Recaps

Shi Wen heard a voice while trying to nap and suspected someone had entered the ranch, so he and Zhu Ji searched for the source. They found a cockatiel hiding beneath the eaves, which Shi Wen recognized as the speaker.

• After Zhu Ji left, Shi Wen went to nap but twice heard someone say they were afraid of being spotted.
• Shi Wen searched the ranch and messaged Yan Kexing, who urged caution and asked Zhu Ji to return and investigate.
• Zhu Ji returned, and Shi Wen woke Cong Zai and the other animals to search the ranch.
• The little fox, little snow leopard, and white tiger raced to the eaves and growled at a hidden bird.
• Shi Wen recognized the beige bird with orange-red cheek patches as a cockatiel, and Zhu Ji guessed it had flown away from its owner.

Shi Wen caught a cockatiel that had flown onto his ranch, but Chasing Clouds attacked it, revealing that the eagle had been chasing it. Shi Wen and Zhu Ji checked the ranch’s surveillance to learn where the cockatiel came from and what it had done, and the footage showed it approaching Chasing Clouds’ nest.

• Shi Wen caught the cockatiel and asked his WeChat friends and groups to help find its owner.
• The cockatiel trembled when Chasing Clouds cried out, then fled as the eagle swooped to peck it.
• Shi Wen caught Chasing Clouds before it could hurt the cockatiel, and the bird said, “Scared the hell out of me.”
• Shi Wen fed Chasing Clouds while Zhu Ji trapped the cockatiel under a fruit basket.
• Shi Wen and Zhu Ji checked surveillance footage, which showed the cockatiel near Chasing Clouds’ nest while the eagle rested.

Shi Wen and Zhu Ji watched footage showing that Chasing Clouds chased the cockatiel after it repeatedly provoked the raptor, and they arranged to return the bird to its owner. Later, Chasing Clouds coughed up a pellet containing fur and what Yan Kexing identified as the remains of a water shrew.

• Shi Wen and Zhu Ji watched surveillance footage of wild birds teasing Chasing Clouds, then saw the cockatiel repeatedly provoke it until Chasing Clouds chased it away.
• Shi Wen asked Zhu Ji to take the unharmed cockatiel back, and Chasing Clouds stayed close as Shi Wen fetched a wicker box.
• Yan Kexing returned and reassured Shi Wen that Chasing Clouds and the cockatiel were both unharmed.
• Chasing Clouds spat out a pellet near the bean trellis, and Yan Kexing explained that it contained indigestible prey remains.
• Yan Kexing identified part of the pellet as a water shrew’s snout and showed Shi Wen what a water shrew looked like.

Shi Wen led Yan Kexing, Gong Jiang, Lin Chengqian, and Ge Yue to search nearby streams for water shrews after Chasing Clouds had caught one. They found many signs of local mammals, but no water shrew traces yet.

• Shi Wen explained that Chasing Clouds had learned to imitate a pigeon’s coo, while Yan Kexing considered making a water shrew specimen and sent a photo of its mouth to Gong Jiang and the others.
• Gong Jiang, Lin Chengqian, and Ge Yue arrived and explained that water shrews were rare and difficult to find, so Shi Wen offered to lead a search.
• Shi Wen used a map to choose nearby rivers and streams, and the group set out without the ranch’s little ones.
• At the stream, Shi Wen felt for animals underwater but found no signs of mammals, while Gong Jiang and the others filmed the search.
• Shi Wen pointed out tracks, burrows, fur, and nibbled plants, then said he could map mammal activity by instinct.

Shi Wen led Yan Kexing and the others to several water shrews, and they brought a male and a female back to the ranch for research. After returning, Lin Chengqian wondered whether Shi Wen’s appearance had changed.

• Shi Wen spotted a water shrew and caught it with a dip net, while Yan Kexing confirmed its identity.
• Yan Kexing placed the first water shrew in a cage, and Shi Wen led the group onward to search for more.
• The group caught several male water shrews before finding a female, and Yan Kexing decided they had enough for research.
• Shi Wen and the others returned to the ranch after four hours and sixteen minutes in the field.
• Lin Chengqian watched Shi Wen wash his hands and asked Ge Yue whether Shi Wen’s appearance had changed.

