frightfiction Chapter 166 The Skinny Cow
Chapter 166 The Skinny Cow
He came out with the silver, feeling happy and relieved. Not only did he have the hundred taels he owed to Foreman Cui, but he also had the money for digging the well and the money for the greenhouse.
The next time I sell flowers will probably be after the Lunar New Year. This year's Lunar New Year must have been quite pleasant.
She drove a carriage to pick up a few people from the Pangshi Escort Agency and went to the largest restaurant in town for lunch. The banquet cost her five taels of silver.
As expected, she had silver. Five taels was just a drop in the bucket for her. If she had just gotten through, it would have cost her half her life.
In the afternoon, go to Tougu Market (a market dedicated to buying and selling cattle, horses, mules, donkeys and other livestock) to buy a good cow.
The oxen used for farming here are mostly water buffaloes, with large horns, a grey-black colour and a relatively large body. There are also a few yellow cattle, which have smaller horns and are also smaller in size.
Water buffaloes prefer water and even wallow in the mud when it's hot. Cattle, on the other hand, are smaller in size and don't have many requirements for their habitat.
She walked around the market for a while and saw two big yellow cows in the corner, the same model as the ones she had seen online as a celebrity before.
They were skinny and bony, with no sign of life in their big eyes. They looked like two big zombies.
The owner of the two cows was a middle-aged woman in her thirties, wearing a headscarf and looking pale.
Huanxi walked up and asked, "Sister-in-law, are these two cows yours?"
The woman said in surprise: "Sister, this is my family's cow, do you want it? It's not expensive."
She looked at the small woman sitting in the corner of the market, as thin as a cow. She looked like a woman who had experienced many hardships. She thought that as long as the price was not too high, she could accept it.
"So what's the price of these two cows? And how old are they?"
The two cows, one bigger and one slightly smaller, just stood there numbly, as if they had no souls.
"The older one is three years old and a female. The younger one is two years old and a male. They are both good and obedient cows. If you want one, I'll give you fifty taels each."
The woman looked thin and weak, and the lion's mouth was really scary when it opened wide... The yellow cattle were a little more expensive than the water buffalo, but this one was almost starving to death, and twenty-five taels per head was a bit too expensive...
But looking at these two cows, I seemed to be able to faintly hear their voices.
"It smells so good... Can you smell it? It smells so good."
"I smell it too. It smells really good. Even better than the grass on the ground."
Those who can hear the voice of their hearts are generally intelligent. The cow that Uncle Lu Gen was herding couldn't hear it itself, and neither could the entire market. As for these two cows... I guess they have a connection with me.
So he lowered his voice and said, "It's too expensive. If you really want to sell it, please give me a fair price."
Xu Qingzhao was a little confused when he saw Huanxi wanted to buy these two skinny cows. How long would it take to feed these cows after buying them? But Huanxi must have her reasons.
"This... my cow is just a little thin, everything else is fine. Besides, the price of yellow cattle is originally higher than that of water buffalo. Sister, I won't hide it from you, if my family really couldn't make ends meet, how could I be willing to sell the pillar of the family? So the price can't be any lower." The woman's tone was a little urgent, and her eyes seemed reluctant.
"Forty-five taels, I won't fight you any harder. If you can make the decision, I'll give you the silver. If not, I'll look elsewhere. After all, there are so many good cattle in this market." Huanxi wanted to save the cattle and help others, but that didn't mean she wanted to be the one being taken advantage of.
The woman seemed to be calculating in her mind and said with a bitter face, "Forty-five taels is too low. How about forty-eight taels?"
"Forty-eight taels sounds terrible. Forty-six taels, it can't be any higher. Qingzhao, give me the silver."
Xu Qingzhao took out his loose change, checked it carefully and handed it to the woman.
The woman gulped at the sight of the silver; she had never seen so much silver before. She tried to ask for more, but after a lot of arguing with Huanxi, she was unsuccessful. Finally, she accepted the silver and went to the market management to transfer the ownership.
For example, when buying and selling livestock, the buyer needed to pay the full amount in silver and also provide their household registration to ensure the authenticity of the transaction. After all, cattle and horses were the main productive force in ancient times, and they were more valuable and more strictly regulated than the human population.
He gave the silver, paid the tax, said goodbye to the woman, and led the two cows to the carriage. The carriage was parked at the intersection. He also gave three copper coins to have someone watch over it and give Shufeng some water and grass.
As she was walking out, she saw an unexpected person kneeling on the roadside. It was Linghua. She was kneeling on the ground, her face ashen, and she was wearing the same clothes she had worn when she left the Zhao family, but they had become tattered.
I looked around but there was no sign of Xiaodan.
The dentist's shop was on another street, so why was this man kneeling here? Besides, it had been so long, so it should have been bought long ago.
But this had nothing to do with Huanxi. She deliberately walked on the other side of the cow so that Linghua could not see her.
"Madam! You are Madam! You are Madam!"
Hearing this, Zhao Huanxi cursed inwardly. She could only pretend not to hear it. She gestured to Xu Qingzhao to hurry up, otherwise, something bad would happen.
But the road to the market was narrow, and the two cows didn't seem able to run. Looking at Linghua again, she had already pulled her sleeves.
Seeing this, Zhao Huanxi closed his eyes and couldn't bear to look at it. What he feared came true.
"Madam! I'm Linghua! I know I was wrong, madam! Please save Xiaodan. It was all my fault before. I know I was wrong, madam, please save Xiaodan!"
Zhao Huanxi tried to pry Linghua's hands apart, but her hands were stuck to his clothes as if glued.
There was no other way, so she said angrily: "Let go! What do I have to do with you? If you keep pestering me, I will report you to the police!"
Frightened by this, Linghua let go of her hand and looked at Huanxi crying with tears and snot, muttering that she deserved to die. The people around them didn't know what was going on and surrounded the three of them, pointing and talking at them.
"Huanhuan, let's go first." Xu Qingzhao didn't want to see this person either. He was greedy and said that Linghua was tailor-made for him.
Huanxi glanced at Linghua, who was kneeling on the ground crying, and ultimately couldn't bear it. He took out a few taels of silver from his pocket, squatted down and handed it to Linghua, saying, "You and I were master and servant before, and it was your own fault that I kicked you out. Now I don't know what happened to you, and this is the last time I can help you. If you see me next time, please don't bother me again."
It's not easy for a woman to raise a child. Even if she is cruel, she can't turn a blind eye. Besides, Linghua is not a good person, but she treats Xiaodan very well.
Linghua held the silver in her hand, tears streaming down her face. If she had done her job well in the Zhao family at that time, would Xiaodan not have been sold to a brothel now?
"Madam...I...I beg you...please lend me fifty taels of silver. I will pay it back, I will definitely pay it back. Woo woo woo woo, Xiao Dan was sold to a brothel, I want to redeem her..."
A brothel? Then how could Linghua be free? Huanxi didn't understand the twists and turns in the story, so she asked her to follow her to the carriage.
If the soldiers really come, it will be very troublesome for Qing Zhao.