Crossing the Unknown Country

Su He and his family drove the ox cart home. Soon, the old and young people in the village came out. Everyone gathered around the ox cart and talked about it. Someone asked Su He's father: "Su Lao Er, you have made a fortune and even bought an ox cart."

Someone also asked: "Tell us about this road to wealth!"

There was an aunt who had a good relationship with Grandma Su He. She said to him disdainfully: "Didn't Aunt Su say that last time? The children in the family now have medical books and can go to the mountains to dig herbs. They can also help the clinic copy books. Are you capable of doing these things?"

The man said with an embarrassed look: "Isn't this just a casual question? Isn't this because everyone is curious, and the conversation just ended here."

There was also the lazy man Li from the village who started to make a scene: "You can't read a single word, and I can't understand it even if you are given it. How can you be destined to have such a fate?"

The children were surrounding the cow, looking at it, and the brave ones touched it and ran away. As they were talking, someone said, "Grandma Su He is coming."

Su He saw that it was Gou Sheng from the widow Zhang who called her. Su He thought that people in the village usually called her grandma Su's Aunt or Grandma Su. Only Gou Sheng called Su He grandma.

Grandma Su He came over, touched the ox, and was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling, saying, "That's great. This ox is so beautiful."

Su He asked her grandmother to get on the cart and take her home. Her grandmother smiled and agreed, and got on the ox cart and went home. Everyone watched them leave, and the adults who needed to go home went back, and the children followed them to Su He's grandmother's house.

A few people were brave enough to shout, "Grandma Su, we want to make a bullock cart too."

Grandma Su He was happy and called them to take turns to sit for a while. The children followed them to Grandma Su He's house before they went home. Su He and the others took their things into the yard and asked Su Feng to watch the ox cart outside. Su He's father took out ten taels of silver and gave it to her mother. Grandma Su He looked at so much silver and took five taels of silver and returned the remaining five taels.

Su He's father whispered to his mother, "This time I sold the ginseng for 100 taels. This is the money for the other herbs and the money for copying the book. You can keep it!"

The old lady took the remaining five taels of silver. This year, they could live a good life. The family had saved nearly thirty taels of silver, which could withstand any major incidents. She quickly hid it in the house. This was a lot of silver, which usually took several years to save. The children were so capable, and there were still good days ahead!

Su He's parents left the meat and bones behind and went home. At the door of their home, they met Su Pei and Su Che, who had just come down from the mountain. They wanted to see if they were going home. They planned to leave a basket of grass and a bundle of firewood behind to help Su He and his family.

The two men were also very excited when they saw the ox cart, and asked quickly: "Do we have to herd the cattle and cut grass for them every day in the future?"

Su He's father smiled and said, "That's not necessary. I'll take the cow to the field every day and feed it. You just need to copy books, pull weeds, chop wood, and pick herbs. These are already a lot of work. You don't need to take care of the cow."

Su Che said, "We are not tired. We are willing to feed the cows."

Su He's father smiled and said, "If you want, you can herd cattle when you have time."

Su Che smiled and said, "Uncle, we have time. Don't worry, the cows will be well fed."

Su Che and Su Pei fed the cows with grass, while Su Feng and Su Run unloaded the frame of the cart and leaned it against the wall. They led the cows into the yard and temporarily built a cowshed for them in an open space against the wall.

Su He's father said, "Rest at home tomorrow morning and build a shed for the cows. It has to be able to protect them from the wind and rain. We also need to buy a stone trough for the cows so that they can graze at night. There will be a lot of work tomorrow so it may take a whole day."

Su Che said, "We will help together tomorrow. Just tell us what you need."

After calming down, the five of them began their own book copying work. Su He didn't have to cook. Her mother was at home today, so she could just cook the meat porridge. Boil the big bones and add a little rice. Spread salt on the meat and hang it up to eat slowly. You can't eat it all at once for several meals.

Su He also had a new medical book to read today. He picked it up and read it carefully. There were pulse records and the compatibility and contraindications of basic medicinal materials. Su He was very devoted to reading the book and soon entered a state of ecstasy. His brothers stopped copying and checked each other, but Su He did not stop.

Su Pei shouted, "Su He! Sister, it's getting dark soon. Too dark is bad for your eyes."

Su He finally came to his senses, hummed, looked up and saw that it was getting dark.

She smiled and said, "Now that you've finished copying, have dinner here!"

Su Pei said: "No, grandpa and grandma will be waiting for us."

The two packed up their backpacks and prepared to go home. Su He saw them off to the door, and then he came back to close the door after they walked away. No one would come if it was too late. Today was different from the past. After dinner, they were still talking in the yard under the moonlight. Someone came to knock on the door, and his father knew it was Carpenter Li's family of four and Wang Erbao's family of five, all coming to see their cows.