Chapter 87: The Little Bull

After finding Fubao, Pear Blossom felt a great sense of relief. She easily slipped out of the village and rode her horse back home.

This time, she had been away for nearly four or five days, not only looking for someone but also handling other matters.

Upon entering the village, aside from the spies hiding in the shadows and the guards stationed at the village entrance, everyone else was busy in the fields. Some were using a plow to till the soil, much like combing hair with a comb, smoothing the muddy soil in the rice paddies over and over again. Others were planting seedlings, preparing for the spring plowing.

Pear Blossom watched as Zeng Guangjin, with his pant legs rolled up high, worked alone in the field of the Zeng family’s land.

Thinking back to the time when she had been so angry that she had struck the old woman, Mrs. Zeng, guilt welled up inside her. During this spring plowing, it was impossible for Zeng Guangjin to finish the ten acres of land on his own.

Her younger siblings were still attending school, and Dagen and his wife, Mrs. Xiong, were tilling the land. Pear Blossom grabbed farming tools and went to work in the fields as well.

Seeing this, Mrs. Xiong called from a distance, “You’ve been running around so much these past few days, you must be exhausted. Come back and rest well, don’t work in the fields anymore.”

Dagen also chimed in, “That’s right, daughter, these few acres of land, your mother and I can manage without your help.”

Mrs. Xiong refused to buy an ox, saying the young bull would be ready to work the fields next year, so buying another ox was a waste of money. As a result, they had to use manual tools to till the land, which was both time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Pear Blossom shook her head. A farmer’s child couldn’t afford to be delicate. Besides, compared to running around, working in the fields seemed much more efficient and less tiring. So, she stayed and worked with her parents for a while longer. As the sky began to darken, the family of three carried their tools back home.

Back at the house, Mrs. Xiong was busy cooking, Dagen was picking weeds from the vegetable garden, and Pear Blossom took the cattle and sheep up the mountain to graze.

It was not yet the busy season for spring plowing, and the children still had to attend school. The cattle and sheep were waiting for Erniu to return from school before they could be taken up the mountain to graze. Since Pear Blossom was at home, she took on the task of watching them.

She drove the animals halfway up the mountain, then climbed into the dense forest to check the place where their family hid grain. She noticed traces of wild animals near the cave entrance and covered it with moss.

Grain prices had skyrocketed five or six times, but they still had three or four stones of rice at home, enough to last for quite some time. Therefore, they didn’t need to touch this hidden stash for now.

This place was extremely secretive. If it weren’t for the system’s guidance, Pear Blossom would never have found it. Even the villagers wouldn’t be able to find the entrance.

The tunnel they dug connected to a natural cave inside the mountain, large enough to store several hundred stones of grain. Despite that, it still felt spacious. The cave had a clear stream running through it, and if a disaster struck, as long as they didn’t start a fire during the day, they could hide there for a year or a year and a half without a problem.

Apart from her father and Daniu, only her mother and sister knew about this place.

She had brought Dong Yun here once, and at that time, their relationship wasn’t as close. Part of the grain stored here belonged to the Zeng family, and since Pear Blossom had such feelings for her, she wanted to show her everything, even her heart. But now, with her beloved one gone, only empty memories remained.

After finishing her task, she descended to the lower mountain and found a grassy area. Leaning against a stone, she watched as the cows grazed by her side, stealing a rare moment of peace.

She took out the perfume she had drawn that night, opened it, and sniffed it. It smelled pleasant, but it wasn’t the same as the scent on her sister.

The system, noticing the perfume, couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. “Host, you’ve already used half of it. You should wait until the person you intend to woo is around before using the rest. Otherwise, it’ll be gone by morning.”

Pear Blossom felt uneasy thinking about the way the prison head and the deputy jailer had looked at her after she sprayed the perfume that day. It had made her uncomfortable. Using it on strangers felt like an invasion. If it were her sister…

The thought made her heart race, but then she realized that if she had to rely on this perfume to make her sister fall for her, could it really be considered true love?

Her previously stirred emotions cooled in an instant as she recalled the matter with Fubao. Her face darkened.

“According to Fubao, she’s been staying in that small courtyard for eight days. Yet, five days ago, when I passed by that area, you told me you hadn’t detected her? Perhaps you could explain that to me?”

