Chapter 46: Prepare to Capture Them All Alive!

The eldest daughter knew the family's situation all too well.

Any spare cash her father had would either be squandered on drinking away his sorrows or lost at card games. Although he had been making quite a bit of money recently, the family had many mouths to feed, and buying a new set of clothes and a pair of shoes for each person required a huge expense. Furthermore, her father planned to send her, along with her second, third, fourth, and fifth younger sisters, to school next year.

Going to school cost a lot of money!

Crucially, if all of them went to school, the household would be even more short-handed for labor.

In the countryside, the reason everyone favored sons over daughters was simply that a son grew up to become a strong laborer, whereas a daughter could not shoulder too much heavy work.

Therefore, the eldest daughter was deeply worried that her father might have been deceiving her.

Deep down, she actually had an intense yearning for education, because she knew very well that to change her destiny, she had to study!

Yet she also worried about the family; it was simply too poor.

However, if her father could bag another large animal today, it would prove that his hunting skills were truly extraordinary. In the future, not only would they have no shortage of meat to eat, but they would also not have to worry about a lack of money at home.

Consequently, she was exceptionally eager for her father to catch a big game. She could not even help herself and went to wait at the village entrance, hoping to catch the very first glimpse of her father's hunting trophies.

"Eldest Sister, in such cold weather, what are you going to the village entrance for?" the second sister asked.

"I'm going to wait for Dad," the eldest sister replied.

"Then I'll go too."

"I'm going too."

"I want to go as well!"

And so, a whole group of children set off.

When Tang Linbao led Tang Genshui and the others to the mudflat, they saw Tang Jiancheng actually squatting by the edge of the mudpool, studying the source of the hot spring.

His hands were caked in mud, and his clothes were soiled too. Fortunately, thanks to his efforts, he had finally located the source of the hot spring and cleared away the surrounding mud to form a small pool. The hot spring bubbled up continuously, wisps of white steam drifting into the air—clearly, the temperature was quite high.

However, the group merely glanced at him briefly before casting all their attention on the wild oxen soaking in the mudflat hot spring.

"Wild oxen?!"

"Holy crap! It really is a herd of wild oxen!"

"There are so many?!"

"Fourth brother, you've really been riding a wave of immense luck lately!"

Tang Jianwen and the other brothers exclaimed in repeated amazement.

"Ain't I just a total badass? Oh my god, I nearly suffocated the whole way here! You know what? Grandpa Jiancheng is seriously incredible! He led me charging straight through the mountain forests, picking the most desolate paths wherever he went. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, thinking he was deliberately torturing me in this heavy snow! Who would've guessed he actually knew about this mudflat and found all these wild oxen!"

Tang Linbao let out a long breath and began to boast wildly with an exaggerated tone.

"You guys have no idea how much suffering we endured along the way. Thick snow was everywhere and the trail was brutal, but Grandpa Jiancheng was practically flying across the ground..."

"You guys have no idea how many preys we crossed paths with, and Grandpa Jiancheng didn't take down a single one!"

"You guys have no idea, without wasting a single bullet or firing a single shot, we captured all six of these wild oxen! It's utterly unbelievable!"

Everyone knew that Tang Linbao loved to brag. Ordinarily, they wouldn't even bother listening, but right now they hung on his every word with relish because today's haul was simply too colossal.

Six wild oxen, each weighing close to a thousand catties!

At current beef prices of fifty or sixty cents per catty, that amounted to at least over three thousand yuan!

Everyone was trembling with excitement from head to toe.

"Dad, is there any way we can capture all these wild oxen alive and drive them back?" Tang Jiancheng asked.

"Capture them alive?"

Tang Genshui looked around, surveyed the group, and then shook his head. "If there were only one or two wild oxen, so many of us could manage to capture them alive, but with six here, it's going to be tricky."

"It's not six, it's eight!"

Tang Linbao boasted again, "Didn't you notice those two cows are pregnant? Their bellies are so swollen, there's definitely calves inside!"

"You're right!"

Only then did the others notice that the bellies of the two female cows were unusually large.

"Dad, I remember back in the collective farming days, didn't they once use salt to lure cattle back to the township for treatment?" Tang Jianwen suddenly suggested. "Could we also use salt..."

"Those were domestic cattle raised at home, and there was only one. Right now there are six; salt certainly won't work," Tang Genshui shook his head.

"Why don't we just slaughter them on the spot? We'd have to kill them for their meat once we dragged them back anyway," said the second brother, 'Tang Jianwu'. "We just need to capture those two pregnant cows alive."

Tang Jiancheng thought for a moment and said, "I still want to try and bring all six wild oxen back. Wild oxen are a bit milder than wild boars. As long as we don't provoke them and drive them slowly, we might be able to herd them back."

"Here's what we'll do: Eldest brother, second brother, third brother, go into the woods and cut some fresh branches. Any kind of branches wild oxen like to eat will do."

"Dad, fifth brother, Linbao, use the ropes to secure that cow over there. You must move very gently so as not to provoke any resistance. Sixth brother and I will go rope the cow on this side."

Tang Genshui said, "We brought plenty of rope. Otherwise, should we rope all the wild oxen?"

Tang Jiancheng pondered and shook his head. "We can't be too greedy, or we won't be able to hold onto any of them in the end. We just need to secure the two female cows, and then, moving with extreme gentleness so they don't feel threatened, we might just be able to drive the whole herd back."

"Cattle herds are actually gregarious animals, and they care for and protect pregnant cows very much. Therefore, as long as we keep those two cows on tether, the rest won't run away."

"Of course, the premise is that we must not make them feel threatened!"

"Once they feel threatened, they might go berserk. If that happens, not only will they escape, but they could also injure people."

"A wild ox is still a wild ox after all; we can never afford to be careless!"

"Alright, let's do as you say."

The group then split up to carry out the plan.

Tang Jianwen, Tang Jianwu, and Tang Jianbo moved with great agility, and before long, they hauled back several large bundles of fresh, tender branches.

Tang Genshui, Tang Jiantao, and Tang Linbao took the ropes and slowly approached one of the female cows. Tang Genshui held the end of the rope, tied a loop, and then slowly slipped the noose over the cow's head.

Perhaps these wild oxen were enjoying their hot spring bath too much; they simply watched the crowd's actions with wide eyes without making any reaction.

Tang Jiancheng and Tang Jianbing proceeded just as smoothly.

"Don't rush, Eldest brother, take some branches over to Dad. Second brother, bring some to our side. Third brother, keep an eye on the reactions of the other wild oxen at all times. The moment you see any signs of agitation, give us a warning signal immediately."

Under Tang Jiancheng's command, everyone went about their respective tasks in an orderly fashion.

Before long, lured by the fresh and tender leaves, both female cows slowly stood up. Everyone instantly held their breath and then coaxed the cows ashore bit by bit.

Perhaps they were hungry, or perhaps the tender branches were simply too delicious; the two cows let out a soft low and followed them onto the bank.

The other wild oxen raised their heads to take a look, and surprisingly stood up slowly as well.

Only the largest wild ox remained lying lazily in the warm mudpool without getting up, though its gaze constantly monitored the surrounding area.