Chapter 40: Such Shamelessness

At that critical moment, Liu Xing's voice rang out, "Fourth Brother, jump into the river now! Otherwise, there won't be any braised pork for you tonight."

Liu Ye couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time when he heard this. But he knew Liu Xing wasn't joking. Although he was reluctant to listen, a quick glance behind confirmed there was no way out. Gritting his teeth, he leapt into the river.

With a splash, the two buffaloes charging at him stopped at the riverbank. They didn't follow him into the water, but instead turned back toward the other buffaloes and the villagers herding them.

At this moment, Liu Xing arrived at the riverside, kicked off his straw sandals, waded in, and pulled Liu Ye safely ashore.

As he looked up, he heard the agonized cries of villager Zhang Wufa. Zhang had been too slow to dodge and was struck by a buffalo, sent sprawling to the ground, now grimacing in pain.

Fortunately, the cluster of buffaloes didn't attack the people any further. Instead, in a frenzy, they bolted toward the western woods. Among them was Black Calf, who, in the chaos, even knocked down two large buffaloes.

Liu Xing knew that if Black Calf made it into the western woods, trouble would follow. With no other choice, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Black Calf, come home! If you keep misbehaving, no extra feed for you tomorrow!"

At his words, Black Calf stopped running, glanced back at his companions disappearing into the woods, and resolutely turned around, soon returning to Liu Xing's side and nuzzling his arm affectionately with his head.

Liu Xing let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the grass. Though it seemed like he had done nothing, his heart had been pounding with anxiety. If Black Calf had escaped, even if they found him later, they'd have to pay compensation. This was no exaggeration—the woods to the west were lined with vegetable patches and fruit trees, all painstakingly cultivated by the villagers. If so many buffaloes charged through, they'd certainly wreak havoc. After all, cattle eating crops and vegetables was nothing new.

Seeing that Liu Xing could call Black Calf back just like that, Zhang Wufa tried calling his own buffalo. But his animal paid him no mind and soon vanished from sight along with the others. With no other option, he and the other herders ran after their buffaloes into the woods, hoping they wouldn't do too much damage. If the buffaloes strayed beyond Saltpeter Village and into neighboring lands, compensation might be the least of their worries—some hotheaded folks might slaughter the beasts for meat on the spot.

Even if the matter reached the police station, it would be hard to argue, since it was clearly their own buffaloes that ran wild. Such incidents had happened before, and always ended inconclusively.

On the horizon, the sun was sinking, casting a fiery red glow across half the sky.

Liu Xing stood up from the grass, patted Liu Ye on the shoulder, and said, "Let's go home! Change your clothes quickly, or you'll catch a chill."

"Alright," Liu Ye nodded, glancing nervously at the Black Calf Liu Xing was leading. He had never imagined that tending cattle could be so dangerous.

Liu Xing smiled at Liu Ye's expression but said nothing more, hurrying toward the cowshed.

When they had locked up the cattle and returned to the drying yard, they ran into Ma Lei, who had come on his bicycle to find Liu Xing. Three other young men—Yang Zili and two more—trailed behind.

They were all close friends of Liu Xing in Saltpeter Village. Coming together with Ma Lei, it was clear something was up.

Liu Xing saw through them at once and sat casually at the edge of the drying yard. "So, what do you all need?"

"Brother, did you hear that your uncle is recruiting temporary workers in our Saltpeter Village?" Ma Lei got straight to the point, sitting down next to Liu Xing after parking his bike.

"What?" Liu Xing was stunned. "My uncle is recruiting here? He runs a factory now?"

He scratched his head in disbelief, looking at Ma Lei. This surprised him because, in his memory, his uncle's reputation wasn't exactly stellar—how could he be doing so well now?

Seeing Liu Xing's reaction, Ma Lei slapped his knee and stood up, annoyed. "I knew your uncle and aunt weren't good people! This morning, we were supposed to report to Uncle Li at Hengshui Distillery—how could your Uncle Liu Changsheng be recruiting temps? It doesn't add up!"

"Stop rambling," Liu Xing said seriously. "Tell me exactly what happened."

"It's like this..." Ma Lei scratched his head. "Today, your uncle and aunt were at Wang Dachui's house for a banquet. They went around telling everyone that Hengshui Distillery was hiring lots of temps, and that your uncle is a line leader. Anyone from the village willing to join his team would get benefits other temps wouldn't."

"Your aunt even claimed you'd already agreed to go. She made it sound so convincing," Yang Zili added.

"What? When did I agree to that?" Liu Xing was utterly baffled.

He was confused for two reasons.

