PCJ – Chapter 29 The Buffalo Incident

In the morning, Liu Qiaoye called out to Zhang Jiaohua. Before going to school, Zhang Jiaohua had to herd the cattle, so he had to get up at six o’clock. Then he would spend over an hour herding to the cattle before heading to school. Children in rural areas all lived like this, and there wasn’t anything particularly difficult about it.

Zhang Jiaohua, still half-asleep, said to his mother, “Mom, I’m graduating.”

“Nonsense. It’s early in the morning, don’t talk nonsense,” Liu Qiaoye heard it as “something happened.”

“What nonsense? The old Daoist said I’ve mastered all his skills, so I can graduate. I won’t have to endure his beatings anymore. He also gave me this.” Zhang Jiaohua shook the bell he was holding.

Liu Qiaoye found the sound somewhat grating but smiled, “Didn’t you already have this bell?”

Zhang Jiaohua hesitated for a moment, scratching the back of his head, “The old Daoist is too stingy, giving me back my own things. But he did teach me how to use this bell. He also said this bell is a magic tool.”

“Why didn’t he give you two magic rings? Then wouldn’t you become Nezha, the Third Prince, directly?” Liu Qiaoye couldn’t help but chuckle. After all, the child’s words were just too amusing.

Zhang Jiaohua scratched his head, unsure of what to say. After getting dressed and washing up, he went to herd the cattle.

Because he had to go to school later, he couldn’t spend as long herding the cattle as usual, so he tied the cattle along the field ridge. The grass on the field ridge grew vigorously due to the fertilization from the rice fields, and the cattle naturally could graze quickly. However, he had to be extra cautious when leading the cattle on the field ridge, always guarding against them nibbling on the tender rice seedlings nearby. Rice seedlings were much more delicious than the wild grass that had been nibbled countless times on the field ridge.

Zhang Jiaohua’s family owned a large water buffalo, incredibly strong. If it really wanted to be domineering and eat the rice seedlings, Zhang Jiaohua, a small kid, wouldn’t be able to control it. Otherwise, his uncle wouldn’t have been so worried last time. After all, this big water buffalo also belonged to their family.

Early in the morning, Zhang Benrui came out to check the water in the fields. When he saw Zhang Jiaohua herding the cattle on their field ridge from afar, he shouted, “Jiaohua, Jiaohua, don’t let the cattle onto our field ridge.”

Zhang Jiaohua was unhappy, “Your field ridge can’t have cattle, then why do you bring them to our field ridge? So, your field ridge is made of gold, and no one else can step on it?”

With just one sentence, Zhang Benrui was speechless, feeling annoyed. “Your family has no manners. Your water buffalo loves to eat. What if it eats our rice seedlings? It can’t be compensated now.”

“Then why did your cattle eat our rice that day? My dad said, the day you herded to the cattle, they ate the rice on the side of our well, a large patch of it. Why didn’t you compensate us for the rice?” Zhang Jiaohua immediately presented the facts to Zhang Benrui.

Unable to argue with Zhang Jiaohua, Zhang Benrui hurried over to see if their rice had indeed been eaten by Zhang Jiaohua’s family’s cattle. If it hadn’t been eaten, that would be good, but if it had, he would definitely go to Zhang Jiaohua’s house to make a scene. He had to make that kid understand the consequences of his actions.

As Zhang Benrui approached the fields, he discovered that the rice had indeed not been eaten by the cattle. The buffalo seemed quite strange too. The rope Zhang Jiaohua was holding wasn’t taut at all, showing no signs of tension. If the buffalo wanted to eat, it could easily turn its head and reach the herder green rice seedlings in the fields, yet it didn’t. It even stretched its neck to eat the grass closer to the edge of the field ridge, which was even more tender and green. Those grasses were almost mixed with the rice seedlings, but when the buffalo ate them, it didn’t disturb the rice seedlings in the field at all.

“Did they eat even a single stalk of your rice? Hmph, your family lets the cattle graze on the field ridge every day, eating a lot of other people’s rice. No one else can graze their cattle on your field ridge. If I catch you grazing cattle on our field ridge, see how I deal with you.” Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t afraid of this adult, Zhang Benrui.

Zhang Benrui had no way to deal with this sharp-witted kid either because Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t wrong at all. In order to ensure their cattle ate their fill every day, they almost grazed the cattle on the grassy edges of the village every day. Whose crops hadn’t been nibbled by their cattle? Sometimes, he even deliberately let their cattle forage freely. Some people couldn’t criticize him, while others could only helplessly tolerate him. Unexpectedly, today he was called out by a kid, leaving him feeling embarrassed and angry.

Zhang Benrui, suddenly filled with malice, walked behind Zhang Jiaohua’s cattle and struck its back twice with the handle of his hoe. These two blows were indeed vicious because normally, if a cow were startled by a hit, it would charge forward without regard. Zhang Jiaohua was just a child, and if the cow charged forward without restraint, he might not be able to escape, and the result could be either serious injury or death.

When Zhang Benrui struck the cow’s back with the hoe handle, it was entirely due to being consumed by anger, and when he came to his senses, he realized he had made a mistake, but it was too late. Feeling a chill in his heart, he thought he would soon witness a tragedy.

Seeing Zhang Benrui approaching, Zhang Jiaohua didn’t expect him to do this. When he saw him forcefully hitting the cow’s back, he immediately understood this guy’s malicious intentions and quickly threw away the cattle rope and ran.

However, to everyone’s surprise, after being hit, the cow didn’t charge forward but suddenly turned around, its head turning. Normally, it’s difficult for a cow to turn on the field ridge, but this large water buffalo effortlessly turned its head.

Zhang Benrui didn’t see the scene he had imagined but instead saw the cow turning its body towards him. He was surprised but not afraid. He held the hoe handle and wasn’t afraid of an attack from a water buffalo.

Zhang Benrui didn’t think the large water buffalo would dare to attack him because usually, even a small child holding a bamboo stick could drive away a large water buffalo. Moreover, he had a hoe handle in his hand?

But he didn’t notice that this water buffalo was completely different from an ordinary one. It saw the culprit who attacked it and immediately its eyes reddened. Its body suddenly bent, and with a vigorous leap forward, it charged towards Zhang Benrui like a wild beast.

In an instant, the buffalo’s demeanor turned into that of a ferocious beast. This aura instantly intimidated Zhang Benrui, and his hands, originally intending to raise the hoe, suddenly became weak. After all, he was just an ordinary villager. In the face of real danger, he turned into a coward. Although his reaction was quick, he immediately threw away the hoe handle and ran away.

The large water buffalo, still smarting from the pain on its back, wasn’t prepared to let him off so easily. It quickly chased after him. Although Zhang Benrui ran fast, the large water buffalo was also a skilled runner. In the mountainous terrain, the small kid couldn’t match its speed. So, in just a few moments, the large water buffalo was about to catch up with Zhang Benrui. Zhang Benrui, seeing the large water buffalo chasing closely behind, cried out along the way, “Murder! Help!”

Zhang Jiaohua watched in astonishment as this scene unfolded. He didn’t know what had happened exactly, but seeing Zhang Benrui being dealt with like this after what he had done just now, he felt extremely satisfied. He deserved it!

PCJ – Chapter 28 Departure