Chapter 228

Chapter 228

Raising cattle was a big deal. The next day, Pei Yan and the two laborers got busy building a cowshed.

There was plenty of wood at home, all cut from the mountains during idle times. Though not high-quality, it was sturdy and free from rot or insect damage, making it perfect for constructing the cowshed.

Gu Lanshi was also enthusiastic. Although the water buffalo was docile, it had only arrived yesterday and had been fed twice; they were still getting acquainted.

The buffalo was large, and handling it while unfamiliar was daunting. He carried Xingxing in a cloth sling and cheerfully took a large bamboo basket to gather grass by the riverbank.

The grass near the water was lush and green. Previously, he hadn't noticed much, but sometimes Pei Yan would lead the donkey here to graze. Seeing this vast expanse of green now filled Gu Lanshi with joy, knowing that this would be an ideal spot to pasture the buffalo, making it convenient for both grazing and drinking.

When the weather became hot, once the buffalo recognized its home, it could soak in the river on its own.

He cut a handful of grass and tossed it into the basket, then straightened up to rest. This stretch of the river was calm, where they usually released ducks. In the future, they could bring the buffalo here too.

Seeing the water plants swaying with the current, he felt content. Both the ducks and the buffalo could eat them. It was satisfying to think that they now had their own buffalo.

"Hmm—hmm—" Xingxing made sounds from his back.

"What are you saying?" Gu Lanshi smiled, seeing that Xingxing was just babbling without crying. He carefully bent down to cut more grass, moving slowly with the child on his back.

One basket of grass wouldn't be enough for the buffalo, but with the two laborers working on the cowshed, Pei Yan would surely find time to gather more grass, ensuring the buffalo wouldn't go hungry.

After filling the basket, Gu Lanshi inserted the scythe and was about to carry it back when he remembered something. He first untied the cloth sling and turned Xingxing around.

Xingxing thought it was a game and was delighted.

"Pee-pee." Gu Lanshi undid the sling and held Xingxing to relieve himself.

Relieved that he remembered, he wiped Xingxing's mouth and put him back on his back. The buffalo was waiting for its meal, so he picked up the basket and headed home.

On the way, he saw several dandelions with yellow flowers, about a dozen. He pulled them out along with the grass. The buffalo would enjoy these too. There were a couple of white, fluffy ones, which he plucked and blew, sending the white fluff flying. A breeze carried them even further.

Gu Lanshi smiled warmly and continued walking.

As for Xingxing, he was too young to blow dandelions. He would play with them when he grew older.

Carrying the little one, they entered the house. In the backyard corner, Pei Yan and the others were digging deep foundations for the cowshed.

The cowshed needed to be sturdy, especially for winter to keep the cold out. It couldn't just be a simple roof; it needed proper walls, making the foundation crucial.

Gu Lanshi went to the donkey shed, where both the buffalo and the donkey were housed.

When they built the donkey shed a few years ago, they anticipated buying a mule, so it was spacious and not too low. The buffalo could barely turn around inside, but that wasn't a problem. Once familiar, they could lengthen the rope, allowing it to move outside the shed.

He poured the grass into the wooden trough, dividing it so the donkey and the buffalo could each have their portion.

Pei Yan had been in the backyard, relieved to see no conflict between the buffalo and the donkey, and continued working.

"Have you given them water?" Gu Lanshi asked, noticing a small dandelion flower hanging from the basket. He picked it up and cautiously offered it to the buffalo.

The buffalo, initially eating grass, used its tongue to take the flower without touching his hand.

Overjoyed, Gu Lanshi gently stroked the buffalo's head, receiving no reaction.

Pei Yan threw a shovel of dirt into the basket, continuing his work: "Pigs, donkeys, and buffalo—all fed. No need to fetch more water."

Xingxing's chubby hands clutched Gu Lanshi's shoulder, making sounds as he stared at the buffalo.

Hearing his son's voice, Gu Lanshi didn't immediately leave. He let Xingxing look at the buffalo and the donkey before carrying him towards the pigsty: "Let's see the little pigs, Xingxing."

The sight of the fat sow made Xingxing giggle upon hearing the pigs' grunts.

"Oh, oh," Fang Honghua and Sun Laofurang exclaimed, marveling at the scene.

The buffalo grazed on the lush grass, its rope loosely draped over its horns, allowing it to roam freely. Otherwise, dragging it on the ground would make it dirty and harder to handle.

*

Gu Lanshi felt a surge of pride, his face beaming with joy.

It was only the fourth day since they bought the buffalo. Unable to resist, after putting Xingxing to sleep, he told Pei Yan and went out to pasture the buffalo.

Such a massive buffalo could be led with just a hemp rope. Upon reaching the pasture, it stopped to graze, its tail swishing.

Since the buffalo's arrival, people came daily to see it. Yesterday, Gu An and others came, their mouths agape at its size.

