286 Come Together
Upon hearing Xue Yifu’s words, Jiang Yue and Xue Xiao walked over to take a look. They just happened to see Xue Yifu install the two wooden wheels, and a two-wheeled wooden cart similar to a handcart was completed.
It was very simple. There wasn’t a cover to keep out the wind and rain. When he attached it to the cow, it would be an ox cart.
“Quick, quickly put it on the cow and see if it gits!” Xue Wufu became even more excited. Together with Xue Yifu, they pushed the finished wooden cart out of the courtyard.
Xue Erfu smiled as he went to get the bull tied to the tree.
Xue Sifu, on the other hand, hoisted the cart up, waiting for the cow.
Xue Yifu’s wooden cart was made according to the structure and size drew by Xue Yan. It fit perfectly on the cow’s body and nothing needed to be changed.
Seeing that it was done, Xue Wufu climbed onto the ox cart and stood high up. He held the whip and the rope attached to the cow, acting like he was driving an ox cart. “Giddy up!”
Liu Guixia and the others laughed so hard that they almost choked. “Wufu, this is a cow, not a horse.”
Xue Wufu chuckled. “Sifu will be going to town to sell rice noodles tomorrow. Yifu is almost done with the water workshop. Xue Yan has asked Father to find someone to start building a workshop. Our family will buy horses sooner or later!”
Although Liu Guixia and the others thought that Xue Wufu was dreaming, it didn’t stop them from being hopeful as well. They all replied happily, “Good, good. If our family had a horse, that would be amazing.”
Xue Sifu laughed, “Mother, let’s hurry up and eat. After eating, I still have things to buy in town. I have to buy a pot and a stove. Otherwise, how can I bring the rice noodles to town tomorrow?” He still had to buy some side ingredients and condiments that he didn’t have at home. “Everything needs to be prepared by today.”
“Of course. Let’s have a quick lunch so you can go to town.” Then, Liu Guixia turned around and went back to the courtyard. As she walked, she said happily, “What a blessing. We have an ox cart at home now. We can drive our own ox cart to town next time.”
“Yup,” Xue Sifu acknowledged and then smiled at Xue Yan.
“Xue Yan, come with me to town tomorrow. The last time I sat in Yuxuan’s carriage, he said that if I wanted to do business, I could leave the extra things in his house so we won’t have to carry everything back and forth. He said that there were many empty rooms in his house.
“I met Doctor Shen when I went to his house and when he heard what I was doing in town, he said the same thing. He even said that we could put anything we needed. Their backyard is big enough and is usually empty, so they said we could use that space as well if need be.
“You are more familiar with them and it’ll be better to thank them with you there. It’s better if you come with me. When the time comes, we won’t be bringing back the tables, stools, boiler, and shed every day. We can leave them there.”
“Alright,” he said. Xue Yan nodded. He turned to Jiang Yue. Before Jiang Yue could say anything, Xue Sifu laughed, “Of course, Jiang Yue will be going with you. Don’t you usually take care of her? I can’t forget.”
Xue Yan touched his nose, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Jiang Yue finally understood why Xue Yan touched his nose last time. As it turned out, it was because he was teased by Sifu.
“We can let them go, but we’ll have to return the favor some other day,” Xue Dafu said.
“Don’t worry, father, we all know what to do.” Xue Sifu smiled. “Besides, Yuxuan and Xue Yan are good friends, so we have to be subtle about it. Otherwise, they’ll feel uncomfortable and treat us as an outsider.”
Xue Dafu saw that his sons knew what to do, so he stopped worrying. He said to Xue Yan, “Then you can take Jiang Yue and Sifu to town tomorrow. I’ll talk to the village chief about the water workshop later and see if he can find some people to help around. We’ll start construction in two days.”