He forced me to sever ties with my family and sleep on a dilapidated boat, then turned around and be

"Did you hear that? Grandma wants to go home!"

"This is where she's lived her whole life. Every brick and tile was built by her own hands. What right do you have to kick her out of her own home?"

"Cao Hongshan, you have absolutely no conscience, you've fed your filial piety to the dogs."

Shouting, Niu Bayi angrily raised his stick again, which frightened Cao Hongshan and Deng Ju so much that they immediately covered their heads and expressed their welcome to Grandma Cao's home, saying that they would never dare to be unfilial to her again.

Cao Bisheng also spoke up from the side.

"Alright, it's decided then. Grandma Cao, you can go back to your eldest son's house, which is your home. As for your second son, he'll receive 5 yuan a month in child support. Is that alright?"

An old lady receives five yuan from her second son, which means her eldest son also contributes roughly five yuan.

Ten yuan a month is barely enough.

Niu Bayi immediately glared at Cao Honghe.

Cao Honghe didn't dare to do anything, so he shrank back and quickly said it was no problem.

Niu Bayi snorted and then said to Cao Bisheng, "Village chief, you are a really good village chief. I'm entrusting my grandmother to your care from now on. If her two sons are not filial, you must tell me."

Cao Bisheng nodded immediately.

Then, Niu Ba carried his grandmother on his back.

"Grandma, you are very weak right now. I'll carry you down the mountain to find a doctor to see you and get any illnesses or aches treated as soon as possible."

He carried his grandmother on his back and strode out of the cave, followed by a group of people.

Cao Bisheng also yelled at Cao Hongshan and Cao Honghe!

"Look, look, you can't even compare to your own nephew. You guys are really outrageous."

The two families were so berated that they lowered their heads and dared not look ahead.

As I walked, I almost bumped into the cave wall.

The villagers all looked down on Cao Hongshan and Cao Honghe, feeling that they had brought shame to their village.

This prompted people from other villages to come and help an old man seek justice.

Niu Bayi carried his grandmother to the village clinic.

After examining Grandma, the village doctor said, "The old lady doesn't have any major health problems, but she's too weak. She needs to take good care of herself. She should eat some good food, like porridge made with lean meat, or stewed with ginseng root by catching a few sparrows and chopping them into small pieces."

"But if your stomach and intestines are too weak, it's not suitable to eat too much; you need to nourish them slowly."

"Grandma Cao probably eats wild vegetables every day and hardly eats any grains. Moreover, I think she doesn't eat much salt either, so she feels weak and sore all over, dizzy and has low blood pressure."

"Look, his hands and feet are still cramping."

This village doctor was quite capable; he immediately diagnosed Grandma Cao's ailment.

The more he talked, the angrier Niu Bayi became.

He glared at Cao Hongshan and Cao Honghe, who had followed him, so much so that they both wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.

The village doctor prescribed some tonics and traditional Chinese medicine to regulate the body.

Niu Bayi asked how much it cost, paid the money, and immediately carried his grandmother back to her house.

That is, Cao Hongshan's home.

Seeing that his grandmother's room was filled with clutter and had been turned into a small warehouse, he became even more furious.

Cao Hongshan and Deng Ju dared not utter a single word now, and even took the initiative to clean up.

Niu Ba gently placed his grandmother on an old rattan chair.

"Grandma, sit here and rest. I'll go buy you something."

With that, he ran out, hopped on his bicycle, and sped off to a small town, where he bought a lot of grain, pork, ginseng, and more...

There were also tonics recommended by the village doctor.

But I didn't see any sparrows.

In the past, sparrows were considered one of the four pests, just like rats crossing the street, and everyone wanted to kill them.

By the early 1980s, although it was not yet on the list of protected animals, it was clearly identified as a beneficial bird and could not be hunted.

So, a few years ago, you could still see people shooting sparrows and selling them at the town market for 1 cents each.

But now they are rarely seen.

If you get caught, you won't necessarily be detained, but you'll definitely be fined.

There was nothing Niu Bayi could do but head back since he couldn't find him.

As he passed through a grove of trees, he suddenly heard a chattering sound nearby.

Turning my head, I saw dozens or even hundreds of sparrows perched on an elm tree, pecking at elm seeds and elm pods.

This can be considered a sparrow's favorite.

Niu Bayi's eyes lit up when he saw it.

That's right!

Just when I was worried about not having a ladder, someone offered me a step.

Just when I was worried about not having a bridge to cross, someone came by in a boat!

I didn't see anyone selling sparrows in town, but here, I saw a bunch of sparrows perched on trees, trying to sell themselves.

There were a few people under the tree shooting sparrows with slingshots, but their aim was really bad.

Whoosh whoosh!

Small stones were thrown repeatedly, but most of them missed.

At most, it might hit a branch or one or two leaves.

If you want to play mahjong, there's no way you can even get a window, let alone a door.

A flock of sparrows were so frightened by them that they fluttered and took flight.

But it quickly returned to its nest and continued chirping.

It's as if they're mocking these people.

Some people got angry and stomped their feet hard.

"Damn sparrows, why are they so hard to shoot? I might as well go back and get my hunting rifle, BOOM, a volley of iron pellets and you'll all come down."

He turned to leave, but someone stopped him.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed! Using a hunting rifle to shoot sparrows, do you think this was a few years ago?"

That person is right.

These days, whether it's a rifle or a hunting rifle, even if it's homemade, they all have to be handed over one after another.

If you don't hand it over and get caught, you'll face fines and detention at best, and imprisonment at worst.

Only a small number of hunters are permitted to own a hunting rifle.

Rifles are absolutely not allowed.

In a few years, these permits will be gone.

Authentic hunters have now virtually disappeared.

Anyway, nowadays, besides those who have gun licenses, there are also some people who keep guns at home, but they have to take them out and shoot them secretly, and they have to go deep into the mountains and forests.

If someone pulls out a gun on a roadside in a village or town like this, they're doomed.

So, upon hearing this, that person didn't dare to do it anymore.

He stopped in his tracks, still cursing through gritted teeth.

"Damn sparrows, I can't even catch a few to nourish myself or make soup."

Suddenly, a voice came from the side.

"How about you lend me your slingshot? I won't lend it to you for nothing. I'll shoot five sparrows and give you one."

Immediately, everyone looked over.

The one who said this was Niu Bayi.

He stood under the old elm tree, hands behind his back, staring thoughtfully at the sparrows chirping in the bushes.

Just now, with a thought, he gathered energy, and soon he had a magical sensation.

It seems he can aim at every sparrow, and even aim at several at the same time without any problem.

After having the idea, he borrowed a slingshot from someone.

The man who wanted to go home to get his hunting rifle shook his head and glared at Niu Bayi with amusement.

"Look at what you're saying, like you can shoot any sparrow you want, and even offer to give me one free after I shoot five? Didn't you see that four or five of us have been busy here for most of the day and haven't caught a single sparrow?"

How dare you say such a thing?

The others also laughed and scoffed.

Niu Bayi stretched out his hand towards him.

"Since you can't catch sparrows anyway, why don't you give it a try? You might be pleasantly surprised."

The man thought for a moment, then simply slapped the slingshot into his hand, and took a bag of small stones from his waist and handed it over.

"Come on, let's see what you're capable of shooting down a sparrow. Show us what you've got."