Chapter 042 The Cow Kneels
The pigsty in Kaoshantun was built in a very crude and simple manner. It was called a pigsty, but in fact it was just a fence made of wooden boards with a straw shed on top, where pigs were kept.
If Ye Qing hadn't been afraid of being discovered, he would have wanted to use some rattan to reinforce the pigpen when he took over the job of raising pigs from Captain Wu.
Especially now that there are four more wild boar cubs in the pigpen. These wild boars are not as obedient as live pigs. They are wild and unruly. Once they are hungry, they will go crazy in the pigpen and mess around everywhere. How can they not run out?
The key point is that Ye Qing secretly used grass seeds to grow a lot of grass by the beach in the morning and released the pregnant cow from the cowshed.
Because the cow had been pregnant for eight or nine months and was about to give birth, Ye Qing wanted to give the cow some good food and let it go out and move around more, which would be of great help to the cow's subsequent delivery.
But she had never imagined that just because she was grazing cattle on the beach, she would cause such a big mistake. When she heard a few children say that a wild boar had butted a cow, she immediately became anxious and ran towards the Duck River like crazy.
Wu Yongbing and Lai Guochang followed immediately.
When we rushed to the river, we saw wild boars running around on the beach and a cow lying on the ground.
Several children were frightened by the wild boar cubs. They hid beside the fence of the pig pen and dared not move, for fear of being hit by the wild boar cubs. When they saw Ye Qing coming, they shouted:
"Sister Zhiqing, the wild boar is about to run away! The cow is bleeding a lot, will it die?"
Ye Qing waved his hands and shook his head at the children:
"I'll go take a look. You guys hurry back to the village. It's dangerous here. Don't come here again!"
Having said that, Ye Qing ignored the children and ran to the beach to check on the cow.
The cow was seen lying in the grass. She didn't have any external injuries, but her lower body was wet, with amniotic fluid mixed with placental blood oozing out. It was probably the collision that broke the amniotic fluid.
At this moment, the cow should know that she is about to give birth. She struggled hard, raised her head and nose to blew out hot air, and cried a few times from time to time. When she saw Ye Qing, Wu Yongbing and Lai Guochang coming, she immediately tried to stand up with her body supported. Her eyes were full of panic and fear, and she made a gesture as if she was going to attack people in a violent manner.
Ye Qing quickly grabbed a handful of grass from the side, carefully handed it to the cow, and gently reached out to touch the cow's head, neck and abdomen:
"Don't be nervous, I'm here to help you. Don't be afraid. Just relax and lie down first. Cooperate with me. I will make sure you and your baby are fine!"
It was not known whether Ye Qing's gentle caress was effective or the wood energy on the grass she passed over was too tempting, but after hesitating for a moment, the cow mooed at Ye Qing twice, and then actually gradually calmed down. It even opened its mouth, rolled the handful of grass that Ye Qing had grabbed into its mouth, and began to chew.
Seeing that the cow really lay down obediently, staring at Ye Qing, tears soon came out of its dark eyes. The fear and pleading look in its eyes was beyond words, which stunned Wu Yongbing and Lai Guochang who followed over.
The two looked at each other in surprise. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, who would have known that the cows in the production team would show such human-like expressions?
Ye Qing didn't care how surprised Wu Yongbing and Lai Guochang were. Her focus at the moment was on the cow. After she saw it eat the grass, she quickly gathered a bunch of fresh green grass from nearby and put it all in front of the cow.
Giving birth is very physically demanding for a pregnant woman, not to mention that this cow was caught off guard after being hit by a wild boar. It is estimated that her body was exhausted after the shock and her energy was far from her normal state.
Therefore, the cow must eat more as soon as possible to replenish its physical strength so that it can give birth to calves quickly.
Wu Yongbing and Lai Guochang were about to go behind the cow to take a look, but they were stopped by Ye Qing:
"The cow is in labor and has gone into labor prematurely. It's not a big problem for now, but a cow definitely won't feel safe giving birth in the wild. If there are too many people around, it will get agitated and may bark at people at any time. If it gets too emotional, it may even cause a dystocia. So you'd better stay away from it, and tell the children playing on the beach to stay away from here!"
