Chapter 3

The stallholders helped drive the lambs onto the vehicle, filling it to the brim.

Once they were both seated, Fu Meng asked, "Anything else you need to buy? How about picking up some concentrate feed while we're at it? The lambs are so small. Giving them an extra meal in the evening will make them easier to raise."

Shi Wen asked, "Brother Fu, do you know a good feed store?"

Fu Meng said, "I'll take you to Old Sun's place. His feed is good. You get what you pay for, and he hardly ever passes off inferior stuff as quality goods or cheats on the weight."

"Then let's take a look," Shi Wen said.

The feed store Fu Meng had mentioned was nearby. They rode down the main road for a while, turned a corner, and there it was.

Before long, Fu Meng pulled the three-wheeler up in front of a rather old-looking storefront and called inside, "Old Sun, I've brought you a new customer."

A broad, burly middle-aged man came out. "Fu Meng! You rascal! We haven't had a drink together in ages. What are you buying today?"

"I'm not buying anything. My friend Shi Wen here wants some concentrate feed. What kinds do you have right now?"

Old Sun looked at Shi Wen, who nodded to confirm that he was the one buying.

Old Sun readily replied, "I've got everything. What are you looking for? Corn, barley, wheat, mixed grains, soybean pulp, wheat bran, rapeseed cake... The rapeseed cake just came in. It's this year's new batch, and it smells amazing. Two yuan thirty per kilogram. If you're feeding lambs, I'd recommend this."

As he spoke, Old Sun led them into the store.

Old Sun dragged a large sack out from the shelves, untied the nylon cord at the top, and grabbed a handful of the flaky rapeseed cake inside. "It's all genuine rapeseed cake, sourced directly from the producer, with nothing else mixed in."

The moment he pulled it out, a rich fragrance filled the air. Shi Wen took a quick look and knew it was good stuff. "I'll take fifty kilograms for now."

"Great! Are you taking it back yourselves, or should I deliver it?"

"You offer delivery too?" Shi Wen asked.

"Of course I do! Here, add me on WeChat. Whatever feed you need, just send me a message, and I'll bring it over."

Shi Wen added Old Sun on WeChat and looked at Fu Meng.

Fu Meng said, "You'd better deliver it this time. We've got a whole load of sheep and no room left."

"Sure. I'll follow you over now and see where you live."

Old Sun called his wife out to watch the store, then efficiently carried two bags of rapeseed cake outside, tied them onto his motorcycle, and followed Shi Wen and Fu Meng.

When they arrived at Shi Wen's home, Old Sun unloaded the rapeseed cake under the eaves and helped drive the sheep into their pen.

Shi Wen had given the place a thorough cleaning over the past two days. The sheep pen was clean and dry, without the slightest trace of a bad smell.

As soon as Old Sun entered the pen, he said, "Well, look at this. You're a meticulous one. In a couple of years, we'll have another expert sheep farmer around here."

Fu Meng said, "You really know how to flatter people."

Old Sun laughed. "I'm just telling the truth. You can tell a thing or two just from how this pen's been cleaned and disinfected. And then there are the sheep you picked out-Shi Wen chose them, didn't he? Old Fu, you don't have that kind of eye."

"You think you know that?" Fu Meng asked.

"We've known each other all these years. You think I don't know what kind of sheep you like to pick? Shi Wen definitely chose these." Old Sun turned to Shi Wen. "You know what you're doing when it comes to choosing sheep and settling them in, and you're willing to put your heart into it. The sheep you raise are bound to turn out well."

Shi Wen smiled. "I hope so too."

Chapter 3

After the lambs were brought home, they adjusted well to the ranch. Shi Wen watched them for several days, and only after making sure there were no problems did he throw himself into his next task.

There was a lot to do on the ranch. After weighing the priorities, Shi Wen decided to clear the ditch first.

The ranch had been unused for years, and the ditch was badly clogged, with weeds growing all through it.

Someone unfamiliar with the ranch wouldn't be able to tell where the ditch ended and the pasture began. They could easily walk right into it.

Summer was nearly here. The pasture grass needed water to grow, the cattle and sheep needed clean drinking water, and rainwater needed the ditch to drain away. If he didn't hurry and clear it, he would miss the pasture's growing season, and this year's grass would probably be rather mediocre.

That morning, Shi Wen finished breakfast early, put on waterproof pants, picked up a large hoe, and walked to the edge of the ranch. He planned to start at the upstream end of the ditch and dig out the silt at the bottom.

The ditch was over a meter wide in places and sixty or seventy centimeters deep, looking much like a small river. In fact, the ditch running through the ranch had originally been a natural channel that had been widened.

In early May, the water was still a little cold.

Bracing himself against the bank, Shi Wen carefully stepped into the ditch. With a squelch, he sank straight into the silt.

It was hard enough to stand steady in the ditch, let alone dig out the silt.

Fortunately, he wasn't in too much of a hurry. He could take his time and rest when he got tired.

Shi Wen dug one stroke at a time. Every so often he spotted a fish, which he caught by hand and tossed into a large bucket on the bank.

Perhaps because the ditch hadn't been cleared in so many years, there were quite a few fish in it. He spotted one every so often, and occasionally caught a swamp eel as well.

Supposedly, these swamp eels had been brought over from Xiang Province years ago. Somehow, they had adapted to the local climate and grown exceptionally fat and sturdy, much larger and plumper than those seen inland.

Shi Wen caught several, all large swamp eels weighing over half a kilogram apiece. The color of their backs had almost turned brown.

The sun rose, beating down until Shi Wen's back grew hot. After working for a while, he would straighten up and pound his lower back with his hand, taking the opportunity to check on the lambs grazing nearby.

All his lambs had adapted to the ranch environment. Every day after the sun rose, he drove them out to graze.

The lambs seemed quite pleased with the tender grass. They ate from morning to night until their bellies were round and full, and hardly needed Shi Wen to watch over them.

In a few days, when he had some free time, he would buy a couple of sheepdogs. With the dogs watching over them, he probably wouldn't even need to check on them now and then.

Then he could repair the wire fencing around the ranch, and everything would be foolproof.

Shi Wen bent over his work mechanically, his thoughts wandering aimlessly.