Free Web NovelChapter 88: Chapter 88: Mad Bull
"Retribution..." Su Li mulled over the word, her expression complex.
The concept of retribution was sometimes mystical and complicated. No one could say for certain if something was retribution, but no one dared say it definitely wasn’t.
In her past life, Su Li had confronted the word "retribution" several times—in relation to herself, to Mrs. Tang, and to many others. Now, she was facing it again in this life.
"I suppose it really is retribution..." Su Li said with a faint smile.
From her perspective, the idea of retribution was quite satisfying. It felt like justice served.
"Mama, what does ’retribution’ mean? Grandma has been talking about it in her sleep these past few nights."
Little Tang Mo asked while snuggled in Su Li’s arms.
"Retribution means that for every action, there is a reaction. For every cause, there is an effect. Everything you receive now, be it a blessing or a curse, is a form of retribution."
Su Li’s gaze was distant. "Sow good deeds and you will reap good rewards. Sow evil, and you will reap evil."
When she finished and looked down, she saw Little Tang Mo’s confused face.
Su Li couldn’t help but laugh. "Alright, to put it simply, retribution means that when people do good or bad things, they get what they deserve as a result."
"Oh..." Little Tang Mo drew out the sound, and it was hard to tell if he had understood.
Little Tang Mo, who had been frightened and hadn’t slept well for days, started yawning after dinner. But he was reluctant to go to bed, clinging to Su Li instead.
"Go to sleep. I won’t sneak away," Su Li said, seeing right through Little Tang Mo’s worries.
"I don’t want to sleep yet." Little Tang Mo rubbed his eyes and perked up, unable to resist saying, "I’ve never slept with Mama before. I want to sleep with Mama."
His gaze toward the side room was filled with longing. His friend, Brother Gou Dan, had slept with his own mother since he was little.
Although Gou Dan had been relegated to sleeping at the foot of the bed after his little sister was born, Little Tang Mo was still envious that he got to sleep holding his mother’s feet.
Su Li raised an eyebrow at his words. "You want to sleep with me?"
Mrs. Tang had always been the one to put Little Tang Mo to bed. Su Li really had never slept with him...
At that thought, Su Li’s brow suddenly furrowed. "Wait, Little Mo, have you still been sleeping with Grandma these past few days?"
Mrs. Tang was so badly injured; it was completely unsuitable for her to be sleeping with Little Tang Mo.
Little Tang Mo nodded. "Mhm."
He had always slept with Mrs. Tang, even after she was injured.
Previously, Mrs. Tang had been in so much pain she couldn’t sleep all night, and Little Tang Mo couldn’t sleep either. Now, he still wasn’t sleeping well.
"Your grandma is injured. You can’t sleep with her anymore. Neither of you will get a good night’s rest."
Su Li’s heart ached for Little Tang Mo again. ’I can’t imagine what this child has been through these past few days.’
Little Tang Mo’s eyes lit up when he heard Su Li’s words, and he asked eagerly.
"Then can I sleep with Mama?"
Su Li looked at Little Tang Mo’s bright, hopeful eyes and nodded.
"Of course you can. Who else would you sleep with if not me?"
Speaking of which, Little Tang Mo was already six years old. In modern times, he would be around the age to start sleeping in his own room.
In this era, many families didn’t have the means to give a child their own room, so children would share a bed with their parents until they were six or seven, sometimes even as old as eight or nine. However, Su Li felt the Tang Family could afford it, so she could try to slowly help Little Tang Mo become more independent in the future.
While Su Li was considering these practical matters, Little Tang Mo was already jumping with joy.
"Yay! This is great! Mama, you’re the best!"
Any sleepiness he felt vanished in an instant. Little Tang Mo circled Su Li twice, still unable to express his excitement, and finally just hopped in place several times.
"You’re that happy, huh?" Su Li laughed at the sight.
"Of course I’m happy," Little Tang Mo chattered. "Mama, I’ll be really good when I sleep. I won’t kick..."
