Buying a Sick Cow

A contract was soon drawn up. As it happened, there was a scholar nearby who read it to them, and both parties signed and put their fingerprints on it.

Once that was done, Zhou Wanwan paid a few dozen copper coins to have the sick cow loaded onto Lin Shouyi's ox cart.

Lin Shouyi looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "You little girl, what use is a sick cow like this? You were far too impulsive."

Zhou Wanwan smiled and said, "Uncle Lin, take this cow to Liu Family Village for me."

Lin Shouyi nodded and said:

"There are things you won't listen to even if I tell you, but this cow!

It really is no use. Are you craving beef?

The authorities don't allow people to slaughter cattle as they please. That's against the law."

Zhou Wanwan hurriedly shook her head. "I'm not going to eat this sick cow. I really do have a way to cure her."

"All right, I won't say any more." Lin Shouyi took them straight to Liu Family Village.

The sick cow was carried into the Liu family home. Old Liu looked at her and said, "Wanwan, did you spend money on a sick cow?"

Zhou Wanwan nodded. "Yes, a sick cow. She cost one tael of silver."

Old Madam Liu's eyes went round. "A sick cow like this would usually be thrown away, yet you spent a whole tael of silver on her. What a waste."

Old Liu sighed too. "Wanwan, I know you can earn money, but you still need to spend it sparingly. Money should be used on the blade's edge."

Zhou Wanwan looked at the cow, who appeared to be at death's door. In truth, her Qi and blood were severely depleted, and with calves in her belly, her body had been unable to bear the strain and had given out.

Without panicking, Zhou Wanwan took out silver needles and gently inserted them into several vital acupuncture points on the cow's forelegs and back. Once the needles were in, she slowly twirled them.

She said this was to open the cow's meridians and boost her vital Qi, so her Qi and blood could flow smoothly.

After that, she fed the cow a medicinal decoction she had prepared beforehand, a little at a time. It contained fine medicinal herbs that replenished Qi and blood.

Little Ginseng had absorbed most of the herbs' medicinal power, but Little Ginseng could replenish Qi to begin with.

After just over half a day, the cow regained her strength. Her eyes grew brighter, she could slowly stand and take a couple of steps, and she even lowered her head to nibble a few mouthfuls of grass.

Third Uncle shouted, "Oh my! Father, Mother, Wanwan is really amazing. She actually saved the sick cow!"

Old Liu walked around to the back, his face full of disbelief. "Th-this... she's alive? Oh my! How on earth did you do it?"

Zhou Wanwan smiled and said:

"I've picked up a real bargain. It was buy one, get one free-she has several calves in her belly!

It was because there were too many calves and the cow wasn't getting enough nourishment that she ended up like this.

I'll take her up the mountain. There's plenty of forage there, so I'll keep her on the mountain from now on."

Old Liu frowned. "Won't it be inconvenient going up and down the mountain?"

Zhou Wanwan smiled. "She'll need to give birth and recover properly before she can work anyway. There's no hurry."

Old Liu nodded. Fortunately, the path up the mountain wasn't steep, and the cow slowly made her way up. She looked at Zhou Wanwan with gratitude written all over her face, mooing nonstop. "Moo~ moo~"

Little Ginseng translated. "She says she's very grateful to you. If it weren't for you, the children in her belly would have died. Once she's better, she'll be sure to work hard."

Zhou Wanwan nodded and stroked her head. "Get some good rest first. Don't think too much. It's peaceful up here, so give birth to your calves safely before anything else."

The cow mooed several more times. "Moo~ moo~"

Little Ginseng sighed. "She's asking if you could please not sell her children. She can't bear to part with them."

Zhou Wanwan nodded. "I won't sell them. Our family will have an estate and land in the future, so don't worry! When the time comes, our family will have more land than we can farm."

Only then did the cow lie down on a pile of hay, reassured. Zhou Wanwan went straight to the back mountain.

Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle had been staying there the whole time, making charcoal.

Eldest Uncle looked at Wanwan and said, "Wanwan, you're finally here. I did just as you said, but I don't know whether it'll turn into charcoal."

Zhou Wanwan smiled. "It definitely will. Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, thank you for your hard work. If we really make charcoal this time, you two deserve the most credit."

Eldest Uncle smiled. "All right. Just give us enough to eat, and that's all we need."

Zhou Wanwan nodded. "We'll head into the mountains again today and see if we can find anything."

She planned to gather more supplies in the mountains today and bring in more grain tomorrow.

Zhou Wanwan headed into the mountains with her three older brothers and four uncles.

They found only a few medicinal herbs the entire afternoon. Zhou Qingchen sighed. "Today's been a bust. Could all the medicinal herbs on the whole mountain have run away?"

Zhou Wanwan coughed. "Third Brother, we're still on the outskirts. Other herb gatherers may have picked some of the herbs, which is normal. Why don't we go farther in?"

Zhou Qingchen nodded. "We'll do as you say."

Zhou Wanwan sat down and suddenly heard an orchid nearby say, "That group came again. I wonder what they're doing, sneaking around like that. They carry bags of things every time."

A bladder campion couldn't help saying, "I'm curious too. I wonder what's in those bags."

A creeping thistle nodded. "Do you think they might all be full of grain?"

The orchid couldn't help saying, "Those guys seem to be coming this way..."

Zhou Wanwan immediately waved her hand. "Hide."

The three Zhou brothers moved very quickly, and the four Liu brothers also swiftly hid in the grass.

A few people from Zhou Family Village emerged not far away. One said, "The shaman keeps saying it'll happen in the next few days, but there's been no sign of anything at all. Do you think what she said is true?"

"Why wouldn't it be true? She said my family would have a son, and didn't we just have one this time?"

"Hey! She said my second child would fall into the water and drown. It scared me so much I watched him all day.

Who would've thought he really went to play in the water a few days ago? He really did nearly get dragged in by a water ghost. Luckily, I was right there."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... that shaman really is something, huh?"

"What she said must be true. If it is, our Zhou Clan is going to strike it rich this time.

You know, we've filled the mountains around here with grain."

"Our village chief said our Zhou Clan will surely prosper in the future, and no one will dare look down on us again.

Once our Zhou Clan has money, we'll buy vast stretches of land and make our ancestral hall magnificent.

We'll also send every child in the village to school. Anyone who dares offend our Zhou Clan is sure to come to a bad end."

"Right, especially Zhou Fusheng. His whole family is too lowly to be seen in public.

The shaman said that family is bound to get its retribution. It'd be best if they all dropped dead. We can just sit back and watch the show then."

The people walked farther and farther away. Zhou Wanwan sneered. "What a lovely dream. Too bad I'll definitely have a better life than anyone in the future. What's so great about the Zhou Clan?"