First, before his rebirth, his family had cut ties with his uncle's family over his second sister's acceptance to Eighth High School, and they never spoke again. He had no idea his uncle worked at Hengshui Distillery.

Second, he had even turned down Li Dawei's invitation—how could he have agreed to be a temp for his aunt at the distillery? That was pure nonsense.

If Liu Xing wanted to work at Hengshui Distillery, to put it bluntly, even Liu Changsheng would have to step aside for him. For them to go around claiming he had agreed to be a temp was shameless beyond belief.

Ma Lei, observing Liu Xing's bewilderment, realized this was all some scheme by his aunt and uncle. Relieved, he said, "Good, I knew you wouldn't agree. Remember, if we're going to work at Hengshui Distillery, it has to be with Director Li—no, Uncle Li—not with Liu Changsheng."

"I think so too," Yang Zili chimed in with a goofy grin.

The other friends nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Liu Xing asked in surprise, "Are you all planning to go work at Hengshui Distillery with Ma Lei?"

"That's right," Yang Zili replied, and the others echoed the sentiment.

Liu Xing sensed something was off. "Fine, but let me make it clear—if you go to work there, don't drag me along. I'm not getting involved."

He'd had his fill of laboring in his past life. Now, having been reborn, if he had to toil again, he might as well be a beggar.

"Aren't you meeting Uncle Li at Hengshui Distillery tomorrow to discuss that plastic film mulching technique? Just introduce us for jobs while you're at it; no need to get involved," Yang Zili said with an awkward smile.

Annoyed, Liu Xing glared at Ma Lei, "Why do you have to tell everyone everything? Didn't I tell you? There's nothing definite about that—don't get your hopes up so soon."

With that, he brushed the grass off his pants and headed home.

Yang Zili wanted to catch up and say more, but Ma Lei stopped him. "Are you stupid? We agreed—if we go to work at the distillery, we can't mention the plastic film mulching. That was just Liu Xing bragging at the time; don't take it seriously."

"Why are you snapping at me? Let me tell you—my uncle says if I get a job at Hengshui Distillery, he'll introduce my cousin to you. If not, you won't even get to meet her," Yang Zili pushed Ma Lei, cursed him a bit, and left.

The others followed, soon disappearing into the night.

Ma Lei scratched his head in regret, sitting on the drying yard, at a loss for words. People used to say Yang Zili was a bit thick-headed—he hadn't believed it before, but now he was convinced. Not only had Yang made him offend Liu Xing, he might have ruined their chances at the distillery. What an idiot.

As night fell, Ma Lei could only push his bicycle down the country road toward home.

To his surprise, Liu Xing was waiting for him at the fork in the road.

Ma Lei hurried over, embarrassed. "Sorry, brother. You know what I'm like—once I start bragging, I forget everything else. If you don't want to take Yang Zili and the others to the distillery, I'll tell them."

"It's not that," Liu Xing shook his head, "I just can't believe you act without thinking. Yang Zili, Monkey, Big Hat, and Liu Yang wanting to work at the distillery is a good thing—everyone wants a stable job and more money."

"Right, right, exactly," Ma Lei responded sheepishly.

"But you can't invite Yang Zili before you've even got the job yourself. If it's an easy job and pays well, fine. But if it's exhausting and doesn't pay, you'll get blamed for nothing." Liu Xing looked around, then put his hand on Ma Lei's shoulder. "Enough about that—it's bad luck to dwell on it. I wanted to ask you again: are you sure my uncle is really a line leader at Hengshui Distillery?"

The more he thought about it after getting home, the stranger it seemed. By rights, his aunt and uncle wouldn't seek him out over temp jobs. The only explanation was something unusual was afoot, so he needed to confirm.

"Absolutely sure," Ma Lei nodded. "You didn't see them at Wang Dachui's banquet—your uncle and aunt were boasting so much that even your cousin Guazi couldn't stand it, rolling her eyes the whole time."

"In that case..." Liu Xing frowned. "After you send Wang Mazi up the mountain tomorrow, come find me. If possible, come with me in Uncle Li's car to Hengshui Distillery."

Ma Lei's family was related to Wang Dachui's, so it was certain he'd be escorting Wang Mazi. Liu Xing knew the background, which was why he gave these instructions.

As for why he wanted Ma Lei to go to the distillery with him, it was to stand up to his uncle and aunt, to ruin their recruitment plans in Saltpeter Village, and keep himself from being dragged into their mess.

"Alright! I'll do whatever you say. Don't worry, I won't mention this to anyone, not even my mother," Ma Lei promised.

"Then head home. Be careful on the road," Liu Xing waved him off.

"Okay, I'm off," Ma Lei replied, and with that, he rode off into the darkness along the country road.