Chapter 17

"Chirp chirp!"

Before the special beef noodles made by the Qin family were even mixed, the freeloader, Lai Pi, came over, knowing it was mealtime. He even skipped breakfast after sleeping in! Qin Yi criticized Lai Pi but still had to give him an apple. He took an apple from the fridge and started eating his own meal.

"Crunch crunch!"

"Slurp slurp!"

Before long, both of them finished eating. Lai Pi turned and lay on the sofa to play, while Qin Yi glared at him fiercely, "Once you're fat, we'll eat hotpot in winter!" After scaring him, Qin Yi got up to wash the dishes.

After cleaning up, he lay on the sofa to watch TV for a while. Qin Yi decided to set up a simple shooting range and continue practicing in the afternoon. He went to his bedroom, took his guns, and carried a small box of bullets. He went out to the warehouse to find a wooden board, got into his pickup truck, and threw everything into the back. Then he drove off!

He greeted Rachie, who was riding a horse, and continued driving. After ten minutes, he was far from the main house and the workers' quarters, arriving at a small hill. This area was not used for grazing, and the grass was very short. "Not bad, not bad, this place will do!" Qin Yi was very satisfied with the location. He found a pen in the car, drew a large cross, and added a few circles to make the target. He set it up a few dozen meters away, and thus, his simple shooting range was complete.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Qin Yi didn't just shoot randomly but switched between different guns, carefully feeling the subtle differences between each one, adjusting and practicing until it became a muscle memory. He practiced like this for over 20 minutes, using over 200 bullets. Just as he was about to switch to another gun, he noticed a pickup truck approaching. Qin Yi put down his gun and stood to wait for the person to get closer.

It was Ryan. As the car approached, Qin Yi saw the person.

Seeing Ryan get out of the car, Qin Yi waved, "Ryan, weren't you checking the pasture? You finished so quickly?"

Ryan jumped out of the car excitedly and shouted to Qin Yi, "Oh, man! Yi, good news, our pasture grass might have mutated into a drought-resistant variety!"

"Oh, mutated? Drought-resistant?" Qin Yi acted very interested, a bit excited and a bit puzzled, his expression and acting skills worthy of an Oscar!

"Yes, Yi, I checked. This mutated alfalfa is taller, with more and wider leaves. The leaves are also fatter and juicier. I picked some leaves, and the cows love them!" Ryan was gesturing wildly.

Qin Yi didn't expect Ryan to be so unsteady at this moment. He must have been deeply stimulated by the new, high-quality pasture grass. For an old cowboy who had spent his life as a rancher, discovering a new, high-quality pasture grass or cattle breed would be the greatest pride!

Qin Yi didn't look down on him; instead, he respected him even more. This was a true cowboy!

However, Qin Yi didn't want Ryan to get too excited, "Ryan, relax. If it's really like that, the pasture grass isn't going anywhere. It's ours!"

Ryan took a deep breath to calm his excitement and smiled sheepishly, "Oh, God, I'm too excited! You know, Yi, good pasture is crucial for the ranch. With good pasture, we can raise fat cattle and sheep!"

Qin Yi showed even more interest, "Where is the mutated pasture grass?"

Thinking about it, he added, "If it's really a new, high-quality mutated pasture, we shouldn't let the cows eat it now. We'll wait until it grows more!"

"There are several patches of mutated pasture. The nearest one is near yesterday's grazing area. Each patch is a few dozen meters in diameter. It seems to have mutated overnight and grown a bit more. It's really strange! I've told the cowboys to avoid the new pasture when grazing." Talking about the pasture that grew significantly overnight, Ryan was puzzled, almost thinking of aliens.

Seeing Ryan's puzzled expression, Qin Yi quickly changed the subject, "Grew overnight? Maybe it was just too low before, and no one noticed! You were checking the pasture, right? How long until we can harvest?"

"You're right. Checking the pasture is just a general look. If there are no pests in an area, we don't pay much attention. The new pasture was probably too low before and was hidden. We can harvest the pasture in 7 to 8 days. I only checked the western area near the mountains. I hadn't gone to the northern area when I got a call about strange pasture, so I came back to check."

