Chapter 29 Teachings

  Although it's a pity, in this era without mobile phones, telephones and internet, finding someone is like looking for a needle in the ocean, even Liu Yitiao can't do anything about it. Can only hope to meet again next time by chance.

  With a lack of interest, he wrote a poem for Huang Zichu and then took the well-mounted words back home.

  When they arrived home, they found that there was an extra ox in the house. Old Liu was giving it medicine. Liu Yitiao put down his basket and asked Old Liu, "Dad, was this ox just delivered? Whose family is it from?"

  "Ah, it's from Wang Bo of Dong Village. It was delivered just a short while after you left this morning." Liu Laoshi said: "As you said, I had Er Tiao sign a contract with him, the deadline is three days, and the fee is two guan. The contract is in the main hall, go take a look."

  "Uh, this is not busy." Liu Yitiao nodded. Looking at the five sick cows in the yard, he felt that the cowshed seemed a bit crowded, and it was also inappropriate to concentrate all these sick cows together. He opened his mouth and said to Liu Laoshi: "Father, after a while, let's separate these draft cows, each cow should be about five steps apart. The place where each cow is located must also be splashed with boiling water or strong wine to keep it clean and dry. The spread of intestinal obstruction is nothing more than two ways: drinking water and eating. When feeding, pay attention not to let them transmit to each other again."

  "Once the ox recovers, we won't wait for the contract period to expire. We'll send it back immediately. Our place is small and there will be more oxen coming in the future. Also, when returning the ox, please inform its owner of the preventive measures I mentioned earlier. It's enough for us to make a profit from one head of cattle; having too many would be unseemly."

  "That's reasonable." Old Liu nodded in agreement. This way they wouldn't lose the reputation of being kind and generous that the Liu family had always been known for.

  "Then I'll pull the cow away first, Dad you go boil some water." Liu Yitiao took action to lead the cow. Old Liu also came up to help and said: "Boiling water is a small matter that your mother can handle, it's better for us to separate the cows first. Hmm, let's tie them all to the wooden stakes in the courtyard fence. This will make the empty space bigger."

  "Ah, I'll follow father's words." Liu Yitiao nodded in response. Leading the cow, he casually asked Old Liu, "Isn't Second Brother at home? Why hasn't he come out?"

  Liu Laoshi said, "Erbiao has gone out. These two days, due to the contract, there is almost no paper left at home, so I asked him to go outside and buy some paper and ink. Calculating the time, he should be back by now."

  It seems like what Old Willow said has come true. As soon as the sound of Old Willow's words fell, Liu Er Tiao appeared at the door with a swagger.

  Liu Yitiao saw him wearing the cotton robe he had just bought yesterday, and wearing the most popular Shusheng hat of the time. At first glance, he really looked like a intellectual. Unfortunately, he was not yet fifteen years old, still just a little kid.

  Liu Er Tiao saw Liu Yi Tiao at home, with a happy expression he pushed the door open and walked quickly to Liu Yi Tiao's side, saying: "Big brother, you're back? Is my apprenticeship gift ready? We're leaving tomorrow!"

  Liu Yitiao unhurriedly tied up the cow, smiling and saying: "How could I dare to forget such a big thing as you becoming my apprentice? The things are already prepared for you, all in the basket, go take a look yourself."

  "Eh! Thank you, big brother!" Liu Er Tiao happily ran to the basket. Seeing that inside, apart from a few New Year's goods, there was also a framed calligraphy and painting that looked very simple. His face couldn't help but show some disappointment.

  He casually opened the outer packaging, unfolded the rice paper, and had a careless look on his face. However, when he saw the two stanzas of couplets with profound meaning on the rice paper, his face showed an expression of surprise.

  "A three-chi square platform, a three-inch tongue, and a three-inch brush; 3,000 peach blossoms. Ten years of trees, ten loads of wind, and ten loads of rain; 100,000 beams! He turned around to look at Liu Yitiao, who was still pulling the cow, and asked: "Big brother! Is this written by you? Hmm, it must be, big brother, you're really talented! I admire you!"

  "Heh heh," Liu Yitiao laughed and said, "Compared to those precious silver ingots, do you think your teacher Wang Xiancheng would like this literary gift more?"

  "However, big brother's consideration is more thorough." Liu Er Tiao said with some embarrassment: "Just now, I was a bit dissatisfied and disappointed with the gift from big brother. It's really shameful."

  "Second brother, you are a scholar and now a disciple of County Magistrate Wang. You will surely enter officialdom in the future and interact with various officials and common people. Therefore, you must remember that whether in official circles or in daily life, you absolutely cannot have this mindset of judging people by appearance or material possessions. One cannot know a person by looks alone; can one measure the ocean with a dipper? Any person or thing, as long as they are used appropriately, can become your powerful arm. So, you must have a humble attitude towards everyone. Only then will you not be bewildered by superficial appearances and handle matters with ease."

  "Big brother's teachings are, remember these two points." Liu Er Tiao bowed respectfully to Liu Yi Tiao and deeply remembered his words in his heart. He knew that these words were things that the teachers in private schools and old Liu who had been farming all his life couldn't say. Only this amazing big brother of his would sincerely advise him and point out to him.

  "Alright, put away your words and go back inside to warm up. I'll take care of things at home with Father, don't you worry about it. Just focus on reading your books."

  "Yes, big brother. Then I'll go in now." Liu Er Tiao put away his things and went into the house to read books.

  After Liu Er entered the house, Liu Laoshi sighed and said: "One strip, our family is lucky to have you. Otherwise, I couldn't teach these things to him no matter what. The Liu family having you is a blessing for old Liu."

  Liu Yitiao was silent. The things in the officialdom were not something that Old Liu, who spent his days working on the land, could understand. Liu Er Tiao still had a long way to go. What he said just now was just superficial.

  "Dad, we're all one family, everything I do is for the Liu family, you don't have to say such things." Liu Yitiao turned around and said: "For now, let's focus on curing these sick cows first. Two silver coins per cow, I believe that after this epidemic, we can at least earn two hundred silver coins, or even more. Once we have the money, we can make plans later."

  "En, you're right." Old Liu nodded and said: "I'll go peel some more garlic now, and ask your mother to boil a few more pots of water. Also, Xia Dechang's two cows have shown significant improvement, I estimate they will be fully recovered by tonight, then you can take them back to him, it's not convenient for me to see him."

  "Alright, got it, Dad. I'll go tonight." A hint of a smile played on Liu's lips. There were still five taels of silver waiting for him to collect at Xia Dechang's place, and his savings would increase again. The only question was whether Xia Dechang would regret it when he found out that Liu had only accepted two taels from others.