In ancient times, there was a carpenter named Li Erniu in Xinliu Village. He was honest and honest and looked good. Through his hardworking hands, he even made a lot of money. However, for some reason, he was almost forty years old and had not yet married. As the saying goes, there are three kinds of unfilial piety, and there is no descendant. Li Erniu's parents were so worried that they could hardly eat. For this reason, they brag about Li Erniu and gave "ideology lessons" while asking the village matchmaker to him to speak up for him.
Li Erniu also wants to find a wife, but either they look down on him or he doesn't want to compromise. As a result, he was disturbed, so he often took the guys who had eaten to work in the county town. He worked for ten days and half a month, and basically lived and lived in the customer's house.
In June of that year, Shengcai in the county town mainly married his daughter and needed to do a lot of dowry, so the reward was naturally very generous. After Li Erniu learned the news, he quickly packed up his clothes and tried it out. In this way, he could not only avoid his parents' nagging and urging him to get married, but also earn a lot of money. Why not do it?
Sheng Caizhu was very satisfied with Li Erniu's skills. He not only recruited him to work, but also made him a foreman. Li Erniu did not disappoint him. Under his leadership, all the carpenters finished the work two or three days in advance. Qianzhu Sheng was particularly satisfied after the work inspection. Not only did he pay the wages, he also gave Li Erniu four taels of silver as a reward.
Li Erniu got the money and originally wanted to go to the next home to continue working, but he thought that he hadn't returned to visit his parents for more than ten days, and he was very worried about it. So, that afternoon, after going to the market to buy some gifts for his parents, Li Erniu took the tools and hummed the tune, and went home leisurely.
Almost an hour later, Li Erniu arrived at the entrance of the village. From afar, he saw a middle-aged man from another village standing under the big orange tree at the entrance of the village with a thin strip, constantly whipping the butt of an old yellow cow. The old yellow cow should be from the villager Cao's house, because at this time, he was standing under the big orange tree and pulling the old yellow cow hard. While pulling, he said with tears in his eyes, "Old guy, I'm sorry, I'm useless, I can't keep you anymore, you'd better leave!"
Old man Cao originally had a diligent and obedient son, but unfortunately, he was arrested when he was 20 years old and died in the border within a few months. From then on, Old man Cao and his wife depended on each other for their lives. The two are old and weak, and basically cannot do physical work, but they have to plant crops, otherwise what should they eat? Fortunately, a few years ago, the court learned about their difficulties and gave them a pension. The old couple bought a scalper with the money and came back. From then on, the hard work of plowing and grinding was basically wrapped in this scalper.
Now, for some reason, this fat and strong scalper has lost a lot of weight all of a sudden. Moreover, it seems that this old ox no longer belongs to Old Man Cao. Otherwise, the strange middle-aged man would have harshly used a thin stick to suck it, so why would Old Man Cao get angry at him?
"Moo—"When Li Erniu walked under the big orange tree and was about to say hello to Old Man Cao, the old yellow cow suddenly lay on the ground. No matter how he beat and scolded him, it refused to take another step forward. Seeing that the old cow was filled with tears in his eyes, Li Erniu pulled Old Man Cao aside and asked, "Uncle Cao, is this cow the old Huang in your family? Are you selling it?"
"Yes, I'm sick and can't work anymore, so I can only sell it at a low price. I think of buying one again." Old Man Cao said with tears in his eyes. It can be seen that he was also very sad.
"So that's it!" Li Erniu nodded and looked at the stranger again and said, "That person is a meat seller, right? He bought this cow and must kill it for meat. This old cow probably knows his fate, so he refuses to leave."
"Hey, I don't want to do this either, but we still have to survive! If you keep it, not only can't do work, but you also have to spend money to treat it. How can we pay for the treatment?" Speaking of the embarrassing life, Old Man Cao shed tears of sad and helplessness again.
Li Erniu saw that the scalper was really pitiful, and couldn't help but ask, "How much did you sell it? Why don't I buy it back and find a doctor to see it."
Old man Cao frowned and replied excitedly, "One tael of silver."
Li Erniu did not hesitate and hurriedly got out of his baggage. I paid a tael of silver and dozens of coins to discuss with the middle-aged man, "Brother, this cow is sick, and it is easy to take risks when you sell meat. You might as well sell it to me."
