Xiao Xiaohui walked out with his head lowered and confessed for the sake of leniency. “Eldest cousin, I’m sorry. I was too playful and forgot to watch Little Light. I allowed him to eat Uncle Cheng’s tomatoes.”
Xiao Lingye added in explanation, “Sis, Little Light has eaten Uncle Cheng’s tomatoes and tomato sprouts.” Xiao Lingyu immediately understood everything.
She walked towards Xiao Chengbang. “Uncle Cheng, since my cow has eaten your stuff, then I’ll have to compensate you.”
Xiao Chengbang smiled, “It’s just a few fruits and sprouts. There’s no need for compensation. But…” He glanced at Xiao Xiaohui, “The kid has failed as a cow herder. Thankfully, Little Light ate my food. If he had barged into some other villager’s house, they might not be so forgiving.”
Xiao Lingyu instantly understood the purpose of Xiao Chengbang’s visit. She smiled and said, “Thank you for your reminder, Uncle Cheng.”
She walked over to Xiao Xiaohui and patted his head. “Xiaohui, you seem to have failed what you promised me.”
Xiao Xiaohui’s face was full of guilt. He lowered his head and admitted his mistake. “Eldest cousin, I was wrong. I won’t let it happen again.”
Xiao Lingyu nodded. “Alright, I’ll forgive you this time. Make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“Of course!” Xiao Xiaohui nodded vigorously. “Eldest cousin, I’ll pay more attention in the future.”
Xiao Lingyu walked away from Xiao Xiaohui to Little Light. She patted the cow’s head and scolded, “Little Light, I know you like tomatoes, but you shouldn’t destroy another person’s crops. You ruined not a few tomatoes, but Uncle Cheng’s family’s hard work.”
The yard of people was dumbstruck as they watched Xiao Lingyu scold the cow. But could Little Light understand it?
Little Moon was curious, “Sister Lingyu, will Little Light understand what you’re saying?”
Little Light could, but Xiao Lingyu didn’t plan to explain. Xiao Lingyu smiled, “Little Moon, I don’t know if Little Light can understand me or not. But I’ll still lecture him. Eventually, he will get it. Like a puppy, once you teach him enough times, he will catch the meaning.”
Little Moon nodded with confusion. Then she turned to Xiao Xiaohui and said, “Little Loach, you need to remind Little Light not to eat other people’s food in the future!”
“I know!” Xiao Xiaohui nodded.
Xiao Lingyu asked Xiao Xiaohui to drive Little Light and Big Little back to the cow pen. The barn was not fully built yet, so the cattle were still staying with Xiao Lingyu’s fourth uncle.
Xiao Lingyu followed Xiao Chengbang to his field to assess the damage caused by Little Light. Thankfully, Little Light was discovered early. Only a few seedlings were trampled. Xiao Lingyu asked Xiao Chengbang, and the man told her Little Light had eaten about ten tomatoes. Xiao Lingyu was surprised that Little Light liked tomatoes that much.
Xiao Lingyu compensated Xiao Chengbang for the ruined tomatoes and seedlings. She also bought about one catty of tomatoes to feed the cattle. Xiao Chengbang gave Xiao Lingyu a few catty extras.
Xiao Lingyu thanked Xiao Chengbang profusely.
When Xiao Lingyu arrived home with the basket of tomatoes, Xiao Lingye’s roommates immediately grabbed a few. They were too embarrassed to ask for more. However, they frowned after they washed the fruits and put them into their mouths.
The tomatoes tasted only slightly better than the ones they bought at the market. The tomatoes ripened naturally and had no fertilizers, so they tasted pure.
Xiao Lingye guffawed when he saw this. “Haha, these tomatoes are not the same as the ones my sister gave me. My sister’s tomatoes came from her friend at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The tomatoes you have are just ordinary tomatoes, so naturally, they are not comparable.”
Honestly, after Xiao Lingye had his sister’s tomatoes, he didn’t like the normal tomatoes anymore. It was why he didn’t join the fight for the tomatoes earlier.
Ning Weiyi had a bite of tomato in his mouth. He wondered if he should spit it out. Out of courtesy, he swallowed it. He asked, “Ye, then why did our sister buy so many tomatoes?”
“It’s to feed the cows!” Xiao Lingye knew his sister well.
“Feed the cows?” The three gasped in unison.
“Yes.” Xiao Lingye nodded and explained, “Little Light likes to eat tomatoes, so my sister bought more for him!”
Yang Baolin held the tomato he had taken a bite out of and asked, “Ye, then do you think that calf will help me finish this tomato?” The other two also turned to Xiao Lingye with questions in their eyes.
Xiao Lingye was speechless. He coughed twice and said, “Well, let’s go find out!” The three took their bitten tomatoes and followed Xiao Lingye to his Fourth Uncle’s house.
At the cow pen, Xiao Lingyu was feeding the tomatoes one by one to Little Light and Big Light.
“Sis!” They called.
Xiao Lingyu was confused when she saw them. “Why are you all here? Are you here to see Little Light and Big Light?”
Xiao Lingye’s three friends lowered their heads in embarrassment.
Xiao Lingye looked at them and joked, “Sis, it’s like this. Didn’t they snatch the tomatoes from you earlier? However, they realized the tomatoes don’t taste the same as the ones from our house, so they came to feed their leftovers to the cows!”
Xiao Lingyu nodded. “Okay. Bring the tomatoes over. See if they’ll eat them!”
The three walked over and placed the bitten tomatoes before Little Light. What they saw next embarrassed them even further.
Little Light saw their bitten tomatoes and rolled his eyes. He mooed at the tainted tomatoes and turned his head away.
He looked down on the leftovers.
“Haha…” Xiao Lingye guffawed. “It looks like even a cow won’t even eat your leftovers! This is just wonderful!”