Upon hearing Ye Qing's words, the two of them stopped in their tracks and no longer dared to move forward rashly.
However, seeing how Ye Qing handled it with ease, Wu Yongbing and Lai Guochang were both surprised:
"You can also deliver a cow? You also know veterinary medicine?"
Ye Qing was also having a headache at the moment, and he almost gritted his teeth and explained:
"I've only learned a little bit about this, and haven't studied it in depth."
This is the truth. When Ye Qing was in medical school, he couldn't even finish all the human medicine courses, so how could he have the time to study veterinary medicine as well?
But then the end of the world came, the whole world was in chaos, there were no pet hospitals, and she was at a loss.
Because she shared a house with a girl who had a little golden retriever. When the end of the world came, the girl followed her boyfriend back to her hometown the day after the acid rain came, and the little golden retriever was left in the house and ignored.
Ye Qing felt that the little golden retriever was really pitiful, so he adopted it. However, pet dogs are not so easy to raise. They can get sick and need various vaccinations. Ye Qing knew nothing about it, so he could only find relevant books and learn by himself.
Thanks to her background in human medicine, she was able to pick up veterinary medicine quite quickly. Later, she even personally performed the sterilization of the golden retriever after it became an adult.
Because the golden retriever had always been loyal and steadfast by her side, Ye Qing felt that she was not really alone and helpless in the apocalypse. She stumbled through many survivor bases along the way, and even though her relatives and friends left her one by one, she still managed to survive for nearly ten years.
But one month before Ye Qing traveled through time, when the golden retriever followed her out to collect supplies, in order to save her, it used its body to block several ice blades from an ice-type mutant's sneak attack. At that time, Ye Qing's wood-type ability was almost exhausted, and she was completely powerless to save the situation. She could only watch the golden retriever stop breathing.
It was because of this accident that Ye Qing lost the support of her faith, became completely disappointed with her peers, and her will to live became weaker and weaker. After a month of darkness, she made plans to bid farewell to the end of the world and even prepared drugs for suicide. Who knew that before she could take the drugs, God sent her to a new world.
Facing the questions from Wu Yongbing and Lai Guochang at this moment, Ye Qing couldn't help but think of his beloved dog who had fought alongside him, and his eyes became a little dim.
Wu Yongbing didn't know that Ye Qing was doing emo, he was only concerned about whether there would be any problems with the production tools in the village.
After all, there are only four cows in the whole Kaoshan Village that can be used. This year, this cow is finally pregnant with a calf, and everyone in the village is very happy.
After all, once a calf is born, it will grow into an adult in two years. A strong young ox can plow the fields, collect food, and serve as a means of transportation. Its productivity is dozens of times that of an ordinary adult man.
One more cow means reducing the collective burden for all members, and this is the hope of the whole village.
"It's better to learn a little bit than to be blind like us. I was planning to ask the technicians from the agricultural technology station in town to help, but since you know how to deliver a baby, I won't waste my time."
"All you have to do is help this cow give birth to her calf safely. Don't worry about catching the wild boar. I'll find some people to help!"
As he spoke, Wu Yongbing ordered the children over there to go to the field to call for help, while he hurried to catch the wild boars that were running around on the beach.
Soon, the old branch secretary heard the news and brought people to help catch the wild boar.
Fortunately, the beach is far away from the forest, and Ye Qing secretly used his wood-related abilities to grow a lot of grass on the beach. The wild boars were attracted by the spiritual energy and, after knocking the cow away, they focused on eating the fresh and tender grass and completely forgot about escaping.
So after the group arrived, they easily caught all the wild boars that had escaped and threw them back into the pigpen.
However, after catching the wild boar, Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary originally planned to check the pigpen and then find tools to repair and reinforce the pigpen. However, after walking around for a long time, the two of them did not find any signs that the pigpen had been damaged by the wild boar.
This is strange. There is no hole in the pigpen, so how did these four wild boars get out?
The two men quickly caught a few children who were playing on the beach and interrogated them. The children were so scared that their faces turned pale. They were afraid that the captain and the old secretary would blame them, so they immediately cried and explained:
"We just wanted to catch some fish in the river and grill them, but we didn't go to the pig pen, and we didn't let the wild boars out!"