Shi Wen helped identify an endemic water shrew species, returned a lost cockatiel to its owner, and treated sick livestock during persistent rain. As flooding hit nearby Kuerkubu City, Ma Chengfeng called Shi Wen to discuss it.

• Ge Yue, Lin Chengqian, and Gong Jiang remarked that Shi Wen looked different, and Shi Wen attributed it to aging and losing weight.
• Yan Kexing told Shi Wen that tests confirmed the water shrews were a local endemic species named the Chinese Water Shrew.
• Shi Wen told Yan Kexing that they had found the cockatiel’s owner, and the bird soon returned to its home in N City.
• Shi Wen prepared for rainy weather, cared for his livestock, and treated nearby herders’ sick animals.
• Ma Chengfeng called Shi Wen about the flooding in Kuerkubu City, and Shi Wen said he had already donated two million for disaster relief.

Shi Wen agreed to join Ma Chengfeng’s relief effort and prepared sheep to send to the disaster-stricken area. He left the hides with Zhang Deyuan after the group slaughtered twenty sheep, while the next supply trip was being planned.

• Ma Chengfeng invited Shi Wen to contribute livestock to a relief effort, and persuaded him to go along so he would be present for the work.
• Shi Wen joined Ma Chengfeng’s WeChat group, reviewed the relief plans, and called Zhang Deyuan and the others to help slaughter sheep.
• Zhang Deyuan and Fu Meng discussed the size and feeding costs of Shi Wen’s sheep, including their potential for the autumn competition.
• Shi Wen selected twenty slower-growing sheep for the relief effort, and Zhang Deyuan processed them in under two hours.
• Zhang Deyuan took the sheepskins to tan, and Shi Wen trusted him to handle them.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing joined a relief convoy after floods devastated an inland city, bringing mutton to feed the workers. Shi Wen stayed at the riverbank to cook soup while Yan Kexing helped build a levee, and the exhausted workers began eating at noon.

• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing set out with Ma Chengfeng’s relief convoy, carrying sheep from the ranch.
• The convoy reached the flooded city, where Ma Chengfeng assigned Shi Wen and Yan Kexing to serve mutton soup at the riverbank.
• Shi Wen began cooking while Yan Kexing went to help with the relief work, promising to switch places when he grew tired.
• Ma Chengfeng brought bowls, drank Shi Wen’s soup, and explained that he had assigned them to the toughest spot to help warm and nourish the workers.
• After more than three hours, relief workers came up from the riverbank for lunch, and Shi Wen saw that exhaustion had left many struggling to eat.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing helped with flood relief, where Shi Wen’s mutton soup warmed and revived the exhausted volunteers. After the disaster subsided, Pu Yiping praised the soup at a dinner in J City, leaving the others curious about its exceptional mutton.

• Shi Wen served mutton soup to the relief workers, who praised its rich flavor and returned for more.
• Shi Wen joined Yan Kexing in heavy labor at the breach, and the two spent two exhausting days helping with the flood response.
• After the flooding subsided, Shi Wen and Yan Kexing returned home, and Shi Wen made another donation after seeing reports of the damage.
• At a dinner in J City, Pu Yiping and other relief workers praised the Dolan Sheep mutton they were served.
• Pu Yiping told the group that Shi Wen’s mutton soup during the relief effort had been even more tender and nourishing, and he described how it restored his energy.

After hearing rave reviews about Shi Wen’s mutton, Pu Yiping and his companions visited Shi Wen’s ranch to buy some. They sampled the sight of the freshly processed fat-tailed sheep and bought ten jin to try, with Shi Wen offering a refund if they disliked it.

• Pu Yiping showed his companions an online forum filled with praise for the Shi family’s mutton.
• The group decided to visit Shi Wen’s ranch after learning that several people they knew had joined its membership program.
• Shi Wen welcomed Pu Yiping and the others and offered them sweet or salty milk tea while they discussed buying sheep.
• Shi Wen quoted 1,600 yuan per jin for live fat-tailed sheep and 1,800 yuan per jin for freshly slaughtered meat.
• Luo Boqin and the others admired the marbled meat and bought ten jin from Shi Wen, who promised they could return it for a refund if they did not like it.

Luo Boqin and the others took the mutton they had bought from Shi Wen to a private kitchen to taste it and judge whether its high price was justified. After the owner served the meal, they tried the soup and all looked to Pu Yiping, leaving the reason for their reaction unresolved.

