Chapter 361: Incident
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Four old cows were sold to Wu Yaqing for a total of forty taels of silver.
The imperial court strictly controlled the price of beef to prevent people from buying and selling beef in private. Therefore, the price of beef was much cheaper than pork.
Wu Yaqing immediately handed the money to the owner, saying, “These four cattle are now mine.”
The owner quickly replied, “Yes, they belong to Miss.”
Wu Yaqing approached the cows and gently touched their heads, saying, “I’ve bought you. Stand up. No one will slaughter you anymore.”
These cows were very intelligent. Upon hearing this, they stood up one by one and gathered around Wu Yaqing.
Wu Yaqing smiled innocently, “Later, all of you will follow me. I will take good care of you.”
Chu Qingzhi smiled. She wondered how well Wu Yaqing had been protected, resulting in her developing such a pure, kind, and adorable personality.
Turning to the owner, Chu Qingzhi said, “Let’s sign the contract, shall we?”
“Of course, of course,” the owner eagerly agreed. “Miss Chu, please come this way.”
Chu Qingzhi nodded and followed the owner to the study.
A few minutes later, the group of people, a few trucks, and four cows left the farm and walked towards the Chu Village.
After bringing the milk home, Chu Qingzhi planned to churn butter in the afternoon.
Seeing off the people from the cow farm, Chu Qingzhi returned and looked at the four cows, lost in thought. Where would be the most suitable place to build a cattle pen?
Looking at Chu Qingzhi’s troubled expression, Wu Yaqing asked hesitantly, “Qingzhi, did 1 cause you trouble?”
Chu Qingzhi came back to her senses. “No, not at all. In fact, you brought back a fortune. Among the four cows, only one is old, and the other three are just sick. After I give them some medicine, they’ll recover.”
“Really?” Wu Yaqing was pleasantly surprised. “Then can they produce milk?”
Chu Qingzhi laughed. “They only produce milk after giving birth to calves.”
Wu Yaqing hurriedly said, “Then, then let them give birth to calves.”
Chu Qingzhi patted Wu Yaqing’s shoulder, thinking she needed to learn some common sense, “Let’s prepare a cattle pen for them first.”
Wu Yaqing reacted. “Right, otherwise, even if they give birth, there won’t be a place for the calves to live.”
Chu Qingzhi was speechless.
She asked Wu Yaqing to look after the cows while she went to find a suitable place.
Wu Yaqing roamed around, then led the cattle to a grassy area in front of the old house, letting them graze.
Villagers, witnessing the scene, gathered around. In their eyes, cattle were more valuable than horses as they could be used for plowing. Previously, only ten households in the village had cattle, and during the plowing season, villagers had to borrow them.
Later on, when the conditions became better, many people bought cattle. This was the status symbol of a rich family.
“Yaqing, why did you buy so many cattle?”
“It’s not the plowing season yet, and keeping so many will require a lot of feed.” “These four cows cost a lot of money, right?”
Listening to the villagers’ discussions, Wu Yaqing laughed and said, “I don’t plan to use them for plowing; I bought them to let them live out their old age!” Fang Cuiyun did not believe what Wu Yaqing said. “Yaqing, are you joking with us?”
Wu Yaqing waved her hand. “I’m telling the truth. They’re all old. If I don’t buy them, they’ll be killed.”
Fang Cuiyun said hesitantly, “That’s too wasteful.”
Wu Yaqing said casually, “It’s alright. To me, it’s nothing.”
After discussing the cattle for a while, they gradually parted ways.
Once the adults left, the children gathered again.
“Sister Yaqing, we’re here to see the cattle.”
Chu Junbao threw some grass to the cattle and stared at them enviously. His envy wasn’t about how much it cost to buy cattle; he was fascinated by how Wu Yaqing, a single person, could pull four cattle. It was so majestic.
Wu Yaqing generously said, “Sure, look to your hearts’ content.”
The group of children touched the cow’s tail, looking like they could not bear to part with it.
Chu Junbao could not help but say, “Sister Yaqing, can I help you herd the cows?”
“Herd the cows?” Wu Yaqing did not understand. “How do you herd the cows?”
Chu Junbao pointed to the hillside beside the village, “I’ll take them there to graze.”
Wu Yaqing looked at the hillside, and after a moment, an idea flashed in her mind, “How about you guys herd the four cows every day? I’ll give you ten copper coins each day. What do you think?”
Chu Junbao’s eyes lit up like two small lanterns, “Is there such a good thing?”
Wu Yaqing said, “I don’t lack money. What do you say? Are you in?”
Chu Junbao quickly agreed, fearing he might miss the opportunity. “We’ll do it, whether you pay or not.”
Wu Yaqing stretched out her pinky. “Pinky promise!”
Chu Junbao cooperated and interlocked his pinkie with Wu Yaqing, sealing the deal.
Chu Qingzhi, coming out from the old house, waved to Wu Yaqing, “Yaqing, bring the cattle back. The cattle pen is ready.”
“Coming,” Wu Yaqing shouted back. Then, under the reluctant eyes of the children, she led the cattle back home.
“So majestic!” Chu Junbao stared with wide eyes.
The other children were envious, gazing at the cattle without turning away.
Chu Qingzhi had chosen a cattle pen next to the stable. In the afternoon, she planned to build a shed to provide shelter for the cattle from wind and rain.
With the cattle matter settled, Grandpa Chu and the others also returned from the fields.
It was almost noon and it was time to go to Li Qingyin’s house.
Before leaving, they all came to see the cows…
Grandpa Chu sighed emotionally, “I never thought our family could afford cattle. In the past, we had to borrow them for plowing.”
Chu Rong’s heart ached when he thought of the difficult days in the past. “Father, let’s not talk about the past. Things are getting better now.”
Grandpa Chu nodded and smiled with tears in his eyes. He waved his hand. “Let’s not talk about it anymore.”
Granny Chu smiled and teased, “You’re someone who smokes from a copper pipe. Wouldn’t having some cows at home accentuate your status in the village more?”
The bitterness in Grandpa Chu’s heart instantly disappeared. He cooperated with Granny Chu and said, “You are right. Our family should have cows.”
Chu Rong smiled. “We’ll buy whatever you want in the future.”
Grandpa Chu nodded in relief. “Okay, okay, okay…”
They had no choice but to leave Shen Ruyue at home to look after the house. The others packed up and went to the Xu Village..
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