Back to the Ranch as an Animal Caretaker
Chapter 467

Page 467

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Shi Wen couldn't help but look amazed. "These figs are amazing! They taste much better than I expected."

Zhake proudly puffed out his chest. "Right? These figs are exceptionally good. Back then, no one else dared to grow them, but my family did. With such excellent fruit and a big company signing a contract with us, what was there to be afraid of?"

Zhake's Mandarin wasn't very good, but when he said this, his pride was almost overflowing.

Shi Wen gave him a thumbs up. "These figs are delicious. We grow them on our mountain too, but it will be two years before we can eat them."

Zhake led them around for a while, Shi Wen the sun rose higher and higher, Shi Wen declined Zhake's offer to continue the stroll, saying that she needed to start looking for termite mushrooms.

Zhake pointed out a few places to them, saying that they had found termite mushrooms in these places before, and they could go back and see if there were any more.

Shi Wen nodded quickly.

After Zhake returned, Shi Wen called her little ones over, "Let's start looking for termite mushrooms! Have a competition to see who finds the most and the best ones!"

The little ones all responded enthusiastically.

The dogs even struck a running pose, Shi Wen to run at a command.

Shi Wen them like this, Shi Wen smiled and said, "Go on, go on."

The snow leopard, White Tiger, little fox, and dogs immediately ran off in all directions, and Chasing Clouds flapped its wings and took to the sky.

Only Cong Zai showed a lack of interest, slowly Shi Wen and the others.

Because the cart couldn't hold all the animals, they didn't bring any brown oxen or horses, so Cong Zai became the most reliable one.

Shi Wen glanced down at it, then asked with a smile, "Cong Zai, aren't you going to go look for it?"

Cong Zai: "Meow."

Clearly, the mature Cong Zai had little interest in this activity.

Shi Wen didn't urge it, "Then you can come with us."

Cong Zai: "Meow."

Shi Wen that they split into two groups and started looking for termite mushrooms as well.

This fig orchard is so big; Shi Wen they have a hard time finding the termite mushrooms with the naked eye. It'll be faster to let the dogs find them.

The dogs had smelled the termite mushrooms before, Shi Wen figured they should be able to find them quickly by following the scent.

Unexpectedly, after they strolled around the fig orchard for a while, the first to give the signal was not any of the dogs, nor the little foxes, but the Chasing Clouds in the sky.

The eagle Chasing Clouds out in the sky, its cry carrying far and wide.

Ge Yue and the others heard it too, and shouted from the other side of the orchard, "Has Chasing Clouds found the termite mushrooms yet?"

Shi Wen replied loudly, "Very likely!"

The Chasing Clouds swirled in the sky, and everyone could see their direction just by looking up.

So everyone immediately stopped wandering around and ran together towards where Chasing Clouds was.

They quickly regrouped. Chasing Clouds, seeing them from the sky, swooped down, carrying them forward, and let out another eagle cry.

Finally, Shi Wen noticed a few tiny white dots just sprouting among the fig trees.

These tiny white dots are only about the size of a pen cap. It's hard to imagine Chasing Clouds so high in the sky, you could see these tiny white dots below.

Lin Chengqian gaped in surprise. "Chasing Clouds's eyesight is amazing! It's truly outstanding."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Even Yan Kexing rarely praised him, saying, "He truly deserves the title of King of the Sky."

Shi Wen couldn't wait any longer and pulled out a small stick specially prepared for digging up termite mushrooms from the basket. "Let's start digging!"

Chasing Clouds stood on the fig tree and watched them begin to dig.

The soil here is very loose; Shi Wen gently inserted the small stick, and it went right into the soil.

The others rolled up their sleeves and slowly dug away the soil around the small white dot.

After digging for a while, the full appearance of the small white dot was revealed—it was indeed the cap of a termite mushroom.

Beneath the cap are long, thick, and tender mushroom stems.

Shi Wen caught a whiff of the earthy aroma and the unique fragrance of this termite mushroom, and murmured, "This is the smell; no other termite mushroom has this fragrance."

Ge Yue took a deep sniff. "It definitely has a sweet, fresh mushroom smell."

Shi Wen carefully took the termite mushroom out with both hands. The cap of the termite mushroom had not yet opened and was tightly wrapped around the stem.

This is almost the perfect state for termite mushrooms; they are just about to open, and their umami flavor is fully contained within.

Shi Wen the others continued digging in the soil with small sticks.

They soon dug up a second and a third termite mushroom.

They continued digging and eventually found a total of twelve termite mushrooms in the nest.

These termite mushrooms come in various sizes, but all have a sweet and fresh aroma.

They carefully placed them into the basket.

Shi Wen that the sun would scorch them and make them wither, so I specially grabbed a handful of leaves from under the fig tree and gently covered them with them.

Yan Kexing then filled the soil they had just dug back in—the soil contained spores, and once it was back in, another batch of termite mushrooms would grow when the conditions were right.

After he had properly preserved the termite mushrooms, Shi Wen heard a chorus of breathing sounds. He turned around and saw that the dogs had somehow gotten there and were staring at them curiously with their tongues lolling out.

Shi Wen raised his basket. "Chasing Clouds found the first nest of termite mushrooms, twelve in total, we're in the lead for now, let's see if you can find more."

Chasing Clouds raised his head and puffed out his chest, letting out a sharp cry like an eagle, his gaze towards the other little ones carrying a hint of disdain.

Wolf King: "Awoo--"

Shi Wen said with a smile, "If you're not convinced, then keep looking. We're already behind; we need to catch up."

The Wolf King stood up abruptly, turned and ran, leaving them with his furry backside.

The other little ones belatedly realized what was happening and quickly went to look for it too.

Lin Chengqian: "We can't find it, so why don't we come with you?"

Shi Wen, "No need to go any further. Just wait here. We'll go to whichever little one calls first, so we don't make a wasted trip."

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