Chapter 12

Qin Yi wasn't surprised; he was Chinese, and Ryan was the ranch manager, so it was easy to guess. "Hello, Isaac, I'm Yi. A beer, please, thank you."

Qin Yi chatted casually with Isaac for a while, and then Ryan walked over, holding a glass and clinking it with Qin Yi's before taking a sip. "I've hired eight cowboys, all good young men. They'll tidy up and report to the ranch before dark." The cowboys didn't have much luggage; a few clothes in a backpack, a saddle, and a gun were all they needed.

After everything was settled, Qin Yi paid the bill and took Ryan to the general store to buy some vegetable seeds, then returned to the ranch. On the way back, Qin Yi drove, enjoying the thrill of being behind the wheel again. On the way, he asked Ryan to arrange the new cowboys and told him about the barbecue party planned for the next evening. Indeed, Qin Yi intended to formally meet the cowboys, as he was about to start working on the ranch.

It was time for the spirit spring to take effect, and Qin Yi was looking forward to it.

As they approached the ranch, Qin Yi looked at the large main house. Usually, cleaning it alone took a long time, so he decided to find someone to help. After some thought, he said to Ryan, "Ryan, it's troublesome for me to clean the main house alone. Can Susie help me clean it every two days? Also, I plan to create a large vegetable garden near the main house. Susie won't be a cowboy anymore; she'll take care of the garden, and her salary will remain the same."

Ryan's family of four included his wife Susie, son Burke, and daughter Rachie. They all worked as cowboys on Qin Yi's ranch. Ryan was delighted. Being a cowboy was tiring, while taking care of a garden was much easier, and cleaning the house was even simpler. "Thank you, Yi. Susie will be very happy to hear this."

"The cowboy who took care of the stables has left. Let Rachie do it."

"Thank you, Yi. You're a good person, God bless you!" Ryan was overjoyed.

The ranch had 20 Quarter Horses. Last year, the ranch decided to sell off the cattle and sheep, and most of the cowboys were laid off. The horses were also sold as the number of cowboys decreased. Generally, cowboys took care of their own horses, so Rachie only needed to take care of 5 or 6 horses, which was much easier than herding cattle.

When they arrived at the ranch, Qin Yi went back to the main house, and Ryan went to the stables to ride a horse and help the cowboys herd the cattle. They needed to bring the cattle back to the corral or the woods at night to prevent any accidents. With half the cowboys gone, the work was more tiring. As for the new cowboys, it didn't matter if they were a bit late in getting settled.

Qin Yi returned to the house, where Lai Pi was sleeping on the sofa. Now that he had space fruits, he didn't have to worry about Lai Pi being hungry. A basket every few days was enough. The space fruit trees matured once a week, and there were more fruits than he could eat. The ground was covered with various fruits, but since things in the space didn't spoil, he left them there for now, planning to deal with them later. For dinner, he made beef and potato stew, ate until he was full, and then lay down to watch TV. After a while, he found it boring, so he took a shower and went to bed.

The next morning, Qin Yi got up at 6 and went outside. Looking at the vast ranch and breathing the fresh air with the scent of grass, he felt incredibly refreshed. The cowboys had already set out to herd the cattle. Qin Yi saw Rachie, wearing rubber boots and a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, cleaning the stables. He admired her for being down-to-earth and willing to do dirty and tiring work. Though not particularly beautiful, she had a simple charm.

Qin Yi walked over and greeted her, "Good morning, Rachie. I'll help you." He changed into rubber boots from the small storage room, took a shovel, and started working.

"Thank you, Yi," Rachie said with a smile.

Over the past few days, Qin Yi had met Rachie a few times and found her to be very friendly, unlike the previous ranch owner, the Moore family, who were stiff and distant. After cleaning the stables, Qin Yi learned how to brush the horses from Rachie. First, he used a hard brush, then a soft one, and finally a blow dryer. It sounded simple, but he was sweating by the end of the morning. After that, Rachie went to ride the horses, and Qin Yi, not knowing how to ride, decided to start the vegetable garden.

He went to the warehouse, took out a small tiller, and chose a plot of land near the main house to plow and plant vegetables.

"Vroom vroom vroom..."

The tiller was powerful, plowing and breaking the soil in one go, ready for planting. Qin Yi was excited, having seen tillers in his rural hometown but never driven one himself. It was both novel and gave him a sense of changing nature, even though the machine did most of the work. Like a child with a new toy, he drove the tiller back and forth, tilling a large area. When he thought it was enough for the vegetables, he reluctantly went back to the warehouse to get the seeder.

At the warehouse, Qin Yi was a bit worried. He wanted to grow vegetables not only to avoid the trouble of buying them in town but also to enjoy the delicious vegetables improved by the spirit spring.

However, if he watered the vegetables with the spring water, they would grow rapidly, which might scare the cowboys. After some thought, he decided to plant them in the space first, collect the seeds, and then plant them outside. The seeds grown in the space would still produce delicious vegetables, though not as good as those in the space, but without the rapid growth, there would be no risk of being discovered.

