Tu Shao, efficient as ever, delivered Jian Mo’s message to Dan Guan the very next day. Upon hearing it, Dan Guan immediately set out to visit Jian Mo.
Dan Guan, who had been struggling with bald patches for a long time, arrived in a rush, hope shining in his eyes. “Doctor Jian Mo, do you think my bald spots can be cured?”
Jian Mo replied quickly, “I’m not sure. I’ve just come up with a new idea, and I want you to give it a try.”
Hearing it wasn’t a guaranteed cure, Dan Guan’s excitement dimmed.
Jian Mo sighed. Baldness was a universal challenge. Even renowned doctors struggled with it, let alone a humble veterinarian like him. Solving it might require genetic approaches.
He comforted Dan Guan, “It’s worth a shot, isn’t it? Who knows, it might work?”
Dan Guan nodded. “Alright. What do I need to do?”
Jian Mo pulled out some ginger to show him. “You know Tu Shao, so you’ve probably seen this ginger before?”
Dan Guan nodded again.
“I want you to rub slices of ginger on your bald spots and see if it stimulates the hair follicles to grow more fur.”
Dan Guan perked up. “Got it.”
Jian Mo added, “Try it for a month and observe the results. If you develop a rash, blisters, or feel discomfort, stop immediately. Otherwise, keep at it. I’ll record the results, and we’ll see how your bald spots look next month.”
“No problem!” Dan Guan agreed enthusiastically.
Jian Mo examined three bald patches on Dan Guan’s body, counting the current number of hairs in each and meticulously recording the data. By recounting the hairs next month, they could determine if the ginger in this world was effective.
Dan Guan thought the approach was sound and promised to apply the ginger diligently.
Since Dan Guan had come all this way, Jian Mo also asked someone to send a message to Bei Ya, who had returned to the Meng An Tribe, asking him to come for a follow-up.
With many people traveling between the Meng Shui Tribe and the He’an Tribe recently, passing along messages wasn’t difficult.
Bei Ya, who was particularly concerned about his appearance, promptly arrived with his prospective partner, Yan Ze. The two had long been interested in each other.
After Bei Ya’s facial wounds began healing and he overcame the psychological weight of his disfigurement, he accepted Yan Ze’s courtship, and the two became an official couple.
Jian Mo hadn’t seen Bei Ya for some time and felt a sense of warmth upon seeing him again.
Bei Ya’s face was still covered with tension-reducing patches, and the wounds had closed into fine white lines. Though the lines were numerous, they looked much better than the scars that had once covered his face.
“You’re in good shape,” Jian Mo said warmly.
Bei Ya, a bit embarrassed, replied, “It’s all thanks to you.”
Jian Mo asked, “How often are you changing the patches now? Are you still applying Red Rock Grass to your face?”
Bei Ya nodded. “Yes, I’m still using it. I want the recovery to be as good as possible. I change the patches every five days after soaking them to soften them. This frequency keeps me from getting rashes.”
Since the Meng An Tribe was quite far from the He’an Tribe, traveling for follow-ups was inconvenient. Jian Mo gave Bei Ya some fish bladder glue so he could make his own patches.
With his skilled and meticulous hands, Bei Ya had crafted excellent patches and cared for his face well.
After a thorough examination, Jian Mo nodded with satisfaction. “Your recovery is progressing well. Come back for a follow-up next month.”
At this stage, there wasn’t much more Jian Mo could do for Bei Ya.
Bei Ya smiled broadly, revealing his neat white teeth. “Thank you, Doctor Jian Mo.”
“You’re welcome. Make sure to continue protecting yourself from the sun after you return.”
After seeing Bei Ya off, Jian Mo felt a sense of relief and turned his attention to processing ginger.
He discovered that ginger here didn’t store well. Perhaps it was the same with ginger on Earth, but the short shelf life of this ginger caught him off guard.
Hastily, he emptied the two baskets of ginger at home, separating the good pieces to store back in the baskets. Any spoiled ginger was trimmed with a knife, peeled, and divided—some to be dried outside, and some sliced to be salted and spiced for pickling.
While making pickled ginger, Jian Mo considered soaking it in brine. However, without onions, garlic, or chili peppers on hand, plain pickling seemed too bland, so he decided to go with a full pickle preparation.
