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Zhu Ji and the others are still on the ranch.
Upon Shi Wen about the snow leopard, Zhu Ji said, "It should be better if it's put up in the mountains; it probably won't come down for a while."
"I hope so too," Shi Wen a smile. "Thank you for coming all this way to be with me."
Zhu Ji was surprised. "You knew that?"
Shi Wen, "I'm not stupid."
Zhu Ji smiled and said, "Alright then. That's settled then. Just call us next time you need any help."
Shi Wen, "Okay."
While it was still early, Zhu Ji and Duan Kuo went back.
Shi Wen this, he went to clean the livestock shed and prepare it for the sheep quarantine.
The next morning, Shi Wen was still brushing his teeth, Zhou Hongzhong arrived in his pickup truck with the Wanderer sheep.
Shi Wen them running out to receive it.
There were six sheep in total, of varying sizes, but all of them were thin, so thin that you could see their ribs from their backs.
Not only were they thin, but the sheep's wool was also tangled and their bodies were black.
Shi Wen looked at Zhou Hongzhong.
Zhou Hongzhong raised his hand and said, "When they came, they were covered in insects and wounds, so the veterinarian shaved off their fur to make them easier to care for."
Shi Wen said, "So that's how it is."
Zhou Hongzhong: "Yes, they were quite uncooperative when we were shaving them, and they almost knocked over our vet. The vet treated them for internal and external parasites, gave them most of the necessary vaccinations, and they were quarantined for so long, so there shouldn't be any problems. Don't worry."
Shi Wen he heard this. He was about to nod when he suddenly exclaimed, "Eh!"
Zhou Hongzhong, fearing something might have gone wrong, immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
Shi Wen pointed to one of the rams and said, "This ram has the potential to be a breeding ram."
Zhou Hongzhong looked at the sheep he was pointing to.
This sheep has a small head, a large body, a slightly bulging belly, and a particularly wide rump, making it look rather ugly.
Zhou Hongzhong: "It has no potential to breed sheep; it's so ugly."
Shi Wen, "That's because it's too thin. You'll see the difference once it gains a little weight."
Seeing Zhou Hongzhong's questioning gaze, Shi Wen moved closer and pried open the sheep's mouth to show him. "Look at the sheep's teeth. It's only a little over a year old, in its prime. And its testicles are large and well-proportioned, quite rare. Besides, its limbs are well-proportioned, with a large skeleton. And it's energetic; even in its current state, it's very spirited..."
Zhou Hongzhong couldn't bear to listen any longer and waved his hand, saying, "Here, take it. Take good care of yourself. We don't know anything about this anyway."
Shi Wen, "Then I won't stand on ceremony. I've looked for so many breeding sheep before, it must be fate that I've met one this time."
Zhou Hongzhong: "No need to be polite, just sign your name."
Shi Wen signed the adoption agreement, he took Zhou Hongzhong and the others to see the marmot burrow that the snow leopard had paved.
Marmots are the primary host of plague and may carry many other diseases in addition to plague.
No one dared to touch the hole; they just took photos as evidence and left.
Shi Wen they recently acquired six sheep. Even though none of them have been castrated and can't be used for meat, one of them is a breeding sheep and the other two are ewes. Raising them to adulthood won't be a loss.
To determine the equivalence of the breeding sheep, he specifically collected blood and hair samples and sent them to an appraisal agency in N City, asking them to help assess the sheep's condition.
If there are no genetic defects and the sheep are of purebred local fat-tailed breed, he would consider breeding them as breeding stock.
The commercial appraisal agency was very fast; they sent the appraisal report in just three days.
The emaciated breeding sheep that Shi Wen's family Shi Wen adopted is indeed a purebred local fat-tailed sheep. Moreover, its lineage is very ancient, dating back to the fat-tailed sheep of thirty years ago before they were improved.
Its ancestors may have started as Wanderer.
For this reason, some of its genes are different from those of the currently popular local purebred fat-tailed sheep.
Shi Wen never expected this outcome; the local purebred fat-tailed sheep had actually been improved.
Shi Wen called Fu Meng and asked, "Brother Fu, are the fat-tailed sheep in our area any different from before?"
Fu Meng: "Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Shi Wen, "I took in a Wanderer fat-tailed sheep, and I think it has the qualities of a breeding sheep. I sent it for testing, and the report said its lineage is very ancient. Compared to other fat-tailed sheep of the same age, its frame is larger."
Fu Meng said, "If you put it that way, then the local fat-tailed sheep have indeed degenerated somewhat over the past few decades."
Shi Wen: "Really?"
Fu Meng: "When I was a child, we used to have fat-tailed sheep competitions every year. We would select the best fat-tailed sheep based on their weight, height, body length, chest circumference, tail length, and tail width. Over the past ten years or so, the weight of the fat-tailed sheep has been decreasing year by year, so people stopped competing."
Shi Wen: "You can do that?"
Fu Meng: "Yes. When I was young, about fifteen or sixteen years ago, in our year's fat-tailed sheep competition, the winning fat-tailed sheep weighed 367 jin. Five years ago, I remember in the last competition, the winning fat-tailed sheep only weighed 289 jin, which is 70 or 80 jin less."
The difference was so huge, Shi Wen didn't know what to say.
Fu Meng: "The main problem is that the quality of the local fat-tailed sheep population has declined significantly, so there's no point in comparing them. A few towns nearby are doing alright, but haven't you seen other towns introducing fat-tailed sheep from other regions?"
Shi Wen, "Then aren't the genes of the local fat-tailed sheep contaminated?"
Fu Meng didn't seem to care much. "That's true, but everyone has to make a living. There's really no other way to achieve higher economic benefits."
Fu Meng was very interested in the newly Shi Wen fat-tailed sheep and said he wanted to come and see them.
Before long, Zhang Deyuan and the others heard the news and said they wanted to come and see.
Shi Wen you all wanted to come, and luckily I had a lot of beef and lamb in the fridge. It's cold outside, so let's have hot pot and connect with each other.
Before long, a group of grown men rushed over excitedly and crowded into Shi Wen's sheepfold to see his newly acquired breeding sheep.