With that in mind, he entered the space, cleared the fruits under the fruit trees, and planted the vegetable seeds. The seeds sprouted and grew quickly, and soon crisp lettuce, red tomatoes, and tender cucumbers were ready. Qin Yi quickly picked some for the evening barbecue.

After picking the vegetables, he hurried to collect the mature seeds, worried they would fall and grow again. He pulled out the vegetable plants, piled them up, and planned to remove them from the space later. After collecting the seeds, he left the space and drove the seeder to plant the vegetables.

He set the speed and spacing, started the seeder, and went to work.

"Thud thud thud..."

Compared to the tiller, the seeder was slower, as planting was a more delicate task. After half an hour, he finished planting. He planned to water the seeds when they sprouted. He returned the seeder to the warehouse, checked the time, and realized it was already 7:30. His stomach growled, so he decided to make breakfast.

He fried an egg, a small piece of beef, and a few slices of the newly planted vegetables, put them in a sandwich, and had breakfast.

After breakfast, he took out two apples, one for himself and one for Lai Pi, and sat on the sofa to watch TV. In the afternoon, he called Ryan to help prepare for the barbecue.

During the herding, the cowboys had to drive the cattle every so often to prevent them from overgrazing and damaging the grass roots. Otherwise, there wasn't much to do, and the work was less busy than in the morning and evening. The new cowboys had already started working, so the workload was manageable, and Ryan didn't have to help with the herding, returning to his role of managing the cowboys.

Ryan and Susie arrived on horseback soon after the call. Susie had switched to taking care of the garden, but since the vegetables were just planted, she continued to help with the herding.

Qin Yi sat in a lounge chair under the pergola, sipping coffee, and watched Ryan and Susie ride off into the sunset, their whips gently swaying. The scene reminded him of early American Western films. "I'll start learning to ride tomorrow. I want to gallop into the sunset, and not just the sunset, but also into the sunrise in the morning!"

He took a sip of coffee and thought to himself, "I should find someone to take a photo and upload it to my QQ space to show everyone how cool I look."

Ryan and Susie saw the newly opened vegetable garden from a distance. They had only mentioned it yesterday, and they thought they would help today, but Qin Yi had already done it. They let their horses graze and walked over to Qin Yi. "Yi, I didn't expect you to finish the garden so quickly. I thought I'd help you tomorrow."

"Nothing much to do in the morning, and it's not difficult with the machinery," Qin Yi said, standing up and inviting them into the living room. "Ryan, Susie, come in and have some coffee. It's still early!"

Ryan and Susie sat on the sofa, took off their hats, and placed them on their laps. Qin Yi brought over a coffee pot and poured them each a cup.

"Thank you, Yi," they said with smiles.

Qin Yi was hosting his first barbecue party in America and had no experience. "Ryan, what kind of drinks do the cowboys like?"

"Beer is fine; it's their favorite. A little red wine and juice will do."

Qin Yi was relieved. He had beer in the cellar and red wine in the basement.

After a short rest, the three of them prepared the barbecue. Susie prepared the beef and lamb, washed the vegetables, and Qin Yi and Ryan went to the warehouse to get the barbecue grill and charcoal. These were left by the previous ranch owner. After cleaning and drying the grill, it was ready for use. They also brought out several buckets of beer and placed them on the grass in front of the house, setting up tables, chairs, and utensils. As night fell, the cowboys started arriving.

Qin Yi greeted the cowboys with a smile, telling them to help themselves to the beer and juice. The cowboys, used to a casual atmosphere, relaxed and started chatting and drinking in groups, creating a lively and joyful atmosphere. Ryan was busy with the barbecue, with Burke helping, and Rachie assisting Susie with the salad. Qin Yi watched Ryan and decided to learn a few tricks, as there would be many more barbecues and picnics in the future.

"Oh, God, this salad is delicious! Susie, your salad has never been this good before!" Rachie exclaimed after tasting the salad, amazed by its flavor.

Her exclamation drew attention, and Susie, curious, tasted it. "Oh, my God, did I make this? When did I become such a good cook?" Susie was surprised, as she had never noticed her cooking skills were this good after decades of cooking.

The first exclamation drew curious glances, but the second one drew the crowd. Burke, being close, was the first to taste it. "Mmm, good, good, really delicious salad, everyone should try it." He encouraged the cowboys to taste it.

Indeed, everyone who tried it couldn't help but give a thumbs up. The salad, meant as a side dish, was quickly devoured by the cowboys before the barbecue even started. Qin Yi found it amusing, knowing the vegetables from the space were the reason for its deliciousness.

In the morning, Qin Yi had picked several baskets of vegetables and stored them in the kitchen fridge, anticipating the popularity of the space vegetables. Although he guessed the salad's deliciousness was due to the vegetables, the fact that everyone loved it made Susie extremely happy. Encouraged by the praise and requests, she happily continued preparing more salad.