When Qing Kuo and the others returned from gathering, they found Jian Mo busy processing ginger at home and joined in to help.
In return, Jian Mo invited them for dinner. With some pre-pickled ginger already prepared, he included it in the evening meal.
“This pickled ginger is surprisingly tasty!” Qing Kuo exclaimed. “Spicy, crunchy, and so good with just a little oil. It’s great with rice!”
Jian Mo agreed, “Strong flavors like this are delicious. Even Ying Ao likes it.”
“Ying Ao liking something is a rare occurrence,” Ye Luo remarked.
Jian Mo nodded in agreement. “Exactly. But pickled ginger is too salty for him to eat much of it. I’m worried it might make him lose feathers. I’ll make them a little treat later.”
“What kind of treat?” Qing Kuo asked.
Jian Mo smiled mysteriously. “Ginger milk pudding.”
None of them had heard of such a dish before, but since it involved milk, it was bound to taste good.
Encouraged by Jian Mo’s suggestion, everyone decided to stay and try it.
Jian Mo was happy to oblige. After dinner, he led them to milk the Tou Tou Beasts.
Their Tou Tou Beasts still produced a good amount of milk, yielding two large buckets in the evening alone.
Nothing went to waste. Their beast milk was used for making cream, butter, cheese, and yogurt, and both people and the winged beasts drank it. Producing four large buckets daily was just enough for their needs.
Jian Mo poured the milk into a pot, enlisting everyone to help stir while it heated to prevent burning or boiling over.
Meanwhile, he mashed some peeled ginger into a paste, extracting its juice to prepare the pudding.
Ginger milk pudding could be made with or without sugar. Jian Mo preferred it sweet, so he set aside some milk for the humans, adding honey powder until it dissolved. He then poured the still-warm milk into bowls containing the ginger juice.
In no time, the milk in the bowls coagulated into smooth, tender pudding.
Qing Kuo watched curiously. “How does this work?”
Jian Mo shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s just a traditional dish from my homeland.”
“But your homeland’s ginger and milk must be different from ours. What if it doesn’t work?” Qing Kuo asked.
“If it doesn’t work, we’ll just drink ginger milk tea. I added sugar, so it’ll taste good regardless,” Jian Mo replied casually.
With that, Jian Mo prepared two large servings of pudding for Ying Ao and Chirpy. Their pudding also contained sugar, though in smaller amounts due to the limited supply, which couldn’t support the winged beasts indulging freely.
Everyone tried the ginger milk pudding and found it delicious.
Qing Kuo sighed, “I always think raising Tou Tou Beasts is too much trouble, but seeing all the milk-based foods your family makes, it feels like it might be worth the hassle.”
Jian Mo encouraged him, “You should give it a try.”
After some thought, Qing Kuo shook his head. “No, it’s not worth doing all that extra work just to satisfy a craving.”
Jian Mo offered, “In that case, when you need milk, just bring supplies to trade with us.”
“That works!” Qing Kuo brightened. “How about tomorrow? Trade me a bucket. Ginger milk pudding is really good; I’ll make some at home and let Ban Jiu and the others try it.”
Min Dang carefully set down his spoon. “I’d like to trade for a bucket the day after tomorrow.”
Seeing their interest, Jian Mo retrieved some paper and a pen from under the table. “I’ll make a note. Anyone else?”
“Me!” Ye Luo chimed in.
As Jian Mo wrote down their requests, the conversation shifted to planting ginger.
“I wonder if ginger can be cultivated here,” Qing Kuo mused. “Always trading with other tribes is a hassle. It’d be better if we grew some ourselves.”
Jian Mo agreed. “We should definitely plant some. The question is, will it grow in this season? Our climate is on the cooler side. I’m not sure what the results will be.”
Qing Kuo shrugged. “Who cares? Let’s plant it and see what happens.”
Ye Luo added, “If ginger grows wild, it probably thrives year-round. There’s no way it would suddenly die in one season, right?”
Jian Mo chuckled. “You’ve got a point.”
While they were chatting, a panicked voice rang out from outside. “Doctor Jian Mo—help! Please, help!”
Although there had been many visitors seeking medical attention recently, it was rare for someone to cry out for help.
