My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 400 The Whole Village Catches Cattle
It was a bit startling to suddenly have a bull's head pop up outside the door so late at night.
Everyone was stunned for a moment before exclaiming in surprise.

"Whose calf is this? Why isn't it properly tied up? It's so late at night, aren't you afraid it will run away?"

Wang Jusheng frowned and glanced at it twice. The couple then got up and walked out.

Zhao Dahai said, "Could this be someone looking for Fugui's little white calf?"

As he spoke, he and Chen Ling's family followed him out.

"Definitely not. My cow isn't in heat. Besides, even if it were, it wouldn't attract this clueless calf over here."

Chen Ling glanced over and saw that his little white calf was very well-behaved, lying quietly in a corner of the yard, resting with its eyes closed.

When the sneaky little yellow ox saw people coming out, it pulled its head back and took off running away.

Watching the little yellow calf run off into the distance, everyone was still a bit confused. Rui Rui, on the other hand, whimpered and called for his parents, wanting to chase after it.

“I know, this is the calf that Er Mao Donkey bought this year. I saw him training the calf when I went to the riverbank to herd horses last time.”

Upon seeing the appearance of the ox, Chen Ling immediately remembered whose ox it was.

Wang Jusheng was stunned: "Good heavens, Er Mao's cow, how far must it have run? From the southwest corner of the village to my house, that's half the village! And this cow even goes around visiting other people's houses. It's really lucky that no one secretly tied it up at home."

Then he added, "It's not good to run around the village like this so late at night. I'll go to Er Mao Donkey's house and ask him to come and catch the cow."

Everyone urged him to go quickly, since he had seen it and was a fellow villager, he should go and tell them.

Wang Jusheng rode his bicycle to Er Maolu's house and it wasn't long before...

Chen Ling and the others heard a chaotic shouting sound outside while they were in the courtyard.

"Alright, this is Ermao Donkey coming out to catch the cow."

Chen Ling picked up the restless little child in his arms and said with a smile, "We've eaten and drunk enough. Let's go out and join the fun."

"Haha, let's go, let's go, it's a rare sight to see a cow being caught like this."

Zhao Dahai excitedly snatched the chubby baby from Chen Ling's arms, laughing as he ran: "Rui Rui, following your dad isn't as fun as running with your uncle. Uncle will take you to see how to catch cattle right now."

Zhao Dahai and his wife were very fond of Rui Rui. Whenever they had a chance, they would grab her and hold her in their arms, kissing and hugging her, reluctant to let go.

Seeing the fat man, his body jiggling with fat, running out while carrying his son, Chen Ling and Wang Susu laughed helplessly, finding it rather amusing that someone of that size could claim to be fast.

"Mom, you and Uncle and Aunt come over quickly, we're going to catch up."

Big Head waved his little hand from ahead, and he and Dandan quickly chased after Zhao Dahai and Rui Rui.

"Okay, it's late at night, so you guys should slow down."

Zhang Qiaoling gave a brief instruction, then said to Chen Ling and the other man, "Listen, this is quite a spectacle. They're catching a cow, just like they were hunting wolves the winter before last."

"Yes, catching a cow, that's quite a big deal."

Chen Ling and the other person nodded.

The village was indeed in a noisy commotion. The shouts of the villagers, the mooing of the cows, the thuds of various heavy objects falling to the ground, and the barking of a large number of startled dogs carried very far into the night.

"Moo~"

Just then, an even louder moo, filled with extreme panic, rang out from afar.

Then someone shouted, "They're running east! The cows are running east!"

"Quick, hurry and catch up! They're heading towards the reservoir at the village entrance!"

"..."

Amidst the noise, Chen Ling and his two companions saw the half-grown yellow ox running wildly through the village's winding alleyways like a madman.

A large group of villagers followed behind, carrying flashlights and ropes, waving them to create bright beams of light, shouting loudly as they relentlessly pursued them in the darkness.

At the very back followed a group of little kids and a pack of dogs, excitedly shouting and barking. Zhao Dahai, carrying Rui Rui, led Da Tou and the other two, blending in among them.

When Zhang Qiaoling and Wang Susu saw this, their faces turned pale with fright. They quickly called them back and told them not to chase after them.

If the cow gets spooked and bumps into them, it's no joke.

Chen Ling wasn't worried because there were too many people, the children were at the back of the crowd, and the little yellow ox was clearly afraid of people and didn't run towards the crowd at all.

