My 1995 Small Farm.

Chen Ling did not delay.

He rowed the boat to the shallow water near the shore, where the water was only chest-deep, making it easier to maneuver.

With the help of others, he lifted the big fish, along with the stretcher, onto a plastic sheet that had been specially laid out on the shore.

The little white calf also came ashore, shaking off the water droplets on its body, and the water droplets formed a small rainbow in the sunlight.

Upon closer inspection, the wounds became even more shocking.

The spot where the deadwood was stuck was ulcerated, with pus and blood mixed together, giving off a fishy smell.

The base of the pectoral fin is severely swollen, restricting its movement.

"The wound infection is very serious."

Chen Ling frowned: "We need to clean the wound first, then apply the medicine."

Chen Ling carefully examined the big fish's wounds, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

The area that had been trapped under the deadwood for several days had become severely infected, with mud and wood chips mixed deep within the ulcerated tissue, and some areas had even begun to turn black and necrotic.

Traditional debridement methods are not only painful but may also damage healthy tissue deep inside.

He pondered for a moment, then made a decision.

"Yuqiang, take two people back to the farm."

Chen Ling looked up and said, "Have your Aunt Susu go to my study. There's a wooden box in the left drawer with a few small bamboo tubes inside. Bring them all here. Remember, handle them gently and don't shake them."

Although Chen Yuqiang didn't understand why, seeing Chen Ling's serious expression, he immediately nodded: "Okay, Sanwa, Erhuozi, come with me!"

The three of them jogged away from the shore.

Li Lianjie asked curiously, "Mr. Chen, is the medicine you need very special?"

"It's not medicine."

Chen Ling shook his head and took out the small bamboo tube he had previously given to Li Lianjie from his pocket: "It's this one."

When Li Lianjie saw the bamboo tube, his eyes widened immediately: "Maggots? You want to use maggots to clean the fish's wounds?"

"Correct."

Chen Ling nodded: "Its wound is too deep and complicated, and conventional debridement is difficult to complete. Maggots can burrow into those gaps that instruments cannot reach, and only eat necrotic tissue without damaging the healthy flesh."

"Maggots, maggots?"

Old Niwai and the other young men looked at each other, their faces filled with disbelief.

They had heard that Chen Ling used unusual methods to heal people, but they never expected that he could use them on fish.

"Mr. Chen, is this...is this going to work?" Li Lianjie's assistant couldn't help but ask, "Fish are different from people."

"The principle is the same."

Chen Ling explained, "Maggots only eat necrotic tissue, not healthy living tissue, and they can burrow deep into wounds to clean up the rotten flesh that instruments can't reach."

While waiting, Chen Ling asked Chen Ze and the others to gather some dry firewood nearby and start a fire.

The main purpose is to repel mosquitoes and keep the treatment environment clean.

Otherwise, the fishy smell will easily attract flies.

It affects the purity of maggots.

The little white calf lay quietly to one side, its snow-white body resembling a gentle snow mountain in the morning light.

Occasionally, when a large fish trembles slightly due to pain, the little white calf will gently moo, as if to comfort it.

About twenty minutes later, Sanwa came running back, panting, carrying a bamboo tube and a cloth bag: "Uncle Fugui, here it is! Aunt Susu gave me an extra tube, saying she was afraid it wouldn't be enough."

Chen Ling took the bamboo tube and opened the stopper.

Inside were plump, white maggots, slowly wriggling on a specially prepared culture medium.

These maggots, nourished by the celestial medicine, are more vigorous and have better antibacterial properties than ordinary maggots.

By this time, a large number of people had gathered at the reservoir.

Originally, there were only a few rescuers, but the news spread quickly.

Villagers working nearby, women collecting manure in the early morning to cook, and even children herding cattle all gathered around.

When everyone heard that Chen Ling was going to use "maggots" to treat the big fish's injuries, they were both curious and incredulous.

"Rich and powerful people want to use maggots to treat fish? Is that even possible?"

"I heard that's how he treated that Hong Kong celebrity. His leg was almost rotten to the bone, but he managed to cure it!"

"Fish and people are not the same..."

"See? When Fugui gets things done, he never goes wrong."

Amid the discussions, Chen Ling began his preparations.

He rinsed the wound with cooled boiled water to wash away the mud and blood, and then dried it with clean gauze.

With the wound exposed to the air, the stench of decay became even stronger, and several villagers standing nearby couldn't help but cover their noses.

But Chen Ling remained unfazed.

He used bamboo tweezers to pull a maggot out of the bamboo tube. The maggot was white and plump, wriggling at the tip of the tweezers.

All eyes were focused on the tiny maggot.

Chen Ling carefully placed the maggots on the edge of the big fish's wound.

Surprisingly, as soon as the maggots touched the wound, they seemed to have found their target and began to wriggle towards the area with the most severe necrosis.

