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Old man: "If it weren't so ill-tempered, it could sell for twelve thousand!"

"Isn't its temper already bad? Just sell it for seven thousand, so you won't have to squat here at every bazaar."

"Take it home and raise it. Who would it bite then? Eight thousand. I won't sell for less."

"If it can't bite people, it'll bite other cattle and sheep. Are you going to let it stay alone in a cowshed? Seven thousand two hundred. Sell it to me."

"For seven thousand two hundred, I might as well keep raising it myself!"

"Seven thousand five hundred. That's the highest I'll go. I'll add five hundred, you'll take off five hundred, and we can both make a sale. Your cow even bit me."

"Eight thousand. If that won't do, I'll come back next bazaar."

"Hey! Does your feed cost nothing if you keep raising it for a few more days? Doesn't it take time to drive it here? After all that trouble, won't you have spent five hundred anyway?"

The old man was stubborn as a mule. No matter how the man who had been bitten haggled, he refused to budge.

In the end, the bitten man got angry too. "Keep the cow yourself! Let's see who'd spend eight thousand on a cow with such a rotten temper!"

With that, he shook his hand, pushed through the crowd, and stormed off.

With no more excitement to watch, some of the people around them dispersed. Those who remained circled the cow and looked it over, but none showed any intention of making an offer.

The old man hugged his cattle whip and sat to one side, his face full of gloom.

Shi Wen observed the cow carefully for a while, then squeezed into the crowd and asked the old man, "Can I take a look?"

Old man: "I won't sell for less than eight thousand."

Shi Wen smiled. "Let me look first."

Hearing that, the old man stiffly said, "Don't stand behind the cow. It kicks too."

Shi Wen gave an inward huh. This cow bit people and kicked them too. Its temper really was terrible.

It was a brown dairy cow. Since he had been warned, Shi Wen did not dare pry open its mouth to inspect its teeth for fear of being bitten.

He walked in a circle around the dairy cow and quickly determined that it was a heifer just over a year old.

A cow could breed at around two years old. A normal brown cow could easily sell for twenty or thirty thousand at that age, so the old man's asking price of eight thousand was not actually expensive.

But with such a bad temper, it might not successfully breed when the time came.

Shi Wen continued looking the dairy cow over, and the more he looked, the more satisfied he became.

The cow stood obediently and let him inspect it. Later, he tentatively stroked its neck and checked its teeth, but it did not resist at all. Compared to before, it was as docile as though it were an entirely different cow.

The old man had not expected the cow to be so gentle under Shi Wen's hand, and neither had Shi Wen.

Someone nearby chuckled. "Looks like this cow is destined to be with you, young man."

The old man watched Shi Wen eagerly. Perhaps because there was hope of making a sale, his expression improved somewhat.

Shi Wen patted the cow's back.

It truly was a good cow. Cows of the same grade in the market were never priced below twelve thousand.

Even if its temper was a little bad, it was no great problem in his hands. He had plenty of empty cowsheds, after all. Once he brought it home, he could simply keep it alone in one of them.

Shi Wen quickly made up his mind. "Sir, sell this cow to me."

The old man lifted his backside off the railing and half stood as he emphasized, "Eight thousand. Not a cent less."

Shi Wen smiled. "Eight thousand it is."

Only then did the old man stand up fully. "My cow is a good cow. Buy it home and train it properly, and you definitely won't lose out."

Shi Wen smiled and settled the payment with the old man.

Once the old man confirmed that the money had arrived, he handed the rope to Shi Wen.

Someone nearby said to the old man, "Happy now?"

The old man nodded. "Happy. This young man has an eye for cattle."

Shi Wen smiled and led the cow away. Before long, he spotted another scrawny dairy cow being sold for beef.

Among so many tall, sturdy cattle, none had caught Shi Wen's eye. Yet this scrawny dairy cow made him inexplicably pleased, and he felt an urge to buy it.

He led his cow over to ask about it. The seller told him that the dairy cow had been injured while giving birth and could no longer calve, so it could only be sold for beef, at a price of nine thousand three hundred.

Shi Wen carefully examined the cow's condition. Based on his professional knowledge and intuition, he judged that this cow had good conformation and should still have a chance of recovery.

The cow was only a little over four years old. If it could be nursed back to health, it could calve at least five more times.

In the end, he bargained the price down to nine thousand and bought the scrawny breeding-age cow as well.

Shi Wen had bought two cows, and Fu Meng's tricycle could not hold them both, so they ultimately had to ask another person traveling with them to help transport them back.

At this grand bazaar, the villagers selling cattle and sheep had basically sold out, while the people looking to buy had gained little. There were plenty of empty vehicles.

Fu Meng helped speak up, and the person traveling with them readily agreed. He even praised Shi Wen for knowing how to buy cattle. "That heifer you bought really is good. When it's time to breed her, find a good bull and give it a try. In a few years, you should have a whole herd of fine cattle."

"I hope so too." Shi Wen gently patted the cow's back. "Hopefully its temper improves a little. I don't want my investment to go down the drain."

As soon as he said that, someone immediately realized. "So you're the one who bought that stubborn old man's cow? I was wondering why this cow looked so familiar."

"I heard before that this cow's temper was so bad it had even been returned. But now that I see you leading it around, it doesn't seem all that bad."

Shi Wen smiled. "It's fine. I don't have many livestock at home, so I can keep it by itself for now. Maybe its temper will gradually improve."

"I think the cow gets along with you just fine," someone beside him said. "That old man hasn't had it easy either."

It seemed there was more to the story, so Shi Wen asked, "What happened to the old man?"

The man speaking gave a sly chuckle. "It's actually a good thing. The old man sold the cow to scrape together a dowry for his youngest granddaughter."

Shi Wen paused, then smiled. "Then I've caught some of that good fortune."

Newly bought livestock could not be mixed with the original livestock right away. They had to be kept in quarantine separately for a time, and only after making sure they carried no disease could they be combined.

Even though he had few livestock, Shi Wen did not dare cut that corner.