Recaps

After a long day helping with difficult cow births, Shi Wen returned home to find Yan Kexing had fed the livestock and prepared his favorite meal. Later, Shi Wen brought Yan Kexing his childhood photo album so Yan Kexing could get to know him better.

• Shi Wen remembered he had missed the livestock’s afternoon feeding, but Yan Kexing told him he had already fed them with the forklift.
• Shi Wen showered, realized he had forgotten his towel and clothes, and called Yan Kexing to bring him a bath towel.
• Yan Kexing waited for Shi Wen and served him three dishes and soup, all of them his favorites.
• Shi Wen washed the dishes, cleaned up, changed into a nicer outfit, and invited Yan Kexing to look at his childhood photo album.
• Yan Kexing held out his hand for the album as Shi Wen sat on the bed in the cramped guest room.

Shi Wen shared his childhood photo album with Yan Kexing, who kissed him goodnight and left him flustered. The next morning, Shi Wen discovered that the geese had laid eggs, and Yan Kexing told him they were fertilized.

• Shi Wen showed Yan Kexing his childhood photos and listened eagerly to stories about Yan Kexing's past.
• Yan Kexing kissed Shi Wen's forehead goodnight, and Shi Wen hurried away, unable to hide his embarrassment.
• Shi Wen got up late and found Ge Yue, Gong Jiang, and Lin visiting.
• Heiwa and the other dogs brought Shi Wen four large goose eggs.
• Yan Kexing examined the eggs and said they had all been fertilized, so Shi Wen suggested checking them in the sunlight.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing found sixteen fertilized goose eggs and identified the sexes of the ranch’s geese. The group chose a male goose for lunch, and Yan Kexing asked how they wanted it cooked.

• Shi Wen, Yan Kexing, and the others searched the goose pen and found sixteen fertilized eggs.
• Yan Kexing identified the sexes of Shi Wen’s thirty geese, finding eleven males and nineteen females.
• Shi Wen and the others decided to slaughter a male goose for lunch, and Yan Kexing agreed to cook it.
• Shi Wen weighed the goose at fourteen jin and six liang before handing it to Gong Jiang and the other two to slaughter.
• Yan Kexing listed several ways to prepare the goose, and Lin Chengqian asked whether he could cook it any way they wanted.

Shi Wen returned home eager for the goose Yan Kexing was stewing, and the two of them prepared and tasted it together. Yan Kexing tried the goose from the piece Shi Wen offered him, leaving their shared meal about to begin.

• Lin Chengqian, Ge Yue, and Gong Jiang whispered that Yan Kexing and Shi Wen seemed so absorbed in each other that everyone else was being ignored.
• Shi Wen left the cattle and sheep with Old Man Ma and Aini, then hurried home with the dogs.
• Yan Kexing kept the tiger cubs out of the kitchen and explained his master-stock method to Shi Wen as he cooked the goose.
• Yan Kexing asked Shi Wen to check the seasoning, and Shi Wen praised the goose’s flavor and texture.
• Shi Wen offered Yan Kexing the unbitten side of his goose leg, and Yan Kexing took a bite.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing prepared a carefully cooked goose and special meals for their animals. Shi Wen fed the dogs and tiger cubs, sharing a little goose with each as the animals gathered for dinner.

• Yan Kexing chopped the goose, reduced its cooking juices, and served it warm while Shi Wen sampled the goose meat and liver.
• Yan Kexing gave Shi Wen a basin of chopped goose to feed Heiwa and the other dogs, then told him to return for the tiger cubs’ special meals.
• Shi Wen hugged Yan Kexing and carried the food outside, where Ge Yue and the others watched him expectantly.
• Shi Wen told the dogs to sit before serving them, while Heiwa stopped Langwa from begging for food meant for the older dogs.
• Shi Wen fed the tiger cubs their prepared meat with pieces of goose and added a piece of goose to Cong Zai’s cat food.

Shi Wen and his companions enjoyed a meal of exceptionally tasty goose, and he prepared to hatch a batch of goslings. During a sunny winter spell, he tended his black bees and trained his pigeons to find their way home.

