"What's going on?" someone muttered quietly.

"I don't know...it looks like a massage?"

Ma Jinbao, clutching his sore backside, hid behind the crowd, watching with a mixture of surprise and suspicion, muttering under his breath, "Playing tricks..."

Chen Jianshan and Halikiz also kept a close eye on them, not daring to breathe.

Something amazing happened!

As Du Jianshan rhythmically pressed and rubbed, the ox's painful struggles gradually lessened, and its rapid breathing slowly became deeper and longer.

Just then, it suddenly let out a loud burp!

"belch!"

A fumes carrying the smell of sour, rotten hay erupted out.

Then came a series of loud burps!

"Hiccup! Hiccup! Hiccup!"

With each burp, the cow's frighteningly swollen belly visibly shrank!

"My God! This is amazing!" An old commune member exclaimed, slapping his thigh in astonishment.

"My belly is gone! My belly is gone!"

"Look! It's breathing much more smoothly now!"

Everyone gasped in astonishment, looking at Du Jianshan as if he were a god.

After the cow burped a dozen or so times, its bloated belly subsided and its breathing became steady.

Aygul breathed a long sigh of relief, and her eyes lit up as she looked at Du Jianshan.

This new educated youth is really something!

"Good! Good lad!"

Company Commander Chen Jianshan patted Du Jianshan's back so hard that he almost knocked him down again.

"Du Jianshan! From today onwards, all the livestock in this company—chickens, ducks, and geese—are under your command!"

"From now on, you'll be a veterinarian! You'll be the veterinarian for our Third Company!"

He waved his hand dismissively: "These precious darlings are more valuable than people! From now on, you don't need to do any of the heavy work of clearing land and digging ditches!"

"If you take good care of our company's livestock, that will be a great achievement!"

Du Jianshan rubbed his back, which had gone numb from being patted, and smiled, "Thank you, Company Commander! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

This gives him a lot more time.

Isn't it better than farming and digging in the soil?

He paused, and seeing that Chen Jianshan was in a good mood, he quickly pressed on: "Company Commander, there's something else I'd like to ask you about."

"Speak!" Chen Jianshan said readily.

“Our place isn’t far from the Tianshan Mountains. Autumn is just around the corner, and the wild animals on the mountains should be getting fat.”

Du Jianshan rubbed his hands together, revealing a "meat-craving" expression: "I was thinking, when we have a holiday in a few days, could I ask the team for leave and go for a walk with Tie Niu and the others at the edge of that forest at the foot of the mountain?"

"Hunting some wild game will firstly add some oil to our company's mess hall, and secondly... hehe, it'll also help supplement our own stomachs?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jianshan laughed heartily and said without much hesitation, "Sure! What's wrong with that? The Production and Construction Corps encourages educated youth to be self-reliant!"

"Just avoid going too deep into the mountains and forests, and don't run into bears. Be careful! If you find anything good, don't forget to send some to the company headquarters to have a taste!"

He turned to the instructor who hadn't said much and said, "Old Liu, talk to Du Jianshan about the rules and boundaries. Safety first!"

The instructor, a bespectacled, kind-faced middle-aged man, smiled and nodded: "No problem. Comrade Du Jianshan, come to the company headquarters later, and I'll explain to you in detail which areas at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains are safe to go to and which are dangerous."

"Our corps has regulations that allow moderate hunting to improve living conditions, but safety must be taken into account and the ecology must not be damaged."

"Thank you, instructor! Thank you, company commander!" Du Jianshan and Wang Tieniu were overjoyed and quickly agreed.

Chen Jianshan nodded in satisfaction, glanced at the sky, then at the unfinished work in the field, and said to Captain Halikzi, "Old Halikzi, this is your responsibility!"

"I need to hurry over to the karez well site. The newly dug section needs to be joined today, and we can't leave it unattended!"

"Don't worry, Company Commander!" Halikiz quickly replied.

Chen Jianshan patted Du Jianshan's shoulder heavily again, turned around in a hurry, and strode towards the Karez well, quickly disappearing at the end of the grape trellis.

After the farce, everyone went back to work.

Around 3 PM, the sun was so strong it could make your skin peel.

The workers were already starving, and as soon as they heard the call to rest, they immediately dropped their tools and slumped down to gather in the shady corner of the field.

Aygul walked over with light steps, carrying a large willow basket.

A white cloth covered the basket, and the fragrance wafted straight into people's noses.

With her pretty face and the occasional delicate fragrance lingering at the tip of the nose, it greatly whets the appetite!