It was nearly noon, and the warm spring sunshine shone on the mudflats. The river was in its dry season, with only a shallow bend in the middle, and several huge rocks blocked the view ahead.

Yan Zheng gestured to Yan Jing'an, signaling him to climb the tree.

Yan Jing'an knew that they thought he was in their way, so he sneered and climbed a nearby tree.

Seeing that he had climbed up and stabilized himself, Yan Zheng carefully observed his surroundings again. After thinking for a moment, he also climbed the tree, choosing a thick enough branch to lean on.

Through the dense tree branches, you can see flocks of sheep grazing on the mudflats.

Judging from their physiques, the outer group consists of young and strong males.

The ewes and lambs are located at the very back of the flock, with about four or five lambs.

After observing for a few minutes, Yan Zheng chose one that wasn't too heavy, since it would be difficult to carry it back over mountains and valleys; anything too big wouldn't be able to be brought back.

The main issue is that the ewe's lamb is a bit too big. Normally, lambs that are two or three months old can start eating grass, so this lamb should be able to survive on its own.

He drew his bow and aimed.

A whooshing sound came from the air, followed by the bleating of sheep.

"I got it!" Yan Jing'an thought to himself, giving a thumbs-up.

Startled, the other sheep took off running, throwing the flock into chaos. By then, it was impossible to tell which sheep had been hit by the arrow.

His palms were slightly sweaty.

He quickly climbed down the tree, called out to Yan Jing'an, and the two ran after the flock of sheep.

Less than half a minute later, the injured sheep could no longer run.

It wobbled and landed at the back of the line, finally collapsing from exhaustion.

Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an rushed forward.

At this point, the sheep was still conscious and occasionally made bleating sounds, but she was completely paralyzed and unable to move.

The arrow hit the front leg, and it can be seen that the wooden arrowhead did not penetrate deeply. Although blood was oozing out, it was not a serious injury.

Yan Zheng used a sharp, quick motion to pull out the wooden arrow, then disinfected the wound with iodine and simply bandaged it with a clean cloth.

The adult ewe weighed several tens of kilograms. Yan Jing'an took out the reins from his backpack, tied all four of its limbs together, and hung it on a piece of wood about the thickness of a calf.

The two men, one in front and one behind, carried the sheep back like they were lifting a shoulder pole.

It was okay at first, but later I started to feel overwhelmed. After all, it weighs several tens of kilograms and I had to carry it over mountains for several hours.

Yan Zheng's stamina was alright, but Yan Jing'an was not so relaxed. He was already thin and hadn't done much physical labor before, so towards the end he could only grit his teeth and use brute force.

Halfway there, Yan Jing'an was completely exhausted. He put down the sheep, waved his hand, and said breathlessly, "I can't go on, it's too heavy. I feel like I'm carrying a horse."

Yan Zheng looked at him, who was exhausted as if he had been soaked in water, and shook his head repeatedly: "Where's the strength you used to have when you fought with me? You're useless now."

Finally, having no other choice, Yan Zheng had to carry the sheep on his back for more than half an hour before Yan Jing'an had a chance to catch his breath.

As dusk approached, the two returned to Stone House Village one after the other.

As the sun sets, the small stone village in spring is bathed in a golden glow.

Jiang Xi had already moved a stool and was sitting at the gate of the yard with Xiao Hei in her arms, waiting for them to come back. When she heard the noise, she quickly opened the door for them.

When she saw the sheep the two of them were carrying, her eyes crinkled into crescent moons with laughter.

The sheep was all white with two small horns. It looked somewhat like the goats she had seen in Northwest China, but not quite. She figured it was a sheep, no matter what.

She praised them generously: "You guys are amazing!"

No one can resist such praise, especially sincere and heartfelt appreciation.

Yan Jing'an followed behind, his ears turning slightly red.

Yan Zheng instructed Jiang Xi: "Go quickly and get a basin or jar. It's about to wake up. Take this opportunity to send some goat milk."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xi quickly nodded and turned to go inside the house to fetch utensils.

Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an unloaded the sheep in the yard of the hunting lodge, and did not let go of it because they knew Jiang Xi would be milking it later.

Jiang Xi brought over an empty earthenware pot. She had never done anything like milking goats or cows before. But she had seen sheep farmers doing it when she was in Northwest China.

So she took a clean towel and first cleaned the parts of the sheep that she needed to touch.

Then she started milking the goats by hand. At first, it was not easy to operate, and she could not find the right point to exert force. The goat milk splashed everywhere, but she was not in a hurry.

Grandma often said that if you don't know how to do something, you should try it slowly and you'll eventually learn it. After trying a few times, I gradually got the hang of it.

After kneeling for a long time, Jiang Xi finally squeezed out a small half-can, estimating that it would be enough for Xiao Hei for two meals, so she stopped.

Yan Zheng then untied the sheep.

Fresh goat milk doesn't need to be boiled; it can be fed directly to the little black leopard. Just start by feeding it little by little with a small spoon, just like before.

Then I simply poured it into a bowl and brought it to the little guy. The little guy smelled the aroma and, out of instinct, started burying his face in the bowl and licking it.

Seeing how happily it was drinking, Jiang Xi breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly she thought of the little lamb that had lost its mother.

When Yan Jing'an first said he would bring the lamb back with him, she knew he was joking. A frightened lamb will run around, and it's not easy for a person to catch one.

Jiang Xi still felt a little bad about losing her mother for the sake of Xiao Hei, a lamb.

She asked Yan Zheng, "What did that little lamb look like?"

Yan Zheng smiled and said, "Don't worry, I think he's old enough to eat grass, that's why I brought his mother over."

Before going to bed, Jiang Xi was still worried, so she put on her cloak and went to check on the ewe again. The ewe was frightened and hid in a corner, refusing to eat or drink.

Jiang Xi glanced at her wound by the torchlight, and only after confirming that there was no bleeding did she feel at ease enough to go to sleep.

The next morning, Yan Zheng threw the two rabbits from the previous day into the newly built rabbit hutch.

Then they threw in four more sweet potatoes.

Next, he went to check the yellow brick house. Although it had been aired out for two days, the temperature was still low, and the newly built walls were still damp. He was afraid that the move would be delayed for a few more days.

Jiang Xi wasn't in a hurry; what she was anxious about was planting the seeds as soon as possible.

When she got up in the morning, she did a set of radio calisthenics in the yard and was surprised to find that the branches that had only had a few green buds had now grown two leaves.

She took a shovel and strolled around the hillside, only to find that many wild vegetables were already a finger's length long, especially shepherd's purse, which grew exceptionally well on the hillside. Jiang Xi dug up a whole basket full.

For breakfast, she mashed steamed yams and mixed them with shepherd's purse, added some salt and Sichuan peppercorn powder, and fried them into palm-sized shepherd's purse pancakes in lard. She also made a shepherd's purse and bean sprout soup.

The three of them hadn't been able to get any green vegetables all winter, but when they tasted this fresh flavor that belonged only to spring, their taste buds were awakened, and they ate both pots of shepherd's purse pancakes clean.