Page 6

After buying the lambs, Fu Meng came over from elsewhere to meet up with him and drove the tricycle over.

The stall owners helped herd the lambs onto the vehicle together, filling the entire tricycle.

Once they were seated, Fu Meng asked, "Anything else you need to buy? Want to pick up some concentrated feed while we're at it? The lambs are so small. Giving them an extra meal at night will make them easier to raise."

Shi Wen made a request. "Brother Fu, do you know any feed stores well?"

Fu Meng said, "I'll take you to Old Sun's place. His feed is good. You get what you pay for—he basically never passes off inferior goods as quality, and he doesn't cheat on the scales."

Shi Wen said, "Let's go take a look."

The feed store Fu Meng had mentioned was nearby. They rode along the main road for a while, turned a corner, and arrived.

Before long, Fu Meng drove the tricycle up to a somewhat worn-looking storefront and called inside, "Old Sun, I brought you a new customer."

A broad-shouldered, thick-waisted middle-aged man came out. "Fu Meng! You brat! It's been ages since we had a drink together. What are you buying today?"

Fu Meng said, "Not me. My friend Shi Wen wants to buy some concentrated feed. What kinds do you have now?"

Old Sun looked at Shi Wen, who nodded to show that he was indeed the one buying.

Old Sun said readily, "I've got everything. Depends what you want. Corn, barley, wheat, mixed grains, soybean dregs, bran, rapeseed cake... The rapeseed cake just came in recently—this year's fresh batch. Smells amazing. Two yuan thirty per kilo. If you're feeding lambs, I'd recommend this."

As he spoke, Old Sun led them into the shop.

Old Sun dragged out a large sack from behind the shelves, untied the nylon cord around its opening, and grabbed out some flakes of rapeseed cake. "It's all genuine rapeseed cake, sourced straight from the producer. Nothing else mixed in."

The moment the rapeseed cake was pulled out, a rich fragrance hit them. Shi Wen took a brief look and knew it was good stuff. "I'll take fifty kilos first."

Old Sun said, "Straightforward! Are you taking it back yourselves, or should I deliver it?"

Shi Wen asked, "You offer delivery too?"

Old Sun said, "Of course I do. Come on, add me on WeChat. Whatever feed you need, just message me on WeChat, and I'll bring it over."

Shi Wen added Old Sun on WeChat, then looked at Fu Meng.

Fu Meng said, "Deliver it for us this time. We've got a whole load of sheep, so there's no room."

Old Sun said, "Sure. I'll make the trip with you now and get familiar with the place."

As he spoke, Old Sun called his wife out to watch the store, briskly carried two sacks of rapeseed cake outside and tied them onto his motorcycle, then followed Shi Wen and Fu Meng.

When they arrived at Shi Wen's home, Old Sun unloaded the rapeseed cake beneath the eaves and helped herd the sheep into their pen.

Shi Wen had thoroughly cleaned the place over the past two days. The sheep pen was dry and spotless, without the faintest trace of an unpleasant smell.

The moment Old Sun entered the sheep pen, he said, "Oh, you're particular. In a couple of years, this area will have another skilled sheep farmer."

Fu Meng said, "You really know how to flatter people."

Old Sun burst out laughing. "I'm just telling the truth. You can tell a lot just from how this sheep pen was cleaned and disinfected. Then there's the sheep you picked—Shi Wen chose them, right? Old Fu, you don't have that kind of eye."

Fu Meng said, "And how would you know?"

"We've known each other all these years. You think I don't know what sort of sheep you like to pick? Shi Wen definitely chose these." Old Sun turned to Shi Wen. "You know what you're doing when it comes to choosing and settling sheep, and you're willing to put in the effort. The sheep you raise definitely won't turn out badly."

Shi Wen smiled. "I hope so too."

Chapter 3

After the lambs were brought home, they adapted well to the ranch. Shi Wen observed them for several days, and only after confirming there were no problems did he throw himself fully into the next task.

There was plenty to do on the ranch. After weighing the order of priority, Shi Wen decided to clear out the ditches first.

The ranch had been unused for many years, and the ditches were badly silted up, packed with weeds.

Anyone unfamiliar with the ranch would have no idea where the ditches ended and the pasture began. They might even wander straight into a ditch.

Summer was just around the corner. The grass needed water to thrive, the cattle and sheep needed clean drinking water, and rainwater needed to drain through the ditches. If he did not hurry and clear them out now, he would miss the ranch's growing season, and this year's pasture grass would probably grow rather poorly.

That day, after finishing breakfast early, Shi Wen put on waterproof pants, took a large hoe, and went to the edge of the ranch. He planned to start from the upper reaches of the ditch and dig out the silt at its bottom.

The wider sections of the ditch were over a meter across and sixty to seventy centimeters deep. It looked much like a small river. In truth, the ditch running through the ranch had originally been formed by widening a natural channel.

At the beginning of May, the water was still a little cold.

Holding onto the bank, Shi Wen carefully stepped into the ditch. With a squelch, he sank deep into the mud.

He could barely keep his footing in the ditch, let alone dig the silt out. It took even more effort.

Fortunately, he was not in too much of a rush. He could dig slowly and rest whenever he got tired.

Shi Wen dug away stroke by stroke. Occasionally, he spotted fish, which he caught with his hands and tossed into the large bucket he had placed on the bank.

Perhaps because the ditch had not been cleared for so many years, there were quite a lot of fish in it. He saw one every so often, and sometimes even caught a Swamp Eel.

It was said that these Swamp Eels had been brought over from Hunan Province back in the day. No one knew how they had adapted to the local climate, but they had grown exceptionally plump and sturdy—far larger and fleshier than the ones found inland.

Shi Wen caught several, all large Swamp Eels weighing over a jin each. The color along their backs had nearly turned brown.

The sun rose, baking Shi Wen's back until it burned. Every so often, he would straighten up and rub his lower back with his fist, while also checking on the lambs grazing not far away.

All his lambs had adapted to the ranch environment. Every day after the sun came up, he drove them out to graze.

The lambs seemed very satisfied with the fresh, tender grass. They ate from morning until night, their bellies swelling round, and barely needed Shi Wen to watch over them.

Once he had some free time in a few days, he would buy two sheepdogs. With sheepdogs keeping watch, he probably would not even need to check on them occasionally.