BYBOTE Chapter 8: Borrowing an Ox

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Perhaps he had figured things out, or maybe it was just a kind of "might as well accept fate" mentality, but after getting spanked, Luo Fei's complexion actually improved. Seeing this, the Luo family finally felt relieved, and the household atmosphere returned to normal.

The only downside was that every day after that, Luo Fei couldn’t help but think of Xi Yanqing.

Why? Because the small porcelain dish he used was a gift from Xi Yanqing. So every time he went to the latrine to wipe his butt, he thought of Xi Yanqing. At first, it was just during the big business, but later, he started thinking of him even when he just went to the latrine out of habit. It was driving him nuts.

He ate three meals a day, but he went to the latrine more than three times daily, meaning he thought about Xi Yanqing even more often than he ate!

Luo Fei was sure that Xi Yanqing did it on purpose—giving him something he had to carry around daily, just to embarrass him! How insidious!

That evening, after dinner, Luo Fei went to the latrine again. As usual, he grumbled about Xi Yanqing in his head. That was when he heard Luo Tian calling him.

Luo Tian looked at the sky and said, "Erbao, go over to Uncle Han’s place. The weather looks good, and it should be clear tomorrow. Go ask if they need their ox cart. If not, we’ll borrow it for the day. Your brother and I are heading to the mountains to chop some wood and dry it out. Later, we’ll make some furniture for you."

The "Uncle Han" Luo Tian mentioned was Han Yi, Luo Tian’s sworn brother. Han Yi had a son, Han Xu, who had been Luo Fei’s playmate since childhood. Luo Fei used to visit Han Xu’s house often, but he hadn’t recently because Han Xu had been visiting his maternal grandparents. Since Han Xu had returned that afternoon, Luo Tian figured it was a good chance for the kids to catch up while taking care of business.

Luo Fei thought for a moment and said, "Got it, Dad. I’ll go now."

Luo Tian added, "Take Si Bao with you. It’s dark outside, don’t go alone."

Luo Fei felt like he could handle it—it was just 300 to 400 meters away. But considering his current situation, he decided to listen. He went inside, called Luo Yi, and the two set off for the Han household.

The Han family had six members: Han Yi, his wife Han Liu-shi, and their two sons. Han Xu’s older brother, Han Yang, was already married and had a two-year-old child.

Luo Fei knocked on the door, and it was Han Liu-shi who opened it, not Han Xu. She smiled and led Luo Fei and Luo Yi inside. "Xiao Xu was just saying he wanted to visit you, and here you are."

From inside, Han Xu called out, "Luo Erbao! Come to my room!"

Luo Fei entered and was stunned—Han Xu was sitting on the kang, his foot wrapped up in bandages like a steamed bun.

"What happened to your foot?" Luo Fei asked, trying to recall how he used to interact with Han Xu.

"Don’t even mention it. I twisted it on the way back, and now it’s swollen like a pig’s head. Otherwise, I would’ve gone to see you right away."

Han Xu then sent Luo Yi out to enjoy some treats he had brought back. Once Luo Yi was gone, Han Xu playfully punched Luo Fei’s chest. "Luo Erbao, you’ve got guts! Jumping into a river? You trying to scare me to death?"

"Ugh, can we not talk about that? I’m fine now, aren’t I?"

"Yeah, but it was terrifying! I heard about it as soon as I got back. Didn’t I always tell you that the Zhang family was full of scum? Now you’ve learned the hard way!"

"Stop it! If you keep talking about him, I’m leaving." Luo Fei thought, I’m seriously trying to make new friends here! Besides Xi Yanqing, I’ve got no real friends in this place. I don’t need to be reminded of that jerk Zhang!

"Fine, fine, I won’t mention him. How about Xi Yanqing then?" Han Xu smirked mischievously, his fox-like eyes twinkling. "My brother says he’s been visiting your house quite often lately. You two got something going on?"

"Ah, kind of." Luo Fei answered carelessly. "My mom and Xi Yanqing are picking a wedding date."

Ever since he had given in after that spanking, his family had been very proactive about the wedding. Since they were both men, traditional engagement steps like “proposal” and “name exchange” were skipped. Their marriage would start from the "betrothal gift" stage.

Luo Fei wasn’t sure how well Xi Yanqing had done financially over the years, but he figured if he was doing great, he wouldn’t have come back to this village. So he assumed Xi Yanqing didn’t have much money. Even if he did, he couldn’t possibly give too much as a betrothal gift—he needed to keep some for himself. Luo Fei wasn’t heartless; he knew he owed the Luo family for raising him, but he thought repaying them should come later.

When Luo Fei had told Xi Yanqing not to offer too much, Xi Yanqing had laughed at him for siding with an outsider, which earned him a scolding from Luo Fei.

"The sooner you get married, the better," Han Xu said. "Then you can have a fat baby boy right away! Imagine how mad Zhang Yangfan would be!"

"Ugh, stop talking about that scumbag!" Luo Fei was exasperated. Fat baby boy? What fat baby boy? I don’t even fully accept his dad yet!

"Anyway, you have to make a comeback. You can’t just let the Zhang family walk all over you. And that Jiang Bai Ning guy is just as bad! He was so smug when I saw him—just because he married a scholar. What’s so great about that?"

"Alright, alright, I get it. Where’s Uncle Han? I need to ask him something." Luo Fei quickly changed the subject.

"My dad’s probably at my brother’s place. Why?"

"My dad wants to borrow your ox cart tomorrow to haul wood from the mountains."

"I’m not sure if we’re using it. Let’s go ask."

