"Captain?"

Su Qingci responded from afar and then jogged towards the educated youth settlement.

"Hey, Little Su, where have you been in the middle of the day?"

When Liu Dazhu saw Su Qingci, his heart, which had been in his throat, finally relaxed.

He thought he hadn't seen her, and that Su Qingci was courting death again.

He was so scared when he couldn't find the body at the educated youth settlement that he almost asked someone to retrieve it from the river.

"I was feeling unwell, so I just took a walk."

"Oh, little one, you don't have so many thoughts. Uncle has already arranged everything for you to go to work."

"Is everything arranged?"

Liu Dazhu paused for a moment and said, "It's just that the work points are a bit low."

"But you know yourself that if it were easy and had high work points, you wouldn't get a chance."

"What are you doing?"

"Let the cattle graze!"

How many work points?

"Regardless of wind or rain, we make two trips a day, earning three work points."

"How many work points does the highest-scoring man in the brigade earn in a day?"

"Twelve work points."

"And the women?"

"Those who are willing to put in the effort can earn ten work points a day, while the average person gets seven or eight..."

Liu Dazhu didn't cheat Su Qingci; he told her everything he needed to know.

In the team, one work point was probably worth only four cents.

Except for exceptionally outstanding males, adult males can earn ten work points as long as they don't slack off and work hard.

Even the elderly and children have five or six work points.

On average, normal adult women receive seven or eight work points, with a few receiving ten or more.

The cattle to be released are adult water buffalo.

He has a rather irritable temper, and he is difficult to control, whether he is a very young child or a very old person.

In addition, there were two trips a day, which was easy but resulted in low work points.

Herding cattle is a year-round activity, while working in the fields at least means you don't have to work on rainy days and you also have time to hibernate.

Therefore, older children from ordinary families generally don't value the work points earned from herding cattle.

Too young a child can't keep an eye on this grumpy water buffalo, and some parents are also reluctant to let their children suffer like this.

So what was a highly sought-after job in other production teams became unwanted in Gaotang Brigade.

"It's just about taking the cow out to graze. Three points it is, I'll do it."

Seeing Su Qingci nod, Liu Dazhu immediately continued.

"Then I need to tell you some bad things in advance."

“Our production team’s ox is very strong, so you have to hold it tight and make sure it has a nose rope tied before it leaves the pen.”

"If you don't hold it, it will run away."

"They'll either run into the fields and ruin the crops, or they'll run into the river to bathe."

"When it gets hot, this water buffalo loves to go to the river to bathe and stay there for half a day. It's fine if the team doesn't need it."

"If we happen to need cattle, that would be troublesome."

"At that time, we will need to mobilize several male members to go down into the river to catch them. If they don't have nose ropes, it will be even more troublesome."

"And another thing, the most basic thing about herding cattle is that you have to make sure the cattle are fed. It's not enough to just lead them out and tie them to a tree stump and that's it."

Liu Dazhu was afraid that this educated youth from the city didn't know anything, so he kept nagging Su Qingci and talked for a long time.

All the precautions were explained clearly, and at the end, they even made a bold statement.

If she can't herd the cattle properly, she'll have to go to the fields.

Su Qingci followed Liu Dazhu to the village's cowshed, listening to his rambling.

This is a dilapidated mud house, surrounded by a fence, with a bundle of firewood blocking the door.

Liu Dazhu dragged the bundle of firewood away and went into the yard. Then he rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a copper lock key.

After opening the outer gate, there was a small hall inside, with two cow pens on each side.

In the two cattle pens on the left, one pens held a water buffalo, and the other pens held a yellow cow with a calf.

The right side is used for storing miscellaneous items and collecting hay.

"The cattle are the most valuable asset of the brigade now. We can lose people but not cattle."

The implication was practically a direct statement: you can't afford to lose the cow, even if you lose the cow.

"You're in charge of this water buffalo; someone else is taking care of the yellow cattle over there."

"Come on, watch me, and see how I tie the cow rope."

Liu Dazhu picked up the cow rope hanging on the railing, saw the yellow cow stick out its head, quickly grabbed its nose ring, and tied the cow rope around its neck.

After explaining everything, he left the key with Su Qingci and hurriedly went to work.

Su Qingci walked up to the water buffalo, picked up the rope hanging on the fence, and thought of what the brigade leader had said about this buffalo having a rather bad temper.

She then pulled out another piece of firewood from the side.

Su Qingci had just reached the fence when she and the water buffalo locked in a death stare.

The air froze instantly.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Su Qingci: It's watching me without moving, could it be trying to bump into me?

Buffalo: This guy is carrying a weapon, is he planning to take advantage of me while I'm looking down?

If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move either.

Su Qingci thought of the bullfighting scenes on TV and completely forgot that there was a bull pen about half a person's height between her and the bull.

"Squeak~"

Just as the oppressive feeling in the air grew heavier, the door was pushed open.

A man with a clean-shaved buzz cut lazily squeezed in.

I was a little surprised to see someone inside, then I bent down and went inside.

Without looking to the side, Song Jingzhou lifted the wooden fence and released the yellow ox with its calf.

He turned around and prepared to leave.

"Hey, wait a minute."

Seeing that the other party paused for a moment, Su Qingci quickly stepped forward.

"Um, I'm a new educated youth here, and I'm in charge of herding this water buffalo. Could you help me tie the rope?"

Song Jingzhou ignored him and continued walking out in a nonchalant manner.

"I tied that hair for you."

Song Jingzhou paused, then turned back impatiently.

With a blank expression, he snatched the buffalo rope from Su Qingci's hand, reached out and grabbed the buffalo's nose ring to put the rope on.

As he left, he glanced sideways at Su Qingci.

He scoffed, "Hmph, so young, yet you don't work in the fields, you come here to herd cattle, how lazy!"

Su Qingci watched the other person carrying a small bucket following behind the scalper and cursed under her breath.

"None of your business, you live by the river."

"He looks perfectly normal, how can he be so mean?"

When Su Qingci stood on the reservoir slope with her water buffalo, looking down at the man herding the cattle, she became even more furious and started cursing.

"Look at your arrogant attitude, I thought you could get twelve work points?"

"You're a grown man herding cattle, and you have the nerve to criticize me?"