Chapter 22
Chapter 22: Hitting the Jackpot
“Ah…” Agula was struck speechless by those words.
If it weren’t for the blood loss making his face pale, he’d probably be blushing red all over by now.
Sangtu was helping from the side, struggling to hold back his laughter.
Agula gave an embarrassed laugh, his eyes full of awkwardness as he looked away: “Well, actually, I misspoke. I’m actually from the Ninth Pasture. Ah, haha… We arrived earliest, so I came alone…”
Hailte, being young, couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
“Cough.” Sangtu smacked him on the head to make him tone it down.
Xie Changqing made a sound of acknowledgment and said calmly: “I heard. We’re a bit behind you.”
Seeing that he didn’t suspect anything, Agula breathed a sigh of relief.
To dispel their doubts, he worked hard to find topics: “Our pasture is really good. What’s your name? I heard your pasture still has an old veterinarian. Our pasture doesn’t—our veterinarian Xie just ran off, so we don’t have a vet anymore. Would you like to come to our pasture?”
“Hiss!” Sangtu’s eyes widened.
What? Poaching people right in front of him?
Could he stand for this?!
Just as he was about to explode, Xie Changqing shot him a look.
He calmly continued suturing the wound and said dismissively: “Oh, no thanks. I’m doing pretty well here.”
Watching him first disinfect the skin around the wound, then clean debris from inside the wound, followed by even, closely-spaced sutures.
After completing the sutures, he disinfected again, covered the wound with gauze, and secured it with medical tape to finish the bandaging.
Throughout the entire process, Xie Changqing worked with precision and skill. Such a complex procedure seemed like child’s play in his hands.
Agula watched with growing envy: If only he could pull this veterinarian to their pasture…
Just thinking about it made his heart race.
My god, it felt like all their previous livestock deaths had been for nothing!
The anesthesia hadn’t worn off yet, so the chestnut horse felt no pain in its wound and gratefully nuzzled Xie Changqing’s hand with its head.
After Xie Changqing put away his instruments and washed his hands, he soothingly patted its head.
He had to admit, sometimes he really felt that getting along with animals was much easier than getting along with people.
Take Agula beside him, for instance—his mind had more schemes than a hornet’s nest.
Compared to him, this horse was truly adorable.
When he didn’t respond, Agula didn’t give up: “…If you come to our pasture, we’ll provide all the medicine you need. Whatever you want, we have it. And if you like women, I can arrange that for you too!”
Sangtu’s eyes widened and he nearly choked: “???”
“Really.” Agula followed behind Xie Changqing, extremely excited: “What type do you like? Slim waists? Big chests? Or big hips for easy childbearing? We’ve had quite a few people come recently, whatever type you like, we have…”
What kind of person was this?
Where was morality, where was decency, where was his address?
Sangtu was furious. He could tell immediately that he was talking about the people who had fled from their pasture to the Sixth Pasture.
He couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped forward with a punch, sending the man crashing to the ground with a “bang.”
“Ah!” Agula’s leg was still injured, so he couldn’t withstand this blow. Unable to stand steady, he fell directly to the ground, crying out in pain.
The key thing was he didn’t know why Sangtu had suddenly attacked, looking up with a confused face: “Hey, brother, what’s wrong with you?”
“Oh, I accidentally hit the wrong person.” Sangtu said matter-of-factly, extending his hand: “Come on, let me help you up.”
“…” Agula’s face was pale with pain as he waved his hand: “No thanks, I won’t get up. Let me rest for a bit.”
Of course he knew Sangtu was talking nonsense, but he didn’t dare question the real reason for the attack.
Earlier he’d been shocked by Xie Changqing’s skills and really couldn’t contain his desire to recruit him.
Now thinking about it, he really should have approached Xie Changqing privately…
Sangtu looked at him hanging his head, not knowing what he was thinking, and snorted inwardly.
Good, it should hurt. It won’t kill him!
He deserved the pain. When he was in pain, he wouldn’t have time to seduce Xie Changqing.
“Let’s head back directly.” Sangtu looked at the sky and frowned: “Looking at this situation, it’s probably going to snow soon, and besides…”
He looked back toward where they’d been gathering herbs.
The lone wolf had attacked Agula there, and both his and the horse’s blood had left many traces in that area.
This bloody smell could easily attract carnivorous animals.
“Alright.” Xie Changqing nodded. He’d gathered enough herbs anyway and didn’t mind missing out on a little bit.
When they prepared to leave, Agula was dumbfounded: “Ah, wait… what about me?”
His horse was injured, and he was dragging an injured leg—how was he supposed to get back?
As he spoke, he turned his gaze to the chestnut horse, wondering if it could carry him back.
Xie Changqing saw through his thoughts immediately and said decisively: “No way. It can’t pull heavy loads or even run fast right now.”
Not to mention it would have to carry him up the mountain—the wound would definitely split open again, and it could bleed to death.
Most importantly: “If you ride it back like this, it’ll die before you’re halfway there, and it’ll definitely drag you down with it.”
When livestock are severely injured and in pain, they go mad, and nothing can hold them back.
Thinking of that scene, Agula’s face turned a bit green: “Then… what should I do?”
“What’s that got to do with us?” Sangtu looked matter-of-fact: “We saved you and saved your horse. Do you expect us to escort you back too?”
“…” Agula looked embarrassed. After hesitating for a while, he pushed the chestnut horse forward: “Ah, well then, thank you so much. I didn’t bring anything else on this trip… I’ll give you this horse and trade it for a smaller or older horse from you, okay?”
Nothing else to say—Xie Changqing and the others really did have an old horse!
This deal was hitting the jackpot!
Xie Changqing agreed without hesitation, nodding: “Alright, wait here then.”
He called Hailte over and gave him instructions.
Perfect timing—they only had one old horse left at home.
Tana had been worried sick about this old horse.
Sell it? Nobody wanted it.
Kill it? The meat was too tough to eat.
Keep it? It was truly a burden, and handling it would become even trickier as it got older…
Xie Changqing’s eyes lit up as he said cheerfully: “Then let’s wait a bit. We happened to bring a horse with us…”
Hailte turned back without hesitation, and before long he returned riding his horse and leading the old horse.
When Agula saw the old horse, his face darkened.
Seriously? This was way too old!
His chestnut horse was in its prime, with perfect teeth, and could run very fast…
But he was caught between a rock and a hard place.
The offer to trade had been his own idea—nobody had forced him.
And Xie Changqing had saved him, so he had no face to back out.
Struggling onto the horse, Agula smiled more painfully than if he were crying as he bid them farewell.
After hesitating repeatedly, he still couldn’t help looking at Xie Changqing: “I’m serious. If you want to come to our pasture, you can find me anytime…”
After thinking it over, he pulled off a bronze bell with a totem and handed it to Xie Changqing.
What was this?