What I didn't expect was that when I loaded a cart of manure and returned to the cross street, there was a sudden sound of crackling firecrackers. The cow was frightened and jumped wildly. The car dung overturned, and yellow and sticky excrement leaked from the bed of the car and flowed on the street in a smelly manner.
So, a group of people gathered around and yelled at Niu Shitu, "You bastard, please clean up the excrement splashed on the street quickly, otherwise I will not be polite." There was not just one person fighting fiercely, but a group of them. Some were clenching their fists in an aggressive manner; some were grinning and swearing constantly.
When Niu Shitu saw that the momentum was not right, he buried his head and said nothing. He found that he was also splashed with dirty manure, and he was very angry at Huaniu. He also discovered what the firecrackers were going off just now. It was a long funeral procession passing through the crossroads.
Seeing that the dung truck overturned and blocked the road, the "eight bearers" with white gauze sleeves on their sleeves stopped carrying the coffin. A resident facing the street came with a broom and a bucket of water to clean and wash away the overflowing dirt on the street. As I got closer, I saw the driver beating the flower cow hard with a bamboo tip. It blinked its eyes and stamped its feet. It was very stubborn, but it did not break the rope tied to its nose.
When the resident saw it, he yelled at the driver, "Why are you beating the cow? Can you solve the problem?" Move the dung truck quickly, and I'll help you clean the streets so that the mourning "eight bearers" can pass by. This time, Niu Shitu stopped hitting the cow. He just nodded and started to act according to the resident's instructions.
After a while, the bullock cart was moved away, the excrement on the street was cleaned a little, and the queue of "Batiao Pavilion" carrying the coffin for the funeral passed by. Niu Shitu dejectedly turned around the dung cart and drove it outside the city gate where there was a dung tank. Because there was only half a cart of dung left, and Niujiazhuang was so far away from the county town, it was not cost-effective to drag back half a cart of dung. Secondly, people will laugh at you.
The bullock cart arrived at the gate of the city. The old man asked why. Niu Shitu explained clearly, hoping to arouse sympathy and send him some dung water to fill the stalls of the cart. But the old man said, what does this have to do with me? It's not me who spilled your dung truck. If you scoop up dung again, you should at least be paid a sling.
Helpless, Niu Shitu had no choice but to meet his request. In this way, he should earn three tons of money for hauling a truck of manure, but he only has two tons of money left. He vented all his anger on Huaniu, and occasionally slapped it with a stick while walking on the road, so that Huaniu always shivered nervously. He couldn't beat him too hard, otherwise, if Huaniu jumped too fast and too hard, he would knock the car over again and make the same unthinkable mistake again.
After a lot of trouble, I finally brought a cart of dung back to Niujiazhuang. It was getting late, and a piece of afterglow spread over the fields and also onto the body of Huaniu. Niu Shitu stopped the dung truck and took the flower cow aside. His resentment had not yet been eliminated. He held the cow's rope and whipped it hard. It couldn't escape, and its four legs were scurrying around. The leg seemed to be a little crooked, so Niu Shitu took back the bamboo branch and stopped beating it.
He knelt down and took a closer look. He saw that Huaniu's leg had broken its hoof shell and was soaked with blood. Like humans and animals, they would feel pain when injured. He was a little nervous, worried that Niu Dali would make a fuss if he found out.
He took the initiative to find Niu Dali, and in addition to giving Huaniu money for his labor, he also gave him a cart of manure for the day. Niu Dali was a little puzzled, so Niu Shitu simply pointed at Huaniu's crooked left leg and told him the reason for his apology.
In the twilight, Niu Dali couldn't see clearly and didn't pay attention to see that there was something wrong with Huaniu's walking. Seeing that Niu knew the way, he looked at Huaniu carefully. Sure enough, he saw the problem. He frowned and said, "You can't." Forget it? My Huaniu was given to you in good condition, but now it is tortured to this state by you, what do you think we should do? Niu Shitu said, there is no other way, I will no longer use your flower ox to pull the cart.
No, you have to heal Huaniu's feet before handing them over to me. Niu Dali refused to give up, saying that I don't want the money you gave me to spend my money, nor the truck of dung you gave me, so you do as I say. He also did not return to Niu Shitu the money he had just accepted from Huaniu for pulling the cart. Niu Shitu said that it didn't matter whether he could withdraw his money or not. It was my responsibility to hurt Huaniu's foot. Well, I'll ask a veterinarian to come and take a look.
