Chapter 56: The Matter Is Not So Simple

After returning home, dusk was already falling. Liu Xing did not go to rest. After putting the softshell turtle into the large water tank and tying it securely, he took advantage of the remaining daylight to walk along the ridges of the fields, gathering a woven sackful of pigweed. Then he sat under the eaves and began chopping it up.

As for Melon Seed, she stood at the kitchen door with a rice bowl, feeding the chickens. Mimicking their mother, she tried to count the chickens to check if they had all returned home. Unfortunately, she could count only up to five, and no matter how many times she tried, she always got the numbers wrong.

Seeing this, Liu Xing couldn't help but laugh. “Silly little sister, stop counting and hurry up and open the chicken coop! If you keep counting like this, you won’t get it right even by this time tomorrow.”

“Oh!” Melon Seed shrank her neck and quickly went to open the chicken coop as told.

Liu Xing looked up and counted; seeing the numbers matched, he bent his head and resumed chopping pigweed.

A moment later, he carried a large bucket of pig feed mixed with rice bran to the pigsty. Melon Seed was not idle; she picked up a broom and began sweeping the doorway. Though still young, she did it with an air of seriousness. In the eighties, it was common for children from poor families to take on responsibilities early, so this was nothing out of the ordinary.

After feeding the pigs, Liu Xing went to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. Their parents would certainly be dining at their eldest sister’s house, so he and Melon Seed had to fend for themselves.

As for what to eat, there was already braised pork in the kitchen, as well as boiled river snails—both needed only a little reheating. But the rice had to be freshly cooked.

For Liu Xing, reborn into this life, cooking was hardly a challenge. After rinsing the rice, he sat by the earthen stove in the kitchen, adding firewood to prepare the meal.

Melon Seed sneaked two twisted crullers from her room. Handing one to Liu Xing, she sat beside him, munching contentedly. As for the White Rabbit candies, Liu Xing did not allow her to eat them at night, so she didn’t take any. Her obedient behavior filled Liu Xing with satisfaction.

However, when he glanced at his own feet and saw the worn-out straw sandals from walking, he frowned. Straw sandals, to be honest, were comfortable for wearing around the house and didn’t cause foot odor, but their flaw was that they wore out easily—a new pair usually lasted less than a month.

Today, walking back from his eldest sister’s house, his feet had been jabbed several times by hard stones, and though it was nothing serious, his soles were now aching. It was the poor quality of the sandals, not his feet, that was to blame.

Taking off the sandals, he saw several wounds on his thick-soled feet. Melon Seed, noticing this, took off her own slippers, but her feet were perfectly fine. The reason, of course, was that her slippers were made from tire rubber, which provided excellent protection.

Liu Xing sighed softly, knowing what he needed to do next: he had to make himself a better pair of shoes. Otherwise, his feet and, by extension, himself would continue to suffer.

Before his rebirth, he hadn’t realized the risks of wearing straw sandals; now, he found it unexpectedly troublesome.

The fragrance of freshly cooked rice soon wafted from the stove.

Returning to his senses, Liu Xing quickly removed a few blazing logs from the fire, then began heating the braised pork and river snails. However, he disliked a dinner of only meat dishes. He went to the vegetable plot in the backyard, picked some cabbage, and stir-fried it simply in the kitchen.

Soon, three dishes and a soup were laid out on the table. Melon Seed stared wide-eyed. “Brother, when did your cooking get so good? Mom can barely keep up with you now!”

“That’s right! This is really something!” Liu Ye, returning from his studies, chimed in.

“It’s just a matter of putting your hands to it,” Liu Xing replied with a modest smile. As someone who had lived decades into the future, if he couldn’t handle a few home-style dishes, he’d hardly be worthy of his second chance.

Neither Melon Seed nor Liu Ye doubted him. Instead, they picked up their bowls and began eating. Finding the stir-fried cabbage especially tasty, they couldn’t help but have an extra bowl of rice.

Liu Xing, however, was not in the mood to focus on food. After hastily eating a bowl, he sat at the hall’s doorway and set about making his own slippers. He’d originally wanted to make sandals, but in the end gave up, needing to save time and get some footwear on his feet as quickly as possible. Whether they were sandals or not became irrelevant—having shoes to wear was enough. After all, his eldest sister, mother, father, Little Dot, brother-in-law, and Liu Ye were all waiting for him to make them shoes as well.

Busy hours passed quickly, and before he knew it, it was after nine. In the rural eighties, with little entertainment, Melon Seed and Liu Ye went to bed early.

