The next morning, Wu Xiaoyu checked out of his room early, sent a text message to Zhou Dongmao Mountain, and then got on the bus home.
He couldn't wait to share the joy of the more than one hundred thousand yuan he earned with his parents and discuss the farming business with them.
After a bumpy journey, he finally returned to Longhe Town. Wu Xiaoyu retrieved his medicine basket from the station's duty room and prepared to go to the post office to withdraw money.
The thirty thousand high-interest loan taken out for his grandmother's illness had likely increased to forty or fifty thousand by now.
Added to that, Wang Erma wanted to force his family to marry off his sister to his son. Not a penny of the interest could be excused, so Wu Xiaoyu withdrew sixty thousand yuan.
Walking through the town with this cash, Wu Xiaoyu felt nervous. If he encountered a thief, the loss would be substantial.
To avoid being robbed, he avoided crowded places and chose to walk down a secluded path. Being robbed? That wouldn't happen!
The path he took was built specifically for the slaughterhouse, mostly used by trucks carrying pigs, cows, and sheep, with few pedestrians.
As he was leisurely strolling, he suddenly saw seven or eight shirtless men holding knives gathered at the fork in the road. What was happening? Were they robbing people with knives? So bold?
Wu Xiaoyu didn't think he could take on so many people, but he also didn't believe anyone would be so brazen as to commit robbery and murder in broad daylight.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that these men were wearing leather aprons marked with 'Longhe Town Slaughterhouse'—they were butchers!
Jesus! They scared the hell out of me! What are these guys doing gathering here?
"What the hell do we do? If someone gets hurt, our factory might have to pay a hefty compensation, and we could lose all our subsidies!"
Another butcher complained to a young man, "Why didn't you tie the blindfold on that cow tight? Now it's seen blood and gone mad. What do we do now?"
"How was I supposed to know it could shake it off?"
"..."
Listening to their conversation and seeing the mad cow crashing into trees in the nearby woods, Wu Xiaoyu realized that a cow from the slaughterhouse had escaped after being prepared for slaughter.
"Why don't you guys go over and kill that cow?" Wu Xiaoyu suggested.
The men turned around and saw a stylishly dressed young man with a medicine basket on his back. One of them shot him a disdainful look and said, "The cow's gone mad. You think it can be killed that easily?"
The young man who had been blamed also replied impatiently, "Kid, just go around! Stop talking nonsense!"
Although Wu Xiaoyu wasn't experienced like his father who worked in the slaughterhouse and hadn't killed many pigs, he thought it shouldn't be too difficult to stab the mad cow at its vital point when it was unprepared, right?
A group of people, all in the slaughtering business, couldn't deal with a mad cow?
"With so many of you here, isn't there anyone skilled enough to handle it? If someone gets hurt, it would be a serious matter!" Wu Xiaoyu said.
An older man walked over and said contemptuously, "What do you know, kid? This cow is incredibly strong and mad. If it hits anyone, it's serious! You're just a kid talking nonsense!"
"Exactly! Who dares to move a mad cow?"
Though true, can't you do more than just stand here watching? It was their mistake that caused the cow to run amok, and now they were accusing me of not knowing anything!
Seven or eight burly men, holding knives, could only watch helplessly at the mad cow in the woods. Ridiculous!
"Since you're too scared, why not call the police to shoot it?" Wu Xiaoyu suggested again.
His words woke them up. The burly men seemed relieved and grinned, "Yeah! Call the police! Hurry, call the police! Let them handle it!"
The man who had earlier insulted him grunted and pulled out his phone to call the police.
After reporting the situation, he saw Wu Xiaoyu still standing there and impatiently said, "Why are you still here? Want a share of the beef?"
Wu Xiaoyu couldn't tell him, 'I have sixty thousand yuan on me and I'm afraid of being robbed if I take another path,' so he said, "I've never seen the police shoot before."
The men were not happy being shown up by a kid who reminded them to call the police.
"Get moving! If that cow charges out, you won't have anyone to complain to!"
"You think police shootings are for kids to watch? Get lost!"
Someone even coaxed, "Kid, take another path quickly! If the cow charges and hits you, your life might be ruined!"
Damn! What's your problem? Did I offend you? Or can't you accept that I'm smarter than you?
"I want to watch, what's it to you?" Wu Xiaoyu responded coldly.
At that moment, the mad cow stopped ramming into trees and charged out of the woods. The seven or eight butchers holding knives turned and ran in panic.
The mad cow chased a butcher toward the fresh meat market. The market, being close to the slaughterhouse, was crowded with people buying groceries and meat at this time.
Seeing this, Wu Xiaoyu thought, 'This is bad!' and chased after the mad cow. When he reached the market, he saw the ground covered in pork and women frantically dodging around.
The butcher being chased had crouched behind a meat stall, shivering, while the mad cow rampaged through the market, causing havoc.
Seeing the imminent danger, Wu Xiaoyu placed down his medicine basket and a few bags, grabbed two sharp knives from a meat stall, and charged forward.
The mad cow, with bloodshot eyes, was difficult to approach as it jumped around, but Wu Xiaoyu, familiar with the secret slaughter techniques passed down through his family, knew the cow's anatomy well.
Seizing an opportunity, he aimed for the cow's heart and brainstem, stabbing it. The mad cow collapsed to the ground, dead, with its warm blood spurting onto his face. Excitement surged within him.
Witnessing this, the crowd was astonished. No one expected the mad cow to be dealt with so easily!
Once they recovered, they erupted into applause.
The butchers on the scene couldn't help but respect the young man for his clean and expert handling of the situation.
Even the middle-aged man who had previously belittled him came over, patted his shoulder, and asked, "Young man, where did you learn to kill cows? Interested in working at our slaughterhouse?"