A person like this is bound to achieve great things in the future!-De volta a 82: Não posso perder nenhuma das minhas filhas(O gato malhado observa as flores.)

Seeing the robust and magnificent wild oxen, Big Sister and the others were all overjoyed.

They looked up at their father with eyes full of adoration, sparkling brightly.

"Father didn't lie to me. He really can earn a lot of money to support our education! I must study hard. Aunt Jiang Yao said that we daughters can do even better than sons!"

Big Sister clenched her fists in excitement, vowing in her heart to bring honor and pride back to her father!

When they arrived at Tang Jianbo’s house, his sons had already heard the news and run out of the house to watch the excitement.

Tang Jianbo’s wife had long since opened the pigsty, standing by the entrance with a beaming smile. Upon seeing the wild oxen, she hurriedly stepped aside.

Once inside the village, the wild oxen became even more docile, perhaps because they were surrounded by people and dared not act rashly, or perhaps because they realized they were going to be penned up and would no longer have to suffer the wind, frost, cold, and hunger, causing them to give up their struggle.

They walked obediently all the way into Tang Jianbo’s pigsty.

All the villagers followed them in. Those who couldn't squeeze inside stood on tiptoe at the back of the crowd to watch, while others crowded around the windows to peer in.

The villagers had a natural fondness for cattle.

After all, cattle could help with so many things!

"Linbao, the oxen have been driven back. How do you plan to split them?"

After driving the oxen into the pigsty and throwing in a generous amount of straw, Tang Jiancheng pulled Tang Linbao—who was still in a state of extreme excitement—aside and asked.

Tang Linbao replied, "Grandpa Jiancheng, this is entirely your achievement. You say how we should split them, and that's how we'll do it."

"The two of us went hunting together, so it should definitely be a fifty-fifty split..."

Before Tang Jiancheng could finish, Tang Linbao waved his hand and said, "That won't do. You have to take the lion's share; otherwise, you won't take me out to play anymore in the future. How about this: I'll take two oxen, and the rest belong to you."

"That doesn't seem right, it's not according to the rules!"

"Grandpa Jiancheng, it's settled then. I want one cow, and since she's pregnant with a calf, that's more than enough for me!"

"Ah? You mean those two oxen? No, that won't do. You're getting the short end of the stick. People in the village will inevitably gossip later and curse me for being too greedy!"

"Grandpa Jiancheng, I'm doing this completely of my own accord. Anyone who dares talk nonsense, I'll tear their mouth apart! Alright, Grandpa Jiancheng, it's settled. I'm going to go lead my oxen away now!"

In the past, Tang Linbao would have demanded a fifty-fifty split without hesitation, because that was the rule, and no one could accuse him of being greedy.

Right now, however, he had other ideas in mind.

Tang Jiancheng’s luck lately had been simply too extraordinary: he had found several wild boars, dug out eleven badgers, hunted twenty-one wild boars, and today he had captured eight wild oxen!

If he didn't seize the chance to curry favor with someone blessed with such great fortune now, when would he?

Besides, Tang Jiancheng's success wasn't just a matter of luck. Putting aside his unfathomable marksmanship, his calm, orderly, and unflustered command all along the way made it seem as though nothing could ever stump him.

A man like this was bound to achieve great things in the future!

It was precisely because he foresaw this that Tang Linbao adamantly insisted on taking only a cow and a calf. This was a gesture of goodwill toward Tang Jiancheng. He believed that Tang Jiancheng would feel it, remember it, and undoubtedly promote and help him in the future.

"Don't rush to lead the oxen away just yet. This herd is used to living together. If you rashly pull the cow away, it might lead to unpredictable consequences. It's better to keep them at my third brother's place for now, and you can just bring over some fodder every day." Tang Jiancheng stopped Tang Linbao.

Tang Linbao smiled and said, "Alright, I'll listen to you!"