It left a faint trail where it crawled.

One, two, three... Chen placed more than twenty maggots in different locations on the wound.

These plump little white creatures immediately begin working upon contact with the decaying tissue. They gnaw on the necrotic tissue with their mouthparts, and their bodies slowly grow larger at a visible rate.

“They’re eating…” a little boy whispered, both scared and curious.

"They only eat rotten meat, not good meat."

Chen Ling explained to everyone, "Look, they only move around in the dark purple area, and they don't even touch the pink healthy tissue next to it."

Sure enough, the maggots were very "disciplined".

They all clustered in the area where the wound was most severely necrotic, completely ignoring the bright red, healthy granulation tissue.

Li Lianjie watched the maggots work intently, his eyes fixed on the details.

He had experienced it himself, but he had never seen it with his own eyes.

Seeing maggots crawling on your body and gnawing at your flesh is something most people would find hard to accept.

Seeing this for the first time, I was immediately shocked.

Those tiny lives are undergoing a precise debridement procedure that even modern medical equipment struggles to perform.

Time passed by minute by minute.

The maggots were busy on the wound, and their bodies gradually became translucent, revealing the necrotic tissue inside that they were digesting.

The wound is also undergoing subtle changes.

The dark purple necrotic areas gradually shrank, revealing the pink base underneath.

"Look! The amount of rotten flesh is decreasing!" Zhao Dahai, with his sharp eyes, shouted.

As everyone peered closer, they saw that the necrotic tissue that had previously needed to be scraped away was being eaten away bit by bit by maggots.

Even more remarkably, maggots burrowed into the sinuses deep within the wound, cleaning it from the inside.

"This is much better than scraping with a knife."

Chen Guoping muttered, "It's inevitable that scraping with a knife will damage the good meat. This thing... only eats the bad parts, not the good ones."

"Even better than surgeons. If we barefoot doctors had had such good methods back then, so many young soldiers would have been saved from dying..."

About an hour later, the first batch of maggots had almost finished "working".

Their bodies swelled to two or three times their original size, and their movements became sluggish.

Chen Ling used tweezers to pick them up one by one and put them into an empty bamboo tube.

"This batch is full, so its efficiency will drop. We need to replace it with a new one."

He explained, then picked up a second batch of maggots and placed them on the wound.

Just then, a commotion arose in the distance.

Everyone looked up and saw twenty or thirty men running towards them from the east end of the village, all wearing hard hats and covered in dirt. They were construction workers from the school site!
"I heard Chen Fugui caught a dragon king, let's go see!"

Before the school foreman, surnamed Liu, even arrived, his voice preceded him: "Where are you? Let us see!"

When they got closer and saw the giant fish, which was over three meters long, on the plastic sheet, they were all stunned.

But what shocked them even more were the tiny white dots wriggling on the fish's body.

"What...what is this?"

A young worker went closer to take a look, and his face immediately changed. "Maggots?! Maggots are on the fish?!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Zhao Dahai quickly explained, "Fugui put it there on purpose, for medicinal purposes!"

"Using maggots to treat illness?"

The workers looked at each other in disbelief.

Li Lianjie then stepped forward, rolled up his trouser leg, and revealed his knee wound, which had obviously improved: "Fellow villagers, Mr. Chen cured my leg injury with maggot therapy."

This is an old injury that I've had for years. I've been to many hospitals in Hong Kong Island, but it hasn't healed properly. I've been here for two days, and it's already more than half healed.

His words immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Although Li Lianjie was wearing a hat, his iconic face was still recognized by many people.

"Are you...the one who acted in Shaolin Temple?" a young worker asked excitedly.

Li Lianjie smiled and nodded: "It's me, so please believe that Mr. Chen's method, although it may seem... unusual, is really effective."

These maggots are specially bred sterile maggots, unlike the ones we usually see.

Celebrity testimonies are clearly very persuasive.

Although the workers still found it hard to accept, at least they no longer questioned it.

Instead, they curiously gathered around, wanting to see what this "maggot cure" was all about.

More and more people gathered on the shore. Chenwangzhuang hadn't been this lively in a long time. Hundreds of people were gathered on the reservoir bank, and even children climbed up the nearby trees to watch the excitement.

"Using maggots from a cesspool to treat illness? This is the first time I've ever seen anything like it!"

"This fish is so intelligent, it stays still while the insects crawl on it."

"Uncle Fugui, can this method be used on people? My father has an old sore on his leg that hasn't healed..."

While changing the maggots, Chen Ling replied, "This method is indeed effective for wounds that are slow to heal, especially those with deep infections that have created dead space."

But special sterile maggots must be used; wild ones won't work and will worsen the infection.

When the third batch of maggots was placed on the wound, the wound had already undergone significant changes.

The previously dark purple, putrid necrotic tissue has been almost completely removed, revealing bright red granulation tissue.

