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As they walked along, they saw a lot of white soil.

These are all saline-alkali soils. While they provide salt for animals, they also hinder the growth of most plants, further impeding the survival of animals.

Shi Wen, riding on horseback, saw mostly monotonous and repetitive scenery, which made him a little sleepy.

In this environment, they should have ridden camels, as the camels' huge feet are more suitable for the Gobi Desert.

However, riding a camel is more bumpy, and you have to spread your legs wider, making it less comfortable.

After careful consideration, they decided to ride out on horseback.

As I walked, the surroundings gradually turned green again.

Tang Duohai breathed a sigh of relief, took out his phone to check the time, and said, "It'll be there in a little over an hour."

Shi Wen relaxed as well. "Do you want to take a break? Dr. Sikewell, are you alright?"

Sikewell sighed in a slightly aged voice, "Since we're almost there, let's get off and rest for a bit. My butt's numb."

Tang Duohai: "My butt is numb too, it doesn't even feel like my own butt anymore."

As they spoke, they reined in their horses and dismounted.

The surrounding area is full of green plants, so you can just find a place to sit down.

Sikewell glanced ahead and suddenly warned, "There are nettles ahead, be careful when you walk."

Shi Wen closer inspection, I indeed found nettles.

There weren't many nettles on his ranch, and he'd never been stung himself. But he knew how dangerous that plant was; if he'd accidentally been stung, he'd probably be restless for hours.

Not only did people know how dangerous nettles were, but the horses they rode seemed to recognize the plant as well.

Shi Suo was exceptionally clever, keeping a safe distance from the nettles, and even Sikewell and Tang Duohai's horses dared not approach that area.

After dismounting, everyone carefully checked the surroundings for nettles to avoid accidentally sitting on them.

After Shi Wen down, Shi Wen sighed, "Luckily, we don't have nettles where I'm from, otherwise it would be terrible."

Sikewell said, "They used to exist, but people got scared of the stings and would kill them whenever they saw them, so they gradually disappeared."

Shi Wen that people say, "Thank you for your contributions, seniors."

They took apples and baked buns from the supplies carried by the horses and ate them.

The baked buns had cooled down, and the mutton fat inside had solidified a bit, but they were still delicious. Paired with sweet and slightly sour apples, they were even more appetizing and satisfying.

Shi Wen not only ate the apples himself, but also fed them to Shi Suo.

The other two horses saw this and brought their large heads closer.

Although Shi Suo was a little annoyed, he let the two horses do as they pleased and did not bite them.

Shi Wen fed each of the two horses an apple, then patted Shi Suo's neck with a smile, praising its generosity.

After everyone finished eating and rested for a while to relieve the soreness in their buttocks and thighs, they mounted their horses again and headed towards their destination.

They set off at around 7 a. m. and didn't arrive at the herders' grazing area until after 11:40 a. m.

The herder didn't set up a tent; instead, he dug a dugout.

Shi Wen known for a long time that some herders lived in dugouts, but this was the first time I had ever seen a dugout in person.

There was some straw on top of the dugout, probably to keep out the rain.

The grass, battered by wind and rain, was somewhat rotten, yet some small grasses had sprouted on it.

The door to the dugout was only half the size of a normal door. Inside, the space was also small. A pillar supported the top in the center, and underneath were a heated kang (a traditional heated platform bed), a table, and a place to store miscellaneous items.

A half-grown sheep was tied to the pillar.

The woman explained to them, "This lamb is sick; it will be better if we take it home and care for it."

Shi Wen glanced at it and said, "You got bitten on the butt by a bug, and it's infected?"

The woman said happily, "Yes! It's from insect bites; we have to catch the bugs and apply medicine every day."

As she spoke, the woman lifted the lamb by the tail, exposing its rear end to them.

The lamb's anus and rear end were red and swollen, with signs of decay, indicating a serious infection that required special human care.

After showing them the lamb's rear end, the woman added, "My husband thought you wouldn't be here so soon, so he took the sheep to graze. I called him, and he'll be back with the sheep soon."

Sikewell nodded understandingly. "Then we'll wait a bit."

The woman invited them to sit down and made tea for them. Her children, who were on summer vacation, sat shyly to the side, serving them tea and listening to them talk.

Both goat milk and cow milk are plentiful this season, so I had milk tea today.

Shi Wen and taste the milk tea, you can tell that the milk here is slightly different from the milk from other places. It may be because the cows here eat grass that grows in saline-alkali soil, so the milk tastes a little different.

Shi Wen and then said he wanted to go for a walk nearby.

No one stopped him; they just told him to take his phone so he could call if he got lost.

He took a stroll around the neighborhood.

This place is so desolate, there's nothing worth visiting.

When they returned, the hostess had already dug up vegetables from the field, preparing to cook lunch for them—they usually didn't eat lunch, but only Shi Wen a few people had come from afar would the hostess specially prepare lunch to entertain them.

According to the woman, these vegetables were brought over a month ago. They were all vegetables that are easy to store, such as onions, potatoes, and Chinese cabbage. They usually bury the vegetables in the ground and only dig them out when they need them.

Shi Wen was surprised to find that vegetables were so scarce here, so he left the apples he had brought with him.

The woman tried to refuse, but couldn't, so she had to accept it.

After lunch, the man of the house returned with the sheep.

His family has more than 300 sheep, all of which are ewes.

This number may seem large, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the family is wealthy.

There's an old saying, "Even with a fortune, livestock doesn't count." Raising livestock is too risky; it's not secure until the money is actually in your pocket.