Chapter Summaries

Shi Wen received an official-looking email saying he could inherit his late grandfather’s ranch and made an appointment to investigate. His aunt said his grandfather had never owned a ranch, leaving Shi Wen uncertain about the claim as he prepared to visit the service center.

• Shi Wen stayed late at work while his coworkers left at quitting time.
• Shi Wen opened an email claiming his grandfather, Shi Jingbo, had owned a ranch that Shi Wen was eligible to inherit.
• Shi Wen followed the email’s instructions and booked an appointment through J Province’s official mini app.
• Shi Wen called his aunt, who said Shi Jingbo had only helped raise cattle and sheep and that the family had already settled his affairs.

Shi Wen discovered that he had faintly awakened the Qilin Bloodline and qualified to inherit his grandfather’s state-allocated ranch. After accepting the possibility of inheritance, he traveled to the ranch in J Province and entered it.

• Shi Wen learned at the service center that his relatives did not meet the bloodline requirements to inherit his grandfather’s ranch, but he might qualify.
• Shi Wen underwent an examination at B City Military Region General Hospital and learned that his Divinity and Abilities scores barely met the standards for awakening the Qilin Bloodline.
• Shi Wen returned to the service center, where the clerk confirmed he could inherit the three-thousand-mu ranch and warned that his bloodline could degenerate if he did not use his abilities.
• Shi Wen booked a flight to J Province, traveled to his grandfather’s ranch, and felt an unexpected familiarity as he entered the grounds.

Shi Wen inherited his grandfather Shi Jingbo’s ranch, met village chief Fu Meng, and decided to move there. After completing the inheritance procedures and relocating, he returned to the ranch and began settling into his new home.

• Shi Wen inspected the ranch and met Fu Meng, who explained the property and offered to help him get to town.
• Fu Meng drove Shi Wen into town, where Shi Wen bought a ticket to N City for his flight home.
• Shi Wen completed the inheritance procedures and learned that he had to maintain the ranch and pass bloodline inspections to keep it.
• Shi Wen resigned from his job, ended his lease, and moved his belongings to a town near the ranch.
• Half a month later, Shi Wen entered the ranch through the main gate, unlocked the house, and began cleaning and organizing it.
• Shi Wen found that the livestock sheds needed extensive repairs and rode his motorcycle into town.

Shi Wen disinfected the livestock shed and repaired the ranch before Fu Meng took him to the cattle and sheep market to buy lambs. They arrived at the market and stopped at an old shop for lamb rice noodles before heading farther inside.

• Shi Wen bought disinfectant and quicklime in town, then cleaned and disinfected the livestock shed and surrounding areas.
• The next morning, Shi Wen began repairing the shed and pipes, but Fu Meng called to invite him to the lamb market.
• Fu Meng picked Shi Wen up on his three-wheeled motorcycle and drove him to the cattle and sheep market.
• Shi Wen and Fu Meng ate lamb rice noodles at an old shop near the market.

Shi Wen and Fu Meng went to the lamb market, where Shi Wen used what he had learned from books and his instincts to select and bargain for sheep. By the end of the morning, he had bought thirty-seven lambs and made contacts with local young shepherds.

• Shi Wen examined a ewe and, with Fu Meng's help, bargained its price down from 600 to 420.
• Shi Wen marked the ewe as his first purchase and continued selecting sheep at other stalls.
• Several young shepherds approached Shi Wen, praised his skill, exchanged WeChat contacts with him, and invited him to join them sometime.
• Shi Wen spent the morning buying thirty-seven lambs: thirty-two ewes and five castrated rams.

Shi Wen bought rapeseed cake for his lambs and brought them home, where Old Sun praised his careful preparation and choice of sheep. After the lambs settled in, Shi Wen began clearing the ranch’s overgrown ditches and caught several fish and large Swamp Eels as he worked.