Qin Yi then asked Ryan to accompany him while he practiced shooting, casually chatting about topics like how the drought might have caused the pasture to mutate, how the new pasture grows quickly, and how to arrange the harvest. In the evening, Qin Yi had an early dinner and then took a bucket of water to water the pasture. On the way, he met Ryan, who was heading back. It seemed Ryan was really concerned and might have gone to check the mutated pasture right after practicing shooting! Qin Yi greeted him and declined Ryan's offer to accompany him, suggesting he go back for dinner.

"Good guy, if you accompany me, how can I cheat?"

Qin Yi arrived at the pasture patches and didn't water the center but the edges, thinking it would spread faster this way. After pouring a bucket of spiritual spring water, the pasture patches grew significantly.

Finished, he went back to sleep!

At the doorstep, he remembered the vegetable garden. He decided to water it a bit, took a small bowl from the space, diluted it into a bucket in the kitchen, and went to water the garden.

Watering a few acres of vegetables with this much spiritual spring water shouldn't be too exaggerated...

After an hour of work, he finished watering. Looking back, the early-watered areas had already sprouted and grown to about half an inch. It was good. In the future, he would come every few days, and it wouldn't be too obvious. Growing faster could be explained as an early-maturing variety! After cleaning up, he went back to the house, ate a big pear, and a couple of plums, took a shower, and went to bed. American TV shows were boring, and there wasn't much to do, so it was better to go to bed early and wake up early for good health!

The next morning at 5, Qin Yi woke up and couldn't fall back asleep. Sigh, with his superior physical and mental condition, he was always full of energy after a short rest. He couldn't even sleep in!

Morning was the best time to exercise. Recently, grooming horses wasn't much of a workout, and walking the horse was more of a workout for the horse. Thinking about the Yunnan School of Xinyi Quan he learned before, Qin Yi decided to practice it, as he had no better way to exercise!

The Yunnan School of Xinyi Quan is an ancient internal martial art, known for its unique techniques, simplicity, practicality, and powerful combat effectiveness. However, to Qin Yi, it was just a show, and he hadn't achieved much after practicing for several years!

Qin Yi learned Xinyi Quan from an old man in the village. According to the old man, he learned it from a Mr. Song while working as a laborer at a wharf in Zhou City in his youth. However, Mr. Song only taught them some basic martial arts for self-defense and didn't take them as disciples. Therefore, the old man only learned the Tiger and Bear forms, with the Tiger Step, and Mr. Song didn't pass on the mental techniques. These people were not considered orthodox practitioners of Xinyi Quan.

The old man practiced all his life, though he didn't achieve much, but he was still healthy and energetic in his 70s and 80s, and he was well-known in the surrounding villages. Therefore, a group of teenagers, influenced by TV shows and dreaming of martial arts, begged the old man to teach them. The old man taught everyone, but he warned them that the techniques were easy to learn but hard to master, and without the mental techniques, it was difficult to achieve much.

Later, when everyone realized that TV shows were fictional, most gave up. Qin Yi was one of the few who practiced for a long time, but he didn't achieve much by high school and gave it up in college.

After practicing for several years, Qin Yi didn't forget the techniques and steps. Now, picking them up again, the first few rounds were a bit slow, but he became more proficient with each round.

He practiced the Tiger forms like the Tiger Pounce, Tiger Embrace, Tiger Squat, and Double Tiger, and the Bear forms like the Single Bear, Double Bear, Exit the Cave, and Small Step, with a proper form!

With his superior physical and mental condition, Qin Yi gradually immersed himself in the practice. His punches and movements were powerful and smooth, giving a sense of authority and dominance. Before long, Rachie, who was cleaning the stables, and Ryan and Burke, who were grooming horses, noticed and came over to watch closely. If they were in China, they might have worried about offending him, but Americans didn't have such concerns and just came over out of curiosity.

Qin Yi was focused on his practice and didn't notice the audience.

