C2v10 Update.

Routine Will be Updated with this section added to the bottom, and slightly more dialogue in the first section. For those who do not wish to reread the entire chapter to get to the end part, This is here. I honestly couldn't find a satisfactory place to put this as a whole chapter, so this is getting added to c10, and then the next chapter will go up as scheduled at 2 PM.

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An instrument twanged. It was inexpertly played, but improving with each repetition.

“What's this one called?” Meimei asked from my lap, her fingers going through unfamiliar notes, in an unfamiliar style. We were sitting on the giant rock I had pulled beside our house from out near Verdant Hill. Our special rock. It was the first time we had used it in a long while, but there was something so great about sitting up here, playing an instrument, and watching the moon.

“Dueling Pipas is the closest translation.” I told her. They didn’t have banjos here, and by the heavens, I’m going to change that. The pipa was serviceable, but it was no replacement for the king of country. “We need a second to get it right. One person plays each verse, and it all comes together at the end.”

She looked interested at the thought of a duet, but that warred against more practical thoughts like ‘do we need a second pipa?’ The answer is obviously yes. Activity time with your loved ones is never wasted. A pipa won’t put a dent in the finances any.

The night was nice and warm. I had a beautiful woman in my lap, I had finished painting my barn red, and the rice shoots were nearly at the size we needed to transplant. The last big job. Then off to Hong Yaowu, to see pops and little Xian, probably Yun Ren, Gou Ren’s older brother, too.

I was looking forward to it. To having family again.

My grip tightened on my wife’s waist. Meiling looked up at me, her expression curious. Our lips met. She tasted a bit like tea this time. I had intended for it to be sweet and chaste. Meiling set the pipa to the side.

Maybe it was the rock. We had our first kiss on it, so maybe it just provoked these things. We broke our kiss. Her robes were in slight disarray from my hands and there was a happy blush high on her cheeks.

Both of our eyes roved over the immediate area. Gou Ren was in the hut, Xiulan and Tigger nowhere to be seen. Her hands went to my chest, and she licked her lips, leaning in--

There was an urgent crow from the barn.

We both froze at the interruption. Meiling looked slightly frustrated by the call. Well, these things wait for no man. We would have to postpone things.

We hopped off our rock. This time, Meimei did it under her own power instead of me carrying her down, landing with a soft thump.

The disciples had been put on watch after Meimei had gotten annoyed at the fact that I was constantly wandering in and out of the barn checking on the cows. I had seen a calf die once, in the Before. Not breathing as it came out into the world. Even when I was younger, I understood the frowns on the adult’s faces, and the sigh that the man produced, when they stopped trying to get it to breathe.

That part was understandable, but I had been a bit…. Obsessive in my checking. I shouldn’t have said I was going to get a cup of water that one time. My wife standing in the doorway to the barn, a distinctly unimpressed look on her face when she found me scratching a cow and telling her that she was a good girl was pretty embarrassing.

And thats how my animals got another job. Call me when the cow starts to give birth. Like all things I had tasked them with, they were diligent. I had peeked in one or two more times, and when I did, there was normally somebody hanging out. Chunky or Peppa sitting there at peace, Big D training, Rizzo reading a scroll. Even Tigger got in on it once or twice I think.

The poor girl was in a mood, ever since she had failed to find a bee like the rest. She was really upset about it, and no amount of scratches would convince her that I wasn’t angry or disappointed in her.

We got the stuff ready, and prepared. I didn’t know whether it would be one, or both of them that would start up tonight, but I settled in for a long wait.

Two hours later, the calf hadn't fully appeared, which was a bit of a cause for concern. Unlike human woman, who can be put in traction for over half a day, cows are supposed to come out pretty quick.

It was then that the other cow decided that hers needed to come out too. But for now, we were focusing on this one. I could see the feet, but the rest of the calf was still kind of stuck. I think it’s head somehow got turned a bit.

Well, time for some intervention.

“Now, gently so it doesn’t tear.” Meiling said calmly, as I held the calf’s legs. My wife's eyes were intent, but she was relaxed. Well, it was to be expected. I had a lot less experience with larger animals, and the Hong family being the healers of Hong Yaowu meant that they doubled as the vets. The poor cow was rolled on her side, clearly in distress that the calf wasn’t coming out properly.

Well, this is what we were here for, and why I asked for the alarm. We had an audience of disciples, excepting Xiulan and Tigger, watching the process intently.

I gently reached in further, Qi assisting in parting the flesh without tearing, and manipulated the head that had started to fold backwards, bringing it once more to the proper position.

Then you grab the legs and pull. This could actually take a few people, some times, or even mechanical assistance, but here? No such thing was needed. Strength would suffice. The little one was freed from the canal, and I caught it before it could hit the ground. They could survive a bit of bashing around, but no sense in making things more painful for the little creature.

I presented her to her mother, instincts immediately taking over as he tongue went to work, cleaning her baby.

A little gasp, and a cry of new life, feeling this strange new world for the first time.

I let out the breath I had been holding.

Meimei gave the cow a once-over, and nodded her head. Her robe was still loose, exposing the freckles that dotted the top of her chest. She had a bit of blood on her hands, and there was a bit of fluid where she had wiped her cheek. Her hair was down, and she honestly looked a bit disheveled.

She turned to me and smiled, a big toothy grin. I couldn't help but smile back at that radiant, brilliant smile.

The second birth turned out to be spectacularly anti-climactic. Everything went perfectly. A few hours later, and we were convinced that both mother and child were going to be alright.

Two little girls, hale and hearty.