"Haha, you can sell it to you, but I want two taels of silver, you can't buy it with this little money." The middle-aged man understood Li Erniu's heart thoroughly, so he set the price on the ground. Old Man Cao was so anxious that he stomped his feet and said, "I only sold you one tael of silver, why do you want him two taels of silver?"
middle-aged man sneered, "It's very simple. I come to you to collect the cows. I need the travel fee! Besides, this cow is mine now. I say how much it costs, it will cost. You think it's expensive, so you can't buy it!" After that, the guy waved his thin stick again and slapped the scalper twice.
"Mu'er——" The scalper blinked his tears and screamed in pain. Li Erniu and Old Man Cao were both anxious, especially Li Erniu, whose name contained the word "ox" and it seemed like he had an indissoluble bond with this scalper. Therefore, his heart was as if he was cut off by a knife at this moment. He quickly took out a tael of silver from his bag and said to the middle-aged man, "Don't beat it anymore, I'll give you money!"
"That's right!" The middle-aged man took the silver and then went happily. When the old Niu waited for him to leave, he turned around and knelt down at Li Erniu, as if thanking him for his life-saving grace just now. I have to say that this old cow is really spiritual!
Li Erniu pulled up the cow rope with emotion, touched the cow head and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely cure your disease."
"Mu'er!" The old ox seemed to understand his words, and after calling out to the sky, he stood up obediently from the ground. Seeing this, Old Man Cao couldn't help but cry, "Erniu, I'll take care of me, old man."
"Don't worry, I will take good care of it, you don't have to worry." Li Erniu nodded and gave Old Man Cao another tael of silver, asking him to buy some daily necessities first, and wait until he cures the old ox. Old Man Cao got the money and went there with great gratitude. Li Erniu also pulled the sick cow back home. When Old Man Li saw this cow, he knew it was sick, so he asked angrily, "Erniu, where did this sick cow come from? Why did you take it home?"
"Dad, this is what I bought from Uncle Cao. He has no money to treat it, so I want to find a doctor to see it." Li Erniu did not hide it and directly told the truth. When Old Man Li heard this, he said angrily, "You are back from buying a sick cow? You have to spend money to treat it. Are you more money or have you become stupid?"
"I, am I pitiful to him? Dad, look, it is like a human being and will shed tears." Li Erniu didn't care what Old Man Li said about him. After feeding the old cow some grass first, he went to find Xie Tianshun, the doctor in the village. Xie Tianshun not only knows how to treat people, but also treats some livestock. He went to Li Erniu's house and circled around the old ox, and he realized that it had mouth sores (that is, what is now called foot-and-mouth disease), and couldn't help but cure it, "I can treat this old ox with Chinese medicine, but it will take at least ten days and half a month to achieve results. Moreover, the treatment cost is calculated from the front and back, at least three taels of silver. Do you think it will be treated or not?"
"Three taels of silver? I can buy a lively calf. Why do I treat it? If it doesn't, it won't be cured, let it die on its own!" After hearing this, Old Man Li immediately went to untie the cattle rope and drove the old ox out of the house. Li Erniu was anxious and hurriedly grabbed the cow rope and said, "Dad, this is the cow I bought. No matter how much money I spend, I will cure it."
" You, you are simply unreasonable! "Old Man Li was not stubborn than his son. He was afraid that he would be angry and ran out to work again. He didn't come back for ten days or half a month, so he had to give up and said, "I don't care about you anymore, but be careful when feeding it and don't get it. "
" Well, I know dad. "In order to treat the old Huangniu, Li Erniu had to find my mother and asked her to give him a few taels of silver. My mother was a vegetarian and chanted Buddha's name, so she could not refuse to save her. So she took out five taels of silver for Li Erniu and asked him to do it by herself.
Li Erniu paid Xie Tianshun three taels of silver for her medicine, and Xie Tian prescribed a large pair of Chinese medicine, asking Li Erniu to boil it into soup and feed it to Laoniu. Li Erniu not only did it, but also took good care of it every day .
After ten days like this, the old Niu's condition has really improved. Old Man Li hugged his grandson and seized the opportunity of Li Erniu at home and quickly asked the matchmaker to introduce the boy to the boy. The matchmaker Zhao from this village lived up to his expectations! A few days later, she brought back good news to Old Man Li, "Brother, I have been entrusting my relationships everywhere and found a 20-year-old girl. This man is not only diligent, but also very beautiful. I can guarantee that Erniu will definitely like him when he meets him this time. "
" What, that girl is very beautiful? Since she is so beautiful, why haven’t she got married yet at the age of 20? She is afraid she doesn't like our Erniu! "Old Man Li was full of doubts and concerns about this.
