LAVW – Chapter 105 Taking a Family Portrait

After Chen Niu finished doing something foolish, he tugged at the grass and recalled even more details.

Although Qian Niuhua was reliable and warm-hearted plenty of times, the moments where he seemed unreliable were indeed far more common—he really did resemble an innocent, carefree child.

The old lady’s attitude toward him was also the same as treating him like a young grandson, quite similar to how she treated Chen Niu when he was little.

Such a coincidence stirred something indescribable in Chen Niu’s heart.

—Perhaps it was a bit of comfort granted by the heavens.

Once Chen Niu figured things out, the look he gave Shi Qian softened.

Shi Qian stared back at him: …

How strange.

Was this guy imagining something weird again?

Nope, time to run.

Shi Qian dashed back into the old lady’s room.

His mat was still laid out, and the thin blanket that Chen Niu used was there as well. From now on, they would continue sleeping on the floor.

Zhang Peyue was sleeping deeply; she didn’t wake up at all despite the movement of people coming in and out of the room.

Since they were back in the village, participating in the labor was essential.

Chen Niu had to return to work.

And Shi Qian also needed to join. He had grown again after the winter—half-grown and not quite a calf anymore—so he had to take part in the spring plowing.

Once he started working, Shi Qian finally understood—with the strength he possessed, he was the fiercest of them all! Plowing the field was effortless for him.

Thanks to Shi Real-Macho Qian’s hard work, Chen Niu could finish early every day.

Three days later, Chen Niu took leave again to bring Zhang Peyue to the county hospital for her acupuncture treatment.

At the hospital, Shi Qian didn’t really dare watch the acupuncture process.

He found acupuncture a bit terrifying—those long needles, one after another, being inserted into the body… just watching it made him feel pain and fear.

When Zhang Peyue came out after the treatment, she looked as though she had endured some hardship. Her whole expression was tired, and a few strands of hair were stuck to the side of her face.

She still needed to rest a while before they could return home.

Shi Qian lay down to the side, suddenly recalling a dilemma that existed in later generations.

When an elderly person reached the very end of their life— Should they still continue receiving treatment?

A life without quality, just struggling on, or passing away more peacefully— which was better?

Thankfully, Grandma hadn’t reached that stage. Though she had suffered, it allowed her to maintain a life that wasn’t too miserable—still somewhat dignified.

But… could it be made a little better?

The day before their first hospital visit, Shi Qian had secretly discussed something with Chen Niu behind Grandma’s back.

He wrote a long sentence with his hoof: “Acupuncture in the afternoon, play in the morning—okay?”

After all, once Chen Niu took a day off, the afternoon would be spent accompanying Grandma anyway. Why not have some fun in the morning?

Shi Qian thought: When they were poor before, Grandma definitely had no leisure or entertainment. It would be nice to make up for it now.

Chen Niu’s eyes lit up. “Should be fine. There’s no difference between morning and afternoon. I’ll ask the doctor tomorrow.”

The boy and the cow then began discussing where they could take Grandma to play.

There weren’t many places to go in the county, but the Chen family had truly been poor before—Chen Niu and Grandma’s lives were too constrained, and they had never experienced anything. To the point that everything in town seemed new and interesting to him.

Temporarily, they settled on: eating at the state-run restaurant, watching a movie, visiting the department store, visiting the fabric shop, and going to the photo studio.

Many places were inconvenient for Shi Qian to enter, so it was best to prepare a wheelchair as well.

Chen Niu had ordered one from another village, but it wasn’t done yet, so he went out to borrow one.

When Grandma saw the wheelchair, she didn’t know what this was about. She figured she’d find out tomorrow, so she didn’t ask further.

The next day.

At the hospital, Chen Niu went alone into the doctor’s office and asked, “Doctor, I want to take my grandma around the county this morning. Can we come in the afternoon for acupuncture instead?”

“Sure, just come in the afternoon.”

The doctor wasn’t very busy anyway and even praised him: “You’re quite filial. It’s good to take the elderly out for a walk. Just be careful—don’t shake her too much, don’t let her get cold, take good care of her.”

Chen Niu listened earnestly and thanked him: “Got it. Thank you.”

The doctor had repeated these instructions many times, and Chen Niu could practically recite them by now.

Every time he heard them again, he felt grateful for the doctor’s patience.

After clarifying everything, Chen Niu left the doctor some of the freshest vegetables from their field and some mountain goods. Then he ran out of the office, walking side-by-side with Shi Qian toward the hospital gate.

On the ox cart, Zhang Peyue was puzzled. “Eh? We haven’t done the acupuncture yet. Why are we leaving?”

It couldn’t be that the doctor changed the treatment plan—she hadn’t even seen him yet.

Chen Niu wasn’t one to keep things mysterious. He explained directly, “We’ll come back in the afternoon. This morning we’re going out for a stroll.”

Shi Qian stopped walking, steadied himself, then turned around and asked, “Moow?”

Grandma, where would you like to go?

Unexpectedly, their thoughts aligned again. Chen Niu asked too, “Grandma, where do you want to go?”

Zhang Peyue glanced at the wheelchair and instantly understood. “So that’s what you two planned.”

“Where can we go? You tell me.” She looked at Chen Niu’s injured arm, fully aware of the hardships the child had been through recently.

Chen Niu reported all the places he and Shi Qian had listed yesterday.

Zhang Peyue didn’t act coy. “Let’s go to the department store first. I haven’t been in ages—I don’t even know what’s changed.”

Because of her limited mobility, she almost never traveled far. Coming to the county already counted as “going far.”

