Recaps

After helping remove frozen goitered gazelles, Shi Wen began planning next year’s forage crops and discussed his ideas with Yan Kexing. Yan Kexing offered to ask a friend who researched alfalfa about seeds for a promising new variety.

• Shi Wen joined Fu Meng and other villagers in hauling frozen goitered gazelles from the valley and disinfecting the ground.
• The herders discussed next year’s planting and livestock plans, and Fu Meng urged Shi Wen to arrange seeds and labor early.
• Shi Wen researched forage crops and decided he might plant alfalfa, sainfoin, and Chinese wild rye together.
• Shi Wen explained his planting plans to Yan Kexing, who offered to ask a friend about seeds for a higher-yield, more nutritious alfalfa variety.

Shi Wen organized a village-wide order for J University’s Purple Star No. 5 alfalfa seed, and 340 households signed up for a total of 125,800 jin. After learning the order’s size, Shi Wen asked Yan Kexing to confirm whether his friend could supply enough seed; an assistant named Qu Jiaojiao arrived to coordinate.

• Yan Kexing told Shi Wen that Purple Star No. 5 seed could be bought in bulk for about twenty yuan per jin, and he sent him the research papers and experimental data.
• Shi Wen discussed the new forage with Fu Meng and invited villagers to order seed, while making clear that everyone would pay the seller directly.
• Herders from Shi Wen’s village and nearby villages placed orders, and Fu Meng helped register them until the December 25 deadline.
• Fu Meng told Shi Wen that 340 households had ordered an average of 370 jin each, totaling 125,800 jin, and Shi Wen promised to check whether the supply was available.
• Shi Wen asked Yan Kexing to confirm the large order, and Yan Kexing’s friend sent Qu Jiaojiao to coordinate with them.

Shi Wen expanded his ranching plans by arranging forage-seed trials and contracting renovations for the livestock sheds. Ge Yue then introduced the possibility of collaborating with her doctoral-student childhood friend on a smart-ranch project.

• Shi Wen declined to join Qu Jiaojiao’s forage-planting experiment, introduced her to Fu Meng, and learned that more than a thousand herding households had signed up.
• Shi Wen adjusted feed for his pregnant livestock, stopped milking the cows, and discussed the high costs of breeding with Fu Meng.
• Fu Meng connected Shi Wen with A Sai’s construction crew, and Shi Wen signed a contract to renovate and expand the livestock sheds.
• Shi Wen paid 300,000 yuan for the first construction stage and arranged for A Sai’s crew to begin work at the ranch.
• Ge Yue asked whether Shi Wen planned to build a smart ranch and told him that her childhood friend, a doctoral student researching modern animal husbandry in Australia, needed a ranch for her graduation project.

Shi Wen recruited Yang Yiqing to help develop smart facilities at the ranch, and she returned to China to work with him. After she arrived, she recognized that the Wolf King was faking his limp, and Shi Wen welcomed her to the ranch.

• Ge Yue introduced Shi Wen to her friend Yang Yiqing, and Shi Wen and Yan Kexing reviewed Yang Yiqing’s impressive résumé and papers.
• Shi Wen and Yang Yiqing got along during their conversations, and she flew back to China to meet him at the ranch.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing picked Yang Yiqing up at the airport and brought her to the ranch, where the Wolf King came out to greet them.
• Yang Yiqing noticed that the Wolf King’s limp was fake, and Shi Wen realized the wolf had recovered but was pretending to be injured for free meals.
• Shi Wen showed Yang Yiqing around and settled her in at the ranch, then Ge Yue and the others joined them for lamb hot pot with the tiger cubs.

Yang Yiqing settled into life at Shi Wen’s ranch and began helping improve its renovation plans and sheep business. As a buyer prepared to inspect the flock, she urged Shi Wen to highlight the lamb’s distinctive flavor rather than rely only on standard grading criteria.

• Yang Yiqing learned from Ge Yue that Cong Zai had defeated the Wolf King, then joined everyone for hot pot and discussed the ranch’s first batch of fat-tailed sheep with Shi Wen.
• Ge Yue stayed overnight with Yang Yiqing, who described the ranch as a wildlife lover’s paradise and said she was excited to work with Shi Wen.
• Yang Yiqing brought new design plans and research to the ranch, persuading Shi Wen to add 1.5 million to the renovation budget and winning over A Sai and the workers.
• Lin Huaizhuo reached a preliminary agreement with a sheep buyer, who arranged to visit the ranch and inspect the flock.
• Yang Yiqing told Shi Wen that the lamb’s nutty fragrance and rich, tender flavor were its greatest selling points and should be emphasized when grading it.

