Rebirth: Not Being a Waste - Chapter 53

Li Mujin goes out for a while, and soon four people arrive, including He Yue, Laiwang’s husband; Yu Xiaoliu’s second sister-in-law, Zhang Shi; He Er’s wife; and finally, Wang Jia’s son from the village.

These people are all skilled workers. Li Mujin, having grown up in the village, knows them well. Her father often speaks of their qualities. Naturally, she can’t have people who are sly or dishonest working with them. This is also one of the conveniences of marrying within the village.

All of them are cheerful and generous, including the unmarried son of the Wang family. With so many people around and the courtyard door wide open, there is no concern about gossip.

Before long, everyone begins their work—scrubbing, washing, and cutting—and the Zhang family members feel much more relaxed. Grandpa and Grandma Zhang are free to grind the pulp, while Zhang Shu washes the powder. The whole process is open to anyone, and everyone can learn it if they want to—there’s nothing to hide.

Zhang Shu has some thoughts in his mind. Instead of secretly making a little bit in private, why not spread the word and make money together? If people in the village learn how to make it too, they might even be able to collect their noodles and go to Nanhai County to discuss bigger business opportunities.

Having lived through a past life, Zhang Shu now has a new outlook on life, and a bit of ambition. It feels like a waste to stay at home and farm when he has so many ideas. Moreover, he and Jin’er will eventually have children, and saving more for their children might help them cultivate a scholar who can bring honor to the family. This is a serious matter.

Since there is work to be done, Grandma Zhang doesn’t cook a full meal. Instead, she quickly prepares a pot of noodles, fries a few eggs, and pairs them with homemade side dishes. Everyone eats happily.

Halfway through the meal, He Yue’s son Dabao comes from next door, crying for his “Aba.” He hasn’t seen him all morning and really misses him.

The sight of Dabao makes the Zhang family feel even more like they are missing a child of that age. Grandma Zhang, seeing him, immediately gives him a bowl of noodles.

The warmth of the afternoon sun fills the yard as everyone works and chats, laughing together. Dabao runs around with a handful of candies, and the whole yard is filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

With four more people helping, things progress quickly. By the time it starts to get dark, the dozen baskets of potatoes are ready. Large and small jars in the yard are filled with precipitating flour.

After dinner, the family cleans up and goes to bed.

Li Mujin lies in Zhang Shu’s arms, calculating the day’s accounts. Four people have been hired to help, and though the work isn’t too difficult, it lasts all day. Li Mujin calculates 20 wen a day for them, which is quite high compared to the usual wages for gers and wives in the village.

Zhang Shu watches as Li Mujin carefully counts the small accounts in his arms. His gentle eyebrows and serious expression make his heart flutter, and he finds his hands starting to wander.

Li Mujin’s voice becomes softer as he speaks, growing more intermittent. A flush appears on his face, and the corners of his eyes redden. When he looks at Zhang Shu, there is a mix of anger and embarrassment.

He presses his hand to stop Zhang Shu from doing anything inappropriate, but Zhang Shu insists, teasing him. His voice lowers further, and his breathing becomes more rapid, accompanied by soft, muffled sounds from his nose. His whole body turns soft and weak.

The more Zhang Shu watches, the more he likes it. He suddenly throws off the blanket and dives under it, burying himself in Li Mujin’s embrace.

Soon, only the creaking of the wooden bedframe and occasional, muffled sounds can be heard coming from under the blanket.

In the following days, the flour is dug out and mixed to make the vermicelli. Two or three pots are boiled at once, and the finished product is hung on bamboo poles to dry. The fire burns all day long, and most of the firewood in the house is used up.

Sauces and other ingredients have to be prepared in advance, with peanuts, chili peppers, and chopped pickled cabbage being the most important. If these two ingredients are missing, the business can’t be done.

Grandma Zhang runs out of the pickled cabbage from last time and still needs some for regular meals. When she checks, she finds there’s only half a jar left.

This won’t do! Grandma Zhang asks Li Mujin to go to Grandma Li’s house to buy more pickled cabbage. The price offered by the Zhang family is much higher than that of fresh vegetables, so Grandma Li happily sells a jar. The vegetables in her field are still plentiful, and it will be no problem to pickle more if needed.

The family harvests some peanuts in the fall, but not many. However, they have just enough. As for the chili peppers, those need to be bought as well.

Several days later, Zhang Shu and Li Mujin are ready to set up their stall again.

Since they were so busy last time, they invited Laiwang and He Yue to join this time. He Yue is responsible for washing the dishes, Laiwang is in charge of organizing the noodles on the table, Zhang Shu handles soaking, dividing, and cooking the noodles, while Li Mujin is in charge of receiving money and preparing the seasoning. Grandpa and Grandma Zhang stay at home to continue harvesting potatoes and making more vermicelli noodles.

