Chapter 6 A Cow That Can Pull Diarrhea

  Liu Yitiao returned home with a basket on his back and humming a little tune, only to find that the atmosphere at home was also filled with joy.

  Because there is a cow in the house. Yes, a tawny half-grown calf. And judging from Liu's years of experience in raising cattle, this cow seems to be ill as well. Its eyes are dull and lifeless, its hindquarters are weak and loose, it's a sick cow that has been pulled for who knows how many days.

  When Liu Yitiao returned, the smallest and most annoying person in the house, Liu Xiaohui, ran up to him, pulling his hand excitedly and saying: "Brother, look! Our family also has a cow now! Such a big one!"

  "Oh, really?" Liu Yitiao put down the basket and bent to pick up Liu Xiaohui, smiling and asking: "Then do you know when this cow was bought?"

  "Of course I know!" Liu Xiaohui tilted her head, wrinkling her small nose triumphantly and said: "Father bought it back this afternoon, at that time I was just outside the door, I was the first to see it!"

  "The first one to see it?! Hehe, our little Hui is really something!" Liu Yitiao gently scratched the tip of Liu Xiaohui's nose, making her burst out laughing.

  Liu He's family came forward and took over Liu Xiao Hui, who was wrapped around Liu Yi, and asked with concern: "Yi Tiao is back so early, must be exhausted?"

  "Not at all, today's business is good, a big basket of Chinese cabbage was sold out and only ten or so were left." After finishing speaking, Liu Yitiao circled around the small cow twice from front to back, and asked Liu Laoshi with a smile: "Dad, where did you buy this cow?"

  Liu Lao Shi smiled and replied, "This is from Old Xia's family in the neighboring village. Their cow gave birth to two calves, this is one of them, and it only costs five taels of silver, which is half cheaper than others. I happened to run into it at that time, so I made a bold decision and bought it. Take a look, isn't it great? With this, our family's farming will be much easier from now on."

  When speaking, Liu Lao Shi was very excited. This is not surprising. In the Tang Dynasty, one cow was equivalent to a tractor in the 21st century. With a cow in hand, farming would be worry-free. Having a cow was every farmer's dream in this era.

  Although he didn't want to say it, Liu Yitiao couldn't help but pour a basin of cold water on Liu Laoshi, "Dad, five taels of silver is indeed very cheap, but haven't you noticed? This is a sick cow!"

  "Sick cow?" The smile on Liu Lao's face froze, he looked at the cow again and then at Liu Yi, after a long while, he said: "Yi, you must be mistaken, look how sturdy this cow is, how could it be a sick cow?"

  To prove his words, Liu Laoshi deliberately patted the cow's back with force.

  "A loud farting sound, a foul odor emitted from the cow's buttocks."

  "Intestine burst?!!" Liu Lao Shi was suddenly choked and couldn't speak.

  "Diarrhea?" Liu Yitiao patted his head and thought for half a day before remembering that in ancient times, there was indeed such a term.

  "I'm going to find him!" Liu Lao Shi was furious. What's the difference between a cow with a stomach ache and a dead cow? He couldn't swallow this loss, those five taels of silver were his savings for five or six years. He couldn't let it go to waste on a dying cow.

  "Father!" Liu Yitiao blocked Liu Laoshi's way, saying: "What's the use of you going to find him? You've already given him the money. Will he still admit that the cow he sold you is a sick one? Maybe he'll even turn around and bite you back, saying you made the cow ill to extort him. This matter has no basis, and it's not like we're at a loss with five taels of silver for a sick cow."

  "One intestine is blocked! What's the difference between a cow with this disease and a dead one? Is five taels of silver just gone like that?"

  "Unimpeded, Father, I can cure this illness!" Liu Yitiao's firm and powerful voice calmed down Liu Laoshi's agitated emotions. He asked with a puzzled expression: "Yitiao, what did you say? Can you treat this intestinal obstruction?"

  "Yes, Father. Leave this cow to me and it will be fine in a few days. Your five taels of silver won't go to waste." Liu Yitiao smiled faintly and gave Liu Laoshi a reassuring look.

  "Really? How come I didn't know you could also treat cows?" Liu Lao Shi still couldn't believe it, Liu Yi Tiao had always lived under his nose, what abilities did he have that his old man wouldn't be aware of?

  "Dad, this is a little secret of mine, don't ask. Just rest assured and hand over the cow to me, I'll make sure it's cured."

  "Mother, it smells terrible here, shall we go inside?" Liu Xiaohui pinched her nose and whispered to Liu He's wife.

  "Alright, alright, let's go inside." Mrs. Liu carried Little Liu into the house. The matter with the cow would be handled by the men in the family; as a woman, she didn't need to get involved. What she needed to do now was take care of the child and prepare dinner.

  "Mom, is there garlic at home?" Liu Yitiao pushed the door and entered the kitchen. Liu Xiaohui, who had been idle for a long time, immediately stuck to her side.

  "Garlic? No, it's hanging on that wall over there. You go get it." Liu He pointed casually.

  Liu Yitiao gently picked up Liu Xiaohui and said, "Okay, Xiaohui, come with brother to peel garlic!"

  "One strip, why are you peeling so much garlic? Your dad and second brother don't like to eat it, and peeling too much is a waste."

  Liu Yitiao smiled and said, "Mother, it's not that we can't afford it. This is for treating the cow's illness, the more the better. By the way, where's Liu Ertiao? He should be out of school by now?"

  Liu He said, "Second brother, they invited a foreign scholar to give a lecture and will be back late. I heard from Second Brother that this scholar is very famous in the Chang'an area."

  Liu nodded, San Yuan County was a poor county, but it was also on the outskirts of the imperial capital. It would be easy to invite a scholar with some knowledge. However, this saying about fame must have had a large water content, and it was probably just private propaganda. He had seen such things many times when he was in college.

  Liu Yitiao mashed up over a kilogram of garlic and mixed it with some white wine that Liu Laoshi often drank, making a small ceramic bowl of garlic and old wine soup. This was his method for treating cow diarrhea. Garlic kills bacteria, old wine dispels coldness. Whether it's humans or animals, as long as they have diarrhea and can't stop having loose stools, this trick is always effective. Drinking it three or four times will stop your loose stools no matter how severe they are.

  "Is this it?!" Lao Liu pointed at the garlic soup that Liu Yi had handed him, saying: "Can this really cure illness?!"