With that, he walked back into the crowd and began to boast grandly, "You guys have no idea how difficult it was for us to track down this herd. We really had to cross mountains and traverse caves..."

"There's no need to exaggerate like that. Didn't you guys just catch them at Haoshan Reservoir?"

A villager mercilessly punctured his narrative.

Without even blushing or missing a beat, Tang Linbao glared and snapped, "What the hell do you know, you hammerhead! We *did* catch them at Haoshan Reservoir, but Haoshan Reservoir has dozens of mountains. Do you think they were that easy to find?"

"If they were so easy to find, would we have even gotten our turn to catch them?"

"Let me tell you, you have no idea. Grandpa Jiancheng and I almost ran our legs off before we finally found this herd inside a dense thicket of thorns!"

"You guys have no idea how thick those thorns were. If Grandpa Jiancheng hadn't had such sharp eyes, we never would have spotted that herd!"

"You guys have no idea..."

Tang Linbao spoke with flying spittle, weaving truth and exaggeration into a thrilling and captivating tale. The gathered listeners felt as though they were listening to a professional storyteller, thoroughly engrossed.

Even Tang Genshu and Tang Jianwen were fascinated.

They had been direct participants and knew very well that the entire process hadn't been particularly perilous or thrilling, yet coming out of Tang Linbao's mouth, it sounded as if they had endured eighty-one trials of tribulation.

One had to admit, Tang Linbao's eloquence was far superior to Tang Xingde's.

When Tang Xingde recounted his experiences, he simply stated the facts—dry, rigid, and completely lacking in vivid imagery.

Tang Linbao was entirely different.

With exaggerated expressions, thrilling phrasing, reasonable embellishments, and outbursts of dramatic exclamation, he kept the villagers completely enthralled and begging for more.

After he finished, the villagers were still unsatisfied, and two clear realizations had settled into their minds:

First, wild oxen were truly difficult to catch!

Second, Tang Jiancheng was truly formidable!

Ignoring Tang Linbao's rambling nonsense, Tang Jiancheng gave his third brother and third sister-in-law a few instructions regarding precautions, and then headed home with the children.

The children, however, wanted to stay and listen, so Tang Jiancheng left them to it and walked back home alone.

"Did you really catch wild oxen?"

Seeing Tang Jiancheng return, Liu Fangfang asked immediately.

"Of course. Isn't your husband amazing?"

Noticing that none of their daughters were home, and seeing Liu Fangfang holding little Jiujiu who was nearly a month old, Tang Jiancheng couldn't help leaning in, bringing his face close to hers and staring straight into her eyes.

"You—are you looking to die?"

Liu Fangfang's face flushed crimson as she hurriedly leaned back to dodge him.

"We've been an old married couple for ages, what are you dodging for?" Seeing Liu Fangfang react this way, Tang Jiancheng felt the joyful thrill of a successful prank.

"You, you, you're all covered in dirt, go wash up first." Liu Fangfang's face grew even redder. Assuming Tang Jiancheng was feeling amorous again, her voice dropped to a whisper.

"Huh?"

Tang Jiancheng paused for a second before realization dawned on him. He quickly chuckled and said, "Alright, your husband will go get nice and clean right now, and then I'll sleep with you."

He laid heavy emphasis on the word "sleep," making Liu Fangfang so embarrassed that she buried her head down, not daring to look at him at all.

Deep down, she found it strange—why had Tang Jiancheng been so affectionate and demanding lately?

He worked so hard every single day, yet still had his mind on this; wasn't he tired?

Little did she know that after suppressing his desires for over forty years, if it weren't for their poverty and the several daughters they still needed to raise, Tang Jiancheng would have loved nothing more than to cling to Liu Fangfang adhesive-style every waking moment.

Tang Jiancheng took a quick bath. It was a rare occasion when the house was empty, and he intended to spend some quality time intimately with his wife. The moment he finished washing up, however, he heard the voices of his daughters ringing out from outside the house.