Dashan Makes a Living 1984

Just as Wang Tianxiao was going to ride a motorcycle, Li Yali remembered something again, and said with a smile: "Shopkeeper, the water in the mountains is a big problem now. It's really not enough to rely on Wenhua and the others to go to the middle of the mountain every day. You see Can this work, let's go and buy a mule or a donkey to carry water for us?"

"I also have the same idea. I've been too busy to take care of it recently, so let's go together to get it done today," Wang Tianxiao said here, not in a hurry to leave, and said with a smile: "Then when Brother Xia Wen comes back, I will go with him. If I go alone, I won’t be able to bring it back.”

"Um."

At lunch, Wang Tianxiao told Wu Wenhua about this, and Wu Wenhua agreed.

So the two came to the cattle market in the town after eating.

There are three fairs in Qingquan Town every ten days, which are held on the 1st, 47th, and lunar calendar.

Today happens to be the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, and there is a fair.

Wang Tianxiao sent the motorcycle at the entrance of the street and spent 20 cents.

People at the intersection of the street take advantage of the convenience of their homes here to help other people temporarily store motorcycles and bicycles. The bicycles cost 10 cents and the motorcycles 20 cents.

If you don't send it, you will hardly be able to move even an inch if you push into the crowds of people.

Qingquan Town is the largest town with a radius of dozens of kilometers, and it is also the most prosperous town.

Every time there is a fair, not to mention hundreds of thousands of people, 70,000 to 80,000 people are absolutely unstoppable, and the streets are almost densely packed with people jostling shoulder to shoulder, with an endless stream.

People who go shopping with children will hold the children tightly, and if they are inadvertently washed away, they will not be able to squeeze back in a hurry.

It is also common for children to be found missing.

In this day and age, it is very common for children to go missing, and it is also very distressing, especially for boys. It is true that they may be snatched away at their own door, let alone in the market.

Walking in such a lively market, there is another point that needs special attention to prevent thieves.

Often from the south to the north, the bag can be cut with more than a dozen openings.

Not to mention putting money, even a roll of newspaper can be stolen without a trace.

Wu Wenhua closely followed Wang Tianxiao, he was honest and honest, anyway, he didn't have any money on him, and his wife had already searched all the money on her when she went out, so she was worried that he would spend it indiscriminately.

The two soon came to the livestock market.

The livestock market is at the northernmost part of the town. To enter here, you need to walk a small path. The pigs, dogs, mules and cows on the street will make the street messy and stink.

As soon as I entered, someone came up to say hello immediately.

"My fellow, do you want a lamb?"

"Come and see this calf, it was born by a cow weighing five hundred catties. You can see that this calf is quite strong."

"Imported foreign pigs, come and take a look, one fifteen yuan, no more, no less, only fifteen yuan, pass by and miss, don't miss..."

Wang Tianxiao and Wu Wenhua pushed aside the enthusiastic hawkers and went straight to the innermost place.

Large animals such as mules and donkeys are concentrated in the innermost part.

"Boss, should we buy a mule or a donkey?"

"It's fine, anyway, it's just to carry water, mules and donkeys are similar, let's see the situation."

"Okay."

Looking around, there were only a few places selling donkeys and mules in the entire market. The two of them looked at each door for a while, but they were not very satisfied.

These animals looked listless, and they didn't seem to be able to work very well.

Wang Tianxiao felt that there was no point in wasting time like this, so he told Wu Wenhua to wait and see. He went to the grain market to look at other things first.

When Chao Chu walked to the door, he saw someone leading a mule in front of him, full of energy, and seemed to be in good shape.

It attracted him to look back several times.

But soon he found that the mule was a bit too lively, not only stomping in place, but also like to blow air around, a bit like ADHD.

He smiled and didn't think much about it.

When he came to the grain market, according to his wife's request, he bought different kinds of beans and rice, temporarily stored them in a small stall in the village, and returned to the livestock market.