"Grandma Zhao was wandering around the beach before, but now she's gone."
"Yes, I saw her too. She was throwing hay into the pig pen!"
"But didn't the educated youth sister say that Fourth Grandma Zhao is no longer in charge of the work in the pigsty and cowshed? What is she doing here?"
Several children started talking at once, and soon they confessed that Zhao Laozhu's wife had come.
Wu Yongbing's face instantly turned livid, and he was so angry that he almost cursed his mother on the spot.
Children won’t lie, especially when so many children are pointing it out, it’s even less likely that they could make a mistake!
So is there any need to wonder what’s going on?
It must be that Zhao Laozhui's wife had argued with him for a share of the profits, but he did not agree and took away her job of raising pigs. After returning home, the old woman was unwilling to accept this and after knowing that he had given the job to Ye Qing, she came to cause trouble and wanted to deliberately set some trap for Ye Qing!
But she probably didn't expect that she just secretly let the wild boars run away, but the wild boars hit the cow and caused such a big mess. The old woman must have realized that she was in trouble, so she had to run away quickly, right?
The old branch secretary was even angrier than Wu Yongbing. He also had the surname Zhao, and was a distant cousin of Zhao Laozhui from the same great-grandfather. The old branch secretary felt ashamed that Zhao Laozhui's wife had done such a thing behind his back.
It would be fine if the youngest son, Zhao Mazi, was a recognized nuisance by the whole village, but now he can't even control his wife. The old branch secretary is really ashamed for this distant cousin and he wishes he could pull Zhao Laozhu out on the spot and give him a good beating to vent his anger.
"Let's solve the problem of the pig pen first, and we'll deal with Zhao Laozhu's wife later! Go get some stakes and planks, and reinforce the pig pen. These wild boars are no match for domestic pigs. If we don't make the fence stronger, they might break it open later!"
Wu Yongbing suppressed his anger and discussed the matter of repairing the pigpen with the old branch secretary.
But after the children complained, Wu Yongbing was determined to punish Zhao Laozhu's family. This family was really outrageous. Just because he took away the job of raising pigs, they could actually let the pigs go behind his back. Isn't this a joke with the collective property of the village? If this kind of thing is handled lightly, who knows how many people will follow suit in the future. Anyway, the cost of making a mistake is low, and no one will take it seriously, so he must not just scold them a few times and let it go!
After the pigsty was repaired, Ye Qing, who was in charge of delivering cows, did not show any movement. Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary immediately felt something was wrong and hurried over to inquire about the situation:
"Ye Zhiqing, how are you? Is everything going well?"
Ye Qing's expression was a little solemn:
"The situation may not be ideal. The calf is not in the right position. I am afraid it will not be able to be born."
"The cow's expected birth date is about half a month away. Usually, one or two weeks before birth, the cow will use the external force of her body to adjust the calf's position so that its head is facing the birth canal, making it easier for her to give birth."
"But now her amniotic fluid broke before she could adjust the fetal position. It will be difficult to give birth to the calf smoothly. I can only try manual intervention to see if I can help her adjust the position of the calf in her belly. If that doesn't work, then I have to think of other ways."
At this point, Ye Qing looked at Wu Yongbing:
"Captain, I'd like you to clear out a separate cowshed for the cow. Since it can't give birth now, move it directly into the cowshed. Otherwise, I'm afraid it will have to stay up until midnight to give birth. It's too cold outside and both the cow and the calf will catch a cold."
"Oh, by the way, get a bucket of clean warm water, add a few spoonfuls of salt and some brown sugar. The cow's water has broken and she has lost a lot of fluid. She needs to be replenished in time."
Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary carefully wrote down what Ye Qing wanted and hurried back to prepare.
Soon, Wu Yongbing brought the clean water that Ye Qing asked for, and the old branch secretary also vacated the cowshed. Seeing that the cow's strength had recovered a little, Ye Qing prepared to move the cow back into the cowshed.
After Ye Qing checked the environment of the cowshed, he frowned and said to the old branch secretary that this place was not suitable.
"What's the problem?"
The old branch secretary didn't quite understand, after all, cows gave birth here in the past.
