Chapter 24

Using a knife, he cut a piece, and Ryan wasn’t afraid of the heat, eating it in large bites. Seeing this, everyone gathered around, eager to taste Qin Yi’s first barbecue. After all, they were all hungry!

"How is it, Ryan?"

Qin Yi watched as Ryan ate in large bites, showing no signs of disapproval, and he felt relieved. Cowboys were straightforward; if it wasn’t good, they would say so and wouldn’t flatter their boss.

The cowboys waited for Ryan’s reaction, but Ye Fang didn’t hesitate. He had absolute confidence in his brother’s skills, so he took a plate, scooped up a large piece, and started eating. As expected, the outside was quickly seared, locking in the moisture inside, making it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The texture was excellent, and although the meat was slightly overcooked, it still suited most Chinese palates.

"I think it’s delicious. You should all try it; it won’t make you regret eating a second piece!"

Qin Yi felt reassured. Ye Fang was particular about food, so if he said it was good, it must be!

"It should be pretty good. Look at how Ryan keeps eating; it can’t be bad, right?"

Berk had already joined in, and hearing Ye Fang’s words, he teased his father with a smile. Without waiting for Ryan’s reaction, he took a plate and started eating. The others followed suit, finding their own plates and trying the meat.

By this time, Ryan had finished his small piece. Seeing everyone eating, he shook his head and said to Qin Yi, "Yi, it looks like I don’t need to say anything. You can see for yourself. The barbecue is good, just a bit overcooked!"

The other cowboys eating the meat nodded in agreement with Ryan’s opinion. Qin Yi smiled inwardly. This was intentional. Americans preferred their barbecue medium-rare, with a bit of pink inside, which Qin Yi found hard to get used to. He guessed Ye Fang also preferred it a bit more cooked, given his thumbs-up. Today, he would cater to American tastes, but in the future, he would cook it a bit more for himself. He continued to barbecue, letting Ryan help, as one person couldn’t keep up with so many mouths to feed!

Soon, Susie’s grilled fish was ready. Six fish, three for each person, everyone could have a taste, though the portions were small. They weren’t expecting to be full, just to enjoy the fresh, delicious fish.

After the fish was distributed, Qin Yi stopped barbecuing and handed it over to Ryan. He eagerly took his share, making Ryan laugh, "Yi, you’d better eat quickly; I can’t handle all this barbecue alone!"

The cowboys, seeing Qin Yi run over, laughed heartily. They felt their boss was approachable, making their work on the ranch more enjoyable, and their sense of belonging grew stronger! Qin Yi didn’t care about this, just holding his grilled fish and joining Ye Fang, eating and discussing.

"Mm!" He couldn’t wait to take a bite. The outside was crispy, the inside tender, and the flavor was excellent. Qin Yi was very satisfied, "Look at how golden the outside is, and the inside is still white and tender, almost like it has juice. It’s not dry at all, unlike what I imagined."

The trout might have more fat than carp or other fish, making it more tender and delicate with no fishy taste. However, he thought the seasonings here were a bit lacking. The grilled meat here mostly relied on the natural flavors of the ingredients, which couldn’t compare to the various spices used in China, where the ingredients and seasonings complemented each other, creating a fresh, fragrant, numbing, and spicy experience that opened up the taste buds and left people speechless with satisfaction.

"It’s definitely better than farmed trout. The meat is firmer and chewier, but still tender and smooth. It was worth the effort this afternoon!" Ye Fang said, then fell silent, eating in small bites.

Qin Yi shook his head, finished his few bites, and went back to barbecuing. What was there to savor? If they wanted more, they could go fishing again! But thinking about Ye Fang going back to China, he wouldn’t have the chance to eat it, he chuckled inwardly. Today’s grilled fish was indeed good, of course, not just because of the quality of the fish, but also because of the skill. Therefore, Chef Susie received a lot of praise, beaming with joy!

After distributing this batch of barbecue, Qin Yi asked Berk to help grill more while he checked on the fish bone soup.

He found a large pot from the warehouse, about a meter in diameter, and stewed half a pot of soup, enough for everyone to have a bowl! At this point, the meat on the fish bones was tender and scattered in the thick, white broth, emitting a tempting aroma.

Seeing the soup was ready, Qin Yi went out to call Ye Fang and Berk to help lift the pot to the lawn, causing a chorus of exclamations from the crowd. They probably hadn’t seen such a large pot before, and this pot of fish soup was very different from the thick soups they usually drank in America.

"Yi, is this Chinese cooking? It’s so impressive! And it smells so good." Ryan served himself a bowl, looked at the clear soup for a while, and took a sip, "Ah, Susie, you should really learn to make this Chinese soup; it’s much better than the thick soups!" He joked with Susie and waved to the cowboys to try it. Qin Yi served everyone a bowl and started drinking himself.

Ye Fang took a sip, frowned, and asked Qin Yi, "It’s not fresh enough; did you not add Sichuan pepper?"

"There’s none on the ranch. We’ll have to go to the Chinese supermarket in Niagara Falls City next time."

Qin Yi only used scallions, ginger, and garlic. Living alone recently, he hadn’t noticed that the ranch lacked Sichuan pepper, star anise, and other spices. This time, it was fine, but he would go to the Chinese supermarket in Niagara Falls City next time, or bring some seeds to plant on the ranch if they couldn’t find them.

