Rebirth: Not Being a Waste - Chapter 52

The two drive the cart along the mountain road, and it is already dark. Fortunately, they bring a lantern when they leave in the morning, and the calf knows the way, so they don’t end up in a pit.

At home, Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Zhang are restless. They keep going outside to check, unable to relax. If they don’t check, anxiety grips them.

“No, I have to go out and look for them. I can’t feel at ease,” Grandma Zhang says, throwing the rag aside and preparing to leave.

“Where can you go in this pitch black? If you fall into a pit, I’ll have to take care of you,” Grandpa Zhang insists, not daring to let her go. In the dark, no one would know where an old woman might fall.

“Who needs you to take care of me? My Ah’shu and grandson-in-law are very well-behaved!” Despite her words, Grandma Zhang reluctantly gives up the idea of going out to search. If she falls and gets hurt, it will cause trouble for the younger ones, and they won’t be able to go out either.

“Just sit here and wait. Ah’shu says they will definitely come back today. There’s nothing we can do about it. Why don’t you make something warm to eat? They must be hungry after this cold journey.”

Grandma Zhang thinks for a moment, then nods. She stands up, then turns back to say, “Come light the fire for me.”

Grandpa Zhang shakes his head, helpless. He has spent his entire life being ordered around by her.

Li Mujin leans against Zhang Shu and they share the quilt. Zhang Shu holds the reins with one hand and wraps his other arm around Li Mujin to share warmth.

The cart really should have a canopy, or else it doesn’t block the wind. The wind is biting, and a shed would help block it. He decides he’ll ask someone to build one when they get back. Even if there will be less space for cargo in the future, it’s better than having Li Mujin stand in the cold like this.

Li Mujin actually doesn’t mind too much. With Zhang Shu, wrapped in the blanket, his head resting against Zhang Shu’s chest, even though the wind howls outside and the night is dark and cold, he feels incredibly cozy.

Since marrying Zhang Shu, Li Mujin finally understands what it means to be content in love. Even without much, being able to spend each day together makes him very happy.

Zhang Shu is growing stronger, too. In the past, the boys and girls in the village looked down on him, as if marrying him was something unbearable. Li Mujin heard so much about it that he stopped interacting with them. But now, when he goes out, he sometimes hears people comment on how Zhang Shu is tall, can make money, and loves his husband.

Li Mujin snuggles closer to him. He’s glad that no matter how much Zhang Shu changes, his heart for him does not waver.

Zhang Shu pulls the corner of the quilt up and focuses on the road ahead.

After rounding the corner, he already sees the house up ahead. Zhang Shu sighs in relief. He decides that they should avoid night travel as much as possible in the future. If something goes wrong, it’ll be too late to regret it.

Winter is when wild beasts are most likely to be hungry and descend from the mountains.

The cart’s wheels roll over the quiet night road, and the sound is particularly clear. When they’re almost at the door, Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Zhang come out to greet them.

“Ah’shu, Mujin, you’re finally back! We were so worried about you.”

“Grandma, I’m sorry. We’ll come back earlier next time,” Li Mujin says apologetically. It’s freezing outside, and the villagers have already gone to bed, but the elders can’t sleep, worried about their grandchildren.

“Yes, Grandma, next time if it’s late, you can go to bed first. We’ll be fine,” Zhang Shu says, driving the ox into the yard and unloading the cart.

“How can I sleep? Come in, come in. I’ve cooked some noodles for you. Oh, why are Mujin’s hands so cold? Ah’shu’s too!” Grandma Zhang grabs each of them by the hand and leads them into the kitchen. It’s warm there, and they sit down to eat.

The noodles Grandma Zhang cooks are made from hand-kneaded dough, which she drops into boiling water, along with some pickled meat and vegetables. The meal is hearty, soft, and easy on the stomach.

If Zhang Shu and Li Mujin aren’t sustained by the excitement of earning money, they would collapse from hunger. As it is, they devour the meal and eat two large bowls each, and if Grandma Zhang doesn’t cook so little, Zhang Shu would likely go for a third.

Grandma Zhang feels sorry for them while they eat. How can they starve with so much food in the city? Are they really so reluctant to spend money?

Meanwhile, Grandpa Zhang quietly boils water for them so they can wash up and go straight to bed.

Li Mujin clears the dishes from the table and then takes out the three money bags and the silver ingot from his body.

“Grandma, this is the money we earn today. Please count it,” Li Mujin says, his eyes sparkling.

Grandma Zhang is a little confused. Why are there so many money bags? But she still opens them and begins counting with Grandpa Zhang.

One of the small money bags contains thirty-nine coins, and the other has forty-seven. The larger money bag holds a total of one thousand and ninety-six coins. They pile the money into stacks of twenty, covering half the table!

The silver ingot is the most valuable: a two-tael piece of silver. It’s just enough to cover Zhang Shu’s labor costs.

“Why are there so many?”

Zhang Shu and Li Mujin exchange a look before they obediently tell the story of how they are blackmailed and then counter-blackmail.

“Oh, why are the people outside so bad? Ah’shu, you’d better not go there in the future. We country folk don’t like causing trouble. What if something happens and we don’t have anyone to help?” Grandma Zhang says, her worry evident.