Shi Wen followed Yang Yiqing’s advice and presented his ranch’s mutton alongside other grades to show restaurant owner Duan Haoying its quality. Duan was impressed and agreed to buy sheep at 135 yuan per jin, leaving Shi Wen to prepare the sale.

• Yang Yiqing urged Shi Wen to promote his mutton by comparing it with other premium meat and building a brand.
• Shi Wen bought several grades of local mutton for a tasting with Duan Haoying, whom Lin Huaizhuo brought to inspect sheep for New Year banquets.
• Duan Haoying praised the sheep and tasted the grilled mutton, correctly identifying Shi Wen’s as exceptionally tender and delicious.
• Duan Haoying offered 130 yuan per jin for live sheep, and Lin Huaizhuo negotiated the price up to 135 yuan per jin.
• Shi Wen prepared to file the required report and asked Fu Meng, Zhang Deyuan, and others to help with the sale.

Shi Wen sold his three hundred sheep for a large profit and celebrated with friends, neighbors, and Yan Kexing. After sharing his happiness about their growing family and future, Shi Wen slept through the morning and woke at noon.

• Lin Huaizhuo paid Shi Wen in advance for the sheep, earning Shi Wen more than 2.66 million yuan and over a million yuan in profit.
• Shi Wen invited everyone who had helped him to a roast-lamb meal, while A Sai brought wine and Xin Xianghong and the other women brought vegetables.
• The wolf king stole and ate the sheep's innards, then tried to feed some to Langwa, who resisted.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing shared the bonfire meal and later walked home hand in hand.
• Shi Wen proposed renovating their home together, and he and Yan Kexing told each other how happy they were with their life and family.
• Shi Wen fell asleep after drinking and woke up at noon.

Shi Wen considered expanding his breeding flock after Yang Yiqing presented calculations supporting a larger operation. As wet, warming weather kept the livestock indoors, he and Yang Yiqing continued feeding and caring for them.

• Duan Haoying praised Shi Wen's lamb after sharing a video of his granddaughter enjoying it, and Shi Wen promised to send him more next year.
• Shi Wen found the seed potatoes Xin Xianghong had brought and thanked her before eating the meal Yan Kexing had prepared.
• While cleaning the sheepfold, Shi Wen discussed the ranch's breeding ewes with Yang Yiqing and said he would only buy livestock that met his standards.
• Yang Yiqing showed Shi Wen her plan for raising fifteen hundred breeding sheep alongside fifteen hundred meat sheep, and he admitted her figures nearly persuaded him.
• Because damp weather made grazing risky for pregnant livestock, Shi Wen and Yang Yiqing stayed at the ranch to oversee renovations and care for the animals.

Shi Wen noticed that the dogs and the Wolf King were unusually reluctant to eat and suspected they were finding food outside. With Yan Kexing’s help, he fitted cameras to Fu Wa and Le Wa, then discovered that the Wolf King was stealing corn kernels from the livestock shed.

• Yang Yiqing told Shi Wen she planned to leave on February second and would travel home with Ge Yue.
• Shi Wen noticed the dogs and the Wolf King acting unusually excited outside and then struggling to eat their dinner.
• Shi Wen told Yan Kexing he suspected the animals were finding food outside, and Yan Kexing suggested using animal cameras to follow them.
• Shi Wen attached cameras to Fu Wa and Le Wa and watched their movements with Yan Kexing after the dogs ran off.
• Shi Wen discovered through the camera footage that the Wolf King was stealing corn kernels from the livestock shed.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing watched the Wolf King, tiger cubs, and dogs carry food beyond the ranch fence and set a baited trap at a burrow. They waited for the hidden animal to emerge, while Shi Wen guessed the burrow belonged to a marmot but could not identify what was inside.

• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing saw Heiwa, Hu Zai, and the other animals carry corn and meat out of the ranch.
• The Wolf King, tiger cubs, and dogs jumped over the wire fence and ran toward the mountain, leaving Langwa and Cong Zai behind.
• The animals placed corn kernels and meat in a trail outside a dark burrow, then hid in the dry grass to wait for prey.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing watched the motionless burrow and discussed whether it housed a marmot, fox, or another animal.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing watched the wolf king, Heiwa, and the tiger cubs hunt a marbled polecat, then discussed the animals’ hunting habits and vaccines. The group returned to the ranch after eating and playing by the river, leaving Shi Wen reflecting on the intelligence and emotions of the animals he had raised.

• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing waited for an animal to emerge from a hole, and a marbled polecat eventually came out to eat the bait.
• The wolf king and tiger cubs ambushed and killed the marbled polecat in a coordinated hunt, while Heiwa and the other dogs joined in.
• Shi Wen worried about the dogs hunting and spreading disease, and Yan Kexing agreed to check their vaccine records.
• The wolf king, tiger cubs, and dogs shared the prey, then rinsed their mouths in a ditch before the tiger cubs swam in the river.
• The animals headed back to the ranch, and Shi Wen reflected that the animals he had raised seemed more intelligent and emotional than ordinary livestock.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing kept watch as their little ones went hunting, then Shi Wen discovered two cows were about to give birth. With Yan Kexing and Yang Yiqing beside him, he waited through the night until both cows delivered calves.

• Shi Wen saw that Hu Zai's fur was damp after the little ones returned from a hunt, but he let them keep hunting after confirming they did not harm livestock or kill for sport.
• Yan Kexing exported the hunting video and studied it with Gong Jiang and the others.
• Shi Wen found two pregnant cows restless in the shed and called Yan Kexing to check them; they moved the cows into a prepared birthing pen and waited with Yang Yiqing.
• As labor began, Shi Wen and the others watched from outside the pen, while Cong Zai joined them and rubbed against Shi Wen's leg.
• A little after one in the morning, a calf's head appeared, and both cows gave birth at nearly the same time.

Shi Wen welcomed two healthy heifer calves at the ranch and arranged for Sikewell to check and tag them. He milked the cows’ golden colostrum, which delighted the ranch’s animals and became a rich dessert that made Yan Kexing eager to return early.

• Shi Wen and the others found that both newborn calves were heifers and healthy, then settled them with their mothers for the night.
• Shi Wen asked Sikewell to visit the ranch to examine and tag the calves, and Sikewell agreed to come after eleven.
• Shi Wen found the calves walking and jumping, checked them, and milked the excess colostrum while the calves were full.
• An Wa, the Wolf King, and the other animals eagerly gathered for the colostrum, so Shi Wen boiled some and shared it with them.
• Shi Wen steamed the remaining colostrum with rock sugar and sent Yan Kexing a photo; Yan Kexing said he would try to finish work early and come home.

Shi Wen shared the ranch’s exceptional colostrum and newborn calves with Sikewell, who examined and praised the cattle. Sikewell promised to find Shi Wen top-quality cattle after the New Year.

• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing exchanged jokes over messages before Yang Yiqing arrived and teased Shi Wen about his broad smile.
• Shi Wen welcomed Sikewell to the ranch and gave him golden colostrum custard, which Sikewell called the best he had tasted.
• Shi Wen showed Sikewell the newborn calves and their mothers, and Sikewell praised their size, health, and condition.
• With Shi Wen’s permission, Sikewell photographed and filmed the cattle, shared care advice with his group, tagged the calves’ ears, and vaccinated them.
• At lunch, Sikewell told Shi Wen he should raise higher-quality cattle and promised to help find the best ones after the New Year.

Shi Wen considered buying high-quality cattle from abroad and gave generous New Year gifts to his ranch helpers before they left for home. Yang Yiqing reunited with her family, who discussed Shi Wen’s reputation as a skilled livestock breeder, and she enjoyed mutton from the ranch at dinner.

• Yang Yiqing and Sikewell suggested Shi Wen look abroad for top-quality cattle, and he said he would think about it after the New Year.
• Shi Wen gave his departing helpers half a sheep carcass and an eight-thousand-yuan red envelope each, and they eventually accepted his gifts.
• Yan Kexing paid for plane tickets so Yang Yiqing, Ge Yue, Gong Jiang, and Lin Chengqian could fly home for the New Year.
• Yang Yiqing reunited with her parents, Yang Teng and Feng Chunzhu, at the airport in Z City.
• Yang Teng told Yang Yiqing that he knew of Shi Wen’s work breeding fat-tailed sheep and his plans to develop a new line.
• Yang Yiqing ate red-braised mutton from the ranch at home, and Feng Chunzhu revealed that Yang Teng had saved some of it for her.

