Chapter 389: Chapter 389 Scared Stiff Chapter 389: Chapter 389 Scared Stiff Big Bull looked up at the sky, which had already grown late; the moon had climbed atop the tree branches. He then said to Coachman Yu, “Coachman Yu, it’s getting late. If we don’t head back now, our families will start to worry. Let’s set off quickly.”
Upon hearing this, Coachman Yu’s face turned slightly unnatural.
Big Bull and Xuexue were puzzled.
After exchanging a glance, Xuexue asked, “Uncle Yu, what’s wrong with you?”
“I… I… My limbs have gone weak from fright because of those bandits; I fear I can’t drive the ox cart,” Coachman Yu stammered with a flushed face.
How shameful, thought Coachman Yu. Xuexue, just a little girl, hadn’t been scared at all, yet he, a grown man, had been so frightened that his limbs had gone limp. His face was full of shame.
Xuexue’s mouth fell open in surprise. Turning to look at Big Bull, she found herself at a loss for words for a moment.
Seeing him with his weak limbs, Big Bull didn’t trust him to drive the ox cart and said, “Uncle Yu, come down; let me give it a try.”
Unexpectedly, Coachman Yu remained motionless, seated atop the ox cart.
Thinking he hadn’t heard, Xuexue called out loudly, “Uncle Yu, Big Bull is telling you to come down and sit in the carriage; he’ll take over driving the ox.”
Coachman Yu chuckled with an awkward smile on his face, more unsightly than crying, and said, “I can’t get down; my legs are too weak.”
“This…” Xuexue turned to Big Bull, “Big Bull, what should we do now?”
Big Bull gave her a reassuring look, then turned to Coachman Yu with his back facing him and said, “Uncle Yu, I’ll carry you to the carriage.”
After carrying Coachman Yu to the carriage, Big Bull sat at the front and started driving the cart on the road. It was almost two hours later that they finally returned to Mo Family Village.
Big Bull drove the ox cart straight to the Village Chief’s house, called out for his wife, and helped the village head into the house.
Considering the great help the village head had provided that day and having not yet given him any silver, Xuexue said to his wife, “Aunty, when Uncle Village Chief wakes up tomorrow, could you ask him to come to our house? ”
The village head’s wife, a kindly looking woman, readily agreed to Xuexue’s request.
Having rested for more than two hours, Coachman Yu’s limbs were no longer weak, and he somewhat embarrassingly got out of the carriage.
Xuexue pulled out several taels of silver from her bosom, precisely the ones the shopkeeper at the restaurant had given her. Upon opening and examining them, she discovered with a delighted surprise that there were not just over five taels of silver, but an extra three taels–more than eight taels in total. She took out two taels of silver and handed them to Coachman Yu, saying, “Uncle Yu, this is the fare for hiring the carriage today. Please keep it.”
Coachman Yu stared in bewilderment, “This much? Didn’t we agree on fifty copper coins a day?”
Initially, she had thought so too. Hiring a carriage for a day for fifty copper coins was already a steep price. But after encountering the bandits and seeing Coachman Yu scared half to death, she decided it could also serve as consolation money. After all, she’d swindled several taels of silver from the shopkeeper that day without a twinge of guilt. Xuexue didn’t feel the least bit pained about it.
“Uncle Yu, just take it,” she said. “Weren’t we confronted by bandits today? Think of it as consolation money.”
At the mention of the bandits, Coachman Yu grew even more embarrassed. He was meant to be the carriage driver, yet it had turned out that Big Bull had taken over driving while he comfortably sat in the carriage.
Coachman Yu stammered, “This… this…”
Big Bull, growing a bit impatient, pulled Xuexue along, walking away while looking back to say, “Uncle Yu, you’re a grown man; stop dithering here. Go home quickly. Your wife is waiting for you.”
Watching the retreating backs of Big Bull and Xuexue, Coachman Yu finally pocketed the silver delightedly and carefully, climbed onto the ox cart, and set off for home. He thought to himself, “This time, I’ve struck it rich. Not only did I not die at the hands of bandits, but I also earned two taels of silver. My wife is sure to praise me for being capable.”