Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After leaving An Da Hu's house, Ji Yuan returned to Ji's house.

As soon as I entered the door, I heard Aunt Ji cursing: "Unlucky star, where have you been? Why aren't you cooking? You didn't even collect firewood for the whole morning?!"

Ji Yuan pointed at the firewood behind him and said, "Pick it up."

Time was tight, so he didn't bother to say more. He just took out what he had made in the morning and said, "Eat this."

Breakfast is porridge with multi-grain cakes, and lunch is also eaten?!

Ji Yuan didn't care about anyone else and finished his meal quickly, completely ignoring the curses in his ears.

Uncle Ji originally wanted to hit someone, but then he thought about the looks he got from the people around him when he was doing farm work this morning.

Aunt Ji was also ridiculed openly and covertly when she went to the village to gossip.

Every sentence they said was about how they beat Ji Yuan yesterday, and they also said they had beaten him before. When talking in the village, they were really merciless.

At this moment, there is really nothing to do.

Uncle Ji held it in for a long time, then said, "Eat quickly, Dali still has to go to school."

Ji Li was used to eating good food, but he was not full, so he could only leave angrily, obviously blaming Ji Yuan for this.

Ji Yuan knew that last night's commotion and today's gossip from the An family were useful.

While eating, Ji Yuan was thinking about the Thousand Character Classic he learned today. He could recite it.

I really don’t know how to write traditional Chinese characters.

It might be okay for him to recognize words, but not write.

After looking at the things Ji Li brought back, he also had no books. Not many families in the village could afford to buy books.

Even the three students of the An family only had one set of books, which they had to ask someone to buy for them in the provincial capital.

Generally when we were in school, the teacher would write in big characters at the front and ask the students to copy them.

After dinner, Ji Yuan settled Xiao Niu down and went out again. He had to collect firewood before the afternoon class started and then go to class on time.

Although Mr. Zhao is old-fashioned, he explains every detail and is a very good teacher.

Uncle Ji looked at Ji Yuan's back and subconsciously said, "Is he different now?"

Auntie San was equally uneasy, but she still insisted: "What difference can a jinx make. They are all good-for-nothings, and they will be herding cattle for the rest of their lives!"

Ji Yuan, sweating profusely, came to the outside of the private school carrying firewood on his back. He still tried to leave before the teacher said the get out of class was over and continued to work.

He was fostered in his uncle's home, so it was impossible for him not to work.

He eats, so he works.

But if there is more, don’t even think about it.

If he were asked to accept everything like Xiao Jiyuan, he would not be himself anymore.

So that night, Ji Yuan did not sleep in the woodshed, but cleaned up the kitchen. The stove where he had cooked was still warm, so as long as the doors and windows were closed, he would not feel cold most of the night.

Uncle Ji's family watched Ji Yuan busying around in the kitchen, and he even made a bed for himself with straw.

This made Auntie San extremely dissatisfied: "Ji Yuan, what on earth do you want to do? Have you gone crazy these days?"

Ji Yuan did not answer. Seeing that the kitchen was clean and the bed in front of the stove was made, he heard him say, "I'll sleep here from now on."

Before they could say anything else, Ji Yuan led the calf out of the cowshed: "It sleeps too."

In the past few days, Jiyuan discovered that the calf was not in good condition.

As the saying goes, "In winter, you need to make a bed, and in summer, you need to have a pond."

This means that in the winter, the cows need to be covered with straw and have a warm environment, and in the summer, they need a pool of water and must be cooled at all times.

It’s good to raise cows like this.

"You are a worthless little beast. Do you think the calf is also a beast like you?" Uncle Ji couldn't stand it anymore. "You want to kill the cow?!"

"You're still sleeping in front of the stove. Go to the woodshed next door."

Ji Yuan looked up at him and said directly, "The calf will get sick if it continues to freeze. The cowshed you built leaks air on all sides. When we were at the An family today, the lady of the An family said that the calf didn't eat enough."

Is this true?

Uncle Ji and Aunt Ji hurried to see the calf; they were still counting on the animal to work!

I spent several taels of silver to buy the cow, so it can't have any problems.

Aunt Ji wanted to slap Ji Yuan subconsciously and scolded him, "You are the one who usually takes care of the cows. If the cows get sick, you will kneel down outside and die!"

Unexpectedly, Xiao Niu stepped forward and blocked it for Ji Yuan.

Now Ji Yuan was a little stunned and patted the calf gently.

It is said that cows have feelings, and this is indeed true.

Ji Yuan calmed down and continued, "So I slept with it in the kitchen until the weather gets warmer. The calf grows too slowly and can't work in March or April this year. This is what we have to do in order for the calf to grow well."

Thinking that it was Ji Yuan who usually herded the cattle and often went to An's house, Uncle Ji and Aunt Ji were skeptical.

Some were reluctant to let Ji Yuan live in the kitchen, but some were also afraid that if the calf was really sick, it would cost a lot of money to treat it.

Cows are so precious!

Ji Li next to him shouted directly: "Cows can live in the kitchen! You can't!"