This kind of thing is exactly what Grandma Zhang fears. How can the people outside endure such a loss?

“Grandma, don’t worry. They don’t dare do anything. There are people in charge over there, and they can’t just make trouble. Plus, I beat them up today, so they won’t dare come back next time,” Zhang Shu reassures her.

Grandma Zhang wants to say something else, but she knows Zhang Shu is stubborn, and arguing is useless. Still, she decides that next time they go, they should take a couple more people with them.

Zhang Shu gathers the money they earn that day and starts tallying up the earnings. There are a total of 26 pounds of dry vermicelli, priced at 7 bowls for 5 wen per bowl, which comes to 910 wen. The buns sell for 1 wen each, and they sell 41, which amounts to 951 wen. After subtracting the cost and the 7 wen spent today, they made a net profit of over 670 wen!

Zhang Shu smiles, “I thought there were only four or five hundred coins in here, but I didn’t expect so much!”

Li Mujin, too, is so busy he doesn’t expect to earn this much.

Everyone is pleased with the result. Has it really only been a few days? Can they really make more than one or two taels of silver?

Zhang Shu pushes the money toward Grandpa and Grandma Zhang, asking them to keep it.

“No, you and Mujin are married now, and this family will be handed over to both of you. If you want to do business, this money should be used as capital. You don’t need to give it to us from now on,” Grandma Zhang insists.

Since Zhang Shu is the only one in the family, what’s the point of the old couple holding on to everything? Once they stand on their own, the old couple can rest easy.

“Grandma, please keep it. We’ll make more money!” Zhang Shu urges.

“No, just keep it for yourselves!” she replies.

The two of them push the money back and forth until Grandpa Zhang picks up the silver ingot on the table. “Don’t argue. It would seem distant if we don’t accept this. You keep the copper coins; your grandma and I will take the silver.”

With that, he drags Grandma Zhang out, leaving no room for them to refuse.

With no other choice, Zhang Shu and Li Mujin take the money. Zhang Shu, remembering that he hasn’t consulted Li Mujin, is afraid he might hold a grudge, so he asks, “Are you upset?”

Li Mujin smiles. Since ancient times, elders have managed the family and finances, and his brother’s money also goes to his father. He knows how much the elders love Zhang Shu, and it’s not like they’re taking the money to support someone else. What opinion could he possibly have? If the elders don’t want it, they can hold onto it for now and give them more silver for filial piety during the New Year or festivals.

After putting the money away, they wash up and go to bed, holding each other without a dream throughout the night.

The next morning, they wake up late, the sunlight already shining in through the window.

The sound of water in the yard is especially noticeable, as if someone is washing something.

Zhang Shu and Li Mujin quickly dress and find Grandma Zhang sitting on a small stool, scrubbing a large basket of potatoes.

“Are you awake? Go eat quickly. I ask your grandfather to gather the potatoes, and they’ll deliver them directly to the house. They’ll settle the bill later.”

They thought things through clearly yesterday. This business, whether coming in or going out, belongs to Ah’shu. They’re just working hard and don’t care about anything else.

Zhang Shu and Li Mujin quickly clean up, then drag a stool over to help scrub the potatoes. Before long, someone arrives to deliver the potatoes.

The person’s surname is Niu, and he is 56 years old. He is always restless, having planted potatoes in several plots in front and behind his house. He harvests over a dozen or twenty baskets, and since the harvest, they’ve been eating potatoes at every meal, much to the family’s dismay. The potatoes aren’t sweet or salty, and no one can stand eating them every day.

When Grandpa Zhang goes out to inquire, Old Niu’s wife comes out to ask the price. After learning that each basket is bought for 7 wen, regardless of size, she immediately agrees to sell them.

Old Niu himself can’t stomach much more. During the famine, they eat everything, even dirt from Guanyin Mountain. But now that times are better, people have become picky. “If it’s not worth much, then let’s sell it and use the money to buy some candy for the kids.”

He and his sons carry two baskets at a time. After three or four trips, they finally bring all the potatoes to the Zhangs.

“Old Zhang, how can your family eat so many potatoes? You can’t eat them all, even if you wanted to,” Niu says.

“Ah’shu and his husband have started a small business, using these potatoes for food.” Grandpa Zhang smiles so broadly that his wrinkles deepen.

When it comes to other people’s business, Old Niu doesn’t pry. Instead, he starts chatting about other things with Grandpa Zhang.

Li Mujin counts the baskets and finds that they deliver 18 in total. He then calculates and gives them 130 wen, rounding it to a nice number since they bring everything to the house.

Niu’s son realizes they’ve given too much money and tries to return it, but the Zhang family won’t accept it. He walks back and forth a few times, but eventually leaves with the money.

With the potatoes from the Niu family delivered, they no longer need to take any more. But now comes the task of scrubbing them clean, cutting them, and grinding them down.

“I’ll go out and call a few people to help,” Li Mujin says.

These tasks aren’t too difficult, so they only need a few women and gers to help. There’s no need to ask any men.

This is an opportunity for Li Mujin to step forward and make connections with the villagers, as building relationships after marriage is important.

Grandma Zhang, however, won’t go. She wants Li Mujin to interact more with the villagers, as it’s essential to understand the importance of social relationships after marriage.