Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 220: Slaughter

A little over half an hour later, a small, railed truck came CHUGGING up to the village entrance.

Two burly men in blue work clothes got out. They deftly set up a ramp with a thick wooden plank. It took all their might, but between pushing and pulling, they finally managed to get the reluctant big yellow ox, Da Huang, onto the truck. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Li Xu and Song Sisi also got into the cab of the small truck, which then rumbled and bumped its way toward the slaughterhouse in town.

The Sanshui Beef and Sheep Slaughterhouse was located on the edge of town. A large iron gate opened into a spacious concrete courtyard.

The air was thick with a heavy, nauseating stench—a mixture of blood and livestock manure.

Song Sisi instinctively wrinkled her nose.

Deeper in the courtyard stood a row of tall factory buildings, from which came the WHIRRING of machinery and the CLANGING of metal.

Although it claimed to use mechanized equipment, it was actually more like a semi-manual workshop.

The ox was herded off the truck. An experienced old worker led it by a rope onto a massive platform scale to be weighed.

"Whoa, this is one sturdy ox! Not counting the lame leg, its net weight must be over eight hundred pounds!" Old Fu, the man in charge of weighing, clicked his tongue in amazement.

After being weighed, the ox was driven into a narrow chute that ended in a metal pen.

A worker operated an electric stunner. With a mournful, muffled cry, Da Huang’s massive body crashed to the ground.

Immediately after, the ox was hoisted up and processed by a professional skinning machine, exposing its bright red muscles and white fat to the air.

Although machines assisted the process, every step—from herding and stunning to bleeding and later butchering—depended on the skilled hands of the workers.

Song Sisi’s face turned pale as she watched. Unable to bear it, she turned her head away.

Someone from the slaughterhouse came over to discuss the price with Li Xu.

Normally, the slaughterhouse would directly purchase pigs, cattle, and sheep for butchering.

They would then connect with retail channels and food service businesses.

However, to avoid trouble and disputes, Li Xu did not sell the ox to the slaughterhouse.

He only paid the butchering fee.

As for the beef, offal, and bones, he planned to have Ding Kaifang handle them.

The Ding Group owned food service businesses. They could easily go through a few hundred pounds of beef.

He called Ding Kaifang.

Ding Kaifang agreed at once, saying he would have the buyer from the Feng City Restaurant pick up the beef.

"Doctor Li, you can just head back with them then."

"Alright."

Afterward, Li Xu walked over to a worker who was processing the ox’s innards with a butchering knife. The man was in his forties, slightly chubby, with a full beard, but his hands moved with practiced efficiency.

Li Xu struck up a conversation with a smile. "Friend, you’ve got some great skill."

The worker grinned, revealing teeth stained yellow from smoking. "Been doing this for over a decade. Practice makes perfect, that’s all. I heard you spent thirty thousand on this ox, young man. Really willing to spare no expense for your little girlfriend! Beef is cheap right now; this whole ox will sell for a little over ten thousand at most."

The two workers who had picked up the ox had heard the story in the village and spread it around when they got back.

Li Xu didn’t deny it, just smiled. Then, as if asking casually, he said, "Friend, I heard that sometimes a thing called a ’Bezoar’ can grow inside an ox. Is that true?"

"A Bezoar?" The bearded worker paused his work, then burst out laughing. "You’ve been reading too many novels, young man! Finding one of those is harder than winning the lottery! I’ve been here for over a decade and have butchered at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, head of cattle. I’ve only ever seen two. One was the size of a peanut, the other like a bird’s egg. The chances are minuscule!"

"Is that so?" A look of "disappointment" crossed Li Xu’s face, but he didn’t give up. He pulled three red bills from his pocket and stuffed them into the bearded worker’s hand. "Friend, whether there’s one or not, please help me look carefully. Be especially careful when you’re cutting. Don’t puncture it."

Three hundred yuan was no small sum for a slaughterhouse worker.

To put it in perspective, the processing fee for a single ox was only eight hundred yuan.

The bearded worker pocketed the money and thumped his chest, promising, "Don’t you worry, young man! Just for this gesture, I’ll turn this ox’s gallbladder inside out for you today! I’ll give you a definite answer, one way or another!"

Motivated by the money, the worker’s attitude changed completely.

He removed the ox’s organs one by one, skillfully sorting them.

When he picked up the dark green, bulging gallbladder, his movements slowed noticeably.

Li Xu and Song Sisi both held their breath, their eyes glued to his hands.

The bearded worker first gave the gallbladder a gentle squeeze through its wall. His expression was initially nonchalant, but it quickly shifted to one of surprise.

"Huh?"

He let out a soft sound of confusion, his brow furrowing.

Through the wall of the sac, he could feel something abnormally hard and massive inside.

’The feel of this... It’s not right!’

He immediately found a sharp little knife and, holding it over a clean iron tray nearby, carefully sliced open the gallbladder.

With a SQUELCH, dark green bile flowed out, and a thick, bitter, acrid smell instantly filled the air.

As the bile drained, a huge, golden-yellow stone, its surface covered in irregular patterns and shaped like a large mango, rolled out onto the iron tray!

CLANG!

The stone hit the iron tray with a crisp sound.

For a moment, it was as if the entire world had gone silent.

Everyone’s gaze was captivated by the "stone" lying quietly in the tray, glowing with a strange luster.

It was enormous!

A whole size larger than a grown man’s fist!

It had to weigh over a pound!

Under the dim lights, its golden color made it look like a natural gold nugget, exuding a tempting glow.

Even the bitter, acrid smell in the air seemed to be tinged with a faint, clean fragrance.

"My... my God..."

The knife in the bearded worker’s hand CLATTERED to the floor. His eyes were wide, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg, and he stood there, rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning.

"Is... is this... a Bezoar?!"

"A Bezoar this big?! I’ve been a butcher for twenty years and I’ve never seen anything like it!"

"He’s hit the jackpot! How much do you think that’s worth?!"

The surrounding workers instantly erupted, crowding around with their necks craned, their eyes filled with shock, greed, and disbelief.

Song Sisi was also completely dumbfounded, her face a mask of disbelief.

As a nurse, she naturally knew the value of a Bezoar.

A wave of joyous surprise washed over her.

Amid everyone’s stunned gazes, Li Xu put on a perfectly timed display of "surprise."

He strode forward, cupped the enormous Bezoar in his hands, and shouted excitedly, "Oh my God! It’s real! I really hit the jackpot!"

As he shouted, he quickly grabbed a clean plastic bag from a nearby counter, carefully wrapped the top-grade Bezoar, and then hugged it tightly to his chest, as if terrified someone would snatch it away.

If you’re going to put on a show, you have to go all the way.