The Domineering Cultivator Farmer

Chapter 23: Little Gray Comes Knocking

During the meal, Fang Yun began to understand Mad Dog’s dad’s approach a little better. The man had an insatiable appetite—after polishing off five large bowls of rice, he scooped up all the leftover soup and broth from the table, poured it into his bowl, added a spoonful of rice, stirred it up, and slurped it down noisily, leaving Niuniu sitting next to him gazing at him with admiration. The little girl was always thinking about growing up fast. She’d heard from her grandmother that eating plenty would help her grow up quickly, so for the past few days she’d been stuffing herself until she was stuffed—it took Fang Yun several reminders before she finally stopped. After dinner, Fang Yun led Mad Dog and a few other villagers who had come to help up the mountain. “I’m planning to expand the spring pool this time. Your job is to dig out these areas and connect them to the existing pool, then build a wall around the perimeter.” Fang Yun pointed to the open space next to the spring pool as he explained the task to the group. “With just the few of us, this is going to take quite a while. Why don’t we find some more people to help?” The villagers had all noticed the huge influx of visitors these past few days and kindly reminded Fang Yun that everyone knew: the sooner the work was done, the sooner they’d see some money. “The area isn’t that big—it’ll just get crowded if we bring in too many people. We’ll just have to take our time. Here’s the deal: 150 yuan a day for everyone, plus three meals a day at my place. Does that work for you?” Fang Yun said with a smile. “Sure, working for Brother Yun is always a pleasure.” In the countryside these days, the going rate for day labor is 100 yuan a day, so when they saw Fang Yun offering 150 yuan, there was no way the men would turn down the offer. Fang Yun had saved up a little money by now, and these men were all idle villagers with little to no income—so he figured he might as well give them a hand while he could. Fang Yun did the math: getting this done would take at least half a month. Once this was finished, he planned to widen the mountain path so it could at least accommodate ox carts—after all, some elderly villagers were simply too frail to climb the mountain anymore. That way, the men could take on more work and earn a bit extra. After assigning the men their tasks and sending them down the mountain, Fang Yun suddenly realized he had nothing to do. His dad was keeping watch by the spring up on the mountain, and his mom and Feng Xiu’er were at home welcoming visitors—it seemed only he and Niuniu were left with nothing to do. Out of boredom, Fang Yun gazed at the distant mountain range and suddenly recalled how, as a child, he had always wanted to venture deep into the mountains. His parents had strictly forbidden it, saying the deep mountains were too dangerous—not just for a child, but even a group of ten or so adults wouldn’t dare go in lightly. The elders said the deep mountains were teeming with wild beasts; one could often encounter carnivores like wild wolves and wild dogs. Now, with his Yuanling-stage cultivation, there was nowhere he couldn’t go—it was time to find a moment to fulfill his childhood dream. “Xiao Yunzi, your aunt is slaughtering a pig tomorrow and has invited us over for the feast. Why don’t you take Niuniu with you?” Grandma said as she walked into Fang Yun’s room—he hadn’t even noticed when she’d come in. “Okay, Grandma, I got it.” Fang Yun had long wanted to visit his aunt, who’d had a rather hard life. “Daddy, wake up! We have to hurry to Grandma’s house.” Early in the morning, Fang Yun was shaken awake by Niuniu. The little girl had heard last night that she’d be taken to Grandma’s house for the pig-slaughter feast, and she was absolutely thrilled. As the only girl in the Fang family right now, Niuniu was the apple of everyone’s eye; whenever relatives or friends came to visit, they would all shower this adorable little girl with affection. Fang Yun’s aunt, in particular—who had two sons but no daughters of her own—immediately scooped Niu Niu into her arms the moment she saw her and didn’t let go for a long time. She bought Niu Niu a huge pile of clothes and gifts, which made the little girl absolutely ecstatic. Fang Yun glanced at the clock—it was barely past six—and thought the little girl was in a bit too much of a hurry. Woken by the commotion, Fang Yun had no choice but to get up and take Niuniu to