"Can you even get off the kang?"

"Stop nagging and just help me out! I’m suffocating in here—Mom won’t let me go outside." Han Xu peeked around like a thief before putting an arm around Luo Fei’s waist, hopping on one foot.

Luo Fei, barely strong enough himself, struggled to help him outside.

They soon reached Han Yang’s house, just across the yard.

"Dad, you in there?" Han Xu called out.

"Yeah, I’m here!"

Han Yi came out and smiled. "Oh, Erbao’s here? Why didn’t you come inside? Xiao Xu brought back some treats. Let him share them with you."

"Aiyo, I’ve already wrapped it up for him, so he can take it with him when he leaves. But let’s not talk about that now, Dad. Erbao came over to ask if our family will be using the ox cart tomorrow. He said Uncle Luo wants to go up the mountain to get some wood."

"Tomorrow might not work. Your big brother needs to use it to haul sand for your sister-in-law’s family. We had agreed on this earlier, and it wouldn’t be good if we couldn’t follow through," Han Yi said. "How about this, Erbao? Go back and ask your dad if the day after tomorrow would work. The ox will be free then."

"Okay, Uncle Han, I’ll go ask. I think it should be fine—it's not urgent anyway."

"Alright then, if it works out for the day after tomorrow, have your dad or your big brother come pick it up early in the morning. I’ll have the cart harnessed and ready at home."

"Thanks, Uncle Han! I’ll be off then."

"Hey, wait a moment, you haven’t taken the food yet." Han Xu signaled for Luo Fei to bring it back with him.

Luo Fei thought about it—since it was a rare chance to get a treat, he wasn’t going to be polite.

Han Xu packed him a bundle of red bean cakes and a small pack of pine nut candy. In modern times, these wouldn’t be considered anything special, but here, they were real delicacies. If he didn’t consider Luo Fei a good friend, there was no way he’d give away so much—not even a single piece!

Luo Fei felt that while his original self wasn’t good at choosing romantic partners, at least he had picked reliable friends.

Han Xu was a great childhood friend.

Luo Fei popped a pine nut candy into his mouth. Seeing Luo Yi staring eagerly, he shared a third of it with him and wrapped up the rest again. "I have to save some for Sanbao too, so I can’t give it all to you."

"Got it, Second Brother, I won’t take too much." Luo Yi quickly put a piece in his mouth and grinned widely. "It’s so sweet!"

But before they could leave, a snide voice came from not far away.

"Of course, it's sweet when you’re getting it for free."

Hearing that, Luo Fei mentally cursed. Seriously? Running into Jiang Baining even when he was just borrowing something?

"Getting things for free depends on whether you have the luck for it. Even if you wanted free stuff, no one would give it to you, so why are you so sour about it?" Luo Fei turned around with a sneer in his eyes. "Jiang Baining, I never realized you had a habit of eavesdropping. Have you done too many sneaky things? Huh?"

"You! How can you say that?!" Jiang Baining was instantly enraged. "I was just passing by and happened to hear it! This road doesn’t belong to you—what, are people not allowed to walk here?"

"This road isn’t mine, but you’ve been ‘passing by’ for quite a while. You must be part tortoise, crawling that slowly. Walking so long and staying in the same tiny area?"

"You’re the tortoise!" Jiang Baining was so angry he was sweating. "Did your mother never teach you to watch your mouth?"

"Oh, she did. But my mother also told me that I should only be polite to good people. As for people like you..." Luo Fei gave Jiang Baining an exaggerated once-over and clicked his tongue. "Forget it, I’d rather not waste my manners."

"You! Luo Fei, don’t go too far!" Jiang Baining gritted his teeth. "I was just trying to ask if you wanted to borrow my family’s ox! And here you are, being ungrateful! You’re like a dog biting the hand that feeds it! You know what? Forget it! With a mouth like yours, anyone who lends you an ox is asking for bad luck!"

"Pfft! Anyone who borrows your ox is the unlucky one! With an owner like you, what kind of animal could possibly be raised well? If your ox suddenly foams at the mouth and collapses on the road, am I supposed to take the blame? No thanks, even if you gave it to me for free, I wouldn’t take it!"

"I wouldn’t lend it to you anyway! You broke peasant!"

"What did you say?"

"I said you’re a broke peasant! Your family doesn’t even have an ox! You always have to borrow from others—your skin is thicker than tree bark!"

"The fact that I can borrow means I have good relationships. If you’ve got the guts, try borrowing one yourself! But I bet no one in their right mind would lend to you. Who knows if you’d just take it for yourself, like you do with everything else? Tsk." Luo Fei scoffed and turned away. "Sibao, let’s go. There’s no point in talking to people without morals—it’s a waste of breath."

"Okay, Second Brother!" Luo Yi responded with a loud "Hmph!" But he put too much force into it, and along with his snort, a glob of snot flew straight onto Jiang Baining’s face.

Jiang Baining instantly felt something sticky on his face. When he reached up to wipe it and realized what it was, he gagged in disgust. "Luo Fei! Luo Yi! You two bastards! Ugh!"

Luo Fei and Luo Yi ignored him completely. But one thing from their argument did stick with Luo Fei—having no ox = being poor!

Originally planning to head home, Luo Fei suddenly changed direction. "Sibao, you go home first. I’m going to see Xige."

Luo Yi said, "Why don’t I go with you? Won’t you be scared walking home alone later?"

Luo Fei was speechless. "It’s just going home. What’s there to be scared of? Just go."

He needed to have a serious talk with Xi Yanqing—how could he buy an ox as quickly as possible?!

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