Chapter Summaries

Shi Wen and the others picked twenty baskets of apricots, then shared them with the little ones in the courtyard. The fruit varied unpredictably between sweet and sour, and Shi Wen suspected the trees might need pruning before the next harvest.

• Shi Wen tasted apricots with Yan Kexing, and they discovered that fruit from the same tree could be either sweet or sour.
• Shi Wen fed a sour apricot to Changfeng, whose reaction made everyone laugh.
• Shi Wen and the others picked twenty baskets from thirty-four trees, leaving unripe apricots for a later harvest.
• Shi Wen peeled apricots for the little ones, and An Wa tried to hide how sour his was before his face gave him away.
• Ge Yue asked why so many apricots were sour, and Shi Wen guessed that the trees needed more time to mature or that he had failed to prune their branches.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing processed a large batch of apricots into jam and canned fruit, then Yan Kexing baked an apricot jam cake. The group and the little ones enjoyed the freshly baked cake.

• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing decided to turn their twenty baskets of apricots into jam and canned fruit rather than give the mediocre batch to friends.
• Gong Jiang, Ge Yue, and Lin Chengqian joined them in peeling and preparing the apricots.
• Yan Kexing cooked the apricots in large pots while the little ones gathered outside, drawn by the sweet smell.
• Yan Kexing asked Shi Wen to fetch cheese, milk, and eggs, then baked an apricot jam cake.
• Yan Kexing served the cake to Shi Wen and the others, who praised its soft texture and sweet-tart filling.
• Yan Kexing brought cake to the little ones, who eagerly ate the rare treat.

Shi Wen tended the mountain’s fruit trees and noticed that the bees had filled their hives with honey. The next afternoon, Yan Kexing and their friends joined him to begin harvesting it, and Shi Wen opened the first hive after smoking the bees calm.

• Shi Wen decided to prune the fruit trees and remove excess fruit after enjoying cake made with their apricot jam.
• Shi Wen took Laibao up the mountain to bury fertilizer and prune branches, then noticed the bees had grown and adapted well.
• Shi Wen told Yan Kexing that the honey was ready, and they agreed to harvest it together the next afternoon.
• Yan Kexing, Gong Jiang, Ge Yue, and another companion joined Shi Wen to harvest honey from the hives.
• Shi Wen and the others cleared grass around the first hive and smoked the bees until they became docile.
• Shi Wen opened the hive and swept the bees aside with green grass.

Shi Wen and the others harvested honey from the mountain hives, enjoyed its distinctive floral flavor, and discussed gathering a separate batch for fritillaria honey. He planned to have the honey tested before selling it, and later shared a photo of the dogs at work with Yan Kexing.

• Shi Wen led everyone in tasting honeycomb from the mountain hives, which yielded more than two hundred jin of honey across ten hives.
• Shi Wen made honey water, and Ge Yue and Gong Jiang picked out peach blossom and other floral notes in its flavor.
• Shi Wen wondered whether the bees could produce fritillaria honey, and Yan Kexing agreed to help him cut a batch of ranch honey the next morning.
• Shi Wen told Lin Chengqian that the new honey would be tested before he considered selling it.
• Shi Wen fed the little ones honey water, then took photos of the dogs herding livestock and sent one to Yan Kexing.

Shi Wen brought ranch honey to the Anomaly Management Office for testing and learned that its Ability value had reached 313. He arranged for Zhu Ji to watch the ranch during an upcoming medical outreach trip and agreed to approve Dang Changming’s membership application.

• Shi Wen visited Zhu Ji at the Anomaly Management Office and handed Duan Kuo a jar of honey for testing.
• Zhu Ji invited Shi Wen to tea by the lake, and Shi Wen asked him to watch the ranch during a weeklong medical outreach trip.
• Zhu Ji told Shi Wen that the ranch had developed an unusual energy field that might benefit Ability users, and Shi Wen agreed to let him bring people to test it after the trip.
• Shi Wen agreed to approve Dang Changming’s membership application if spots were available.
• Duan Kuo brought the test report, which showed that Shi Wen’s honey had an Ability value of 313, and Shi Wen told Yan Kexing they would drink lemon honey water.

