Chapter 26: One Head of Cattle, Two Strings of Cash

  The next day when he got up, the sky was still not bright. Liu Yitiao put on his clothes and came out to relieve himself, only to find that there were two more yellow cows at the door of his house. Of course, behind each cow's buttocks, there was also a master following.

  "So soon? It seems that Old Liu is quite talented in promotion." Lü Yī Tiáo thought to himself, then smiled and went to open the door for the guests. These people were his benefactors, he couldn't be slow in receiving them.

  There were two people, one old and one young. The older one looked about sixty years old, with a face full of wrinkles. The younger one was not much taller than Liu Er, with a face full of childishness. From their expressions, it was clear that they were not related, nor did they know each other. However, they must have been waiting for a long time, as a thin layer of frost had formed on their heads.

  As soon as he saw Liu Yitiao come out, the old man stepped forward and asked with his hands clasped together: "May I ask if this young gentleman is Liu Yitiao, Mr. Liu?"

  Liu Yitiao opened the door and said, "Sir, you're too kind, just call me by my name. Come on in, come on in, sir, and this young brother, hurry up and get warm inside, it's so cold outside, why didn't you call out?"

  "No need, no need!" The old man waved his hand repeatedly and said, "We're here to see the cow's illness, don't want to disturb too much."

  The young man stepped forward and said, "I've heard that Mr. Liu has a method to cure the ox's intestinal obstruction, so I came early today to seek treatment. Please forgive me for disturbing you."

  Bookworm? How come he starts with a sour tone? Liu furrowed his brow, fortunately their second child wasn't like this, otherwise he would have to beat him up and change him.

  "You two have been too polite, and it's really not right for you to wait outside for so long. Please follow me in. Even the doctor has to come into the yard first, doesn't he?" Liu Yitiao fully opened the wooden door, making it convenient for the two men to lead the cow inside.

  The two men saw Liu Yitiao speaking like this and no longer pushed back, so they followed Liu Yitiao into the courtyard of the Liu family.

  As they tied up the cow, Liu Yitiao asked from the side: "Still don't know what to call you two?"

  "Oh, it was my old man who was rude," said the elder, "I am Yuan Fang, a villager from Xia Er Village."

  The young man bowed to Liu and introduced himself: "I am Zhang Chuwen, a junior from Xin Zhuang, and I have met you before, sir."

  "Hmm." Liu Yitiao nodded and, imitating some veterinarians from his previous life, asked professionally: "Old Man Yuan, Old Brother Zhang. How many days has this cow been sick? What are the symptoms? Is it eating or not? Have you invited other veterinarians or veterinary doctors to take a look?"

  Yuan Fang sighed and said, "To be honest with Mr. Liu, since three days ago, our family's ox has been having diarrhea nonstop. We've invited several veterinarians, but none of them have had much effect. Watching the ox get thinner and thinner every day is really heartbreaking."

  Zhang Chu heard continued: "The situation of the late-born calf is similar to that of Mr. Yuan, and the veterinarians are at a loss for what to do. The veterinary doctor is a royal veterinarian, how can we ordinary people afford to invite him? Seeing the ox's life in danger, I coincidentally heard that Mr. Liu has a way to treat it, so we came early to disturb you."

  Liu nodded, this was not beyond his expectation. If ordinary veterinarians could easily solve it, people in this era would not be talking about intestinal obstruction with a change of color. He reached out and flipped through the eyelids of the two sick cows that had just arrived, their eyes were dull, their eye sockets were dry, and the dehydration symptoms were very severe. If the condition was not controlled in time, in this era where intravenous infusion and injections were not possible, these cows would only have one way to die.

  "This illness I can cure." Liu Yitiao's words gave the two some hope. "However, the cost of treating the illness is not low. Old Man Yuan may know something, yesterday afternoon, Xia Dechang from Xia Village came to me to diagnose a cow's illness, and I charged him five yuan for one head of cattle."

  "Hiss!" Old Yuan and Zhang Chu both took a deep breath. Five taels of silver? This price was a bit outrageous.

  However, that's because he had cheated my father before. So for others, I uniformly charge two taels of silver." Liu Yitia waved out two fingers and reduced the fee by half: "Two taels of silver per head of cattle, and it's guaranteed to be cured. If it can't be cured, you can come find me to demand compensation."

  The two nodded in agreement, and this price was still acceptable.

  Liu Yitiao continued: "Two strings of cash in exchange for a cow's life, what do you two think? Is it feasible?"

  Yuan Fang and Zhang Chu looked at each other and said in unison: "Please, sir, hurry up and treat him."

  Liu waved his hand and said, "This is not urgent. These cows will not die under my care. Before treating them, we need to sign a contract between us, listing all the terms we discussed today. If someone regrets it in the future, we'll have something to rely on."

  "Great, Mr. Liu's words are indeed thoughtful and thorough! I admire you!" Zhang Chu, being a scholar himself, immediately understood the meaning behind Liu Yitiao's words. He bowed his head in respect, showing his admiration.

  "As Mr. Liu said." Although Yuan Fang felt that it was a bit strange to make a written record of the diagnosis, he looked at Zhang Chuhuai's expression and knew that this wouldn't be a bad thing, so he agreed.

  So Liu Yitiao followed the contract style left by Xia Dechang yesterday and let Zhang Chuheng copy four copies. The three people signed their names on them separately, Yuan Fang and Zhang Chuheng each got one copy, and Liu Yitiao kept two copies and the two taels of deposit prepaid by the two of them.

  Put the contract away, Liu Yitiao smiled and said to them: "You two leave the cow here, come back in three days, I will return a healthy draft cow to you."

  "It's a trouble for Mr. Liu then." The two of them bowed to Liu Yitiao and said, "Then we'll take our leave first. We'll come again in three days to congratulate Mr. Liu on the good news."

  "Uh-huh." Liu Yitiao nodded and said: "It's cold outside, you two be careful on the road, I won't see you off far."

  Watching the two of them leave, Liu Yitiao calculated in his heart: one cow is worth two yuan, five cows are worth ten yuan, and fifty cows would be a hundred yuan. A hundred yuan, what kind of concept is that? It's not inferior to the modern-day petty bourgeoisie, right?

  Liu Yitiao thought contentedly, after making some money, maybe he would buy a few more cows, a few more acres of land, hire a few farmers, and live the life of a small landlord in ancient times. A landlord, it seems, is a profession that many young people today yearn for.

  At this time, Liu Laoshi also got up from the bed and saw that there were two more oxen in the yard. He came to Liu Yitiao's side and asked: "Yitiao, what a night's work! How did you get two more? When were they delivered?"

  "Just now, it was two fellow villagers from Xiaer Village and Xiao Xin Zhuang who brought them over." Liu Yitiao said: "I only accepted two taels of silver for one cow, and they both accepted it with pleasure."

  "Two strings? Hmm, it's quite reasonable for this illness." Lao Liu nodded. The price this time was still acceptable to him.

  "Right, the garlic at home is almost gone, probably only enough for three more feedings. Go to the market and buy some back today." Old Liu said to Liu Yitiao as he looked at the four sick cows in the yard.

  "Uh-huh." Liu Yitiao nodded, remembering the matter of Liu Ertiao's apprenticeship ceremony tomorrow, and said: "It just so happens that I have something to do in the county town today. I'll bring some back on my way."

  "Oh, right, Dad, how did you spread the news that our family can cure cattle disease? So quickly someone has come to hear the news, Dad, you are indeed a great contributor."

  "Hmm, it's nothing much, I just told San Gu at the village head about this message."

  "Uh..."