"Old Gao, you're bringing this sick cow to sell again? I think you should take it back! No one was willing to buy this sick cow during the previous market days. Today is not a market day, and there are not many people in the town. Who do you want to sell this sick cow to?"
A middle-aged man's voice was heard. He was sitting on a stool repairing a broken bicycle. Looking at the sign behind him, it could be seen that this was a bicycle repair shop.
The old man Gao he mentioned was an old man who looked to be around 70 years old. He was holding an old yellow ox in his hand. The ox was old and thin, and walked weakly. Its eyes were red, and it howled from time to time, behaving extremely abnormally.
You don't need to know much about cows. Just one look and you will know that this is a sick cow.
Gao Mingcheng had just arrived here when he witnessed this scene, so he looked at the old man Gao and the old ox curiously.
Old Gao had been through a lot, with wrinkles all over his face, sunken eyes, and gray hair. He looked not much better than the old ox beside him.
Hearing what the bicycle repairman said, he stammered, "My grandson is sick, and my family has no money to treat him."
What he meant was that he wanted to sell the sick cow to pay for his grandson's medical treatment.
The man repairing the bicycle shook his head and sighed, "Well, everyone sympathizes with you, but no one will buy this sick cow! If you are really in a hurry to use the money, then go to the county town and have a look. Maybe there will be a dealer who will buy it cheaply."
Old Gao didn't speak for a long time. After a long while, he hesitantly said "oh".
He stood there in a daze, as if he was a little afraid of going to the county town to sell cattle.
But in the end, he still led the cow step by step towards the farmers' market in the county town.
On weekdays, the farmers' market also has fixed stalls selling vegetables and meat. If it is a market, it will be even more lively, and some open spaces will be filled with stalls.
Today is not the market day in the county town. Even if this old man Gao takes the sick cow to the farmer's market, it is estimated that it will be difficult to sell the cow.
It's July and it's already unbearably hot in the morning.
Old Gao was wearing an old suit that had been washed so much that it looked white, and a pair of straw sandals on his feet. His trouser legs were not rolled up, but were torn directly at the knees.
From the way he was dressed and his expression, one could tell that he must have come from a poor family.
Gao Mingcheng witnessed this scene nearby and didn't take it seriously at first. However, after staring at the sick cow for a while, he suddenly remembered something.
Seeing the old man Gao walking out of the crowded street, Gao Mingcheng went up to him and started a conversation.
"Old man, I just heard the owner of the repair shop calling you. Is your last name Gao?"
Old Gao nodded in acknowledgement and said, "I am from Xiaoyuan Village. Little brother, do you want to buy a cow?"
Old Gao's voice trembled, and a sense of hope surged in his dim eyes.
Xiaoyuan Village, the surname is Gao!
The two pieces of information match!
Gao Mingcheng was secretly delighted, and there was a hint of joy in his eyes when he looked at the sick cow.
He never expected that the piece of news he heard casually that year would happen to happen to him by such coincidence!
Gao Mingcheng immediately said, "That's a coincidence! My last name is Gao too, and I'm from Gaojia Village in Junling. Have you heard of it?"
"I have some impression of Xiaoyuan Village. I heard that the ancestors of our two villages had some kind of relationship."
Old Gao's eyes lit up. After meeting someone with the same surname, his expression, which had been numb due to suffering, became more vivid. "We are the descendants of the third branch who moved out. Young man, are you from the first branch, the second branch, or the third branch?"
Gao Mingcheng said: "I am from the eldest house, my name is Gao Mingcheng."
It is said that when fellow villagers meet, their eyes are filled with tears.
The two of them can be considered as descendants of the same ancestor. Although they are quite far apart in terms of blood relationship or other aspects, after they started talking, they felt an indescribable sense of closeness to each other.
Gao Mingcheng pointed to a tree and motioned for the two to go under the shade to talk first.
Then he asked, "I just heard that your grandson is sick? What's wrong with him?"
Old Gao said, "I don't know what disease he has. He often has stomachaches. I gave him some medicine, but it didn't help. He has been in severe pain these past few days. I want to take him to the hospital, but my family... has no money."
Old Gao sighed, looked at the sick cow beside him, and said with a sob: "This old fellow has been with me for twelve years. Since two years ago, it has been unable to eat. I thought it was about to die of old age. Some people advised me to kill the cow for meat, but I couldn't bear it."
