Chapter 9: Trimming the Donkey’s Hooves

Yan Yu couldn’t continue speaking—her parents were looking at her with disbelief.

One was marveling, My daughter is amazing! She knows so much!

The other was shocked, thinking, How did she secretly read so many ‘messy and chaotic’ things without us noticing?

Yan Yu decisively pulled the blanket over her head, then carefully opened a small gap to secretly peek at their reaction.

Right now, she was just a tiny little thing, and her actions as a child made her look quite adorable.

Li Xuemei looked at her daughter’s cute expression and instantly let go of her frustration.

She subconsciously touched her belly.

Inside, a small life was growing…

“Well, compared to what you mentioned, our situation doesn’t seem that bad,” Li Xuemei muttered absentmindedly.

Yan Lao’er nodded vigorously.

Extreme environments, viruses, zombies, mutated beasts, eerie anomalies…

Just thinking about them was terrifying.

“Our situation is classified as ‘transmigrating into a book.’ So, are there other classifications? Are there other people who are also users of this platform?” Li Xuemei’s thoughts started to wander.

“Ah! So, we can trade with these people?” Yan Yu’s eyes sparkled as she felt a surge of confidence—she could probably guess what they lacked and what they wanted.

Li Xuemei pondered for a while and said, “We’re not sure yet, but we can probably prepare in that direction.”

Yan Yu scrunched up her little nose and, drawing from her experience reading on Mòdiǎn, slowly said, “Food, water, medicine, all kinds of daily necessities…”

“Daughter!” Yan Lao’er sighed, “The things you listed—we need those too!”

Yan Yu: …

Well, that was true. Their family was also struggling to survive on the edge.

“How about I try to get an egg tomorrow?” Yan Yu asked cautiously.

She had been observing for days—tomorrow, two chickens should lay eggs. If she took one… it shouldn’t be a big deal, right?

Li Xuemei opened her mouth but, in the end, didn’t say anything.

“Alright, we have to try. If we can’t use it, we’ll return it. We’re just borrowing it for now,” Yan Lao’er comforted his wife. “Once we figure out how this platform works and our lives improve, our eldest daughter won’t suffer.”

Although the chickens belonged to the family, they were entirely taken care of by their eldest daughter, who, despite being a bit of a crybaby, was sensible and made people feel sorry for her.

“Tomorrow, I’ll go see Doctor Cui and see if I can get some medicine,” Yan Lao’er said. If his daughter was going to ‘borrow’ an egg, then as her father, he had to do his part.

“I’ll dry the wheat and tidy up the house tomorrow,” Li Xuemei added. “Let’s sleep early—we have to get up early tomorrow!”

Yan Yu thought she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, but after rolling her little head around twice, she groggily drifted off.

Before her consciousness faded completely, she was still thinking—tomorrow, she’d dig up some worms to give the chickens an extra treat…

—

Doctor Cui had once been an apprentice at the town’s pharmacy, but his skills weren’t good enough to stay on as a resident doctor. However, in the countryside, he was more than capable of working as a local physician.

During the farming season, he tended his fields. In his free time, he gathered herbs and processed them himself.

For villagers within a ten-mile radius, he didn’t charge consultation fees—just the cost of the medicine. Even then, his prices were slightly cheaper than the town’s pharmacy.

For minor illnesses and pains, the villagers all sought him out.

Because of this, his family lived decently—they even bought a donkey and had a new cart made.

Yan Lao’er left home before dawn and arrived at Doctor Cui’s house just as the sky was beginning to lighten.

However, the entire Cui family was already awake, gathered in the yard around their donkey.

What was going on?

“Doctor Cui, are you home?” Yan Lao’er called from outside the courtyard.

“Ah, Yan Lao’er! Come in! What brings you here? Is your brother unwell again?” Doctor Cui asked.

“No, no. After taking your medicine, he got better. I actually came to settle the medicine bill—it’s been a while, and I feel bad about the delay,” Yan Lao’er said as he strolled into the yard. He saw many herbs drying on wooden racks but didn’t recognize any of them.

Once he got closer, he handed over the silver.

“No rush. We’re all neighbors—paying after your brother fully recovers wouldn’t be too late,” Doctor Cui said politely, but his hands moved swiftly. He took the silver and smoothly tucked it into his sleeve with practiced ease.

“I’ll prepare a few more doses for your brother—two decoctions, two servings. After these, he should be fine, but he’ll need to rest and recuperate after,” Doctor Cui instructed as he turned to gather the medicine. “If you can make him a bowl of meat porridge daily, he’ll recover even faster.”

Yan Lao’er quickly agreed.

His elder brother had suffered a serious illness and needed proper nourishment to regain his strength.

Doctor Cui’s wife had initially ignored him.

But as soon as she saw the gleaming silver, her face broke into a smile.

“Little Dog, go bring a stool for your Uncle Yan.”

“Uncle Yan, have a seat while you wait,” she said, hesitating for a moment before finally going inside to pour him a cup of water.

“Oh, no need, Sister Cui! I’m not thirsty. I ate and drank before coming—I don’t want to trouble you,” Yan Lao’er replied, even though he had only gnawed on half a coarse grain cake with water. At this time of year, no household had ample food, and he didn’t want to impose.

“No need to be polite. Just take it,” Doctor Cui’s wife said, puzzled—since when did Yan Lao’er become so courteous?

Ever since his brother fell ill, he seemed to have learned some manners.

Yan Lao’er accepted the cup but didn’t drink. He placed it gently aside and walked around the donkey.

“This donkey…”

Doctor Cui’s wife sighed, “Uncle Yan, you noticed too, didn’t you? Its leg has a problem—it can’t stand properly.”

Yan Lao’er: ???

What was she talking about? The donkey just needed a hoof trim!

He examined all four hooves carefully.

The hooves were overgrown. To maintain balance, the donkey’s legs were slightly splayed outward.

“It’s nothing serious—just needs a trim,” Yan Lao’er stated confidently.

The donkey was well-fed and healthy—clearly, it wasn’t overworked. Since it ate well and worked little, its hooves had grown too fast.

“You can fix it? Really?” Doctor Cui’s wife was overjoyed.

“Yes. Donkeys, horses, and oxen—when they don’t move much and eat well, their hooves grow too fast. They need regular trimming, or else their hooves will keep growing, making it hard for them to stand properly. No worries—do you have a sickle? I’ll trim them now.”

Yan Lao’er thought, What a coincidence.

He had been wondering how to get on Doctor Cui’s good side.

“You know how to do this?!” She was shocked.

Yan Lao’er always prided himself on being a scholar and looked down on country folk. Now, not only was he speaking politely, but he was even willing to do this dirty job?

She doubted him at first, but he spoke with such certainty that it was hard not to believe him.

While she hesitated, her eldest son had already rushed to fetch a sickle and handed it over eagerly.

Yan Lao’er inspected it—it was quite sharp.

“Bring me some rope.”

Little Dog excitedly ran to fetch a rope.

And so, the work began.

Yan Lao’er tied up one of the donkey’s legs. The donkey was well-behaved and only moved slightly.

Then, he lifted the hoof and started trimming with the sickle.

Without proper tools, he had to scrape it bit by bit—slow and tiring work.

But given the circumstances, he had no complaints.

Time to get to work.