BYBOTE Chapter 9: The Plan

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In the countryside, an ox was an extremely valuable asset. Any family that owned an ox was considered fairly well-off. As for those who had horses? They were basically part of the gentry.

Back when Zhang Yangfan, that scumbag, married Jiang Baining, he rode a horse to the wedding—but even that was borrowed. The Zhang family was one of the wealthier families in Huaping Village, and even they didn’t own a horse. That showed just how expensive horses were.

However, the Zhang family did have an ox.

Thinking about Jiang Baining’s smug face made Luo Fei furious. It was just an ox!

He was going to buy one too—one better than the Zhang family’s! Luo Fei wasn’t the type to compete with everyone, but he had to outdo his enemies. After everything Zhang Yangfan and Jiang Baining had done to make him a laughingstock, he was determined to get back at them!

Standing in front of Xi’s house, Luo Fei called out, "Xi Yanqing, are you home?"

Xi Yanqing replied, "Yeah, the door’s not locked—come in yourself!"

Luo Fei pushed the door, but it was a bit heavy, so he had to push again to get it open.

Inside, Xi Yanqing had a lamp lit. When Luo Fei entered, he saw him fumbling with a tiny needle under the light, looking frustrated.

"What are you doing?" Luo Fei sat down casually. "Sewing clothes?"

"Yeah. Tore my knee while working today. If I don’t patch it up, it’ll only get worse."

"Hey, let me ask you something—do you know how much an ox costs?" Luo Fei asked while watching Xi struggle with the fabric.

"Around five taels of silver for an average bull."

"Five taels? That’s so chea—wait, no, it’s so expensive! My whole family of six barely spends five taels in a year. Five taels! That’s like two years of going without food!"

"A calf might be cheaper—four taels for a good one, three taels for a weaker one. But cows and breeding bulls cost even more. Why are you asking?"

"I want to buy an ox!"

Luo Fei thought for a long time, but the best idea he could come up with was to clear new farmland to increase the family’s grain production. But with his thin arms and legs, it would probably take him until next year just to clear an acre of land. That would be way too miserable.

Other people who transmigrate seem to have some sort of money-making skills light up, so why does he have nothing? That’s just unreasonable!

Xi Yanqing watched Luo Fei struggling with his thoughts and chuckled, “Do you want an ox that badly?”

“Yeah.” Luo Fei tilted his head and looked at Xi Yanqing. “Don’t you? If we’re really going to work the land, it’d be way better to have an ox pulling the plow. Otherwise, all the work an ox would do has to be done by us instead. Just thinking about it makes my back ache!”

Even though his current body was that of a young man rather than a full-grown laborer, he still had to help out when needed. He couldn’t just sit around waiting for good fortune to fall from the sky. So, having an ox was definitely necessary.

“Do you know how to cook?” Xi Yanqing asked after some thought. “If you do, I can take care of the farm work.”

“…Does making instant noodles count?” Luo Fei asked.

“Do you think this place looks like somewhere that sells instant noodles?” Xi Yanqing let out a long sigh. “Looks like we shouldn’t expect to eat anything good anytime soon.”

“Oh, come on! It’s not like we have the ingredients to cook anything good, anyway. Every single day, it’s either porridge, steamed buns, flatbread, or watery gruel. My taste buds are practically dying! Who knows when we’ll be able to eat some meat again?” Luo Fei licked his lips, thinking back to all the delicious food he used to eat. Just the memory alone made his mouth water. Back in school, he used to waste food all the time. Thinking about it now, what a waste.

“Actually, we’re lucky. If a disaster struck in this era, many people would probably starve to death. At least for now, we’re not going hungry.”

While speaking, Xi Yanqing suddenly lost patience with his sewing project. Frustrated, he tossed his pants aside. Damn it, his eyes were going blurry from staring at the stitches for so long, and after all that effort, he had sewn the front and back pant legs together! Now, he couldn’t even fit his legs into them!

“Wow, and you’re supposed to be a top student at an agricultural university? Did you buy that admission letter?” Luo Fei teased, swinging his legs. “Want me to take a look?”

“You know how to sew?”

“Of course! My grandma was a well-known folk artist, highly skilled in embroidery. She always wanted my mom to learn, but my mom wasn’t interested at all. Instead, I was the one fascinated by all the different stitches when I was little. I even wanted to study design, all because of her influence.” Luo Fei stretched out his hand. “Give me the pants.”

Seeing that Luo Fei didn’t seem to be bragging, Xi Yanqing handed the pants over. Luo Fei took one glance, then quickly started undoing the messy stitches. Once he had taken them apart, he re-threaded the needle and began sewing properly. His hands were swift and skillful, his long, fair fingers moving with practiced ease as he stitched the fabric. In no time, the pants were neatly repaired. Unlike Xi Yanqing’s messy sewing, Luo Fei’s stitches were even and sturdy. While the mend was still visible, it wasn’t obvious or unsightly.

“Impressive.” Xi Yanqing was genuinely surprised as he took back the pants.

“Of course! Think about whose grandson I am! I’m telling you, back in school, my classmates would buy new clothes and bring them to me to alter—even when there was nothing wrong with them… Oh crap, that’s right! I know embroidery!”

