Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 593: Chapter 308: The Calf Worships the 4 Directions (Part 2)

Liu Yunlan nodded repeatedly. "I’m so very blessed. Hulu is such a good baby—he never cries at night, eats whenever I feed him, and doesn’t even make a peep when I change him."

Zhao Qing was perched by the side of the bed, her dark eyes wide. She looked from Juhua and Liu Yunlan to the sleeping Little Hulu. Suddenly, she pointed at the baby and whispered excitedly to Juhua, "Juhua, look! Hulu is smacking his lips. He must be hungry."

Juhua glanced over. Sure enough, the little guy was smacking his lips in his sleep as if he were eating something. She couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or if it was just a reflex. Amused, she looked up at Liu Yunlan, silently asking what the baby wanted.

Liu Yunlan smiled down at her son and shook her head. "He’s not hungry—he just ate a little while ago. He often does that in his sleep. It’ll stop in a moment."

Just as Juhua was about to speak, she heard Huai Zi’s soft call from outside the window. "Juhua! Juhua! The calf’s been born!"

Hearing this, Juhua scrambled to put on her shoes and get out of bed. "Yunlan," she said, "I’m going to see the calf. You should get some sleep."

Zhao Qing was even faster. She dropped down onto the footstool, grabbed her shoes, and yanked them on. In a flash, she was running for the door.

Liu Yunlan watched their departing figures with envy. She wanted to go see as well, but she wasn’t allowed out of bed yet. She knew not every wife was as blessed as she was, getting to rest for a solid month. Some women were back on their feet three days after giving birth; those who were better off might get ten days. The Yang Family and Juhua had both told her to rest for the full month and let her body recover properly before doing any work. She was nothing but grateful and so rested obediently.

Once outside, Juhua and Zhao Qing heard Huai Zi laugh. "Hurry, it was just born!" He grabbed Juhua’s hand, and she in turn pulled Zhao Qing along as they all ran excitedly toward the cowshed out back.

Rounding the corner, they saw the cowshed was brightly lit by several torches. A crowd of people had gathered, and over the noise, they heard Zhao San’s booming laugh. "It’s paying respects to the four corners! The calf is paying respects to the four corners!"

Juhua was puzzled and quickly asked, "What does ’paying respects to the four corners’ mean?"

"Come and see, you’ll understand," Huai Zi chuckled. "It’s just the calf trying to stand up. Since it was just born, it has a really hard time getting its balance."

They squeezed through the crowd, found a gap, and peered inside. A small calf, its fur wet and matted to its body, was struggling on the ground. A gray cloth was wrapped around its midsection. Its four limbs flailed about. With great difficulty, it would manage to stand, only to fall again. It would scramble with its front legs, push itself up, but its legs seemed to have no strength. It would take a few wobbly steps and then collapse. This repeated over and over.

Zheng Changhe got anxious and yelled, "Put some muscle into it! Stand steady!"

Shorty Zhou laughed. "What are you so anxious about? It hasn’t finished paying its respects. Once it’s done with the four corners, it’ll stand steady on its own."

Juhua saw that each time the little calf fell, it ended up facing a different direction. As it spun around, it really did look like it was kneeling to the four corners. She couldn’t help but laugh. "So *that’s* ’paying respects to the four corners’! I thought because Father got a new calf, it was such a joyous event that we’d have to light incense and pray to the bodhisattvas of the four directions."

Everyone roared with laughter at that.

Zhao Qing held her breath, her eyes glued to the calf, not even blinking. Each time it fell, she couldn’t help but let out a small cry. She must have thought it was pitiful to watch the poor thing fall, because she looked up, unable to bear it any longer, and asked, "Juhua, why don’t we go help it up?"

Before Juhua could answer, Zhao San spotted his daughter in the crowd and called out, "Hey now! Daughter, what are you doing here? This isn’t a sight for a little girl."

"Father, I just got here! I didn’t see it being born," Zhao Qing said quickly. She remembered Juhua had told her that watching a birth was like watching someone use the privy—not for a little girl’s eyes—so she was quick to defend herself.

Zhang Dashuan laughed. "What’s the harm in a little girl her age seeing a calf? Qing’er, the calf has to get up by itself. You can’t help it, or its legs will never be strong enough later on."

Although Juhua didn’t know the specific custom, she understood the reasoning behind it and used it as a teachable moment for Zhao Qing. "It’s the same for people," she said. "You have to rely on yourself for everything. You can’t count on others. Even if someone helps you once, they can’t always be there to help you. The very first thing this calf has to learn is how to stand on its own. If it can’t even do that, things will be hard for it later on."

Zhao Qing nodded. "Mother says that little girls have to learn their needlework and cooking well, so they won’t have a hard time after they’re married."

Shorty Zhou looked at Juhua and laughed. "This girl here has a way with words. And Zhao San’s daughter is clever, too. It’s impressive for someone so young to understand so much. Third Brother, you’re a fortunate man."

Zheng Changhe laughed. "Of course Third Brother is fortunate! His Little Shitou alone is destined for great things; he’s sure to be an official someday. Third Brother, we old brothers will be counting on you to look after us then!"

Zhao San gave a modest chuckle and said that who knew if the boy would ever amount to anything. If he couldn’t even earn the rank of Scholar, wouldn’t he just have to come back home and work the fields?

While they were talking and laughing, the little calf, after a dozen or so falls, finally managed to stand on its four splayed legs. It then took several steps in a row. Although it was still unsteady, it didn’t fall again, drawing a round of cheers from the crowd.

Zhao Qing joyfully shook Juhua’s arm, crying out in a clear voice, "Juhua, it stood up by itself! It didn’t need anyone’s help!"

Juhua nodded happily. "This calf will definitely be strong. It’ll be a great help with plowing and harrowing."

"That goes without saying!" Zheng Changhe added with a grin. "Just look at the life in it!"

Qingmu stepped forward with a smile to clear away the afterbirth. He removed all the soiled straw and replaced it with a fresh layer; Zhang Huai hurried over to help. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)