• Shi Wen fed Langwa goose breast and a thigh bone before joining Yan Kexing and the others for lunch.
• The group praised the goose's flavor, and Yan Kexing compared its meat to hazel grouse; Shi Wen decided they should raise more next year.
• Shi Wen packed fertilized goose eggs into the refrigerator, planning to hatch them together in the incubator.
• During a week of clear weather, Shi Wen spent evenings watching the stars and movies with Yan Kexing.
• Shi Wen brought the beehives into the sun, offered the black bees honey water, and recorded that the colony was healthy.
• Shi Wen took his pigeons near the hives and released them to practice finding their way home.

Shi Wen found the snow leopard inside his ranch and spent time petting it while waiting for Zhou Hongzhong's team to arrive. He learned it would likely be taken to a zoo temporarily, where it might be used for breeding, before being released in spring.

• The snow leopard jumped the ranch fence and sprawled beside Shi Wen, who petted its chest, belly, and tail.
• Shi Wen called Zhou Hongzhong, who said his team had received an alert from the leopard's tracking collar and would come when they finished their current job.
• Shi Wen sent Yan Kexing photos of the snow leopard and told him it had not harmed livestock or the ranch animals.
• Yan Kexing suggested the leopard might be drawn to Shi Wen because of Qilin, or because it wanted food and shelter from humans.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing discussed the leopard's likely temporary stay at a zoo and its probable use for breeding before its release in spring.

Shi Wen helped Zhou Hongzhong’s team safely load a snow leopard into a cage for transfer to N City Zoo. He learned that the team was also searching for a hostile wild brown bear that had escaped from the zoo, and Zhou Hongzhong asked him to help find it.

• After waiting more than two hours, Shi Wen carried the sleeping snow leopard into an iron cage without using a tranquilizer.
• Zhou Hongzhong confirmed they would take the snow leopard to N City Zoo until food became more plentiful in the mountains.
• Shi Wen learned the team had been searching for a brown bear that escaped from the zoo and had been rescued from poachers.
• Zhou Hongzhong asked Shi Wen to help locate the bear, recalling how well he had found the feral domestic pigs.

Shi Wen joined the search for an escaped brown bear and used his Qilin Bloodline to track the animal’s route out of N City Zoo. He led Zhou Hongzhong and the others beyond the zoo, following the bear’s trail.

• Shi Wen learned that the escaped adult male Eurasian brown bear weighed 596 jin and called Yan Kexing for advice before heading to N City Zoo with Zhou Hongzhong.
• The zoo director explained that the bear had climbed a tree and escaped over a fence more than five meters high, and showed Shi Wen the surveillance video.
• Shi Wen climbed the tree, followed the bear’s route across other trees and over the fence, and found its tracks outside the enclosure.
• Shi Wen tracked the bear beyond the zoo by following its scent, hair, footprints, and other traces, impressing the zoo director.

Shi Wen led Zhou Hongzhong’s team into the countryside, where they tracked the escaped brown bear and found it resting near a bush. When the bear charged, Shi Wen took the tranquilizer gun and shot it twice, but it stayed on its feet and turned to chase him.

• Zhou Hongzhong and his team followed Shi Wen’s route and surveillance footage confirmed that the brown bear had left the city and headed into the wild.
• Shi Wen explained that the bear might be searching for food before hibernating, and the team continued tracking it on foot.
• Shi Wen found a marmot burrow the bear had dug open and identified it as evidence that the bear had eaten there.
• Shi Wen spotted the brown bear resting nearby and stopped the team while they prepared the tranquilizer gun.
• The bear noticed the team, charged at them, and chased the young man who had fired and missed.
• Shi Wen took the tranquilizer gun and hit the bear twice, but it remained upright and charged toward him.

Shi Wen helped Zhou Hongzhong capture a rampaging brown bear, then worried about whether it would be confined in a zoo or released somewhere safe. After returning home to Yan Kexing, he rested and the next morning asked who Yan Kexing had spoken to on the phone.

