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Outside, An Wa protested loudly. "Woof!"

Shi Wen turned his head. "Barking won't help. Careful, or you'll burn your tongue off later."

Yan Kexing was all smiles as he washed the wok and quickly stir-fried the marinated beef.

Soon, the mouthwatering aroma of stir-fried beef filled the kitchen.

Outside the kitchen, the dogs scratched at the floor and whined, growing even more impatient.

If Shi Wen hadn't trained them so strictly, they would have charged into the kitchen.

Yan Kexing quickly made three dishes and a soup: stir-fried mushrooms, stir-fried beef, stir-fried eggplant, and loofah and egg drop soup.

The eggplant and loofah came from the vegetable garden in Shi Wen's backyard. Freshly picked and cooked, they were exceptionally tender.

All three dishes were prepared in the usual home-cooked style, yet their aromas were anything but ordinary.

It wasn't just the dogs who could hardly resist. Even Shi Wen secretly swallowed countless times.

Once all the dishes were ready, Shi Wen asked Yan Kexing's opinion, then served the three dogs some white rice, mixed soup into it, and topped it with stir-fried mushrooms, beef, and eggplant.

Dogs could actually eat salt normally; they just couldn't eat dishes in place of their main food.

Shi Wen's dogs were especially active, so the saltiness of home-cooked dishes was just right for them.

The dog food Shi Wen had put together wouldn't be a burden on them at all.

By the time the dogs were eating outside, Yan Kexing had already served the rice and set out the chopsticks. He was waiting for Shi Wen at the table.

After washing his hands, Shi Wen came in from outside and immediately saw Yan Kexing waiting. It was as though something had struck him in the heart.

He lowered his head to hide it.

This was exactly what he had dreamed family life would be like.

Yan Kexing handed him his chopsticks. "Let's eat."

Shi Wen sat down beside him and took a deep breath. "You're a really good cook."

"You know I'm a good cook before you've even tried it?" Yan Kexing gently pushed the dishes toward him. "Have a taste."

Shi Wen held his rice bowl up, hiding half his face. "It smells so good, I know it can't be bad."

Shi Wen wasn't just flattering him. The food on the table really did smell wonderful.

He first picked up a bite of stir-fried mushrooms and put it in his mouth.

The mushrooms were coated in a thin layer of glossy sauce. When he bit down, an intense savoriness burst forth with the juices, smooth and tender.

The savory flavor wasn't overpowering. Instead, it was mellow and layered, leaving a lingering taste that invited him to savor it.

Shi Wen's eyes lit up as he tasted the mushrooms.

No wonder these mushrooms were called delicious mushrooms. They really were so delicious!

They were so delicious that eating them brought a distinct feeling of happiness and satisfaction welling up inside him.

Shi Wen said, "How can these mushrooms be so good?!"

Yan Kexing asked, "How do they compare with the Bachu mushrooms from last time?"

"They have completely different flavors." Shi Wen carefully recalled the taste of the Bachu mushrooms. "The delicious mushrooms are thicker and meatier, and eating them feels as satisfying as taking a big bite of meat. The Bachu mushrooms are crisper, with a wonderful texture. They're both delicious!"

Shi Wen had another bite of mushrooms, then picked up a piece of eggplant.

The eggplant was just an ordinary local variety, and it had been cooked in an ordinary stir-fry, but Yan Kexing seemed to have worked magic. The eggplant he had cooked was fragrant, silky, and delicious, with a hint of the freshness unique to summer vegetables. It went wonderfully with rice.

If Yan Kexing hadn't been sitting right beside him, Shi Wen would have mixed the eggplant into his rice!

It was so good!

By the end of the meal, Shi Wen forced himself to finish the remaining loofah and egg drop soup from his bowl, even though he was stuffed.

He felt as though his abs were about to bulge out.

Luckily, he wasn't wearing tight pants today, or he'd have been worried about them bursting open.

After they washed the dishes together, Shi Wen was too full to sit still, so he invited Yan Kexing out for a walk.

There were stars and a breeze outside, and the ranch was wide open. They hadn't seen the sunset that evening, so going out to look at the stars now would be nice too.

Yan Kexing accepted his invitation.

The two of them went outside.

Shi Wen looked up. Bright stars filled the sky, which arched over them like an overturned bowl, as though it meant to enclose them together.

In the distance, the mountains were dimly visible, and the snow that never melted from their peaks shimmered faintly.

Walking in such surroundings was pleasant enough, even without saying a word.

But Shi Wen wasn't the quiet type. Whenever he was with Yan Kexing, he always had a lot he wanted to say.

Shi Wen showed Yan Kexing around the ranch, from the old livestock shed the old man had left behind to the long silage pit, from the warehouse he hadn't yet had time to fix up to the cornfield. Running the vast, three-thousand-mu ranch by himself, he had plenty to do and plenty of projects to undertake.

After listening to his introduction, Yan Kexing asked, "How long do you plan to take to carry out your vision?"

Shi Wen said, "Three years. I plan to spend three years building the ranch's infrastructure and gradually bringing in the livestock I want to raise."

Yan Kexing commented, "That's quite a bit of pressure."

Shi Wen was more optimistic. "It's actually not too bad. I'm a professional herder, after all. In three years, the whole ranch should be able to reach a new level."

Yan Kexing said, "In your situation, it's fine if you have plenty of funds, but if you're short on money, you'll inevitably find your hands tied."

Shi Wen knew about that problem too. "There's nothing I can do about it. I can only take things slowly. I'm pretty good at raising livestock, so I should be able to recover my funds and start turning a profit this year."

"In that case, if you won't accept borrowed money, would you consider a loan?" Yan Kexing looked at him. "I think in your situation, it would be better to borrow some money first and build up the ranch."

It wasn't as though Shi Wen had never considered it. "A loan requires collateral. Although I have the right to use the ranch for forty years, it isn't a conventional lease. It's subject to regulations, so it's hard to use as collateral. The bank won't accept it."

Yan Kexing said, "So you aren't opposed to a loan; you're just constrained by your circumstances?"

Shi Wen nodded. It wasn't that he really wanted to keep operating on a small scale; his circumstances simply didn't allow otherwise.

Shi Wen said, "With my bloodline, as long as the ranch gets on the right track, it'd be pretty hard to lose money."