During the late Ming Dynasty, there were frequent wars on the mainland, but the Yungui region was relatively calm. A century-old "tea-horse road" showed rare prosperity. It is said that among the many horse gangs, there is an old "Ma Guotou", whose surname is Zhang Laofu, who has been running on this road every day for more than 30 years, earning some hard money to support his family. Zhang Laofu's hometown is in Qujing Mansion, Yunnan Province, and he has only one son, Zhang Xiaofu. "A poor family produces a beautiful son." Zhang Xiaofu is in his early twenties, but he can't lift his shoulders or pick his shoulders. He spends every day in a teahouse with a group of friends, talking loudly, bragging and gambling wildly.

At the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, someone sent an urgent letter to the Zhang family, saying that Zhang Laofu was suffering from an acute illness in the Jade Dragon Mansion and asked Zhang Xiaofu to rush there immediately. Zhang Xiaofu was indifferent after hearing that, and his mother begged him with snot and tears, so he got on a fast horse and stepped on the journey to the Jade Dragon.

Half a month later, Zhang Xiaofu arrived at Jade Dragon Mansion, and the old man was already angry. Under the dim oil lamp, Zhang Laofu took Zhang Xiaofu's hand and said intermittently, "Son, I can't do it anymore, you have to provoke the big beam of the family. This caravan is my life's work, and it is also the support of you and your mother in the future. This batch of goods has been delayed for more than half a month, so hurry up and hit the road. I have an old friend named Zhang Cai, and he will be back tomorrow. Things are difficult and dangerous, and you have to listen to his arrangements. Treat him like you treat me, remember to remember..." After saying that, he tilted his head and swallowed.

Zhang Xiaofu did not have a deep impression of his father since he was a child. The last time he saw his father was ten years ago. Now his father is dead, and he howls twice to send his father to death.

The next day, Zhang Cai showed his face and saw that he was in his 60s, with dark skin and a pair of small eyes that showed shrewdness. Zhang Cai led Zhang Xiaofu to the stable in the backyard and pointed at him, "There are thirty-two horses in total. Let's go on the road tomorrow!"

The next day, Zhang Cai called Zhang Xiaofu up and followed the horse gang on the road. After the day, Zhang Xiaofu was exhausted from walking, and when he arrived at the inn, he suddenly fell on the bed. Zhang Cai asked him to feed the horse, and Zhang Xiaofu said, "I'm too tired! Let's talk about it tomorrow!" Zhang Cai said, "Animals have spirituality, and you don't treat them well. How can you expect them to make money for you?" He dragged Zhang Xiaofu up.

At the stable, Zhang Cai asked Zhang Xiaofu to guillotine. Zhang Xiaofu fell asleep, and when he woke up, it was midnight. He didn't know how he got into the room, but he felt someone move his foot. At first glance, Zhang Cai pulled his foot and used a ponytail to pick up the blood bubbles on his foot. Zhang Xiaofu felt a trace of gratitude in his heart, and Zhang Cai saw him wake up and said, "Just walk a little more and practice it out. Use a ponytail to pierce the blood bubbles, it will heal quickly and will not fester."

On the evening of the third day, they arrived at a place called Honghuagang. Zhang Xiaofu drank some wine and was about to lie down when he saw a man in his forties pick up the curtain. The man looked around and said with a smile, "This master, is he Ma Guotou?"

Zhang Xiaofu glanced warily at the person and asked, "What are you doing?"

The man smiled and said, "My name is Liu Er, and I'm in the horse trading business. I wonder if this master is interested?" Zhang Xiaofu shook his head: "I'm from the horse racing gang, so I don't do this business."

Liu Er smiled and said, "This master has just made his debut, right? I don't understand things in rivers and lakes. I will exchange a two-year-old strong mule for your thin old horse, one for the other, how about that?"

Zhang Xiaofu did not understand. Why did Liu Er do such things?

Liu Er seemed to see what Zhang Xiaofu was thinking and said, "Actually, I'm not at a disadvantage. Your horses are all Sichuan horses, and they are small and thin, so they can't carry heavy loads, but they are suitable for pulling carts for short-distance transportation, especially for attracting customers to the market. And my mule is too big to pull up the cart, and the coachman can't see the road ahead even if he is standing on the cart, which is prone to accidents. Pulling a bus with a mule is like killing a chicken with a knife, which is overkill. Let's exchange, it's a matter of both parties taking advantage."

Zhang Xiaofu was moved by these words. He calculated that one mule could carry an extra 100 catties, and 32 heads could carry more cargo for two carriages. He smiled, so he took the initiative to stretch out his sleeves, cage his hands, and prepare to negotiate the price.

However, just as the deal was about to be closed, Cheng Yaojin was killed halfway. Who was it? Zhang Cai! Zhang Cai firmly disagreed with the deal. He said, "There is no such good thing in the world, young master, this ancient tea horse road is not the ancient tea mule road!"

Zhang Xiaofu still insisted on his idea. Zhang Cai became anxious and said, "I can't watch you destroy this horse gang."

Zhang Xiaofu was also angry, and he raised his voice and said, "Don't forget, I am the master and you are the slave. This horse has the final say for me!" Zhang Cai was so angry that he could not speak for a long time. At this time, the voices outside the door were noisy, and Zhang Xiaofu went out to take a look. In the dim night, Liu Er had already brought the mule and was waiting for an exchange. Zhang Xiaofu touched the mule brought by Liu Er, and then opened the mule's mouth to look at mouth of the mule.