Yang Yiqing discussed her boss Shi Wen’s plans to raise Simmental cattle with her father, Yang Teng, who explained why the breed suited a new ranch. As New Year approached, Shi Wen and Yan Kexing prepared to celebrate at the ranch with their animals.

• Yang Yiqing told Yang Teng that Shi Wen might raise beef cattle, and Yang Teng approved of his interest in Simmentals.
• Yang Teng explained that Simmentals were affordable, adaptable, and useful for crossbreeding with local cattle.
• Shi Wen planned to develop suitable beef cattle and improve local populations, choosing Simmentals for their established local presence and crossbreeding potential.
• A Sai’s renovation crew paused its unfinished work until after the New Year, leaving Shi Wen and Yan Kexing at the ranch with the animals.
• Shi Wen took Yan Kexing into the city to buy New Year snacks and other holiday supplies.

On New Year’s Eve, Yan Kexing and Shi Wen decorated the ranch, welcomed the delivery man, and shared a festive dinner with their animals. After Shi Wen took an unusually long time in the shower, Yan Kexing went to check on him and heard that he was doing his hair.

• Yan Kexing wrote Spring Festival couplets and painted sheep and good fortune characters for Shi Wen to decorate the ranch.
• Shi Wen gave the delivery man a red envelope and exchanged New Year wishes with him while the animals gathered at the gate.
• Shi Wen hid the package he received in his wardrobe, and Yan Kexing prepared a special New Year’s Eve meal for the animals.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing toasted to fate for bringing them together and ate dinner before cleaning up together.
• Yan Kexing noticed Shi Wen was taking a long time in the shower, knocked on the bathroom door, and heard Shi Wen say he was doing his hair.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing spent a passionate New Year’s night together before welcoming Yang Yiqing and the others back to the ranch. After a celebratory meal, Shi Wen arranged a separate village house for Yang Yiqing, and he and Yan Kexing gave the group generous red envelopes.

• Shi Wen dressed up for Yan Kexing, and the two spent a passionate night together at the ranch.
• After more than a week of New Year celebrations, Yang Yiqing and the others returned with local specialties for Shi Wen and Yan Kexing.
• Shi Wen invited the group to a ranch meal, where Yan Kexing cooked a goose from the ranch.
• Shi Wen told Yang Yiqing that he and Yan Kexing had arranged a nearby village house for her to stay in.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing gave the returning workers red envelopes, and Ge Yue wished them a long and happy life together.

Shi Wen arranged a new home for Yang Yiqing while Ge Yue and Yang Yiqing discussed his growing closeness with Yan Kexing. After the New Year holidays, Shi Wen began expanding his cattle operation by buying sixty Simmental heifers, and he explained his plans to Fu Meng and the others.

• Gong Jiang and Lin Chengqian accompanied Ge Yue and Yang Yiqing to the house Shi Wen had rented for them, where Ge Yue teased Yang Yiqing about Shi Wen and Yan Kexing’s relationship.
• Ge Yue and Yang Yiqing talked about their hopes for lasting love and finding compatible partners.
• After the holidays, Shi Wen took Yang Yiqing to visit cattle-breeding companies and bought sixty locally bred Simmental heifers for a million.
• Shi Wen told Fu Meng and the others that his seven pregnant cows would soon have calves, that he would keep promising bulls for breeding, and that he planned to buy sheep.
• Shi Wen explained that marbled beef depended on both breed and raising methods, and that he might pursue it in a year or two.

Shi Wen and Fu Meng discussed breeding better beef cattle for the pastoral area before Shi Wen focused on preparing for lambing at his ranch. On February 13, the first ewe went into labor, and her lamb was born safely as Shi Wen and his helpers tended the flock.

• Shi Wen told Fu Meng and Old Man Ma that his generation could breed better cattle and help the whole pastoral area prosper.
• Shi Wen quarantined the sixty heifers he had brought home, then prepared for more than a hundred pregnant ewes to give birth.
• Shi Wen and Aini watched the ewes around the clock, and Yan Kexing helped prepare for the deliveries.
• Aini alerted Shi Wen and Yan Kexing when a ewe showed signs of labor in the early hours of February 13.
• Shi Wen checked and recorded the condition of the ewes, then called Sikewell for help with the many carrying twins or triplets.
• The first ewe gave birth to a white lamb, which she licked clean as it sought her belly.

