Chapter 298: Up the Mountain
Transtator: Lonelytree
After Gong Tianhao left, he didn’t go to the Xiao family. Instead, he went to the
hill where the children were herding the cow. It was summer vacation.
Xiao Xiaohui was responsible for the Little Cattle King and his mother. He
would lead them to the grass at the mountain top early in the morning The
two cattle were very intelligent.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they would lie down under the tree to
rest, especially under the sun. They were enjoying themselves.
Although it was a hot day, the mother and son were still cuddling by each
other’s side. They didn’t want to be separated.
Back then, the mother was almost slaughtered. Therefore, the calf stuck close
to his mom. Only when he saw his mother by his side did he feel safe.
When Gong Tianhao saw the two cows cuddling together on the mountain, his
eyes narrowed.
He looked around but did not find Xiao Xiaohui. He frowned slightly. Then, he
called out, “Xiao Xiaohui.
Xiao Xiaohui was leaning against a big tree and sleeping soundly. When he
heard someone call his name, he immediately woke up and asked in a loud and
alert voice, “Who, who is calling me?
“It’s me!” Gong Tianhao replied.
Xiao Xiaohui walked out from under the tree. When he saw Gong Tianhao
2ssed in a clean white shirt, he frowned and asked curiously, “Uncle Gong,
why are you here
“It’s Big Brother Gong!” Gong Tianhao corrected Xiao Xiaohui’s way of
addressing him again. He said seriously, “Tm going to marry your sister. You
should call me Big Brother now, but in the future, you’ll have to call me
brother-in-law.”
He didn’t like Xiao Xiaohui calling him Uncle. It sounded so distant.
Xiao Xiaohui was not afraid of him at all.
He pursed his lips and said, “Uncle Gong, after you marry my sister, Ill call you
Brother Gong”
His sister was such an outstanding person. No man was worthy of him. He
wouldn’t admit that Uncle Gong was worthy of his sister. In Xiao Xiaohuľ’s
heart, his sister was perfection.
Gong Tianhao did not want to argue with Xiao Xiaohui.
He looked around and asked curiously, “Xiaohui, are you alone here?” If he
remembered correctly, many children herded cows together. Ever since people
knew about the Little Cattle King, they would send at least three children above
ten years old to herd the Little Cattle King and his mom.
Both Xiao Lingyu and the villagers worried about the Little Cattle King
Moreover, Xiao Lingyu promised that everyone who herded cows with Xiao
Xiaohui would get five RMB. But the money was a small matter. The most
important thing was safety.
With more people, they could keep an eye on each other. There were around
ten children in the village. They all reported for duty. They took the herding
duty in shifts. Some did it in the morning, and the others would take over in
the afternoon.
However, the leader was always Xiao Xiaohui. He would always be there.
Xiao Xiaohui was worried about his other companions herding the cows. He
felt that the other kids didn’t care about the cattle as much as he did.
To be honest, Xiao Lingyu was worried too.
After all, Little Light belonged to her family. If he was lost, who could she
blame?
of course, with the intelligence of the cattle, the possibility of them getting
lost was relatively slight The greater possibility was them being stolen.
The Little Cattle King was the village’s kept secret.
But people were all selfish and greedy.
The villagers’ relatives came and went. The villagers might be convinced by
outsiders to do something stupid. Someone might come to steal the Little
Cattle King. That would be big trouble.
Therefore, Xiao Lingyu asked for a group of cow-herders because the kids
could monitor each other. One shouldn’t harm others, but one should always
be careful.
Seeing Xiao Xiaohui all alone, Gong Tianhao was confused.
Xiao Xiaohui touched the back of his head and said, “They have all gone up the
mountain to look for bird eggs.” Actually, Xiao Xiaohui wanted to go too, but it
was his turm to guard the Little Cattle King, so he did not dare to leave.
Gong Tianhao frowned. “What if someone comes to steal the Little Cattle King
when you’re here all alone?