• Shi Wen ran from the brown bear until Zhou Hongzhong's tranquilizer took effect and the bear collapsed.
• Zhou Hongzhong said the bear would likely be sent to a zoo, while Shi Wen worried about confining an animal that hated humans.
• Zhou Hongzhong drove Shi Wen home, where Yan Kexing comforted him as he explained why he felt sorry for the bear.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing ate dinner, and later Shi Wen heard Yan Kexing speaking to someone on the phone before falling asleep.
• The next morning, Shi Wen asked Yan Kexing who he had been talking to on the phone.

After learning that the brown bear might be relocated to Sanjiangyuan National Park if it passed an ecological assessment, Shi Wen focused on the ranch and celebrated his well-raised sheep with friends. The gathering ended with Shi Wen planning to expand his flock next year.

• Yan Kexing told Shi Wen that Sanjiangyuan National Park was considering the brown bear, subject to an assessment of its impact on the ecosystem.
• Shi Wen learned that most of his 309 wethers weighed between 80 and 110 jin and decided to slaughter two for a meal and to share meat with the snow leopard and brown bear.
• Shi Wen invited Zhang Deyuan and his wife, Fu Meng and his wife, and Gong Jiang's group to help butcher the sheep and eat mutton together.
• Zhang Deyuan praised the mutton's flavor, while Shi Wen credited his sheep-raising talent and shared a knowing smile with Yan Kexing.
• Shi Wen told Zhang Deyuan he planned to plant more forage grass and buy more lambs and ewes next spring, asking him to help find good sheep.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing visited the N City Zoo to bring mutton to the brown bear and snow leopard. After Shi Wen advised the brown bear not to attack people, the snow leopard greeted them eagerly and rolled over for pets.

• At dinner, Shi Wen said he planned to raise between a thousand and three thousand sheep next year and might breed locally suited fat-tailed sheep in the future.
• Shi Wen arranged with the N City Zoo to bring mutton for the brown bear and snow leopard, then drove there with Yan Kexing and a whole sheep.
• The brown bear recognized Shi Wen but acted lethargic until Yan Kexing roared, then ate the mutton while Shi Wen urged it to avoid attacking humans.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing entered the snow leopard’s enclosure, where the snow leopard rushed over, exposed its belly, and asked to be petted.
• Shi Wen rubbed the snow leopard’s belly as it licked its nose and meowed.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing returned home, where Shi Wen greeted the animals and sent Gong Jiang, Lin Chengqian, and Ge Yue away with mutton and chive blossom sauce. At dinner with his second uncle, Lin Chengqian revealed that Shi Wen was Yan Kexing’s boyfriend, and Lin Huaizhuo asked whether Shi Wen was a scientist.

• Shi Wen returned from the zoo with Yan Kexing and picked up both tiger cubs while Cong Zai climbed onto his shoulders.
• Shi Wen persuaded Gong Jiang, Lin Chengqian, and Ge Yue to take mutton and chive blossom sauce back to their dormitory.
• Lin Chengqian recognized his second uncle, Lin Huaizhuo, arriving at the dormitory and invited him upstairs for hot pot.
• Lin Huaizhuo praised the chive blossom sauce, and Lin Chengqian said he had gotten it from Yan Kexing’s boyfriend, Shi Wen.
• Lin Chengqian told Lin Huaizhuo not to reveal Yan Kexing and Shi Wen’s relationship, and Lin Huaizhuo asked whether Shi Wen was a scientist.

Lin Huaizhuo saw a business opportunity in Shi Wen’s high-quality sheep and asked Lin Chengqian to introduce them. After agreeing to meet, Shi Wen welcomed Lin Chengqian and Lin Huaizhuo at his farm while preparing to fertilize the pastures.

• Lin Huaizhuo asked Lin Chengqian about Shi Wen’s livestock and decided they should explore working together.
• Lin Chengqian asked Shi Wen if he could bring Lin Huaizhuo to visit, and Shi Wen agreed.
• Shi Wen gave Fu Meng’s family some of his fermented fertilizer in return for their earlier help.
• Shi Wen spread fertilizer over Pasture No. 1, while Lin Chengqian and Lin Huaizhuo admired the farm’s setting and growing conditions.
• Shi Wen greeted Lin Chengqian and Lin Huaizhuo, led them inside, and served them salted milk tea.