Ye Qing sighed:
"It's too dirty. The cow feces here have to be cleaned out, and there are flies and mosquitoes flying everywhere. In this environment, bacteria breed too quickly, and cows are prone to inflammation and infection after giving birth."
"The entire cowshed must be cleaned thoroughly and more dry straw must be put in it. The environment must be clean, hygienic and well ventilated, and the temperature must be kept warm and appropriate. These are all very helpful for the cow's postpartum recovery."
The old branch secretary and Captain Wu looked at each other in bewilderment, as if they had never heard that raising livestock required so many details.
This is not surprising. In those days, many people in rural areas had no knowledge of hygiene. Not to mention raising livestock, even many women gave birth casually. Some even gave birth directly in the toilet or in the field.
So Ye Qing's theory seemed a bit exaggerated to the two grown men, the old branch secretary and Captain Wu. Was it really necessary?
As soon as Ye Qing saw the expressions of these two people, he knew what they were thinking:
"Since you have arranged for me to be in charge of the livestock breeding work of our production brigade, you must listen to my arrangements."
"I discovered this when I came here this morning. There is no system in place for raising pigs and cattle in our village. I can spot all sorts of problems and defects with just a few glances."
"If I'm not mistaken, this cow has given birth to many babies before, right? Can she keep all of them alive?"
The two of them shook their heads obediently.
"That's it. Why can't a healthy calf survive after it's born?"
"He died of illness. They say that wealth does not count if it's not covered in fur. Isn't it normal for poultry and livestock to be damaged during the breeding process?" Wu Yongbing said as if it was a matter of course.
Ye Qing was both angry and amused:
"It is normal for damage to occur, but if the breeding environment is improved and the breeding methods are optimized, the probability of damage can actually be controlled and reduced to an extremely small value."
"Let's not talk about the distant past. This cow in our village must be about ten years old, right? If we assume that she gives birth once a year, there should be seven or eight adult cattle in our village."
“But in reality, we have only raised four cows to maturity and put them into production, which is very telling.”
“A loss rate of almost half, is that really normal?”
These words left the two production team leaders speechless for a moment.
Ye Qing said patiently:
"Whether you believe it or not, now that I have intervened in the matter of raising cattle and pigs, I will never allow you to mess around like this again."
"I must come up with a clear and precise scientific breeding protocol. Whoever takes over this job in the future must follow my method."
"Just wait and see. I will make sure you guys see the benefits of my method in two years at most!"
Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary could not resist Ye Qing's insistence, so they had to cooperate with Ye Qing's request and clean the cowshed.
But at the moment, these two people really didn't take Ye Qing's words to heart.
After all, in their eyes, it was not surprising that Ye Qing, a city kid, was good at medicine, but to say that she also knew how to raise pigs and cows? Don't be kidding!
The two of them didn't believe what Ye Qing said about scientific breeding, nor did they think that Ye Qing could really come up with anything.
However, the cow was having difficulty giving birth, so the problem was still a bit tricky. Therefore, the two of them did not argue with Ye Qing. As long as the calf could be born safely, it didn't matter what the city kids said.
By the time Ye Qing had finished building the clean cowshed he wanted, it was already noon, but the cow had not yet given birth to the calf. Ye Qing had no choice but to ask a few villagers to help move the cow into the delivery room.
During this process, Ye Qing was afraid that the cow would become restless and crazy, so he could only secretly use his wood ability to soothe it as much as possible.
When the cows were finally moved into the cowshed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
After waiting for about half an hour, the calf still showed no signs of coming out, so Ye Qing knew he couldn't wait any longer.
She tentatively reached out her hand and touched the cow's belly, trying to move the bulldog that was lying across the cow's uterus to see if she could straighten its position.
But I don’t know whether the calf inside was uncooperative or the cow was in pain, but the cow immediately started howling, stood up and anxiously avoided Ye Qing’s touch, even her wood-based ability was useless.
Now Ye Qing began to realize that the situation was not good.
"The fetus can't be in the right position, so it can only be born like this! This bull must have grown too big, and the amniotic fluid broke prematurely, so it's stuck inside and can't come out."
"What should we do?" Now Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary were both anxious.
The old party secretary was especially touched. He was watching outside the cowshed. Seeing the cow lying pitifully in the haystack without moving, his eyes turned red with sadness.