Xiao Xiaohui shook his head and said, “Uncle Gong, don’t worry. My friends
won’t go far. If someone wants to harm Little Light, Ill scream, and they’1l run
back immediately.”
Gong Tianhao shook his head and said, “No, that is not right. It is very
dangerous for both the cattle and you kids.”
Xiao Xiaohui looked at Gong Tianhao, full of confusion. He asked, “Uncle Gong,
dangerous? What kind of danger will we encounter in this mountain?
Gong Tianhao touched Xiao Xiaohuï’s small head and said very seriously, “The
adult’s world is very complicated and dangerous. If some bad guy wants to
come to steal the Little Cattle King, they will come prepared. If they see only
one person guarding the Little Cattle King, they might kidnap both the
cow-herder and Little Light. How would the kid have time to call for help?”
Xiao Xiaohui was puzzled, “Ah?
Gong Tianhao felt that it was necessary to explain the danger to them clearly.
Also, he had to discuss it with Xiao Lingyu. Since the Little Cattle King had
been exposed, it was highly dangerous. How could they only let a few kids
watch over him? In fact, the kids might be placed in danger because of this.
Gong Tianhao said, “Xiaohui, call all your friends over. Big Brother Gong has
something to say.”
Xiao Xiaohui rubbed his head and nodded obediently. “Alright, Uncle Gong, I’ll
call them over now.”
After saying that, he ran towards a small path and shouted at the intersection,
“Little Bun, Little Charcoal, come back. Uncle Gong has something to tell us.”
After a while, he heard someone reply, “Okay, we’ re coming”
Not long after, Little Bun and Little Charcoal appeared. They were holding
something in their hands.
Gong Tianhao looked and saw that one of them was holding a few bird eggs
while the other was holding a gecko. Gong Tianhao shivered when he saw the
gecko in Little Charcoal’s hands. The thing looked terrifying.
Gong Tianhao didn’t grow up in the countryside. For the country children,
these bugs and lizards were nature’s toys. Little Charcoal grabbed a gecko with
a broken tail and greeted Gong Tianhao. Then, he turmed to Xiao Xiaohui and
asked, “Little Loach, why did you call us over? It’s your turm to watch the Little
Cattle King this afternoon”
Xiao Xiaohui looked at the gecko in Xiao Charcoal’s hand and lectured him like
a little adult, “Little Charcoal, why are you catching geckos again? My eldest
cousin said that geckos are beneficial animals and can catch mosquitoes.”
Hearing that, Little Charcoal reluctantly put down the small gecko in his hand
and said, “1Tm just catching them to play with. I won’t kill them.”
Xiao Xiaohui said, “But they’d die if you keep playing with them like this. In the
future, don’t catch them anymore.”
Little Charcoal curled his lips and said, “Alright. I won’t catch them anymore in
the future.”
Kiao Xiaohui said mischievously, “But you always say that. I’m sure we’ll find
you playing with the geckos soon. Little Charcoal, what is so fun playing with
geckos anyway?”
Little Charcoal said, “I find it fun.”
At this moment, Little Bun held six bird eggs in his hand and said, “Xiaohui,
really lucky today. We found another bird’s nest and fished out six bird
eggs.
Xiao Xiaohui asked, “You didn’t dig out all the eggs in the bird’s nest, did you?
“No, no.” Little Bun shook his head and said, “I left two in the nest.”
“That’s good! Xiao Xiaohui nodded.
After Little Charcoal let the gecko go, he asked in puzzlement, “Little Loach,
why did you call us here?”
Xiao Xiaohui shook his head and said, “I didn’t call you here. It was Uncle Gong
who wanted to talk to us.”
“Uncle Gong?” Little Charcoal and Little Bun looked at Gong Tianhao at the
same time. However, when they looked at Gong Tianhao, their eyes and
expressions were obviously not as bold as Xiao Xiaohui’s. Instead, they were a
little timid and afraid.
When Gong Tianhao saw the fear in the eyes of the two children, he felt quite
guilty.
He clenched his fist and coughed twice. Then, he said seriously, “Come,
children, listen to me carefully.”