Chapter 97 - The Sick Donkey (1/2)
The ox and horse market was located in the northmost part of the town. It was an open area that was surrounded by wooden fences. At this time, ox and horse market bustled with activity. People who sold oxen, horses, and mules had all gathered here. The air gave off the smell of animal feces, making it smell very unpleasant.
“I’m selling a calf! This calf is just two months old. It’s very sturdy! Brother, I can sell the calf to you at a cheaper price if you want it.”
“Brother look at my mule. It’s only two years old and so it’s the perfect time for it to start working…”
“There seems to be a problem with your mule’s legs. It can’t walk so what do I need it for?”
“The calf is too small. I want a calf that will be able to work at the beginning of spring…”
“Uncle, look at my…”
…
Her ears were full of various kinds of sounds. However, Xiaocao felt that the noises felt very familiar. On her way, she had asked a few people regarding the price of their oxen and mules. But all their prices were on the high side. It was just like her father had said, if they hadn’t paid for Little Shitou’s school fees, then they might have been able to buy one. But even then, they still won’t have enough money leftover to equip it with a cart.
It was not known if the Heavens was deliberately setting itself against Xiaocao, but she didn’t see many people selling donkeys after circling around the market once. Occasionally there would be a family that was selling a donkey; however, their asking price was beyond reasonable limits. Their asking price was even higher than the price of an ox.
“Hey! It’s bustling with noise and excitement over there. Let’s go and look…” Yu Hai also knew that it was not easy to reach a deal when buying an animal. So unlike Xiaocao who had a glum look on her face, when he saw that there was a crowd of people in front of them, he immediately pulled his daughter’s hand and squeezed into the crowd.
Like he was conferring a favor, a man said, “Pedantic scholar, your donkey is sick to the point that it’s about to stop breathing. Yet you’re still asking for such a high price. Who will buy it? Let it be. Forget about it. I’m a kindhearted person. I will take pity on you and pay eight hundred copper coins to buy your donkey cart!” The middle-aged man with a shrewd-looking face looked at the donkey which was as skinny as firewood.
Xiaocao, who had squeezed through the crowd, saw a youngster crouched down in front of a donkey. The youngster was around sixteen to seventeen years old, and he wore the uniformed long gown from Rongxuan Academy. The donkey was so thin that there were only bones left. It was weakly lying on the ground because it didn’t even have the energy to stand up. If its abdomen wasn’t still moving up and down, she would’ve thought the donkey was dead. The youngster’s face was full of melancholy as he shook his head. He quietly said, “No, no! It already takes one tael of silver to make a donkey cart. My father is waiting for the money I earn from the donkey cart to save his life! Eight hundred copper coins aren’t even enough for two packets of medicine…”
The middle-aged man impatiently asked, “Pedantic scholar, how much money do you want to sell this half-dead donkey for?”
“Three...three taels of silver! My father is very sick. He needs this money to see a doctor…” The young scholar appeared to understand that his asking price was somewhat excessive, so his voice was almost inaudible.
But he also had no choice. All the valuables in the family had already been sold off to pay for his school fees. They had relied on this donkey cart to help people carry their goods or transport people around to town to earn money to survive. However, he had never expected that five days ago, the donkey had started vomiting and had diarrhea. It was very sick, so they found a few veterinarians. But none of the veterinarians were able to help. His father was anxious and suffered from excessive internal heat and ended up catching a cold. Now, his dad couldn’t get out of his bed.
There was no money at home to invite a doctor, so he brought the sick donkey to the market to try his luck…
The middle-aged man sneered at him and rudely said, “You want me to pay three taels of silver for that sick donkey? Little scholar, you must know that a big healthy male donkey costs only five taels of silver. And your donkey...tsk, tsk! I’m afraid that even if you kill it and sell its meat, you wouldn’t be able to even get a few taels of silver. I am already showing consideration towards you by paying eight hundred copper coins for that sick donkey!”
“Yeah, yeah! Who would pay three taels of silver for a donkey that’s about to die?”
“Eight hundred copper coins is too little. That amount isn’t even enough to buy a donkey cart. If it’s me, I wouldn’t be willing to sell it either……”
“This child is too pitiful. Looking at the attire the young boy is wearing, he must be a student from Rongxuan Academy. If he didn’t urgently need money, he probably wouldn’t be here and letting people point and gossip about him……”
The onlookers that were surrounding him were divided into two parties. One party said that the youngster had become insane thinking about money, while the other party sympathized and felt pity for the youngster.
The young scholar’s face was pale. His gaze looked crazed as he stared at the donkey which was struggling at death’s door. He continuously said, “No, no...my father is waiting for the money I earn from selling the donkey to save his life. He is waiting for me to save his life……”
Yu Xiaocao was somewhat touched by the young scholar’s filial piety as she looked at him. She thought back to the time when her father was between life and death. She recalled how grief-stricken they were and how helpless the entire family felt. Xiaocao shouted for the little divine stone in her mind, [Little Glutinous Dumpling, will you be able to save this donkey?]
A mini golden kitten squeezed itself out from Xiaocao’s chest region of her tattered cotton-padded jacket. It stretched its little head and lazily glanced at the donkey and in a tender but an unhappy voice, it said, [Smelly master, what do you take me for? You used me as fish bait and to save people. Now, you want me to rescue a domestic animal. I’m unwilling! I, your father, will go on strike!]
Imagine a very small kitten with one of its legs crossed over its other, holding its two front legs, with its head tilted to the side, and calling itself ‘daddy’. The scene was quite cute but also a bit weird.