After learning that the honey from his ranch had become an ability-enhancing ingredient, Shi Wen stored it at home and was asked to captain a free veterinary clinic team after Sikewell broke his leg. Shi Wen agreed to visit Sikewell to discuss the responsibility, and the chapter ended as he arrived at Sikewell’s home.

• Zhu Ji told Shi Wen that the honey’s ability value exceeded three hundred and that they would discuss how to work with him on selling it.
• Shi Wen stored the honey in large earthenware jars, strained his arms moving them, and discussed building a cellar with Yan Kexing.
• Sikewell called Shi Wen to say he had broken his leg in a fall and asked him to lead the upcoming free veterinary clinic team.
• Shi Wen told Sikewell he would visit the next day to discuss the offer, while Yan Kexing reassured him that people respected him.
• Shi Wen brought mutton and honey to Sikewell’s home, where Sikewell’s wife came out to greet him.

After Sikewell was injured, Shi Wen agreed to lead the free veterinary clinic team and prepared for the trip. The team set out on horseback, and the old guide warned them to watch for mouse holes as they crossed the grassland.

• Shi Wen visited the injured Sikewell, reviewed the team roster, and agreed to take over as captain.
• Shi Wen added the veterinarians to a group chat, received their support, and organized supplies and medicines for the clinic.
• Yan Kexing saw Shi Wen off at the ranch gate, and Shi Wen rode to meet the team.
• Shi Wen joined the guide and nine veterinarians, and they set off into the mountains on horseback.
• The old guide warned the team to stay close together while crossing grassland riddled with mouse holes.

Shi Wen and the free-care team reached a remote settlement and examined a horse that had stopped eating, but they could not determine the cause of its illness. After giving it anti-inflammatory medicine, they treated several other animals and Shi Wen thought of his own Cong Zai while catheterizing a cat.

• Shi Wen and the team dismounted to cross a rough stretch of road, then rode on to the first settlement.
• A herder led the team to a tall black horse that had not eaten for two and a half days.
• Shi Wen and the other team members examined the horse but found no clear cause for its fever and loss of appetite.
• Shi Wen fed the resistant horse anti-inflammatory medicine and planned to check on it again after treating the other livestock.
• Shi Wen treated animals with foot rot and insect bites, then catheterized a blocked tomcat and remembered Cong Zai.

Shi Wen shared his partner Yan Kexing’s preserves with the team, then discovered that a tethered horse was seriously ill. He suspected an intestinal obstruction and agreed to examine the horse as the others restrained it.

• Shi Wen shared the preserves Yan Kexing had prepared with the team, and everyone praised his partner.
• Unable to sleep, Shi Wen checked the horse and used his beast ear to listen to its abdomen, finding no bowel sounds.
• Shi Wen told Tang Duohai that the horse likely had a colonic obstruction, and the owner confirmed that it had not passed manure.
• The team agreed that an intestinal obstruction was likely but needed to determine its type before treating it.
• At the team’s request, Shi Wen washed his hands to perform the examination while the others restrained the horse.

Shi Wen diagnosed and treated a horse’s intestinal obstruction, then joined Ban Lei to examine livestock at a nearby settlement. When a woman asked for help with her bedridden husband’s worsening back pain, Shi Wen suspected a connection to brucellosis in their animals.

• Shi Wen examined the horse and found a colonic obstruction, then gave it honey water mixed with magnesium sulfate.
• Shi Suo helped calm the horse and received a small drink of honey water from Shi Wen.
• Shi Wen and Ban Lei rode to a three-household settlement and treated its livestock.
• A woman asked Shi Wen to examine her husband, whose severe lower back pain had left him unable to get out of bed.
• Shi Wen asked Ban Lei whether the household’s cattle or sheep had ever had brucellosis.

