Chapter Summaries

Shi Wen planted wild yam bulbils and more than two hundred grapevines while Chasing Clouds grew closer to the ranch animals. He invited Reheman back to help split bee colonies and move some hives up the mountain, leaving them heading to inspect the bees.

• Shi Wen and the others ate pigeon soup with wild yams, and Ge Yue and Lin Chengqian stayed in the village overnight.
• Yan Kexing made mashed wild yam with osmanthus and honey, and Shi Wen shared it with the ranch animals.
• Shi Wen stopped Chasing Clouds and the little fox from trying to fly together, then planted yam bulbils and the grapevines delivered through Gong Jiang's friend.
• Shi Wen saw the abundance of flowers on the mountain and decided to move ten bee hives there instead of four.
• Shi Wen called Reheman to help split the colonies, and Reheman arrived and went with Shi Wen to inspect the bees.

Shi Wen inspected Reheman's healthy queen bees, divided the colonies, and left them to establish themselves on the mountain. After nine cows gave birth to ten calves, Shi Wen tended to the animals and inspected the ranch, where he noticed the black pigs eating fallen apricots while the Mangalitsa pigs rooted elsewhere.

• Reheman praised Shi Wen's queen bees and was impressed by the plump, healthy bees, which he attributed to the ranch's feng shui.
• Shi Wen split the bee colonies, watched them adapt to the mountain, and left them to thrive there.
• On May 2, nine cows gave birth to ten large calves, and Sikewell advised Shi Wen on tending the cows' birth injuries.
• Shi Wen had Sikewell tag the calves and decided to raise them as ordinary cattle.
• Shi Wen rode Shi Suo up the mountain to inspect the fruit trees, chickens, and pigs.
• Shi Wen noticed the two black pigs eating fallen apricots while the Mangalitsa pigs rooted through the grass and shrubs.

Shi Wen inspected the pigs, then welcomed Zhu Ji, who brought strawberries that Shi Wen prepared for planting. Zhu Ji helped prepare pigeon soup while Shi Wen peeled yams, and they waited for Yan Kexing to return from rescuing an injured wild yak.

• Shi Wen tasted a green apricot, found it bitter and sour, and gave the rest to the black pigs after Shi Suo refused it.
• Shi Wen met Zhu Ji on the way down the mountain, and Zhu Ji brought him twenty jin of strawberries.
• Shi Wen removed the strawberry seeds to sprout and plant, while he and Zhu Ji ate and talked.
• Shi Wen told Zhu Ji that Yan Kexing had gone to rescue an injured wild yak and might not return until evening.
• Zhu Ji offered to help prepare dinner, and he and Shi Wen went to select pigeons before Shi Wen began peeling yams.

Shi Wen learned that Zhu Ji’s friend had a severely underweight Samoyed that might have psychological issues, and agreed to board it at his ranch so it could recover among his dogs. The Samoyed arrived and was welcomed by Shi Wen and the other dogs.

• Shi Wen asked Zhu Ji why he seemed unusually eager, and Zhu Ji explained that a friend wanted advice about his picky, thin dog.
• Shi Wen suggested checking the dog for illness and, after seeing a photo of the scrawny Samoyed, said it might have psychological issues.
• Zhu Ji asked whether his friend could send the Samoyed to stay at Shi Wen’s ranch, and Shi Wen agreed to board it for the Abnormal Affairs Bureau’s usual rate.
• The Samoyed arrived at the ranch, where Shi Wen found it affectionate and friendly, and the other dogs welcomed it.

Shi Wen welcomed Ji Hongjun’s Samoyed, Glutinous Rice Ball, to the ranch, where it quickly bonded with the dogs and ate far more than expected. When Ji Hongjun visited with expensive ingredients to cook for it, Glutinous Rice Ball sighed mournfully, leaving Shi Wen with a bad feeling.

• Shi Wen settled Glutinous Rice Ball into the livestock shed, and the Samoyed charmed him with its affectionate behavior.
• Glutinous Rice Ball devoured its own meal and then ate from Fu Wa’s and Le Wa’s bowls until Shi Wen pulled it away.
• Shi Wen sent Zhu Ji a video showing the Samoyed muddy from playing, fatter, and thriving at the ranch.
• Shi Wen bathed Glutinous Rice Ball and the other dogs, and the Samoyed’s coat dried glossy and beautiful.
• Ji Hongjun asked to visit and bring ingredients for the Samoyed, and Shi Wen agreed.
• Ji Hongjun arrived with premium ingredients, and Glutinous Rice Ball greeted him before sighing sadly as he announced he would cook.

