Starting anew.
After a good beating opportunity, Lu Heng finally understood that cattle tending was not a leisurely task.
Because leisure meant that this child's labor was not fully utilized.
This was unacceptable for both his elderly father and the village landlord.
Lu Heng led the landlord's cattle and returned to the entrance of the village.
He snapped a twig off a nearby sapling and continuously swatted the mosquitoes bothering the old ox.
In ancient times, the draft ox was a most valuable asset, far more valuable than a cattle herder boy because it could provide a huge amount of labor, essential for plowing and tilling the land—without it, cultivation was impossible.
Thus, the ox could not go hungry, nor could it lack strength. Its labor had to be preserved for plowing the fields, not wasted.
Carrying a herdsman was clearly a severe waste of this labor and absolutely prohibited.
