Chapter 24: Lies

Just when I was at a loss, a few ordinary village women walked into the courtyard with a big smile on their faces, carrying some vegetables and fruits in their hands and some meat on their backs.

This is a custom in the countryside, helping the cook.

Qian Daguai’s cow died in a strange way, and the village cadres had to be troubled, and a veterinarian had to be hired. In a situation like this, Qian Daguai’s wife must have no heart to cook, and it is only normal to call a few women from the market to help.

I looked at the village official and said, “I have a class in the afternoon, but my home is in Village XX. It’s so far to go home for dinner at this time.”

“Didn’t you bring a lunchbox?” The village official was a little angry and a little amused.

“I’ll just eat here, is that okay, Uncle?” I tried to look like I was really hungry. This is understandable, what could be good in a lunchbox? The food on these tables is not very good, but there is always a lot of meat.

Only someone with a thick skin would make such a request. I was nervous and kept saying, “Luckily, I’m a child.

The village official was helpless and glanced at Qian Dagui.

The stingy Qian Dagui was actually a good person. How could he care about a child wanting to eat at the table? He said, “Let him eat and then go to school. It’s just a matter of extra bowls and chopsticks.”

I could finally stay there with a clear conscience, but my ears were burning, and I admired my master for having the courage to live off the village for so many years.

Time passed by, and I looked at the gate, waiting eagerly. Finally, when it was time to start the meal, three people walked casually into the yard.

“It smells good! Rural food is delicious! Big bowls of meat, big bowls of wine…” Needless to say, this voice was my master’s. I buried my head and thought to myself a hundred times, “I don’t know him, I don’t know him.”

But at this time, Su Rou saw me and ran over, ‘dong dong dong’, and picked up a stool on the way, pushed me aside, sat down and said to me, “Sanwa, I ran all the way, and you’re not being nice, eating here?”

I felt that my face, which had been around for almost 15 years, was about to be ruined by the crispy meat. Do you have a grudge against me? You had to make my image of eating and drinking so vivid, but the torture was far from over.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and the old monk sat down on my right again. “Good, good, scrambled eggs with leeks, it tastes good. Sanwa, do you know that I like this, so I told the kitchen.”

I felt like I was going to suffocate, so I whispered to Hui, “This wok was used to cook meat, so why don’t you avoid it? You can eat eggs, but leeks? What kind of monk are you?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. If you don’t see it, you don’t kill it. If you don’t hear it, you don’t kill it. Meat that is not killed for oneself is clean. Moreover, I am a compassionate monk, and I don’t even touch the three kinds of clean meat. Amitabha.” Hui Jue looked like a compassionate man, speaking in a standard Beijing accent, and even sang a Buddhist chant.

The whole table was dumbfounded. Just a moment ago, he was clearly an old farmer from Shaanxi, but now he was a Beijing monk?

Forget it. With this group of people, the first thing you have to learn is to be shameless in order to live peacefully. I silently thought to myself that I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear, so I just ignored everything.

I felt another tightness around me. I knew that my master had sat down. He didn’t waste any time. As soon as he sat down, he took a piece of pig ear and put it in his mouth. He chewed it and then poured himself a glass of wine. He drank it down in one gulp.

“What are you all doing? Eat!” He warmly greeted the people at the table, as if he were the host.

“Cough… cough…” Qian Daguai coughed once. It was strange that such a group of people had come. It was strange that he, the host, could sit there.

“What are you coughing about? Don’t you remember me? The one who helped you for free with your sick cow! I’m here to help you with your cow.” Old Jiang’s eyes widened, as if he had been greatly wronged, but he finally said something to explain.

When he said this, the people at the table finally realized that these two old men were the ones who had distributed the deworming medicine. It was no wonder that they didn’t recognize them. When you guys walked into the courtyard, you crowded onto the table like a gust of wind. Who would recognize you?

When he thought about the background of these two old men, Qian Daguai felt a little more comfortable. At least they weren’t just coming to his house to eat and drink for free. They had done things for people in the village before. But when he thought about the identity of these two old men, Qian Daguai’s heart was throbbing.

What kind of identity? They specialize in killing worms! Did he just say that he came to help with the cow? Could it be that the cow has contracted the worm disease? The worm patient can’t escape it either. If the cow’s suffering rises to the level of human suffering, then things will be bad.

Qian Daguai looked at my master with a pale face, and his wife also had a pale face. Qian Daguai looked at my master and was about to speak.

My master looked at him and said, “Let’s eat first. If you get infected, there is worm medicine. Don’t worry.”