Once Grandma chose a place, Shi Qian pulled the cart toward the department store.

The storefront was quite wide, the name painted in red above the doors. All the additional doors were propped open, revealing all kinds of goods inside.

Shi Qian politely stopped at the entrance.

Chen Niu lifted the wheelchair down, padded it softly, and then carried Grandma onto it.

Sitting in the wheelchair, Zhang Peyue turned her head to look at the little yellow cow who had grown again.

In terms of age and a cow’s typical size, Shi Qian was still a “little” yellow cow.

But from a human perspective, he didn’t look small at all. His body was strong, his four long legs steady, his once-round face now showing clear contours. His two good-looking horns extended outward, and in his dark, bright eyes flickered a clean, warm, vigorous youthfulness.

Shi Qian told her, “Moow moow.”

You two go ahead.

He didn’t seem the slightest bit bothered about being unable to enter. He was completely happy just because Grandma could go in and look around.

But remembering his soul belonged to a human, Zhang Peyue couldn’t help feeling endless pity and affection for this child.

He was too considerate, too understanding, too self-restrained.

She could only say, “I’ll bring you something to eat.”

Then, under the glow in Shi Qian’s eyes, she turned around, letting Chen Niu push her into the department store.

After walking inside, Chen Niu looked back at Shi Qian, who couldn’t enter, and felt a twinge of dissatisfaction.

He already treated the little yellow cow like a family member. But he hadn’t realized—the outside world didn’t see it that way. Of all the places they had enthusiastically planned yesterday, very few were places the little yellow cow could actually go.

But right now, they absolutely couldn’t disappoint Qian Niuhua—the one who came up with this idea.

Chen Niu instantly transformed into a shopping maniac, wanting to buy everything he thought Grandma might like.

And then he… got scolded.

“Not this one.”

“I said no! Chen Niu, are your ears not working? Or has your head gotten too hard?” Watching her grandson waste money like it grew on trees, Zhang Peyue was so angry she almost wished she’d brought her cane along to give him a couple of whacks.

Fortunately, she hadn’t brought it, so Chen Niu escaped disaster.

After being scolded a few times, Chen Niu finally gained some awareness.

He started observing more carefully to see whether the old lady truly liked something, or using her “precious heart” as an excuse—“Qian Niuhua will definitely like it, so let’s buy it.”

Thanks to his “intelligence” and the money he’d snatched from Shi Qian, Chen Niu returned with quite the haul, hanging bags on both sides of the wheelchair.

Being considerate of the old lady’s health, they didn’t shop for long—less than an hour before wrapping up.

Next stop—the state-owned restaurant.

Chen Niu chose the table closest to the window so Qian Niuhua could watch from outside through the glass.

Shi Qian: …

Thank you so much for letting me see everything so clearly.

How hateful!

Being able to see but not eat was just too miserable.

Shi Qian looked pitifully at Zhang Peyue and “mooed” to complain, expressing how unfair Chen Niu was.

Then someone at the neighboring table recognized him.

“Auntie, is that your family’s cow? It looks just like that one from the newspaper—the one called Qian Niuhua, the cow that could plow a five-pointed star!”

Shi Qian nodded: “Moo.”

Yes, that’s me.

That simple nod scared the person so much they almost fell over with an “ayyo!”

Zhang Peyue had a great laugh. “That’s our Qian Niuhua. He recognizes his own name.”

“Unbelievable, unbelievable!”

When Chen Niu returned with the specially cooked soft noodles for the old lady, along with steamed buns and big meat buns, a plump middle-aged man was already standing outside the door chatting with Shi Qian.

The man’s goal was to get friendly and hopefully touch this newspaper-famous cow.

Shi Qian kept responding “moo, moo,” chatting enthusiastically with him.

But the moment Chen Niu handed over a big meat bun, Shi Qian immediately took a bite, completely abandoning his new friend.

A bun with folds was still a bun with folds, but the uncle was nowhere near as fragrant as a meat bun.

The old lady ate her soft noodles and bone broth while watching the lively scene outside through the glass door, smiling all the while.

The cheerful morning passed quickly. After resting at the hospital at noon, even the afternoon acupuncture felt easier. On the way home, her condition looked noticeably better than last time.

Shi Qian was very satisfied by this and decided that next time they should bring a bowl to the state-owned restaurant to pack some food.

That way, dinner could also be good—everyone could enjoy something nourishing.

Once home, Chen Niu delivered some of the items they bought today to the Xu Youguang family, Lin Nanyin, and the neighbors who had helped look after the old lady recently.

On their third acupuncture visit, they watched a movie in the morning.

Thanks to Shi Qian’s recognizable face—and Chen Niu adding a bit extra to the ticket price—Shi Qian even got to watch the movie too.

Then they went to eat something good again, and even used an enamel mug to pack a meat dish.

While the old lady rested at noon, Chen Niu wandered outside and brought back a few books.

He wanted to thank Lin Nanyin for her help. He felt that just giving items wasn’t enough, so he decided to cater to her tastes and give her some books instead.

In the days that followed, the tender buds on the treetops unfurled into leaves as the weather suddenly warmed.

When fresh green blanketed the land with spring, Shi Qian, Chen Niu, and Zhang Peyue took their first family photo together.

Zhang Peyue sat in her wheelchair wearing new clothes without patches.

Behind her, one on each side, stood Shi Qian and Chen Niu, both wearing clothes made by the old lady.

When the photograph came out, they enlarged it and hung it in the photo studio’s display window. Every passerby could see this very unique family portrait.