Chapter 4 (continued)

Shi Wen had no idea what had happened behind his back.

One day, Shi Wen was cleaning the sheep pen when the phone in his pocket rang.

He answered it. It was a courier.

The courier said, "I have a package for you, a VIP delivery. Should I leave it at the pickup point or bring it over?"

They lived in a remote area, so packages were usually left at the pickup point in town.

Shi Wen asked, "May I ask what it is? I haven't bought anything recently."

"Let me see." The courier held the phone between his ear and shoulder and checked for him. "The sender's information is masked, so I can't tell. But the packaging is quite nice. Maybe a friend sent it to you?"

Shi Wen said, "Then sorry to trouble you, but could you bring it over? Do you have the full address?"

"Yes. It's written out clearly, and I know where it is. If you're home, I'll bring it over in a little while."

Less than half an hour after the call, the courier delivered the package to Shi Wen.

Shi Wen held the package in his hands and examined it.

The packaging really was quite nice, and the package had some weight to it, but there was no way to tell who had sent it.

Shi Wen picked up the scissors from the windowsill and opened the package. Inside were a box of test strips and a device, with a letter placed on top of the device. He opened the letter and found that the package had come from the J Province Abnormal Affairs Bureau office.

It was actually a package from within the organization.

Shi Wen muttered to himself and skimmed through the letter.

The letter said that this was a testing device issued to people with Abilities. They could use it according to the instructions to check their current condition.

The device looked like a blood glucose meter, and it also tested blood. He wondered whether its design had drawn inspiration from one.

Shi Wen examined the device inside and out, then opened WeChat and checked the official group for the Abnormal Affairs Bureau office, which he had joined when he came here. After confirming that the bureau was indeed distributing the devices, he messaged an administrator privately to verify that it had sent the package. Only then did he wash his hands, take a blood sample from his fingertip according to the instructions, let a test strip absorb it, and insert the end with the test strip into the device.

Numbers soon appeared on the device's screen:

Divinity: 222

Abilities: 150

Shi Wen stared at the screen, unsure whether the readings were accurate.

At his previous physical examination, his Divinity had been 201 and his Abilities 137.

If the readings were accurate, then he had improved quite a lot in the short month since he had come here?

Did that mean that raising livestock here really could improve his overall abilities and promote his Qilin Bloodline?

After raising sheep here for a while, he had found that the Qilin Bloodline really was quite useful for animal husbandry.

His sheep had good appetites, were sturdy and never got sick. They also grew noticeably faster than ordinary sheep of the same breed.

The fact that they never got sick was particularly remarkable. For a livestock farmer, it was impossible for the animals they raised never to fall ill.

When raising a flock of sheep from young to maturity, there were bound to be some losses. It was impossible for the number sent to market to be exactly the same as the number brought back.

The fact that his sheep never got sick was a huge advantage over ordinary livestock farmers.

Shi Wen put the test strips and device away, planning to test himself again in half a month as recommended, to see whether there would be any changes by then.

He didn't know whether it was his imagination, but Shi Wen found that raising sheep had been going more and more smoothly lately.

His sheep were quite well-behaved. Every morning, when he opened the gate to their enclosure, they went out to graze on their own and returned in the evening.

Perhaps it was because the lead sheep was relatively clever.

His lead sheep was a young ewe with a snow-white coat.

He had bought her as an ordinary sheep, but now she seemed to have considerable potential as breeding stock.

Aside from the castrated young rams, the whole flock showed considerable potential as breeding stock. They were well-proportioned, put on meat quickly, and were large. Each one looked like a plump cloud, a very pleasing sight.

Since raising sheep was going smoothly, Shi Wen began considering whether to add other livestock.

However, after two trips to the market, he still hadn't found any dairy cows he liked, so he could only keep looking.

Before Shi Wen managed to buy any cows, he received news about sheepdogs.

Gong Jiang sent him a message: [Shi Wen, didn't you say you needed a sheepdog? I've looked at a few litters recently. The puppies are all at least a month old. See if any of them interest you.]

Gong Jiang: [Video] [Video] [Video]

Gong Jiang: [They're purebred local sheepdogs. The herders say having sheepdogs to help cuts down on their work quite a bit.]

Shi Wen was a little surprised. He had only mentioned it to Gong Jiang in passing while they were eating, and hadn't expected Gong Jiang to remember and even start looking for him.

Maybe it was because Shi Wen had saved Gong Jiang before, and Gong Jiang felt he owed him a favor?

Since Gong Jiang had already helped him look, Shi Wen decided to go take a look.

He asked for the exact locations.

Gong Jiang replied quickly: [They're in different villages, and they're a little hard to find. If you want to go, I can take you. I happen to have some time off coming up in the next couple of days, and I can apply to take it.]

Shi Wen thought for a moment: [Then sorry for the trouble.]

Shi Wen had helped Gong Jiang, and Gong Jiang had kept it in mind all this time, which was a burden too. He might as well let Gong Jiang repay the favor.

Sure enough, Gong Jiang was quite happy. He arranged a time with Shi Wen and said they could ride their motorcycles there together the next day.

There was a lot of pastureland in their area, and it couldn't bear heavy pressure. If they drove cars over it, grass might never grow again on the land the wheels had passed over.

So, except in places with major roads, people there usually traveled by horse or motorcycle. On major roads, they generally used light trucks and the like.

The next day, Gong Jiang rode his motorcycle to the ranch to see Shi Wen.

Shi Wen glanced behind him.

Gong Jiang had come alone. There was no one else.

Gong Jiang waved, a bright smile on his face. "Shall we go now?"

Shi Wen asked, "Have you had breakfast?"

"I have, I have. If you haven't eaten, I can wait for you."

"I've eaten too. I was worried you hadn't, so I wanted to ask if you wanted something to eat here." Shi Wen smiled, put on his helmet, and wheeled out his motorcycle. "Then let's get ready to go."