Chapter 31: The Cow Is Sick
Business was as brisk as ever today. Over three hundred servings of liangpi and more than two hundred white-skinned pancakes sold out in less than two hours, bringing in a conservative estimate of seventy or eighty yuan!
After packing up, Li Yi cleaned up the trash on the ground and then drove the mule cart toward the village!
Just as Li Yi had left, Xu Hong arrived at the spot where he’d been selling his goods and began striking up a conversation with a few older men from the Security Department who were cooling off in the shade of a tree.
While Li Yi had been setting up his stall, Xu Hong had been hiding in the shadows, watching him.
He noticed that Li Yi was selling the very same cold noodles that were most common in their province of Qin, and those white flatbreads were also something he often ate at home—if only there had been a bit of meat, it would have been perfect!
If it hadn’t been Li Yi running the stall, he wouldn’t have been able to resist going out to grab a serving.
Although he was hiding quite a distance away and couldn’t see clearly, Xu Hong could tell Li Yi’s business was booming—after all, that swarm of people couldn’t be faked!
Instantly, Xu Hong felt he had cracked the secret to Li Yi’s fortune!
Upon learning that Li Yi had made his fortune by setting up an unauthorized stall to sell liangpi, Xu Hong’s first thought was: Could he do this for a living?
To be honest, he was absolutely terrified of being poor!
He’d been stationed here for five years, and aside from his basic rations, the most he’d ever received in a single year was 43 yuan!
That was his entire annual cash income—averaging out to less than four yuan a month!
If there was a chance to make money, he certainly wouldn’t let it slip by!
But he soon realized with dismay that, although he was from Qin Province, he didn’t know how to make liangpi!
He’d seen his mother make it before, but he only had a vague idea of the process—he’d never actually tried his hand at it himself.
Xu Hong knew that with liangpi, a slight misstep could lead to a world of difference—the slightest error could completely ruin the flavor.
So, he could only grudgingly give up on the idea!
Since he couldn’t make a living from it, Xu Hong’s next thought was: If I can’t do it, you sure as hell aren’t going to either!
Considering the current policies, Xu Hong was absolutely certain that Li Yi’s actions constituted profiteering and were bound to be severely cracked down on.
Once caught, regardless of whether he’d be jailed or sentenced, at the very least, this business would be over.
Moreover, Xu Hong believed Tang Xue was inevitably involved in this matter, so he decided to report her as well.
After all, in his view, how could a hick like Li Yi—who’d never even left the county—possibly make liangpi? That was a specialty delicacy of their Qin Province; Tang Xue must have prepared it for him, with Li Yi handling the sales.
It must be said, jealousy really does distort one’s judgment!
However, while Xu Hong’s character left much to be desired, he was meticulous in his work.
Since he’d decided to report Li Yi and Tang Xue, he had to come up with solid evidence—and he had to nail Li Yi once and for all, preferably with him caught red-handed!
So, he decided to first get a good grasp of Li Yi’s routine—did he set up his stall here every day, or just once in a while?
If he came every day, it would be simple—he could just have the police or the industrial and commercial authorities come and arrest him.
If not, he’d have to pinpoint the specific locations where Li Yi frequently set up his stall so he could catch him red-handed.
After striking up a conversation with the elderly security guard at the sugar factory, Xu Hong finally learned that Li Yi had been setting up his stall here almost every day recently. Now he felt confident.
After that, he skipped the post office and headed straight back to the educated youth commune!
He was going to write a report!
……..
Unaware of any of this, Li Yi was basking in the joy of his upcoming house construction. After driving the mule cart back to the village, he unloaded the supplies into his house, fed the big red mule some hay, and then hopped on his bicycle, heading straight for the village committee office!
When Li Yi walked into the village committee office carrying a bottle of liquor, he was told that Secretary Feng was out in the fields!
After confirming it was at Xiahewan, Li Yi hopped on his bicycle and rushed over!
When he reached the edge of the field, he could see a large crowd gathered from a distance, and he had no idea what was going on!
As he drew closer, he saw a cow lying on the ground, twitching intermittently—it seemed to be quite ill!
Secretary Feng and several production team captains were all present, standing around the cow with somber expressions.
“Old Feng, what should we do? You make the call!” said Zhang Tongfu, the brigade leader, in a low voice.
Feng Kai was also a bit hesitant. After taking a few deep puffs on his pipe, he said, “I’m afraid this cow isn’t going to make it. If it’s no good, we’ll just have to put it down.”
Hearing this, Li Yi began to understand—they were discussing whether to slaughter the sick cow!
This was the village custom: whenever a large animal fell seriously ill, they had to consider whether to put it down.
Whether or not the sick animal was fit to eat was beside the point; these days, most people were going hungry, so who cared about such things?
More importantly, if they slaughtered it now while it was still alive, they could bleed it out, and the meat could still be sold for money.
If they didn’t slaughter it and waited until it died, the blood wouldn’t flow out, and the meat would go bad!
Zhang Tongfu said with a pang of regret, “Our team only has 11 cows in total, and this one is carrying a calf. It’s such a waste to slaughter her!”
“That may be true, but if we don’t slaughter it now and let it die on its own, the loss will be even greater!”
“Ah, well, I suppose there’s nothing we can do about it!”
“How could a perfectly healthy cow suddenly go down like this…”
As the team members exchanged their opinions, Li Yi quietly walked over to the cow and began to examine its condition closely.
The cow appeared completely weak, restless, and unable to stand or lie down properly. It kept falling to the ground and rolling around, its body twitching constantly.
Thinking back to last night’s thunderstorm, Li Yi had an idea.
“Uncle Feng, Uncle Zhang, we don’t need to slaughter this cow just yet!” Li Yi suddenly called out.
Hearing Li Yi’s voice, Feng Kai furrowed his brow and asked, “Yi, what do you mean by that?”
Li Yi replied immediately, “Although the cow’s illness looks serious, it’s not fatal—it’ll be fine with some treatment!”
In his previous life, Li Yi had raised cattle for a while. Although he wasn’t a professional veterinarian, he could still identify common ailments.
The condition this cow is suffering from is called “cold pain.” Essentially, it occurs when a cow, having sweated, is drenched by rain and exposed to cold, which easily triggers spasmodic abdominal pain. The symptoms manifest exactly as they do in this cow right now.
It is also accompanied by increased defecation, with the cow continuously passing loose, watery feces. Bowel sounds intensify, with the sounds from the large and small intestines becoming high-pitched and continuous. In severe cases, the cow’s muscles tremble, it collapses and cannot get up, its head and neck stiffen, and it moans.
“Yi, don’t just blurt out nonsense. You know how much a cow is worth—if we delay treatment, the team will suffer a huge loss!” Zhang Tongfu said in a grave tone.
“Uncle Zhang, don’t worry. Leave this cow to me—I guarantee it’ll be cured as soon as I treat it!” Li Yi said confidently.
Feng Kai immediately asked, “Are you really that confident?”
“I do!”
………