• Fu Meng took Shi Wen to Old Sun’s feed store, where Shi Wen bought fifty kilos of rapeseed cake and added Old Sun on WeChat.
• Old Sun delivered the feed to Shi Wen’s home and helped herd the lambs into their clean pen.
• Old Sun praised Shi Wen’s sheep pen and said Shi Wen had chosen the lambs well.
• After observing the lambs for several days and confirming they had adapted, Shi Wen began clearing the ranch’s silted ditches.
• Shi Wen dug mud from the ditch, caught several fish and large Swamp Eels, and checked on the lambs grazing nearby.
• Shi Wen decided to buy two sheepdogs when he had time so they could watch over the lambs.

While repairing a pasture fence, Shi Wen stopped a runaway horse and saved its rider, Gong Jiang. He met Gong Jiang’s teacher, Yan Kexing, who thanked him and introduced himself.

• Shi Wen caught an unusual fish while working near the pasture fence.
• Shi Wen saw Gong Jiang clinging to a runaway horse and stepped in to stop it.
• Shi Wen yanked the reins, caught Gong Jiang as he fell, and calmed the horse.
• Gong Jiang thanked Shi Wen, and Yan Kexing arrived to check on his student.
• Shi Wen pointed out a swollen spot on the horse’s ear as the likely cause, and Yan Kexing introduced himself.

Shi Wen invited Yan Kexing and Gong Jiang to his ranch, where Yan Kexing identified a protected Chinese Paddlefish and Schizothorax Fish among Shi Wen’s catch. They shared a hotpot lunch, and the chapter ended with all three praising the ranch’s exceptionally fresh fish.

• Shi Wen introduced himself to Yan Kexing, invited him and Gong Jiang to tea and lunch, and brought them into the ranch.
• Yan Kexing identified a Chinese Paddlefish in Shi Wen’s bucket as a protected Class I animal, and Shi Wen carefully returned it to the ditch.
• Yan Kexing identified another fish as a Schizothorax Fish, and Shi Wen invited him to stay and help keep an eye on the catch.
• Shi Wen struggled to clean the fish, so Yan Kexing took over while Shi Wen and Gong Jiang prepared vegetables for hotpot.
• The three ate the hotpot together and praised the fish for its tender, fresh flavor.

After sharing a meal with Shi Wen, Yan Kexing and Gong Jiang left the ranch, and Shi Wen learned more about Yan Kexing’s academic work. Yan Kexing later recommended Shi Wen for the next phase of a closed beta, and Zhu Ji agreed to move him onto the candidate list.

• Shi Wen shared lunch with Yan Kexing and Gong Jiang, then learned from Gong Jiang that Yan Kexing was a doctoral advisor.
• Yan Kexing and Gong Jiang departed the ranch, and Shi Wen looked up Yan Kexing’s research on S University’s website.
• Yan Kexing took a call from Zhu Ji and offered professional advice about the northern foothills of the Agouna Mountains.
• Yan Kexing recommended Shi Wen for the next closed-beta testing phase, describing his Ability as beginner-grade and mentioning his good luck and character.
• Zhu Ji confirmed that Shi Wen had a Qilin Bloodline and agreed to move him from the second batch onto the current candidate list.

After receiving an Anomaly Management Bureau testing device, Shi Wen discovered that his Divinity and Abilities had increased while he raised sheep. He arranged with Gong Jiang to look for sheepdogs together, and Gong Jiang arrived at the ranch alone to take him the next day.

• Zhu Ji reviewed Shi Wen's information and added him to the first batch of names for consideration.
• Shi Wen received and verified a testing device from the Anomaly Management Bureau Office of J Province, then measured his Divinity at 222 and Abilities at 150.
• Shi Wen considered adding other livestock but had not found suitable dairy cows, while his sheep continued to thrive and obey the flock's lead ewe.
• Gong Jiang contacted Shi Wen with videos of local sheepdog puppies and offered to take him to see them.
• Shi Wen accepted Gong Jiang's offer, and the next day Gong Jiang rode his motorcycle to the ranch alone.

