Chapter 6 A Cow with a Loose Stomach

When Liu Yitiao returned home, humming a little tune with a basket on his back, the whole house was filled with joy.

Because there was now a cow in the family. Yes, a sturdy, earthen-yellow calf. Yet with all his years of experience in raising livestock, Liu Yitiao could see at a glance that this animal was ailing. Its eyes were large but vacant, its hindquarters slack and drooping—a beast that had clearly suffered from a lingering illness for days on end.

As soon as Liu Yitiao stepped inside, the youngest and most cherished in the family, Liu Xiaohui, dashed up to him, grabbing his hand and exclaiming, "Big brother, look! We have a cow now! And it's so big!"

"Oh really?" Liu Yitiao set down his basket, bent over to lift Liu Xiaohui into his arms, and asked with a smile, "Then do you know when the cow was bought?"

"Of course I do!" Liu Xiaohui tilted her head up, wrinkled her tiny nose with pride, and declared, "Father bought it this afternoon. I was outside the door at the time—I was the very first to see it!"

"The very first? Well, our little Hui is truly remarkable!" Liu Yitiao affectionately tapped her nose, making Liu Xiaohui giggle with delight.

Madam Liu He came forward, taking Liu Xiaohui from Yitiao's arms, and asked with concern, "Yitiao, you're home so early—are you terribly tired?"

"Not at all. I'm not tired in the least. Business was good today—I sold all but a dozen cabbages from a full basket." With that, Liu Yitiao circled the calf, inspecting it closely, then turned to his father, Liu Laoshi, who was watching with a broad, satisfied grin.

"Father, where did you buy this cow?"

Liu Laoshi replied cheerfully, "It belonged to old Xia from the neighboring village. Their cow gave birth to twins, and this is one of them. Only five strings of cash—half the price of any other. I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and on a whim, I bought it. Not bad, eh? With this, our farming will be so much easier in the future."

He was clearly excited, and with good reason. In the Tang dynasty, owning a cow was like having a tractor in the twenty-first century—a cow meant a farmer need not worry about working the land. Possessing a cow was every farmer’s dream in this era.

Though he hated to say it, Liu Yitiao couldn’t help dashing cold water on his father’s enthusiasm. "Father, five strings of silver is truly a bargain, but… didn’t you notice? This is a sick cow!"

"A sick cow?" The smile froze on Liu Laoshi’s face. He looked from the cow to his son, uncertain. "Are you sure, Yitiao? Look at it—doesn’t it look strong and sturdy? How could it be sick?"

To prove his point, Liu Laoshi gave the cow a hearty slap on the back.

With a resounding splutter, a foul stench immediately wafted from the animal’s hindquarters.

"Chronic diarrhea?!" Liu Laoshi was rendered speechless.

"Chronic diarrhea?" Liu Yitiao pressed his hand to his forehead, racking his memory—yes, that was indeed the old term for it.

"I’m going to find that man!" Liu Laoshi was furious. A cow with this affliction was no better than a dead one. Five strings of cash represented five or six years of hard-earned savings—he couldn’t let it go to waste on a dying cow.

"Father!" Liu Yitiao blocked his path and said, "What good will it do? You’ve already paid. Do you think he’ll admit to selling you a sick cow? He might even turn it around, claim you made the cow sick and are trying to extort him. With nothing to prove your case, going there won’t help. Besides, to buy even a sick cow for five strings of cash isn’t a total loss."

"But Yitiao, with chronic diarrhea, a cow is as good as dead! Are you saying our money is simply lost?"

"It’s nothing, Father. I can cure this illness," Liu Yitiao replied with such calm assurance that Liu Laoshi’s anger subsided a little. He looked at his son with suspicion. "Yitiao, what did you just say? You can cure chronic diarrhea in cattle?"

"Yes, Father. Leave the cow to me. In just a few days, it will recover, and your money won’t be wasted."

"Truly? I never knew you could treat animals, Yitiao." Liu Laoshi was still doubtful. He knew his son's every move—how could he have missed such a skill?

"Father, it's my little secret. Don’t ask—just trust me to care for the cow and I promise to cure it."

"Mother, it smells awful—let’s go inside," whispered Liu Xiaohui, pinching her nose.

"All right, let’s go inside," Madam Liu He replied, carrying her daughter into the house. Matters concerning the cow were left to the men; her role was to watch the children and prepare supper.

"Mother, do we have any garlic in the house?" Liu Yitiao entered the kitchen, and as soon as he did, Liu Xiaohui, bored and idle, clung to him once more.

"Garlic? Yes, it's hanging on the wall over there—go and fetch some," replied Madam Liu He, pointing.

Liu Yitiao picked up Liu Xiaohui, saying, "Come on, Xiaohui, help your brother peel garlic!"

"Yitiao, why are you peeling so much garlic? Neither your father nor your brother likes it. If you do too much, it’ll just go to waste."

Liu Yitiao smiled. "It won’t go to waste, Mother. I’m using it to cure the cow. The more, the better. By the way, why isn’t Ertiao home yet? He should be back from lessons by now."

"He’ll be late today," Madam Liu He replied. "The private school invited a guest lecturer, a renowned scholar from Chang’an. Ertiao said the man is quite famous in those parts."

Liu Yitiao nodded. Sanyuan County was poor, but being so close to the capital, it wasn’t hard to invite a learned teacher. As for being 'renowned,' he suspected that was mostly school hype—he’d seen enough of such things back in university.

Liu Yitiao mashed over a pound of garlic into a paste, then took some of Liu Laoshi’s strong white liquor, mixing it all into a small porcelain bowl. This was his remedy for cattle diarrhea: garlic to disinfect, old liquor to dispel chill. Whether for humans or animals, whenever diarrhea struck, this method always worked. Three or four doses and no matter how severe the condition, it would be cured.

"This?!" Liu Laoshi looked at the garlic broth, doubtful. "You’re saying… this will cure it?"