Okay, you can cure the Huaniu and then bring it to me. Niu Dali walked away with his hands behind his back.
The next day, Niu Shitu took Huaniu to Niu Dali and saw that its foot was no longer crutching. How could it heal so quickly? Niu Dali didn't believe his eyes, so he took a closer look at the Hua Niu's feet. It had iron armor on its front and rear feet to protect its hooves. Niu Shitu said, I found a veterinarian, put some medicine on Huaniu's injured leg, and then put iron armor on all four of its feet. In the future, it will not hurt its hooves when walking and pulling carts. Niu Shitu also wanted to use the flowered ox to pull the cart, but without speaking, Niu Dali discovered his intention and clearly refused.
Later, Niu Dali drove Huaniu into the county town to pull dung. He did it every day without stopping. Huaniu was so tired that he panted heavily and often knelt down in the middle of pulling. Niu Dali took a look at its four hooves with iron armor. There was no damage, so he whipped the cow vigorously, even harder than Niu Shitu, because Niu Shitu was a little wary after all. If the cow was whipped and there were blood marks, it would be difficult to explain to the owner. Niu Dali didn't have this worry. Anyway, the cow was his own, so he had no scruples about whipping it.
At this moment, Huaniu couldn't bear the pain anymore. He rubbed his two front hooves on the ground a few times and stood up again. Niu Dali cursed, "Do you want to die?" You are the one who pulls the cart. If you don’t pull the cart, would it be weird if you don’t get slaughtered and eat your meat? Huaniu listened, buried his head in melancholy, and trudged forward amidst the swaying of the whip.
In fact, this was destroying Huaniu's body. Niu Dali hadn't noticed it yet and didn't pay attention to it. Huaniu was indeed not lazy, but really had no choice but to do anything. Niu Dali didn't realize that the reason for this was not only the failure to let Huaniu have a good rest, but more importantly, his eating disorder. For example, when he was pulling a cart under the hot sun, he wanted to drink water after doing it, but Huaniu couldn't tell him. , Niu Dali couldn't consider it.
Sometimes when the cart approached a pond on the roadside, Huaniu stretched out his neck and looked at the water. Niu Dali thought it was showing force, so he pulled the leash hard and whipped it. Huaniu suffered from pain and gave up helplessly. A chance to drink water to quench your thirst. Hua Niu is a mute animal, and it would be worse to encounter a cow driving vigorously than a cow knowing the way.
The days go by so fast. It has been more than half a year since Niu Dali drove the Huaniu to pull the cart. Winter is about to enter. On a snowy and windy night, Niu Dali drives the Huaniu back to pull a cart of dung. It is already so dark that he can’t even see his fingers. , only the floating snow powder emits a faint light, which is not enough to illuminate the outline of the road.
Niu Dali drove Huaniu slowly based on his experience and impression. He didn't dare to crack his whip randomly, mainly because he was worried that the dung truck would splash on the road. When I returned to Niujiazhuang, I pulled the dung truck to the side of my cesspool, pulled out the fender, and pried the handlebars open. The dung water in the fender poured into the cesspool.
Niu Dali can no longer smell the stench. His nose has been oxidized by the stench due to long-term defecation. After the matter was over, he led the flowered cow into the cattle pen. Because the flowered cow was tired and walked slowly, he turned around and whipped it fiercely. He also cursed, "Damn beast, walking like a plague god, don't worry me." Became tuberculosis.
Despite the criticism, this flower cow still has a purpose and needs to be taken good care of. He suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to check if there was any fodder when he entered the cattle pen. If not, he had to add more. He turned to look again, but it was dark inside and couldn't see clearly, so he raised his feet to explore the ground. It was empty, with only a small amount of grass silk, which could not meet the needs of the flower cow's belly.
In this way, he walked out of the cattle pen and went to the hay room to move a bundle of straw and threw it in front of the Huaniu. He probed with his feet and found that the beast was lying on the ground, and he could not hear the sound of it chewing grass. No matter what, it will always eat when it's hungry.
Niu Dali left calmly as usual. It was already completely white outside, and the north wind was whistling and rolling up snowflakes floating on his body, as if deliberately creating a depressed atmosphere, making him feel an inexplicable sense of loss.
