Chapter 130: Vanity is satisfied at 130
Ye Gaosheng’s words made Ye Jiu reconsider.
That was true. The distance from their home to the town was indeed not short, and they would likely need to visit the town frequently in the future. Walking every time was not practical.
Moreover, since they would need to transport soap to the house, they couldn’t possibly expect Ye Gaosheng to carry it on his back every time, could they?
“Big Brother, let’s buy an ox cart. That way, we can go to the town whenever we want and never have to worry about missing the cart again,” Ye Jiu persuaded Ye Gaosheng.
“Buy an ox cart?” Ye Gaosheng’s eyes widened in alarm, “Mother won’t agree.”
“She will. We’re not asking her for money. If we bring an ox back, she’ll only be happy,” Ye Jiu said.
“But… the key issue is that we don’t have money!” Ye Gaosheng addressed the most practical problem.
“Oh, I have some here. You don’t need to worry about the money. Just go and pick out a sturdy, good ox,” Ye Jiu said as he headed towards the ox market.
Reluctantly, Ye Gaosheng could only follow.
Shuangxi Town was not too large, but its ox market was quite substantial.
For farmers, an ox was a significant member of the household; having an ox could save more than half the labor effort.
The ox market in Shuangxi Town was behind a small street on a large, sparsely treed open space where oxen were tied up. Rental ox carts were located in one direction and oxen for sale were in another, separated by a road in the middle.
Ye Jiu wanted to buy an ox, so he did not even bother to look at the rental side.
Ye Jiu had helped his grandmother farm in the countryside before, but at that time, there were seeding machines and plowing tractors, so he really didn’t know much about oxen.
Thus, after a brief glance, Ye Jiu, completely clueless, nudged Ye Gaosheng, “Big Brother, you go and see. Whatever you think is good, we’ll buy.”
Ye Gaosheng was just as baffled; two people, both inexperienced with oxen, coming to buy one meant they ended up uncertain of their judgment after making a full round.
“I don’t really understand this either. Maybe we should have Dad come and take a look some other day?” Ye Gaosheng finally concluded.
Ye Jiu spread his hands in resignation, “That won’t do. Dad also has never raised an ox, right?”
The Ye family had been impoverished for many generations. It was said that Ye old man’s generation was relatively better off. Yet the generations before struggled so much that they even had to sell their sons and daughters.
“Let’s just pick one ourselves. It’s just buying an ox. We definitely need to choose one that looks robust, with smooth fur and complete teeth in its prime,” Ye Jiu concluded.
Eventually, following the criteria that Ye Jiu had set, they chose a bull which seemed quite decent.
Only two years old, it looked well-fed and robust, yet the price was also remarkable—seventeen taels of silver, equivalent to the cost of a farmhouse.
Then, they spent another two taels on an ox cart and one tael at the Governor’s Office to register the deed in Ye Gaosheng’s name, making the ox officially a member of the Ye Family.
With a mix of anxiety and contentment, Ye Gaosheng drove the ox cart home with Ye Jiu.
The ride was bumpy, but it was far more comfortable than having his feet worn to blisters.
As soon as they entered Wangshan Village, the scattered villagers who saw Ye Gaosheng driving an ox cart all expressed surprise and greeted them.
Upon learning that the ox was indeed newly purchased by the Ye brothers, everyone showed envious expressions, greatly satisfying Ye Gaosheng’s vanity.