Chapter 45

He went outside yawning and discovered that Shi Wen's courtyard was piled with many felt blankets.

"What's this for? Renovating the house?" Zhu Ji watched Shi Wen leading people busily around and curiously leaned closer to take a look. "Reinforcing the roof?"

Shi Wen chuckled, his breath catching in his eyes, and said, "Renovating the livestock shed. The weather is colder than I expected, so we need to reinforce the shed and make sure it's kept warm."

Duan Kuo was already helping out in the crowd; judging from his little apron, he had clearly become familiar with Shi Wen's workers.

Zhu Ji rubbed his hands together, wanting to go and help as well.

Shi Wen him being called back to have breakfast.

Today's breakfast was made by Duan Kuo, and it was slightly better than his family's usual breakfast, but it still couldn't compare to when Yan Kexing at home.

Zhu Ji strolled into the room, where two tiger cubs stood ambush on either side of the door.

Hearing the wind, Zhu Ji grabbed the two Hu Zai by the scruff of their necks, lifted them up, and shook them, saying smugly, "Trying to scratch me?"

The two Hu Zai on his hands hooked their front paws and barked, "Woof?"

Zhu Ji looked down at the two furry creatures and muttered to himself, "Oh, you two have really learned to bark like dogs. Shi Wen keeping other animals; you wouldn't be keeping them together with your pets, would you?"

The Hu Zai, being lifted up, struggled and twisted, trying to kick him with its short legs.

He released them, and the two Hu Zai twisted their bodies, put their four paws on the ground, and tried to pounce on him again, but it was obvious that they retracted their paws, indicating that they knew what was going on and were just biting him for fun.

Zhu Ji picked up the two Hu Zai again. "Not bad, still wild at heart, let's try again."

Perhaps encouraged by Zhu Ji's words, while he was eating, the two Hu Zai kept trying to ambush him, and Cong Zai would sometimes rush up and suddenly swat him with its claws.

Zhu Ji had a very busy breakfast.

After breakfast, Zhu Ji went to help cover the area with a felt tarpaulin.

After covering the hives, Shi Wen rolled up the remaining felt cloth, intending to ride his motorcycle to build an insulation layer for the hives.

Zhu Ji asked, "Aren't your black bees immune to the cold?"

Shi Wen looked at him, somewhat speechless. "Of course I'm warm, I'm just not as cold as you might think. I still need to keep warm, otherwise I might freeze to death."

Upon hearing Zhu Ji remarked with admiration, "You take such good care of everything you raise."

Shi Wen, "That's because they've invested a huge amount of time, energy, and even money. If you're not careful, you'll lose out."

Zhu Ji smiled and said, "I mean you're very down-to-earth. You don't have that kind of feeling—well, having Abilities and then wanting to make a lot of money, do big business, and become someone superior to others.

Shi Wen was taken aback by his words and paused for a moment before saying, "Maybe it's because I woke up on the grasslands. If I were in the mainland, surrounded by all sorts of ideas, I might have become the kind of person you described."

Zhu Ji smiled and shook his head, "You wouldn't, you're just not that kind of person at heart."

As the two were talking, the dogs that had gone out to play returned.

They ran particularly happily today, their four paws seeming to be tap dancing.

Shi Wen knew something was wrong Shi Wen her.

He straightened up warily and looked at the dogs.

The dogs had something yellow and furry in their mouths; it looked quite large.

Could it be that it brought someone else's cat home?

Shi Wen frowned, looked for a while longer, and then realized that the animal being carried was not a cat, but a marmot.

Marmots are so easy to recognize!

Shi Wen was shocked that the dogs would bring back such an animal, and shouted at them, "Put it down!"

The dogs treat the ranch as their territory and drive away all sorts of wild animals.

Especially after this attack, the dogs, led by An Wa, are now very sensitive to the situation at the ranch, and will go out to check at the slightest disturbance.

Shi Wen has now discovered that An Wa's talent may not lie in conventional herding work; she is more suited to detecting abnormalities.

It's always the first to notice whenever something new appears on the ranch.

Upon hearing Shi Wen's shout, the dogs looked at him with a puzzled expression at first, then continued running at their own pace.

The dogs trotted a few more steps before stopping.

An Wa hesitated for a moment, then placed the marmot on the snow.

The other dogs were also placed on the snow.

Shi Wen went over to take a look, he discovered that the marmots they were carrying were all quite large, weighing at least twenty pounds each, and were plump, like little dogs.

I have no idea how the dogs managed to bring the marmot back.

Carrying something that heavy, your mouth must get sore!

He gently nudged the marmot with his foot.

The marmot lay motionless on the ground.

Shi Wen squatted down and gently touched the marmot's belly through his gloves.

The marmots under my hands were extremely cold, only three or four degrees Celsius at most, as cold as ice, and they didn't seem to be breathing.

His heart skipped a beat. Could these marmots be dead?

Marmots are hosts to many viruses, and if they have problems, ranches may also be threatened.

Just as Shi Wen Shi Wen lost in thought, Zhu Ji walked over, took a look, and said, "Hibernating."

Shi Wen: "Hmm?"

Zhu Ji laughed, "Your 'hmm' sounds so much like Yan Kexing's?"

Chapter 45

Shi Wen turned a deaf ear to Zhu Ji's flirtatious remarks and focused solely on inspecting the marmots.

These four marmots are indeed local marmots, and as Zhu Ji said, they are indeed hibernating.

That's why they slow their breathing, lower their body temperature, and remain motionless as if they were dead.

The dogs sat in a row to one side, panting enthusiastically with their tongues out.

Shi Wen checking them over, Shi Wen couldn't find anything wrong, so he said to the dogs, "Let's take them back."

The dogs, whether they understood or not, remained motionless.

Shi Wen went and got some pliers and a burlap sack, then put the marmot into the sack.

The marmot remained motionless throughout, staying in a deep sleep.