There is Xiejiazhuang on the banks of the Tang River. When the river is flooded in summer, people in the village love to take a pair of two-tooth grappling hooks to fish for firewood. This summer, Xie Laoshuan not only fished a lot of branches and straw, but also fished a calf!

In fact, when the calf was pulled ashore by Xie Laoshuan with a grappling hook on its head, it was already bloated and dying. Xie Laoshuan's son Xie Fuyou advised him: While there is still breath, hurry up and slaughter it to eat meat. If it swallows by itself, the dead calf in Futian will not be easy to eat. Xie Laoshuan was kind-hearted and reluctant to kill, so he took the calf home and placed it in the shade of a tree, took a fan to repel mosquitoes and flies, and drank it with thin rice soup. Under his careful care, the calf quickly recovered and could stand up and eat grass on himself in a few days.

The calf was grateful, and he could serve after one year, and he became pregnant and gave birth the next year. And it was this cow's pregnancy and giving birth that changed Xie Laoshuan's family background.

This is about Xie Laoshuan's neighbor. The neighbor is an old scholar, who is also the patriarch of the Xie family in the village. Lao Xiucai's family has land and a school, and their income is quite rich. It is a pity that Lao Xiucai's family is not prosperous, and his wife has been in the house for 30 years, which has caused the old scholar to be over 50 years old and still have no children on his knees. Seeing that an incense flame was about to go out, the old scholar had no choice but to take a concubine. The concubine lived up to her high hopes and gave birth to a baby boy that year. Old Mei got married, and the old scholar was naturally very happy. But there are not many things in this world that are satisfactory. Although the concubine's breasts were also plump, they had milk and no juice. The baby was born without food, and she was so hungry that she cried all night. The old woman jumped on her feet in a hurry and stood in the courtyard and sighed, "God wants me to die?"

At that time, Xie Laoshuan came over with a big bowl of coarse porcelain. The two of them are peers, but Xie Laoshuan is a few years older. Xie Laoshuan held half a bowl of hot milk: "Brother, isn't the Republic of China on site? I heard that there are people in the city who drink milk as tea. My cow's milk is full of milk, so I squeezed these. Do you dare to drink it for emergency?"

A sentence reminded the dreamer, and the old Xiu hurriedly reached out and took the milk: "Dare, why don't you dare!" The old Xiu went to a friend's house in the city as a guest a few days ago. The friend's son had just returned from studying abroad, and he had to drink a glass of milk every morning to strengthen nutrition.

From then on, Xie Laoshuan's cow seemed to have given birth to twins, with one portion of milk supporting two mouths, and the calf and the baby shared the drink. It was not until a year later that the son here would eat and the calf over there could eat grass that she was weaned.

He named his son Xie Niuen to show that he would never forget the kindness of nursing cows. He also gave Xie Laoshuan three acres of fertile land to express his gratitude.

Xie Laoshuan is a craftsman who weaves baskets. He has no land to produce and relies only on thin skills to support his family. In those days, he was very poor, so that his son Xie Fuyu was still a bachelor in his late thirties. Since he got the good land presented by the old scholar, Xie Laoshuan's family can be considered to have a good day. The output of the field solved the problem of food and clothing, and the father and son sold the baskets and became savings. The family was gradually prosperous, and Xie Fuyou soon married a daughter-in-law.

And all of this, shouldn't it be attributed to that heifer? That cow's credit is not only that, but a few years later, it also saved Xie Laoshuan's life.

At this time, Xie Laoshuan was already old, and he could no longer weave baskets with his hands, so he could only do light work such as herding cattle and collecting firewood. That day, he was herding cattle on the river slope again, and accidentally slipped into the river. The old and frail Xie Laoshuan struggled in the water for help, but a few cattle herding dolls on the shore did not dare to go into the water to offer help, so they had to run back to the village to call for help. At a critical moment, the cow jumped into the river and swam to Xie Laoshuan. Xie Laoshuan grabbed tail of the cow and was pulled ashore by the cow, only to escape and save his life. When the villagers who came to hear the news learned of Xie Laoshuan's escape, they all said that the cow was human. She was rescued by Xie Laoshuan from the water back then, and now she is rescued from the water. Xie Laoshuan cried out in tears, "It's not a life for a life, this cow has given me too much: it fed the old scholar's son with milk and gave me back three acres of fertile land; in addition to plowing the field and pulling the cart, it also produces a calf every year. It is the great benefactor of my family!"

After this happened, Lao Xiucai decided that when he rebuilt the genealogy in the future, he would write Xie Laoshuan's behavior of saving cattle and cattle saving Xie Laoshuan into the genealogy as a good person's miracle, and educate future generations to be kind and rewarded, and do more good deeds to accumulate blessings.

Xie Laoshuan fell into the water and was rescued in the winter. He was frightened and caught a cold, and after returning home he was bedridden. As the saying goes, there is no filial son in front of the bed for a long time, so Xie Fuyou served soup and medicine for two months, and gradually became a little impatient. Xie Laoshuan also knew how to be interesting, and he slept for a long time until next spring.