Now, practicing, he felt different from before. Although his techniques were standard, he couldn't generate power and felt it was just a show. Now, after a few rounds, he felt his whole body was energized, his movements were smooth, and his punches were powerful!

It was strange; why couldn't he achieve this feeling before?

Only when he was sweating all over did Qin Yi stop, took a deep breath, and felt refreshed. He turned to go back to the house to take a shower and suddenly saw three people on the porch, a bit surprised. When did they come?

"Ryan? Sorry, I didn't notice you while practicing!" Qin Yi apologized, as ignoring people wasn't good.

Ryan waved his hand and asked about the techniques, "Yi, we should be the ones to apologize for not disturbing you! That was Chinese martial arts? I saw you practicing, and it looked really cool, with a strong impact." As he said this, Ryan waved his fists, but without any form.

Seeing Burke and Rachie also very curious, Qin Yi found it amusing. Americans were generally influenced by Bruce Lee's kung fu movies and were very curious about Chinese martial arts.

"Yes, this is a type of martial art I learned in my hometown, a form of Chinese kung fu. I haven't practiced for a few years, but I thought about it today and decided to practice to exercise."

"It looks very powerful! Kung fu, Yi, can you teach me? I'll be your disciple! Of course, I know you Chinese have requirements. If it's difficult for you, just forget it." Burke looked at Qin Yi with great anticipation, ready to become a disciple if Qin Yi agreed.

Watching Qin Yi practice, the techniques were unique but not showy, and the punches were powerful and forceful. Not only Burke but also Rachie was attracted. Ryan was also curious, but he was too old and lacked the energy!

"Sure, if you want to learn, there's no problem. No need to be a disciple. This martial art isn't from a specific school. However, it's easy to learn but hard to master. I've been practicing since I was young, and I'm still like this!"

Clearly, Qin Yi's words didn't discourage Burke's enthusiasm for martial arts.

Seeing Rachie's eager expression, Qin Yi included her, "Rachie can also practice, but this martial art is very powerful and might not be suitable for girls. Let's try it out."

In the following days, Qin Yi led Burke and Rachie to practice in the early morning. They could remember the routines, but like Qin Yi in his early years, they were just practicing the forms.

One morning after practicing, Qin Yi remembered he hadn't checked on the sheep yet. He told Ryan, and after breakfast, the two took some vegetables and beer and drove to the northwest area of the ranch. There, on an unnamed hill, the ranch's 2000 sheep were grazing, watched by the Indian Rudy and his two sons.

After over two hours of bumpy driving, Qin Yi and Ryan finally arrived at the mobile home of Rudy and his sons. It was time for herding, and Rudy and his sons were watching the sheep in the distance. Noticing someone coming, they rode their horses back. The two got out of the car, moved the vegetables and beer, and Rudy arrived.

"Yi, this is Rudy. He's worked on the ranch for several years without any problems!" Ryan introduced Qin Yi first, then said to Rudy, who had dismounted, "Rudy, this is Yi, our new boss."

Rudy hurried forward, a bit nervous, "Hello, boss!"

Qin Yi smiled and shook his hand, "Hello, Rudy, just call me Yi. We brought some vegetables and beer. By the way, your salary is $1500 a month, and if the lamb quality is good at the end of the year, I'll give you a bonus!"

"Thank you, boss!" Rudy was very happy but didn't know what else to say. Qin Yi waved his hand, understanding that Rudy was a reserved and quiet person, but such people generally didn't cheat, and Qin Yi felt safe using him.

Helping to move the items back to the house, he checked their living conditions, reminded Rudy to be careful, and told him to call if they needed anything. After taking care of the employees, Qin Yi didn't stay long and took Ryan back.

In the evening, he secretly went to cheat. Back in the house, Qin Yi received a message from Ye Fang, saying he would arrive in Los Angeles the next afternoon and asked Qin Yi to pick him up.

PS: Yesterday, I checked the tracking number. The delivery was delayed due to the holiday. I hope it will be delivered tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the rescheduling in the next two days!

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