Zhao Matchmaker smiled awkwardly and said, "Actually, she has been married, but her man died of illness two years ago. Recently, there was another flood in their hometown, and she and her brother escaped. Yesterday when I went to my sister's house in the city, I happened to meet their brother and sister begging along the street. When I saw that the girl was beautiful, I remembered your Erniu again, so I temporarily found an inn to let them stay and told them about this. The girl said that age and appearance have nothing to do, as long as the other party is diligent and motivated. "
" If you don't dislike her as a foreigner, I will bring that girl to the door tomorrow and let you all see it. "
" Oh——Have she ever said how much do you want for a bride price? "Old Man Li frowned again. Matchmaker Zhao smiled and said, "I haven't asked about this yet. If you want to see her, I can bring her tomorrow. If you are satisfied, ask in person and understand. "
is so good! Old Man Li nodded and hugged the old woman and said, "Then it's a blessing for the old sister." "
That night, Old Man Li told Li Erniu about this, the implication was: If a beauty comes to your house tomorrow, don't make any excuses to go out to work. Li Erniu heard Old Man Li talk about the girl so much that she wanted to see her true face. In addition, the old scalp's illness has not yet been cured, and he doesn't want to go out to find a job for the time being.
The next day, it was almost time for dinner, and matchmaker Zhao took her. The young woman came late. The woman claimed that her surname was Qiu and her name was Xiaojiao. Her hometown was in Wushan. Although she was wearing plain clothes, she looked very beautiful and charming. In addition, she was sweet and charming, and her every move was pleasing to the eye. Li Erniu lived for most of her life and had never seen such a beautiful woman. He looked straight.
Old Man Li saw that her son was very satisfied with the girl, so he asked her further how much dowry money was needed. Qiu Xiaojiao frowned and said, "Actually, as long as they love each other, it doesn't matter whether they want the dowry money or not. However, my elder brother is not married yet, and our hometown is flooded again, so he will not be able to live a good life in the future. If you feel pity for him, give me twenty taels of silver bride gifts to repay my elder brother's grace for raising me over the years. "
Twenty taels of silver? This is not a small amount! When the old man and his wife heard this, their faces looked ugly. Although they had saved enough of the twenty taels of silver, they still felt that the dowry fee was a bit high. They wanted to laugh and deepen their feelings with this little girl and suppress the price, but Li Erniu nodded without hesitation and said, "This is what it should be."In the future, your elder brother will be my elder brother. If he doesn’t dislike him, he can live in our house. "
" Thank you, thank you Brother Li, you are such a good person. "Qiu Xiaojiao quickly bent down to thank him, and the old man and his wife naturally didn't say much.
Zhao matchmaker saw that this matter was basically done, so she asked Old Man Li to find a good day to get married to avoid long nights and dreams. After all, Qiu Xiaojiao is young and beautiful, so she doesn't have to worry about not being able to find her next home. Old Man Li also thought this was the reason, so she asked the gentleman to choose auspicious day for them that afternoon. Aunt Li was afraid that Qiu Xiaojiao would go on a blind date with others during this period, so she tried her best to persuade her to stay at home and marry Li Erniu when the auspicious day comes.
Qiu Xiaojiao frowned again at this time, "I'm afraid this is not in line with the rules, right? Besides, my elder brother is still living in the inn, and it is really inappropriate for me to live in your house alone. "
" Then let your elder brother move here too, anyway, our family still has several empty houses. "Li Erniu didn't think much, and answered sincerely. Qiu Xiaojiao was immediately happy when she heard this and immediately said to Li Erniu, "Then I'll take him here now! "
" Erniu, go with Xiaojiao! From now on, you will be a family and you must work together to do anything. "Mrs. Li winked at Li Erniu and signaled that he would go with Qiu Xiaojiao so that she would not contact other men and cause other troubles. Li Erniu was really moved by this Qiu Xiaojiao, so he immediately borrowed a carriage and took Qiu Xiaojiao together to take her elder brother Qiu Ping to the Li family compound.
The three of them just entered the door, and the old man Li came back. He begged for good news from the fortune teller: seven days later is the auspicious day, which is the most suitable Marriage. So after discussing with everyone, the wedding was scheduled for seven days.