That night, after telling Mrs. Tang, Little Tang Mo went to sleep with Su Li.
Su Li even told him a bedtime story—the Calabash Brothers.
The story of the Calabash Brothers completely captivated Little Tang Mo. He absolutely loved it.
"I’m going to tell Brother Gou Dan tomorrow! Brother Gou Dan used to tell me stories too..."
If it weren’t so late, Little Tang Mo probably would have run off to tell his Brother Gou Dan right then and there.
"Okay, you can tell him tomorrow. For now, let’s sleep."
The next day, after lunch, Su Li slung a book over her back and went to herd the cattle, followed by Little Tang Mo’s reluctant gaze.
The Tang Family’s cattle had been cooped up for ten, almost twenty days. They were going stir-crazy and absolutely had to be let out to graze.
Little Tang Mo wanted to go with Su Li, but he had to stay home to look after Mrs. Tang. He was needed to fetch water or call for help.
Su Li was happy to go herding. It was a good opportunity for her to read.
Su Li had a lovely picture in her mind, dreaming of spending the whole day reading peacefully on the mountain. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.
Having been penned up for so long, the cattle were antsy the moment they left the enclosure.
Once on the mountain, they weren’t as docile as before. After grazing voraciously for two hours, they started to get agitated.
Su Li could no longer focus on her book and hurried to keep up with them.
Cattle were very valuable in this era, so Su Li didn’t dare to be careless.
’I should just drive them back home. This can’t go on!’ Su Li made an immediate decision.
It was a good plan, but she had underestimated the pent-up frustration of cattle that had been confined for nearly twenty days.
Just as Su Li tried to herd them back, they started to run wild.
At first, it was just a trot. But a few seconds later, they flicked their tails, bucked their hindquarters, let out a couple of moos, and took off at a run, their hooves thundering on the ground.
Leaving Su Li momentarily dumbfounded!
"Hey, don’t run! Stop!" Su Li shouted as she gave chase, but the two cattle had already charged headlong into the dense woods.
*******
Beside a hidden mountain path, a patch of withered foxtail grass in the woods suddenly rustled.
"Chief, I’m hearing a strange noise. It doesn’t sound like the vehicle we’re waiting for..."
’Foxtail Grass’ whispered to ’Wolf’s Tail Grass’ beside him.
Before ’Wolf’s Tail Grass’ could answer, another pile of grass rustled and a different voice spoke first.
"Of course it’s not a vehicle. It sounds like something big is running toward us. You can hear it clearly through the ground."
"Chief, what do we do?" ’Foxtail Grass’ asked again.
The chief, ’Wolf’s Tail Grass’, didn’t answer. Instead, he simply stood up.
Without the camouflage, although the chief’s face was smeared beyond recognition, his original features were still discernible.
It was the team leader who had crossed paths with Tang Yuanxiao twice before—Wu Sheng.
The noise grew louder, heading straight for them. Wu Sheng moved and saw what the "big thing" was.
It was two yellow oxen, stampeding wildly.
"What the hell? What’s going on? Why are there two cattle here?" ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
The man under the ’Foxtail Grass’ camouflage was Wa Wa Lian; he stared at the two cattle, dumbfounded.
"Could it be the Blue Team, deliberately sending them over to test us?" another subordinate with an honest, simple face guessed.
Wu Sheng was decisive. "Stop them."
The two cattle were in the middle of a gleeful run and paid them no mind, charging straight at the three men. freёwebnovel.com
It took the three of them some effort to divert the cattle in another direction.
"There aren’t any villages around here. How did cattle end up here?" Wa Wa Lian wondered.
"When cattle go wild, they can run really fast. Someone probably took them out to graze and lost them."
The honest-faced man, who was from the countryside, looked worriedly at the two cattle that had stopped a short distance away. "The owner must be really anxious..."
As if in answer to his words, a sudden shriek rang out from behind them.
