Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 346 - 66 It’s Time to Make a Name for Myself_1

Chapter 346: Chapter 66 It’s Time to Make a Name for Myself_1

Yan Fei’s premonition was right on the dot, his cattle were really about to be forced upon.

He came back just in time.

When he pushed through the crowd, he saw a strong man trying to lead one of his cows away while Heizi was desperately struggling to wrest the rope from him. Heizi was clearly overwhelmed—on the other side, someone was already untying the leads of the other three cattle.

Heizi saw someone untying his cattle, but at the moment he had to prevent the man from leading away the cow in his hand, frantically shouting. Luckily, he knew Yan Fei was nearby, so he began to yell loudly: "Brother Fei, Brother Fei, come quickly..."

The man who was wrestling with him rebuked: "This price we’re giving you is already fair, we want to take all the cows, what higher price do you want? It’s useless to call for someone..."

Heizi didn’t care about what he was saying, he just kept shouting Brother Fei’s name single-mindedly.

For Yan Fei, there was nothing more to say in this situation.

He first walked over to Heizi, reaching out to grab the rope and said to Heizi, "Stop shouting, I’m here, let go."

Heizi immediately looked relieved, and instinctively let go, complaining to Yan Fei: "Brother Fei, they’re trying to bully us into selling our cattle..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Yan Fei’s arm shake, and the rope which was still being held by the strong man, was now all in Yan Fei’s hand. Then, the rope was thrust into his own hand, and heard Yan Fei say: "Hold this carefully."

Heizi took the rope in a daze, and watched as Yan Fei headed towards where the other three cows were tied.

Soon after, a scream rang out, "Ah..."

Looking back, they saw the man who was forcibly wrestling the cow away from them earlier holding his hands together, starting to howl in pain.

This howl brought Heizi back to reality, and he sneered at the man with schadenfreude: "You should be thankful to me! If it wasn’t for me changing the rope because I thought the original was too rough, you would’ve had another layer of skin stripped from your hand!"

That’s true, when these cows were originally purchased, the ropes were robust but coarse, similar to twine. Heizi, being lazy, found it bothersome to lead the cows back and forth because the rope was hard to untie from the post. Considering the cows at the ranch didn’t need to do any work, he swapped them for smoother nylon ropes.

Just now, when Yan Fei suddenly yanked the rope, the man didn’t have a chance to react before the rope was snatched away. Naturally, the hands that were gripping the rope tightly were inevitably stripped of some skin.

Luckily, it was smooth nylon rope, so the wounds were minor, though they stung intensely. If it had been the original rough rope, the man would have been really suffering! He probably wouldn’t even be able to eat without help for a while.

Because Heizi switched the ropes, by the time Yan Fei went over to the other side, two of the three cows had already been untied by someone.

The two men barely made two steps leading the cows, before Yan Fei caught up and yanked the ropes directly. So, two more people felt their hands go empty, then noticed a warmth before the burning sensation kicked in.

Only people with similar experiences would know, these types of injuries might not be severe, just some skin rubbed off. But the pain from rope friction against the hand is truly unbearable.

The third man finally untied the rope, not knowing what was happening behind him, and let out a shout, before being kicked from behind to huddle with the tying post.

Yan Fei went up to grab the rope, let loose in his panic, then walked over to Heizi and asked, "How much are they offering per head?"

Heizi, still delighted by his timely arrival, became infuriated upon hearing the question, "They want to take them all and only offered 3200 per head."

Yan Fei pondered for a moment, then whispered, "I was too lenient."

Among all classes of people, farmers who make their living off the land and sky, have always been a vulnerable group.

Anyone who’s seen the situation at the Cattle Market will tell you, pressurized buying and selling are common in large livestock transactions.

Even several years later, in some provinces’ large livestock markets, their slogans that promote their good reputation always emphasize fair trade and no forcible trading of livestock.

Situations of forced buying and selling, as described earlier, are common. Granted, some farmers attach emotional sentiment to their cattle and want to sell at high prices. However, in reality, some cattle traders purposely lower prices, and even conspire with people like Niu Jinji at the Cattle Market, exploiting these cattle-raising farmers.

In a rural cattle market like Sancha River, the situation tends to be somewhat better. There are fewer cattle dealers there, and the buyers and sellers are usually farmers who plan to raise their cattle after buying. They tend to agree on the price more easily.

