Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Treatment
Of course, the others couldn’t understand either and only knew there were many things inside.
They all crowded forward, curious. “Can you use these? Do you recognize them? Do you know how to use them?”
“They’re useful.” Xie Changqing nodded and carefully moved them into his medical kit.
With this whole kit, he really wasn’t worried anymore.
Of course, the medicines were limited, so he had to use them strategically.
However, this way, he wouldn’t need to make excuses when he took out medicine in the future.
“You use them first. We’ll thank the Seventh Ranch later.” Qiaoba looked and nodded with satisfaction. “I’ll make another trip to town in a couple days and bring back salt blocks for you.”
He was making it clear that Xie Changqing shouldn’t secretly go looking for the wild horse king.
If they encountered it, that would be no joke.
“Alright.” Xie Changqing finished his inventory and took out a restraint.
No matter what, he needed to treat the ewe’s injury first.
After giving the ewe the restraint injection, she calmed down shortly after.
Just to be safe, Qiaoba and Sangtu still held her down.
Xie Changqing first cleaned her wound and shaved the surrounding fur.
Only then did the gruesome wound become visible—the bone was protruding. You can imagine how painful it was.
Fortunately, Xie Changqing knew how to set bones.
He took a light breath and gripped both ends of the ewe’s leg firmly.
This required delicate skill—too little or too much force would prevent proper alignment.
After confirming it was correct, he applied medicine to the wound and bandaged it.
Finally, he selected two flat wooden boards to serve as splints for stabilization. Ideally, if conditions allowed, a cast would be best, but he didn’t have that available.
“A cast? Last time when Little Six broke his bone, they put a cast on him…” Sangtu mused.
In other words, splints were already quite good for livestock.
This was a ranch—they didn’t have much else, but they really did have a lot of livestock.
If this ewe hadn’t been pregnant, with such a serious injury, she would basically be slaughtered directly.
Finally, Xie Changqing gave her an anti-inflammatory injection. “Without bone plates, screws, or intramedullary nails, this will have to do for now.”
“Good, good.” The herder was very happy. To have it treated this well, he was very satisfied. “Should we separate her and raise her alone?”
That was certainly necessary. Xie Changqing nodded and wiped his sweat. “Spread some dry grass on the ground and keep her penned separately. Feed her good fodder.”
After all, she was pregnant and needed proper care.
Xie Changqing thought for a moment and added, “From what I felt, this ewe is probably carrying four or five lambs.”
Although it was early in the pregnancy, this ewe looked quite plump with a large belly.
When he examined her, he could clearly feel it was more than just one or two.
“Oh my! That’s wonderful!” The herder’s eyes lit up when he heard this. “Haha! This is really good news!”
Their breed of sheep usually had two or three per litter. If she could really birth four or five, he would definitely keep this breeding line.
Of course, they had to take good care of this ewe. Even without Xie Changqing saying so, they would pamper her!
Xie Changqing watched them carefully carry the ewe into a separate pen and packed up his things to head back.
Without Qiaoba needing to remind them, the herder had already prepared a thank-you gift: a side of mutton.
“On the road it couldn’t keep up and was about to die, so I slaughtered it while it was still fresh.” The herder smiled and waved his hand. “I’ll deliver it to your home!”
Lightning was so clean—better not get her dirty, as she’d be hard to wash later.
“…Alright, thank you.” Xie Changqing didn’t refuse, because this was what he deserved.
When he returned home, he saw Haiert helping them move things.
The felt house was already built, and Xie Changqing noticed that other families’ weren’t even finished yet.
When he asked, he learned that the herders knew he had gone to treat the ewe, so they had come to help his family first before attending to their own homes.
Xie Changqing quickly put down his things and went out to help them.
Batu and Xie Duoduo weren’t idle either—one fed the sheep while the other carried clothes.
The grassland that had been desolate yesterday was now bustling with lively activity.
Indeed, you needed people to have vitality.
The grass around here was very lush, so the cattle and sheep didn’t need to go far—they could eat right nearby.
After traveling for several days, they could finally leisurely drink water and eat grass in comfort.
They stayed busy until the afternoon before Xie Changqing could finally rest.
He didn’t even go back inside and just lay down on the long grass.
The sky was deep blue, with sunlight hiding behind clouds, appearing and disappearing.
“So beautiful.”
Before his words faded, Nuomin happened to lean over and look.
Hearing this, her pretty face flushed. “What did you say?”
Xie Changqing didn’t move, still looking at the sky. “Look at those clouds—they’re really beautiful.”
Clouds? What was so beautiful about them?
Nuomin shook her head, unable to understand. “Ah, Changqing, are you free tomorrow?”
“Yes, why?” Her felt house was already built, wasn’t it?
“The medicinal herbs are up ahead. Look there—there are so many medicinal herbs in that area. Since we arrived first this year, probably no one has harvested them yet!”
Speaking of this, Nuomin got a bit excited. “Usually when we get here, there are only scraps and dead leaves left. I was thinking of going there tomorrow to gather some. Will you come?”
Of course he had to go. Xie Changqing nodded without hesitation. “Yes! What time tomorrow?”
“In the morning. I’ll come get you then. Haiert’s coming too, and I’m planning to bring Hairile—he’s young but very strong!”
Xie Changqing stood up, pleased. “Sounds good, I’ll follow your lead.”
“Oh, right.” Nuomin hadn’t gone anywhere all morning and had stayed home weaving grass baskets.
She took two large new grass baskets from her horse and handed them to him. “Here, these are for you.”
“So fast!?” Xie Changqing was somewhat amazed.
Moreover, these two grass baskets were woven so delicately and tightly.
They were big and wide with deep interiors—they could hold quite a lot of medicinal herbs!
“Mm-hmm, my mother helped me weave them.” Nuomin smiled, a bit embarrassed. “Those two from before were when I was just learning, so I didn’t dare make them too big.”
These two new grass baskets even had a new feature added.
“Look at this opening here—I added two extra grass ropes.”
When pulled tight, they could close the basket’s opening.
This way, even if they rode their horses fast later, they wouldn’t worry about things falling out.
This was exactly what Xie Changqing needed. He quickly thanked her. “Thank you for the hard work. These are really wonderful!”
“Good, as long as you like them.” Nuomin laughed heartily and took the grass basket he handed back, hanging it on her horse. “Actually…”
She hesitated, then turned to look at Xie Changqing. “I wanted to ask—will you always stay with our ranch in the future?”