He bought this cow from the next town ten years ago. At that time, it was still a half-year-old calf. But now, it has a large group of children. The strong cows working hard in the fields in the mountain village are all the children of this old cow.
After working so hard for so many years, the cow has gradually grown old from a newborn calf and is no longer as strong and healthy as it used to be.
The village had already made preparations for the cow to be pregnant with her last litter, and it looked like she was going to give birth smoothly, but unexpectedly something like this happened.
The old branch secretary became more and more sad as he watched. He could not help but take out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it tremblingly, took a deep puff, and used the force of the smoke to wipe his eyes while coughing.
Ye Qing gritted his teeth:
"Try using soapy water. If the calf is too big and the vagina is narrow, you can only increase the lubrication and see if you can use external force to pull the calf out. If that doesn't work, then you have to have surgery!"
When he heard that he was going to have surgery, the old branch secretary's hands were shaking as he rolled a cigarette, and Wu Yongbing was also shocked:
"Open...operate? Is this possible?"
How could Ye Qing know if it would work? She had delivered babies before, and had extensive clinical experience in episiotomy and caesarean section, but this was her first time delivering a cow.
But in this situation, there are only so many solutions she can think of. She has to try them one by one. She can't just let the calf suffocate to death inside the mother's body, right?
"I don't know if it will work, I can only try my best. If the previous methods don't work, then this is the only way."
"It may sound a bit cruel, but if it really comes to that, I guess I can only keep one between the cow and the calf. It's up to you to decide which one to choose."
If a woman is giving birth, Ye Qing won't even ask whether to save the baby or the young. In this case, he will of course save the woman first.
But cows are different. They are the collective property of the production team. The cows are at the end of their lives and are of no use anymore, while newborn calves represent new hope and can be fully put into production in one or two years.
So whether to save a cow that may never give birth again, or to save a calf that can provide a lot of labor value to the village in the future, this is not something that Ye Qing can decide with just a few words.
Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary looked at each other and immediately said in a firm tone:
"Then let's do the surgery. We'll save as many patients as possible. Ye Zhiqing, don't worry about anything. Just follow your method. If there are any problems, we'll explain them to the people in the village and we'll bear the responsibility!"
With these words, Ye Qing felt reassured. She was not sure about this matter, mainly because her flying needles did not work on cows. She was familiar with every acupuncture point on the human body, but she was a little at a loss when it came to cows.
Therefore, all Ye Qing could count on was the half-baked veterinary knowledge she had learned on her own and the assistance of her wood-based supernatural power. If she really had to operate on the cow, she was actually unsure in her heart, for fear that if she didn't do it right, the job would be ruined.
In order to deliver the cow, several people didn't even have time to eat lunch. After Wu Yongbing prepared the soapy water, Ye Qing couldn't wait to try to pour the soapy water into the dry birth canal.
Perhaps the cow knew that Ye Qing was saving it and its baby, so even though it was in great pain, it still tried to cooperate with Ye Qing. However, the birth of the calf was not smooth. Ye Qing spent more than an hour using soapy water but did not achieve any obvious results.
At this time, the cow's strength was obviously draining away rapidly. Even if Ye Qing used his special powers several times, he could not save the cow from its declining state. It looked like it was about to collapse.
Realizing that they couldn't delay any longer, if they delayed any further, both the calf and the cow would be starved to death. Ye Qing couldn't help but look at Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary over there:
"Uncles, make a decision quickly. I have to prepare to cut!"
If it was to save the cow, Ye Qing would just cut the side of the cow and pull the calf out, and that would be the end of the matter. Whether it lived or died would be up to fate.
But if she wants to save a calf, she can open the birth canal as wide as possible to ensure that the calf can slide out of the birth canal. However, if she does this, the cow may very likely die.
No matter which choice they make, it is likely to cause problems for one side, so it is a difficult decision for the two leaders of the production team to make.
The two argued for several minutes. Finally, the old branch secretary hugged his head sadly, squatted against the fence next to the cowshed, and did not dare to look back.
