Chapter 9
Yan Kexing said, "Everything's been taken care of. You should head back."
Shi Wen asked, "What about you?"
Yan Kexing said, "We're getting in the car and heading back too."
Shi Wen nudged the mint with the tip of his tongue. "I'll head back first, then. Good night."
Yan Kexing said, "Good night."
Shi Wen walked on with the mint in his mouth and Heiwa on the lead. After going quite a distance, he looked back and saw Yan Kexing standing where he had left him. Yan Kexing met his gaze and waved.
He waved back, then turned around and led Heiwa toward the ranch, crunching the mint between his teeth.
He couldn't smell any blood anymore, only the cool, bitter taste of the mint.
It really did work quite well.
Chapter 9
That night, after closing the ranch gate and washing up, Shi Wen sat in a chair in his room, took out his phone, and opened WeChat.
Quite a few people had messaged him on WeChat. He sent a few brief replies, then scrolled down the list to look for Yan Kexing.
Both Yan Kexing and Gong Jiang were on his list.
The difference was that Gong Jiang's name was nearer the top. Shi Wen had only exchanged a few messages with Yan Kexing on the day they added each other, and they hadn't talked since.
Shi Wen scrolled up and down the list, tapping Yan Kexing's profile picture several times, but in the end, he didn't dare bother him.
Finally, he opened his chat with Gong Jiang and asked how the goitered gazelle was doing.
Gong Jiang replied instantly:
[Still awake?]
[The goitered gazelle's condition has stabilized. The vet says it should be ready for release after another half month of treatment.]
[I'll let you know when it's released.]
Shi Wen breathed a sigh of relief. [That's great.]
After replying, he thought for a moment and sent a sticker to end the conversation.
He scrolled through the list a little more, then tossed his phone onto the table, bored. He pulled out a pen and wrote up the day's animal care records.
The two cows had been in quarantine for six days now. In another two days, he could finally let them out into the ranch to graze freely instead of keeping them penned up.
The sheep had grown a little and were due for deworming.
Heiwa was also due for a vaccination-
Shi Wen had barely written a few words when his phone buzzed to life, vibrating lightly on the table.
He picked it up and opened WeChat. It was another message from Gong Jiang.
Gong Jiang:
[Peeking.JPG]
[Shi Wen, my advisor is inviting you to pick Bachu mushrooms in Li County. Want to come?]
[If you do, we'll pick you up on the way tomorrow.]
[It's a two-and-a-half-hour drive. We'll be back in the evening, so we won't be staying overnight.]
[Picking Bachu mushrooms is pretty fun. You'll probably like it.]
Shi Wen held his phone. [Sure!]
[Thanks for taking me along!]
[What time tomorrow? I'll get ready.]
Gong Jiang: [My advisor says we'll be at your place at eight.]
Shi Wen: [No problem, I'll have enough time to get ready. I'll wait for you tomorrow morning.]
Gong Jiang: [See you tomorrow.JPG]
Since he was going out, Shi Wen got up at five the next morning.
He cleaned the livestock shed, replenished the feed and water, let the sheep and geese out, then fed the puppy and let him out too.
After finishing his chores, he showered, changed into a casual long-sleeved shirt and trousers, and prepared some snacks he might eat at noon. Then he waited for Yan Kexing and the others to arrive.
At 7:58 a.m., their car pulled up at the ranch gate right on time.
Shi Wen was amazed. "You said eight, and it really is eight?"
Gong Jiang looked at him waiting at the ranch gate with a bag on his back. "Weren't you waiting at the gate right on time too?"
The two exchanged a few words, and Shi Wen got into the car.
It was a seven-seater. Lin Chengqian sat in the front passenger seat, Yan Kexing in the middle row, and Ge Yue in the back.
Shi Wen greeted them one by one. Not wanting to crowd in beside a girl, he took the empty seat next to Yan Kexing.
Yan Kexing was reading a document, metal-framed glasses perched on his high nose. He looked exceptionally handsome.
Shi Wen quietly took a deep breath, trying to steady his heartbeat.
Perhaps Shi Wen was sitting too stiffly.
Ge Yue held out a bag from the back seat and said with a smile, "Shi Wen, try some local sunflower seeds. They're boiled without salt, so they won't cause internal heat."
Shi Wen quickly accepted it. "Thank you."
Ge Yue waved a hand. "No need to be polite. These sunflower seeds are pretty tasty."
Shi Wen nodded, politely took a handful, and handed the bag back.
Ge Yue said, "Keep it and eat them. When someone gave me sunflower seeds yesterday, I specifically asked for an extra bag for you. How's your ranch been lately?"
Shi Wen said, "Not bad."
Shi Wen turned sideways and lowered his voice a little as he told Ge Yue about the ranch.
Before long, Lin Chengqian joined the conversation from the front seat, and Gong Jiang chimed in from time to time as well.
The atmosphere in the car soon grew lively.
Amid all the chatter, Yan Kexing continued reading his document.
Shi Wen stole a glance at him. As the car traveled through the wilderness, he seemed to glow in the shifting light and shadows.
The car sped along the road.
Shi Wen didn't know when he had fallen asleep. By the time he woke up, the car had stopped in a poplar grove.
It was spring, and pale green leaves had sprouted on the poplars.
They stood by the roadside and looked out at the fresh green all around them. Wisps of milky-white mist wound through the grove, damp and fresh, and Shi Wen felt refreshed through and through.
Each of the five took a small basket from the trunk and put a small dagger in it. Then they split into two groups and entered the grove.
Shi Wen and Yan Kexing were in one group.
None of the other three quite dared to team up with their advisor, so Shi Wen volunteered to go with Yan Kexing.
They entered the grove from the roadside.
The ground was covered in fallen branches and dead leaves from previous years, along with all kinds of weeds that had grown this year. The mottled ground made the mushrooms rather hard to find.
Shi Wen walked through the grove, his steps uneven, and searched for more than twenty minutes without finding a single Bachu mushroom.