Rebirth: Not Being a Waste - Chapter 73

Zhang Shu drives the ox cart through town, stopping in front of various shops. When he sees something he likes, he goes inside to buy it.

He purchases a new medicine jar, a seated toilet, a pound of candied fruit, a pound of pork jerky, some cakes, and even a few amusing toys.

Li Mujin smiles and asks, “Why did you buy this for me?”

Zhang Shu grins and replies, “If you don’t need it, keep it for our future children to play with.”

After browsing for a while, Zhang Shu can’t think of anything else to buy, so he decides to head back. He needs to inform his grandfather and in-laws, or they’ll start worrying.

As they make their way home, the atmosphere is completely different from when they left. Their faces are full of joy, which leaves many onlookers puzzled.

Not only the couple, but even the villagers haven’t considered the possibility of pregnancy. If it had been a girl, it would be understandable—but how can a ger conceive so quickly?

As they near the village entrance, Grandma Zhang comes out and sits with Zhang Shu. When curious villagers inquire, she cheerfully announces, “My grandson-in-law is pregnant. Ah’shu went to town to buy a few things and just got back.”

Within half a day, news of Li Mujin’s pregnancy spreads throughout the village.

When the cart arrives in the yard, Zhang Shu helps Grandma Zhang down first, then assists Li Mujin. He wants to carry him inside, but Li Mujin refuses. How can he let himself be carried in front of so many people? It’s too embarrassing.

Soon, Grandpa Zhang, along with Li Aba and Li Abo, arrive. They gather around with anxious expressions, eager to know what happened.

Zhang Shu beams and declares, “Jin’er is fine—I’m going to be a father!”

Grandpa Zhang and Li Aba take a moment to process the news. Then Li Aba’s face lights up with excitement, and he quickly asks, “Really? It’s confirmed! Hurry, let Jin’er go inside and rest. We have two old hens at home—I’ll bring them over later. Eat one a day, and I’ll buy more.”

For four years, he himself has been childless, enduring the disapproval of his in-laws. Now, with Jin’er expecting so soon, how can he not be overjoyed?

“Aba, there’s no need,” Li Mujin quickly declines. “The doctor prescribed pregnancy-preserving medicine, and I can’t eat greasy food while taking it.”

“Why do you need medicine?” Li Aba grows concerned again.

“I’m just a little tired. I only need to take it for three days—it’s nothing serious,” Li Mujin reassures him.

As father and son talk, Grandpa Zhang and Li Aba finally process the news. One exclaims, “I’m going to be a great-grandfather!” while the other cheers, “I’m going to be a grandfather!”

Zhang Shu and the two elders laugh in delight, looking like a trio of fools.

Grandma Zhang, ever quick, has already prepared the bed. “Come on, help Mujin inside so he can rest.”

The entire family is overwhelmed with joy over this wonderful news.

The next day, relatives and neighbors come by with eggs as gifts. Many believe that the Zhang family’s ancestors must be smiling down on them—otherwise, how could such good fortune come to their home so quickly? Naturally, they want to share in the joy.

Grandma Zhang happily accepts everyone’s blessings. Since her eldest son’s accident, this is the second happiest event in her life—the first being Zhang Shu’s wedding.

As the saying goes, joy makes people look younger. That day, everyone notices that the wrinkles on the faces of the Zhang family’s elderly couple seem to have softened. They’re all smiles, looking as bright as blooming chrysanthemums.

Time flies, and a month passes since Li Mujin’s pregnancy is confirmed. His belly is already showing.

By now, the villagers’ attention shifts to the spring potato fields. A few days ago, someone digs up a potato and finds that the tubers have grown to the size of an adult’s fist.

Spring potatoes are usually planted in early February and harvested in late April or early May. But this year, they are planted in mid-January and are already maturing by mid-April.

Spring potatoes are always much larger than autumn potatoes and yield more starch. While autumn potatoes are purchased at two jin per wen, spring potatoes must be bought at one and a half jin per wen, regardless of size.

Zhang Shu doesn’t mind the higher cost. Initially, he plans to earn less on the first batch to attract business, but unexpectedly, he saves money on boat rental fees.

Once he transports the goods to Nanhai County, his profits—after covering costs and labor—will still be substantial. In fact, he stands to make even more than before.

Upon hearing that Zhang Shu’s family is going to start making dried vermicelli, the villagers spring into action. They carry baskets into the fields to dig up potatoes. Even Laiwang’s eldest son, Dabao, is brought along to collect the harvested tubers.

At the Zhang household, Yu Xiaoliu and Grandpa Zhang are in charge of digging up the potatoes, while feeding the pigs is left to Aunt Ma, a strong and diligent woman from the village. She takes care of all nine pigs, ensuring they grow fat.

She also cuts grass for the Zhang family, charging one penny per tightly packed basket. Even with her fair pricing, she can earn over ten to twenty pennies a day. Combined with other earnings, she can easily make thirty to forty pennies daily—a significant sum for an elderly couple.

Li Mujin often looks at the pigs with concern. Since the family has run out of sweet potato scraps, they’ve switched to buying bran, which—along with pig feed, labor costs, and firewood—has become a major expense. He regrets being too impulsive—perhaps he should’ve only raised two pigs instead of nine. That would’ve been much easier to manage while still ensuring enough meat for the family.

Zhang Shu comforts him, reminding him that once the pigs are slaughtered and sold during the Spring Festival, they’ll make a good profit. Besides, once the spring potato scraps become available, they won’t need to buy as much bran.

During this time, Zhang Shu also orders several tofu racks, over a dozen large vats, additional drying racks for vermicelli, and two more grinding wheels. Once all of these are in use, he estimates they can produce several hundred catties of vermicelli per day.

Since the backyard is quite far from the river, Zhang Shu decides to slightly raise the purchase price of potatoes—but only if they’re washed beforehand. That way, they only need to hire people to slice them instead of hiring extra workers for washing.

Moreover, this ensures quality—if the potatoes aren’t clean, they won’t be accepted until they are. After all, if customers find sand in their noodles, the family’s reputation will be ruined.

On April 14, the Zhang family sets off a string of firecrackers by the backyard’s side entrance, marking the official opening of their workshop.

Zhang Shu places a table outside the entrance and has Li Mujin and Grandpa Zhang sit there. Li Mujin is responsible for calculating payments, while Grandpa Zhang checks whether the potatoes are properly washed.

Not just anyone can do these tasks. Although most villagers are honest, some are crafty. Grandpa Zhang’s seniority in the village ensures that no one dares to cheat.

Soon, a villager arrives with two baskets of cleaned spring potatoes. Grandpa Zhang weighs them and reports, “These two baskets weigh 34 jin and 7 liang. Round it to 35 jin.”

This villager has been meticulous, drying the potatoes after washing them instead of trying to inflate the weight with excess water.

With the increased price set by Zhang Shu, each two catties of potatoes sell for one and a half coins. The total comes out to just over 26 coins, but since the Zhang family rounds down, they pay the villager 26 coins.

Having received his payment, the villager carefully tucks the money into his clothes, empties the baskets into the Zhang family’s collection bin, and hurries home. His wife has likely washed another basket, and he plans to sell more soon.

As more villagers line up to sell their potatoes, everyone is in high spirits. The yield is good, the price is high, and many have planted large fields of potatoes. Just this one harvest is enough to sustain them for months.

Grandpa Zhang carefully checks each batch. If a basket still has water dripping from it, he reduces the weight. Some villagers protest, but he firmly says, “Then take it aside and dry it. If it weighs more when dry, you can have the difference.”

After that, no one dares to bring in wet potatoes anymore.