Shi Wen visited several herder homes with Gong Jiang to find a purebred sheepdog, but the first two homes’ puppies did not feel right to him. At the third home, he chose a frail puppy on instinct and paid Nurguli eight hundred yuan, then agreed to keep looking at the remaining places.

• Gong Jiang led Shi Wen to a herder’s home, where Shi Wen examined five puppies but chose none.
• Shi Wen and Gong Jiang visited a second home, where Shi Wen again passed on the puppies.
• At the third home, Shi Wen felt an immediate connection with a frail puppy and decided it was the one he wanted.
• Nurguli warned Shi Wen that the puppy was weak, but he insisted he had chosen it because it suited him.
• Shi Wen paid Nurguli eight hundred yuan, carried the puppy in a bag against his leg, and agreed with Gong Jiang to continue looking.

Shi Wen trained his new puppy, Black Kid, while Gong Jiang and his colleagues visited the ranch to sample its fish. They found several rare species, including a Naked-bellied Sturgeon, as their survey continued.

• Shi Wen settled the puppy beside the livestock shed and named it Black Kid.
• Shi Wen trained Black Kid in the pasture, teaching it the front-left command and rewarding it with jerky.
• Gong Jiang arrived with Lin Chengqian and Ge Yue to investigate and sample the ranch's fish.
• Shi Wen led the team to two Chinese Paddlefish, which they photographed and sampled before releasing.
• Shi Wen guided the team farther along the ditch, where they found Arctic Grayling and a Naked-bellied Sturgeon.

Shi Wen and the researchers finished surveying the ranch’s ditches, then discussed raising geese and traveled to a farmhouse restaurant to find goslings. Ma Bingjun told them the goslings were difficult to get because recent batches were reserved through next year.

• Shi Wen and the others completed their fish sampling and rested at the ranch over lunch.
• Gong Jiang and Ge Yue suggested raising geese, and Shi Wen asked Gong Jiang for the address of a farm known for good geese.
• Ge Yue proposed that they eat goose together, and Shi Wen joined Gong Jiang, Ge Yue, and Lin Chengqian on a drive to a farmhouse restaurant.
• Gong Jiang introduced Shi Wen to the owner, Ma Bingjun, and explained that Shi Wen wanted to buy goslings.
• Ma Bingjun said recent batches of goslings had already been reserved through the following year.

Shi Wen bought thirty goslings from Ma Bingjun and brought them to his ranch, where he cared for them alongside his sheep and puppy. After taking the sheep out to graze, he considered planting vegetables in the fertile back courtyard.

• Shi Wen admitted he only knew Yan Kexing, but Ma Bingjun agreed to sell him thirty goslings at cost.
• Shi Wen chose thirty sturdy goslings, then tried local goose meat and looked forward to raising his own geese.
• Shi Wen brought the goslings to the ranch and kept them in the livestock shed while training the puppy not to pounce on them.
• Shi Wen checked the sheep, cleaned their water trough, and led them to a fresh grazing area with the puppy's help.
• Shi Wen inspected the fertile back courtyard and considered planting vegetables there.

Shi Wen prepared his backyard and welcomed Fu Meng and veterinarian Skewell, who came to vaccinate and tag the ranch’s sheep. With Black Kid helping herd the flock into the shed, Skewell began the vaccinations and ear-tagging.

• Shi Wen dug up shrubs and collected stones in the backyard until Black Kid’s warning barks sent him to the front yard.
• Fu Meng introduced Skewell, the veterinarian assigned to vaccinate village livestock and tag their ears.
• Shi Wen, Fu Meng, and Skewell herded the sheep toward the shed, with Black Kid skillfully driving the flock.
• Skewell explained the sheep vaccine and government-funded ear tags, then began injecting and tagging the sheep while Shi Wen and Fu Meng held them.

Shi Wen finished vaccinating and registering his sheep, then worked to clear his backyard for planting vegetables. He visited Fu Meng’s home to get seedlings and learned more about the village’s milk tea and dairy products.