"A year ago, my son went to the mountains to graze cattle. He was hit by a bull and rolled down the hillside, breaking his leg. Some people advised me to kill the bull for meat, but I couldn't bear to do it."
"My grandson is ill this year. No matter how reluctant I am, I have to sell it to earn some money for my grandson's medical treatment."
As Old Gao spoke, he actually started to cry.
The two met by chance, but because they had the same surname, they felt a subtle sense of closeness, so Old Gao took the opportunity to speak out some of the things hidden in his heart.
When Gao Mingcheng heard this, he was certain that this sick cow was the same cow he had heard about in his previous life.
All the information matched, so he said without pretense, "I opened a clothing store in the county and made some money. How about this, since we have the same surname, I'll take this cow!"
Old Gao came here to sell the cow. When Gao Mingcheng approached him before, he hoped that Gao Mingcheng would buy the cow. But now that Gao Mingcheng said he wanted to buy the cow, he hesitated and said haltingly, "This cow...is old and sick, so let's forget it."
Old Gao obviously couldn't bear to let Gao Mingcheng down.
Seeing this, Gao Mingcheng felt even more sympathetic towards their family.
In his previous life, he accidentally heard a story about the Gao family in Xiaoyuan Village. It said that there was an old man named Gao whose grandson often suffered from stomachaches. Later, when he was taking a bath in a reservoir, he suddenly fell ill and drowned in the reservoir.
After his grandson died, old man Gao, in grief and anger, killed the sick cow in his family. When they were cleaning up the sick cow, someone found some lumps in the cow's gallbladder. When the local barefoot doctor learned about it, he said that it was bezoar.
Later, Old Gao's family sold the bezoars and lived a good life, but his grandson was gone forever. A year later, Old Gao died of depression.
Because they are from the same clan and the story has a certain legendary color, even though Gao Mingcheng was still struggling outside at this time in his previous life, when he occasionally comes back, someone will talk to him about this matter.
Gao Mingcheng walked forward and touched the sick cow, and found that the cow's body temperature was very high. It was very repulsive to his approach, howling continuously and struggling restlessly.
Since it was confirmed that there was bezoar in it, Gao Mingcheng did not hesitate and said directly: "Your grandson's illness is serious. How about this, I will buy this cow at the price of a bullock. What do you think? I estimate that it weighs only about 500 kilograms, so I won't weigh it. I will give it a flat price of 800 yuan."
As he spoke, Gao Mingcheng opened the wallet he was carrying with him.
Money has been a little tight at home lately, and all the money earned from the clothing store every day has been used by him to collect old items.
But as long as he sells these old items, he can get five or six times the value of them!
Besides, while collecting old items, you might even find a huge bargain!
But today, he didn't pick up the big bargain of antiques, but he picked up the big bargain of bezoar!
The reason he offered eight hundred dollars was that it was the only cash he had. Besides, even if he bought the sick cow at the price of a steer, eight hundred dollars would still be considered a lot.
It was just because he knew in advance that there was bezoar in the sick cow's body, and both parties had the same surname, so Gao Mingcheng couldn't offer too low a price.
Old Gao was shocked by the price, his mouth opened and his eyes widened.
"This...this is too much..."
"It's not much. It's more important to treat your grandson! Here, here are eight hundred yuan. Count them. If the number is right, the cow will be mine!"
Gao Mingcheng handed the money directly to Old Man Gao.
When a handful of money was stuffed into Old Gao's hands, his body began to shake violently.
He expected that if he could sell this sick cow for two hundred yuan, he would be satisfied!
Because the cow was too old and very thin, it was just skin and bones. After slaughtering the cow and skinning it, there was probably not much meat left.
Moreover, the meat of old cows is rough and not tasty.
"It's too much! Too much!" Old man Gao has been kind all his life, and he really can't accept so much money against his conscience.
But Gao Mingcheng was unwilling to give too little, so he kept persuading him to accept it.
It seemed like the buyer and seller had switched places, which was quite ridiculous.
Fortunately, there were no other spectators watching this absurd scene.
Gao Mingcheng urged Old Man Gao to accept the money, and said: "After you get the money, you should take the child to the hospital for treatment. The child is sick and you can't delay! Also, since he often has stomachaches, he can't go to the reservoir to bathe. Otherwise, if he gets a stomachache in the water, it will be bad." (End of this chapter)
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