They immediately put everything down and went outside to check.
In the yard stood a massive mammoth carrying two people—both from the Zheng Chi Tribe. One of them was drenched in cold sweat, supported by the other.
Jian Mo rushed forward. “What happened?”
The mammoth knelt down, and one of the riders, clearly the sub-beastman, said, “Doctor Jian Mo, my mate, Tu Chuan, isn’t feeling well. Please take a look at him.”
The sweating individual, buried in his mate’s arms, caught Jian Mo’s attention. Mistaking him for a sub-beastman, Jian Mo asked, “What’s wrong? Are you a sub-beastman?”
Groaning, Tu Chuan corrected him, “Beastman.”
His mate, still holding him protectively, quickly added, “I’m the sub-beastman. My name is Ran Shao.”
Saying this, Ran Shao effortlessly lifted Tu Chuan in a princess carry, sliding him down from the mammoth’s back and hurrying over to Jian Mo.
Qing Kuo and the others looked on curiously but remained silent.
Ran Shao, panting lightly, pleaded, “Doctor Jian Mo, can you examine him in private?”
Realizing the matter involved personal privacy, Jian Mo immediately agreed. “Of course. Let’s head to the clinic.”
The mammoth shifted back into beastman form, covering himself with a hide skirt.
Qing Kuo offered, “Come with us. I’ll find you a place to stay. Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“No, not yet,” the beastman replied with a hearty laugh.
Qing Kuo grinned. “Then come eat at my place.”
Seeing everything on this side was settled, Jian Mo said, “Thanks for handling this. Wu Jiong and I will take the patient to the clinic.”
Leading the way, Jian Mo noticed Ran Shao, tall and lean, striding quickly while carrying his mate. Sweat beaded on Ran Shao’s forehead.
“Do you need Wu Jiong’s help?” Jian Mo asked.
Before Ran Shao could answer, Tu Chuan mumbled from his arms, “No.”
Ran Shao affirmed, “I can manage.”
Jian Mo dropped the subject.
Once at the small clinic, they closed the door, and Tu Chuan, red-faced with embarrassment, finally admitted the issue. “It’s… my, uh… it feels like one of my testicles is twisted.”
Jian Mo: “!!!”
Suppressing his surprise, Jian Mo donned a mask and gloves. “Let me take a look.”
Wu Jiong, also masked and gloved, silently assisted.
Both Tu Chuan and Ran Shao were visibly tense and mortified. Tu Chuan buried his face in Ran Shao’s chest, answering questions only when directly asked, and otherwise stayed stubbornly silent.
Jian Mo, who had previously performed testicular torsion surgery on dogs, found this case relatively straightforward. After examining Tu Chuan, he explained, “We’ll need to perform a small surgery to untwist it.”
“Will it be removed?” Tu Chuan asked in alarm.
“No, no,” Jian Mo reassured him. “It’s a minor operation.”
Ideally, the procedure would use local anesthesia, but without the necessary medication, Jian Mo had to administer an anesthetic that would put Tu Chuan to sleep entirely.
With Tu Chuan under anesthesia, Jian Mo and Wu Jiong performed the surgery.
Outside, Ran Shao anxiously paced back and forth after signing the consent form with a paw print, clearly worried.
After several tens of minutes, Jian Mo and Wu Jiong emerged from the clinic. Jian Mo addressed Ran Shao, “The surgery was a success. Just ensure he rests for a while. Avoid… marital activities for the time being.”
Ran Shao let out a deep breath of relief. “I’m pregnant, so with my belly growing soon, it wouldn’t be possible anyway.”
Jian Mo blinked. “You’re pregnant?”
Ran Shao nodded. “Yes. After thirteen years as mates, it’s our first pregnancy. It wasn’t easy.”
Jian Mo frowned. “You’re pregnant, and you carried your mate?”
“It’s fine. I’m strong enough,” Ran Shao replied confidently. “I can handle it.”
Jian Mo gave him a disapproving look. “This isn’t about strength! Come with me—I need to examine you.”
“Huh?” Ran Shao hesitated.
“Riding on a beastman while pregnant, bouncing along the way, and then exerting yourself carrying your mate—it’s dangerous! Follow me!” Jian Mo ordered sternly.
