Rebirth: Not Being a Waste - Chapter 51
Doing business here on the river is different from doing business in the market. In the market, the stalls usually close after noon. But here, as long as you have the energy, you can keep the stall open all day. Often, the boats on this side leave, and the boats on the other side come in. There are always people around, and it never quiets down.
The two tables at Zhang Shu’s stall are always full. As soon as one person leaves, another takes their place. They barely have time to eat or rest. They’re always busy boiling noodles and preparing seasonings, dividing the noodles in the bucket into bowls. After customers finish, they clean up and wash the dishes. They wish they can do everything at once.
Li Mujin is very satisfied carrying a bag of money. The taste of making money is so good that he can’t even tell if he’s hungry anymore.
Zhang Shu feels a bit distressed. He prepares a bowl of sour and spicy noodles and hands it to Li Mujin, telling him to eat it now.
But just as he does, another customer arrives. After Li Mujin responds, Zhang Shu quickly serves the bowl to the customer. He collects money, cleans up the dishes, and washes them. He can’t stop at all.
Zhang Shu, feeling a little helpless, takes a steamed bun from the steamer, breaks it in half, and eats one part, feeding the other half to Li Mujin as he continues to work.
Time passes unnoticed during the busy work. It isn’t until he can no longer scoop out soaked vermicelli from the bucket that Li Mujin realizes the day has flown by.
“Ah’shu, there are only three bowls left. We can head back after we sell them,” Li Mujin says, his face beaming. He’s very happy with the results.
The steamed buns were sold out long ago, but some customers buy a bun to eat with the noodles. The first few customers order a bowl of vermicelli and a steamed bun, so by the time the later customers arrive, they order the same, seeing it as the standard for sour and spicy vermicelli.
“Alright, you’ve been working hard all day. Let’s ask a couple of people to help us when we get home so we can make more. We might have to use some of the money we earned, but it’s better than having you work so hard.”
The last three bowls are reserved by a young master. His two servants share one bowl, and he eats two bowls by himself. He doesn’t seem that fat, yet he eats so much—considering Zhang Shu’s bowls are quite large.
With everything sold out, they pack up and prepare to head home. Li Mujin takes care of the packing, and Zhang Shu goes to lead the cow. He brings a lot of things with him, but now he’s much lighter on the way back.
After handing over the sign and taking the cow, Zhang Shu secretly glances at the cow’s round belly. It’s clear the ox isn’t hungry. He’s satisfied, knowing he only spends two on it.
As they head out, Zhang Shu notices two men standing near their stall, leering and laughing while talking to Li Mujin.
Li Mujin looks wary, one hand clutching the money pouch, the other holding a large iron spoon for protection.
Zhang Shu’s expression turns cold. Anyone who dares to bully Little Mujin is asking for trouble!
He walks briskly over to the stall, pulls Li Mujin aside, and slightly turns his body to shield him. “Jin’er, what’s wrong?”
Li Mujin suppresses his anger. “Nothing, they just want to buy our sour and spicy vermicelli.”
“Gentlemen,” Zhang Shu says without a smile but still maintaining politeness, “my sour and spicy vermicelli is sold out. If you want some, come earlier next time. I can’t serve you today.”
A man with a mustache and a rat-like face replies, “That won’t do. Everyone on the river knows we two brothers love trying new things. If everyone hears you’ve got this new dish but we don’t get to try it, it’ll be embarrassing.”
“Oh? Then how can I give you face?” Zhang Shu’s eyes grow colder, but he smiles.
“Alright, either you serve us now, or you give us some money to apologize.” These two men are local thugs. They usually show respect to those who collect stall fees and sometimes offer money. They wouldn’t dare cause a big scene, but they see that the ger is alone, weak, and a stranger. With just a little pressure, they believe the money will come easily. The country folk are most afraid of getting into trouble.
Zhang Shu takes the money bag hanging from Li Mujin and hangs it on himself. Then he says, “Pack up the rest of the things and harness the ox cart. I’ll be back with these two soon.”
Li Mujin looks worriedly at the two men. “I’ll come with you.”
“Be good, it’s alright! Trust me!” Zhang Shu pats his head reassuringly, gives him a firm look, then whispers to the two men, “Brothers, it’s hard to discuss matters here. How about we go to that alley?”
The two men exchange glances, nod, and follow Zhang Shu. They had initially not been afraid of two people, but with just one man in front of them, they feel even less intimidated.
Zhang Shu walks confidently into an alley, turns a corner, and waits for the two men. They follow him closely, soon catching up.
