Chapter 21: Veterinary Liu Yitiao

  "What's this all about?" Xia Dechang asked, lowering his head in thought.

  "A few silver coins?" Liu Yitiao laughed and said, "One string of silver cash can save two dying plow oxen. Uncle Xia is indeed good at arithmetic."

  Xia Dechang's face turned red, before this he had spent no less than 800 wen of silver to have the ox treated for illness, if Liu Yitiao could cure it in one go, it was indeed a bit cheap. He tried to raise the price again: "How about adding another 300 wen?"

  Liu Yitiao hummed and didn't say a word, as if he hadn't heard Xia Dechang's words.

  Helplessly, Xia Dechang had to raise the price again.

  "Five hundred yen?"

  "Eight hundred yen?"

  "Two taels! Can't be more, a wise nephew, two taels of silver is enough for an ordinary family to spend four or five years already, it's not a small amount. The ox I sold to Brother Liu the day before yesterday was only five taels, this is almost half the price of an ox!"

  "Heh heh, Old Man Xia is right, but the medicine I need to use isn't cheap either. If you're worried about losing money, you can just sell these two cows again, no one's forcing you to have me treat them." Seeing that Xia Dezhang still had the nerve to mention selling the sick cows to Lao Shi, Liu Yitiao couldn't help but say something to provoke him.

  "This..." Xia Dechang was choked and couldn't speak. If it could still be sold, would he have waited until now?

  "A clever nephew, just give me a straight answer, how much silver are you asking for to treat me?"

  "Ten taels!" Liu Yitiao stretched out one finger, slowly and calmly, saying: "Not a single copper coin can be less! Otherwise, I won't guarantee that I can completely cure it."

  "You! You're not even better off going to rob!" Xia Dechang almost jumped up, the fat on his face shaking back and forth, huffing and puffing as if it was a good look. He had wanted to stomp his foot and leave with a flourish, but in the end he endured it again.

  Although ten taels of silver is a lot, if it can really save the lives of two oxen, it's still worth it. You know that those two oxen are worth at least thirty taels when they're healthy, but if they die, they'll be worthless. Xia Dechang didn't want to give up this opportunity.

  "Uncle Xia, if it's not okay, then you can go back and think about it. Ten taels of silver can cure the two oxen that have contracted intestinal colic. Think about it carefully and come find me again." Liu didn't rush him at all; dysentery was a disease that posed a new danger every day, and he believed Xia Dechang wouldn't take too long to think about it.

  And Xia Dechang's arrival today gave him an idea.

  That is, being a veterinarian might be a pretty good career in this era. If Lao Liu were to cultivate into a new-era veterinarian, wouldn't that have great prospects?

  "Alright! No need to consider it anymore, ten taels is just ten taels!" At the critical moment, Xia Dechang still knew what was important and what wasn't.

  Liu Yitiao looked at Old Xia with a hint of praise, although he was still somewhat annoyed by his deception of Liu Laoshi. However, this person was indeed decisive in his actions. He stood up and brought over paper and pen, placing them in front of Xia Dechang, saying: "Then please, Uncle Xia, write down the agreement here. First, pay five taels as an advance for medical expenses and a deposit. After the treatment is successful, we'll settle the remaining five taels. Once it's written, we'll each sign our names, one copy each, to be kept as evidence in case of breach of contract later on. What do you think, Uncle Xia?"

  "It's reasonable," Xia Dechang nodded, this signing method is also novel, and both parties have guarantees, so they won't be afraid of the other party breaching the contract.

  "There's one thing I need to clarify," Liu Yitiao continued, "the prescription for treating the illness has been passed down from my ancestors and is not convenient to reveal to outsiders. Your cow can only be treated at my home. At most in three days, I will return two healthy draft cows to you."

  "Of course, if Uncle Xia doesn't trust his nephew, it's better to invite a more capable person earlier."

  "Good nephew, don't worry too much. If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have brought the cow here today." Xia Dechang quickly signed his name and handed over the contract and five taels of silver to Liu Yitiao, saying: "I'll come to take the cow in three days' time."

  Liu Yitiao picked up his pen and signed, smiling: "All is well!"

  He stretched out his right hand, but then suddenly withdrew it again, thinking that this era probably didn't have the custom of shaking hands yet.

  As expected, Liu's strange behavior attracted Xia Dechang's strange gaze. However, Old Xia had a request for him and didn't say anything. After putting away the contract, he stood up to bid farewell. The two cows he brought naturally stayed at Old Liu's house.

  "This old Xia may be hateful, but isn't taking ten taels of silver from him a bit too much?" Lao Shi walked out of the inner room at this time and looked at Yi Tiao with suspicion. Exchanging a few heads of garlic for ten taels of silver, isn't that a bit too black?

  Liu let out a soft sigh in his heart, this old father of his was just too honest, he had been deceived like this and still had the leisure to worry about others, didn't he know that when dealing with bad people you have to use their methods?

  "Father, ten taels of silver can buy the lives of two oxen. Is that too much?" Liu Yitiao continued: "That Xia Dechang is not a fool. Since he's willing to take out this money, it means the price I gave is within his acceptable range, and it's not too much."

  "But the cost of treating the illness is not even three taels, and you're charging him ten taels, which doesn't seem right." Lao Liu still couldn't understand. "Our old Liu family has always been honest farmers, we can't make money by cheating people's conscience."

  Liu Yitiao almost fainted. How did this mutually beneficial deal become a conscience-stricken thing when it came out of Liu Laoshi's mouth?

  "Dad, how can this be considered ill-gotten gains? He pays the money and I treat his illness. This is a matter of course. I'm not cheating anyone or robbing anyone, so how can it be considered ill-gotten?"

  "Speaking of a clear conscience, Xia Dechang cheating you into buying his sick cow isn't a clear conscience. If it wasn't for me coincidentally being able to cure intestinal obstruction, our five taels would have been thrown away long ago, and I'd be the one with a guilty conscience! Compared to him, I'm so noble I'm almost a saint!"

  Liu Yitiao was somewhat irritated and his voice unconsciously rose a lot. He also startled Liu Heshi out of the inner room.

  Liu He's wife glared at Liu Laoshi, she had also heard the conversation between father and son just now, and her heart was also burning with anger.

  She walked to Liu Yitiao's side, not giving Liu Laoshi a good face. She said: "This matter is done without error, people like Xia Dechang should be taught a lesson. What's wrong with collecting ten yuan from him? Even if it's twenty yuan, it's not excessive!"

  "Do you want to talk about conscience with him, but has he ever talked about conscience with you? If he had a conscience, that sick cow wouldn't have come to our house! And yet, you're still trying to speak up for him. You're the one who's blaming him instead. If you really had the ability, why didn't you go reason with Xia Dechang in the first place?"

  "You're just a woman, what are you meddling in here!" Lao Shi was made to lose face by Liu He's words and couldn't help but shout out.

  "Hmph!" Madame Liu turned her head and snorted, then fell silent again, and directly carried Little Liu into the inner room.

  "Dad," Liu Yitiao said, "My mother's words were a bit extreme, but they weren't entirely unreasonable. For someone like Xia Dechang, my actions aren't excessive."

  "Old Liu! Are you home?! Brother, I've come to see you!" A strange voice echoed outside the door.

  Liu Yitiao noticed that Old Liu's face turned even uglier after hearing the voice. Feeling strange, he got up to welcome the guest and saw another richly dressed fat man standing in front of their house gate.