Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Not long after Maihua left, another panting voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Uncle Ji, Uncle Ji, hurry... hurry... my dad is calling you... he's calling you quickly... my cow can't give birth..."

Having just finished sorting the medicinal herbs, Old Master Ji, who had just come out of the cave dwelling, craned his neck to look at the courtyard gate and saw Wu Qiaoxia, the eldest daughter-in-law of the village head, leaning against the gate frame, panting heavily. He asked, "What's wrong? How long has your cow been in labor? It still hasn't been born?"

Panting heavily, Wu Qiaoxia said, "After lunch, my cow became a little restless. My dad said it was probably about to give birth, so we started preparing. But it's been like this ever since, and it just won't come out. My dad is so anxious, and he asked you to come over and take a look."

Without saying a word, Old Master Ji strode out. As he crossed the threshold, he saw Ji Yongling following him. He frowned, his lips moved slightly, but he pursed his lips and continued to step out of the courtyard gate, heading towards the village head's house.

Behind her, Wu Qiaoxia's face was flushed, and her hair was wet and stuck together. She smiled at Ji Yongling and said, "Ling'er, don't go. The cow is giving birth to a calf, it's all dirty, there's nothing to see."

Ji Yongling smiled and said, "It's alright, Auntie. I'll go take a look; maybe I can be of help."

Wu Qiaoxia suddenly remembered that everyone in the village was saying that Ji Manchuan's eldest daughter had been taken in as a disciple by Granny Liu from the south, which was why she had insecticide and could also treat people's illnesses.

Ji Yongling thought that cattle were very valuable livestock for farming families, especially in this era of farming without machinery. As an important agricultural production tool, cattle were the most precious property in the family, and it was never too much to take good care of them.

If a cow dies from dystocia, it's almost like taking the lives of an entire family.

She had followed her grandfather around, touching pigs and catching cows, and had learned a few tricks that she might need in the future.

Passing by Ji Laoliu's house, Ji Laoliu was also standing at the gate. When he saw Old Master Ji, he called out "Second Brother" and then walked side by side with Old Master Ji toward the village head's house.

Halfway there, the group encountered the Ji brothers, who were returning to the village. Seeing his father and daughter in such a hurry, Ji Manchuan quickly stopped the car and asked, "What's going on?"

Wu Qiaoxia said, "My cow gave birth to a calf, but it was a difficult birth. Please ask some elders to come and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Ji Manchuan threw down the reins and turned to Ji Manqing, saying, "You drive the cart back, and I'll go over there to see if I can help."

Ji Manqing said with a grin, "I'd like to help too."

Ji Manchuan glared at Ji Manqing with displeasure and said, "Are you good at giving birth or at pulling? Don't go and make things worse. Hurry up and drive the cart back. The mule hasn't been fed yet!"

Ji Manqing muttered, "It's as if everyone who goes there is capable of giving birth and having children."

"Cough cough," Old Master Ji glared at Ji Manqing.

Ji Manqing immediately put on a smiling face and pulled the cart away.

When Grandpa Ji and his party arrived at the village head's house, there were already about ten people gathered outside the cowshed built against the courtyard wall.

"Moo—Moo—" The cow's restless mooing came from within the crowd.

"Make way, make way, Uncle Ji the Second and Uncle Ji the Sixth are here." Wu Qiaoxia pushed through the crowd to let Old Master Ji in.

Inside the cowshed, a cow with a belly the size of a small tent was kicking back and forth with trembling legs. Every now and then, it would shake its head restlessly, its horns hitting a wooden stake in the corner of the cowshed, causing layers of yellow soil from the corn stalks on top to fall down.

The people around didn't care about the yellow dust falling on them; they were all looking at the cow with anxious eyes.

Village head Niu Gensheng's eyes were red with anxiety. When he saw Grandpa Ji and Ji Laoliu arrive, he rushed over and said anxiously, "Brothers, please take a look. Why can't this calf be born? It's driving me crazy!"

“Brother Ji will definitely have a way. Back in the day, he was the best at raising cattle,” a dark-skinned, thin man next to Niu Gensheng comforted him.

"Hurry up and light the torches, there's no moon tonight, we'll soon be unable to see it," someone said.

Two torches were lit in the cowshed.

In the flickering firelight, Ji Yongling followed behind Grandpa Ji and saw the situation behind the cow.

The cow's amniotic fluid had already broken, and the dry grass on the ground was mixed with a lot of cow dung, turning it into a muddy mess. The cow's tail kept sticking up, and the muscles on its four legs kept trembling, but the calf could not be seen.

Someone held a torch close to the cow's rump and shouted, "Quick, quick, the cow is bleeding!"

"Won't this calf die inside the cow's belly?" Ji Manqing's voice came from outside the crowd.

Grandpa Ji glared fiercely in the direction of the sound.

In fact, Ji Manqing had just gone back to put down the cart and left a message saying, "Yongning, Yongzhou, feed the mules." He rushed over, still out of breath, and couldn't help but chime in when he heard someone shouting that someone was bleeding.

Others were also discussing it.

"That's right, it's been several hours since she gave birth. If it were a woman giving birth, she would probably be dead by now."

"If the calf really dies, it will harden and get stuck in the mother cow's belly. The mother cow will work herself to death giving birth, but she still won't be able to give birth."

"Isn't that a double tragedy? Sigh, it's too late to find a veterinarian in the county now."

"Brother Gensheng, have you been neglecting to burn incense lately? Your luck is just too bad."

Grandpa Ji was also pondering.

In fact, most of the time, cows give birth smoothly, and dystocia is rare. Unlike the Tartars, villagers don't raise cattle and sheep in herds, so they have never seen a calf that has been in labor for several hours and still hasn't been born.

This cow probably had a difficult birth because it was its first time giving birth and it had been kept tied up at home without much outdoor activity.

Ji Laoliu sighed, "It's too late to find a veterinarian in the county now. There's only one doctor in the county who also works as a veterinarian. He's always running around and is hardly ever in the shop, so even if we go now, we might not be able to find him."

In reality, everyone knows that almost no one actually hires a veterinarian when someone makes a fuss about it. Sometimes, by the time a veterinarian arrives, the livestock have already died. Only people in the county town and the surrounding villages hire veterinarians.

"Ahem, everyone, please disperse. With so many people gathered around, even the ox will get restless," said Old Master Ji after coughing twice.

Niu Gensheng looked anxiously at Grandpa Ji and asked, "Brother, is Niuwazi really hard in the belly?"

After saying that, Niu Gensheng touched the cow's neck again and said sadly, "If the calf really dies in there, just give my old friend a quick death. Don't let its belly and intestines be ripped out. It has done a lot for my family. These few hours of giving birth to the calf have already been painful enough. I don't want this old friend to suffer any more."

"Gensheng, step aside, let's let Niu Nu try again, give it another shot." After saying that, Grandpa Ji went straight to pat the cow's rump.

Actually, he wasn't sure either. He hadn't raised cattle for many years, and besides, he had never encountered a cow having a difficult birth before. It was really a tricky situation.