Chapter 11

As soon as Gong Jiang heard that, he put down his chopsticks and said indistinctly to Lin Chengqian, "Record that, record that! Brother Shi says he'll take us along again next year."

Shi Wen glanced at Yan Kexing out of the corner of his eye and replied frankly, "Go ahead. If you don't mind having me, I rather like going out with you."

Gong Jiang said sincerely, "A big shot like you can find a 'rat path' in the wild just picking Bachu mushrooms. Would I have to be out of my mind to mind? If you didn't have a ranch, I'd want to invite you to join our team. Imagine how much more we could find! Right, Professor?"

Yan Kexing looked away from Shi Wen and nodded. "Mm."

Chapter 11

Ever since Shi Wen returned from picking Bachu mushrooms, the weather had been poor, and it had rained several times.

For the past few days, all the livestock except the geese had been kept and fed in the barn. Shi Wen had been kept busy cutting grass and cleaning the cattle and sheep pens.

When the weather finally cleared up a little, Shi Wen let the two cows out to graze freely, while the sheep remained in their pen.

The flock seemed rather dissatisfied and began bleating loudly.

The noise made Shi Wen's ears hurt.

A little after nine in the morning, Shi Wen heard Heiwa barking outside and hurried out. Sure enough, he saw Fu Meng on his motorcycle at the ranch gate.

Shi Wen walked quickly over, calling, "Brother Fu! The gate isn't locked. Just slide the bolt and you can come in."

Fu Meng reached out, slid the bolt open, and pushed the gate open before riding his motorcycle through. "You haven't let the sheep out?"

Shi Wen said, "How would I dare? My sheep are so wild now that once I let them out, it's hard to herd them back in."

Fu Meng laughed. "Looks like your sheep have adapted well to their current surroundings."

"Very well. They're still protesting in the pen right now." Shi Wen walked to the front of Fu Meng's motorcycle and led him toward the sheep pen. "Good thing you're here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known what to do."

As they talked, Heiwa noticed the commotion and ran over excitedly, his four short little legs spinning like wind-and-fire wheels.

Shi Wen spotted Heiwa out of the corner of his eye and raised a hand in a gesture.

Heiwa saw it and stopped where he was. He looked up and watched for a moment, then turned and headed toward the two cows.

Seeing the gesture, Fu Meng asked, "You've started using hand signals with Heiwa too?"

"Calling out when he's far away is too tiring. Hand signals are easier for him to recognize, so he won't mix up the commands." Shi Wen was all smiles. "Heiwa's pretty smart. He understood after just a little training."

Fu Meng said, "Your pup looks good too. Really sturdy."

The two chatted as they walked into the barn.

All thirty-seven sheep were shut inside. Hearing their footsteps, they bleated loudly.

The thunderous noise made Fu Meng's ears ring. "Your sheep sure can holler."

Shi Wen smiled wryly.

They went inside. The sheep were plump, looking as though they were dressed in cotton candy.

Fu Meng casually caught one, held it by the horns, and squeezed its wool. He turned to Shi Wen and said, "This one probably has two or three jin of wool."

Shi Wen said, "I was originally going to wait another two months before shearing them. But their wool is so thick now, they'd die of heat if I waited another two months."

Fu Meng held the horns firmly. "Then let's get started. Tie it up at the front?"

Shi Wen hurried to help him pull the sheep forward by its horns. "Let's go to the empty barn next door. My sheep are a little fierce, so I'll tie its legs too."

Together, they tied the sheep's horns to a railing to hold its head in place, then tied its front legs together and its hind legs together.

Shi Wen brought an extension socket over. Fu Meng plugged the electric sheep shears into it, switched them on, and began shearing down the sheep's back.

The electric shears buzzed. Shi Wen kept his head lowered, holding the sheep steady as he learned how to shear it.

Sheep here could be sheared two or three times a year. Fu Meng could help this time, but Shi Wen would have to do it himself next time, so he needed to learn properly.

Fu Meng worked with practiced ease. The electric shears buzzed, and in a few strokes he had sheared the wool off the sheep's back. Then he covered the ewe's teats with his hand and began shearing her belly.

The wool that came off was thick and heavy, tangled with grass blades, seeds, dirt, and other debris. Shi Wen kicked it aside, then went to fetch the second sheep, herding the shorn one back into the pen on the way.

The shorn sheep still looked plump, with no bones visible at all. It seemed unaccustomed to having only short wool on its body and shook itself vigorously several times.

Fu Meng caught the sheep and picked it up to gauge its weight. "It's over forty, maybe fifty jin. It's growing really fast."

Shi Wen smiled. "I'll weigh it one of these days."

They went on to shear the second sheep.

The second sheep was less cooperative and squealed like a pig being slaughtered as they sheared it.

Hearing the commotion, Heiwa ran in from outside and peered in with his tail held high.

The sheep, which had been crying loudly, quieted down a little when it saw Heiwa. It seemed quite afraid of him.

With Heiwa there to keep them in line, the rest of the shearing went much more smoothly. Shi Wen even sheared the last few sheep himself.

Although the result looked a bit like a dog had gnawed at them, he got them done.

By the next shearing, he should have no trouble doing it alone.

Shi Wen let the shorn sheep out to graze, then returned to help Fu Meng pack the wool into burlap sacks.

His sheep were small, but their wool was thick. When they weighed the fleece, it came to seventy-three jin and six liang in all.

Even Fu Meng was surprised. "Not bad! That's a lot of wool! Want me to introduce you to a wool buyer? I reckon you'll have plenty of dealings with him in the future."

"Sorry for the trouble, Brother Fu." Shi Wen agreed at once. "Take a rest first. We'll go after we eat."

After lunch, the two rode their motorcycles toward another town, each carrying a large sack of wool.

After riding for over half an hour, they arrived at a ranch.

The ranch gate was open, so Fu Meng led Shi Wen straight in on their motorcycles.

Shi Wen looked around and saw that there were a great many sheep pens, with a great many sheep in them too-at least two thousand, all half-grown ewes.