This statement reassured Qian Daguai and his wife. The worm medicine was indeed effective, but the relief was limited. Think about the miserable state of the cow. Would a person be okay with this?

After the meal, Su Rou and I could officially stay home from school. The reason was simple: Old Master Jiang’s two identities had been confirmed at the dinner table: he was an old Chinese medicine doctor, and we were his apprentices.

When the village official heard this, he said, “I said I wanted to stay, and it turns out that it wasn’t for nothing.

When the old man heard this, he glared and said, “Go and get your village chief. Tell him that Jiang Lichun is looking for him.”

The village official was taken aback, not quite sure what to do. But when the old man said the next thing, he had no choice but to go; “What are you standing there for? If you want me to go myself, I’ll demote you when I get back.”

This is of course a blatant threat, but sometimes threats are more effective. The village official went.

After the village chief came and looked at the cow, he returned to the courtyard with a heavy face. After he had just sat down, the veterinarian also came. When he saw the veterinarian, the village chief took a quick step over and grabbed the veterinarian by the arm. He didn’t know what he was muttering about.

After that, the veterinarian went to see the cow. I quietly asked Jiang Laoren, “Master, what is the head of the township doing?”

“Nonsense, of course he asked the vet to hide the truth. I guarantee that the vet has never seen anything like this. What if he yells and shouts about it? What impact will that have on you? What consequences will that have? You little brat, why don’t you have any intelligence?” Old Jiang gave me a dirty look.

I was angry. I was barely 15 years old. What kind of intelligence do you expect me to have?

At this time, the crispy meat also mysteriously ran up to the old man Jiang and said, “Master Jiang, is the worm here?”

The old man looked at the room with a heavy expression and said, “Guess? If Qian Daguai hadn’t made a big fuss about his cow today, I’d tell you that after tonight, all that would be left of his family would be a pile of rotten meat. Do you believe me?”

Su Rou was shocked, put her bag on her back, and said with a dignified look on her face, “Master Jiang, I am a good student. I have to go to class this afternoon.”

The old man spat and said in a loud voice, “Go, go, go. You’re just in the way here anyway.”

Su Rou put down his school bag and said, “I’m not leaving. I’m staying here.”

The old man looked at Su Rou mysteriously and said, “At night…”

Just as he said these two words, the veterinarian over there was already being helped out. It looked like he had just thrown up. Qian Daguai hurriedly went over to ask about the situation.

The vet said weakly, “The situation is that it has been infected with a parasite. I don’t have any special deworming medicine, so there’s nothing I can do.”

This explanation was obviously taught by the village chief, but it was obviously enough to fool Qian Daguai and his wife.

Qian Dagu was a little worried. He had originally harbored a hope that the cow was sick on its own. Originally, he thought that his cow had been harmed by someone and poisoned, because this was too tragic. He didn’t expect this result.

The village chief took the vet’s shoulder and walked out, not knowing what he was going to tell the vet to scare him. Old Jiang sat in the courtyard, smoking his beloved pipe. I yawned and wanted to go to Qian Dagu’s house to sleep, but I thought about the worms and didn’t dare.

Only the crispy meat kept darting back and forth in front of the old man, muttering, “What are you going to do tonight? Master Jiang, please tell me.”

But the old man ignored him.

4:00 p.m., Qian Dagu’s courtyard.

The village chief was trying hard to persuade Qian Daguai, but the couple still looked puzzled.

“Chief, you say that the cow died, but if it was infected, wouldn’t there be anthelmintic? Why do we have to stay at the township government for a night?” Qian Dagu’s wife said.

It was really hard to find a reason for this. The township chief was at a loss for words, looking at the old man Jiang, whose eyes were full of helplessness.

At this point, the old man slowly stood up, walked over with his hands behind his back, and said to Qian Daguai and his wife, “You should go to the township government. It’s safer there. After all, the effect of the worm medicine is limited. One or two worms are okay, but if you have a belly full of worms, how can you fight them?”

Qian Daguai and his wife were obviously intimidated, looking at the old man and saying, “How could I have worms in my stomach?”

“There aren’t any now, but who knows, maybe there will be some tonight. It’s such a big cow, how many worms do you think it has in its stomach? You’ve kept it in the barn for so long, how many have you let in your house? Tonight, several people will have to help, cook a big pot of Chinese medicine to expel the worms, and there will be a lot of other trouble. You two can’t help, and you’re standing in the middle of the room. What if you get infected?” As soon as the old man finished speaking, the village chief looked at him with admiration.

No matter what they do, what I’m worried about is what to do at night? Facing such a big bug?