Chapter 9: Fixing Donkey Hooves

Yan Yu couldn’t continue speaking. Her parents were staring at her with incredulous eyes.

One was exclaiming, “My daughter is truly amazing, she knows so much!”

The other was surprised that, in places she couldn’t see, her daughter had secretly read so many “random, messy things”…

Yan Yu decisively pulled the blanket over her head, then quietly opened a slit to peek at her parents’ reactions.

She was currently small and stout, and a child making such a gesture was quite adorable.

Li Xuemei looked at her daughter’s rather cute little act and instantly lost her anger.

She unconsciously touched her own belly.

A small life was brewing inside…

“Alright, compared to all the things you talked about, we don’t seem to be doing too badly,” Li Xuemei said, lost in thought.

Yan Lao’er nodded vigorously.

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

Just thinking about them was terrifying.

“Our category is ‘transmigration into a book,’ so are there other categories? Are there other people who are users of this platform?” Li Xuemei’s thoughts began to wander.

“Oh! So we’re trading with these people?” Yan Yu’s eyes sparkled. She felt capable again, believing she could probably guess what they lacked and what they wanted.

Li Xuemei pondered for a moment, then said, “It’s not certain yet, but we can probably prepare in that direction.”

Yan Yu wrinkled her little nose, and combining her experience as a webnovel veteran, she slowly said, “Food, water, medicine, various daily necessities…”

“My dear daughter!” Yan Lao’er exclaimed, “We lack those things too!”

Yan Yu: …

Indeed, their own family was also struggling on the brink of survival.

“How about I go ‘borrow’ an egg tomorrow?” Yan Yu asked cautiously.

She had observed for a few days, and tomorrow there should be two chickens laying eggs. If she took one… it wouldn’t be a big deal, right?

Li Xuemei opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

“Alright, we have to try. If we can’t use it, we can return it. It’s borrowing, just borrowing for now,” Yan Lao’er comforted his wife. “Once we figure out this platform and our lives get better, would we ever short our eldest girl?”

Although the chickens belonged to the family, the eldest girl was the only one who tended to them. That child, aside from being a little prone to crying, was so sensible it tugged at one’s heartstrings.

“Tomorrow, I’ll go to Physician Cui’s place and see if I can get some medicine.” If his daughter was going to ‘borrow’—no, ‘pick up’—eggs, then he, as a father, had to work hard too.

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

Yan Yu thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but after her little head rolled two circles, she drifted off into a daze.

Before her consciousness finally faded, she was still thinking that tomorrow she’d first dig for some worms to give the family’s chickens an extra meal…

…

Physician Cui used to be an apprentice at a pharmacy in town. His skill wasn’t enough to be a resident doctor there, but it was more than sufficient for being a village doctor in the countryside.

During busy farming seasons, he tilled the land; in his leisure time, he gathered herbs and processed them himself.

For the villagers within a ten-li radius, he didn’t charge a consultation fee, only a medicine fee, and even that was a few fen cheaper than the town’s pharmacy.

For minor illnesses and pains, the villagers all came to him.

Because of this, his family lived comfortably. Not only had they bought a donkey, but they had also built a new cart.

Yan Lao’er left home before dawn. When he arrived at Physician Cui’s house, there was just a faint light.

Physician Cui’s entire family, however, was already up, gathered in the courtyard around their donkey.

What was going on here?

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

“Ah, Yan Lao’er, come in quickly! Why are you here? Is your brother not well again?” Physician Cui asked.

“No, no, he’s much better after taking your medicine. I’m here to settle the medicine fee. It’s been many days, I feel quite bad about it.” Yan Lao’er strolled into the courtyard and saw many herbs drying on a wooden rack, but unfortunately, he recognized none of them.

He approached and respectfully offered the broken silver.

“What’s the rush? We’re all neighbors. It wouldn’t be too late to settle it after your brother fully recovers,” Physician Cui said politely, but his hands were not slow at all. He took the silver and slipped it into his sleeve.

His movements were fluid and natural, like flowing clouds and water.