“Boy, you’re quite sensible. Here’s what we’ll do: we can’t ask for too much. Just give us half.” The man with the mustache says this, and the other, with a fat face, nods in agreement.
He immediately demands half of it. Seeing that his tone seems to be a form of bargaining, Zhang Shu doesn’t respond further. He tightens the money pouch and swings it directly at the tall man’s face. The pouch, heavy with a few hundred copper coins, lands squarely, and immediately, his face swells up. The weight of those coins shouldn’t be underestimated, especially with Zhang Shu’s strength.
The two men are caught completely off guard. They can’t understand why the man, who had been speaking so kindly just moments ago, suddenly attacks. The tall man, enraged by the blow, immediately rushes toward Zhang Shu, engaging him in a struggle.
The mustached man is even more vicious. He grabs a piece of firewood, thick as his arm, and swings it at Zhang Shu from behind. Many men have been defeated by them before.
But Zhang Shu seems to have eyes in the back of his head. While still wrestling with the tall man in front, he kicks the man with the mustache, sending him flying backward.
Both men realize they’ve encountered someone tough today. However, since they’ve already offended him, they have no choice but to fight to the death.
Zhang Shu isn’t afraid to risk his life. He knows his body is tougher than theirs. He recovers quickly from injuries—can they?
After a while, the two men are left stunned by Zhang Shu’s ferocious fighting style. He has the upper hand, yet he fights as if he’s cornered.
The two men, bruised and battered, lie on the ground, groaning in pain. Zhang Shu picks up Li Mujin’s money pouch, dusts it off carefully, and tucks it into his own clothes. Then, he grabs the wooden stick that the mustached man tries to use on him, tapping it against the wall, and says, “Earlier, you said you wanted half, right? There’s about four or five hundred copper coins here. Let’s call it two hundred fifty for you. Are you splitting it between you two, or how do you want to do this?”
The two men exchange glances, fear evident in their eyes. It’s clear that the coins aren’t what’s being offered now—it’s the stick! They’ve spent the entire day hunting geese but end up being pecked in the eyes by sparrows. This time, they admit defeat.
The two men scramble to their knees, pleading, “Brother, we didn’t know who we were dealing with! Please, spare us! We’ll never do it again, we swear!”
Zhang Shu looks at them, but the anger in his heart doesn’t subside. If he hasn’t learned combat skills and been strong, he would be the one kneeling today! All the income he’s worked hard for over the past few days would have been taken from him. How could he face Xiao Mujin then?
The two men, seeing that Zhang Shu’s expression doesn’t soften, grow even more panicked. If they don’t die after one or two hundred blows, they will certainly be half-dead. In the countryside, who can they complain to?
“Brother, please forgive us! We don’t want the money. Consider this an apology!” The mustached man and the tall man each pull out their money bags and throw them into Zhang Shu’s hands before hurrying away.
Li Mujin, holding a large iron spoon, is standing guard outside the alley, ready to rush in if something goes wrong or to call for help if needed. He’s puzzled when he hears the shouts of the two men but doesn’t rush in since Zhang Shu isn’t at a disadvantage.
Before long, the two men dash out, their eyes wide with fear as though they’ve just encountered a monster. The mustached man throws something at Li Mujin, shouting, “Here! Take it all! It’s all for you!” Then he and the tall man quickly bypass him and flee.
Li Mujin, bewildered, picks up the object that’s thrown at him. When he sees it, he can’t help but smile. The white ingot of silver must weigh at least one or two ! If only this man had thrown a few more at him!
Just then, Zhang Shu walks out, looking at Li Mujin in a daze, and hands over the two money bags that don’t belong to him.
“You got some too?” Li Mujin’s eyes light up. He lowers his voice and says, “I got some too. Let’s go back first to avoid them coming back!”
Zhang Shu thinks the same. What if they have a backup?
He quickly helps Li Mujin onto the ox cart and they drive off.
The two of them are cautious on the way, not relaxing until they are out of the city and the gates close behind them.
Li Mujin leans against Zhang Shu’s back, happily playing with the small silver ingot in his hand. “Ah’shu, why do you think they gave us money?”
“I don’t know,” Zhang Shu replies in a muffled voice. “I just wanted to beat them up, but they left their money bags and ran off.”
“Yeah, they threw things at me before they left!”
“What! They dared to throw things at you?” Zhang Shu regrets getting distracted by the money bags earlier. “Where did they throw it at you? Does it hurt?”
Li Mujin turns around, lying on Zhang Shu’s back. He puts his arm around his neck and hands the silver ingot to him. “They threw it at me. I wish they’d thrown more!”
“That’s not good; it’d hurt if it hit you. Throwing it on the ground is fine, though.”