Like he had just discovered a whole new world, Luo Fei suddenly jumped up. He looked at Xi Yanqing excitedly, pacing back and forth. “I can embroider pouches and sell them! How did I not think of this before?!”

“And who are you going to sell them to in this backwater place?” Xi Yanqing muttered under his breath.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. Sounds like a great idea.” Well, might as well let him be happy for now.

“I’m not talking to you anymore. I need to go home and think this through properly! I have to figure out what to embroider and sell so I can buy an ox as fast as possible!” Luo Fei ran off, his excitement making his steps lighter.

“Wait for me! It’s too late at night—I’ll walk you back!”

Xi Yanqing quickly locked his door and followed after Luo Fei, who didn’t object.

As luck would have it, when Luo Fei got home, his mother and younger sister were also working on needlework inside. Or rather, Luo Ru was sewing while Li Yuehua supervised. But before long, Luo Ru grew frustrated.

“Ugh, Mom, I can’t sew properly! Can I stop?”

“Absolutely not!” Li Yuehua said firmly. “You’re a girl, and your sewing skills are worse than your brother’s. What a joke! You need to practice more. Otherwise, when you get married, do you want your wedding dress to look like a beggar’s robe? How embarrassing would that be?”

“It’s not like I want to be bad at it, but I just can’t sew neatly! What can I do? You must’ve passed all your sewing talent to Second Brother when you gave birth to him, and left none for me!” Luo Ru pouted. When she heard someone coming in, she turned and saw it was Luo Fei. Immediately, she put on a sweet voice and said, “Second Brother, Second Brother! You came back at the perfect time—help me out!”

“Sure!” Luo Fei was in a good mood. Not to mention helping with some sewing, he probably would’ve agreed to make an entire outfit right then and there.

“No way!” Li Yuehua cut in. “A wedding dress must be sewn by the bride herself for good luck! Erbao, you’re not allowed to help Sanbao.” She turned to her daughter with a strict look. “You’re not sleeping until you finish that sleeve, understand?”

“Yes, Mom.” Luo Ru pouted so hard she could hang a bottle of soy sauce from her lips. She looked at Luo Fei pitifully.

“How about this, Sanbao? Once you finish sewing, Second Brother will embroider the prettiest design for you! Whatever you want, I’ll stitch it!”

“Really, Second Brother? Earlier, you said you didn’t have time.”

“That was then. This is now. Don’t worry, I always keep my promises.”

“Alright! Then I’ll sew faster!” Luo Ru perked up and focused on her sewing again.

Li Yuehua glanced at her daughter, then turned to Xi Yanqing and waved him over. “Xi Yu, come here. Your uncle and I have been looking at auspicious wedding dates for you two. I even asked around for a few more today. Now we’ve got all the good dates for the next three months. Take a look and pick one.”

Luo Fei immediately shot a look at Xi Yanqing: Don’t pick a date that’s too soon!

Xi Yanqing saw it and said, “Auntie, I think we should wait until the weather gets warmer. Erbao told me his wedding outfit isn’t very thick, and it would be too cold to wear it now. I can’t bear to let him freeze, so…”

Luo Fei was impressed. Nice, Xi Yanqing! Your brain worked fast this time!

Feeling reassured, he went into his room to check his embroidery kit, eager to see if he could make something right away.

Little did he know that as soon as he left, Xi Yanqing let out a long sigh and lowered his voice in exasperation. “Uncle, Auntie, I actually want to pick the soonest date possible. You know I’ve been away alone for so many years, always thinking about Erbao. But he keeps insisting we delay it. Can you think of a way to persuade him…?”

“No problem!” Li Yuehua agreed readily.

“Don’t worry, if he refuses, I’ll just beat him. That brat doesn’t know what’s good for him—he needs a good thrashing!” Luo Tian added.

“No, no, please don’t! I’d be heartbroken if you hit him. Also, I want to go into town tomorrow to check out some things. Is Brother Ji around? I’d like to ask him to go with me.”

“He’s here. But what are you planning to buy? If needed, your uncle can go with you,” Li Yuehua said.

“No it's okay, just having Brother Ji come along is fine. I mainly want to see what kind of furniture the town shops sell so I can get something nice for Erbao.”

“You’re such a thoughtful child,” Li Yuehua said happily in a low voice. “Don’t worry, we’ll pick the earliest possible date!”

Xi Yanqing bowed to Li Yuehua, then lifted the curtain to check what Luo Fei was doing.

Luo Fei took out a sewing kit and looked at the color of the thread and the worn-out fabric inside, which was barely three pieces. He immediately felt exasperated. This was just… impossible to work with!

Xi Yanqing cleared his throat lightly, “Erbao, I’m leaving now.”

Luo Fei didn’t even look up, “Go on, go on.” After a while, he raised his head, rubbed his neck, and saw that Xi Yanqing was still there. “What are you doing? Do you have something else to say?”

Xi Yanqing seemed to ask casually, “Do you think yellow cattle look better or spotted cattle?”

Luo Fei thought for a moment and said, “Yellow cattle, I guess?”

XiYanqing nodded, “Hmm, I think so too.”

With that, he put down the curtain and left.

—

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