Shi Wen and his helpers delivered the ranch’s lambs, with Sikewell rescuing a ewe struggling to give birth to triplets. All 105 ewes produced 163 healthy lambs, and Shi Wen began recording their breeding data and arranging vaccinations and ear tags.

• Shi Wen struggled to help a weak ewe deliver her third lamb, which was coming out hind legs first.
• Sikewell arrived, gave the ewe medicine, repositioned the lamb, and helped deliver it safely.
• Shi Wen, Yan Kexing, Aini, and later Yang Yiqing tended the ewes until 43 ewes had delivered 68 healthy lambs.
• Shi Wen asked Sikewell and Yang Yiqing to record the lambs’ birth details for future breeding records.
• The ranch’s 105 ewes produced 163 lambs, and Sikewell helped vaccinate and ear-tag them and give booster shots to the other small animals.

After completing lambing, Shi Wen prepared his ranch for spring by expanding his forage planting and tending his livestock. As he waited for alfalfa seeds, Yang Yiqing offered to help him source Chinese wild rye.

• Shi Wen finished pairing the ewes with their lambs, and the newborns grew healthy and lively after several days of feeding.
• As spring arrived, Shi Wen let his livestock graze on fresh shoots and watched his geese forage in the thawed ditches.
• Shi Wen arranged to have six hundred mu plowed for forage and declined invitations from local associations because he lacked time to socialize.
• Shi Wen applied another round of base fertilizer and planned to plant alfalfa, sainfoin, and Chinese wild rye.
• Yang Yiqing offered to contact a classmate whose family grew Chinese wild rye for Shi Wen's ranch.

Shi Wen arranged to buy sheepgrass seed and asked Zhu Ji to find sainfoin seed. During a monitoring test, Shi Wen’s Divinity and Abilities had risen dramatically, and he and Zhu Ji linked the increase to Shi Wen’s relationship with Yan Kexing.

• Shi Wen bought 300 jin of sheepgrass seed from a Swiss livestock company through Yang Yiqing.
• Shi Wen struggled to find sainfoin seed until Zhu Ji promised to obtain 500 to 700 jin through the Abnormal Affairs Bureau.
• Zhu Ji tested Shi Wen and found his Divinity had risen to 3752 and his Abilities to 3542.
• Zhu Ji questioned whether the device was faulty, but Duan Kuo confirmed they had brought the newest model.
• Shi Wen suggested his relationship with Yan Kexing might explain the increase, and Zhu Ji said he would report the discovery.

Shi Wen’s rapid growth earned him High-Level Abilities User status, an eight-million annual subsidy, and increased attention from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau. As he continued improving the ranch and raising its lambs, he relied on his trained dogs to handle most of the herding.

• Zhu Ji told Shi Wen he could apply for an eight-million annual subsidy and said the Bureau might seek closer cooperation with him.
• Yan Kexing explained that Shi Wen’s progress was exceptional and revealed that his own readings exceeded nine hundred thousand; Shi Wen later attributed some of his rapid improvement to Yan Kexing.
• Shi Wen cooperated when Zhu Ji’s team collected his blood and hair, and his eight-million subsidy arrived within a week.
• Shi Wen and Yang Yiqing assessed and marked the lambs, with Shi Wen deciding that some of the males were not suitable for breeding.
• Shi Wen left most herding to Heiwa and the other trained dogs, while he patrolled the ranch to keep the livestock safe.

Shi Wen learned that Red Blossom Ranch could provide sainfoin seeds and the sheep he needed, then traveled there with Zhu Ji to arrange a purchase. At the ranch, manager Xi Yuxin welcomed them and led them to inspect its sheep sheds.

• Shi Wen learned that Red Blossom Ranch would give him sainfoin seeds and sell him meat sheep and breeding stock.
• Shi Wen arranged with Zhu Ji to visit Red Blossom Ranch and buy about fifteen hundred sheep of each type.
• Zhu Ji picked Shi Wen up, and they discussed the tiger cubs’ training and planned release.
• Shi Wen and Zhu Ji arrived at Red Blossom Ranch, where Xi Yuxin welcomed them and drove them to the sheep sheds.