• Shi Wen gave each customer a box of farm-made cheese and two jars of chive blossom sauce before seeing them off.
• Luo Boqin and the others debated whether the mutton was worth eighteen hundred yuan a jin, then took it to a private kitchen to have it cooked.
• The private kitchen owner sniffed the mutton, praised its pure aroma, and prepared several mutton dishes, soup, seasonal vegetables, and specialties.
• The mutton’s cooking aromas left Luo Boqin and the others silent with anticipation as they waited for the food.
• The owner served eight dishes and a pot of soup, and everyone tasted the milky mutton soup before looking at Pu Yiping.

Luo Boqin and Pu Yiping’s group devoured Shi Wen’s mutton, then returned to buy more sheep and brought the private restaurant owner along. Shi Wen later arranged to slaughter all three hundred sheep that had reached weight, drawing officials, friends, and many workers to the sale.

• Luo Boqin and the others ate the mutton and rice until they were full, then praised the meal and decided to buy more.
• The group went to Shi Wen’s place and bought two live sheep, while the restaurant owner purchased ten jin of butchered meat.
• Shi Wen told Yan Kexing that they had made 572,000 from the day’s sales.
• Shi Wen selected a sunny day to hire professional butchers to slaughter all three hundred sheep, each weighing over 160 jin and priced at a minimum of 1,800 per jin.
• Officials came to investigate the sale, while Ma Chengfeng, Shi Wen’s friends, and a large number of hired workers arrived to help or watch.

Shi Wen prepared his ranch’s mutton for sale and agreed to let the Abnormal Affairs Bureau handle its overseas distribution. After a major foreign livestock company contacted him, he sent them to Zhu Ji because he had already signed away the distribution rights.

• Shi Wen and Fu Meng reflected on the ranch’s success as workers packaged and shipped the high-scoring mutton.
• Zhu Ji asked about the sheep available for slaughter, and Shi Wen said 163 of the 213 could be processed while the rest would be kept for the ranch and an exhibition.
• Zhu Ji proposed that the Abnormal Affairs Bureau negotiate overseas distribution rights, and Shi Wen agreed to a price of at least 1,800 yuan per jin for the current batch.
• Shi Wen delivered the members’ orders and signed a contract requiring him only to supply mutton regularly.
• A major foreign livestock company called Shi Wen to discuss buying mutton, and he referred its representative to Zhu Ji because the Bureau already held the overseas distribution rights.

Shi Wen explained to Qile Moge that his ranch’s sheep were exceptional because of his husbandry and feed, not a proven breed advantage, so selling them would likely lose Qile money. He left Qile on a waiting list for future breeding experiments and decided to focus on improving the ranch until its Ability value passed 300.

• Qile Moge visited Shi Wen and praised how the ranch’s fat-tailed sheep had surpassed Dolan Sheep in popularity.
• Qile asked to buy as many lambs as possible, but Shi Wen warned that they would lose their quality outside his ranch and advised renting breeding sheep instead.
• Shi Wen explained that he could not yet supply sheep reliably and told Qile that lambs would cost far more than the market price without any guarantee of profit.
• Qile asked to stay on the waiting list, and Shi Wen agreed to contact him first if he began further experiments.
• After Qile left, Yan Kexing reassured Shi Wen that he would breed better sheep, while Shi Wen said he would first improve the ranch’s ingredients and wait until its Ability value exceeded 300.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing planned to improve the pregnant ewes’ nutrition and grow barley and wheat after their lambs’ poor results. Later, they received termite mushrooms from Zhake and cooked a feast, which they enjoyed together.

• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing agreed to improve the ewes’ nutrition and grow wheat and barley for the next generation of lambs.
• In late spring, Shi Wen ate watermelon in the courtyard with the animals while Yan Kexing returned carrying a parcel.
• Yan Kexing told Shi Wen that Zhake had sent them termite mushrooms to thank them for helping find his horses.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing prepared the mushrooms as stir-fried mushrooms, mushroom oil, and chicken soup.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing ate the termite mushroom feast late that evening, and Shi Wen praised the mushrooms’ flavor and texture.

Shi Wen missed Zhake’s fragrant termite mushrooms, so he arranged for his family to visit Zhake’s fig orchard and hunt for them. Zhake welcomed them to the orchard, where they sampled ripe figs before beginning their search.