The deep sinuses also became clean and unobstructed, and there was no more pus seeping out.

"That's about it." After careful observation, Chen Ling said, "The necrotic tissue has been basically removed, and we can apply the medicine now."

He rinsed the wound again with cooled boiled water to wash away the maggots and remaining debris. The wound looked completely different from it had an hour earlier.

Although it is still the same size, the color has changed from a lifeless dark purple to a vibrant bright red, with neat edges and a clean base.

Chen Ling took out the small bamboo tube from his pocket, poured out the pale green powder, and sprinkled it evenly on the wound.

The powder quickly forms a protective film upon contact with fresh granulation tissue.

"This is a wound-healing powder that can promote wound healing and prevent infection."

He explained to everyone, "Next, it just needs to rest. The wound has been cleaned, and with its vitality, it should heal in about half a month."

Finally, he bandaged the wound with sterilized gauze and secured the injured pectoral fin with bamboo strips and hemp rope.

The whole process lasted nearly two hours.

By the time Chen Ling finished bandaging the fish, the sun was high in the sky, its warm rays shining on the reservoir and on the large fish that had endured so much hardship.

"All right."

Chen Ling patted the big fish's back, "Now I'll take you home."

With everyone's help, the big fish was carefully lifted back into the water.

The moment it entered the water, it swung its body happily. Although its movements were still a bit stiff, it was already able to swim on its own.

It didn't swim away immediately, but instead circled the calf once.

The snow-white behemoth accompanied it throughout the day, giving it immense comfort.

The little white calf lowered its head, touched the big fish's forehead with its nose, and gently mooed.

Then the big fish swam to Chen Ling's side, gently nuzzled his hand with its head, swam around the people who had helped it, and finally faced everyone, leaping high into the water!
This jump was higher and more beautiful than any before.

Its more than three-meter-long body leaped completely out of the water, drawing a beautiful silver arc in the sunlight, and water droplets fell from its body, forming a small rainbow in the air.

"It's giving thanks. Such a big fish is indeed spiritual, just like the Turtle King. Maybe it's one of the Turtle King's shrimp soldiers and crab generals," someone said softly.

The big fish fell into the water, splashing up a huge spray.

Then it leaped up again, a second time, and a third time.

Every jump was full of power, and every landing in the water was met with cheers.

After three times, it sank into the water and never reappeared.

But everyone knows that it is not far away, among its companions, beginning its journey of recovery.

The Chinese sturgeon and finless porpoises also disappeared, and the water returned to calm.

But the people on the shore were reluctant to leave.

They were still discussing the miracle that had just occurred.

Fish that understand human nature, cows that can save lives, and medical miracles created by tiny maggots.

"I've really seen something new today."

Old Zhang, the school foreman, lamented, "If I go back and tell those kids, they definitely won't believe me."

"It was filmed."

Li Lianjie waved the camera in his hand: "But Mr. Chen said not to disclose it to outsiders, but we can still take a look ourselves."

Chen Ling smiled and nodded: "You can look at it yourself. This is also a record. It will be valuable data for future research on animal behavior and maggot therapy."

He turned to the little white calf and wiped its wet fur with a dry cloth: "Thanks to you today, Little White."

The little white calf stood obediently, letting Chen Ling wipe it.

Its snow-white fur gradually dried in the sun, becoming fluffy and soft again, swaying gently in the breeze.

Zhao Dahai glanced at the sky: "It's almost noon. Let's go, it's my treat today. Let's go back to the village and have my parents stew a pot of fish and steam some buns. Let's have a good meal!"

"The sea is so vast! We're having Professor Zhao's family dinner today..."

The crowd cheered.

After a morning of intense rescue efforts, everyone was indeed hungry.

Chen Ling waved his hand and said, "You guys go back first. I'll stay a little longer and see if the fish are really settled."

Knowing his temperament, the people didn't force him and walked into the village chatting and laughing.

Li Lianjie wanted to stay, but his leg injury caused him pain from standing for too long, so he went back after being persuaded by his assistant.

Soon, only Chen Ling and the little white ox remained by the reservoir.

Oh, and there's also the bald guy circling in the air.

Chen Ling sat on a large rock on the shore, gazing at the calm water. The white calf lay beside him, its massive body like a warm wall.

"Xiaobai, you said they'll be alright, right?" Chen Ling asked softly.

The little white calf turned its head, looked at Chen Ling with its warm, big eyes, and then mooed softly, as if to say, "Yes."

"It's okay if it can't be cured the first time, there's always next time."

Chen Ling patted the little white calf's big head, stared at the surface of the reservoir, and thought of the deep pool in the depths of the reservoir.

I recalled that giant, strange fish from back then, which resembled a blue-green dragon.

"They didn't show up even though there was such a big commotion today, where did they go?"

"Could it really be related to this year's unusual climate change???" (End of Chapter)