Grassland Veterinarian [1960s]

“I hope to go to a place where veterinarians are more respected!” With a single sigh, Lin Xuejun finds herself transported to the vast grasslands of the 1960s, becoming a starving and freezing female educated youth. In this era, modern veterinary medicine is just beginning. A small outbreak of disease can easily kill hundreds of cattle and sheep, ruining a year’s hard work for the herders and wiping the smiles off the faces of the most hospitable people of the grasslands. As a graduate student studying animal husbandry and veterinary science, she becomes one of the most scarce and highly respected talents on the grasslands. … On the grasslands, Lin Xuejun— She rides fine horses, eats lamb, has snowball fights, confronts wolves, and rescues various wild animals from the grasslands and the Xing’an Mountains. She leads the members of the Seventh Production Team in making silage, building infrastructure, digging cellars, conducting livestock disease prevention and control. They strive to become the model team of the commune with the highest autumn harvest, the best livestock off-take rate, and the warmest homes and most abundant food for winter! Later, she writes about her frontier experiences and submits articles to newspapers, and a new-generation writer is born through labor. As the nation enters a time of spring and prosperity, the people finally understand the source of the milk and meat on their tables—the hardworking and beloved herders… Step by step, Lin Xuejun rises from a barefoot veterinarian to become the Republic’s Chief Veterinarian.