When Wu Yongbing saw the old branch secretary's expression, the decision he had made was on the tip of his tongue, but he suddenly paused.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and changed his words:
"Save the calf! If the calf is gone, it's gone. This cow is a great contributor to our village. We can't just give up its life at the critical moment!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the old branch secretary suddenly raised his head and looked at Wu Yongbing in disbelief.
Ye Qing was also stunned for a moment, then she nodded heavily, indicating that she understood:
"Okay! Then I'm going to start the operation!"
Ye Qing took out the knives, sewing needles, sewing thread, scissors and other things he had prepared long ago, and after disinfecting them with boiling water in the kettle beside him, he was ready to start.
Unexpectedly, just as she was about to raise the knife, the cow, which was crawling on the ground and almost in shock, suddenly did a move that shocked the three people present so much that their eyes almost popped out.
The cow climbed out of the straw pile with great difficulty, knelt down on its front knees towards Ye Qing, and lowered its head, rubbing against Ye Qing's feet.
Tears were rolling down those black eyes like beads, and his eyes were filled with deep pain and pleading.
This scene shocked the three people present and they all fell silent.
Ye Qing felt his heart tightening, his lips trembling, and for a moment he couldn't bring himself to do it.
She was not a fool; of course she could see what the cow meant.
It knew that Ye Qing wanted to save her, and it also knew that if it saved its child, it would lose its chance of survival, but it still knelt down and begged Ye Qing not to hurt its child!
It knelt down and begged for life, begging for a way for its child to survive!
Ye Qing subconsciously turned around and asked for help from Captain Wu and the old branch secretary behind him.
The two grown men's eyes were red at this moment, but they both hardened their hearts and shouted at Ye Qing:
"Save the cow! Don't hesitate, save the cow!"
Ye Qing bit her lips tightly.
At this critical moment, a crazy idea of taking a gamble suddenly popped up in her mind.
Since we're going to die anyway, we might as well give it a try!
"I've changed my mind! Either I succeed or I die. Either I save both of them, or I'll kill them both and we'll both die together!"
After shouting this, without waiting for Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary to react, Ye Qing quickly took out the silver needles from his bag, pulled out a few long needles and inserted them without hesitation.
Ye Qing vaguely remembered that she had seen the outline of a cow's acupuncture points on a map a few years ago, but the memory was already very vague, and she was not sure whether the acupuncture points of dairy cows were the same as those of the yellow cattle in front of her, so she could only try to feel around a little bit.
But when I first tried it, I inserted the needle six or seven times in a row and all of them were wrong. Every time I pulled out a needle, blood gushed out crazily.
This made Ye Qing flustered and his hands began to tremble unconsciously. He was so scared that he didn't dare to continue.
But what Ye Qing didn't expect was that even though the cow was frozen by the needle, it didn't struggle or dodge at all. It just turned around and looked at Ye Qing steadily, with tolerance and encouragement in its eyes.
Feeling the cow's heavy and great maternal love, for some reason, Ye Qing's originally nervous and fearful mood unexpectedly calmed down.
After one injection after another, and after four or five times, she finally successfully found the meridian she was looking for!
Ye Qing couldn't help but feel ecstatic, realizing that this was stable!
As long as she finds the first acupuncture point, she can use her healing ability to find out all the others!
At this time, Ye Qing's back was already soaked with cold sweat, with beads of sweat flowing down his forehead, and the corners of his eyes were burning with sharp pain from the sweat.
But she didn't even bother to wipe it, her whole heart and soul was on the cow.
After about half an hour, the entire box of flying needles was completely inserted into the cow's body. After being injected with her special power, they seemed to be alive and kept trembling and dancing on the cow's body.
It is also at this time that the cow's birth canal rapidly expands and opens to an astonishing width.
Ye Qing quickly reached his hand in, adjusted the position of the calf that had been trapped inside for four or five hours, and then pulled it out of the birth canal little by little.
Earlier, when Ye Qing shouted that it was either life or death, Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary were both stunned. But when they saw Ye Qing giving the cow an injection, they did not dare to stop her, for fear of affecting Ye Qing's judgment and making her miss the best opportunity to save the cow and the calf.
Both of them had their hearts in their throats, staring at Ye Qing's movements without blinking, and were so nervous that they were poking at the wooden stakes at the edge of the fence, and they didn't even notice that they had left several claw marks on the old stakes.