In no time, everyone had a bowl of soup, and half of them went for seconds, while the other half, who didn’t like it, went for beer. Qin Yi didn’t mind; it was normal for a dish to be liked by some and not by others. Ryan drank a bowl and went back to barbecuing. The cowboys were almost full, so this last batch of barbecue should be enough.

"Rachelle, is the salad ready?"

The vegetable and fruit salad was still very popular. This was the third time it had been made, and it was always eaten up quickly, so Rachelle and Susie had to keep making it!

"It’s ready, Yi. It seems the salad is the most popular tonight!" Rachelle laughed and served the eager cowboys.

The cowboys, enjoying the delicious salad, thought to themselves, if they could eat such fresh vegetables every day, it would be great. But even getting free vegetables from the boss was already very generous, and they didn’t want to ask for too much! Qin Yi could guess their thoughts; it was only natural. He would explain it today so the cowboys wouldn’t think the boss was eating well and not sharing!

"Hey, guys, do you want to eat this kind of vegetable salad every day?" Qin Yi smiled, teasing them.

"Of course, Yi, I dream about it!"

"Oh, God, you don’t know how delicious this salad is!"

"It’s a gift from God!"

"Yi, you’re not joking, right? Such good vegetables must be expensive, and you’re already very generous providing us with vegetables!"

Qin Yi waved his hand, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

"Of course, you can’t eat it now," seeing their disappointment, he continued, "because our vegetable seedlings have just started growing!"

Everyone was stunned. Just started growing?

Susie quickly caught on, excited, "Yi, you mean the vegetables in our garden are like this? Oh, my God, this is great news!"

Qin Yi nodded, a bit reserved but also proud. Ye Fang, seeing this, wanted to punch him, but the cowboys felt even closer and looked forward to endless salads!

Susie covered her mouth in surprise, thinking about managing such a garden. These vegetables were even better than organic vegetables, and she would have to put more effort into managing the garden!

Seeing the cowboys jumping with joy, Qin Yi continued, "Guys, our friend, Ye Fang, is visiting our ranch. If anyone knows how to dance, come up and show him our enthusiasm!"

As soon as he finished, the cowboys finished their beers and gathered around the fire, performing passionate cowboy dances, making the atmosphere reach its peak! They brought two beers, gave one to Ye Fang, and the two of them drank and watched. Soon, they were also infected by the lively atmosphere and joined the dancing, initially imitating the dance moves but eventually just dancing freely, as long as they were happy!

They drank beer, chatted, and danced until 9 PM before dispersing.

Back in the house, they had another cup of coffee and went to their respective rooms.

After a shower, Qin Yi planned to go to bed but remembered the space filled with fruits. Sigh, he originally wanted to plant a few fruit trees for personal use, but the space was so powerful that the fruits grew too much! He changed into his clothes and went to the wine cellar, where there were two sets of brewing equipment, one for beer and one for wine, left by the Moore family.

Qin Yi first cleaned the equipment, then took a large basket into the space, sorted the fruits, and transported them out of the space. He washed them in the cleaning equipment, peeled, crushed, and juiced them. Fortunately, it was all done by machine, or he would have been exhausted! After making apple juice, he added the appropriate amount of pectinase and SO2, and let it clarify for 24 hours before fermenting. He repeated the same steps for the plums, pears, and peaches in the space, planning to clarify them the next day.

After finishing, it was already 12 AM. He quickly went back, took another shower, and went to bed.

The next day, he woke up at 5 AM, feeling refreshed, and started his daily boxing routine. Halfway through, Ye Fang also woke up, looking energetic, and came outside to watch Qin Yi box, curious. He knew Qin Yi could fight, having heard about it in college, but he never imagined he would be so powerful now!

After a while, seeing Qin Yi finish his routine, he asked curiously, "Xiaoyizi, your punches weren’t this powerful before!"

Qin Yi didn’t hide it, "It’s probably because of the fruits. My strength has increased, and the explosive power of the Xinyi Quan has become more evident."

"Really? Have you developed any internal energy?"

Ye Fang was excited. If he could develop internal energy, he would also find a set of kung fu to practice, as he had also eaten the fruits. Imagine flying over walls and walking on water; how cool would that be!

"Internal energy? No, just more destructive power, nothing else." Qin Yi also wanted to develop internal energy, but unfortunately, he had no feeling of it at all!

Ye Fang was immediately deflated. Without internal energy, he lost his enthusiasm!

Qin Yi didn’t say more, taking Ye Fang to ride horses. They planned to go hunting today. After breakfast, they would ride towards the Rocky Mountains, start returning in the afternoon, and hunt whatever they saw along the way. Camping in the wild would be fun, but without a hunting dog, it was too dangerous at night.

After breakfast, Ye Fang went back to his room to pack, and Qin Yi went to the wine cellar to check the fruit juices, adding more pectinase, then went back to pack. He took two fruits from the space, in case of emergencies, and put them in his backpack. He wore thick jeans and long leather boots, took insect repellent, opened the safe, and put the hunting rifle and bullets in his backpack. He would also take some water and beef jerky from the kitchen before leaving.

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