• Shi Wen thanked Zhake for sending termite mushrooms, then bought some online when his supply ran low and found they were a different, less fragrant variety.
• Shi Wen contacted Zhake and proposed a family outing to dig for termite mushrooms in Zhake’s fig orchard, and Yan Kexing agreed.
• Shi Wen brought honey and vegetables as gifts, and he and Yan Kexing traveled to the orchard with Gong Jiang and two others.
• Zhake led the visitors through his fig orchard, explained that it covered more than 130 mu and sold its crop to a nearby preserved-fruit plant, then offered them ripe figs to eat.

Shi Wen and his companions searched Zhake’s fig orchard for termite mushrooms, and Chasing Clouds found the first cluster. They collected twelve mushrooms and continued the contest, waiting to see which of the other little ones would find the next cluster.

• Shi Wen praised Zhake’s figs, then declined his offer to keep showing them around and set out to look for termite mushrooms.
• Shi Wen sent the little ones searching while he and his companions split into two groups; Cong Zai chose to stay beside them.
• Chasing Clouds spotted tiny mushrooms from the air and led everyone to the first cluster beneath the fig trees.
• Shi Wen and the others dug up twelve termite mushrooms, covered them with leaves, and refilled the hole.
• Shi Wen announced that Chasing Clouds was in the lead, prompting Wolf King and the others to hurry off and search again.
• Lin Chengqian asked whether they should follow Shi Wen, who suggested they wait for the first little one to call out.

Shi Wen and the others searched the orchard and dug up six clusters of termite mushrooms. When the little fox found an abandoned termite nest with no mushrooms, Shi Wen discovered edible Xylaria nigripes sclerotia inside, and the group began digging them up.

• The dogs led Shi Wen and the others to six clusters of termite mushrooms, which they dug up across the west side of the orchard.
• Shi Wen and the group headed east, where the little fox found a mound that smelled of termite mushrooms.
• Shi Wen uncovered an abandoned termite nest and found a white, mycelium-covered object inside.
• Yan Kexing identified the object as a sclerotium of Xylaria nigripes and explained that it was edible and medicinal.
• Shi Wen widened the nest and found more sclerotia for the group to take home.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing’s group gathered charcoal horn fungus and termite mushrooms at Zhake’s orchard, then returned to the ranch for a feast. After drinking soup made with black spirit ginseng, termite mushrooms, and chicken, everyone slept unusually long, and Yan Kexing explained that the soup had a strong sleep-inducing effect.

• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing dug through a termite nest and found thirty-four charcoal horn fungus sclerotia.
• The little fox and the Wolf King led the group to more termite mushrooms, and the group also dug up the clusters found by An Wa and the little snow leopard.
• Shi Wen decided the group had gathered enough and headed back after leaving Zhake’s family a basket of mushrooms, which Zhake refused to keep.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing prepared a termite mushroom feast while Gong Jiang and the others slaughtered chickens, and everyone ate and drank chicken soup with charcoal horn fungus sclerotia.
• Shi Wen and the others slept unusually deeply, and when Shi Wen woke at 9:37 the next morning, Yan Kexing told him the soup had a strong sleep-inducing effect.

Shi Wen and his companions recovered from the deep sleep caused by the wild wuling shen and gathered to eat Yan Kexing’s roast goose. After Shi Wen posted about the herb’s effects, Xing Mingyue contacted him to ask whether the wuling shen alone had caused them.

• Shi Wen woke feeling refreshed, checked the sleeping young animals, and confirmed that Gong Jiang, Ge Yue, and Lin Chengqian were also sleeping soundly.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing went back to sleep, then hosted Gong Jiang, Ge Yue, and Lin Chengqian for roast goose that evening.
• The group discussed the wuling shen’s powerful effects, and Shi Wen credited the little fox with finding it.
• Shi Wen posted about the wild wuling shen on Moments and cautioned that cultivated versions might not have the same effect.
• Xing Mingyue messaged Shi Wen to ask whether the wuling shen alone had caused the unusually deep sleep.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing sent wuling ginseng, Bresse chickens, and honey to help Xing Mingyue’s insomniac friend from the Sixth Institute. After the ingredients helped, Old Zhou invited Xing Mingyue to meet near the Abnormal Affairs Bureau.

