Chapter 5

Before they parted, Nurguli had repeatedly reminded him that the puppy was a working dog, not a pet, and he must not bring him inside.

Shi Wen did not have much experience in this regard, so he decided to follow the former owner's advice.

The puppy's moist eyes were bright. He was relatively small and weak, but he was not timid. Living beside the livestock shed, he showed no fear when he heard the sheep bleating and sensed the flock stirring.

That evening, Shi Wen made the puppy rice mixed with fish soup and put several pieces of boiled mutton on top.

The puppy wolfed it down until his belly was round, then gave Shi Wen a puppyish bark.

Shi Wen smiled and stroked the puppy's head, then checked the livestock shed again. Once he was sure the sheepfold gate was shut, he closed the outer gate and went inside to sleep.

He had been working hard all day and needed to get to bed early.

Chapter 5

The weather had been good for the past few days.

Shi Wen had been clearing the ranch's ditches.

The three-thousand-mu ranch was simply too big. Without hiring help, he figured it would take him nearly a month to do it alone.

Every day, he tended the sheep and cleared the ranch. Now he also had a dog to train.

The newly bought puppy was indeed clever. In just two days, he had learned that Heiwa was his name.

Whenever Shi Wen called Heiwa, the puppy's four short legs would carry him over at a rapid patter.

Training him was a lot of fun.

That day was no different. Once the sun came out, the weather was warm and it was bright outside. Shi Wen came out with a bag of diced meat to train the dog.

The moment the puppy saw Shi Wen, he ran over and nuzzled against him, sniffing him eagerly and whining through his nose.

Shi Wen crouched down and rubbed the puppy's neck. Smiling, he said, "It's time for today's training. Do your best, Heiwa."

The puppy said, "Woof!"

Shi Wen took the puppy out to the pasture, and the two put some distance between them.

Shi Wen called, "Heiwa, forward left!"

The puppy, who had been standing in place waiting for instructions, immediately followed Shi Wen's hand gesture and ran in a circle toward the front left. He ran all the way to Shi Wen's feet, sat obediently, and looked up at him, barking, "Woof, woof!"

Shi Wen bent down and rubbed the puppy's head. "Good boy, Heiwa!"

After praising him, Shi Wen gave the puppy a piece of homemade jerky.

The puppy puffed out his little chest and barked even louder in his young voice. "Woof, woof!"

Shi Wen ran a few steps forward, then waved his hand and called again, "Heiwa, forward left!"

The puppy again ran in a circle toward the front left and came back to Shi Wen's feet, waiting for praise and jerky.

Man and dog repeated the same command and action.

Shi Wen was in no hurry. Training a dog required patience and care above all: repeated training and repeated correction.

He planned to spend the first month getting Heiwa familiar with the ranch and teaching him these basic commands, while letting him grow stronger.

Heiwa had been a little weak from birth and needed plenty of nourishment.

In his current state, if Shi Wen made him herd sheep, it would almost feel like he was using child labor.

While Shi Wen was training the dog, the sound of a vehicle came from outside the ranch.

Man and dog heard it almost at the same time. Heiwa reacted first, barking loudly toward the entrance, both to warn the newcomer off and to alert Shi Wen.

Shi Wen rubbed Heiwa's head and gave him a light pat on the neck, telling him to go play nearby. Then he went to the ranch entrance to greet the vehicle.

It was Gong Jiang and his team.

The day before, Gong Jiang had contacted Shi Wen and said he wanted to come to his ranch to take samples and study the fish in the stream.

The ranch gate was open. Gong Jiang and the others parked at the entrance, shouldered their packs, picked up their equipment, and walked in.

Shi Wen went out to meet them. The puppy, who had been playing nearby, pattered along beside him on his four short legs. When they approached Gong Jiang and the others, he began barking in his young voice.

"Don't bark." Shi Wen bent down and held the puppy by the scruff, stopping him from barking. "Guests."

The puppy received the instruction and looked at Shi Wen, then at Gong Jiang and the others, somewhat puzzled. He soon caught on and stopped barking.

Gong Jiang said, "You've already started training him?"

Shi Wen smiled. "Yes. Training should start early. I'm afraid it'll be harder to straighten him out once he's grown."

Gong Jiang introduced his junior schoolmates to Shi Wen.

His junior was Lin Chengqian, and his junior sister was Ge Yue. Both were dressed for the outdoors.

After everyone exchanged greetings, Gong Jiang said, "Sorry for the trouble."

Shi Wen said, "It's no trouble at all. Come on, I'll take you there."

He had been clearing the ditches these past few days and knew exactly what fish were in each stretch.

Shi Wen said, "Shall we look for flat-snouted fish first? They usually move around in the stretch of ditch a little farther up to the east."

Gong Jiang said, "Let's go take a look."

They carried their equipment to the ditch a little farther up to the east and searched along it. Sure enough, they soon found two flat-snouted fish.

Gong Jiang and the others took photos and collected samples from the fish, then released them.

Shi Wen assisted them from the side.

Once they had put the sample tubes away, Shi Wen asked, "Shall we keep sampling along this ditch? You can find Arctic grayling and naked-bellied sturgeon a little farther downstream, though I've only seen a naked-bellied sturgeon once. I don't know whether we'll see one today."

Gong Jiang said, "Let's give it a try."

They also saw some ordinary little fish while taking samples, and everyone diligently photographed and sampled them.

Whether they were lucky or the fish stayed in this particular stretch of ditch, they did indeed find the fish they were looking for.

Lin Chengqian remarked, "Mr. Shi, you really know these fish well. They're right where you say they'll be."

Shi Wen smiled. "It was luck, too. Shall we keep looking?"

Gong Jiang said, "Yes, yes."

The four worked all morning and finished most of the sampling.

Gong Jiang wanted to keep going and finish it all in one push, but Shi Wen suggested, "Why don't we have lunch first? We can have something simple here at the ranch. It'll be quick, and we can take a break while we're at it."

Gong Jiang said, "That would be too much trouble for you."

Shi Wen said, "What trouble? It's just a simple meal. Come on, let's eat."