Ji Hongjun tried to cook a nutritious meal for his Samoyed, but the dogs rejected it and Shi Wen advised him to buy suitable food instead. Ji Hongjun joined Shi Wen's ingredient program and took his dog home, leaving Shi Wen feeling down.

• Shi Wen let Ji Hongjun use his kitchen, then went in after the cooking smell became unbearable and saw a pot of overcooked meat with flaxseed oil.
• Ji Hongjun insisted the dish tasted good, but his Samoyed and Shi Wen's dogs refused to eat it; Fu Wa spat out its attempts at a bite.
• Shi Wen told Ji Hongjun that his dog likely disliked the cooking and might have mild allergies to corn, duck, and chicken in its kibble.
• Ji Hongjun decided to buy ingredients through Shi Wen's mini program, and his Samoyed obediently went home with him.
• Yan Kexing returned after the Samoyed had left, and Shi Wen felt down.

With rain threatening the ranch’s hay supply, Shi Wen and Yan Kexing found that the cows and pregnant mares eagerly ate fresh corn leaves. The next morning, Shi Wen woke later than usual after a rainy night.

• Shi Wen worried that a week of rain would leave the ranch short of feed, especially for nursing cows whose calves needed enough milk.
• Yan Kexing suggested buying fresh grass if necessary, but Shi Wen decided to wait and see.
• While picking vegetables for dinner, Shi Wen gathered corn leaves as a possible fresh feed for the animals.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing picked two shoulder loads of leaves, dried them, and fed them to the cows and pregnant mares, who eagerly ate them.
• Shi Wen planned to pick more leaves the next day, then woke after seven in the morning.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing made green juice milk from tender corn leaves and considered producing it as a product for their member gift packages. Shi Wen invited Gong Jiang and the others over to taste it, and they arrived ready to join him and Yan Kexing.

• Shi Wen checked the cows and milked them, finding that their milk had a blue-green tint after they ate corn leaves.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing drank the milk with breakfast and noticed its fresh, grassy flavor.
• They picked tender corn leaves, blended them into green juice, and mixed the juice with milk.
• Shi Wen proposed producing green juice milk, and Yan Kexing suggested testing it in member gift packages.
• Shi Wen invited Gong Jiang and the others to taste the drink, and they arrived at the house.

Shi Wen’s green juice milk delighted members and made Zhengzheng the giant panda an online sensation. The attention brought new customers to the ranch, including Xi Long and Zhan Chongyun, who both wanted to buy its corn leaves.

• Shi Wen added green juice milk to the members’ gift package, and members praised it while he explained that limited production prevented it from going on sale yet.
• Zhengzheng eagerly drank the green juice milk during a livestream, and his blissful expression sent a clip of him trending online.
• Shi Wen discussed Zhengzheng’s reaction with Yan Kexing, who suggested having Zhu Ji test the milk’s Abilities value.
• Xi Long sent Shi Wen a stuffed panda as thanks and asked to order green juice milk and buy corn leaves, but Shi Wen said they had no milk to spare.
• Zhan Chongyun came to Shi Wen’s ranch and urgently asked to buy corn leaves, leaving Shi Wen puzzled about why he had not simply called.

Shi Wen reviewed plans to expand green juice milk production and planted watermelons and strawberries with Zhu Ji. After they finished the work, Shi Wen prepared lunch, and Zhu Ji recognized Yan Kexing’s braised meat and sauces.

• Shi Wen promised Zhan Chongyun extra corn leaves for the eleven stallions, and Zhan Chongyun said the horses had won international championships but still needed consistent training.
• Zhu Ji gave Shi Wen test results showing average Abilities values of 79 for milk, 44 for green juice, and around 70 for green juice milk.
• Shi Wen told Zhu Ji that Yan Kexing had brought back watermelon seedlings, and the two planted them in the backyard.
• Shi Wen and Zhu Ji transplanted strawberry seedlings beside the cucumber patch, where Shi Wen explained that strawberries and watermelons needed different soil conditions.
• Shi Wen picked cucumbers and made noodles with beef, sauces, and braised eggs, and Zhu Ji asked whether Yan Kexing had prepared the meat and sauces.

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.