Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

Chapter 1115 Made a Small Fortune

It was obvious that the old ox was so tormented by the bezoar in his body that he didn't want to live anymore.

But thinking about it, it's normal, because humans and animals are the same. Think about it, if a person gets gallstones, they can be driven crazy by the torment. So it's understandable that the cow was tormented to the point of not wanting to live anymore.

After a while, Wang Li asked Wang An, dumbfounded:
"Fourth Brother, does this old ox want you to kill it?"

Upon hearing this, Wang An nodded and then said with a hint of reluctance:
"Yeah, it doesn't not want to leave, it must be really uncomfortable."

But looking at the old ox that was willingly courting death, Wang An found it hard to bring himself to do it. He turned to Wang Li and said:
"Fifth brother, here's the knife. Give it a quick death."

Wang Li glanced at Wang An, then at the old ox, took the knife from Wang An's hand, and with a determined heart, plunged the knife into the ox's neck. Only when Wang Li gently turned the handle did the ox's blood spurt out.

That's right, it's spraying; the speed at which the cow's blood flows out is incredibly rapid, absolutely fast.

It was obvious that Wang Li's knife had pierced the cow's carotid artery.

What's even more incredible is that the old ox didn't struggle at all, nor did it even shake its head. It just stood there with its head tilted to the side, as if it was very eager to die.

There is a lot of blood on a cow, but cow blood has a very strong fishy smell and a dry, tough texture. It's so bad that there's absolutely no need to collect it.

As the cow's blood rapidly drained away, the old cow's head finally gave way, slowly drooping until it landed on the ground. After Wang Li pulled out the knife, the old cow's bloodshot eyes finally closed slowly.

However, before it closed its eyes, it took one last deep look at Wang Li, as if thanking him for giving it a quick death.

Looking at the old ox, which was now completely dead, Wang Li suddenly said thoughtfully:

"Fourth Brother, why do I feel like I've done a good deed?"

Wang An nodded upon hearing this and said:

"Yeah, I think you did a good thing too."

To be honest, the look of relief in the old ox's eyes before it died was truly touching, and the saying "all things have a spirit" is absolutely true.

But despite the emotional impact, the work still needs to be done, and the money needs to be earned.

So after a brief silence, Wang An took the initiative and cut open the old ox's belly.

When Wang An removed the ox's gallbladder from its stomach, he immediately understood why the old ox was so determined to die.

Because, including his past and present lives, Wang An had never seen a fresh gallbladder just taken out of an animal's stomach, which felt hard to the touch.

A normal gallbladder is composed of gallbladder skin and bile, just like a balloon filled with water, and it feels soft and sticky to the touch.

But this old ox's gallbladder contained almost no bile; it was all gallstones.

This shows how much pain this old ox must have suffered while it was alive, because it endured pain almost every minute of every day.

However, despite understanding the situation, the old ox's suffering actually benefited Wang An and Wang Li. Wang An looked at the hard, round ox gall in his hand and laughed heartily, saying:

"Fifth brother, we've made another small fortune, hahaha!"

Upon hearing Wang An's words, Wang Li was filled with excitement and eagerness, and couldn't wait to ask Wang An:
"Fourth Brother, how much are these bezoars worth?"

Wang An thought for a moment, then said somewhat uncertainly:
"Two thousand yuan is probably too much of a challenge, but one thousand eight or nine thousand yuan should be manageable."

The entire ox gallbladder was filled with gallstones, also known as bezoars. Even the inexperienced Wang An didn't know how heavy these bezoars would be after they were dried in the shade. However, based on the weight of dried pig gallbladder stones, the bezoars in this ox gallbladder must have weighed at least two ounces.

Two liang of bezoar, or 100 grams, would be worth a full 1800 yuan even if calculated according to the supply and marketing cooperative's purchase price of 18 yuan per gram. After deducting the cost of 300 yuan, Wang An and Wang Li would each receive 750 yuan.

In those days, 750 yuan would certainly be a fortune for others, but for Wang An and Wang Li, it was really just a small fortune.

Upon hearing this, Wang Li smiled broadly and said:

"Fourth Brother, this thing is way more fun than hunting bears, huh?"

Wang An nodded and said:

"Of course, it's more valuable than bear bile. Bezoar is so rare. Let me tell you, Lao Wu, in our entire DJ County, it's incredibly difficult to find another cow with bezoar right now."

Wang Li looked at the bezoar in Wang An's hand, then suddenly sighed and said:

"I don't know when we'll run into each other again."

Wang An took out a cloth bag from his pocket, carefully wrapped the ox gall, and then said to Wang Li:
"Alright, stop thinking about that useless stuff. Hurry up and skin the cowhide, then cut it into big pieces. We can deal with it when we get home."

As they talked, the two of them started skinning the old ox together.

Looking at the bright red beef, Wang An swallowed hard and said:

"Ever since our production team lost a cow a few years ago and we had beef once, it's been so many years since we've had any beef, hahaha. This time, our two families can finally eat beef, damn it."

In rural areas, although cattle are as common as mules, horses, and donkeys, getting beef is quite a difficult task.

Of course, the meat of mules, horses, and donkeys is also quite rare.

In rural areas, I've never heard of anyone slaughtering large working animals like cows, mules, horses, or donkeys just for the sake of eating meat.

No one would do this unless absolutely necessary.

Upon hearing this, Wang Li said pitifully:

"I was only 11 when our production team lost a cow, and I've long forgotten what beef tastes like."

Wang An smacked his lips and said:
"The beef smells so good, it's really delicious. But this cow is an old cow, and it's so skinny, there's not an ounce of fat on it. I don't think the meat will be very tasty."

The two chatted idly while working together to peel the cowhide.

To be fair, Wang An and his companion were quite fast at skinning the cow. After peeling off the entire hide, they quickly divided the whole cow into several large pieces and began loading it onto the truck.

The reason you don't need to spend time emptying the cow's intestines is because the cow's intestines are completely empty and very clean, with hardly any leftover feed.

This shows how long the cow has gone without food.

In the end, Wang An didn't even throw away the ox's head and hooves; he put them all on the sidecar.

After loading the truck, they covered the cow blood with soil and headed towards Kaoshantun without further delay.

(End of this chapter)