• Xing Mingyue asked Shi Wen whether wuling ginseng had helped everyone sleep, and Shi Wen confirmed that it had worked for him, Yan Kexing, their students, and their animals.
• At Yan Kexing’s suggestion, Shi Wen agreed to send ingredients to Xing Mingyue’s friend from the Sixth Institute without charge.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing sent three Bresse chickens, wuling ginseng, and honey, and Xing Mingyue confirmed the package had arrived that evening.
• Three days later, Old Zhou called Xing Mingyue and said the ingredients had helped a great deal, then invited him out for a drink.
• Xing Mingyue met Old Zhou at a small restaurant near the Abnormal Affairs Bureau and noticed that Old Zhou had grown old.

After Old Zhou thanked Xing Mingyue for the ranch’s ingredients, new tests confirmed that some of Shi Wen’s products enhanced the effects of medicinal ingredients. Shi Wen suspended sales and arranged health checks for members while the possible risks were investigated.

• Old Zhou praised the black ginseng and Bresse chicken Xing Mingyue had sent him, then exchanged gifts and drinks with Xing Mingyue.
• Shi Wen received a request from higher-ups to retest the Bresse chicken and assess other ranch ingredients, and Zhu Ji collected samples for testing.
• Xing Mingyue told Shi Wen that the Bresse chicken and honey had ability values of 286 and 284, and that high-value ranch ingredients enhanced medicinal properties.
• Shi Wen asked whether the ingredients could also amplify medicine’s toxicity or require dosage changes, and Xing Mingyue promised further study.
• Shi Wen announced a suspension of ingredient sales and funded health checks for members; Zhu Ji later heard that members’ reports showed improved health and no side effects.

Shi Wen discussed his ranch’s product-quality concerns and livestock breeding with Zhu Ji, then reviewed information on potential goats from several organizations. He was still deciding which goats could suit the ranch’s climate when Yan Kexing came home.

• Shi Wen told Zhu Ji that he had stopped selling the ranch’s products until he could obtain more complete test reports and follow-up studies.
• Zhu Ji checked the members’ forum and found customers divided between concern and praise, with little abuse.
• Shi Wen explained that the sheep pigs were breeding well but the black pigs stayed apart, leaving him unsure whether artificial insemination would work.
• Zhu Ji offered information about black goats from the south, and Shi Wen agreed to assess whether they could handle the cold.
• Zhu Ji sent documents about goat candidates from several organizations, and Shi Wen studied them at dinner as he waited for Yan Kexing.
• Yan Kexing asked about the documents, and Shi Wen explained that he wanted to judge which goats were suited to the ranch before accepting any.

Shi Wen considered the practical factors involved in raising new livestock while Yan Kexing cooked dinner, and reassured friends that the ranch could withstand its temporary suspension. Half a month later, Xing Mingyue delivered research confirming that the ranch’s ingredients were safe and could counteract excessive medicinal nourishment.

• Shi Wen explained that livestock needed to suit the local humidity and diet as well as the temperature, then decided to help Yan Kexing make dry-fried fish for dinner.
• Gong Jiang, Ge Yue, and Zhu Ji visited Shi Wen to check on him, and he explained that the ranch’s temporary suspension had not caused financial trouble.
• Ge Yue told Shi Wen that Brother Fu and other neighbors had also asked whether he needed help, and Shi Wen reflected on their support.
• Xing Mingyue gave Shi Wen a thick report showing that the ranch’s ingredients had no hidden risks and that excessive nourishment from medicinal ingredients would be expelled from the body.

After reviewing research confirming the need for caution with the ranch’s ingredients, Shi Wen and Yan Kexing announced their findings and received supportive comments from members. Sikewell then visited the ranch to teach Shi Wen and Tang Duohai how to collect semen from the breeding boar, and Tang Duohai prepared to try it himself.

• Xing Mingyue told Shi Wen that leaders would soon discuss closer cooperation, possibly commissioning him to breed animals with specific traits.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing reviewed the research results and posted an announcement explaining why they had paused trading ingredients.
• Members praised Shi Wen’s caution and asked for the ranch’s ingredients to return to sale, and Zhu Ji showed him their comments.
• Sikewell and Tang Duohai arrived to collect semen from the boar and inseminate a sow, while Shi Wen joined them to learn.
• Shi Wen shaved and cleaned the boar, and Sikewell demonstrated semen collection before inviting Tang Duohai to try.