Chapter 97 Elroy the bad driver
After bragging so much about his expertise in driving, Elroy almost crashed the car into a corn field and she had to intervene and become a driving instructor.
"I will get better at this sister, one more lesson and I will be the best driver on the planet." he assured her.
She looked at him as if she was spouting nothing but nonsense and asked him to park the car under her guidance. Never again would she take this braggart brother of hers at his word without evidence. It was her mistake in assuming that just because Esong drove her car effortlessly then all of them could do something similar. In fact, most of their cars probably had self driving technology and AI that did all the driving.
"Sure." she replied sarcastically.
"Why do I have the feeling that you are not believing me sister?" he asked her.
'Because I don't.' she thought.?"What are you talking about? I believe you completely." she told him. "We should hurry up, there are less than two hours until the new citizens arrive."
She did not even wait for him because she wanted to avoid anymore conversation about driving with him. Rushing into the barn she even forgot to change out of her shoes into gumboots.
"Governor," the head of the live stock department saw her and he came running with a smile on his face. "We have been expecting you, it's the first day we use the milking devices after all."
"How is it going?" she asked him.
"The process has been quite smooth so far, it's much more efficient than milking with hands and we have not had any major problems as we expected . There has only been one incident with a worker that applied maximum pressure accidentally and the cow kicked him away. He was rushed to a med bed of course and the cow has not been touched since then."
"I thought I said the maximum pressure that could be applied is medium, what was he thinking?" she asked sternly. "Mistake or not, do you know the kind of pain that the poor cow endured?"
The department head knew that this little accident had made her unhappy. "What should I do governor?"
"Transfer that employee to another department, something menial. If the mistake is repeated you will be the one to be transferred because the devices were already already set to medium pressure when they were delivered. I am aware of this because my sister runs the manufacturing department. Some of the workers here may be tempted to see what happens if they apply maximum pressure to the udders of a cow deliberately. I will not stand for sadists working in close contact with live animals."
The department head was feeling uneasy and his stomach was churning. There was another employee that he had overheard saying to a friend that work would go faster if they applied maximum pressure. He marked that individual as another one who needed to go before causing trouble. The two of them in fact, he would transfer them out the moment the governor left.
"Take me to the injured cow." she told him.
"Yes governor." the department head nodded his head eagerly. As they walked he pointed out the devices and how they were being used. He also made sure to mention that the animas were feeding as they were being milked. He also told her about all the hygiene and safety measurements that had been put in place.?"Three more cows are pregnant governor, I have personally confirmed this fact. We will be able to welcome calves when the cold season ends I think."
There was still so much to learn like the gestation period of a cow, the birthing process, how long it took for a calf to become an adult.
He was smiling so much that he looked like a proud father to be. He wondered where the pride was coming from. Was it pride for contributing to the blue star through hard work or because of the misguided belief that the cows got pregnant because of his extra care.
"Here it is governor." he opened a stall where one cow was laying down on the ground with it's stomach facing outward. The closer got, the clearer she could see the red color and the swelling of the udders.
"Tsk, tsk, look at the damage that has been done?" she said angrily.
"I am so sorry governor it will never happen again." the department head apologized again. The damage had not been this bad when he last saw the cow a few minutes ago. How had it worsened? Did someone else come by and make it worse? "What should we do?"
"I will treat it." she said in an obvious voice. As she approached the cow , it mooed pitifully and she felt sorry for it. "Don't worry, the pain will be gone in no time." she said to it, spreading her spiritual power as she approached to make it calm down.?Then she took some of the water which had been mixed with purifying water and poured it on the udders, massaging them gently.
The department head was taking notes on his small terminal. "Do you need gloves governor?"?One of the things she emphasized when it came to the cows was hygiene. No one could touch the udders with unclean hands because they could spread unknown viruses to the animals. Even she did not know this to be true but that's what they learned in school.?It was also in the book about animal husbandry which she had made a copy of and given to the department head to study. More copies would be given to the children when school started.?The next generation would not fumble around as much as they had done.
"I washed my hands already." she answered him.?After putting it to sleep she went outside to look at the large pasture fields which had been planted and watered with crystal water. The grass was growing but it was still short. "I am going to send newer grass fertilizers and mineral water to be used in watering the fields. Increase the size of the fields continuously."?she told him.
These were about ten football fields but they were far from enough.
"And find a way to enclose them before the cold season begins, I think the concept of a green house can be applied in this case. Talk to Mr. Bell, he should know about green houses."
"Yes governor." the department head made more notes.
"Sister, they have arrived." Elroy said and he pointed up at the sky.
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