Shi Wen and Ban Lei rode back to camp after advising a herder whose back pain might be caused by a Brucella infection. Shi Wen checked on the recovering horse and explained the possibility of brucellosis to the herders, who came to respect him as their team leader.

• Shi Wen told the herder to seek testing for Brucella infection after her livestock had died and her back pain began.
• Shi Wen and Ban Lei rode back to camp, where Ban Lei said the sick horse had recovered but seemed angry at its owner.
• Shi Wen found the horse lively and improving, then tied Shi Suo on the opposite side because Shi Suo did not want to be near it.
• After Ban Lei recounted their encounter, the herders asked whether their own back pain could be caused by brucellosis.
• Shi Wen said other conditions were common but advised considering Brucella infection if examinations found nothing, earning the herders' respect.

Shi Wen continued the free clinic journey, checking on the recovered horse and treating livestock at another settlement. After learning that Weierma’s back pain had been confirmed as brucellosis, Shi Wen told Yan Kexing he wanted to earn the credentials to match the herders’ praise, and Yan Kexing offered to have Zhu Ji and the others help.

• Shi Wen chatted with Yan Kexing before falling asleep, then woke to find messages from him and promised they might video call that evening.
• Shi Wen checked on the horse he had treated, saw that it had recovered, and soothed Shi Suo when it reacted jealously.
• Shi Wen and the others left the settlement and reached another one, where he noticed the children helping with daily tasks before attending to livestock.
• The herders welcomed Shi Wen’s team and told him that Weierma had been diagnosed with brucellosis at a major hospital.
• Shi Wen downplayed his role in suggesting the diagnosis, but the herders praised him as Doctor Shi.
• Shi Wen told Yan Kexing he wanted to study for the relevant credentials, and Yan Kexing suggested Zhu Ji and the others could help arrange it.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing shared stories about the herders and their sheep before the clinic group began its relaxed descent from the mountain. During a rest stop, Shi Wen found an oak forest and started gathering acorns, then noticed a path made by squirrels.

• Shi Wen told Yan Kexing about the maggot-infested sheep, the tumbling fat-tailed sheep, and the delicious air-dried meat the herders had given him.
• After the successful free clinic, Shi Wen and the others descended the mountain at an easier pace and stopped to rest at noon.
• Shi Wen walked into the forest to use the bathroom and was struck on the head by an acorn.
• Shi Wen recognized the acorns from his childhood, found many still in good condition, and began collecting them in his shirt.
• When Tang Duohai called for him, Shi Wen hurried to gather more acorns and spotted a path made by squirrels.

Shi Wen returned to the ranch after a week away, bringing Yan Kexing jerky and acorns to make acorn tofu, a food from his hometown. The chapter ended with Shi Wen explaining that he had gathered the acorns so Yan Kexing could try it.

• Shi Wen found several squirrel caches in the forest and collected most of the acorns to take home.
• Shi Wen told Tang Duohai and the others that he wanted to make acorn tofu and share a taste of home with Yan Kexing.
• Yan Kexing welcomed Shi Wen back to the ranch, and the two embraced after a week apart.
• Shi Wen gave Yan Kexing the jerky he had brought back, and Yan Kexing enjoyed it.
• Yan Kexing asked whether Shi Wen planned to plant the acorns, and Shi Wen said they would plant some and use the rest to make acorn tofu.

After returning to the ranch, Shi Wen and Yan Kexing soaked acorns, planted some on the mountain, and made acorn tofu. Over their meal, Shi Wen shared memories of his childhood and told Yan Kexing that he was now his only family.

• Yan Kexing shelled acorns while Shi Wen bathed, and the two were distracted from finishing the work when they kissed.
• The next morning, Shi Wen and Yan Kexing carried the acorns to a stream to soak, and Shi Wen later planted some on the mountain.
• Shi Wen checked the pregnant sheep pig sows and decided to give them and the black sows extra concentrated feed.
• After more than ten days of ranch work, Shi Wen and Yan Kexing prepared acorn tofu once the soaking water stayed clear.
• Yan Kexing tasted the tofu as Shi Wen recalled his childhood and explained that he was no longer close to most of his relatives.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing told each other that they were each other's only family.