Didn't they just run straight towards the reservoir outside the village?
The houses over there are sparsely populated, with few people living there. With fewer people, the space is spacious, making it easier to hide and less likely to be blocked.

Even so, Chen Ling was worried about the child, so he didn't say anything and quickly ran over to tell Zhao Dahai and the others to be careful. Then he whistled to call his two dogs over, and they quickly prepared to go and help chase the cow.

"Brother Donkey, what's going on? Livestock aren't cats or dogs. Why aren't these precious animals properly tethered?"

"Oh dear, I thought I'd kept it locked up in the yard, and I didn't even chain it up. Who knew it would learn to open the door and sneak out by itself?"

"Fugui, it's no use saying anything now. It's great that you came along. Please help me! My cow is disobedient. It ignores me when I call it home and runs away from people. Your dog is powerful. Please help me chase it back."

"Alright, alright, Brother Donkey, don't worry, I'll go after them and take a look."

When Chen Ling saw his two big dogs calling over, he immediately stopped delaying, waved his hand, and led them forward to charge.

The two of them, one man and two dogs, ran at a speed that the villagers couldn't match, disappearing in the blink of an eye, leaving everyone speechless and saying that for something like this, you should ask someone as wealthy as Fugui.

If you're so good at hunting pigs and wolves, catching a cow would be a piece of cake.

After Chen Ling caught up, the little yellow ox ran onto the dam. It slowed down and was about to run eastward along the dam.

As soon as it saw Chen Ling chasing after it, it let out a moo, turned around, raised its four hooves, and swung its tail as it charged towards the farmland on the north side of the dam.

However, this side of the dam also has a slope, and the little yellow cow ran too fast in its panic and rolled down without paying attention.

Seeing this, Chen Ling chuckled and said to the two dogs, "Surround it and drive it into the pond."

The fish had just been sold in the small pond beside the farmland. The water was shallow at that time, which was just enough to drive the unruly little yellow ox into the pond and trap it, leaving it nowhere to escape.

The two dogs barked loudly and pounced on it instantly.

As the villagers say, they often fight with fierce wild animals in the mountains, such as wild boars and wolves.

Why would they be afraid of a half-grown yellow ox?

The little yellow calf rolled into the farmland. Just as it got up, Heiwa rammed into it and knocked it to the ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Jin opened his mouth and bit the cow's rump. The little yellow cow was startled by the pain and let out a series of rapid mooing sounds. It scrambled to its feet and tried to run away.

But Heiwa blocked its way.

With Heiwa in front and Xiaojin behind, this guy has nowhere to escape.

The two dogs kept barking, putting pressure on the calf and forcing it to retreat. In just a few moments, the calf lost its footing and slipped into the pond with a splash.

"Good job, well done."

When Chen Ling saw the little yellow calf fall into the pond as expected, he immediately praised the two dogs without reservation.

The pond was shallow, but the bottom was covered in silt. Now that its feet were stuck in the silt, the little yellow calf couldn't escape no matter how hard it wanted to.

He went downstairs and waited for the villagers to come over.

Fearing the ox would wander off, the villagers also ran over, though they weren't as fast as Chen Ling. He went down into the field and waited for less than two minutes before Er Maolu arrived with a noisy group of people.

Seeing Chen Ling and his dog trap the cows in the pond, everyone cheered, saying that sending him was definitely the right decision.

Needless to say, he showered Chen Ling and Heiwa with praise once again.

It's not easy for Ermao Donkey to lead the ox home when it's stuck.

When the two donkeys went down into the pond and tied the rope to the calf, they saw the little yellow calf struggling to raise its head high.

Every time it raised its head, the two donkeys would press it down with all their might. Every time it raised its head, they would press it down with all their might.

The donkey and the ox went back and forth for several rounds, but the ox still refused to give in.

His neck was still stretched upwards, and his head was held high.

The donkey was so anxious that it kept cracking its whip and cursing.

A group of adults and children were dumbfounded.

The older folks muttered to themselves, "Damn it, Er Maolu bought this ox blind. It's so stubborn. If it weren't trapped in the pond, with him whipping it like that, the ox might have knocked them both over."

“Uncle, stop making sarcastic remarks. Fugui, you’re strong, give us a hand and let’s tie the ox up with a rope and get it up first before we talk about anything else.”

The ox that Er Maolu bought was indeed stubborn. In the end, Chen Ling and the others took off their shoes, went down into the pond, tied it up, and helped lift it out.

(End of this chapter)