Chapter 44 The rustling sound of the bamboo forest gradually...

Chapter 44 The rustling sound of the bamboo forest gradually...

The rustling of the bamboo forest gradually faded behind us, water flowed gently through the man-made irrigation ditch, and the breeze that blew in our faces was neither too hot nor too cold, but simply refreshing.

The robust yellow ox walked slowly forward, clearly used to its leisurely pace. Every now and then, when it saw some tender grass, it would stop to eat a few bites. But when urged on by the young boy with his hair in a topknot ahead, it would snort a few times.

“My lord, look over there. That’s the small horse pasture in the manor.” The young boy leading the ox had a clear and bright voice.

Indeed, at this moment, Xiao Yan was sitting on the slowly swaying back of the ox, and the person beside him had changed from Qin Ji to this young cowherd boy with his hair still in his topknot.

Guests arrived unexpectedly at the villa. Although they were guests who arrived without prior notice, they were, after all, the young master and young lady of the prefect's family. Since Qin Ji, the owner of the villa, was here, he couldn't very well not go out and entertain them. However, Xiao Yan Hui had no interest in going out to meet them.

Just then, she saw a boy of about ten years old leading a sturdy yellow ox slowly grazing along the irrigation ditch. She decided to change her companion and let Qin Ji entertain the uninvited guests. She would go with the cowherd and the ox to look at the horses.

"You have a good eye. His name is Daowa, and his father, Old Dao, is in charge of managing the pony farm. Go on, go on, you guys have fun. Don't worry about this poor soul who has to entertain this uninvited guest."

Thinking of Qin Ji's slightly droopy eyes and pitiful expression just now, Xiao Yan couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh again.

"Girl, is riding a cow fun?" The cat next to her asked with a face full of curiosity and longing.

Walking beside the cat, Granny Zhang poked her head hard with her finger: "You little brat, I... I wish I could just pull our Third Miss down from the ox, and you still say things like that to encourage her."

“Young lady, you’ve already had your turn to sit, why don’t you get down? We’ve prepared a sedan chair just for you, why are you looking at this dirty old ox?”

Granny Zhang had been frowning all day. She had tried her best to keep quiet and not spoil the fun, but there were some things—like riding an ox—that she just couldn't stand.

“Grandma, don’t say that. Big Yellow is very clean. I just washed it this morning. Its paws may look dirty, but our paws aren’t clean either.” Upon hearing Granny Zhang say that Big Yellow was dirty, Daowa in front became unhappy and leaned out to defend the ox.

"Hey, you little rascal..."

"Miss, may I sit on this ox for a while?" Mao'er went around to the other side to talk to Xiao Yan, and even reached out to touch the ox several times.

In her memory, only the village chief's family owned cattle in the past, and she was always fascinated when she saw the village chief's son sitting on the back of an ox. But back then, she wouldn't even dare to secretly touch the ox.

"Sure, why not?"

Green Moth watched the lively scene in front of her, where the people were talking to each other and occasionally even joined in conversation, and just kept smiling without saying a word.

After passing a row of warehouses, you'll reach the pasture.

"Girl, look at those horses!" Green Moth pointed ahead, urging the girl, who was still discussing the big yellow ox with the cat, to look ahead.

As soon as Xiao Yan looked up, she was greeted by a large expanse of green mixed with some yellow, but what was even more eye-catching were the twenty or thirty horses in various poses on the grassland.

This pasture is indeed not large. It is built along a gentle hillside and is surrounded by a low log fence. The grass inside looks a bit yellow. In the northwest corner of the pasture, there are several sturdy haystacks, which should be prepared in advance for winter fodder.

The area near Fuhu Mountain and the water source is probably warmer and more humid, and the late-planted pasture is still lush and green. Most of the horses graze there, while the best spots belong to three or four horses that look stronger and have shinier coats.

"Father, I've brought the master's distinguished guest to see the horses!" Daowa shouted and waved vigorously towards the distance.

There, a strong middle-aged man wearing a coarse cloth jacket was bending over, carefully inspecting the fence of the small pasture. Every now and then, he would take out a hammer and a few spare wooden wedges and tap them to reinforce the fence as it became loose.

Upon hearing Daowa's shouts and the arrival of Xiao Yanhui and his group, he immediately put down his work and was about to come over to pay his respects. However, seeing that the leader was a woman and the master of the house was not present, he hesitated.

"Daowa, there's no need to trouble your father to come over. You can just show us around," Xiao Yan said quickly to Daowa.

"Father, you are excused from paying your respects to the esteemed guest. You go and do your work. I'll take the esteemed guest to look after the horses." Daowa shouted joyfully, as if he had been assigned some important task.

"Don't call me 'noble person,' just call me Third Miss. You said you'd take me to see the horses, so you know all the horses at the horse farm." Seeing the boy's boastful attitude, Xiao Yan couldn't help but tease him.

"Yes, Third Miss." Daowa nodded vigorously before answering Xiao Yan's question: "Don't underestimate me because of my young age. I have been learning to judge and raise horses from my father for four years. I look at these horses like I look at my brothers and sisters at home."

He finished speaking with a proud look on his face.

"If I want to ride a horse today, which one should I choose?" Xiao Yan looked around the horse farm and her gaze fell on the horse with the oiliest coat and the most agile body.