Pear Blossom’s voice turned cold as she tossed the perfume aside, completely disregarding the priceless item in the system’s eyes. It landed on the head of the young bull and spilled all over it.

“Of course, you could choose not to explain and continue lying to me,” Pear Blossom’s voice was icy, “But what I want to know is, is it your system’s habit to deceive the host in order to complete your tasks?”

The system emitted a buzzing electromagnetic noise, as if trying to organize its words. “Host, all of my orders are for the completion of the task!”

“Here we go again. Do you know what this is? Just the matter with Sister Dong getting bitten by a snake, your actions nearly caused her death. You’re a killing system, aren’t you? Do you have no moral boundaries?”

The system, under interrogation, emitted more frantic electromagnetic noises as it tried to respond. “I never intended to harm anyone, nor did I issue any lethal orders. All my orders are for completing the task.”

“You didn’t do it directly, but your actions nearly caused her death,” Pear Blossom sneered. “Sister has always been kind and has never harmed anyone innocent, but because you hid information, you almost caused her to lose her life! You call yourself my system, yet you’ve always been over me, hiding information, and now you’re giving me false messages!”

The system could only repeat, “Host, all of my orders are for the completion of the task!”

Pear Blossom replied, “Without me, how could you complete your task?”

The system fell silent.

“I should have died a long time ago,” Pear Blossom said. “The day I was bound to you, I should have died. And the same goes for you. If you hadn’t bound me, maybe you wouldn’t even exist now. Why did you pick me out of so many people? You know the answer yourself. Who’s more afraid of disappearing from this world, me or you?”

“You’d better make sure that my sister stays alive and safe. If she dies, I won’t live either. All your tasks and objectives can go to hell!”

The system’s voice buzzed, but still didn’t offer any response.

Pear Blossom didn’t care. Even without the system’s help, she would definitely find her sister.

If everything depended on the system, and without it she couldn’t take a step, then did her sister love herself or the omnipotent system?

She stretched her body and lay down on the grass, her hands under her head, gazing up at the sky.

The sky wasn’t very blue, somewhat gloomy, looking like it might rain.

Rain would be good. It would be time to prepare for spring planting, and the rain would moisten the ground.

…

In the evening, Pear Blossom went to the academy.

Xia Xunyan looked at her and said, “You’ve been absent from learning for nearly half a month. Such laziness will never lead to success!”

Pear Blossom respectfully said, “Yes, I know I was wrong. Please punish me, Teacher!”

This time, Xia Xunyan didn’t let things slide as easily as before. He took out a ruler and spoke coldly, “Stretch out your hand.”

Pear Blossom extended her right hand.

“Smack!” The crisp sound echoed in the air, and the sharp sting instantly spread through her palm. The scolding followed, “Your attitude toward studying is not serious, and you’ve neglected your studies. You must be punished!”

Pear Blossom bit her lip tightly.

“Overestimating yourself, causing unnecessary trouble and drawing attention, you must be punished!” Another crisp sound.

The sting returned, but Pear Blossom didn’t even furrow her brow, sitting up straight and accepting the punishment.

“Unable to see the bigger picture, being impulsive and reckless, causing harm to the innocent, you must be punished!”

After three strikes, Xia Xunyan finally put away the ruler. He said, “What do you want to learn today? Choose for yourself.”

Pear Blossom withdrew her reddened hand, her expression unchanged. “I want to learn the ‘Thirty-Six Stratagems.’”

Xia Xunyan gave her a deep look before turning to take a book from the desk. “As before, I’ll read it aloud, and you’ll follow. I’ll first explain its meaning to you, then you’ll memorize, recite, and write it down.”

“Understood!”

As before, after Xia Xunyan explained the meaning, he quoted examples from various dynasties to illustrate the strategies. Pear Blossom, having personally planned a mission and now reworking it, listened intently, completely absorbed in the details as if she were part of those historical scenes.

Time passed unnoticed until the sound of a rooster crowing reminded her it was already morning.

Pear Blossom hastily stood up and said, “I’ve lost track of time and disturbed Teacher’s rest. I truly deserve to be punished.”

Xia Xunyan rubbed his brow but waved it off. “I also lost track of time, but it’s a good thing that you’re so focused on learning. It’s late now, so don’t go back. Stay with Xinghua for the night.”

