Chapter 372: Shaoyin Starts His Post

Shaoyin endured his pain and limped to the Agriculture Department to report for duty. Seeing his condition, Mu told him to come back once his injuries had healed. However, Xiong had not yet departed that day and was following behind Shaoyin, as he felt Mu might show such preferential treatment toward Shaoyin.

Things went exactly as he had expected, except that Shaoyin insisted he could start his post now and that there was no problem. Mu was worried about Shaoyin's body and kept refusing. Xiong, listening to his son's response from outside, was still quite satisfied.

However, he eventually entered the office and said to Mu, "The King's order is for him to start his post today. You don't need to worry about his injuries; he has already been to the Hospital and there is no problem. Just take him directly to the Pasture."

Mu looked at Shaoyin's strange standing posture and still shook his head firmly: "He is definitely not in a state to do this. He can't even ride a cow, so how can he go herding? He has trouble even walking; wouldn't he just be adding trouble for others?"

Xiong remained very firm, saying: "If he can't do anything else right now, then feeding the horses, cows, and sheep some Grass, or pouring feed, shouldn't be a problem, right? If that really doesn't work, letting him clean up for the other herdsmen or doing some cooking is also fine."

Mu really wanted to retort by asking if his son even knew how to clean or cook, but since he was facing Xiong, he couldn't say much. He could only helplessly agree, then begin registering Shaoyin and assigning him a work post.

Xiong nodded with satisfaction, then turned to Shaoyin and said: "You actually did something proper this time, knowing how to shoulder responsibility. If you had dared to say you were going back to rest just now, I really would have broken your legs again and let you rest for a lifetime."

Mu did not look up, but the corners of his mouth twitched upon hearing this.

Whether intentional or not, the place Mu finally arranged for Shaoyin was that very Horse Farm. Mu's explanation was that all the other pastures were already running smoothly and were not short of manpower, only the Horse Farm, because a herdsman had just died and the position had not yet been filled.

Moreover, because an accident had occurred, their awareness of the dangers of the horse herd had been raised to a new level, so they needed to add more manpower and strength to manage it. Therefore, Shaoyin could only go there, and several more herdsmen would be added later.

Xiong had no objections to this. Shaoyin's complexion was a bit poor, but he also did not put forward any thoughts. In the end, Xiong did not concern himself with the matter anymore; it was unreasonable for him to interfere in the affairs of other departments, so he let Mu arrange for someone to take Shaoyin to the Pasture.

The Horse Farm was very close to Xiong's home, so Shaoyin had not brought anything, thinking he could go home every day. But when he arrived at the Horse Farm, the others had already gone out to work. The person who brought him just left him there, found the person in charge of the Horse Farm to notify them, and then left.

Shaoyin was now very nervous and awkward. He did not know how to face those herdsmen, and because he was the only one there now, he did not know what to do, appearing very helpless.

Near noon, Shaoyin heard the sound of cows and the voices of people talking. He knew people had arrived, so he hurriedly walked out to look. Although he had been staying in the room, he had been unable to sit down because of the injury on his buttocks, so he had been standing all morning.

Several herdsmen already knew that Shaoyin had come to their Pasture to work. Everyone did not understand what it meant, but the Factory Manager said: "Regardless of why he came here, while he is here, I am the Factory Manager. No matter who it is, they must listen to me."

Upon seeing Shaoyin, no one gave him a good look. In the morning, after they had fed the horse herd enough Grass, they rode cows to patrol the Pasture to ensure no outsiders had entered, checked if the wooden fences had loosened or collapsed, and checked if there were any mole or rabbit burrows in the Pasture to eliminate hidden dangers.

Now it was time to give the horse herd water and feed them Grass, so they had returned. Seeing the idle Shaoyin, the Factory Manager did not give him a good look. His first sentence after getting off his cow was: "Why are you just standing there? Go grab the buckets and carry water! Get ready to water the horses!"

Shaoyin did not open his mouth to explain, silently limping to find a row of wooden buckets placed outside the Horse Pen.

The Factory Manager and the other herdsmen were also stunned when they saw Shaoyin's posture. They looked at each other, all very puzzled, but looking at Shaoyin's state, it did not seem like he was faking it.

The Factory Manager wanted to call out to Shaoyin, but his mouth opened and the words would not come out. In the end, everyone fell silent and did not mention it. They all stepped forward, picked up water buckets, went to the water storage tank, opened the plugged water pipe, and began to draw water.

Even though Shaoyin was strong, his injury meant he could not exert force. If he exerted any strength, he felt as if his wound would tear open again, so he could only carry one bucket of water and sway as he walked toward the Horse Pen.

While everyone else carried two buckets of water at once, and while others made two trips, Shaoyin could barely manage one. Seeing Shaoyin's face already covered in sweat, everyone did not know what to say, until the Factory Manager saw that Shaoyin's buttocks were starting to turn red and immediately called him to a stop.

"Hey, Shaoyin, stop and don't carry any more. Watch your wound. If something happens to you here, it's still our responsibility. Go back to the dormitory and stay there for now."

Shaoyin was stunned for a moment, but he did not want to stop; he still wanted to prove himself and finish the work. As a result, he hadn't carried the bucket two steps before a herdsman snatched it away and said in a mocking tone: "Alright, what are you pretending for? If you can't work, then don't work, as if we are bullying you. If you die here again, are you going to have all of us sentenced to death!"

Shaoyin's face flushed red, but he had nothing to say. He felt deeply humiliated in his heart and even had the urge to cry, but he held it back, obediently put down the bucket, and slowly walked toward the dormitory.

The others finished their work and returned to the dormitory, acting as if they didn't see Shaoyin standing in the middle, chatting among themselves, and then starting a fire to cook together. Shaoyin really wanted to step forward to help, but everyone treated him like air.

Until the meal was cooked, everyone served themselves and began to eat heartily while sitting on chairs. Shaoyin only felt hunger in his belly, but no one cared about him; he could only stand where he was.

After the Factory Manager had eaten a few bites, he looked up at Shaoyin and asked with a dissatisfied tone: "You didn't bring a bowl and chopsticks?"

Shaoyin nodded.

The Factory Manager scanned the dormitory and questioned: "You didn't bring your bedding and those things either?"

Shaoyin asked in confusion: "My home is very close to here; I can go home at night."

Several herdsmen snorted with laughter. Only the Factory Manager gave a cold snort and said: "As expected of a high official's son, waiting for others to serve you for everything. You want to go home at night while at the Pasture? If you go home, who will watch the horses?"

Shaoyin did not retort, only lowered his head in shame. The herdsmen did not pay any more attention to Shaoyin, eating on their own and talking about fresh news, laughing every now and then. To Shaoyin, these laughs were no different from scolding him.

Until everyone had finished eating, washed the pots, and was preparing to take a nap, the Factory Manager looked at Shaoyin's still-red, unhealed buttocks and said: "Alright, it's your first day here and you haven't prepared anything, which is understandable. Today I will grant you a half-day of leave. Go back and have your injury looked at at the Hospital first, to avoid you dying here. If it's serious, take sick leave; don't make trouble for us. If there's no problem, bring the things you need and come to work tomorrow. There are no extra beds here; I still have to apply for one."

"If you are still like this tomorrow, I will file a report to have you dismissed. Go wherever you want; we don't care that much about having you anyway."

The other few herdsmen gave the Factory Manager a thumbs-up without any concealment.