• Shi Wen and Fu Meng helped Skewell vaccinate and tag all thirty-seven sheep, and Skewell warned Shi Wen to watch for injured ears and register the animals.
• Shi Wen asked Fu Meng where to buy vegetable seedlings, and Fu Meng offered to give him some from his own garden.
• Shi Wen spent the day clearing more than half a mu of backyard land.
• Shi Wen rode to Fu Meng’s home with chocolates and gummy candy, and Chang Qingqing offered to sort out extra seedlings for him.
• Fu Meng served Shi Wen homemade salty milk tea and explained that the village had plenty of milk from ewes that had given birth in spring.
• Shi Wen enjoyed the milk tea and said he might raise cattle so he could start milking them next year.

Shi Wen went with Fu Meng and other villagers to the Cattle and Sheep Bazaar, hoping to buy livestock despite his limited savings. After finding cattle he could afford unappealing, he noticed a promising young heifer whose owner was arguing with a man it had bitten.

• Fu Meng invited Shi Wen to join the village trip to the Cattle and Sheep Bazaar on the twenty-first and offered to help transport any cattle he bought.
• Chang Qingqing brought Shi Wen a basket of vegetable seedlings, which he planted in his backyard before counting his savings.
• Shi Wen left before dawn with Fu Meng, met up with other villagers on the road, and reached the crowded bazaar after more than two hours.
• Shi Wen searched the cattle section but found that the cattle within his budget did not appeal to him.
• A young heifer bit a man who had approached it, and Shi Wen moved closer as the man argued with its owner over the cow’s temper and eight-thousand price.

At the bazaar, Shi Wen bought a notoriously ill-tempered heifer and a scrawny dairy cow that had been written off as beef. He arranged transport home and planned to quarantine both animals before adding them to his livestock.

• Shi Wen examined the stubborn brown heifer and bought her for eight thousand after she proved docile around him.
• Shi Wen inspected an injured, over-four-year-old dairy cow and bargained its price down to nine thousand before buying it.
• Shi Wen and Fu Meng arranged for another traveler to help transport the two cows home.
• A traveler told Shi Wen that the old man had sold the heifer to raise a dowry for his youngest granddaughter.
• Shi Wen decided to quarantine the newly bought cows separately before introducing them to his other livestock.

Shi Wen settled two cows into the cowshed, named them Good Temper and Big One, and began cleaning the shed. Black Kid then barked at something beyond the pasture, and after detecting a faint smell of blood, Shi Wen called the police and stayed inside as instructed.

• Shi Wen led the bad-tempered cow and the scrawny cow into the cowshed, though the first cow initially refused to enter.
• Black Kid confronted the bad-tempered cow until Shi Wen picked him up and calmed him down.
• Shi Wen fed the cows rapeseed cake and grass, named them Good Temper and Big One, and began thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the shed.
• Black Kid barked toward the dark grassland, and Shi Wen detected a faint, mournful cry and the smell of blood.
• Shi Wen called the police, who told him to stay inside the pasture until they arrived.

Shi Wen joined the police at the scene of an injured Goitered Gazelle and helped calm it while Gong Jiang bandaged its wounds. After the animal was secured for transport, Yan Kexing returned Black Kid’s leash and spoke with Shi Wen.

• Shi Wen left the ranch with Black Kid after realizing the police had arrived at the scene of the blood he smelled.
• Shi Wen met Yan Kexing and recognized the injured animal as a male Goitered Gazelle.
• Shi Wen approached the gazelle and learned from Gong Jiang that it would be taken to a veterinarian for examination.
• When the gazelle struggled during bandaging, Shi Wen restrained and soothed it until it calmed down.
• The police and Gong Jiang secured the gazelle in a cage, and Gong Jiang photographed it.
• Yan Kexing handed Shi Wen Black Kid’s leash and asked the dog’s name.