Shi Wen negotiated a deal with Lin Huaizhuo to sell his sheep through Lin’s connections, while Lin Huaizhuo learned more about Professor Yan’s influence. Shi Wen continued tending his ranch, unaware of the conversation between Lin Huaizhuo and Lin Chengqian.

• Lin Huaizhuo offered Shi Wen sixty yuan per jin for his sheep, and Shi Wen proposed a guaranteed minimum price with any proceeds above it split equally.
• Lin Huaizhuo and Shi Wen signed an agreement for delivery on February 7, and Lin Huaizhuo transferred a one-hundred-thousand-yuan deposit.
• After lunch, Lin Huaizhuo asked Lin Chengqian how long Professor Yan and Shi Wen had been together and explained Professor Yan’s importance.
• Shi Wen continued fertilizing the pasture grass as he prepared to expand his planting the following year.

A severe cold wave brought hail and a blizzard to Shi Wen’s ranch, prompting him and Yan Kexing to check the livestock in the middle of the night. They found the animals safe in the heated barn and stayed there together as the storm raged outside.

• Shi Wen covered the hay bales as damp weather arrived, then the temperature plunged when rain and hail gave way to a blizzard.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing went out to check the livestock barn, while Cong Zai, Langwa, and the two tiger cubs settled back to sleep.
• Yan Kexing steadied Shi Wen against the fierce wind as they struggled across the slippery ground to reach the barn.
• Shi Wen reassured the frightened working dogs and checked the livestock, including the pregnant ewes and cows, and found them safe in the heated barn.
• Shi Wen checked the red blizzard alert and leaned against Yan Kexing as they talked about the dangers of the storm and the comfort of having a companion.

During a severe blizzard, Shi Wen and Yan Kexing cared for the livestock and checked their beehives before setting out to patrol the wilderness for animals. They encountered Fu Meng and his companions riding through the snow, and Shi Wen called to ask where they were going.

• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing comforted each other through the night and agreed to look for wild animals when the storm eased.
• After returning from the livestock shed, Shi Wen took a hot shower and went to bed, then woke to deep snow the next morning.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing cleared snow, fed the animals, and prepared extra feed and heat for the livestock.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing checked the beehives in minus forty-two-degree weather and added heat packs to the coverings.
• Gong Jiang delivered an off-road vehicle, and Ge Yue and Lin Chengqian joined Shi Wen and Yan Kexing to record data during the extreme weather.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing encountered Fu Meng and his companions riding through the snow, and Shi Wen called out to ask where they were going.

Shi Wen and his companions searched the snowy roads for stranded animals and found a sheep, then followed the scent of wolves to a culvert. There, Shi Wen and Yan Kexing discovered an old wolf acquaintance sheltering alone.

• Shi Wen and Fu Meng's groups exchanged information and split up to search different routes.
• Shi Wen spotted a frozen sheep that was still alive, photographed it, and brought it into the car with Gong Jiang.
• Gong Jiang and the others recorded conditions as the group drove through the remote, snowbound area.
• As the group turned back, Shi Wen caught the scent of wolves, and Yan Kexing suspected they were hiding in a culvert.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing left the others in the car and found a single wolf inside the culvert, one they already knew.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing found the injured wolf king in a culvert and brought him back to the ranch for care. After feeding him and asking Sikewell for help with his badly injured leg, Shi Wen joined the others for hot pot, and Sikewell arrived to treat the wolf.

• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing found the wounded wolf king in a culvert and decided to take him back to the ranch.
• Shi Wen carried the wolf king to the vehicle, where the others admired him and learned his thigh was badly injured.
• Shi Wen put the wolf king in a separate pen, fed him beef, and sent Sikewell pictures of his wound.
• Shi Wen agreed to look after a lost sheep until its herder could collect it, then returned to the courtyard for milk tea.
• Shi Wen and the others prepared and ate hot pot, and Sikewell arrived at the ranch.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing helped Sikewell treat the injured wolf king, then invited him to share hot pot. After dark, Shi Wen offered the city visitors rooms for the night, and Yan Kexing suggested that Shi Wen stay in his bedroom; Shi Wen agreed, then joined him after showering.

