Chapter 202

Fu Meng handed the wild onions he had picked during the day to Chang Qingqing. Chang Qingqing chatted with Shi Wen for a few minutes and Shi Wen said that it was time to prepare dinner.

After Shi Wen and Fu Meng drove the sheep into the sheepfold, they returned to the living room.

The hand-pulled mutton has already been served and is placed in the middle.

In the steaming hot milky white mutton soup, the wild onions they had picked during the day had turned into emerald green scallion flowers.

Fu Meng's father invited the two to sit down. Fu Meng's two children, Fu Senze and Fu Ningjia, were also present at the table.

The two children were already quite familiar with Shi Wen, and they were still excited to see Shi Wen.

As everyone chatted, Fu Meng's father's Mandarin was a bit hard to understand, so Fu Meng translated. "My dad asked if you wanted to drink some of our homemade grain liquor? I said you still have to ride your bike back later, and it's not safe to drink."

Shi Wen his hand and said, "Thank you, uncle, but I can't hold my liquor very well."

Fu Meng served him some soup. "Try the mutton soup. If you don't like it, you can have fruit juice later."

Let's eat.

Shi Wen picked up the mutton soup and took a sip.

The mutton soup must have been simmering for a long time; it was full of meaty flavor, along with the taste of salt, pepper, and wild onions. It was rich, flavorful, and surprisingly delicious.

Shi Wen exclaimed in surprise, "It's delicious! Your cooking skills have improved again!"

Chang Qingqing: "It's not that my cooking skills are good, it's that the lamb is good. It's from our own sheep, just slaughtered this afternoon, and stewed for several hours after being boiled in deep well water over high heat. The taste is definitely amazing. Try the meat again, it's already stewed until tender."

As she spoke, Chang Qingqing enthusiastically ladled meat for Shi Wen quickly took the bowl to receive it, saying, "Sister-in-law, you're too kind. I can do it myself."

The fresh lamb, stewed for a long time, didn't become tough; instead, it became tender, chewy, and flavorful. One bite revealed a rich, milky aroma, both fresh and fragrant, with absolutely no gamey taste.

Shi Wen, "It's delicious!"

Fu Meng: "It can't compare to your family's lamb, but it's still much tastier than what you get outside. Dip it in this scallion oil and chili sauce; the scallions are wild, and the chilies are homegrown—it's incredibly fragrant."

Shi Wen gently picked up a piece of mutton, dipped it in chili sauce, and tasted it. It was indeed a different flavor, and quite delicious.

Shi Wen ate two large bowls of soup and dipping sauce in one go, until he was slightly sweating on his back and felt a little tipsy even though he hadn't drunk any alcohol.

Before returning, Shi Wen said to Fu Meng, "I have a general understanding of your sheep. I'll summarize it when I get back and write a report. They can be bred next week. I'll go with you then to see how to pair the sheep."

Fu Meng readily agreed, "It's great that you're willing to help."

Shi Wen said, "Then let's start managing the sheep tomorrow. We anticipate a tough battle ahead."

Chapter 202

After Shi Wen helped Fu Meng's family manage their sheep flock, they began selecting sheep for breeding.

On the day of the official sheep selection, many villagers came to watch.

This wasn't the first time he had rented out his breeding sheep to other herders for breeding, but it was the first time he had personally stepped in to help manage the flock.

Today, Shi Wen that Fu Meng's sheep flock is to be divided into groups, with each breeding sheep paired with a specific group of ewes. There's a certain order to this.

However, people were not quite clear about the logic behind Shi Wen's quick division of more than two hundred ewes into six groups.

Old Man Ma stood outside the sheepfold. "What criteria were used to group these sheep? They all look about the same size to me."

Shi Wen glanced at the sheep under his command, "They're categorized by body shape. Pairing rams and ewes of the same body shape together amplifies the advantages of their offspring."

Old Man Ma watched from outside for a long time, then muttered, "These sheep all look pretty much the same. What's the difference between these six groups of sheep you've divided?"

Fu Meng, who was helping to divide the sheep, said breathlessly, "There are still some differences. This sheep is clearly different from this one."

Everyone examined the two sheep that Fu Meng was pointing to, but most people still couldn't tell the difference between them.

Zhang Deyuan, who was quite familiar with sheep, noticed something. "The sheep on the left seems to have thicker flesh on its shoulder blade and is more sturdy overall. Could it be that the sheep are also different ages? I think the one on the left is a three-year-old sheep, while the one on the right is a one-year-old sheep."

Shi Wen turned to Zhang Deyuan and gave him a thumbs up. "That's one point. They're different ages, so their characteristics are different."

Zhang Deyuan: "Right? When you didn't separate them, I couldn't really see the pattern. But after you separated them, I gradually started to see the pattern."

Shi Wen the sheep were divided up, the breeding sheep on the truck were driven off.

Eight Treasures and Wanderer have retired; this year's breeding sheep are all second-generation sheep from their ranch.

These breeding sheep, being second-generation breeders, Shi Wen carefully raised for so long, and each one is very beautiful. When they are brought out, all the sheep herders can't take their eyes off them.

Looking at his sheep, Zhang Deyuan said, "I've handled so many sheep, but this is the first time I've seen sheep that look so good."

A villager nearby, a cigarette dangling from his lips, chuckled and said, "The testicles are quite big; this sheep is definitely of good quality."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the ram's rear end and burst into laughter.

Shi Wen and Fu Meng applied paint to the ram's chest so that it would be immediately noticeable if the ram attempted to mount a ewe.

After wiping, Shi Wen and Fu Meng left the ram in the sheepfold, and then went outside.

Shi Wen wave them off.

Everyone stood outside the sheepfold and started chatting.

"Now we just wait for the matching, right?"

"I see the ewes are all in heat, so we shouldn't worry about them."

"Oh no, it's a disaster! That ram was really something."

Shi Wen glanced at the sheepfold and said with relief, "It seems there's no problem. We just need to wait a little longer."

Chang Qingqing brought water and soap for Shi Wen to wash his hands. "I hope we can mate well this year and have a litter of beautiful lambs next year."

Zhang Deyuan laughed from the side, "Don't worry, both the rams and ewes are so beautiful, the lambs they produce will definitely be just as good."

After chatting for a while and confirming that nothing unexpected would happen here, they went to Fu Meng's house for tea.