Chapter 807 - 415: Really Hard to Explain

Chapter 807: Chapter 415: Really Hard to Explain

Pu Pao came out of the kitchen and handed Juhua a round woven bamboo basket. Juhua tossed the red Chinese toon sprouts into it and returned the empty basket to Meizi, saying helplessly, "There’s no way around it. You either move deep into Little Qing Mountain, or you’re bound to run into aggravating situations. And even if you live in the mountains where there are no people to stir up trouble, wild beasts will come bother you instead."

Meizi nodded and stood up. "Jingwen, go home and help your grandmother peel bamboo shoots—she picked quite a few wild ones. Juhua, I’m heading out. I still have a dish braising in the pot."

Juhua thanked her and asked Pu Pao to wash the Chinese toon sprouts by the well so they could be scrambled with eggs for dinner.

Watching Meizi’s back disappear through the courtyard gate, Juhua couldn’t help but lower her head and stifle a laugh.

Seeing this, He asked what she was laughing about.

Juhua suppressed her laughter and said, "I was just thinking: ever since Jingwen’s grandmother returned to Meizi’s place, she’s been picking bamboo shoots and pinching off Chinese toon sprouts. Jingwen even said she washed the dishes and fed the pigs at noon. How come she’s so poorly received at her youngest son’s house? Mother, don’t glare at me. I really don’t understand it. Isn’t doing chores the same in any house? How is it that she suddenly can’t do anything right when she’s at her youngest son’s place?"

He rolled her eyes at her. Dropping her dustpan, she let Aunt Liu sweep up the remaining bamboo shoot skins while she picked up the basket of peeled green shoots to wash by the well. Smiling, she said, "If you can’t figure it out, then don’t think about it. Go cook dinner. Who knows when Huai Zi will be back? Let’s hope it’s not like last night, when he didn’t return until midnight."

"My brother is there too," Juhua said. "Even if they get home a little late, the two of them, along with Heipi, won’t be lonely."

While Juhua took Pu Pao to cook, Aunt Liu went to the river to call the ducks and geese back, and then headed to the hillside to lead the cows back. These chores were originally Heipi’s, but since he had gone to the market with Huai Zi, Aunt Liu took over for him.

As He bustled in and out with various chores, she suddenly noticed Grandma Liu tilting her head, listening intently. She asked, "Grandma Liu, what are you listening to?"

"I faintly heard Jing’er’s mother shouting," Grandma Liu said with deep concentration. "Lady, go out and take a look. Could something have happened? Why is it taking her so long just to lead the cows back?"

Hearing this, He hurriedly put the clothes she was holding into the house, then walked briskly outside. "I’ll go take a look," she said. "Hulu, listen to Grandma Liu and play with your younger siblings. Don’t go outside, understand?"

Hulu didn’t make a sound, but nodded.

He bypassed the river and reached the small hillside where the Zhang family usually grazed their cows, but Aunt Liu was nowhere to be seen. Glancing around, she saw the twilight deepening, making the trees on the mountain look even denser and darker. She called out loudly, "Ms. Liu! Ms. Liu—"

The last shout was drawn out long. If Aunt Liu was nearby, she should have been able to hear it.

Sure enough, Aunt Liu’s voice came from the woods ahead. "Ma’am, I’m over here—our cows are missing. I’m looking for them!"

Hearing this, He felt very uneasy. This had never happened before. Their cows were very well-behaved and had always grazed in this area. They definitely wouldn’t have run into the woods, because there was no thatch grass over there, only bushes. Could they have been led away by someone?

She looked at the sky and grew anxious. The cows were important, but so were the people. It wasn’t safe to be tramping through the woods late at night. She shouted at the top of her lungs, "Ms. Liu, come out quickly! It’s getting dark, and you can’t stay in those woods. I’ll go get Dashuan and Heizi to come look."

After she shouted twice, Aunt Liu hurriedly emerged.

He didn’t have time to speak to her. Dropping a quick "I’m going home to get help," she turned and ran. One couldn’t blame her for being anxious; if they didn’t hurry, it would be pitch black.

Stumbling along, she ran home in a panic. Seeing Zhang Dashuan washing his face by the well and Liu Heizi carrying a bucket of slop to the backyard to feed the pigs, she hastily cried out, "Dashuan, our cows are missing! Hurry and look for them. If it gets any later, we won’t be able to see a thing."

Hearing this, Zhang Dashuan stopped washing his face and called out to Liu Heizi, "Heizi, stop feeding the pigs for now. Let’s go find the cows. It’ll be a disaster if those two cows are lost."

Farmers had an extraordinary emotional attachment to their cows. Although the Zhang family had later bought two more cows and had the Wu Family and Wang Family look after them, these two cows were the very first ones they had purchased. They had been raised to be extremely familiar, obedient, and useful. They were just like dogs—true members of this farmyard. If they were lost, he would be heartbroken to death.

As soon as Liu Heizi heard the cows were missing, he also became anxious. He dropped the slop bucket and followed Zhang Dashuan outside.

Zhang Dashuan didn’t look for the cows the way Aunt Liu did, pushing through the woods and wading through ditches. He simply stood on the hillside and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Black—Bull! Black—Bull! Time—to—go—home—!"

He yelled a few times, turned his head to listen for a moment, and yelled again. Suddenly, the mountains under the twilight echoed with his voice: "Black—Bull—Bull—Bull..." The sound spread outward in ripples, like waves in water.

Juhua had already finished cooking. Hearing that the cows were lost, she grew worried as well. Why couldn’t there be a moment’s rest today? Now, an incident had to happen right at nightfall, making it impossible for everyone to eat their dinner in peace. Looking at the darkening sky outside the courtyard, she sighed. They didn’t even have a lantern at home; it was truly inconvenient to go out at night.

She found two torches from the corner of the kitchen that they usually kept tied together, dipped the rag ends in some sesame oil, and handed them to He. "Mother, take these to Father. It’s getting dark, and it’s not safe to grope around blindly in the wilderness."

He nodded, took the torches, and headed out, bumping right into Zheng Changhe. He had come to pick up Hulu and asked He where she was going. He told him what had happened.

Without even picking up Hulu, he hurriedly reached out and took the torches, saying to He, "I’ll go. You stay here. It’s pitch black out there; if you twist or sprain your ankle, it’ll only add to the mess." He then turned to Hulu, who had run out upon hearing his voice, and said, "Grandpa has something to do, so just eat at your aunt’s house for now. I’ll come pick you up later."

Knowing he was right, He had no choice but to wait at home. But feeling too uneasy to sit still, she went outside and waited by the river. Soon after, Aunt Liu also came over, keeping her company as they listened to Zhang Dashuan’s voice echoing across the mountains and wilderness.