Chapter 448 - 429: Teacher Yun Xiaoqi

"You went out for a bit and came back with horses?"

Despite his words, Grandpa Shen circled the two horses, reluctant to leave as he looked them over from every angle.

"Good horses. You can tell they’re good horses just by looking."

They lived far from the county town; their previous mode of transportation was an oxcart, later joined by a donkey cart.

Back then, the ox and the donkey belonged to their entire production brigade.

In a small place like theirs, they had never even seen a magnificent creature like a horse.

Shen Xiuyuan circled the horses several times, growing more and more excited. "Grandpa, these horses are way better looking than donkeys! They’re so much bigger."

’My cousin looked so cool and impressive riding the horse earlier.’

"Isn’t that obvious? If our brigade had owned a horse back in the day, we would have been the envy of all the surrounding brigades."

The older generation’s love for livestock like cattle, horses, and pigs was bone-deep.

As mealtime approached, the villagers gradually returned from the fields.

Word that Yun Jiao and her group had arrived on horseback spread from one person to another, and soon, more and more people knew.

Some of them even took detours just to come over and have a look.

"This horse is truly beautiful. Donkeys look so similar to horses, but they just don’t have the same majestic air."

"I’ve got one foot in the grave, but I never thought I’d live to see a horse. Before this, I’d only ever heard people talk about them."

"So this is what a horse looks like! Its muscles look so powerful, and it’s so tall."

Yun Linhai and Uncle Shen stood outside, holding back the people who tried to get too close.

"Everyone, looking is fine, but please don’t touch! It’s not that we’re being stingy, but the black one has a nasty temper. If you get kicked, you can’t blame us."

The black horse, munching on the tender grass Shen Xiuyuan and the others had brought for it, glanced at the surrounding crowd and shook its head irritably.

One person slipped through the crowd and quickly patted the black horse.

He was almost bitten by it.

"Whoa, jeez! It really does have a bad temper. I thought you guys were just trying to scare me."

Uncle Shen shot him an annoyed glare. "Get back. Can’t you see it’s angry?"

Yun Jiao stood in the doorway holding her bowl and began to eat.

’I really didn’t expect these two horses to be so popular.’

After dinner, Yun Jiao led a horse over and invited Grandpa Shen to get on and try it out.

Grandpa Shen repeatedly waved his hands in refusal. "I’d better not. I’m too old for that; my body can’t take it."

"Just get on and give it a try, Grandpa. I’ll be holding the reins. Besides, the red horse is good-tempered. We’ll just take a couple of laps around the courtyard; it’ll be fine."

In his heart, Grandpa Shen was actually very much looking forward to it. Persuaded by everyone, he nervously mounted the horse with their help.

"Grandpa, hold on tight to the saddle. Here we go."

Yun Jiao held the rope and slowly led the reddish-brown horse on a walk around the courtyard.

Grandpa Shen’s initial nervousness soon gave way to excitement, and a huge smile spread across his face.

He wasn’t a man of many words, but the smile on his face was exceptionally genuine.

The others watched with longing, also wanting a chance to ride.

Yun Jiao thought, ’I’m starting to think we don’t have enough horses.’

In the end, her father took the reins of the reddish-brown horse, while Yun Jiao led the black one to let her two older cousins have a try.

The black horse was a bit reluctant, but it settled down after Yun Jiao gave it a couple of pats.

When Shen Xiuyuan and his brother dismounted, they looked as if they hadn’t had nearly enough.

"This is even more fun than riding a bicycle."

Yun Jiao thought, ’Of course it is. Can the price of a bicycle even compare to a horse’s?’

After they got down, they went to pull up more fresh grass to feed the horses.

Other children from the village joined them.

They were incredibly envious as they watched Shen Xiuyuan riding the horse.

’Why don’t we have a cousin like that?’

When it was time to leave, the Shen Family was incredibly reluctant to see them go.

Shen Xiuyuan said, "Aunt, I’ll come visit you often."

Shen Yunlian chuckled. "Alright, I’ll be waiting."

They ambled home on horseback. The two horses, satisfied after a good run, were no longer restless when they returned to the backyard.