Shi Wen’s uneasy feeling came true when a ranch-raised steer went berserk, broke through the fence, and charged onto the road. Shi Wen pursued it on Shi Suo, but a car approached as the steer kept racing forward.

• Shi Wen worried about his twitching eye, checked with his aunt about his relatives, and spent the day on edge as nothing happened.
• A steer on the ranch suddenly went wild, scattering the livestock and trampling a chicken.
• Shi Wen stopped Heiwa, Wolf King, and the other dogs from chasing the steer, but it smashed through the wire fence and escaped.
• Shi Wen grabbed bricks, mounted the bareback Shi Suo, and chased the steer to keep it off the road.
• A car approached as Shi Wen tried to get ahead of the still-charging steer.

Shi Wen stopped a hornet-stung cow from crashing into a vehicle, but his brick left it barely alive. Yan Kexing and their neighbors helped bring the cow back to the ranch to butcher it for their own use.

• Shi Wen threw a brick at the charging cow, then dragged it off the road after it collapsed.
• Shi Wen called Yan Kexing, who came to check on him and agreed to handle the situation.
• Shi Wen called Zhang Deyuan, who said several livestock had recently been stung by hornets and planned to alert Fu Meng about searching for a nest.
• Zhang Deyuan and Tang Dahe arrived with tools and a truck, and Shi Wen and Yan Kexing helped transport the cow to the ranch.
• Shi Wen decided to keep the unregistered cow at the ranch and eat its meat rather than sell it.

After a cow ran wild and was butchered, Shi Wen and Yan Kexing shared beef dinner with Zhang Deyuan and Tang Dahe. Their friends agreed to help search for hornet nests the next day, and Zhu Ji arrived early with a device to test the beef’s Abilities value.

• Zhang Deyuan and Tang Dahe helped butcher the rampaging cow while Shi Wen and Yan Kexing repaired the fence and checked the animals.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing served beef and Bresse chicken for dinner, and Zhang Deyuan and Tang Dahe praised the beef.
• Shi Wen invited his friends to eat beef the next day and explained the hornet problem in their group chat.
• Zhu Ji and the others agreed to search for hornet nests at Shi Wen’s ranch the next day, bringing protective suits.
• Zhu Ji arrived before dawn with a portable device to test the beef’s Abilities value, and Shi Wen took him to the kitchen where the meat was aging.

Shi Wen and Zhu Ji tested the beef’s Abilities value, then Shi Wen organized a search for hornets’ nests with Yan Kexing and the others. The little ones raced into the woods first, and the group followed in a direction Shi Wen chose by “luck.”

• Zhu Ji tested a sample of the beef and found its Abilities value was 357.
• Shi Wen and Zhu Ji prepared beef noodle soup for breakfast while Yan Kexing finished working in the study.
• Shi Wen showed Chasing Clouds and the other little ones a picture of a hornets’ nest and warned them to report nests rather than approach them.
• Shi Wen announced a competition to find hornets’ nests safely, and the little ones raced into the woods.
• Shi Wen pointed the group in a direction he called lucky, and Gong Jiang filmed footage while avoiding people.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing found and dismantled a huge hornet nest in the woods, safely collecting its pupae. Afterward, Zhu Ji offered to bring over his more than eighty-year-old liquor for a meal.

• The group followed the Wolf King's howl and found him and the dogs waiting beneath a huge hornet nest.
• Shi Wen told everyone to put on protective suits and move back, choosing repellent spray over torches to avoid starting a fire.
• Shi Wen and Yan Kexing climbed the tree, broke apart the nest, and packed the hornets and pupae into bags.
• The two sprayed each other with hornet repellent and brushed off the hornets before rejoining the group.
• Zhu Ji admired the many pupae and offered to bring his more than eighty-year-old liquor for them to try.