Chapter Summaries

Shi Wen joined the villagers’ winter fishing at the village pond, bringing Langwa and the dogs along. As the villagers hauled up their first net, the dogs and children helped pull, and the catch flopped onto the ice.

• Villagers gathered to admire Langwa and asked Shi Wen to sell them puppies when his dogs had pups.
• Fu Meng organized the villagers to unload their tools and prepare for winter fishing at the frozen pond.
• Fu Yangrong chose a spot for the first net, and the villagers drilled through the ice as fish gathered below.
• Shi Wen joined the villagers to lower and haul the net, leaving Langwa with Yan Kexing.
• The dogs first tugged at Shi Wen’s pants, then helped pull the net with him, and the children joined in.
• The villagers hauled up the net, and the fresh fish flopped onto the ice as everyone gathered to inspect the catch.

Shi Wen chose a new spot for the village’s ice-fishing net, and the haul brought up a giant northern pike. As everyone struggled to catch the thrashing fish, Shi Wen was dragged across the ice and split his knuckles, but he held on and tossed it to safety.

• The villagers made several ordinary hauls before asking Shi Wen to choose another fishing spot.
• Shi Wen picked a spot at random, and the net brought up a heavy catch packed with large fish, including a northern pike over a meter and a half long.
• Yan Kexing told Shi Wen that the pike was not protected and explained that it preyed on other fish.
• The pike leaped from the villagers’ hands and thrashed across the ice, striking An Wa and drawing the dogs into the scramble.
• Shi Wen grabbed the pike, split his knuckles when it dragged him across the ice, then held on and tossed it away from the fishing holes.

After helping the village catch and divide a large haul of fish, Shi Wen let Yan Kexing tend a scrape on his hand and asked about Yan Kexing's bloodline. Yan Kexing revealed that he was a Yinglong and explained that his kind had lost much of its power and that he was the only Yinglong left.

• Shi Wen and the others finished netting fish, and Shi Wen drew the lot for the largest pike before the households divided the catch.
• Back home, Yan Kexing stopped Shi Wen from showering and carefully cleaned and bandaged the scrape on his hand.
• While Yan Kexing treated him, Shi Wen asked whether Yan Kexing was willing to reveal his bloodline, and Yan Kexing said he was a Yinglong.
• Yan Kexing explained that his descendants had inherited destructive power rather than the full power of the ancestral Yinglong, and said the Abnormal Affairs Bureau had helped him.
• Yan Kexing told Shi Wen that the ecosystem for divine beasts had collapsed, that no other Yinglong remained, and that he could barely take dragon form.

Shi Wen shared a tender moment with Yan Kexing before helping Zhang Deyuan respond to several difficult cow births at Deng Yanma’s farm. He arrived to find two calves born and Sikewell assisting a cow in labor.

• Shi Wen promised Yan Kexing he would work hard to raise feed animals for divine beasts, then leaned against him until two tiger cubs interrupted them.
• Yan Kexing cooked pike for dinner, and Shi Wen felt their relationship had subtly changed as they ate together.
• Zhang Deyuan came to ask Shi Wen for help because several of Deng Yanma’s cows were having difficult births.
• Shi Wen and Zhang Deyuan reached Deng Yanma’s farm, where they found two newborn calves and three restless cows still in labor.
• Shi Wen saw Sikewell with his gloved arm inside one of the cows.

Shi Wen helped Sikewell turn a calf trapped in a difficult birth, and the men pulled it out while Sikewell directed them. The calf revived and reunited with its recovering mother, and Sikewell moved on to examine two more cows.

• Shi Wen washed, gloved, and lubricated his hand before carefully turning the calf inside the cow.
• Sikewell treated the cow with an IV while Shi Wen finished positioning the calf, and Sikewell tied a rope around its hooves.
• Shi Wen, Deng Yanma, Zhang Deyuan, and another man pulled the calf out in turns under Sikewell's instructions.
• Shi Wen and Sikewell cleared the calf's airways, drained fluid, and patted its chest until it moved and mooed.
• Sikewell brought the calf to its mother and told Deng Yanma how to care for them, then went to check two more cows.

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.