Chapter 44: Shyness

Chen Ling chuckled inwardly, thinking it was so absurd that even ghosts and spirits were being brought into the conversation.

He said to the two men, "Whether we buy it or not, let's go over and take a look first."

"Alright, if you want to take a look, then let's go take a look."

Old Ba and Guo Baolai had no objections. Since they were already here, there was no harm in looking even if they weren't buying.

As the three walked over, they heard the cow herder say to the owner, "This cow of yours won't do. It's too timid; you might as well slaughter it and sell the meat early."

The owner was a dark, robust man with a face full of stubble, looking just like a fierce outlaw from the marshes. Hearing this, he replied, "I'll wait a bit longer. Even if I can't sell it, I'll let it grow for another half year. If I slaughter it now, how much meat would it yield?"

Listening to their conversation, Chen Ling walked up to the little white calf. True enough, as soon as a stranger approached, it shrank backward, hiding half of its head behind a tree while blinking its dark, glossy eyes to peek at Chen Ling.

It looked just like a shy, sheltered maiden.

Chen Ling tried to stroke it, but it immediately dodged to the side.

However, as long as his movements were gentle, the little water buffalo wouldn't make a sound; it simply kept out of reach.

Chen Ling instantly understood the situation: "This little water buffalo isn't afraid of people at all; it's clearly just being shy..."

Every animal had its own temperament.

Take dogs, the most common companion for humans, for example. Some dogs were lively and mischievous, turning the house upside down the moment nobody was home, while others were honest and steady, knowing how to guard the house and loyally protect their masters.

The same applied to cattle.

The little water buffalo in front of him belonged to the type that was unaccustomed to seeing people. It wasn't truly timid; rather, it was thin-skinned and shy, much like certain introverted children.

This kind of cow could never be beaten. Once struck with a whip, it would truly become timid and terrified of people.

So Chen Ling asked, "Big brother, has your little calf ever been beaten?"

The 'stubble-faced giant' was momentarily stunned, then said, "No, not at all! My cow is as good as gold at home. It's not scared of me, nor is it scared of my kids. Even the kids from a few neighboring households aren't afraid of it; it plays wonderfully with all the children."

"It's just that it can't stand strangers, especially unfamiliar adults. You can tell just by looking at it right now—how terrified it is! It won't even let me touch it at the moment; it only goes back to being well-behaved once everyone else has cleared out..."

Chen Ling nodded, indicating he understood.

"Then how much are you selling this cow for?"

The 'stubble-faced giant' let out an involuntary gasp. Not expecting Chen Ling to actually want to buy it, he hurriedly said, "One thousand yuan! Give me one thousand yuan and I'll sell it to you!"

Old Ba listened, let out a humpph, and laughed. "You certainly dare to ask a high price. A half-grown calf is worth seven or eight hundred at most. Not to mention your cow is so timid it can't do any work if we buy it back—we'd only be able to slaughter it for meat."

"If you take it to the slaughterhouse, they won't even give you five hundred yuan."

Hearing Old Ba's words, the 'stubble-faced giant' demanded, "Who do you think you are? I'm negotiating a price with this young brother here, what business is it of yours?"

Before Old Ba could reply, the people standing around chimed in one after another.

"You've been to the country markets a few times, yet you don't even know Old Ba? No wonder you can't sell this cow of yours."

"Let me put it to you straight: if Old Ba says your cow is worth five hundred yuan, five hundred yuan is the absolute ceiling."

Someone in the surrounding crowd mocked the man.

"That's right, you don't even know Old Ba, yet you're trying to sell cattle?"

The 'stubble-faced giant' instantly grew angry and retorted, "I'll sell my cow if I want to, and if I don't want to, what's it to you if I lead it back home?"

"I am the livestock broker this young man hired," Old Ba said, tapping his tobacco pipe. "It doesn't matter if you don't know me, and I won't cheat you either. This cow of yours is worth six hundred yuan at most. Even if you kept it at home for another half-year to grow into a full-sized adult, slaughtering it for meat would still only fetch a thousand yuan..."

"Grow into a full-sized adult and only sell for a thousand yuan? You must be talking in your sleep, I don't believe it."

The 'stubble-faced giant' said unhappily, "An old yellow ox in my village can sell for over sixteen hundred yuan when slaughtered. Mine is a water buffalo; wouldn't it yield more meat than a yellow ox once it's grown? It can at least sell for eighteen hundred!"