Pear Blossom hurriedly agreed.

…

The next morning, after only a few hours of sleep, Pear Blossom woke up. With the thoughts on her mind, there was no way she could sleep soundly until late. Moreover, this was her teacher’s study, and having been punished the previous night, she couldn’t afford to neglect her studies today.

So, she got up and continued her revision. Unexpectedly, after silently reviewing two sections, her mother came to find her. She said that the little bull had run off again after returning home the night before and hadn’t come back. This morning, she and Dagen searched the mountain but didn’t find him. Pear Blossom was asked to go back and search for the bull.

Pear Blossom had no choice but to roll up her books and head home.

When she reached the gate, she saw her little bull running down the hill, followed by seven or eight other cows of different colors and sizes.

The mother and daughter looked at each other in confusion, unsure of which household’s cattle had been attracted.

The cows, following the little bull, poured into the cow shed and quickly crowded it. A few sheep were squeezed out, with no place to stay.

Dagen checked the cows’ ears and found that none had pierced nostrils. They seemed to be wild cows from the mountain. He hurriedly told Pear Blossom to go ask the village chief and Qin Laohan to come take a look.

Pear Blossom quickly mounted her horse and went to find them.

Upon hearing that Pear Blossom’s little bull had attracted the wild cows from the mountain, everyone in the village ran over to watch.

Qin Laohan carefully examined the cows and confirmed that they were indeed wild cows from the mountain. Everyone cast envious looks at Pear Blossom. It was rare for a farm family to raise a single cow, let alone eight. The family seemed to have struck gold.

Six adult cows, along with two strong bulls, all fat and healthy—definitely labor-saving animals.

At this point, the system lazily spoke up, “That bottle of perfume you used yesterday really only cost you eight cows. That’s too cheap.”

Pear Blossom suddenly remembered throwing perfume onto the cow’s body and sneered, “Relying on perfume to win others’ favor, what’s the difference between that and cheating in an exam? If you’ve got the ability, prove it with your real skills.”

The system didn’t care. “Do you think that’s why your sister likes you? It’s because all those attributes made you smarter and stronger.”

Pear Blossom immediately felt a bit dissatisfied. “When my sister liked me, I didn’t have all these advantages.”

She said this, but deep down, she couldn’t help but wonder if her sister really liked her for her improved abilities. But now that her sister wasn’t around to ask, she had to bury this question for the time being.

Looking at the cows and the envious looks of the villagers, she pulled her mother aside and said, “Mother, we don’t lack money. We can buy a thousand cows, but we only have eight acres of land. We won’t be able to use so many cows. Since it’s spring planting time, how about we let the villagers take turns using them?”

Now that they were wealthy, her mother had gained confidence and had become much more generous. Moreover, hoarding everything could lead to resentment. She didn’t want to be like the Liu family, rich but unkind. Since her daughter suggested this, she agreed.

Just thinking that once it’s divided this way, won’t Mrs. Zeng also be able to use the ox, it makes her feel a bit unwilling.

She was still thinking about the fact that Mrs. Zeng sold Fubao.

Mother and daughter are connected, how could Pear Blossom not know what her mother was thinking? She wanted to tell her mother that Fubao hadn’t been sold, but had been sent away by her sister in a different way. However, she was afraid that when her mother found out, she wouldn’t be able to bear holding a grudge against Mrs. Zeng, especially since those “eagle claws” were still lurking in the shadows. What if they were noticed?

Fortunately, Mrs. Xiong didn’t want to let Mrs. Zeng affect her good mood and turned to tell the village head about their decision.

Although Zhang Sanye’s family had oxen, in the whole village, apart from wealthy families like the Liu family, only three families raised oxen. During busy farming seasons, borrowing oxen became a challenge. If one family lent their ox, it seemed like they were favoring one family over the others. If they lent to everyone, their old oxen couldn’t endure the strain of repeated work.

Upon hearing Mrs. Xiong’s suggestion, Zhang Sanye was both surprised and happy. “You really are willing?”

Pear Blossom nodded and said, “We will keep one ox for ourselves. As for the other seven, let every ten households take turns raising one. How to arrange the rotation, we’ll leave it to you, Sanye.”

