to.

Zhang Shu, feeling awkward, stands to the side, but Li Aba  quickly pulls him inside and has Li Yan fetch some medicinal powder.

Zhang Shu sits stiffly on a stool while Li Yan applies the medicine. Compared to Li Mujin’s gentle care last time, his brother’s treatment is rough and unceremonious.

Li Mujin looks at Zhang Shu apologetically, feeling guilty for getting him hurt. Zhang Shu smiles at him, silently reassuring him that he’s fine.

Li Yan, noticing their exchange, snorts and deliberately presses harder. Zhang Shu hisses in pain and quickly looks away.

After finishing, Li Yan claps his hands and says coldly, “You can go now. I’ll bring the meat to your house after it’s butchered.”

Zhang Shu hurriedly shakes his head. “No, no, Jin’er was the one who killed it. I don’t need any of it.”

“You think I don’t know how to divide a pig? Stop arguing.”

“Then… I’ll just take half. If it weren’t for Jin’er, I wouldn’t have made it out alive today.” Zhang Shu stands his ground, his face stiff as he meets Li Yan’s cold gaze.

Li Yan stares at him for a long moment before finally nodding. Then, as he turns to leave, he says casually, “From now on, come to me every morning.”

Zhang Shu is confused. “Huh? Why?”

Li Mujin beams. “Hurry up and agree! My brother wants to teach you how to hunt!”

Zhang Shu quickly straightens up. “Thank you, Brother!” The words slip out naturally, but as soon as they do, Li Yan shoots him an irritated glare.

Zhang Shu can only chuckle sheepishly at Li Mujin.

Li Yan is unhappy again. If his brother weren’t so hopelessly fixated on this person, he wouldn’t have bothered to teach him! He is only doing this to prevent them from getting killed by a wild beast or a wolf the next time they go up the mountain.

Zhang Shu returns home smelling of medicine and is immediately noticed by his grandmother. Grandma Zhang checks his injuries and feels distressed again. “Ah’shu, why are you always getting hurt lately? Maybe you should just stay home next time and not go out.”

Zhang Shu smiles and says, “It’s nothing for a man to bleed and get injured. Grandma, don’t worry about me, I’m fine!”

Grandma Zhang looks at her grandson, who has been growing stronger lately, and doesn’t know what to say. Although other boys grow up through fighting, she always feels that her grandson is different.

Since his hand is injured, he can’t catch fish directly with his hands. After thinking it over, Zhang Shu fashions a fishing net using his torn mosquito net and a long bamboo pole.

As long as the water is muddied, there’s no need to worry about catching fish!

After lunch, Zhang Shu sneaks out again.

The wounds on his body no longer hurt. It seems that last time wasn’t just a fluke—his body has really changed.

He carries a bucket to the small river behind the village. Unlike the river in front, which is used for washing clothes, this one has plenty of small fish and shrimp. He finds a spot with dense aquatic plants and starts stirring up the water.

The small fish feel the change and swim to the surface to breathe. Zhang Shu casts his net and catches seven or eight fish, each about the length of a finger.

This type of fish has only one straight spine and is full of tender meat—perfect for pairing with wine. Zhang Shu tosses them into the bucket and casts the net again.

This time, the catch isn’t as good since the fish have scattered. Only two or three get caught.

Zhang Shu moves downstream and repeats the process. In the distance, a few snot-nosed kids come over with simple bamboo fishing rods. Seeing Zhang Shu, they frown, but when they notice the fish in his bucket, their eyes light up.

“Hey! You caught all our fish! What are we supposed to catch now? You have to compensate us!” The leading boy speaks arrogantly, his greedy eyes locked onto the fish in the bucket.

“Yeah! Compensate us!” the other children echo, completely unafraid of Zhang Shu.

Brother Wang Changfa has told them that Zhang Shu might look tall, but he’s just a big, dumb buffalo. No matter how much you hit him, he never gets mad!

But they forget—cows can also kick.

Zhang Shu sneers at these twelve- or thirteen-year-old troublemakers. They are already so bad at this age—no wonder they will grow up to be sneaky little crooks.

When the ringleader reaches out to grab the bucket, Zhang Shu seizes his wrist and twists it behind his back, making him yelp in pain.

Er’Laizi tries to kick him, but Zhang Shu hooks his leg and pins him to the ground.

“What was it you wanted again?”

“I-I-I… I don’t want it anymore!” Er’Laizi cries, while the other children stand frozen in shock. No one expects Zhang Shu to be so ruthless—or so quick.

“What will you call me next time you see me?”

“B-Brother Shu! Shu! Shu!”

“One ‘Shu’ is enough.” Zhang Shu lets him go, then smacks him lightly on the face twice. “I won’t beat you up today. See if you remember this. If you don’t, I’ll remind you tomorrow.”

Watching the kids scurry away, Zhang Shu picks up his bucket and heads home with his fish.

When he arrives, Li Yan has already delivered the pork to his house. It looks like a lot, and he has even left the whole pig’s head.

Seeing Zhang Shu return, Li Yan mentions that he has thrown away the pig’s internal organs since they were too much trouble to handle. The only thing he keeps is the pig’s stomach, which he has given to the old doctor in the village. The rest of the meat belongs to Zhang Shu—he can eat it or sell it.

Zhang Shu scoops out a bowl of small fish from his bucket and hands it to Li Yan. “Take this back for Jin’er.”

Li Yan doesn’t want to accept it, but Zhang Shu insists. In the end, he takes it, though he can’t understand what is so special about these fish.