Chapter Thirty-One: The Cow Fell Ill

Business was as booming as ever today. More than three hundred portions of cold noodles and over two hundred flatbreads were completely sold out in less than two hours. A conservative estimate put the day’s earnings at seventy or eighty yuan.

After packing up, Li Yi cleared away the trash from the ground and headed back to the village, driving his mule cart.

Just after Li Yi left, Xu Hong arrived at the spot where the stall had been. He struck up a conversation with some of the security guards who were cooling off in the shade of a nearby tree. Xu Hong had been hiding in the shadows, keeping a close eye on Li Yi the entire time he was selling.

He realized that what Li Yi was selling were the cold noodles common in their home province of Qin, and the flatbreads were something he ate often back home as well. If only there had been some meat to go with it, it would have been perfect. If it hadn’t been Li Yi running the stall, he would have been tempted to walk up and buy a portion himself. Although he had been watching from a distance and couldn’t see everything clearly, Xu Hong could tell that business was excellent; the dense, bustling crowd was proof enough.

Suddenly, Xu Hong felt as though he had cracked the secret to Li Yi’s newfound wealth. Upon learning that Li Yi had made his money by privately running a food stall, his first reaction was to wonder if he could do the same. Truth be told, he was terrified of poverty. In the five years he had been in this place, aside from his grain rations, the most he had ever received in a single year was forty-three yuan. That was his entire annual cash income—less than four yuan per month. If there was a chance to make money, he would never let it slip by.

But soon, he realized with dismay that although he was from Qin Province, he didn’t know how to make cold noodles. He had seen his mother make them, but he only had a vague impression and had never actually tried it himself. Xu Hong knew that when it came to food like cold noodles, a tiny difference in technique could lead to a massive difference in results. He had no choice but to begrudgingly abandon the idea.

Since he couldn't run the business himself, Xu Hong’s next thought was: if I can't do it, I won't let you do it either. Considering the current political climate, Xu Hong was certain that Li Yi’s behavior fell under the category of "speculation and profiteering," which was destined to be severely cracked down upon. Once caught, regardless of whether he was imprisoned or sentenced, at the very least, he wouldn't be able to continue the trade.

Furthermore, Xu Hong believed that Tang Xue was deeply involved as well, and he decided to report her too. In his view, a country bumpkin like Li Yi, who hadn't even left the county town, couldn't possibly know how to make authentic cold noodles—a specialty of their home province. It had to be Tang Xue who prepared them, with Li Yi simply responsible for the sales.

It must be said that jealousy can truly distort a person. However, while Xu Hong’s character was poor, he was very meticulous in his actions. Since he had decided to report Li Yi and Tang Xue, he had to provide solid evidence and ensure that he could nail Li Yi to the wall—preferably by catching him red-handed. Therefore, he decided to first study Li Yi’s patterns: did he come here to set up his stall every day, or only occasionally?

If he came daily, it would be easy; he could simply have the Public Security Bureau or the Administration for Industry and Commerce come to arrest him. If not, he would have to determine all the locations where Li Yi regularly set up shop so he could catch him in the act. After cozying up to the security guard at the sugar refinery, Xu Hong finally learned that Li Yi had been setting up his stall there almost every day recently. Now, he felt confident.

He didn't even bother going to the post office; he headed straight back to the educated youth quarters. He was going to write a report letter.

***

Blissfully unaware of this, Li Yi was immersed in the joy of his upcoming house construction. After returning to the village with the mule cart, he unloaded the supplies into his room and fed the big red mule some fodder before cycling directly to the Brigade Headquarters.

When Li Yi walked into the headquarters carrying a bottle of liquor, he was told that Secretary Feng had gone out to the fields. After finding out that he was at Little River Bend, Li Yi pedaled his bicycle over there. Upon reaching the edge of the field, he saw a large group of people gathered in the distance, though he couldn't tell what was going on.

As he got closer, he saw a cow lying on the ground, twitching periodically; it looked quite ill. Feng Kai and several production team leaders were all there, looking somber as they surrounded the animal.

"Old Feng, what should we do? You need to make a call," Brigade Leader Zhang Tongfu said in a low voice.

Feng Kai hesitated, took a few deep drags of his pipe, and said, "I’m afraid this cow won't make it. If there’s no other choice, we might have to put it down."

Hearing this, Li Yi understood. They were debating whether or not to slaughter the sick cow. It was a common practice in the village; if a large head of livestock became severely ill, they had to consider whether to slaughter it. Regardless of whether the meat of a sick animal was safe to eat, in these times, most people were starving, so they didn't care much about that. More importantly, if they slaughtered it while it was still alive, they could drain the blood, and the meat could still be sold for money.

If they didn't slaughter it and waited for it to die, the blood wouldn't drain properly, and the meat would spoil.

Zhang Tongfu said with a pained expression, "Our team only has eleven cows in total, and this one is pregnant with a calf. It’s such a shame to kill it."

"Who isn't saying the same? But if we don't kill it and it dies on its own, the loss will be even greater."

"Sigh, there’s really no other way."

"How could a perfectly healthy cow suddenly fall so ill..."

While the team members were voicing their opinions, Li Yi quietly walked up to the cow and carefully examined its condition. He saw that the cow was extremely weak, restless, rolling on the ground from time to time, and its body was twitching constantly. Thinking of the thunderstorm that had hit the night before, Li Yi had an idea.

"Uncle Feng, Uncle Zhang, there’s no need to kill this cow yet!" Li Yi said loudly.

Hearing Li Yi's voice, Feng Kai frowned and asked, "Yi-wa, what do you mean by that?"

Li Yi immediately replied, "Although the cow’s illness looks serious, it’s not fatal. It can be cured with treatment!"

In his previous life, Li Yi had raised cattle for a period of time. While he wasn't a professional veterinarian, he could identify common illnesses. The cow was suffering from what was known as "cold pain"—in reality, it was a spasmodic abdominal pain triggered when a cow, after sweating, was soaked by rain and exposed to the cold. The symptoms were exactly what the cow was displaying now. It would also be accompanied by frequent, loose, watery stools and intensified, continuous intestinal sounds. In severe cases, the cow would experience muscle tremors, collapse, stretch out its neck, and moan.

"Yi-wa, you can't just talk nonsense. You know what a cow is worth; if you delay things, the team will suffer a significant loss," Zhang Tongfu said sternly.

"Uncle Zhang, don't worry. Leave the cow to me. I guarantee it will be cured," Li Yi said confidently.

Feng Kai asked immediately, "Are you sure?"

"I am!"