Zhang Cai cried and shouted not to let the horses lead, but Liu Er commanded the servants to pull the horses out one by one. In the end, there was only one old horse left, and that Zhang refused to lead, shouting loudly: "Whoever moves it again, I will die for you to see!" Saying that, he raised his guillotine.

Liu Er saw that there was only one horse left, sneered and said, "It's cheap for you!"

That night, Zhang Cai didn't get a drop of water. When he went on the road the next day, all the goods were packed with only half the mules, and Zhang Xiaofu, the empty mule, was used as a mount. He smiled and said to Zhang Cai, "Look how nice this is, people are also free!"

Zhang Cai shook his head and said, "There will be no pie in the sky, there is no cheap, so what can Liu Er do like this?" Zhang Xiaofu was not convinced and asked, "What advantage can he take of me?"

Zhang Cai said, "On this ancient tea horse road, horses are the most valuable, and the old horse knows the way! He Liu Er will be able to sell our horses for a good price tomorrow. Although the mule is powerful, it can't be counted on at a critical moment!"

Zhang Xiaofu didn't think so and hummed a tune on the back of the mule. The old horse that Zhang Cai had saved with his life had been walking silently in the middle of the mule team. He seemed to be lamenting the departure of his companion.

From the third day onward, the caravan set foot on a 300-mile-long no-man's land, sleeping rough all the way, and it was very hard. Zhang Xiaofu had never suffered such a crime, and kept sighing. Zhang Cai said earnestly: "As the saying goes: money is hard to earn, and shit is hard to eat. Now do you realize it?"

That night, the caravan came to a place called Yin-Yang Mountain. The mountain road here was rugged, the mountain road was extremely narrow, and the side of the road was an abyss. The caravan stopped, and Zhang Xiaofu looked at his feet, and couldn't help but be horrified. Zhang Cai sighed and said, "These mules are timid and dare not leave."

Zhang Xiaofu asked, "Is there any other way?" Zhang Cai shook his head and said, "Only this one!"

"Then what should we do?"

Zhang Cai didn't speak either, and led the old horse to the front of the team, patted his butt affectionately, and said, "Old man, it's up to you!" The old horse seemed to understand, nodded slightly, raised his head, raised his legs, and left. With it hitting the head, the mules behind it seemed to be more courageous, and followed hard. Zhang Cai said to Zhang Xiaofu with emotion: "See, horses have night eyes, horses have gall, horses are handsome, and horses are generals. No matter how thin a horse is, it is stronger than a mule, so why did Liu Er exchange our horses, do you understand?"

Zhang Xiaofu felt very guilty, and he also felt a little afraid. Without this old horse, how would he have walked this long road? Therefore, Zhang Xiaofu silently followed Zhang Cai's example and stood in front of the narrow road, catching up with the mules one by one. Zhang Cai said, "You go to the front to take care of it, I will cut off the back!"

Zhang Xiaofu followed a mule obediently and walked through this dangerous road in fear. However, just as the last mule was about to walk through this road, something unexpected happened: the mule may have looked both sides and seen the dangerous scene at the foot of the mountain. It was suddenly startled, raised his hind hoof and kicked, Zhang Cai was unprepared, and was kicked by it and fell down the mountain road.

Zhang Xiaofu hurriedly shouted loudly, but only the valley echoed. He hastily tied the horse and mule, walked down the mountain stream step by step, and finally found Zhang Cai who was dying.

Zhang Cai squeezed out a smile on his pale face and said intermittently, "Child, you will be the only one to support yourself in the future. I wanted to be able to take you for a few years, but unexpectedly it was only ten days. This is also destiny!" With that, he forced himself to take out a jade pendant from his pocket and said, "Give it to your mother!"

Zhang Xiaofu saw that the jade pendant looked very familiar and asked, "Isn't this my mother's?" Zhang Cai smiled and said, "Your mother and I are one each, and the combination is a pair." More stories will be

Zhang Xiaofu was puzzled: "Then you..."

Zhang Cai smiled bitterly and said, "Silly son, I'm your father Zhang Laofu!"

It turned out that when Zhang Laofu saw his son wasting his time, he had no choice but to come up with a stupid solution: first call Zhang Xiaofu to the caravan, and then have someone pretend to be himself in a deathbed play, and then personally take Zhang Xiaofu with him, so that he can appreciate the hardships of life and grow into a real man.

Zhang Xiaofu cried as he hugged Zhang Laofu, "Father, father, it's my son who has hurt you!" Zhang Laofu fondly touched Xiaofu and said, "It's good to be sensible!" After saying that, he swallowed.

Zhang Xiaofu picked up his father's body and climbed the mountain step by step.

Five years later, Zhang Xiaofu became a famous figure in the ancient tea horse road, known as "800 Zhang", which means that his horse gang had 800 good horses. And Zhang Laofu's cemetery is on the roadside of Yinyang Mountain, and the tombstone is engraved with a group of horses, lively and radiant. It is said that the great painter Xu Beihong of the later generations also came here to copy and sketch, and only then did he draw a lifelike picture of horses. It is true or false, just treat it as a story!