Reborn in 1977

Chapter 191: The Swift Drop of the Knife

Castrating pigs naturally requires specialized tools.

Generally, in this era, pig castrators used the same type of knife: a thin, elongated iron wire with a small, heart-shaped blade attached.

These pig castrating knives weren't as sophisticated as medical equipment for human surgery; ordinary iron materials used for making kitchen knives and woodcutting knives were sufficient.

Chen Fan didn't yet have a veterinarian certification, so he didn't have the specialized medicine kit and equipment issued by the commune's veterinary station, and there was nowhere to buy such things.

Just as he was racking his brains over this, Jiang Lili led him to the storage room beside the kitchen.

It must be said that this educated youth spot, which had existed for over a decade, was truly a small treasure trove.

In that storage room, one of the cabinets contained many items discarded by "previous educated youths."

Clothes were definitely not among them; even if someone had been in too much of a hurry to take clothes that were drying outside, fellow villagers would have helped them take them away.

However, there were two pairs of tattered, unwanted women's shoes, which someone had washed clean and left in the cabinet.

Jiang Lili guessed that this was probably the work of a kind-hearted older sister from the year before, because she was the one using that cabinet at the time, and she was one of the few people who spoke to Jiang Lili. Unfortunately, not long after Jiang Lili arrived, that older sister returned to the city for work.

The cabinet also contained two pairs of scissors, five kitchen knives, three bull-ear knives, two daggers…

When Chen Fan saw these things at the time, he wondered why there were so many knives.

Jiang Lili said that someone had even left behind a gun, but it was quickly taken away by Captain Yang and handed over to the brigade headquarters.

What a pity!

Besides these, the most common item was aluminum kettles.

Gufeng County was a schistosomiasis epidemic area, and schistosomiasis had once been very rampant, so many educated youths were urged by their parents to bring kettles with them when they went to the countryside, so they would only drink hot water and not raw water.

However, because there were no honeycomb briquette stoves here, boiling water could only be done on earthen stoves with firewood. Some people found it troublesome, and from the time they came to register until they left, even the kettles were new, and they didn't take them away when they left.

Chen Fan and Jiang Lili each had a kettle in their rooms, using the "inheritance" left behind by others.

To this, Chen Fan could only mutter "spendthrift" under his breath!

At the same time, it proved that spendthrift behavior was only related to family conditions and personal lifestyle habits, and had nothing to do with the era. Even in the most difficult times, there were always such people.

But fortunately, because of these spendthrifts, he could use a bull-ear knife to make a pig castrating knife.

The tip of the bull-ear knife was very sharp, and the shape and size were also very suitable, making it perfect for a pig castrating knife.

…

Chen Fan first went to his room to take off his cotton coat and put on a cotton vest that was convenient for working. To prevent getting dirty, he also put on a smock.

Then, with the bull-ear knife he had sharpened yesterday in his pocket, he took the lead and walked to the backyard.

Before he even reached the pigpen, the little colt stood up with a start, placed its front hooves on the wall, and neighed at Chen Fan.

The students saw the little colt and immediately whispered.

"That's the little horse Teacher Chen bought, right? It's so beautiful."

"I heard it cost 25 yuan to buy."

"If that horse were taken out and sold now, it could sell for at least 60 or 70 yuan."

"Wouldn't that be a profit of more than forty yuan?"

"That's because Teacher Chen is capable. If this horse fell into someone else's hands, don't even mention earning more than forty yuan; they'd probably just kill it and eat the meat."

"That's right. When Teacher Chen bought it, it was a sick horse. He was the one who cured it."

"At that time, Teacher Chen didn't even understand veterinary medicine. He borrowed medical books from the veterinary station and learned as he went."

"If I had Teacher Chen's ability, I would buy so many horses."

"That's all you're good for. What's so good about horses? They're not as good as oxen for plowing, not as good as mules for pulling carts, and not as good as pigs for eating meat. If it were me, I would buy all pigs! I would eat pork every day!"