Uncle San's and Aunt San's eyes lit up, but Ji Yuan sneered, "Okay, the calf is here by itself. If it knocks over the noodle jar and overturns the stove, it's none of my business."

These words left them speechless. They could only watch Ji Yuan add a little bit of firewood to the stove, and put some warm water on the stove, making the whole kitchen very warm.

When the family of three came out of the kitchen, they were startled by the late spring cold outside.

Then go back to the sleeping room.

Why do I feel like the room I live in is not as comfortable as the kitchen?

In the kitchen.

Ji Yuan stretched himself, lay down on the thick straw, and hugged Xiao Niu's neck: "Good Xiao Huang, are you hurt by the beating?"

The calf blinked its big eyes, obviously not feeling any pain.

The warmth of the kitchen made the man and the cow fall asleep quickly.

He still got up early, and the hot water on the stove allowed Ji Yuan to take a quick hot bath. He washed the stains on his hair clean and changed his clothes.

They were all left by Xiao Jiyuan’s mother.

The clothes I kept when I was five are obviously a little short now, but there's nothing I can do about it.

Ji Yuan, who felt much more refreshed, still quickly prepared breakfast and took Xiao Niu out to start a busy day.

For four or five days in a row, Ji Yuan went out early and came back late.

Not only did he not skip breakfast and lunch, he also picked up a lot of firewood. Even if he and Xiao Niu used some firewood to keep warm at night, it would not affect the whole family's use, so the Ji couple couldn't do anything about it.

However, they also had doubts in their minds: what was Ji Yuan doing? Just herding cattle?

That morning, Ji Yuan had his meal and left again. Ji Li, who had just woken up, woke up and complained, "Mom, why don't I have any clean clothes? Why haven't I washed those two sets of clothes yet?"

Aunt Ji finally thought of something and looked around the yard. Ji Yuan had washed his own clothes and hung them up to dry, but their clothes had not been touched.

"You're such a jinx! You didn't even finish washing your clothes before you went out to fool around! You're such an uneducated little bastard!"

Ji Li was still making noise: "Make me new clothes, I have nothing to wear."

"You are the only one in the village who has three sets of clothes. No one else has them. What are you doing?" Auntie scolded, and then she turned to scold Uncle Ji, "Are you a dead man? You just watch Ji Yuan enjoy his life and you don't do anything about it. Why should he, an outsider, enjoy the life in our house?"

"Who dares to intervene? I met the village chief a few days ago. Village chief An told me explicitly and implicitly that I should be nicer to Ji Yuan. It was his fault that his father had such a thing happen." Uncle Ji also cursed.

This breakfast was too perfunctory.

This is how we eat lunch.

What a little bastard.

People in the village were saying bad things about him, both openly and secretly. It was not easy for him, as there was suddenly one more person in his family.

He and his elder brother had already separated from each other! Logically, it was fine to ignore it!

Ji Yuan got up early to collect firewood, dug some wild vegetables that had grown in spring, and cut some grass for the calf.

Green grass is definitely better than straw.

While attending classes in the morning, I can also feed Xiao Huang some grass to supplement his nutrition.

Xiao Huang also came over, and his body temperature helped to relieve Ji Yuan's coldness in the early morning.

It is almost February, the weather is getting warmer and the days will get better.

In the past few days, Ji Yuan has picked up "Thousand Character Classic", "Three Character Classic" and "Hundred Family Surnames".

There is no problem in reciting.

Mainly just writing.

If he were asked to write in simplified Chinese, it would be a piece of cake, but if he were asked to write in traditional Chinese, it would be incomplete.

It was a headache. Unfortunately, he couldn't read what Master Zhao wrote, and he couldn't afford to buy books.

Ancient books are indeed expensive, and Ji Yuan doesn’t even dare to think about it for the time being. He can only try hard to remember how to write traditional Chinese characters.

Another morning passed, and Ji Yuan had to leave quickly, otherwise the students who were leaving get out of class would see him. He didn't feel embarrassed, but it would definitely cause trouble.

Besides, I owed it to Master Zhao by eavesdropping on his lectures.

Ji Yuan looked at the wood he had found and prepared to make something to send to Master Zhao.

Master Zhao called the end of get out of class and walked out of the private school, only to see the back of the child leading the calf away again.

This is not the first time.

Mrs. Zhao, who came to deliver the meal, asked in confusion, "What's wrong? What are you looking at?"

Master Zhao frowned and said, "Tomorrow, come half a day earlier."

"Why?" Madam Zhao was puzzled. It was not that he usually did not allow himself to appear in front of students.

Mr. Zhao has always been old-fashioned in his work and is particularly concerned about academic matters. He does not like external things to disturb the classroom.

"Help me see if there is a thief eavesdropping." Master Zhao said sternly, pointing to the place where Ji Yuan was every day.

After saying this, Master Zhao simply put down his bowl and chopsticks and walked closer to take a look.

There was some sand there, which looked like river sand brought here specially, and there were some handy branches placed next to it.

Master Zhao looked at it for a long while, his brows relaxed for a moment, then he frowned again and left with a wave of his sleeves.