"It looks great," Fang Honghua praised, adding, "Only four years old, it will serve well for many years."

"Indeed," Sun Laofurang agreed, envious. The buffalo clearly excelled at plowing fields, making farm work effortless, almost equivalent to several people.

Gu Lanshi's smile never faded, happier praising the buffalo than himself.

Fang Honghua and Sun Laofurang carried baskets and small shovels, gathering wild vegetables. They couldn't help stopping to admire the buffalo.

Fang Honghua had seen it earlier at the donkey shed and was again captivated by its size.

The buffalo ignored them as it grazed. After admiring it, they informed Gu Lanshi and moved nearby to gather wild vegetables.

Since it was the first day pasturing the buffalo, Gu Lanshi stayed close, not wanting to wander far.

The pasture was vast and open, with no trees blocking the view. After standing guard for a while and feeling the heat, he picked up the empty basket and walked to the riverbank, where there were plenty of purslane. They already had a lot dried at home, tiring of it slightly.

Nearby were some willow trees casting shade. He sat on a large stone in the shade, occasionally glancing at the buffalo.

Pei Yan was at home building the cowshed. If Xingxing woke up crying, Pei Yan would handle it, so he didn't need to worry.

He pulled a blade of grass to play with, the sound of rushing water filling his ears. His gaze fell on a half-submerged stone in the river, where he noticed snails clinging to it beneath the shimmering water. He tossed away the grass in his hand and went over to flip the stones by the riverbank, continuously tossing the snails he found into a bamboo basket.

Before summer arrived, soaking his hands in the river made them feel cold. After handling the snails, Gu Lanshi did not take off his shoes to wade in the water but instead sat back down on a stone, shaking the basket.

There weren’t many snails, but they were all decently sized. They wouldn’t be enough to feed chickens or ducks, but they could make a small dish. It had been a while since he last had them.

The cattle would take some time to eat their fill, so Gu Lanshi went back first to pour the snails into a wooden basin, letting them soak in clean water to expel the mud and sand. He planned to eat them tomorrow when they were clean.

Rushing back out, he saw that the cattle were still there, not having wandered off, which brought him even more joy.

*

With spring warming up, everyone changed into lighter clothing, including the children.

After the sixteenth day of the third month, Xingxing turned half a year old. Compared to when he was born, he was now a chubby little boy, plump and fair-skinned, with big eyes and black hair. Everyone who saw him thought he was a beautiful baby.

Spring was in full bloom, with birds singing and flowers fragrant.

Gu Lanshi waved away a bee that flew over, walking faster because he was holding Xingxing and didn't want the bee to follow.

"Mom!"

His voice rang out before he entered the door.

Miao Qiulian was grinding chili powder, with both the mortar and pestle covered in red chili dust. She had a cloth covering her mouth and nose; otherwise, she would have choked from the fumes.

"Mom, Pei Yan is going to town tomorrow to deliver eggs, so remember to pack the eggs today." Gu Lanshi held Xingxing without getting too close.

"Alright," Miao Qiulian responded, turning her head and sneezing to the side, still feeling a bit choked.

A few egg baskets were placed nearby. Once packed, Pei Yan would pick them up early tomorrow morning.

"I can smell the spiciness already." Gu Lanshi rubbed his nose. Since she was grinding chilies, he didn’t stay long. "Mom, I’ll go back now."

"Sure, go ahead. Don’t let Xingxing get choked." Miao Qiulian didn’t keep him, as such a young child couldn’t handle the fumes.

As Gu Lanshi walked out, he didn’t see Zhu Ge’er or Hua Xishuang, so he asked, "Where are Shuang’er and Zhu Ge’er?"

Miao Qiulian picked up the pestle and looked inside; the chilies were not yet ground into powder, so she continued grinding. "They went to get some sauce."

"Walking there?" Gu Lanshi asked again.

Small talk often drags on for a while.

Miao Qiulian took a break and said, "I told Dog’er to go when he came back, but Shuang’er said she felt cooped up at home and wanted to go. I thought a walk would be good for her, and it’s just one village away, so I let Zhu Ge’er go with her."

Hua Xishuang was pregnant, already three months along, and those who needed to know already knew. With her mother-in-law and youngest brother around, she didn’t need to do much work. The Gu family was also protective of her and didn’t want her running around. She spent most of her days indoors, which could get a bit boring.

Dog’er was thrilled and worked hard. Whenever there wasn’t much work at home, he would go to the town’s dock to earn extra money to support the child and buy snacks for his wife.

Gu Lanshi said, "If they come back, tell them to stop by my place. I still have half a bag of golden honey dates, which Shuang’er likes."

"Alright, I’ll let them know," Miao Qiulian agreed.

Gu Lanshi carried Xingxing and went out, bumping into Wu Xiaotao, the wife of Zhou Shitou, next door.