Before heading to the river, Zhang Shu goes alone to inquire about the two troublemakers from last time. He worries they might retaliate. But according to the villagers, the two men have been taught a lesson and, because they owe gambling debts they can’t repay, they flee the village overnight.

With that worry eased, Zhang Shu is relieved. He still takes the ox to the yard over there to store it and asks a few questions from the people there before heading back.

The group quickly unpacks their goods. This time, they bring more dry noodles and soup seasonings than before, but they leave behind the tables and stools.

This kind of thing is too heavy to bring back and forth, so it’s better to spend a few coins to rent it from people nearby. Their oxen aren’t large, and when they arrive just now, Laiwang and Zhang Shu don’t ride in the cart, only letting the two gers sit on it.

Zhang Shu has already spoken with the person, and now, leading Laiwang, he enters a narrow alley. In no time, one person comes out carrying a table, followed by two eleven- or twelve-year-old boys lifting another table.

After setting them down, they go to fetch stools. With these, at least a dozen guests can sit at a time.

The stove is lit, and the large pot is placed on the table. Before the water even starts to boil, someone comes over. It’s the man in charge of collecting the stall fees that day. Li Mujin takes out five coins and hands them to Zhang Shu, asking him to pay the fee.

After receiving the money, the man looks at Zhang Shu for a while. There is no malice in his gaze, so Zhang Shu isn’t bothered. After a moment, the man smiles and leaves without saying a word, leaving Zhang Shu confused.

Soon after, the first customer arrives. “Brother, why are you only here today? I came by the past two days, but didn’t see you. Did you move the stall somewhere else?”

“No, uncle. It takes time to prepare the ingredients, but here we are now that it’s ready,” Zhang Shu replies.

“Alright, as long as there’s food, give me a bowl! And make sure to add more seasoning. It’s great to eat this in the winter!”

Once the first customer comes, more quickly follow. Before long, the entire stall is filled with people. Some customers have to squeeze in with others for a seat, sitting on the same stool. Fortunately, the tables and chairs they rent are fairly large, so it doesn’t feel too cramped for two people to share one stool.

At first, Laiwang and He Yue are worried when no one comes to the stall. They would have felt awkward accepting the money without any business. But now that customers are flocking in, they are much happier to be busy.

After a while, another large ship appears on the river, seemingly carrying goods from Nanhai County. The people unloading the goods rush forward, hoping to get some business.

Once the bulk of the goods are unloaded, some smaller merchants follow. They intend to sell goods from their hometown. Even if they buy goods, it isn’t much, and they usually don’t buy too many things.

When Hu Caiwang is on the boat, he smells the sour and spicy vermicelli from the stall. He has been stuck on the boat for the past two days without any appetite, but now that the boat is finally docked, he knows he has to pick something delicious to eat.

Other passengers on the boat share the same sentiment. Since they eat the sour and spicy vermicelli, they sweat all over. When they wake up that night, they feel a rare sense of comfort. It’s something they haven’t experienced in a long time.

They also try to add plenty of chili to the noodles, which makes them sweat. After one bowl, their throats feel sore, and their faces are covered with painful, itchy lumps. But they can’t get enough of it. It’s clear that the more chili they eat, the better. How do they make it so addictive?

A large group of people quickly arrives, making the stall, which has been a little spacious, crowded once again. The busiest people at that moment are Li Mujin and Laiwang.

Customers are always asking for different things. Some say, “I want chopped green onions but no coriander!” Others ask, “Add two spoons of chopped sauerkraut, but no green onions or coriander!” Some say, “Put more green onions and coriander, I like it strong!”

With so many voices speaking at once, mistakes are easily made. Laiwang makes a few errors and receives complaints from customers. Some things that taste great to one group are completely off-putting to another.

Eventually, Laiwang learns his lesson. When serving vermicelli, he brings three or four bowls at once and asks, “Who wanted extra coriander?” The customer quickly answers, “Mine, mine!” This method reduces the chances of mistakes.

They don’t make steamed buns to sell today because there are already plenty of food vendors around. It wouldn’t be good for one vendor to dominate everything.

The bun seller next door looks at them with a friendlier attitude today. Thanks to the sour and spicy vermicelli, his buns sell much better too.

When Hu Caiwang comes to pay, Li Mujin doesn’t take his money. The business has been thriving, all thanks to his generous recommendation. Most of their customers now are traveling merchants.

Hu Caiwang is pleased to hear this. Though he does it voluntarily, it feels rewarding to see others express their gratitude. Merchants, after all, value reciprocity. They don’t expect rewards for every kind deed, but it’s nice to know their efforts are appreciated