• Shi Wen went with Sikewell to examine the wolf king, and Yan Kexing and the others followed.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing muzzled and restrained the wolf king while Sikewell treated its wounds, splinted its injured leg, and gave it injections.
• Shi Wen invited Sikewell to eat hot pot and insisted on paying the cost of the wolf king’s treatment.
• Shi Wen urged Gong Jiang, Lin Chengqian, and Ge Yue to stay because the dark roads were dangerous, and Yan Kexing arranged the sleeping rooms.
• Shi Wen agreed to share Yan Kexing’s bedroom and entered it after showering and drying his hair.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing shared a bed, kissed for the first time, and Yan Kexing stopped things there, telling Shi Wen to sleep. The next morning, Shi Wen found Yan Kexing making food for the dogs and greeted him with another kiss.

• Shi Wen nervously chose the left side of Yan Kexing's bed, then admitted he liked men and had avoided sharing a bed with friends.
• Shi Wen kissed Yan Kexing's cheek goodnight, and Yan Kexing caught him and kissed him at length.
• Yan Kexing stopped their intimacy and told Shi Wen it was not the right time; Shi Wen soon fell asleep, and Yan Kexing drew him into his arms.
• Shi Wen woke the next morning, remembered their kiss, and hurried to wash up.
• Shi Wen found Yan Kexing cooking and kissed him good morning; Yan Kexing pulled him back, returned the greeting, and Shi Wen asked whether the dogs' food was ready.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing checked the ranch after the blizzard, then received horse meat and sausage from Fu Meng and decided to gather creeping pine. They drove into the mountains with Gong Jiang, Ge Yue, Lin Chengqian, and the two tiger cubs, reaching a snowy mountainside to begin their outing.

• Shi Wen fed the dogs and wolf king, checked the wolf king's wounds, and gave it medicine.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing walked the ranch and found everything in order after the blizzard.
• Fu Meng brought Shi Wen and Yan Kexing horse meat and sausage, then explained the local custom of burning creeping pine to protect livestock from illness.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing agreed to gather creeping pine, and Fu Meng directed them to a mountain where it grew abundantly.
• The two tiger cubs clung to Shi Wen, so Yan Kexing agreed to bring them along for wilderness training.
• Gong Jiang drove the group into the mountains, where Shi Wen and Yan Kexing got out with the cubs at the snowy mountainside.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing gathered creeping pine while the tiger cubs practiced hunting in the snow. After the cubs brought Shi Wen a dead grey-backed falcon and he sent them off to eat, they returned with a branch of silverberries.

• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing found creeping pine near a windy mountain pass and led the group to a sheltered spot to cut its branches.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing watched the cubs chase and exhaust a bird while practicing their hunting.
• The cubs brought Shi Wen a dead grey-backed falcon, but he thanked them and told them to eat it themselves.
• Shi Wen asked the group to rest in a sheltered spot after they had gathered enough creeping pine.
• The cubs returned carrying a branch of reddish-orange fruit, which Shi Wen recognized as silverberries.

Shi Wen and the others gathered oleaster berries with help from two tiger cubs, then enjoyed a fragrant fire and a hearty dinner at home. As the snow began to melt, Yan Kexing confirmed that he and the others would soon leave for a week to survey the area.

• The two tiger cubs brought Shi Wen oleaster branches, and Lin Chengqian spotted berries beneath the snow.
• Shi Wen sampled the sour berries, then picked sweet ones while Yan Kexing gathered berries to make oleaster cakes.
• Shi Wen lit creeping pine branches in the courtyard, and Yan Kexing explained the custom of burning them to ward off the cold.
• Shi Wen and the others ate dry-pot horse meat and floral tea, and Lin Chengqian said they would soon survey the area.
• Yan Kexing told Shi Wen that the group might be gone for about a week, while melting snow left the grassland muddy.