“Wait a moment, I’ll prepare a few more doses for your brother. Still two decoctions, two doses. After taking these, he should be almost well. From now on, the main thing is to rest,” Physician Cui instructed as he turned to fetch the herbs. “If he can have a bowl of meat porridge every day, he’ll recover even faster.”

Yan Lao’er agreed.

Old Yan had lost a lot of vital energy during his illness and indeed needed to recuperate properly.

The doctor’s wife, who usually wouldn’t even glance at him, now beamed as soon as she saw the gleaming white silver.

“Go get Yan Lao’er a stool.”

“Yan Lao’er, please sit and wait.” After a moment of hesitation, she turned and went back inside to pour a cup of water.

“Oh, Sister-in-law Cui, please don’t trouble yourself, I’m not thirsty at all. I ate and drank plenty at home before coming. Please go about your business, I’ll make myself comfortable.”

In truth, he had only hastily gnawed on half a coarse grain pancake with some water. In these times, no family had abundant food, and he didn’t want to be a nuisance.

“Still being polite? Take it if I’m offering it to you.” The doctor’s wife was inwardly surprised. Had this Yan Lao’er become so polite since his elder brother fell ill?

Yan Lao’er took the cup but didn’t drink, gently setting it aside. He circled the donkey.

“This donkey…”

Sister-in-law Cui sighed and said, “Yan Lao’er, you’ve noticed it too, haven’t you? This donkey has a problem with its legs; it can’t stand straight.”

Yan Lao’er: ???

What are you talking about? Isn’t it just that its hooves need trimming?

He carefully examined all four hooves again.

The hoof shells had grown quite long, and to maintain balance, its legs were splayed slightly outwards.

“It’s nothing serious, it’ll be fine with a trim,” Yan Lao’er stated confidently.

He could tell at a glance that Physician Cui’s donkey was well-kept, with shiny fur and a strong build.

They probably didn’t use it much, it ate well and worked little, so its hooves naturally grew very fast.

“Trim it? Can it really be fixed?” Sister-in-law Cui was pleasantly surprised.

“For donkeys, horses, and cattle, if they move little and eat well, their hooves grow fast. They need regular trimming, otherwise, the hoof shells will grow longer and longer, and the donkey won’t be able to bear its weight, and its legs won’t stand straight. It’s nothing, do you have a sickle at home? I’ll trim its hooves.”

Yan Lao’er thought to himself, Isn’t this a stroke of luck?

He was just worrying about how to get closer to Physician Cui.

“You can do that?!” It was no wonder she was surprised. Yan Lao’er had always prided himself on being a scholar, consistently looking down on them, the country folk, with his nose in the air.

Ever since Yan Family’s eldest fell ill, he had only just learned to speak a few decent words.

Now he could even do a dirty job like trimming a donkey’s hooves?

She somewhat suspected Yan Lao’er was boasting, but what he said was so logical and well-reasoned, looking very knowledgeable, it was truly convincing.

As she hesitated, her eldest son had already dashed off, retrieved the sickle, and handed it to Yan Lao’er.

Yan Lao’er looked at it; it was sharpened quite well.

“Find a hemp rope.”

Xiaogo was also impatient, and quickly went to find a hemp rope and brought it back.

No sooner said than done.

Yan Lao’er first tied one of the donkey’s legs. The donkey was very well-behaved, only moving slightly.

Then he picked up the hoof and went straight for it with the sickle.

Without good large or small hoof knives, scraping little by little with a sickle was both strenuous and slow.

But given the circumstances, there was no room to be picky; they just had to get it done.

Author Note:

Isn’t this a super practical skill? Haha! A while ago, when I was stuck in the hospital, my dad was looking after me. He’d mostly just bring me things, and after a few words, he’d pull out his phone and scroll through all sorts of videos… I accidentally discovered there were even videos of hoof trimming. For some reason, I, who usually don’t like watching videos, ended up watching several in a row, and it opened up a whole new world for me! From then on, whenever I saw a cow, a donkey, or a mule, the first thing I’d do was look at their hooves to judge if they needed trimming.