After seeing Ye Qing successfully pull the calf out of the cow's body, the two could no longer hold back. They applauded and cheered loudly to Ye Qing, almost bursting into tears with excitement:
"It's born, it's finally born! Oh my god, you are amazing, Miss Ye!"
Ye Qing had no time to respond. After the calf completely slid out of the birth canal, she was busy wiping the mucous membranes and mucus around the little guy's mouth and nose. She also checked the calf's physical condition and made sure that there was no organ damage before she could feel at ease.
At this time, the cow also dragged her body over with difficulty, constantly licking the dirt on the calf's body with her tongue, her eyes full of tender love for her child.
After the cow licked the calf's hair clean, the calf stood up tremblingly and, completely out of instinct, began to burrow into the cow's arms, finding the mother's milk and immediately swallowing it in big gulps.
The cow also cooperated obediently. Even though she had just given birth and was very weak, she still tried to lie sideways so that her baby could suck colostrum.
Until this moment, the stone that Ye Qing was hanging on finally fell to the ground. She sat down on the ground exhausted, wiping the sweat from her face with her sleeves, and raised her head to laugh at Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary:
"I won the bet! I rescued both cows!"
Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary also laughed with her, and they were as happy as idiots.
After getting through the most difficult stage, the subsequent situation was relatively less tense and dangerous, so Ye Qing no longer asked Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary to guard the cowshed.
Fearing that something unexpected might happen to the cows after giving birth, Ye Qing did not dare to relax and still stayed in the cowshed. During this time, Auntie Gu brought Ye Qing a meal, but she ate it in a hurry without even bothering to chew it slowly.
By evening, the calf was already able to jump around in the cowshed, and the placenta in the cow's body had finally been completely discharged.
After confirming that the cow was in good health and there would be no further problems, Ye Qing pulled out all the silver needles. Only then was the entire cow delivery process officially completed.
Ye Qing was covered in sweat and blood, and was so dirty that he could not even look at himself. The villagers in the village also went home from work one after another. When they heard that another calf was born, they all curiously came to the cowshed to see the excitement.
In the 1970s when agricultural machinery was backward, cattle were such an important production tool that every farmer attached great importance to them. The birth of the calf was definitely a great joyous event for Kaoshan Village.
However, Wu Yongbing and the old branch secretary did not hide the fact that the cow had a difficult birth. When they returned to the fields to work in the afternoon, they had already informed everyone of the specific situation. Therefore, everyone in the village knew that the cow had suffered a great suffering today. At this time, no one dared to get too close or make loud noises, for fear of disturbing the cow's rest. They just stood outside the cowshed and watched from a distance.
But when Ye Qing came out of the cowshed, the members couldn't help but give her a thumbs up, respecting and admiring this little girl from the city from the bottom of their hearts:
"Ye Zhiqing, you are awesome!"
Ye Qing was very tired, but when she saw the smiling faces that sincerely praised her, she felt an unprecedented sense of fulfillment and pride, which made her straighten her chest unconsciously.
Knowing that Ye Qing had worked hard all day, Wu Yongbing brought his men to take over Ye Qing's job after work.
The successor was Zhao Laozhu's eldest son Zhao Guosheng.
"The wild boar cubs released today were by Mrs. Zhao. I took away the job of raising pigs from that bastard this morning, and he was not satisfied, so he did something behind my back, and it almost caused a disaster!"
When talking about this, Wu Yongbing became furious.
"The woman was beaten by Zhao Laozhu and ran back to her parents' home. Her son Zhao Guosheng said he wanted to come and atone for his mother's sin. For the month after the cow gave birth, he should be the one to guard the cowshed at night!"
Zhao Guosheng shook his head and apologized to Ye Qing repeatedly, looking silly:
"Ye Zhiqing, I'm sorry, my mother did things without considering the consequences, and I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."
Ye Qing then realized that those wild boars did not break open the pigpen and escape on their own. Thinking about how the cow had almost lost half her life to give birth to the calf today, and how it should not have had to suffer all this suffering, Ye Qing's face couldn't help but turn cold.
Even though he knew that this matter had nothing to do with Zhao Guosheng, as Aunt Zhao's son, it was difficult for Ye Qing to remain calm.