"All you know is eating. If it were me, I would raise cattle, raise so many cattle, so I wouldn't have to wait my turn to plow the fields in the future. I could plow all the fields in one day."

…

Chen Fan didn't listen to the students' discussions. He hugged the little colt's head and played with it for a while, patted its head, and told it to go play to the side.

The main reason was that since he bought the little horse back, it snowed the next day, and ever since then, the ground hadn't dried out, being either ice and snow or mud. Otherwise, he could have taken the little horse out to run wild and wouldn't have kept it cooped up in the pen like that.

Afterward, he picked up the two little goats and checked them over. They were both doing well, healthy and strong, with a good appetite.

After settling the little horse and little goats, Chen Fan turned his evil gaze to the pigpen next door.

Two delicate-looking little pigs were staring expectantly at the large group of people, not afraid at all.

When Chen Fan moved the wooden fence and came in, they happily ran around the pigpen, as if they had encountered the four great joys of pig life.

Chen Fan closed the wooden fence behind him to prevent them from rushing out, and then thought with a dark line on his forehead that their IQ was not even as good as a fish, and they deserved to become pig eunuchs.

After practicing with Captain Xiao for almost a month, Chen Fan could now be considered agile. When a little pig ran past his feet, he immediately kicked it up, sending it flying, and at the same time grabbed its hind legs and lifted the little pig into his hands.

He carried the little pig upside down to the side of the pigpen, supported himself on the fence with one hand, and jumped out lightly.

Then, he prepared to explain the little pig's body structure, but then he saw Huang Ying and Liu Dan watching curiously from the side, and he was immediately speechless. "What's so interesting about castrating pigs? Girls, step aside."

But the two girls didn't look embarrassed at all.

Huang Ying even said with a smile, "I've seen it many times, it's nothing."

Chen Fan blinked, almost forgetting that the countryside now was not like it would be in the future. In this era, if a pig castrator came to the village, you could guarantee that half the village would go to watch the excitement. Girls watching pig castration was really nothing.

But if they weren't embarrassed, he was embarrassed.

Castrating a little pig's testicles in front of two girls?

Just thinking about that scene made him a little dizzy.

So he waved his hand. "Go, go see if the food is heated up in the front. We'll be ready to eat after we finish here."

Huang Ying pouted, wanting to say something, but thinking of her father and uncles' words, and then looking at Chen Fan, she couldn't help but blush slightly, lowered her head, and turned to leave.

Since she had left, Liu Dan naturally wouldn't stay here alone, and followed her away.

After they had both gone far away, Chen Fan handed the little pig to the students. "Come, everyone, come take a look. What is the body structure of this little pig like? Also, after you've finished looking, I'm going to check your understanding of the acupoints on the pig's body…"

This lecture lasted for more than half an hour. He also pointed out many mistakes that students made when identifying acupoints, and finally said, "The acupoint diagram I drew for you is fixed, but the pig won't grow according to the diagram I drew. The sizes of small pigs and large pigs are also different. Are you all going to measure with a ruler?"

"To recognize the acupoints on livestock, you must have a deep understanding of the body structure of the livestock. Only in this way can you accurately find the acupoints, whether it's a big pig or a small horse."

After explaining everything, he stepped on the little pig to hold it firmly on the ground, and then had someone pour half a bowl of strong liquor as disinfectant, washed the bull-ear knife in the liquor, and then wiped the testicles with a cotton ball to disinfect them.

Then, with a swift drop of the knife…

The little pig immediately cried out in earth-shattering grief, so desolate.

This minor surgery on a little male pig didn't require sutures. After disinfecting the wound again with strong liquor, he put the little pig down on the clean straw in the pigpen to lie down.

This little male pig lay on the straw, no longer having the excitement it had before, only a face full of hopelessness.

Chen Fan then used the same method on the other little pig, and today's practical teaching was considered over.