Wu Xiaotao held a branch of blooming peach blossoms, pink and tender. Seeing Xingxing, she smiled and plucked a blossom to hand to him. "Oh, Xingxing has grown so much. Look how chubby he is."

Xingxing grabbed the blossom with his little hands and quickly crushed it.

"Where did you get this? It’s so pretty." Gu Lanshi’s eyes lingered on the peach branch.

"Wu Shitou and I were returning from my parents' place and passed through Tian Village. There’s a family near the fields with a few peach trees. Some kids must have crawled through a broken fence and broke off several branches. Old Tian and his wife caught them, but the kids ran away, leaving the branches scattered on the ground."

"Look, they’re blooming so beautifully. It’s such a waste. They could bear plenty of peaches."

Wu Xiaotao showed a look of regret. Farmers always cared about their crops and fruit, which could be sold for money. She added, "Shitou saw them throwing the branches away, so he asked for one. He didn’t dare ask for more, fearing bad luck."

Hearing this, Gu Lanshi also felt it was a pity.

The peach trees couldn’t be planted at home. Old Tian and his wife cultivated a plot outside the village, planting seven or eight peach trees, surrounding them with a fence and building a shelter. As soon as the flowers bloomed, the couple would move in to tend to them.

Aunt Wang from across the street came out and overheard their conversation. She couldn’t help but say, "If they were caught, they’d definitely get beaten and dragged to their parents for a scolding."

"That’s right, they’re getting out of hand," Wu Xiaotao agreed.

Gu Lanshi nodded involuntarily. Those kids were indeed too wild, breaking the branches of the fruit trees.

All three had things to do and parted ways after a few words. Wu Xiaotao went inside, and Gu Lanshi carried Xingxing toward the back of the village.

Unexpectedly, he bumped into someone else. Looking up, he realized it was Ye Jinrong. He avoided eye contact, not saying a word, and quickened his pace.

Living in the same village, they would inevitably run into each other every ten days or so. Pei Yan never acknowledged this so-called birth mother.

Ye Jinrong had learned to be tactful, fearing another disaster for her family.

As Gu Lanshi walked away, Ye Jinrong stopped, looking dazed.

Too similar.

The child Gu Lanshi was carrying, from his features to his mouth, reminded her of someone familiar. Memories from over twenty years ago resurfaced, and she saw the image of Pei Yan as a child.

Ye Jinrong’s face gradually turned pale.

She had never liked her second son. From birth, he seemed to bring misfortune, especially to her, and his eerie cries at night were unsettling.

Recalling when Pei Yan was four or five months old and fell ill, almost dying, but somehow survived like a little ghost, the infant Pei Yan in his sickly state looked almost identical to the child Gu Lanshi was carrying, except for being a bit thinner.

Most striking were those eyes, dark as ink, staring straight at her.

Her guilt and fear magnified everything. Ye Jinrong suddenly turned her head, looking back at Gu Lanshi, who had already walked far away. She felt certain that the child had been staring at her with the same eyes as infant Pei Yan.

In shock, the deepest emotions in her heart were stirred.

Every time she thought Pei Yan was going to die, that debt-collecting ghost would always reappear, bloody and bruised. When her legs and arms were broken, the hatred in her eyes when she looked at Pei Yan and Pei Xingwang was like that of a venomous snake, ready to strike at any moment.

Panic, fear, and that resentment all surged forth and intertwined. Ye Jinrong broke out in a cold sweat, her limbs stiff and immobile.

*

After returning home, Gu Lanshi wiped her son's little hands clean. No matter what flowers ended up in the little rascal's hands, they wouldn't last more than half an hour.

She kissed his chubby little hand and blew on his plump arm, making "puff puff puff" sounds.

Stars' pupils were black and bright. Being blown on by Amu, he laughed happily.

"Ah bu—" Gu Lanshi blew again, and Stars laughed once more.

Pei Yan returned carrying a hoe. Seeing them playing in the main room and hearing his son's laughter, he also smiled.

"Father is back." Gu Lanshi's arm was a bit sore, so she placed Stars in the cradle, picked up the rattle, and shook it for her son.

"Did you talk to him?" Pei Yan scooped water to wash his hands.

"Yes." Gu Lanshi poured tea from the teapot.

After washing his hands, Pei Yan came in. The first thing he did was pick up his chubby son. Stars' eyes were as dark as ink, exceptionally beautiful.

Held in his arms, Stars stared at him for a while, as if recognizing his father again. His little hand slapped onto Pei Yan's face with surprising strength.

Gu Lanshi hadn't swallowed her mouthful of tea yet and almost choked, coughing a couple of times before laughing. "Truly a filial son."

The smile in Pei Yan's eyes didn't fade. He pretended to lightly bite Stars' little chubby hand, making Stars laugh happily again.