Chapter 2

Shi Wen walked from the gate toward the cluster of buildings, making out the old path across the pasture and the dried cow dung on either side.

After walking for a while, Shi Wen reached the buildings.

In front was a large courtyard, rather like the ones in northeastern China. Behind it stood a row of... livestock sheds?

The courtyard gate was also a wooden fence, held shut with wire mesh. Shi Wen reached in and pushed the mesh aside, then opened the gate and walked in.

There were remnants of vegetable gardens on both sides of the front yard, but they were badly overgrown now, with dry yellow grass reaching halfway up his calves.

Shi Wen stood in front of a glass window, wiped away some of the dust outside, and peered into the house.

Through the window, he spotted a familiar large tea mug on the table at a glance. A lighter lay beside it.

It instantly brought back memories of living with the old man when he was little. He couldn't help smiling, but then a boundless ache welled up inside him.

"Sigh..."

Just as Shi Wen was looking through the window, someone called out to him. "Where are you from? This is a private ranch. You can't come in."

Shi Wen turned and saw a dark-skinned young man in a leather jacket and rubber boots riding a motorcycle toward him. The young man stopped at the front gate.

"Hello," Shi Wen said. "I'm Shi Jingbo's grandson, Shi Wen."

The young man braced the motorcycle with his leg and stared for a moment. "Old Mr. Shi's grandson?"

As he spoke, the young man stared at Shi Wen and muttered to himself, "The chin does look a little like his."

Shi Wen smiled at him.

"My name's Fu Meng," the young man said. "I live in the village next door. Are you moving back here?"

"More or less," Shi Wen said vaguely.

"It's good that you're coming back," Fu Meng said. "The old man had only just started raising sheep back then when he had an accident in his hometown. I was the one who helped deal with the sheep afterward. What a shame."

The two chatted for a while, then Fu Meng invited him over. "You haven't had dinner yet, have you? Come eat at my place. If you're moving back, we'll be neighbors from now on."

Shi Wen wasn't quite used to such warmth. He smiled and said, "Thank you. I bought a plane ticket for tonight and have to hurry back. I'm afraid I won't have time."

"What time's your flight?" Fu Meng asked. "Did you drive here?"

"No, I'll get a taxi in a bit."

"It's hard to get a taxi here. I'll give you a ride into town later. It'll be easy to get one there."

Fu Meng was quite friendly from the start. Not only did he agree to take Shi Wen into town, he also showed him around the ranch.

Where the livestock sheds were, where the farmland was, where the drainage ditches were... Fu Meng knew it all inside out.

As they chatted, Shi Wen learned that Fu Meng was the head of this settlement village.

The old man's ranch counted as part of the village too. No wonder Fu Meng had come over so soon after Shi Wen entered.

Following the subject, Fu Meng said, "Spring's already here. If you want to raise cattle and sheep this year, you'd better get moving. The ranch needs a good deal of fixing up, and the ditches need clearing too. The spring lambs are growing fast. Wait much longer and I'm afraid they'll be hard to buy."

Shi Wen nodded quickly. "All right. Thanks, Brother Fu."

"No need to thank me," Fu Meng said. "We're neighbors. If you move here, things will be a little livelier around here too."

After a tour of the ranch, Fu Meng took Shi Wen into town on his motorcycle so he could buy a ticket to N City.

Shi Wen had to go to N City to catch his flight back.

With Fu Meng's help, Shi Wen's trip to the ranch had gone far more smoothly than he'd imagined.

He also felt more fond of the ranch than he'd expected.

On Monday, Shi Wen went to the office again.

His appointment was with the same clerk as before.

When the clerk saw the documents he handed over, he promptly processed the inheritance paperwork for him.

Once everything was done, the clerk handed him the documents and a separately printed list of things to note. "Mr. Shi, now that you've inherited the ranch, try not to let it fall into disuse. If you don't work in a related field, your bloodline can easily degenerate. Your bloodline needs a thorough examination every three years. If it doesn't pass, the ranch will be reclaimed. Good luck."

Shi Wen could understand that. This was a benefit, after all, so it was only natural for there to be many restrictions. Besides, his bloodline was the very reason he qualified for the benefit. If it degenerated, he would naturally lose everything.

Shi Wen was a little excited. He looked up and smiled. "I understand. Thank you."

"You're welcome." The clerk smiled back. "Congratulations. I look forward to hearing good news about your ranch."

After confirming that the ranch paperwork was complete, Shi Wen submitted his resignation, arranged with his landlord to end his lease, and gradually shipped his belongings to the small town near the ranch.

Packages weren't delivered to people's doors in the town. They were all sent to a pickup point, where recipients collected them themselves.

Half a month later, Shi Wen returned to the ranch.

This time, though, he didn't crawl through the fence. He got the key from a staff member at the J Province Abnormal Affairs Office and went straight in through the main gate.

In the half month since he'd last been there, the grass on the ranch had grown greener, and the soil was damper.

He followed the long path, entered the front yard, and used the key to open the front door.

As soon as the door opened, the smell of mildew and dust rushed out at him.

Shi Wen looked at the old furniture and the various household items the old man had left behind.

From now on, this was his home.

Chapter 2

Shi Wen cleaned the house inside and out, then put away the old man's belongings.

When he'd handled the inheritance paperwork, he'd arranged to have the water, electricity, and internet connected in advance, so the house was livable after a little tidying.

To make it a comfortable place to live, though, he would have to improve it gradually over a long stretch of time.

The living quarters were easy enough to deal with. Although the front and back yards were still overgrown, they didn't interfere with daily life, so there was no rush.

The livestock sheds were more troublesome.

There were several large livestock sheds on the ranch, including both cattle sheds and sheep pens, as well as a feed storehouse.

That was probably because winters here were rather cold, making it hard for livestock to spend the winter outdoors.

The sheds were large. Inside were piles of dried manure and fodder, as well as gnawed wooden troughs and aging pipes.

If he wanted to put them back into use, he would have to repair and clean them.

Shi Wen rode his motorcycle into town.

The town was a livestock-farming town under N City's jurisdiction. Most of the storefronts along its main street were connected to animal husbandry, with a few supermarkets scattered among them.