Chapter 106: Let Her Do It! Let Her Try!

In the courtyard, lit by flickering torches, the air rang with the powerful, unified shouts of the men:
“Heave—! Heave—! Heave—!”

They shouted again and again, not letting up.

Even Chu Yue was secretly clenching her fists and exerting force in unison.

Song Hongmei, still uneasy, leaned in to whisper beside her,
“Are you sure this will work?”

Although she had long worked in grassroots rural service, this was the first time she had ever witnessed a cow giving birth, and she truly had no idea what to expect.

Chu Yue replied firmly,
“Sister Song, trust me—it will work.”

This time, Chu Yue didn’t say she would “try.” She had already made up her mind—this must succeed.

Because, right before her eyes, the cow that had just been lying there weak and dying—when it heard those rhythmic chants—actually began to move.

Maybe it was true, that saying:
All things have spirits.

Even the cow seemed to sense that the people around it were trying to save her, and the calf inside her. So she summoned all the strength she had left and tried to kick her hind legs.

“Watch out, Sister Song!”

Chu Yue and Song Hongmei were standing right behind the cow, and a sudden kick could easily hit them. Chu Yue reacted swiftly, grabbing Song Hongmei and pulling her back just in time.

As Song Hongmei let out a long breath of relief, a sudden cheer erupted in the courtyard.

“It’s standing! It’s standing up! It’s standing up!”

With the cow’s own strength finally kicking in, plus the coordinated effort from the men, it suddenly became much easier.

Once the cow managed to stabilize itself and stand upright, Chu Yue stepped forward again.

This time, she didn’t rush to reach inside the cow’s birth canal. Instead, she moved to the front, gently stroking the cow’s neck and head. This kind of touch would help the cow recognize her scent and calm down.

As Chu Yue patted the cow’s head, she silently told it:
She would do her best—but the cow also had to hold on.

“Alright. Let’s begin.”

Chu Yue moved back to the cow’s rear again and once more reached her hand into the foul-smelling birth canal. The cow was huge, and in order to feel the calf inside, Chu Yue had to insert her entire arm.

Just like before, she first felt the calf’s head. Then her hand moved around the head in circles, as if searching for something.

The longer she searched, the more her brows furrowed.

Because the calf’s head had already blocked the entire birth canal, and yet—she couldn’t feel the front legs.

With animals, giving birth wasn’t the same as humans. Babies usually come out head first, then the rest of the body. But with calves, due to their size and limb structure, the head and front hooves have to come out together. Otherwise, the hooves could get crushed or twisted—possibly leaving the calf disabled or even dead at birth from fractures.

What Chu Yue was searching for were exactly those front hooves—but she found nothing.

Realizing this, Chu Yue braced her arm against the calf’s head and began to push it gently back in. The calf had already struggled halfway down the birth canal—but it was stuck.

The villagers still didn’t trust this young outsider, so every one of Chu Yue’s actions was being watched closely by dozens of skeptical eyes.

Suddenly, one sharp-eyed villager noticed what she was doing and shouted loudly:
“She’s pushing it back in! She’s pushing the calf back in!!”

“What are you doing?! Why are you pushing the calf back into the cow’s belly? Do you even know how to deliver a calf?”

“Is this girl messing around?! Who delivers like that? I think you just want to kill our village’s cow!”

“Don’t let her do it anymore! Make her leave! What can a little girl like her possibly understand? Go, go, go! Get out of the way—”

In their panic, someone even reached out and tried to push Chu Yue away from her position, wanting to forcefully remove her from assisting in the birth.

Lu Zhanlin was some distance away, still holding up the wooden frame, unable to leave his position or come to Chu Yue’s defense.

But Chu Yue didn’t need Lu Zhanlin to protect her. She stood her ground, unwavering. Ignoring the angry shouts from the villagers around her, she kept pushing the calf’s head back into the cow’s womb.

The pushing and shoving wasn’t even the most dangerous part.

The villagers had been holding the wooden frame to help the cow stay upright. But with emotions running high, and some people letting go to confront Chu Yue, the frame became unbalanced and started to shake.

The cow, already enduring the extreme pain of labor, now couldn’t stay steady. She let out panicked, heavy breaths and kicked her back legs again.

If she kicked slightly off-angle, her hoof could easily strike Chu Yue. And with the strength of a cow, one kick could rupture a person’s internal organs.

Earlier, Chu Yue had dodged once with Song Hongmei, narrowly escaping a kick. But this time, she didn’t move an inch. She wasn’t afraid—her full attention remained on assisting the birth.

This scene didn’t go unnoticed by Han Shi.

He silently asked himself: if he were in Chu Yue’s place, would he have been able to stand so still and firm?

It was like being on the battlefield. When enemy bullets whizzed by, could he stay motionless in position?

Han Shi didn’t have a clear answer. But in that moment, his view of Chu Yue changed. The suspicion and doubt were gone. Regardless of whether she truly had the skills to deliver a calf—just for her courage alone—he was willing to believe in her.

“Enough! Everyone, stop talking!” Han Shi shouted at the villagers. As the production team leader and the only literate person in the village, he held real authority. Even those older than him gave him respect.

He continued loudly, “I trust Comrade Chu, just like Sister Song does! Let her do it! No one is allowed to question her! No one is to disturb her! Let her handle it!”

At this point, if Chu Yue didn’t step up, was there anyone else who could?

No one wanted to take on that kind of risk.

After Han Shi’s declaration, the villagers finally quieted down. Even those still skeptical didn’t dare say anything else.

Finally, Chu Yue had some peace and quiet. She focused entirely on her hands.

Just moments before, she had been pushing the calf’s head back into the mother cow’s body. The birth canal, though relatively large, had now started to open up a gap.

She followed that gap, reaching deeper—what she was touching now wasn’t just the birth canal, but the uterus itself—continuing to search.

At this point, her entire body was practically pressed against the cow’s backside. The cow’s birth canal was wide open, emitting waves of foul-smelling discharge.

This was… really not something a human should have to do.

It stank. Bad.

Chu Yue endured the awful smell and kept moving her hand along, tracing the calf’s head downward—then the neck…

Next came the front legs…