"I am an educated youth from outside the city. I have no right to lecture your old lady. After all, she is old enough to be my grandmother. But there are some things I would not feel comfortable saying!"
"Does she know how much damage her actions today will cause to the village? If the cow really has a difficult birth today, with two lives lost, will the people in the village let her go?"
"This is blatant destruction of collective property, and what was destroyed was a production tool. This is a serious crime no matter where you go. If she is seriously investigated, she will probably be sent to a farm for seven or eight years of forced labor!"
Ye Qing was very angry. It was really that Zhao Laozhui's daughter-in-law was going too far.
If you are dissatisfied with the team's arrangements, you can raise them openly. You can argue with the team leader theoretically or even make a fuss. But you can't do these little tricks behind his back. Disregarding the team's property just to vent your personal anger is too despicable. It's simply stupid and bad!
Ye Qing finally understood why Zhao Mazi had become a cancer in the village. If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked too. With a mother to set an example, it would be strange if good bamboo shoots could grow from the bad bamboo.
So to be honest, Ye Qing was really worried about leaving the cow that had just been through a near-death experience to Zhao Guosheng to guard. She was afraid that this man might do something weird to her again and destroy the cow that she had rescued with great difficulty. Then Ye Qing was really afraid that her temper would get out of control and she would kill him directly.
But she saw that Wu Yongbing seemed to trust Zhao Guosheng quite a bit, so she put her prejudice aside and observed this man quietly.
Then she found that Zhao Guosheng was quite honest and upright. His attitude of admitting his mistakes was very sincere, and he did not show any impatience because of Ye Qing's harsh words.
Later, when Ye Qing talked about what to pay attention to when keeping watch at night, he wrote them down carefully one by one and repeated them to Ye Qing several times, for fear that he would miss any one and make a mistake when taking care of the cows.
Seeing that this man was quite reliable, Ye Qing stopped harping on the matter of Mrs. Zhao.
However, this does not mean that she agrees to let this matter end so hastily. On the way back, Ye Qing said to Wu Yongbing:
"The cow's qi and blood are depleted, and her body is a little weak. She needs to be fed as much as possible during this period. I have also gone into the mountains to collect some herbs these days and boiled a prescription for her to eat, so as to try to replenish her depleted body."
"But this birth must have caused her considerable damage. I can't guarantee you whether she will be able to have another baby next year."
"I think that Aunt Zhao's case should be handled seriously. We can't ignore it just because she ran back to her parents' home. Otherwise, if everyone does the same thing in the future, what rules will there be in the whole village?"
"If possible, it would be best to call that Aunt Zhao back as soon as possible. I need to find her to understand the situation."
Wu Yongbing was stunned for a moment: "What do you want to know from her?"
Ye Qing explained:
"She is responsible for feeding the cows in our village. But today when I was delivering a cow, I found a big problem. The cow was not strong and even a little thin, but the calf she was carrying was very big."
"It's not even the cow's due date yet. If it hadn't been for the wild boar attack, the calf would have had to grow inside the cow for another half a month."
"Don't underestimate the last half month. Generally, the fetus grows fastest in the late pregnancy period. I estimate that if we really wait another half month, the calf will be even bigger than it is now."
"What does this mean? It means that if the amniotic fluid had not suddenly broken today, according to the normal pregnancy cycle, the cow would have had difficulty giving birth to this giant baby even if the calf's fetal position was adjusted back to normal."
"This cow in our village has given birth seven or eight times, right? She should be considered an experienced veteran. Even if it is just out of self-protection instinct, she will not let her children have excessive nutrition."
"And if they just eat grass, it's impossible for the fetus to be so large, so I think this is a bit strange."
Wu Yongbing understood:
"Do you suspect that the cow ate something it shouldn't have eaten during pregnancy, causing the calf to grow too large?"
Ye Qing shrugged: "I can only make a judgment after I ask that Aunt Zhao. Whether there is a problem or not, I have to investigate it first."
Wu Yongbing's expression suddenly became extremely solemn.
After all, the problem mentioned by Ye Qing is not a trivial matter. The birth of a cow is related to the livelihood of the entire village. We must be extremely careful and must not underestimate it!
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