After Xie Laoshuan passed away, the cow was also devastated. He ate less fodder, walked slowly, could not get up at all, and could no longer pull a cart to plow the field. It is not surprising to say that this cow has been in Xie Laoshuan's house for twenty years, and even if the twenty-year-old cow is not sick or disaster, it is time to retire. What's more, this human cow calves every year, works hard, and has long exhausted its energy. What's more, it has a deep relationship with Xie Laoshuan, and Xie Laoshuan's death hit it too hard, so it is normal to appear tired.

What was unusual was that Xie Fuyou, the son of Xie Laoshuan, wanted to sell the cow. Since the old cow could not work, what was the use of it? Xie Fuyou had already gone to the town to ask if such an old cow would also be accepted if he opened a soup pot, but the meat of the old cow was difficult to cook and not very popular with diners, so the price was very low. No matter how low the price was, he would have to sell it.

The cow was really human. He seemed to have sensed Xie Fufu's intentions. As soon as the reins were untied, he suddenly broke free of Xie Fufu's hands and ran out of the village with all his strength.

Xie Fuyou was stunned for a while before going to chase after the old cow, while chasing and asking for help: "Excuse me, intercept it!"

A warm-hearted person followed Xie Fuyou to chase the cow, all the way to Xie Laoshuan's grave, and saw the old cow roar and "plop" lying in front of Xie Laoshuan's grave. Xie Fuyou naturally ran ahead, grabbed the reins of the cow and pulled it tightly, pulling neck of the old cow so long that it almost pulled off the nose of the cow, but the old cow was as motionless as if it had taken root.

Everyone couldn't bear to see this tragic situation, and they quickly asked the reason, only to find out that Xie Fuyou was going to sell cattle. The people of the village knew that this cow was a mountain of kindness to Xie Fuyou's family, and they quickly persuaded Xie Fuyou to let go. The people of the Xie family are ancient and warm-hearted, and the folk customs are simple. They treat big animals like cattle like family members, raising old cattle that have lost their ability to work. After they die of old age, they are buried deep in their own land and allowed to merge with the land. No one sells them to butchers for three walnuts and two dates. Although this practice is not written into the village rules and regulations, it has been passed down from generation to generation, and no one has violated the rules.

But Xie Fuyou is a man who loves money like his life. No matter how much everyone persuades him, he just holds on to the reins of the cow and doesn't let go. He also refutes everyone plausibly: No matter how good an ox is to people, it is just an animal, and an animal is for people to drive and enjoy. Besides, my family has been weaving baskets for generations and has never raised cattle, so I can not abide by the rules of dealing with old cattle…

Old Xiucai was also alarmed by this incident. At this time, old Xiucai was already eighty years old, with white eyebrows, but his mind was still clear, and he didn't need anyone to help him when he walked. Old Xiucai came to Xie Laoshuan's grave trembling, and everyone automatically made way for him to reprimand Xie Fuyou. He is the patriarch, and he has given land to Xie Fuyou's family, so he is qualified to reprimand Xie Fuyou.

Unexpectedly, the old scholar didn't look at Xie Fuyou at all, but pointed his crutch at the old cow lying on the ground, and scolded him sternly: "It's true that Xie Laoshuan saved you, but you have already exchanged your milk for three acres of good land for his family, and you will plow the land for his family to pull the cart to produce calves every year in the future. In fact, it has already been evened. But when the master is in trouble, you still have to sacrifice your life to save him. If you don't save Xie Laoshuan and let him be buried in the belly of a fish, Xie Fufu will not have to spend time and money to see a doctor, get medicine, and retire to death! Is it easy to bury the old man? Buy a coffin, buy a shroud, and put up a piece of land; please play the suona, and ask Mr. Yin Yang to choose the auspicious time, which one does not cost money? Moreover, after the grave is piled up, things are not over. Children and grandchildren have to offer sacrifices to autumn every year, burn paper and fire cannons, which also requires money! Also, after the death of the master, you are more sad than the other son, and you miss him and can't work anymore. What's the use of you? Finally, it is reasonable to exchange your old bones for a few pennies. You are a beast, how can you pay more attention to gratitude than people? The result of your doing this is not that you compare people to a beast? "

There was silence in the graveyard. The old scholar abused a person by ostensibly pointing to someone else, and trained Xie Fuyou so much that he couldn't lift his head. Think about it carefully, the benefits of the old cow to his own family are in front of him. If he insists on selling the old cow to the soup pot, it is really revenge, not as good as beasts. Xie Fuyou suddenly knelt down and made a circle at everyone: "My family, I know I'm wrong, I will not sell the cow, and I will keep it until I die of old age!"

After the old cow was brought home, it died within a few days without eating or drinking. Xie Fu did not break his promise and dug a deep hole in the ground and buried it.

And since the old school borrowed cattle to train people, Xiejiazhuang's folk customs seem to have become more honest.