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

"I know, Dad." Ji Manqing jumped out of the yard and quickly called back the few people who had just left and were still squatting at the door waiting for news.

Niu Gensheng quickly stepped forward and grabbed the rope binding the cow's leg. Ji Manqing and several other men who came over also grabbed the rope.

"I'll count to three, and all of you uncles, pull together. Let's try using only a third of our strength first."

Ji Manqing nodded immediately. When he turned around, he saw that the men pulling the rope were hesitant, so he said, "What are you looking at? Do whatever my niece tells you to do!"

The men pulling the rope watched Ji Manqing silently, thinking, "Has this little girl from the Ji family become so capable? She can even boss her uncles around."

Ji Yongling paid no attention to the others and went up to Old Master Ji, saying, "Grandpa, straddle the back of the ox and protect the water gate. Don't tear it." As he spoke, he pointed to the area under the ox's tail.

Grandpa Ji understood, straddled the cow, and faced its rump.

Seeing that Grandpa Ji had protected the cow's water gate, Ji Yongling shouted, "One, two, three, pull!"

The cow felt the pull and began to struggle in pain, opening her mouth wide and growling, while stretching her neck to try to escape.

Grandpa Ji was also being pushed around by the cow's rump, but he still firmly protected the cow's scrotum.

"Let's do it again, put in more effort, everyone use eight-tenths of your strength," Ji Yongling shouted to Ji Manchuan and the others.

"One, two, three, pull."

The next moment, accompanied by a long sigh of relief from the cow, Ji Manchuan shouted, "Yay, yay, it's out, it's out!"

Niu Gensheng immediately stepped forward and squatted behind the cow's rear end, while the people behind him also raised the torches on the wall.

Only then did everyone see clearly that a wet calf was lying on a pile of hay.

The people in the cowshed were all beaming with joy, as if the newborn wasn't a calf but their own child. Even Grandpa Ji and Old Man Ji had wrinkles of happiness on their faces.

Ji Yongling, unable to contain her joy, quickly went to wash her hands in the basin.

However, before everyone could celebrate for long, Ji Manqing shouted, "Why isn't this little cow moving? Why isn't it standing up?"

Then everyone remembered that newborn calves can also stand up. Perhaps because no one in the village has raised cattle for so long, they have forgotten what newborn calves look like.

Ji Yongling pushed through the crowd, squatted down next to the calf, pressed its belly with her hand, frowned and thought for a moment, guessing that the mother cow's posture had compressed the calf, causing it to inhale a lot of amniotic fluid, which was why it was suffocating.

Ji Yongling reached out to lift the calf by its hind legs, trying to turn it upside down, but she underestimated her age and strength. After failing to lift it, Ji Manqing's large hand took over the calf's leg.

"What do you want to do?" Ji Manqing asked, spreading his legs apart, lifting the calf by its two hind legs and suspending it in front of his chest.

"Yes, keep this position and let the amniotic fluid flow out of the baby calf's mouth."

Ji Manqing held the calf upside down for a while, and Ji Yongling squatted down to check. Seeing some liquid coming out of the calf's mouth, he signaled Ji Manqing to put the calf down.

She carefully used a small stick to clean away the mucus and amniotic sac around the baby's nose and mouth. Seeing that the amniotic sac was clean and not contaminated by meconium, she was immediately relieved.

Then she used a stick to stimulate the calf's nasal mucosa.

The calf coughed quickly, its breathing became much easier, and its head moved slightly.

Upon seeing this, Niu Gensheng was so excited that he didn't know what to do, repeatedly rubbing his hands together: "Oh, this is wonderful, this is wonderful!"

"Grandpa, Sixth Grandpa, let's move aside a bit so the cow can lick the calf."

Upon hearing Ji Yongling's words, the others stood up and made way for him.

Now that the cow had successfully given birth and the calf had survived, the onlookers dispersed with a sigh of relief.

Niu Gensheng, his eyes filled with joy, took Old Master Ji's hand and said, "Today we really owe a lot to you two brothers, and also to Ling'er. This girl knows so much, she's really good."

Grandpa Ji pulled his hand away and waved it: "Go and deal with Niuwazi and your old buddy. It's just a small thing; everyone in the village helps each other out."

"Grandpa Gensheng, don't throw away the amniotic fluid stuck to the hay. Let the cow drink it; I heard it helps the cow expel the placenta. But don't give the placenta to the cow, or it will give her diarrhea. Let the calf lie down for now. If it still can't stand up after the cow licks it dry, then milk some milk for the calf to drink," Ji Yongling instructed one by one.

Niu Gensheng carefully noted it down and thanked him again with clasped hands.

Wu Qiaoxia also came over from the side, looking at the Ji family members gratefully, and said, "Second Uncle Ji, Sixth Uncle Ji, my mother has boiled water in the house. Please rest and have some water before you go."

"No, it's so late. You still have a lot to do. Hurry up and pack up, we'll head back first." Old Master Ji said as he walked towards the door.

Ji Yongling smiled at Wu Qiaoxia and followed her out.

On the way back, Ji Manqing was still very excited and kept asking, "Ling'er, what did it feel like to touch the calf in that ditch?"

Ji Manchuan said coolly, "You'll know when you go touch it next time. Not only can you touch it, you can also lick the cow's ditch."

"Third Brother, you! Forget it, I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to Ling'er." Ji Manqing gritted his teeth and said, "Ling'er, why did you think of going to dig up the cow ditch and pull out the calves?"

"What do you mean by 'scooping up the cow's ditch'? Who said Ling'er scooped up the cow's ditch!" Ji Manchuan stopped and shouted at Ji Manqing.

"Third Brother, you, you need to cool down first—"

Ji Laoliu looked at the two brothers, who were fighting like cocks, and shook his head with a smile.

"You two, raise your voices any louder, you'd better shout at the whole village!" Old Master Ji turned around and glared at his two sons.

Ji Yongling smiled and shook her head, raising an eyebrow at Ji Manqing.

Ji Manqing mouthed, "I'll have a good talk with Fourth Uncle tomorrow."

Ji Yongling smiled and said to Ji Manqing, as well as the others in front, "Grandma Liu once said that in poor villages, there is no distinction between doctors who treat people and veterinarians who treat livestock. They do both. So she taught me some skills, and also taught me how to make tools that can help cows give birth."

Ji Manqing made a silent "O" sound, and the others nodded in agreement.

After a moment, Old Master Ji’s deep voice rang out: “Ling’er, you did a great thing today by saving the village head’s cow, but I still have to say that young people should not show off too much. The teacher in the school said that standing like a sleeping tiger and walking like a sick tiger are the tricks of birds to catch birds and devour people. So sometimes you have to hide your intelligence and talent.”

Ji Manqing was somewhat unconvinced: "Father—"

Old Master Ji glared at him, and Ji Manqing shrank back.

Grandpa Ji looked at his sixth brother and said, "Sixth brother, just say that the boy helped a little today, but don't say how he helped."

Ji Laoliu nodded with his hands behind his back: "Second brother, I really didn't see what Ling'er did, but I've remembered what you said."