Liu Xing finished making his slippers, tried them on, and found them a perfect fit—comfortable and satisfactory. Just then, a flashlight beam appeared on the country road, followed by the ringing of a bicycle bell. Liu Xing went out and saw his parents returning, and breathed a sigh of relief. But he didn’t go out to greet them; instead, he picked up the hacksaw and began making more slippers.

This time, he was making pairs for his eldest sister and mother, as their foot sizes were similar. However, knowing his sister’s fondness for style, he decided not to make her slippers, but instead set about crafting sandals for her.

At that moment, his father, Liu Dazhao, pushed his bicycle into the house. His first words were chilling: “Did you hear? The short Wang next door to Dongju had their ox stolen while your mother and I were coming back. The thief is said to be from Old House Village—it nearly scared your sister to death.”

“What? Did they catch him?” Liu Xing instantly thought of the black calf that hadn’t been brought back, a cold dread rising in his heart.

“If they’d caught him, I wouldn’t be telling you about it,” Liu Dazhao sighed. “But don’t worry, Dongkui will watch the black calf tonight. With someone there, the thief won’t dare act so brazenly.”

“That’s true.” Liu Xing thought about going to his eldest sister’s house to watch over the black calf, but then realized that since the thief had been discovered, he wouldn’t dare try again—at least not in the next couple of days.

“You’re making slippers again?” Liu Dageng, noticing the scattered tire rubber on the ground, asked with a smile.

“Mm,” Liu Xing nodded.

“Oh! You’ve already made a pair for yourself. Let me try them on and see how they feel,” Liu Dazhao said, sitting nearby.

“They’re size forty-one; they probably won’t fit you,” Liu Xing replied, but in the end, he still took off his slippers and handed them over.

He soon regretted it. Once Liu Dazhao put them on, he refused to take them off, blatantly claiming them as his own. This left Liu Xing frustrated but he said nothing more.

Instead, he sat at the doorway and continued making shoes.

…

At first light the next day, Liu Dazhao rode his bicycle, carrying Zhou Qiuxiang to Liu Dongju’s to plow the fields. Liu Xing, Liu Ye, and Melon Seed stayed out of it, but the sweet potato porridge in the kitchen was ready.

This made Liu Ye, who got up early to study, very happy. After eating, he stealthily pocketed a few White Rabbit candies and ran off. Liu Xing saw but didn’t intervene. Instead, he let the chickens out of their coop, grabbed a woven sack, and left the house.

By the time he returned, the sack was full of pigweed. Melon Seed was up as well, feeding the chickens with her rice bowl.

She tilted her head and asked, “Brother, are we going to sister’s house again today?”

“No, today I have to make shoes—enough for the whole family. If there’s time, I’ll make you a pair of sandals,” Liu Xing replied with a smile.

“Oh,” Melon Seed nodded obediently. Hearing that Liu Xing would make her shoes, she couldn’t help but smile sweetly.

Seeing it was still early, Liu Xing went to the outhouse, then squatted under the eaves to chop pigweed. Before he could finish, a jeep horn sounded on the country road. Chief Wu—no, Deputy Director Wu—stepped out of the driver’s seat.

“Good morning, Xiao Liu!” he greeted.

“Uncle, what brings you here so early?” Liu Xing was startled and quickly stood up.

“I have a personal matter to discuss. Do you have time? If so, come with me to Old House Village,” Director Wu said, approaching with a grave expression.

“No,” Liu Xing refused without hesitation. He wasn’t a fool—Director Wu never brought good news. It was surely about the stolen ox at Short Wang’s house.

He’d helped out last time only because of his classmate Wang Aixiang. This time, he wouldn’t get himself into trouble. Besides, he found it odd—why did Director Wu always seek him out for cattle theft cases? Was it because of his knowledge of oxen? Or… had he somehow noticed a trace of his rebirth?

“It shouldn’t be,” Liu Xing thought, reassuring himself inwardly.

“How can you not have time!” Director Wu rolled up his sleeves and started helping chop pigweed. “Don’t worry, if you can’t get away this morning, I’ll wait for you. But today, no matter what, you must come with me to Old House Village.”

“Why?” Liu Xing was both amused and exasperated.

“Because thirteen cattle were stolen from Old House Village last night,” Deputy Director Wu said, looking up at Liu Xing, bloodshot eyes betraying a sleepless night.

“What?” Only then did Liu Xing realize the situation was more complicated than he had imagined. Thirteen cattle stolen in one night—this was unprecedented, not just for Old House Village, but for the entire Zhangmu Township.

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As always, your recommendations and favorites are greatly appreciated! Thanks to Sui Feng Jing Jing for the thousand-point tip, to silent1991 for a hundred, to Water Friend 20200801182015598 for another hundred, and to Vixen for a hundred as well. Your support is the greatest motivation for the author to keep writing. My heartfelt thanks!