Chapter 49: He Hasn’t Finished Yet

The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of sunset.

When Madam Gu returned home, she was startled to find a wild bull beside the kitchen!

The wild bull was dozing off on the ground. Hearing the commotion, it lifted its eyelids, glanced at Madam Gu, and then closed its eyes again.

Xingqing emerged from the kitchen at this moment. Seeing Madam Gu back, she said cheerfully, “Grandma, you’re back! Dinner’s ready!”

Madam Gu pointed at the wild bull, “Whose bull is this?”

Xingqing replied excitedly, “Ours! This morning, Big Sister went up the mountain to gather firewood and encountered this wild bull. She brought it home!”

Madam Gu cried out in alarm, “What? A wild bull!!!!”

Madam Gu nearly fainted!

How could this child bring anything home?

She had heard Shen Chongshan say that the most ferocious animals in the mountains, besides tigers and lions, were wild bulls!

He said he had personally witnessed two lions failing to overcome a single wild bull.

After her initial cry, Madam Gu immediately regretted it and covered her mouth, worried about provoking the wild bull. She hurriedly pulled Xingqing into the kitchen and quickly closed the door. Before her heart could settle, she was startled again by the sight of a feast on the table!

Even with money, one shouldn’t spend it like this!

Were they planning to eat up all their silver in a single day?

Madam Gu felt like her heart couldn’t take much more these days!

Xingnong was serving each person a bowl of fish soup. Madam Gu looked her up and down and noticed a small scratch on her face. She couldn’t help but ask anxiously, “Are you injured again? Where else are you hurt? And what’s with the wild bull? Why are you so bold, child!”

Madam Gu stared at Xingnong, wishing her eyes were laser-sharp so she could see through her and check if she was injured.

Xingnong had rolled around at the bottom of the lake, and when she came ashore, her muddy body covered the wounds. Besides, the wounds were just superficial scratches from branches, not serious at all, and couldn’t be seen. So Xingqing and Shen Ruoxi didn’t know she was injured.

“I’m not injured, just a scratch on my face from a branch when I was on the mountain.”

Xingnong downplayed the situation, “I saw the wild bull on the mountain and tamed it on a whim.”

Madam Gu’s expression turned serious, “Don’t fool me! Wild bulls are more ferocious than tigers, and you tamed it on a whim?”

How could it be that easy to tame a wild bull on a whim!

Hearing this, Xingqing and Shen Ruoxi were startled, and they both exclaimed in unison, “Wild bulls are more ferocious than tigers?”

Madam Gu glared, “Of course!”

But Xingqing, thinking of the wild bull outside, said in surprise, “But Mingzhu seems very well-behaved! It squats when told to squat, stands when told to stand.”

Shen Ruoxi nodded, “It eats whatever you give it obediently! Mingzhu is so good!”

Madam Gu: “. . .”

Mingzhu? They even gave the wild bull a name!

Madam Gu’s lips twitched. The name successfully extinguished half of her worries. “Who came up with this name?”

Xingqing said happily, “I did! Our bull’s full name is Black Mingzhu.”

Because its fur is so black, it’s called Black Mingzhu.

Xinghui added mischievously, “Grandma, doesn’t the name sound nice?”

Madam Gu glared at him playfully, but she was indeed amused.

Hmph!

The people from the eldest branch dared to use her child’s name for a servant, so couldn’t their family use Mingzhu’s name for livestock?

But she still had to ask what she needed to ask, “Xingnong, how did you tame this wild bull?”

Xingnong replied solemnly, “I rode it and tamed it.”

Madam Gu: “. . .”

Madam Gu frowned, “Don’t fool me! Wild bulls are ferocious. You rode on its back, and it didn’t throw you to the ground?”

Xingnong nodded, “It tried to throw me, but it couldn’t.”

“. . .”

Madam Gu looked at Xingnong with an expression that said the wild bull couldn’t do anything to her.

So wild bulls were so easy to tame?

Madam Gu wasn’t sure anymore, but she thought it shouldn’t be that difficult, right?

The first ox in the world must have been tamed from a wild bull by humans, wasn’t it?

Xingnong’s explanation was too concise, and Madam Gu convinced herself by filling in the blanks with her imagination.

This girl really inherited her father’s immense strength!

But it was a good thing. At least when she fought with others, she had never lost.

She sat down to eat with peace of mind.

The family enjoyed their meal happily.

✿✿✿

After dinner, Xingnong even brought out strawberries for everyone to eat, saying she had picked them on the mountain.