Zhang Sanye laughed so hard his eyes narrowed into slits. He agreed repeatedly, “Good, good, good! I’ll take care of the arrangements. Dagen, your family is so generous, I’ll thank you on behalf of all the villagers!”

Dagen laughed happily.

When Zhang Sanye shared the decision with everyone, they were all overjoyed and thanked the family.

While everyone was together, they worked as a team to put nose rings and brand marks on the wild oxen. After all, they were wild and still had some wildness in them. If they ran off by accident, it would be hard to find them again.

After the crowd dispersed, Mrs. Xiong looked at the black-and-white spotted cow they kept and said with joy, “This is wonderful! Tomorrow, let your father take it to plow the fields. We won’t have to worry about plowing this year! By next year, the little bull will be able to work too. With two oxen working, we’ll truly be a big family!”

Pear Blossom couldn’t help but laugh, “Mother, you already have so much silver. Our family is already a big family!”

Because they had found Fubao recently, Pear Blossom finally relaxed a bit. She belatedly realized she was smiling.

This feeling of contentment lasted into the evening.

Lying in bed, looking at the dark ceiling, she couldn’t help but miss the woman she loved.

She wondered where her sister was now, if she was eating and sleeping well, and if she… missed her?

As she thought about it, her mind drifted back to that night.

In the past few days, through wind and rain, she had been tirelessly searching for her mother and sister, her emotions had been tense, and she hadn’t had time to savor that night. Now that she was relaxed, the desire in her heart began to itch. Her mind was filled with Dong Yun’s seductive figure from that night, and in her ears, she heard her intermittent, cat-like moans… Pear Blossom suddenly couldn’t lie still, getting up to find that little booklet in the wardrobe.

She carefully read it by the oil lamp.

Now that she could recognize characters, most of the words in the booklet were simple and easy to understand. Occasionally, there were a few she didn’t know, but she could guess them from the context.

Moreover, there were illustrations alongside, comparable to directly watching an extreme performance in person.

The various positions and techniques opened her eyes, and without realizing it, she brought herself and Dong Yun into the scene. She bit her lip while reading, imagining her sister’s soft body and how they would entwine just like the picture…

Once she found her sister, she would have to try all these moves.

She thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Dong Yun wasn’t in a much better situation.

She lay on a dry straw bed, with a mat underneath and a blanket on top, barely keeping warm.

But at this moment, her body was burning hot. Beneath the blanket, a slight mound rose, and her right hand moved gently up and down.

She closed her eyes, her long hair spread over the wooden pillow. Sweat began to form on her neck. Her lips parted slightly, and she murmured in a low voice, “…Good Pear Blossom… a little harder… Sister likes it a little harder…”

In the past, she thought of herself as a pure and detached person. When she was young, she had feelings for Xia Xunyan, but she didn’t think about these things much. At that time, she just wanted to be with him all the time, admiring flowers and reading poetry, but never anything more profound.

Later, she broke off emotional ties and never had the thought of getting close to anyone else.

She yearned for love, but she wasn’t someone who would just accept anyone.

What she never expected was that after being held by Pear Blossom last time, her body began to respond to this young girl. She craved her touch and longed for her to be forceful with her.

Since that night just over ten days ago, she had indulged herself and experienced that bone-deep feeling, as though opening the door to a new world.

Once she tasted it…

Since then, certain unspeakable things had become more concrete in her mind. The scenes she had imagined in her head, whenever she thought of them, would bring waves of excitement…

Dong Yun finally believed that she truly was a person of desire, despite her delicate and soft body, she still longed to be treated forcefully by that person.

If that person knew how she imagined her, she wondered what they would think.

What else could they think? Dong Yun thought of the way the girl often looked at her with that little wolf-dog gaze, and already had the answer in her heart.

But now the person wasn’t around, so she had to take care of herself. She closed her eyes and imagined the other person was by her side, doing this and that, making her cry, and then kissing her lips gently when she couldn’t take it anymore, softly comforting her…

Imagining the girl’s intense gaze fixed on her movements, Dong Yun could no longer control herself. She bit her lip tightly, and her feet immediately tensed…

After a moment, she managed to calm down, slightly turning her body, only to realize that the blanket beneath her had already become damp.