Chapter 99: The Tragic Death of the Cow

Qian Dagui had average popularity in the market town, but honestly he was not an unpleasant person.

First, he did not gossip.

Second, he did not get too close to anyone, but he was still polite when meeting people.

However, even for someone like this, his popularity was only average, purely because he was stingy, the kind who guarded every cent tightly.

But Qian Dagui was an honest man. He was stingy, but diligent. When others rested, he was always busy weaving bamboo baskets and similar things, which he could sell in town for money.

For someone so hardworking and frugal, after the economic environment improved, life could not have been bad. Qian Dagui lived quite well.

His house was a two story building that ranked in the top ten in the market town. In his courtyard were stone tables and stools, a grape trellis, vegetables, fruits, flowers and plants. Most importantly, he raised a full seven fat pigs.

What made Qian Dagui stand even prouder was that two months ago he bought a plowing ox, something almost unique in the market town. Guo Er was richer than him, but Guo Er had no interest in farming and did not buy an ox.

Some days ago, there was a worm infestation in the village, and Qian Dagui also took his family to get the free medical check. Fortunately, none of them were sick.

Also, some time earlier, he had taken his wife and young son on a trip to stay at his wife’s parents home for several days. It was likely because of that that they were not infected.

What is luck? This was luck.

Qian Dagui felt his life was quite comfortable. Except for these past few days, his ox kept tormenting him. No matter how many times he fed it, it was not enough. If it was not fed, it went wild in the pen.

That night, Qian Dagui thought, “The village says there is some kind of mutated roundworm. My ox seems to have caught it, but no one said it could spread to livestock.”

Qian Dagui felt uneasy.

As if to match his unease, that night his ox was extremely restless, repeatedly making loud noises in the pen. The usually silent old ox kept crying out in sorrow.

He went to feed it several times, but today the ox would not eat. It just stared at him, tears streaming down.

Qian Dagui felt heartache, but he was not an ox and could not understand its pain. Those who raise cattle know they are intelligent creatures. If it was crying, something must be wrong.

Patting the ox gently, as if speaking to a lover, Qian Dagui said, “Ox, ox, stop making trouble. I have decided, tomorrow I will find a veterinarian to take a look.”

He truly cared for the ox. Qian Dagui was stingy, unwilling to spend money even when he was sick, but he was willing to find a veterinarian for the ox the next day.

After comforting it like this, the ox seemed much better. Qian Dagui went to sleep in his clothes, but he still could not sleep peacefully at all.

A little after five, while it was still dark, Qian Dagui suddenly heard earth shattering movement from the cattle pen. Then the ox let out a few sorrowful cries. Those were real cries, like a dying persons final shout, enough to make one’s heart tighten.

Qian Dagui immediately sat up. His wife, half asleep, asked beside him, “What are you doing? Why are you not sleeping properly at this hour?”

“Did you not hear our ox screaming? It is heartbreaking.”

“Didn’t you say you would find a vet at daybreak?”

“I cannot rest easy. I have to go take a look.”

Carrying an oil lamp and putting on his clothes, Qian Dagui walked step by step toward the cattle pen. Before he even got close, he smelled a strong bloody odor. The area around the pen was eerily silent, making his skin crawl.

Goosebumps rose along his back for no reason, but thinking of his ox, he quickened his steps toward the pen.

“Oh my god, which damn bastard did this, which damn bastard!”

Qian Dagui’s wife was suddenly awakened. She heard her husband’s shout. That grief filled roar was something she had only heard once before, when Qian Dagui’s grandfather had died.

Worried about him, she did not even bother to put on outer clothes. Wearing only her undergarments, she ran out and reached the cattle pen, where she saw her husband crouching there, holding his head and tearing at his hair. He was silent, but clearly in great pain.

He was crying. His wife knew him too well. When he was in extreme pain, he would cry like this without making a sound.

She went over, knelt down, and hugged his back softly. “What happened?”

Qian Dagui trembled and pointed at the cattle pen. “You… you… go see for yourself. Which damn bastard did this!”

The oil lamp was still hanging on the fence, swaying gently in the wind. Because she was too worried about her husband, she had not noticed the cattle pen. Now she turned her head to look, and her entire body went weak. She almost fell to the ground, only managing to steady herself by leaning on Qian Dagui’s back.

I was biting a large steamed bun stuffed with pickled vegetables as I ran quickly along the road. Last night my cultivation practice went wrong and caused quite a commotion, scaring Old Man Jiang and Hui Jue into dealing with me for a long time. By the time everything was settled, it was already around three in the morning.

Without a doubt, I woke up late. I originally wanted to be shameless and skip school today, but my master did not care at all about my mishap last night. He kicked me right in the backside and sent me flying out the door.

When I was almost at the market town, I saw Su Rou’s obvious fat figure in the distance. That was our agreement. Whoever arrived first would wait there and we would go to school together.

I had never been this late before. Su Rou was probably already anxious, pacing back and forth.

I ran over. Before I could even speak, Su Rou snatched the steamed bun from my mouth, took two big bites without any politeness, then stuffed it back into my mouth for me to carry again.

While chewing, he said unclearly, “Why are you so late today? You are messing up my big plans. These two bites of bun are your compensation.”

I could not be bothered to argue with him. I took another bite myself. Who did not know each other’s habits. Su Rou only wanted the pickled radish peel that Old Man Jiang made.

“Hey, what big plans could you possibly have? You are already late, and you are still unhappy about it. Anyway, in your school, whenever you act up, you just skip class.”

Su Rou swallowed hard and said, “San Wa Er, I am not joking with you. This is really big news. The market town’s old miser, Qian Dagui, you know him right? His ox is dead.”

The ox is dead? I did not care much and took another bite of my bun, ignoring Su Rou’s drooling look. “Qian Dagui must be heartbroken. With how stingy he is, he is probably crying to death. You just want to watch the excitement, right? That is your big news?”

“Bullshit. His ox is dead. With how stingy he is, do you think I care about watching the fun? He would not even give me a piece of beef. I heard his ox died in a very miserable and strange way. I have been standing here waiting for you and already saw several groups of people going to watch. They all said it was very tragic. That is why I wanted to go take a look, but you showed up so late…” Su Rou rambled on.

My heart suddenly jolted. The bun in my hand fell to the ground. I remembered what my master had said. Two were still missing, and they were very likely inside livestock.

“San Wa Er, if I could not beat you, I would really hit you. You cannot even finish a bun and you just throw it away. Give it to me.” Su Rou looked furious. I could not understand it. Why did everyone around me eat like pigs. Eating was everything to them. Even when they were full, they could still keep stuffing themselves.

Su Rou was like this. Old Man Jiang was like this. Even that monk Hui Jue was like this.

But I was not in the mood to argue with Su Rou. My hands were trembling, and I had to grab his clothes tightly just to steady myself. I might not fear ghosts, but these hungry ghosts were truly terrifying.

“San Wa Er, you are not actually thinking of fighting me, are you?” Su Rou looked at me suspiciously.

“You tell me, how did Qian Dagui’s ox die? Just describe it.” My voice was shaking too.

“I did not go look. Others just said it was miserable. I did not hear anything detailed.” Su Rou still did not understand what was wrong with me.

I let go of him, took a deep breath to calm myself, and said, “I am going to take a look. You go to school. If you want to follow, then follow.”