Chapter 23 Infectious Diseases

  Liu Sanwu's last question made Liu Yitiao break out in a cold sweat.

  It must be said that although she is nearly forty, Liu He's current appearance can still be described as having a pretty face and a delicate complexion. From this, one can imagine how beautiful she was twenty years ago. No wonder old man Liu Sanwu still can't forget her to this day.

  He carelessly uttered a couple of vague sentences and sent Liu Sanwu away. Liu Yitiao turned around and headed towards Niu Peng.

  He wanted to separate the two sick cows from their family's Little Huang, various signs indicated that it was possible for the three oxen to pull simultaneously, extremely likely to be a highly contagious and infectious disease, Liu Yitiao did not want their family's Little Huang to pull again.

  The red swelling on the cow's nose had no signs of inflammation, and the lump had dissipated by more than half, revealing the small hole that had been made. It was estimated that in two to three days, it would be possible to put a ring on it. Liu Yitiao smiled with satisfaction, and the first surgery after coming to the Tang Dynasty finally ended in complete success.

  He untied the rope and gently pulled on the small ring in the cow's nose, the calf let out two mournful cries before obediently following the direction of its nose.

  Liu Lao Shi just happened to come out of the house and saw Liu Yi Tiao leading the cow. He almost ran to Liu Yi Tiao's side, staring at the small ring on the cow's nose. "YiTiao, when did this cow become so obedient? Is this the effect of wearing a cow nose ring?"

  Liu Yitiao looked at Old Liu's surprised and delighted expression, and smiled slightly: "Dad, I told you a few days ago that to lead an ox, one must lead its nose. You didn't quite believe me, did you? How about now? Do you believe me? With this ox nose, from now on, wherever you lead it, it will follow, and you won't have to worry about it playing tricks on you again."

  "Ah! Ah!" Lao Shi nodded repeatedly. This was a huge joy for him, an obedient ox that could double his work efficiency. He tried to stretch out his right hand and reached into the cow's nose ring, saying: "Let me try too!"

  Liu let go of his hand and said, "Be gentle with it, the wound on its nose hasn't fully healed yet. It'll take a few more days before it can be led normally."

  "Uh-huh, uh-huh, I know, I know." Old Liu said with his mouth, but his hands didn't relax at all, pulling the cow's nose to the east and then to the west, and from time to time making a sudden turn, just like a child who had just gotten a new toy. Poor little cow of the Liu family was led by the nose, mooing in pain.

  "Alright, Dad. If you keep pulling like this, the cow's nose will swell up again." Liu Yitiao saw that Liu Laoshi was getting more and more into it, so he hastily spoke out to stop him, gesturing for Old Liu to find an open space to tie up the cow. Liu Yitiao took the opportunity to observe the two sick cows of Old Xia's family.

  These two cows can only be described with one word: thin! The yellow skin directly exposed the bones, thin and rugged, a complete image of an African refugee, looking very pitiful. Liu Yitia patted the mother cow's buttocks slightly harder, and the mother cow almost knelt to the ground, her legs softened. It was really hard for Old Xia to lead them over from the neighboring village. No wonder when Liu Yitia said he wanted to keep the cows earlier, a hint of joy appeared on Old Xia's face.

  "One of them, both cows are so sick, can your prescription work?" Lao Liu had finished playing on the other side and came over. Seeing that the cow was almost unable to stand stably, he asked worriedly.

  Liu shrugged and said, "A doctor can't cure a dead disease, and a Buddha can only save those who are destined to be saved. If the treatment is effective, then it's good; if not, we won't suffer any losses, at most we'll just return the five taels of silver. Xia Dechang won't complain about anything, he brought the cow here with the mindset of treating a dead cow as if it were alive. He's just trying his luck. Father, don't worry."

  "Hmm, you're right." Lao Liu nodded in agreement. If it were him, he would do the same. Two live cows are worth much more than two dead ones.

  "Dad, remember not to tell others about the secret remedy for treating cattle. I'll also let Er Tiao and the others know later, don't leak it out. I still want to make some small money from it." Liu Yitiao rubbed his hands together, thinking that when he went to the county last time, he heard that several nearby villages also had many draft cows suffering from this intestinal disease. At that time, he didn't pay much attention because of Wang Kui's affairs. Now it seems that this is likely a contagious disease transmitted among draft cattle.

  "Dad, try to spread the news that I can cure the cattle plague over the next few days. Even if it costs a few pieces of silver, try to let as many people know as possible. I reckon this cattle plague is likely to be some kind of contagious epidemic disease. Definitely not a few cows in the nearby villages have been infected too." Liu Yitiao said with a savior-like expression: "Let me give these sick cows a chance to recover!"

  "Plague?!" Lao Shi was shocked, the first thought that came to his mind was to run, taking his family with him as far away as possible. Having experienced the plague in his childhood, he deeply felt its horror, with people dying every day and dead bodies everywhere, it was like a purgatory on earth.

  Liu Yitiao noticed that Liu Lao's face turned white as soon as he heard the word "plague", and knew that this was a kind of fear that ancient people had towards plagues. He quickly explained: "Dad, don't worry, this is just a disease that spreads among cattle, it won't affect humans. And we already have a way to cure it, so there's no need to worry."

  Liu Yitiao's calm and gentle voice gradually calmed down Old Liu, suppressing the fear in his heart. He asked Liu Yitiao, "Yitiao, is all this true? You won't make a mistake, will you?"

  "Dad, if this disease had an impact on the human body, then Xia Dechang's family would have been infected long ago. Now that we're fine, it means this disease is only contagious to cattle or other livestock, but definitely has no effect on humans."

  "Right, right, no problem. It's all good, it's all good." Old Liu muttered to himself nonstop, as if he had narrowly escaped a disaster.

  Lao Liu understood this very well. Even in modern times, when people face tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, plagues and other natural disasters, they will feel the fragility of life, the smallness of individuals, and fear of death.

  The difference is that in modern times, there are countries, armies, thousands of kind-hearted people and countless relief funds, so those who survive the disaster still have something to rely on. In ancient times, however, there was nothing, and what the country could do was very limited, often the number of deaths after the disaster was several times more than that during the disaster.

  "Dad, you go peel some garlic first and pound some garlic juice to feed these two cows. I'll go out and buy some herbal medicine back." Liu Yitiao had the five taels of silver left by Xia Dechang in his arms, preparing to go to the county's medical hall to buy some herbal medicine casually.

  "Huh? Why are you still going to buy herbs? Isn't some garlic enough?" Liu Cai Shi asked in puzzlement.

  Liu Yitiao smiled mysteriously and said, "Dad, don't ask about these things, I have my own use for them. Besides, the second son also needs to add some new clothes, he is now a student of the county magistrate, and in a few days when the ceremony of paying respects to the teacher takes place, it's better to dress more decently."

  "Yes, it's better to dress more decently." When mentioning this matter, Old Liu's face unconsciously revealed a smile. His second son was able to be apprenticed under the county magistrate, and his future prospects were finally somewhat settled. Of course, he also knew that all of this was thanks to his eldest son's efforts, so he was even more satisfied with Liu Yitiao.

  Since being beaten by Wang Shuai last time, Liu Yitiao has become a different person. He often speaks and acts unexpectedly, but always brings surprises to the Liu family, which is also why Old Liu dislikes him. After all, his son is capable, and as his father, he also has face.