Xingqing declared that these were the most delicious fruits she had ever tasted!

Shen Ruoxi and Xinghui nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Village Chief Gu arrived.

He was also startled to see the wild bull.

“Ah, this… this is a wild bull!”

The wild bull lazily lifted half its eyelids, glanced at him, and then continued to lower its head to eat strawberries.

What if it was a wild bull?

Everyone was making a fuss!

It was even the king of bulls!

Xingqing ran out happily, “Uncle Gu is here! This is a wild bull, its name is Black Mingzhu. My sister tamed it on the mountain!”

Tamed it?

Village Chief Gu was extremely surprised!

Xingnong really inherited Uncle Chongshan’s true skills!

She even dared to tame a wild bull!

But, Black Mingzhu? Village Chief Gu’s lips twitched. He glanced at the house of the eldest branch of the Shen family. Shen Shihua’s daughter seemed to be called Shen Mingzhu, right?

He subconsciously praised, “That’s a good name.”

Madam Gu heard Village Chief Gu’s voice and came out of the house, both amused and exasperated, “It’s all because of Xingqing’s mischievousness.”

Xingnong came out carrying a basket of strawberries, “Uncle Gu, try these wild fruits.”

“It’s fine, I think it’s great. My sow gave birth to a few piglets yesterday. When you move over, I’ll give you two piglets to raise. We’ll call them Xiaohua and Xiaoyuan.”

Since Shen Shihua’s servants were named Xiaoxi, the livestock raised by her aunt’s family should be named after their family members.

Did they really think others were easy to bully!

Xingnong’s peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a small window in the alley moving slightly, being gently pushed open a crack.

She glanced at it and then looked away.

Village Chief Gu saw that the fruits in the basket were cute, somewhat resembling wild strawberries, but much larger. He picked one up and put it in his mouth, and his eyes lit up. He didn’t expect it to be so delicious!

It was sweeter than wild strawberries, with a stronger fruity aroma, and most importantly, the fruits were large.

It was so satisfying to bite into them!

He picked up another strawberry and put it in his mouth, mumbling, “What kind of wild fruit is this? It’s good! Delicious!”

Xingnong: “Uncle Gu, come in and sit down.”

Village Chief Gu waved his hand, “No need, my oxcart is still outside, I have to hurry back.”

Village Chief Gu took out a stack of land deeds and house deeds, “I used all the silver notes Aunt gave me to buy land, a total of six mu of high-quality fertile land, three mu of dry land, a pond, and three mu of wasteland. These lands cost a total of ninety-nine taels of silver, and the remaining one tael was the deed tax collected by the yamen.”

In this dynasty, land was very valuable. High-quality fertile land cost ten taels per mu, dry land cost eight taels per mu, and ponds cost six taels per mu.

Wasteland was cheaper, but it still cost three taels of silver per mu, and taxes had to be paid in the first year after purchase.

However, wasteland generally had no yield for the first three years, resulting in losses, so not many people in Chu were willing to reclaim wasteland.

This led to a considerable amount of wasteland with poor water conditions in Chu.

Xingnong took the deeds, “Thank you, Uncle Gu.”

Village Chief Gu waved his hand, “Why are you being so polite, girl. By the way, the house will be ready to live in once the windows are installed tomorrow. You can move in anytime. Just let me know when you’re moving, and I’ll come and help. Xingnong, I heard about Madam Li…”

Village Chief Gu thought of something and then pulled Xingnong aside to inquire about how Madam Li was brought to court. He also talked about how shameless the eldest branch of the Shen family was and how satisfying it was that Madam Li was imprisoned by the county magistrate.

After a quarter of an hour, Madam Gu invited him inside to talk, but he waved his hand, “No need, I’ll just say a few words and leave, I’m in a hurry~” He then continued, “That Shen Wanshan back then…”

After another quarter of an hour, Madam Gu invited him again, but he refused again, saying, “I’m in a hurry.”

Inside the house, Madam Gu silently lit the oil lamp.

Xingnong stood there attentively, listening to the village chief’s endless chatter…

Xinghui glanced at the darkening sky: …So this was what he called being in a hurry~

It wasn’t until the sky was completely dark, and Village Chief Gu’s ox had returned home on its own, that his wife came to drag him away, grabbing his ear and pulling him along. Only then did he reluctantly leave, carrying the basket of strawberries Xingnong had given him, still wanting to talk more.

Alas, he hadn’t finished speaking yet!

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