brush her teeth and wash her face. After eating, he went up the mountain to check on the progress of Feng Gouzi and the others. When he returned home, he hadn’t even sat down for a moment before Niuniu—who’d been waiting impatiently for ages—dragged him out the door. Still, leaving now meant they’d arrive just in time for lunch at her aunt’s house. Fang Yun’s aunt’s house was deep in the mountains; they had to cross two mountain ranges to get there. Not only was the journey quite long, but they could only get there on foot, along narrow, winding paths. Birds sang crisply, and every now and then she’d spot a few squirrels scampering up and down the trees, while a gentle breeze carried the rustling sound of the pines. The early morning scenery on the mountain put Fang Yun in a great mood. But where on earth had that little gray puppy at Niuniu’s feet come from? Watching the puppy roll around and fawn at Niuniu’s feet, Fang Yun was quite puzzled. There wasn’t a soul within three li in any direction—no villages or shops in sight. The puppy before him looked like it wasn’t even a month old. It had darted out of the grass by the side of the path just as Fang Yun had led Niuniu to this spot. At first, it had merely followed the father and daughter from a distance, but now it was openly fawning over Niuniu. Fang Yun looked all around but couldn’t find any sign of a mother dog. “Daddy, look! What a cute little Gray-Gray,” Niuniu said as she scooped up the puppy and introduced “Gray-Gray”—the name she’d just given it—to Fang Yun. “Can we take him home and take care of him?” And you know what? The puppy was chubby, with big, watery eyes—it really was quite adorable. “Hmm, if we take it home, you’ll have to take good care of it, okay?” There’s a saying in the countryside that if a baby animal from the mountains follows someone home, that person will have good luck, and the baby animal will also bring wealth to the household. So even if Niuniu hadn’t said anything, Fang Yun would have taken the puppy home anyway. “Auntie!” Niuniu called out sweetly as soon as she walked in the door. Fang Xiangmei, who was busy at the stove, turned around and exclaimed, “Wow, my little treasure Niuniu is here! I’ve missed you so much, Auntie.” She quickly wiped her hands on her apron twice, then scooped up Niuniu—only to end up smearing the little girl’s face with drool. Only after she’d finished cuddling with Niuniu did she turn to greet Fang Yun: “Here comes the second one.” Fang Yun rolled her eyes. Since she was the second-born in the family, Fang Xiangmei had always called her “the second one.” Fang Yun had protested for years to no avail, so she could only resign herself to her aunt’s way with a sigh. Come to think of it, her aunt had been quite the tyrant at home before she got married, too. “Fang Yun, Niuniu’s here.” Her uncle, Li Xigen, was a honest, down-to-earth farmer. He’d just come in from outside and, upon seeing Fang Yun and Niuniu, hurriedly greeted them. He looked down and saw the little puppy gnawing on Fang Yun’s shoelace, which puzzled him. “Fang Yun, your puppy isn’t even a month old yet, is it? Why are you letting it run around like this?” “It’s not ours—it followed us back from the mountain on its own,” Fang Yun hurriedly explained. As soon as Fang Xiangmei heard this, she couldn’t stop grinning. “Now your family is in for some good luck.” Li Xigen nodded in agreement. “Come on, let’s go eat in the living room.” After chatting for a while, Li Xigen took Fang Yun by the arm and led him to the living room. Quite a few people were already there, most of whom Fang Yun recognized, so he hurriedly greeted them one by one. During the meal, Fang Xiangmei proudly told the large table of guests the story of the little puppy circling the dining table, making the whole group envious. Everyone knew that when a young animal from the mountains followed someone home, it brought good luck, but in all these years, no one had ever seen one come home on its own. One by one, they couldn’t help but wonder to themselves just how lucky this man was. “Where are the brothers, Hui Lin and Hui Hui?” Fang Yun asked his aunt after the meal. “Huihui’s gone to town for school; he won’t be back until the weekend. Hui Lin is eating in the room behind the house.” At the mention of Hui Lin, Fang Xiangmei’s expression turned a little sad. “I’ll go check on Hui Lin.” Fang Yun stood up and walked toward the back of the house. Niuniu hurried to follow her. “Niuniu wants to see Uncle Hui Lin, too.”