During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

Unlike Li Chunyan and the others, Ye Dazhuang could tell that Ye Qingqing was dragging her feet and refusing to go to the cattle and horse market, making excuses to stay here, probably waiting for something.

He just wouldn't ask.

Ye Qingqing also increasingly felt that this person she had "picked up" was a good business partner.

He's ruthless and doesn't talk much. All he needs is three full meals a day and warm clothes. He's very easy to manage.

"Moo...Moo..."

Just as I finished eating the wontons, I heard the weak mooing of a cow coming from the road.

"Ding ding ding..."

An arrow flashed through his mind, pointing straight at the yellow ox.

Ye Qingqing's eyes lit up. Here they come!

The gleaming silver has arrived!

that's it!

On the road, a middle-aged man in a coarse cloth coat was pulling hard on the reins and shouting.

"Come on! Why are you stopping again? We left the village early this morning and have been dragging our feet for almost three hours. Are you trying to kill me with exhaustion?!"

It was a robust young ox, though not particularly strong, and didn't seem sick, but its belly sagged as if it had eaten its fill.

Ye Qingqing took a closer look and noticed that the old ox seemed to have a problem with its left hind leg again. It was afraid to put weight on its legs when walking, and would lift itself up after a few steps.

It must have been that the cow's leg was broken. The owner brought it here to be slaughtered and sold because it could no longer plow the fields after the leg was broken.

"Moo..."

The ox limped a few more steps, then raised its head and mooed in pain.

"That beast! Why is it stopping again?"

The man was furious, jumping up and down, and started whipping the ox indiscriminately, yelling angrily, "We're almost there, and you won't move!"

"Moo..."

The ox let out a series of mournful cries, then its body slumped to its knees with a thud, tears streaming from its two desperate eyes.

"Clap clap clap..."

The man gave him another beating with the whip, panting and cursing loudly.

"You beast, you know how to cry? What bad luck! Big Yellow, it's not that I want to kill you, but who told you to step into the hole and break your leg to pieces?"

If you can't work in the fields, are we still going to keep you in our family like an ancestor?

"Selling the meat will at least reduce the loss, and I can buy a calf next year..."

"That person, really, how could they be so cruel?"

Li Chunyan couldn't bear to watch, and muttered with disgust, "The cow's leg is broken, it's not like it doesn't want to walk, yet he's still whipping it to death!"

Ye Qingqing looked at Li Chunyan, "Sister-in-law, can't you stand by and watch?"

Li Chunyan nodded, and said indignantly,

"Of course! Even if they're animals, they still do hard labor for their families. How could you bring yourself to do that?"

"that is!"

Ye Cuicui said with a look of pity, "Old Niu has suffered because of this family!"

Ye Qingqing smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, Cuicui, how about we buy the cow?"

She originally intended to buy it herself, but seeing that Li Chunyan seemed quite sympathetic towards the cow and was also quick-witted, she figured that having Li Chunyan buy the cow wouldn't give the seller away.

"What?"

The two of them froze, looking at each other as if they had misheard. Their eyes widened as they stared at Ye Qingqing.

"Second Girl, are you talking nonsense? Why would we buy a lame ox?"

"Yes, second sister, everyone said that the cow's leg was broken beyond repair. Why did you buy it?"

Besides the two of them, Ye Dazhuang also unconsciously raised his eyes and glanced at Ye Qingqing.

A fleeting smile crossed her eyes before she lowered her head and slowly ate her wontons.

After dawdling for a long time, it turned out that the girl was waiting for a cow.

"Eat meat, what else can you do?"

Ye Qingqing raised an eyebrow and made up a story without batting an eye: "A lame cow will definitely be sold at the price of a sick cow, which is much cheaper than buying beef separately."

"If we offer the homeowner a higher price than the butcher, he'll definitely sell."

"No...you just bought half a sheep, Er Yatou!"

Li Chunyan felt a pang of heartache at the thought, gritting her teeth as she gestured with her hand, "Eight taels and eight mace of mutton! My goodness, isn't that enough for you? Do you want to eat dragon meat?!"

Ye Cuicui grinned and said, "Yes, Second Sister, how much money does a cow cost? Let's not eat it..."

"I'm definitely buying this cow."

Ye Qingqing smiled mysteriously and beckoned to Li Chunyan with her finger, "Sister-in-law, come here, I have something to tell you."

Under Ye Cuicui's questioning gaze, the two whispered a few words to each other.

"real?"

Li Chunyan's expression changed from reluctance to shock in her pupils, and then to disbelief... Her expression changed much faster than anyone else's.

Ye Qingqing's face darkened. "You still don't trust me?"

"I can trust you! If I can't trust you, who can I trust?"

Li Chunyan nodded vigorously, saying confidently, "Then let's do it that way. I'm good at this kind of thing, watch me!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she stood up and walked straight toward the ox.

"Clap clap clap..."

The man whipped the ox relentlessly, cursing furiously, "You beast, you won't even let me rest in peace before you die! Get up, let's go!"

The ox's shoulders and back were covered in whip marks, and it shook its head in pain, its mooing sounding like a cry, "Moo..."

Even passersby couldn't stand it and started talking all over the man.

"Stop hitting it! It's a life after all, how can you be so heartless?"

"The old ox has plowed your fields for half its life, and in the end, it doesn't even give you anything in return?"

"Who is this...?"

……

The man brandished his whip and said defiantly,

"I'm beating my own cow, what's it to you? Go away, don't come here to watch the show!"

"I say, how can you be so cruel? You can even be so heartless to your own pets?"

Li Chunyan strode over, hands on her hips, chin held high, and shouted, "You don't even respect a woman like me!"

"Hiss..."

The man turned and glanced at her. "You've been eating too much pickled vegetables, haven't you? You're so idle! You can't control what I do, so what if I hit it?"

As he spoke, he slapped the ox hard a few more times, as if on purpose.

Li Chunyan was so angry that her face turned pale, and she started yelling at the top of her lungs.

"It's a life, how can you treat it like this? Are you even a man?!"

"That beast was incredibly lucky to be born into your family; it's like he's been working the coal mines for eight lifetimes!"

"You can't stand it, you feel sorry for him!"

The man's face hardened, and he said snarly, "Fine, if you feel bad about it, buy it. Take it home and treat it like royalty. Nobody will care!"

Ye Qingqing watched from the side and chuckled to herself. Her sister-in-law's goading was truly masterful!

"Oh dear..."

Li Chunyan glared angrily and retorted, "What do you mean? Do you think I can't afford it?! Today, I'm going to do what's right and buy it!"

The man glanced at her, curled his lip, and said sarcastically,

"With your character, you think you can afford an ox? My ox is a strong young man, worth 40 taels of silver. You wouldn't even be worth that much if I sold you!"

"Bullshit! What kind of cow dung are you chewing on, with such a big mouth!"

"This ox has a limp and can't work in the fields, yet you dare ask for 40 taels?"

Li Chunyan jumped up and down in anger, cursing, "I'm not steaming buns today, I'm going to fight back and save this from your clutches! 30 taels!"