However, they wanted to go out for a run again the next day.

When Yun Jiao went out to the backyard early in the morning, the black horse grabbed her clothes in its mouth and started tugging her outward.

Its intention couldn’t have been more obvious.

She yawned. "You wait. Let me eat breakfast first."

The family had steamed buns ready. As Yun Jiao was eating one, the black horse sidled up again and snatched the rest of the bun right out of her hand.

It even knew how to knock on the door.

It would lift its hoof and TAP, TAP, TAP on the door.

Yun Jiao thought, ’This one’s a real handful.’

And yet, it was utterly disdainful of everyone except Yun Jiao, so arrogant it acted as if no one else was worthy of riding it.

Thus, Yun Jiao was the only one who could take it out for exercise.

As for letting it out to exercise on its own?

Forget it. Yun Jiao was afraid her thirteen thousand yuan would run away. Their bond wasn’t yet deep enough for her to be confident it would return on its own.

She took the two horses out for a ride, letting them run wherever they pleased with no particular destination in mind.

Yun Jiao gave them names: the black horse was called Cloud Xiaohai, and the red horse was called Yun Xiao Hong.

Simple and easy to remember.

Cloud Xiaohai and Yun Xiao Hong didn’t seem to have any trouble acclimating; they were just curious about their new surroundings.

Yesterday, they had been too busy running to pay attention to the environment.

Now, they ran toward anywhere that looked green.

They almost started nibbling on the rice seedlings in someone’s paddy, and Yun Jiao, in a panic, gave Cloud Xiaohai a solid smack.

Cloud Xiaohai: ???

Yun Jiao said, "You can’t eat that! You can eat the grass on the ridges."

Nearby, Yun Xiao Hong had already stretched out its lips, but when it saw Cloud Xiaohai get hit—the sound was so crisp—it quickly retracted its mouth.

"To the mountains we go."

Yun Jiao led them into the mountain forest.

She greeted acquaintances they met along the way.

There were plenty of wild grasses in the mountains. Swishing their tails, the two horses tasted them one by one, continuing to eat whichever ones they found palatable.

Sometimes they even raised their heads to nibble leaves from the trees.

They even ate bamboo leaves.

’Good, they’re not picky eaters.’

After wandering for a while, she started leading them home.

If she wanted them to eat their fill, she could just gather a pile of grass and bring it back.

When she returned home, she was surprised to find they had a guest.

Yun Jiao had a good memory and recognized him at a glance: it was Boss Qin, the man who had come looking for her before to buy the Yellow Lip Fish Jelly.

Her grandpa and Grandma were sitting with Boss Qin, chatting and laughing.

Yun Jiao: ???

’When did they get so friendly with each other?’

Qin He smiled at Yun Jiao. "Young lady, we meet again."

Yun Jiao’s first reaction was, ’Is he here to buy more fish maw?’

"Jiaojiao, let me introduce you! From now on, Mr. Qin will be my teacher!"

Yun Xiaoqi walked over, grinning from ear to ear, his happiness plain to see.

Yun Jiao blinked. "Huh? Teacher?"

It turned out that Qin He had come specifically looking for Yun Xiaoqi.

He was getting on in years and wanted to take on a godson.

Many people were willing to become his godson because of his vast business holdings; they would fight tooth and nail for such an opportunity.

He had only one daughter, who was frail and sickly. Taking on a godson was also a way to ensure she would have someone to rely on in the future.

However, Qin He wasn’t willing to accept just anyone. He had selected a few children from various backgrounds, all of whom were outstanding.

For now, though, he was simply acting as a teacher to these candidates.

During this period, he would keep these children by his side to instruct them personally.

Yun Xiaoqi was one of the children who had left a deep impression on him. That, combined with his interactions with Yun Jiao, made him decide to make a personal trip to ask for Yun Xiaoqi’s opinion.

Of course, Qin He hadn’t deceived him; he had clearly explained all the pros and cons of the situation to Yun Xiaoqi.

Whether he was willing to accept was entirely up to Yun Xiaoqi himself.