The marriage was scheduled! I finally had a wife! Li Erniu was happy and immediately killed chicken and stewed meat to invite the Qiu brother and sister. In the evening, Qiu Ping was drinking wine and said to the old man Li and his wife with a smile, "I said that the two in-laws, we have to give the elders of the woman a gift. Now that our parents have passed away, as Xiaojiao's only elder, should you show me something? Hahaha, I don’t want to spend too much, just give me six taels of silver! As the saying goes, "Six and Six Great Suit", I hope both of our families will have smooth sailing from now on! "
"This—" Why do you want money again? Old Man Li expressed his embarrassment for a moment, and the wine glass he just raised stopped in the air without warning. Li Erniu was happy and nodded seriously. He immediately nodded again, "This is completely fine, hahaha, brother, you are right, our two families, oh no, our family will have smooth sailing in the future! "
Why did this fool agree so readily? It seems that you need to prepare a lot of money for your marriage this time! Old Man Li wants to marry his son, but he is reluctant to spend money, so he is frowning when the Qiu brothers and sisters want to get money. However, although he is not happy, he has no choice, because Qiu Xiaojiao is young and beautiful, so she doesn't have to worry about not being able to find her next home. If Li Erniu misses this village, there will be no more store.
Qiu Ping seems to be a member of the Li family. During the days when he lived in the Li family, he not only has to eat and drink a lot every day, but also uses different ways to give Li Erniu Ask for money. Old Man Li only asked for the seven-day period to arrive as soon as possible. When Li Erniu got married with Qiu Xiaojiao, he would send Qiu Ping away as soon as possible so that he would not eat and drink at home.
During this period, the old yellow cow's illness was completely cured. Li Erniu was about to get married and was busy making new furniture in the yard. He didn't care about it these days. Just the afternoon before the marriage, Li Erniu suddenly remembered it, so he pulled the old cow out of the pen and asked Qiu Ping to lead it to feed the grass on the hillside of the backyard. Before Qiu Ping took the rope, the old man buried his head and pushed him madly. Qiu Ping was frightened and hurriedly dodged left and right, and rushed behind Li Erniu to escape the disaster.
Li Erniu thought he hadn't seen it these days, so he was angry in his heart and asked the customer to vent his anger. So he scolded it a few times and then pulled it back to the bull's pen. This was a very ordinary little episode. However, that night, Li Erniu had another strange dream. In the dream, the old yellow cow actually said, "My benefactor, that Qiu Xiaojiao and Qiu Ping are not good people. Don't give them money anymore, let alone marry that Qiu Xiaojiao - hurry up, drive them away! Otherwise you will be in trouble!"
This strange dream woke Li Erniu up in the middle of the night and could no longer sleep. He was surprised, so he quietly put on his clothes, sneaked out of Qiu Xiaojiao's window, and peeked inside for a while. At that time, Qiu Xiaojiao was already asleep and there was nothing abnormal in the room. Li Erniu touched Qiu Ping's door again and stood quietly for a while. The house was snoring like thunder. It seemed that the boy was asleep, and he could not tell whether he was abnormal. It seems that dreams are dreams after all, and they cannot be trusted easily. Thinking of this, Li Erniu climbed into bed and went to bed again. This time, he might have been tired of trouble, and he fell asleep in a daze.
The next day, it was dawn and the day for getting married was here. After Li Erniu washed up, he put on a red outfit and began to marry a bride according to local customs. Because this kid has a good reputation, not only the villagers in the village, but also many families in the neighboring villages sent more gifts to congratulate him on that day. The Li family set up more than 60 banquets inside and outside the yard to thank the guests. Qiu Ping volunteered to become the accountant, specifically to remember who gave him how much money. Old Man Li and his wife were busy receiving gifts that day, so they were naturally happy to let Qiu Ping do this job.
At noon that day, the wedding was successfully held, and all the neighbors warmly toasted Li Erniu. Li Erniu was thinking about entering the bridal chamber and did not dare to drink at all. Finally, I could finally get into the bridal chamber at night. Li Erniu couldn't wait to enter the room. When he blew out the candle and shared the same bed with Qiu Xiaojiao, Miss Qiu smiled and handed two wine glasses and said, "Husband, according to the rules, we have to drink this glass of wine to be considered a real couple."
"Okay, madam-I drink it!" Li Erniu poured a glass of wine into her stomach almost without hesitation. Not long after the glass of wine, he felt numb and weak in his limbs and dizzy. Before I could shout, I fell to the ground...
Say that night, Old Man Li finished his work and sat on the bench. Suddenly he thought of something and asked Aunt Li, "Where did you put the gift money you received during the day? You have to keep it well, don't let the thief target you."