Moreover, most of the cattle business in that market is conducted by the locals. Individuals like Xiaohei, Heizi’s brother, have been in the cattle business since their father’s time, and they’re mindful of their reputation.

Still, wasn’t Yan Fei’s first encounter with Xiaohei rather unpleasant? Although the price they offered for the cow at that time was not low, the seller didn’t want to sell. Given that they were insistent on leading the cow away, wasn’t it akin to forced buying?

As for the town’s cattle market, the situation there is more severe. Most of those selling cattle there come from surrounding villages, not to mention the high number of cattle dealers. The cattle business people and the cattle dealers, driven by profit, are capable of anything.

Over the past year, cattle prices have been rising. Cattle fattened in Yan Fei’s cattle farm can be sold for at least 3800 taels. If the buyer offers 3600 or 3700 taels, it could be considered forced buying. But if you offer a price of 3200 taels, it’s essentially the same as robbery!

It was this context that led Yan Fei to sigh ’I went easy on them’.

As for why Yan Fei didn’t encounter such problems when he brought the girl to the cattle market last time, the ghost in the dung pit, Zhang Laosan, explained that it was because he died early. Everyone kept using him as a bad example without giving him a chance to redeem himself.

While Yan Fei and Heizi were exchanging a few words, those involved in the forced buying had regained their senses. A few of them, holding their hands and sucking in pain, began to swarm around them, cursing angrily.

Yan Fei looked coldly at the group, and Heizi, looking nervous behind him, tugged at his clothes and repeatedly cautioned, "Brother Fei, there are many people and we should care about our reputation. Don’t kill anyone!"

There were certainly a lot of spectators.

Even a normal trade could attract many onlookers. Not all of them are idle; most are there to get an idea of the prices to guide their future cattle buying or selling decisions.

After Heizi’s outburst, even more people gathered around.

They were probably used to such occurrences in the market. Although many whispered among themselves, no one dared to offend the powerful gang in the cattle market.

Moreover, there were seven or eight men from this gang present. Two or three of them were older, looking like market veterans. The rest of the younger men were likely just loafers. More were hurrying over, and as for the spectators, it was hard to tell if the gang had more people among them.

At this point, while Yan Fei was watching these people and listening to Heizi’s reminders, he muttered, "We’ll have to come here often. To avoid trouble in the future, perhaps it’s time now to make a name for ourselves."

Although he spoke lightly, Heizi’s spirits surged instantly. He took the three cattle reins from Yan Fei and said quietly, "Yes, it’s time these greedy cattle dealers learned that we cattle breeders are no pushovers!"

Despite his impassioned response, Heizi still retained his sanity. After speaking, he reminded Yan Fei again, "Brother Fei, go easy! Killing would be bad. And avoid causing serious harm. There is such a thing as excessive self-defense..."

That Heizi was talking about excessive self-defense hinted at a dubious past. Who else besides troublemakers would be interested in such matters? In reality, anyone familiar with the kinds of people who frequent police stations or those who speak to police officers would know, those who generally play fast and loose with the law often have more legal knowledge than the common man.

Listening to Heizi’s incessant chatter, Yan Fei had to ask: "Will you stop rambling?"

After saying that, he noticed that the others also approached. He stepped forward, glance around, took a deep breath, and called out loudly to those cursing, "Who’s the leader here?"

Hearing his audacious question, the group paused, and then their cursing got even louder.

Their responses amounted to saying that they were conducting business, and how could Yan Fei assault people like that? As petty profiteers, they weren’t outright hoodlums, so no one had taken action yet.p>

Then someone yelled from the perimeter, "Make way, let us in to see what’s going on!"

The crowd parted, and a skinny man dressed in business attire, accompanied by two young men, entered.

The well-dressed man, who seemed out of place in the cattle market, walked in with his stomach protruding, trying to look dignified.

He first glanced at Yan Fei, then said to the men nursing their hands, "What’s all the fuss about? You, come here and explain. Isn’t this just about doing business? Why make a scene?"

He spoke as if giving a public speech. Yan Fei didn’t bother to watch his posturing, but to avoid hitting the wrong person, he asked again, "So you’re the leader?"

Alas, there are too many who don’t know what’s good for them. Hence, Yan Fei’s ’kindness’ was ignored.