"Third Miss, don't bother looking at Black Wind. It's hopeless. This guy is a stallion bought from the west. He has a terrible temper. Only a gentleman can ride him." The young man hadn't learned to speak subtly yet, and as soon as he saw where Xiao Yan Hui's gaze fell, he bluntly said it was hopeless.

"You brat, how can you talk like that?" the cat poked him, slightly annoyed.

"Am I telling the truth?" Daowa pouted.

“Miss, you can’t ride a horse, this is no joke.” Granny Zhang sensed a hint of interest in the Third Miss’s words and quickly stopped her.

“Girl, you said you only wanted to look at the horses before you came.” Even Green Moth hurriedly came to persuade her this time.

"I don't plan to ride, I'm just looking." Although she was indeed a little tempted by the sight of the horse, Xiao Yan was very self-aware and valued her life. She didn't want to break her neck on the horse.

Upon hearing this, the accompanying men all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Knife Boy, do you have a good-tempered horse that I can pet?" Although horses aren't as alluring as pandas, since we're already here, we might as well give one a try.

"Third Miss, please wait a moment."

Daowa didn't know how he did it, but after shouting a few times and making some gestures, a very handsome chestnut horse came to Xiao Yanhui's side.

"Look at this horse, it's a Lijiang horse from the south. It has a good temperament, is pretty and delicate, and isn't very tall. If you want to pet it, this is the perfect choice. Give it some of the best bean cakes and it can pet you as much as you like, young lady." As he spoke, he handed Xiao Yan a small basket of bean cakes.

When the horse saw the delicious food, its already docile eyes became even more watery. But as expected of a horse that could be lured to be petted, it had a really good temper. Even though it really wanted to eat, it stood obediently and didn't come forward to snatch the food.

Seeing Xiao Yan approach the horses, the guards from the manor who were following behind moved closer discreetly. With their master absent, they had to ensure the safety of the Third Miss, even if the horses were usually docile.

When we handed the chestnut horse a bean cake, it ate it politely and then showed even more affection.

"These horses come from both the west and the south, so it seems they come from all over the world?" Xiao Yan continued chatting with Daowa while touching the horses, and her hand reaching out to touch the horses' necks was not rejected at all.

"Not only that, my father also said the other day that a few new 'great horses' have arrived at the estate, they're so rare! He said they came from a very far place beyond the Western Regions, and they can run as fast as the wind! Their coats are as golden as gold. Miss, you might be able to see them next time you come. It's a pity that my father said I haven't mastered horse breeding yet, otherwise those golden horses might be under my care."

"Horses from the Western Regions?" A faint question flashed through Xiao Yan Hui's mind, only to be interrupted by the boy's rapid-fire explanation of horse racing.

"So you're quite nosy?"

"That's right, I can manage all the chickens, ducks, geese, cattle, sheep, and horses on this estate," Daowa said proudly. "But those two black and white bears you saw earlier, Third Miss, I can't manage those either. The master really cherishes them; the whole area was specially built for them, and I'm too afraid to go in and play with them. My father also said that we've never raised those rare creatures before, so we can't just meddle... But my main focus is still learning how to raise horses. My father said that in another year or two I'll be a master, and maybe I can even go to a large ranch in the future..."

“A large ranch?” Xiao Yan suddenly noticed the strange wording.

"No, no, I meant if we raise more horses next year for the New Year, there will be even more horses here, and maybe it will become a big ranch." Daowa's eyes darted around, looking a little guilty.

"Third Miss, if you want to know how to raise horses, let me tell you, it's quite complicated!" Daowa suddenly launched into a long explanation.

He counted on his fingers, seemingly very seriously, "The hay has to be fresh and clean! No musty smell! The water has to be changed frequently, it can't be stagnant water from a pond. In summer, we need to keep out mosquitoes and flies, and in winter, we need to shield the stables from the wind at night, and we also need to add 'night hay'! Dad says 'a horse won't get fat without night hay!' And also..."

He lowered his voice, as if sharing a secret, "You can't just give them grass, you have to add soybean cake and wheat bran, and good horses even need eggs mixed in with their feed! They have to be taken out for a walk every few days, you can't keep them locked up all the time, otherwise their hooves will get damaged and they'll become irritable!"

It seemed like a topic that came up on the spot, but he spoke with great confidence and expertise. Xiao Yan couldn't help but look at this boy, who was only about ten years old, with newfound respect, but she also became even more curious about the large ranch he had inadvertently mentioned.

They also became curious about Qin Ji's business practices.

This is not the modern era of information explosion. Horse judging and horse breeding should be classified as high-end and highly professional skills, yet his estate actually houses such talents, and this is just a "small ranch".

Could he be hiding some secret?

At this moment, Qin Ji was completely unaware that Xiao Yan Hui had developed a slight suspicion, and what he was doing was by no means a small secret.

"Has the person been taken in? Has the medicine taken effect?" Standing in front of the tightly closed door, Qin Ji asked Wei Sa.

"My lord, we should wait a little longer. The best time will be after an incense stick has burned," Wei Sa replied after roughly estimating the time.

"The timing is wrong, something went wrong?" According to the plan, the carriages should have broken down in the afternoon, but now they've happened several hours earlier.