Aunt Li replied without thinking, "I've put it in the old place, but when I put the money Wait, that Qiu Ping came to help——”
“How can outsiders come to help with this matter? You are so confused!” Old Man Li was anxious and ran out of bed without even having to wear his shoes. He hurriedly opened the cabinet where he kept the money and saw it, and was stunned: it was turned up in a mess, and the money worth fifty or sixty taels of silver placed at the bottom of the cabinet was even less than a penny.
Old Man Li stomped his feet and cried and said, "It's broken! That money must have been stolen by Qiu Ping's heartless thing. I'll catch the thief, go and call people!"
"How did this evil man steal all our money? How can we live the future?!" Aunt Li cried out with a "wow" and Old Man Li couldn't help but push her and said, "It's not the time to cry, go and call people." After that, he grabbed a shoulder pole from the edge of the bed and ran towards Qiu Ping's room.
Qiu Ping's door was wide open and it was empty inside. Needless to say, this kid has run away. What about his sister? She probably hasn't run away yet, right? I have to ask her for advice! Old Man Li had no other choice, so he raised the torch and hurried to his son's wedding room. Just as I was about to knock on the door, I found that the door was hidden. Old Man Li was shocked again. After an ominous premonition arose in his heart, he quickly pushed open the door.
At this time, Li Erniu had already fallen to the ground under the table. Old Man Li thought that this kid had encountered an accident, so he squatted beside him and started crying. While crying, he shook Li Erniu's body and said, "Eniu, Erniu, what's wrong with you? wake up quickly, don't scare your father!"
Shaking for a long time, Li Erniu didn't wake up, but the neighbors rushed over after hearing the news. When they heard that the Qiu Ping and his sister were gone, the gifts received by the Li family disappeared, they all thought that the two brothers and sisters had stolen money and ran away, and the Li family was cheated. To this end, everyone advised Mr. Li to send someone to pursue Qiu Ping's brother and sister while going to settle the score with matchmaker Zhao. After all, she introduced that Qiu Xiaojiao. Matchmaker Zhao was pulled over by Li Zheng (now the village chief) of the village, but she cried and said that she was also a victim and was deceived by Qiu Xiaojiao.
Just when everyone was at a loss, the old yellow cow in the circle suddenly rushed into the room and urinated at Li Erniu's face. Seeing this, Old Man Li wanted to vent his anger on this old bull, but Li Erniu woke up. He got up from the ground and asked Old Man Li, "Dad, what's wrong?"
"What else can it be? We were all deceived by the two brothers and sisters surnamed Qiu!" Old Man Li was so anxious that he stomped his feet, and Aunt Li beat his chest and stamped his feet beside him. Li Erniu felt very sorry for his parents and vowed to recover the money. So he didn't even care about urinating the cow on his face, so he raised the torch and took a few young guys to chase Qiu Ping and the others.
"Moo!" At this critical moment, the old ox shouted and ran before the young people again, as if he wanted to lead the way for them. Seeing this, everyone sighed: This old ox is really extraordinary. Especially when Old Man Cao saw this scene, he said excitedly, "Old Huang is here to repay his kindness! It has a twilight nose. It will definitely smell the smell of the two liars and take Erniu to catch up with them!"
Old Man Cao is right! The old ox has indeed come to repay his kindness. That night, it led Li Erniu and a few young people to catch up with the Qiu Ping brother and sister who ran away with money. Everyone got all the stolen goods and tied them up. The next day, they were sent to the yamen for interrogation and found out that the two were actually a couple. The woman was indeed called Qiu Xiaojiao, and the man's real name was Zhang Ping. In order to cheat money, the two of them pretended to be brothers and sisters and cheated everywhere. According to their confession, they had deceived two older bachelors before Li Erniu. The two families gave a lot of money. After they had cheated Li Erniu's family, they went back to their hometown to live their duty, but this time they fell because of an old ox. This is really "if you do more unrighteous things, you will die of your own life."
In the end, both scammers were beheaded and made public. Although matchmaker Zhao was also deceived, she did not conduct detailed investigations before introducing the person, which led to the two scammers having an opportunity, so she was beaten twenty boards to show punishment.
A few months later, Li Erniu married a girl from the neighboring village. Although she was not beautiful, she was diligent and kind. After the two of them worked together for a few years, they bought dozens of acres of land and lived a happy life. And the old yellow cow gave birth to several calves under the careful care of Li Erniu and his wife. Li Erniu's two sons will go out of the village to herd cattle when they have nothing to do every day.
