An Qingbai would always pick up Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia when it was their turn to be teachers, mainly to pick up Zhuang Zhimeng, and Jiang Yanxia was just there for the occasion.

It was quite a distance from the livestock keeper's place to Zhuang Zhimeng's home, and he was always worried about them, so he insisted on escorting them to their doorstep before he could feel at ease.

Since it was too late, An Qingbai didn't want to stay any longer. He dropped them off and said, "Zhizhi, you should go back now."

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Qingbai. Good night."

"Good night."

Jiang Yanxia always envied their relationship: "Zhimeng, your relationship is so good, it's so enviable."

"Yes, it's great. We treat each other well. Aren't relationships built through time together? It's about you being good to me and me being good to you."

"You're right. Okay, I'm going back now. You should go to sleep early too."

Okay, see you tomorrow.

"See you tomorrow."

The next day, Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia went to clean the cowshed and found that one of the cows was not in good condition. She had a poor appetite, was very restless, kept getting up and lying down, and kept looking back at her belly and pacing back and forth.

"Zhimeng, look what's wrong with the cow?"

"Xiazi, something's wrong with the cow. She's probably about to give birth. Let's hurry and find the village veterinarian."

"Ah? Oh, okay!"

The two rushed to the home of veterinarian An Guoqing.

"Uncle Guoqing, hurry, the cow is about to give birth!" Zhuang Zhimeng called out as soon as she reached the door.

"What? Take me to see it right away! I just saw it yesterday, it's supposed to be two more days, how come it's been brought forward?"

An Guoqing quickly grabbed his makeshift medicine box and ran outside, almost losing his cotton shoes in the process.

Every cow in the production team is extremely valuable, and we can't afford to make any mistakes.

Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia followed An Guoqing as they ran toward the cowshed.

Upon reaching the cowshed, An Guoqing immediately went forward to check on the cow's condition. He touched her abdomen and observed the cow's bodily fluid secretions. The sides of the cow's belly had sunk, and her belly appeared larger than usual and closer to her rear, indicating that she was indeed about to give birth.

An Guoqing instructed Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia to clean the innermost part of the cowshed, lay down clean, soft hay to keep the area dry, and sprinkle quicklime around it for disinfection. Then he led the cow there to serve as a calving pen.

Everything is ready; we're just waiting for the cow to give birth.

An Guoqing fed the cow a small amount of warm water and also boiled some bran and salt water soup for her to keep warm until she gave birth.

After observing the cow for two hours, An Guoqing noticed that the cow was pawing the ground with its front hooves and kicking its belly with its hind hooves. He judged that the cow was about to give birth, and sure enough, the cow adopted a left-side lying position to prepare for delivery.

The outer purple bladder ruptures, and pale yellow urine flows out from the cow's vulva. After rupture, a white amniotic membrane appears, covering the forehooves. White amniotic fluid flows out after the amniotic membrane ruptures, moistening the birth canal. The cow will rest for a while and then continue to give birth.

First, the calf's forehooves and head appear, then its shoulders, then its torso, and finally its rump and hind legs. The calf is safely born.

An Guoqing breathed a sigh of relief. If a difficult birth occurred and the calf's front legs got stuck, he would have to help the mother cow pull the calf out.

After the calf was born, An Guoqing held it upside down for several seconds. Seeing that Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia were very curious, he explained to them, "This is to help it spit out its phlegm."

Then you can leave the calf with its mother and she'll nurse it herself.

The delivery went smoothly, resulting in a healthy calf. The mother cow licked the calf clean of the mucus, and half an hour later, the calf instinctively stood up and crawled under its mother to nurse.

An Guoqing gave the cow the bran and salt water soup he had cooked earlier to drink in order to replenish the water lost during calving.

“The cow should not be fed for a day or two after giving birth, otherwise it will cause indigestion. Just feed it some bran and salt water soup. If possible, you can add some brown sugar, but the production team does not have that capability now, so we don’t add it.”

The water must be warm; never give cows cold water, as cows that have just given birth are very susceptible to catching a cold or fever from drinking cold water.

Seeing that Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia were very interested, An Guoqing told them a little more.

Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia nodded, indicating that they had learned something. They were indeed very interested, as witnessing the birth of a calf was something that rarely happened. They only saw it today because they were cleaning the cowshed.

An Guoqing changed the cow's bedding to clean, soft straw, ensuring the cow didn't lie in damp, cold places. The calving pen should be kept clean, dry, and warm to reduce the chances of the cow and calf getting sick.

Clean the cow's dirty areas with warm water, wipe it dry with clean hay or a towel, and then cover the cow with a cotton blanket to prevent it from catching a cold.