Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Daddy, waah, Daddy!"
Xu Weixia, dressed like a ball, wobbled as he clung to Xu Li's leg, his face streaked with tears and snot. He pointed toward the herd of cattle resting behind the low fence in the snow.
With a quivering finger, he indicated a beef cattle and complained to Old Father, "That big cow just scared me! I'm so scared!"
"Is that so?" Xu Li squinted his eyes and crouched down to pat his son's head. "Show Daddy which one dared to scare Nikola."
"Uh-huh, uh-huh! Come quickly, Daddy!"
Upon hearing that his father was going to stand up for him, the little guy quickly wiped his tears and grabbed his father's thick left index finger. They approached the low fence, where he pointed at a reddish-brown cow with white patches that was digging in the snow. "It's that one! I just fed it some grass, and after it finished eating, it wanted to nibble my hand! When I didn't give it to it, it mooed at me! It was so scary!"
Hiding behind his father, the little guy peeked out with his chubby face and recounted the whole story about the big cow in front of them. Xu Li pushed him aside. "Go find Uncle Kolechkin and ask him to bring a big hammer."
Xu Weixia grinned widely and called out to a burly man not far away who was tightening the barbed wire. "Uncle Kolechkin! You’re really good-looking, unlike my dad and brother; their faces are all hairy and ugly! Can you bring a big hammer?"
"Is that so?"
Kolechkin stood about six feet tall. Though not particularly muscular, he had a thick brown beard and deep-set eyes with bright brown irises. His nose wasn't as prominent as other Slavic men. It was said that his father was Slavic while his mother belonged to the Yakut people. He was a quiet man but worked diligently, having been brought out by Andreev as a soldier before being forced to retire due to circumstances. Recently, he had moved with his family to Hongqi Village for a new life.
He brought over a large iron hammer used for slaughtering cattle and led the proud Xu Weixia back to Xu Li's side. "I've checked this area; both the low fence and barbed wire are fine."
Xu Li offered him a cigarette, and after they lit up and took slow drags, Xu Li finally took the hammer from him. Gripping the handle tightly, he turned around and pointed at the cow behind the barbed wire. "Look at that cow! How dare it scare my Nikola? Tomorrow it might even try to eat people!"
Kolechkin looked at Xu Li incredulously. "Isn't it normal for kids to be afraid of cows? Besides, this one is pregnant; killing it now would be a loss!"
"Do I look like I care about just one cow when I have over three thousand?" Xu Li tilted his head and flicked ash from his cigarette. "I'm heading to Irkutsk in a couple of days; I need some meat for my brother-in-law's family."
With that, he opened the low fence and kicked the cow in its rear end, driving it out in front of ten other cows while under his son's eager gaze. Raising the hammer high above his head with a swift motion, he brought it down with a crack! The seemingly pregnant cow collapsed onto the snow, its limbs stiffening as it twitched on the ground.
Xu Weixia jumped up joyfully and clapped his hands. "Daddy is amazing!"
"Hahaha! Of course!"
Xu Li smiled proudly, then grabbed the bull's horn and dragged the over one thousand-pound beast out to the open space outside the Cattle Shed, leaving Kolechkin utterly stunned.
With his mouth agape like a gasping catfish, he thought, "Is this how powerful one can be?"
He fetched a bucket to collect blood, preparing to cook some for hot pot. Xu Li pushed over a large iron frame and punctured a hole in the joint of the cow's right hind leg. He then hoisted the cow onto a hook, leaving Kolechkin in shock!
Xu Weixia, with her little hands frozen red, placed her hands on her hips, her chubby face held high as she locked eyes with the cow's dull gaze, smugly humming, "Now you're scared, huh? It's cold outside; you wait for me in the car."
Xu Li began to bleed the cow and patted Xu Weixia on the back. The Little Guy responded with a soft "Mm," bouncing over to the military green vehicle, opening the door by herself and climbing into the back seat. She swung her little legs and grabbed some opened potato chips, munching away.
Looking at it this way, it didn't seem like such a waste after all! Kolechkin kicked at the dead fetus, tossing it along with the placenta into a plastic bucket. Xu Li swiftly skinned the cow, using the hide to pack away its internal organs. As for the golden-fatted beef, he removed one of its front legs and half a brisket with ribs, tossing them onto the snow beside him: "These are for the cafeteria; let's treat our brothers on night duty tonight."
"And these internal organs—help me clean them up. I'll prepare a feast this afternoon; all the brothers working at the ranch will come over for drinks. We'll also process a sheep; nothing like having some lamb soup in this cold weather."
"Sure!" Kolechkin grunted as he struggled to lift one of the front legs along with a large piece of brisket and ribs, watching Xu Li effortlessly load the remaining meat into the vehicle. He couldn't help but exclaim, "This is some real livestock!"
Afterward, he took the meat to the cafeteria while Xu Li drove home with his children and the beef. The three cow legs were hung outside to freeze naturally, while the steaks were cut and placed in the freezer alongside the remaining ribs.
After washing his hands, he joined his family for lunch. Xu Weixia sat at the table animatedly recounting to Wa Wa Po how her father had just avenged her: "Just like that—bam! The cow fell down, and then Dad hoisted it onto that iron frame."
The Little Guy held fresh cucumber sticks in one hand and a massive tomahawk steak in the other, shaking her head as she spoke. Her adorable antics made Andrei and Natasha burst into laughter.
Xu Weihua was too busy eating to pay attention; he had slept in that morning and missed accompanying Xu Li to the ranch, so he stayed home with his younger siblings.
Xu Li bent down and kissed Little Guy's forehead before giving Anna and Eva's cheeks a peck. He sat next to his father-in-law and grabbed his bowl to dig into his meal: "Tomorrow there’s still some small work; those cattle can move into the new Cattle Shed."
"There won't be much work left at the ranch after that. I plan to take Anna and Eva along with our two kids to Irkutsk for a few days; Zhuo Ya can help you and Mom out."
"What's so hard about that? Your mother and I are just bored at home anyway; we’ll be here with the kids while you manage things at the ranch. After all, there are over three thousand cattle and more than seven thousand sheep—not to mention several horses."
Andrei took a sip of wine: "That's no small number; losing even one would be significant."
"I'll manage everything properly," Xu Li replied. "I'll be busy at the cafeteria this afternoon and will treat everyone to drinks tonight while we plan out our upcoming tasks."
Xu Li took a bite of stir-fried cabbage: "Right now at the ranch, there are only three people over by Peter—Valery and his two sons, Andreev with two comrades—and two younger folks from the village. Including me, that's only seven people. I feel like we might be short-staffed."
Andrei thought for a moment and shook his head. "It's not too few, Misha. Don't forget about their wives; they can help with some tasks, like feeding the cattle and sheep. The men can patrol and reinforce the cattle shed while the women can handle the simpler jobs. It's quite cost-effective."
"Alright, I'll talk to them tonight. After all, their wives don’t have much to do at home besides those small tasks on the farm," he replied.
Xu Li nodded and continued eating. He held both his rice bowl and soup bowl, filled to the brim with white rice. In less than ten minutes, he had polished it off completely, having also eaten two pieces of steak, which amounted to about four or five pounds.
His father came over to give him a kiss.
Comment 0 Comment Count