After returning, he found that Wu Wenhua was having a lively conversation with a person. Coincidentally, that person happened to be the person who led the mule when he left.

Beside him, stood the previous mule, full of energy, high spirits, and looked very energetic.

Seeing Wang Tianxiao's return, Wu Wenhua quickly introduced him to the mule's owner.

"Brother Jianye, this is our boss," he said to Wang Tianxiao, "Boss, this is my cousin Wu Jianye. He has always been in the livestock trading business, and he happens to have a mule right now."

Wu Jianye was not tall. He was wearing a sheepskin jacket with a lapel collar, tied at the waist with a red rope.

He took a quick look at Wang Tianxiao, and smiled obsequiously: "Hello, Boss Wang, you want a mule, right?"

Wang Tianxiao smiled: "It doesn't matter if you want a mule or a donkey."

"You said it's not a coincidence," Wu Jianye patted the buttocks of the mule next to him, "Look, I happened to have a mule today, and it's this big guy. Look at the vigor, look at the teeth, thighs, a It looks very strong, doesn’t it, let me tell you, even if I travel all over the world, it’s hard to come across such a good livestock.”

Wang Tianxiao smiled and patted the mule's back.

He found that the mule's body seemed to be shaking a little, but he didn't know whether it was like that or there was something wrong with the mule.

He has also dealt with many animals and knows that animals respond to discomfort better than humans.

Even if humans are uncomfortable, they may continue to work or study due to responsibility or other reasons, but animals are not. Once they get sick, they will immediately show a listless look.

If there was something wrong with this mule, it certainly wouldn't be so energetic.

Maybe he was thinking too much.

After all, he is Wu Wenhua's cousin. Seeing that the relationship between the two is not bad, they should not think of ways to deceive him.

But just in case, he pulled Jiang Wu Wenhua aside and asked softly, "Brother Wenhua, is your cousin selling the mules?"

"Yes, the eldest son of my uncle's family."

"How is your relationship with this cousin on weekdays? Do you know him?"

Wu Wenhua was stunned, and nodded subconsciously, "It's okay, they are all brothers. If you say you understand it, because he has been traveling all over the world to sell livestock, you can't say you understand it completely, but if you don't understand it, you can't say...why Boss, do you think there is something wrong with him as a man or a mule?"

Wang Tianxiao looked over at the mule again, met Wu Jianye who happened to be looking this way too, and smiled at him.

"I can't say," Wang Tianxiao shook his head, "I'm not very proficient in looking at mules, but I think this mule seems to be too active. Are all mules like this?"

"It's all the same, mule. It's just like this. I can't stay for a while. I just took a closer look at the mule. It's so energetic, there shouldn't be any problem."

"You can be sure, mules are not cheap."

Hearing what Wu Wenhua said, he told Wang Tianxiao to wait. He ran over to chat with Wu Jianye for a while, and then ran back, "I checked with my cousin, this mule is fine."

"Okay, then it's fine."

Then there was some haggling over the price of the mules.

Wang Tianxiao thought it would take some effort, but he didn't expect that the process of negotiating the price was quite simple.

According to his previous inquiry in the market, such an adult mule would cost at least 300 yuan, but when Wu Jianye called for 300 yuan and he called for 250 yuan, there was almost no resistance. Because of this, he sold the mule to him.

After the sale was over, he didn't chat with Wu Wenhua, and left quickly on the grounds that he still had something to do.

Wang Tianxiao suddenly felt something was wrong.

He looked at the mule again, the guy was still very energetic, and he didn't look like a patient at all.

It is not easy to repeatedly speak ill of his brother in front of Wu Wenhua.

Now that the money has been paid, it is useless to think so much, Wang Tianxiao asked Wu Wenhua to take the mule back to the station, and he went back with the food first.

According to a rough estimate, it takes seven or eight miles from Qingquan Town to the station. Even if you walk slowly, you can get there in about two hours. As a result, you wait until dark, and Wang Tianxiao has not yet arrived at Wu Wenhua.