Chapter 71: Spendthrift
Translator: Lonelytree
Liu Datou went to various villages due to his job. Everyone in Xing An Town’s eighteen villages knew Liu Datou.
Liu Datou had a sound business mind. He would remember every customer he had.
Liu Datou was familiar with Xiao Zhengyang and his wife. The Xiao Family had a few pigs that they would sell to Liu Datou every year.
Xiao Zhengyang smiled when he saw Liu Datou, “Datou, it’s already so late. Are you still going around making rounds?”
Liu Datou smiled, “No, I’m delivering goods!”
Father and Mother Xiao were puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Liu Datou laughed and pointed at Xiao Lingyu. “Big Brother, Big Sister, this is your daughter, right? She bought two cattle in town, and she didn’t know how to herd them back here. So I offered to help.” Liu Datou moved to unbolt the bed of the truth.
Father and Mother Xiao were surprised. “Two cattle?” They already had a plow machine. Why would Yu ‘Er buy two cattle? They would ask Yu ‘Er this question later.
They walked to the back of the truck. When they saw the calf and the aged cow, their brows furrowed deeper. However, they still helped to herd the cattle down from the truck.
The calf was agile and small. It moved swiftly. The moment the bars opened, it jumped out. Then, it raised its head to look at its mother as if worried for her. The old cow was slower and stiffer in her movements.
Clearly, the cow was about to die. ‘Why did Yu ‘Er buy her? Was it for slaughter? But if that was the case, the cow should be transported to the slaughterhouse and not brought home.’ With everyone’s combined effort, the old cow finally moved down from the truck.
Xiao Lingyu smiled at Liu Datou. “Uncle Liu, thank you! This is the transportation fee.” Xiao Lingyu took out 80 RMB and handed it to Liu Datou.
Liu Datou looked at Xiao Lingyu and guffawed. “Girl, since you’re Brother Xiao’s little girl, I won’t charge you. The transportation is for free, no charge!” Then something came to him. “Wait, are you our county’s top-scorer from a few years ago?”
There were best scorers every year, but most of them came from other towns. In recent years, Xiao Lingyu was the only top scorer to come from Xing An Town.
Xiao Lingyu smiled, “Uncle Liu, that was already several years ago.”
Mother Xiao was irked as she studied the two cattle. “Dear, where should we keep them?” The Xiao Family had a pig pen, but they didn’t have a cow pen.
Xiao Lingyu, “…”
Liu Datou, “…” Why buy cattle when you don’t have a cow pen?
Liu Datou was reminded of what Wang Dashan told him. Originally, the old cow was to be slaughtered. Her calf was restless and bumped into Miss Xiao on the road. Miss Xiao decided to buy the calf and the cow at any price. Wang Dashan was an honest person, so he didn’t charge Xiao Lingyu a high price. If anything, he sold them at a price lower than the market price. In other words, this was an impulse purchase for Miss Xiao.
Liu Datou didn’t know what to say. Purchasing cattle was a big matter for a farming farmer. Xiao Lingyu bought the cattle without even discussing it with her family… that was wrong of her.
Xiao Zhengyang told about it and said, “I remember fourth brother has a cow pen. I’ll go ask.” Then, Xiao Zhengyang told Liu Datou, “Datou, you should stay for dinner. Please go into the house first. I’ll go to Fourth Brother’s place now.”
“Okay!” Liu Datou accepted the invitation. It was about dinner time. If he departed now, it would be too late for him when he reached home. Furthermore, he had reasons to stay. Both of Xiao Zhengyang’s children were good students. They could enter university easily. The county’s top scorer came from this family. This was the perfect opportunity for him to get pointers so he could share them with his two brats back home.
Father Xiao led the two cattle to his fourth brother, Xiao Mingyang’s house. Mother Xiao told Liu Datou, “Datou, you better lock your car and come in for dinner! Yu ‘Er, you’ve been traveling for the whole day. You should go wash your hands and then eat. I’ll find some feed for the two cattle!”
Xiao Lingyu said, “Okay, Mom.” Then, she was reminded of something and told her mother, “Mom, remember to bring them some water too.”
“Okay!”
Mother Xiao went to the courtyard. She grabbed the feed for the chickens and pigs and gave them to the cattle.
Xiao Lingyu led Liu Datou to the well. They washed their hands and entered the house together. After a day of adventure, Xiao Lingyu was indeed hungry and thirsty.
Liu Datou was quite speechless when he saw Xiao Lingyu engulf the food. ‘Is this girl really our top scorer? She looks more like a hungry ghost.’
However, he still asked curiously, “Girl, do you really have a way to extend the life of that old cow? How come I haven’t heard your father mention something like that before?” If Father Xiao could do that, the whole town would know about it already. After all, the price difference between a dying cow and a cow who still had a few years in her was huge.
Xiao Lingyu smiled to herself. ‘As if I’m going to tell you that!’ She shook her head and said seriously, “Of course not!”
“…” Liu Datou was speechless again. He was confused, “Why did you tell Wang Dashan you can do that then?”
“I lied to him,” Xiao Lingyu confessed.
“Why?”
“I looked at the calf and felt sorry for it, so I bought the old cow on impulse.”
Liu Datou was wordless. ‘This girl is such a spendthrift.’
When Mother and Father Xiao returned and heard how their daughter end up purchasing the cattle, they were as speechless as Liu Datou. Internally, they were roaring. ‘This is no way to spend money! Whose daughter is this? Someone take her away!’
After Liu Datou left, the family tribunal began.
“You wretched girl, you should have told your father before you make such a big purchase.” Mother Xiao was about to cough blood. “You used 1500 to buy one calf and one old cow. Do you plan to slaughter them or raise them? If you want to raise them, who will look after them? Who has the time? Have you considered these things?”
Cows could live on their own, but there had to be a shepherd. What if they ended up eating another family’s agricultural plant?
Honestly, Xiao Lingyu only thought of this problem now. But since she had bought the cattle, she couldn’t return them. If she did, the cow would be dragged to the slaughterhouse again. Xiao Lingyu had promised Wang Dashan and his son that she’d look after the cattle, so she couldn’t disappoint them. Wang Dashan sold them to Xiao Lingyu for a low price because he heard Xiao Lingyu would take good care of them.
Xiao Lingyu thought for a moment and said, “Mom, you’ve been telling me that Xiaohui is too active. He will be willing to help us herd the cattle if we give him some pocket money.” Xiao Xiaohui didn’t like to study, but he liked to cause trouble. It caused Xiao Lingyu’s fourth uncle and aunt a massive headache.
Mother Xiao, “…” She still thought it was easier to sell the two cattle. They had a plow machine, so they didn’t need the cattle. Furthermore, the cattle were too old and too young to plow the field.
Mother Xiao said, “That might be so, but have you taken a look at that old cow? It’ll probably die soon. Did you buy it to bury it?”
Mother Xiao was furious. Then again, how could she not be? Xiao Lingyu had wasted their money.
Xiao Lingyu tried to reason with her mother. She appealed to her mother’s emotional side. “Mom, these two cattle are not as they seem. How old do you think this calf is? It looked around three months old, but it knows how to beg others to save his mother. Mom, you might not believe me, but the calf was crying to me to save its mother. That was why I bought them. Can I turn a blind eye when such a miracle happened?”
Mother Xiao was actually a soft-hearted person.
When Mother Xiao heard Xiao Lingyu’s vivid sorry, she was touched.