Old Ba shook his head and smiled. "Yours is a white cattle, which is the most prone to attracting flies, mosquitoes, and horseflies. Its hide is also thinner than that of ordinary cattle. It'll be a miracle if it doesn't fall sick regularly; don't even dream about it eating well and gaining weight smoothly. I'll stick to what I said: raising it into a full-grown ox for meat will top out at a thousand yuan, no matter what."

A chorus of agreement immediately arose from the onlookers.

The 'stubble-faced giant' started to panic a little, realizing that what Old Ba said made sense.

However, selling a half-grown calf for six hundred yuan was truly a bit too low, so he argued further, "No matter how you look at it, my cow is worth more than six hundred. At least eight hundred!"

Old Ba declared, "Then go ahead and sell it for your eight hundred! I'll add another fifty yuan for you—six hundred and fifty. Take it or leave it!"

With that, Old Ba grabbed Chen Ling's arm and began walking toward the edge of the crowd.

Chen Ling rather liked this white little water buffalo; its personality was like a maiden who had never stepped out of her boudoir. He thought that buying it and tossing it into the blessed realm to raise would certainly be much better than staying with this 'stubble-faced giant'.

Just then, Old Ba suddenly gripped his arm firmly and gave him a meaningful look.

Understanding the intent in his heart, Chen Ling immediately followed along.

Seeing Old Ba leading the young man away, a look of struggle crossed the 'stubble-faced giant''s face. He knew the temperament of his own cow all too well—it had no other use besides becoming meat.

Keeping it to plow the fields wouldn't work either; the moment it saw a stranger, it would panic and simply go on strike, leaving everyone helpless.

If he didn't sell it now and instead led it back home to feed it for half a year, it would only fetch a thousand yuan anyway.

"Six-fifty it is then, I'm selling it to you."

Seeing Chen Ling and the other two about to walk out of earshot, the 'stubble-faced giant' shouted loudly.

Only then did the three of them stop in their tracks and turn back.

Once the money was paid and the transfer was made, the 'stubble-faced giant' had the crowd clear a path, covered the little water buffalo's eyes with a strip of cloth, and led it out of the livestock market.

"Young brother, I'll help you lead the cow to the road outside the village. Just keep quiet on your way home."

Chen Ling smiled immediately, "No need, just help me lead it to the base of the paifang archway."

Then, he handed a twenty-yuan bill to Old Ba and said, "Sorry to put you through the trouble this time, Brother Ba."

"It doesn't cost that much, just one bill will do."

Old Ba pulled out a ten-yuan note and added, "Buying this cow back, it won't be able to do any farm work. If you come to the market next time to buy a beast of burden for farm labor, come find me, and I'll help you pick a good one."

"Will do."

Chen Ling nodded and handed over the remaining pack of Hatamen cigarettes. "Then please take these cigarettes."

This time, Old Ba did not refuse.

Then, pushing his bicycle, with the 'stubble-faced giant' leading the cow and accompanied by Guo Baolai, Chen Ling walked through the market and arrived at the base of the large archway.

"Brother Baolai, fetch a cucumber from your stall."

Guo Baolai was stunned for a moment, then looked puzzled. "Are you going to feed this to the cow?"

Chen Ling smiled, "Yes, just bring one and you'll see."

Guo Baolai handed him a cucumber. Taking it in his hand, Chen Ling walked up to the little water buffalo and waved it in front of the cow's nose.

"Moo..."

The little water buffalo immediately let out a call. Though its eyes were blindfolded, it could smell something delicious right in front of it, so it flared its nostrils and lunged forward to bite the cucumber.

Chen Ling instantly pulled the cucumber back, and the little water buffalo followed forward, sniffing the fresh fragrance of the cucumber. He pulled back again, and it followed again.

Seeing that it worked, Chen Ling pushed his bicycle with one hand while using the other hand to lure the little water buffalo outward with the cucumber.

The 'stubble-faced giant' stood there dumbfounded, hastily letting go of the lead rope and watching blankly as the little water buffalo was lured two hundred meters away by Chen Ling.

"That cucumber... a cucumber can even be used like this..."

Guo Baolai was also immensely amazed, standing in a daze, not knowing what to say.

"Brother Baolai, see you next time."

It wasn't until Chen Ling called out to him that he snapped back to his senses and hurriedly called out a word of farewell.

After leaving Changleyang Township and walking for a short while, seeing that there was no one around in the vicinity, Chen Ling chanted the mental command to move, and led the little water buffalo straight into the blessed realm.