Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Science vs. Mysticism

“No, it’s just that after taking the medicine, there will be some reactions, but once the illness is cured, the cow will recover.”

Xu Ying felt a deep sense of helplessness.

The villagers easily believed in some outlandish, almost fantastical explanations, yet they were very distrustful of scientific explanations.

“Station Chief Xu, perhaps we should wait for Master Wu to come and assess the situation.”

The villagers were all trying to persuade Xu Ying.

Xu Ying was amused in her heart despite feeling angry, but she maintained a polite smile on her face, “Alright then.”

She wanted to see what this Master Wu was all about.

Xu Ying then spoke up, “How about this? Since there are so many cows, why don’t you bring a few out for me to treat, and we can see whose treatment is more effective?”

The villagers looked at each other, but Village Chief Miao said, “I think Station Chief Xu is right. She’s a professional veterinarian and not without some skills. We shouldn’t underestimate her just because she’s young.”

“Alright, there’s an old, abandoned cowshed in the village nearby. You can take two cows there for treatment.”

Xu Ying showed a grateful smile, “Okay, thank you for your understanding, Chief.”

At this moment, Liu Kai finally arrived slowly and was shocked to hear that Xu Ying wanted to compete with the master who was quite authoritative in the villagers’ minds.

Liu Kai said in a low voice, “What are you doing? We’re just here to collect animal samples, why are you causing trouble?”

Xu Ying sighed, “These cows clearly don’t look right. If we delay treatment, the villagers will suffer significant losses at home.”

“Besides, they’re crying out in pain right here in front of me. I can’t just sit by and do nothing.”

Initially, she simply wanted to check on the cows, but it was the villagers who wanted to call Master Wu, so this situation was unavoidable.

Liu Kai, completely defeated, said, “If a fight breaks out later, I’m not strong enough; I’m leaving first. You can talk to the animals; maybe you can ask these cows to help you.”

This Master Wu was quite grandiose, taking half an hour to arrive.

Xu Ying had already roughly observed the condition of the cows and made an assessment.

“The master is here, the master is here!”

The sound of an engine came from outside the cowshed. A mud-covered pickup truck stopped outside the yard, and a young man in a plaid shirt jumped out of the car.

The young man didn’t come in immediately but quickly walked to the passenger side of the pickup to open the door for someone inside.

From the passenger seat came down a man in a black Tang suit, wearing sunglasses, with a Fu Manchu mustache, and his hair in a bun like a Daoist, held together with a jade hairpin, looking quite impressive.

“Oh, is this veterinarian expert from the big city, Chief Station Chief Xu?”

Miao Zhong, the village chief’s nephew and the local fertilizer agent, respectfully greeted Master Wu as they entered the Yin An family’s cow shed. However, upon seeing Xu Ying, his attitude turned disdainful, in stark contrast to his fawning over Master Wu.

Xu Ying was indifferent to Miao Zhong’s attitude, discreetly observing him.

She had just learned from the Yin couple that the village chief’s nephew was selling fertilizers.

While everyone praised the village chief’s honesty and fairness, this connection couldn’t help but cause Xu Ying to think more deeply.

Especially since she had just arrived in East Village and hadn’t even met the village chief’s nephew, yet he already knew of her and her purpose.

This clearly indicated that someone had given him a warning.

Still, she refrained from voicing her suspicions.

After all, the village chief, who had spent decades with the villagers, was far more authoritative than she was, an outsider.

Seeing Master Wu arrive, the Yin couple and other villagers barely stopped short of kneeling to welcome him.

Upon learning about the strange situation of the cows licking the wall, Master Wu smiled slightly and said, “They are possessed.”

“I’ll perform an exorcism ritual, you go prepare the offerings.”

It seemed Master Wu wasn’t new to such rituals. Mentioning offerings, Yin An’s parents immediately went to prepare them excitedly.

Lamb legs, fruits, and jugs of wine were brought out in succession.

Master Wu took out a small cloth bag from his fabric bag and then sprinkled white crystalline powder on the wall using a tissue.

Xu Ying thought it looked like salt; if there was a mineral deficiency due to pollution, sprinkling salt wouldn’t help. Comprehensive medicinal treatment was needed.

Master Wu lit a few sticks of incense, walked around the cowshed with a candle, and the ritual was over.

Yin An’s father, understandingly, handed an envelope to Master Wu, “Master, here’s a token of appreciation for your hard work.”

Master Wu calmly accepted it.

Xu Ying, expressionless, led her two cows to the old cowshed with the village chief.

They would have to spend the night in the village, and the village chief arranged for Xu Ying and Liu Kai to stay at Song Dongbai’s old house, the elder brother among the village young men.

Liu Kai, acting as the laborer, had already gone to clean up the old house.

Yin An’s parents soon arrived at the old cowshed from their own cowshed.

“Let me take a look at their eyes.”

Xu Ying approached the oldest black cow.

Normally, livestock resist contact with strangers, but this cow was unusually docile, even nudging its head toward her hand.

Xu Ying gently opened the cow’s eyelid, and the conjunctiva appeared an unhealthy pale with tiny bleeding spots at the edges.

She took a tongue depressor from her toolbox, “Come on, open your mouth, let me see if there’s anything wrong inside.”

The black cow obediently opened its mouth, and its teeth were filled with horizontal grooves—a typical sign of dental fluorosis, indicating excessive fluoride intake.

“Is the stool loose?”

“Yes, just like water. I have to clean it up several times a day.”

Yin An’s father looked worried, “Station Chief Xu, could it really be a plague?”

Xu Ying did not respond immediately.

She took out several sampling bottles, filling them with feed and drinking water.

She took a stool sample from the cow’s rectum.

The Yin couple, seeing this young girl so dedicated, fearless of dirt and fatigue, began to change their impression of her.

When she dipped a test strip into the cow’s drinking water trough, the originally yellow strip instantly turned dark blue.

“The pH is 9.2, too alkaline,” Xu Ying frowned, “Have you recently changed the water source?”

“No, we’ve been using the old well water all along.”

Yin An’s father suddenly lowered his voice, “But last month, Village Chief Miao’s nephew said he was improving the soil and spread a lot of ’high-efficiency fertilizer’ upstream of the fields.”

Xu Ying’s gaze sharpened.

She took out a syringe and drew a vial of blood from the cow’s jugular vein.

After centrifuging, the serum showed an unnaturally cloudy appearance.

“It’s initially diagnosed as chronic fluoride poisoning with mineral deficiency.”

The professional terms left the Yin couple confused, only understanding that the cow was poisoned.

As she spoke, she took out calcium and magnesium injection from her toolbox, “I’ll give it a shot to relieve the symptoms, but we need to find the source of the pollution to cure it.”

The Yin couple hesitated as they watched her prepare the medication and inject the cow.

Finally, they relented, thinking that it was just two cows, so they’d better let her try.

After finishing her diagnosis and treatment, Xu Ying took a walk around the village to observe the situation.

She crouched by a dry irrigation canal, gently moving aside a clump of withered camel thorn with her fingers.

Before coming, Xu Ying reviewed the materials sent by headquarters and immediately recognized the abnormal yellow spots on the leaves—typical chemical fertilizer burns.

Along this irrigation canal leading to the oasis village, signs of ecological imbalance became increasingly evident.

The setting sun cast Xu Ying’s shadow long, creating a thin, elongated silhouette on the cracked canal bed.

She took down the water bottle hanging on the side of her backpack when she suddenly heard a faint “squeak” sound.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep