Chapter 27

Qin Yi got up to pour a glass of water for him and, upon returning, saw that he was still staring at the pancake. He felt a twitch in the corner of his eye, wondering if he was still hungry after eating three of them.

The pancakes made by Qin Yi were not small, and the meat was plentiful. An average person would be full after eating two, but this guy ate three in one breath and was still staring at the one left, as if he wasn’t afraid of being too full to sleep!

"Do you still want to eat? If you do, I’ll make more tomorrow morning. Don’t eat anymore today, or you’ll be too full!"

Qin Yi handed him the water, not pouring much, as it wasn’t advisable to drink too much water right after a meal.

"This simple pancake, how can it be so delicious!" Ye Fang took the water, feeling a bit full. "Let’s stop here for today, and I’ll eat more tomorrow!"

"Don’t drink too much water. Take Lai Pi out for a walk to help digest the food." Qin Yi sat down, spreading the remaining venison on the pancake, pouring the sauce, and rolling it up to enjoy. Ye Fang, watching from the side, felt envious and thought he should have eaten more slowly to savor the taste better!

Ye Fang got up and caught Lai Pi from the sofa to go for a walk!

After finishing the pancake, they went to the kitchen to clean up. Qin Yi then went to the wine cellar. The fruit juice had been left for a day and was almost clear. Qin Yi planned to transfer it into the fermentation barrel now, so that in a week, they would have fruit wine to drink. He made simple apple wine, plum wine, and large pear wine. Then, he experimented with mixing several types of fruit juices to see what flavors he could create! After an hour of work, he returned home to find Ye Fang drinking tea. They chatted for a while, and feeling that the food had been digested, they both went to take a shower and go to bed.

The next morning, after breakfast, Ryan called, saying that the grass in the western part of the ranch needed to be harvested the next day and that they needed to hire some temporary workers to help. Qin Yi was happy to receive the call, as he could finally try out the large mower!

As for hiring temporary workers, Qin Yi left it to Ryan, who had lived there for many years and had connections. He called Isaac, the owner of the cowboy bar, and after he made a call, everyone knew. The pay was slightly higher than the local market rate, at $60 per day, and there would be plenty of people willing to do it.

For the whole day, Qin Yi didn’t take Ye Fang out. They enjoyed beer and the scenery on the terrace, savoring the leisure of ranch life. In the evening, they watched the sunset, which turned the earth into a golden landscape.

The next morning, after breakfast, Ryan brought several cowboys over. Ryan, Burke, and the Cooper brothers were regular cowboys on the ranch, while the others were new, likely temporary workers hired by Ryan.

The Cooper brothers were twins, Big Cooper and Little Cooper, both standing 2 meters tall with bulging muscles, looking like iron towers. They had short hair and rugged faces, not looking like good guys at first glance. However, after getting to know them, they were straightforward and loyal, treating you well if you treated them well. Qin Yi had the deepest impression of them among the cowboys.

After greeting each other, they didn’t chat much. Ryan and Burke each drove a large mower with wheels as tall as a person, while the other cowboys drove five medium-sized mowers. They waved and headed out.

The large mower could harvest 5,000 acres of grass in a day, while the medium-sized ones could harvest 2,000 acres. It would take 4 days to complete the harvest for the entire Sun River Ranch. The large mower was the easiest to operate, with no need to change operators throughout the day. The medium-sized ones required a shift change every two hours, as they were manually operated and very tiring.

Qin Yi also tried the large mower, which felt like sitting on the second floor, driving forward with full power, like a monster. He then tried the medium-sized mower, which, although not as powerful, still gave a great feeling of seeing the grass fall from a high vantage point. However, after an hour, the novelty wore off, leaving only boredom!

In summer, the grass was cut short, leaving about 8-9 centimeters. In winter, it was left longer, with about 10-15 centimeters left, as the grass would stop growing and needed to retain nutrients for the winter.

At noon, Susie and Rachel brought lunch, which was simple: grilled meat, burgers, and salad, with a large pot of coffee in a thermal container. As soon as they brought out the lunch, the cowboys, who had been working all morning, gathered around, eagerly eating the grilled meat and burgers!

After lunch, Qin Yi didn’t stay, as he had already experienced the mower and knew he wouldn’t be able to handle the boring work of cutting grass.

He took Ye Fang back to the main house, opened the door, and saw Lai Pi lying on the sofa. He remembered he hadn’t fed Lai Pi yet. Lai Pi usually slept in the morning and had two meals a day, at noon and night. Although he ate infrequently, he ate a lot, consuming a large apple and some improved alfalfa hay each time, and then sleeping, never going for a run, making him round and plump.

Ye Fang patted Lai Pi’s head and went to take a shower, while Qin Yi went to find food for Lai Pi.

The fridge was almost empty, and the apples from the space were all used for making wine. Qin Yi had forgotten to leave some. Fortunately, the apples on the trees would ripen in a couple of days, so there was no need to worry about a shortage!

He took out a large apple to feed Lai Pi and remembered that he had promised to make a nest for Lai Pi a few days ago, which he had forgotten while touring the ranch with Ye Fang. Since there was nothing to do in the afternoon, he decided to make the nest.

He searched the warehouse but couldn’t find suitable wood. He left Ye Fang at home to play with Lai Pi and drove to Augusta to look for materials. At the supermarket, he asked the clerk and was directed to the pet nest area, where he saw various types of nests, including apple-shaped houses, wooden cabins, and pet villas!

Qin Yi was amazed at the variety of dog nests!

Besides the nests, there were various types of boards. Qin Yi didn’t choose a ready-made nest but selected some suitable boards to make one for Lai Pi himself.

Back at the ranch, he took out his computer and searched for pet nest designs in the living room, with Ye Fang watching curiously. After flipping through many designs, he found some beautiful ones, but they were either too complicated to make or not suitable for Lai Pi. He decided to make an apple-shaped nest, as Lai Pi loved large apples!

He started making the apple-shaped nest, which would be 50 centimeters wide, providing ample space for Lai Pi. He took out tools from the warehouse and started working on the lawn in front of the house. He cut four 50-centimeter square boards, nailed the bottom and sides, and chose one side as the front, cutting a 20-centimeter circular door.

Ye Fang laughed, "Aren’t you making an apple? Why does it look like a dice?"

Qin Yi shook his head proudly, "Just wait and see!" He went back into the house, leaving Ye Fang puzzled.

A moment later, Qin Yi returned with white and red small blankets and a pillow.

Ye Fang was confused, "Are you planning to make a bed for Lai Pi?"

Qin Yi smiled and didn’t answer, laying the white blanket inside the nest, nailing the roof, wrapping the red blanket around the outside, and stuffing the pillow inside the wood and red blanket until it looked round and apple-like!

Ye Fang was speechless, realizing that it could be done this way...

Now, it looked like a real apple, with a white inside and a red outside, but it was missing the stem! Just as he was about to comment, he saw Qin Yi use an electric saw to cut a piece of wood, spray it with eco-friendly paint, and turn it green. Ye Fang said nothing, as the apple stem was now complete.

Qin Yi laughed, packed up the tools, and put the apple nest in the house. The stem needed to dry, so he left it there.

Back in the house, he placed the apple nest next to the closet and carried Lai Pi from the sofa to see his new home.

"Lai Pi, this is your new home. You’ll sleep here from now on, got it?" Qin Yi patted Lai Pi’s head, speaking earnestly.

Lai Pi was very happy to see the large apple, patting and scratching it with his front paws. After circling it a few times, he crawled into the small round door. A moment later, he poked his head out and squeaked at Qin Yi, clearly very fond of his new home and immediately lying down to sleep inside!

"It seems Lai Pi really likes it. Your effort wasn’t wasted!" Ye Fang sat on the sofa, drinking coffee.

"Of course, with my hands-on skills, I’m a once-in-a-century genius!" Qin Yi poured himself a cup and sat down to drink it slowly. "By the way, how’s your business going?"

"Just set up the framework, registered the company both in China and here. The procedures are easy, but finding talent is hard. I hired a manager and will gradually find other employees."

Over the next few days, they rode horses and fished. After 4 days, the grass was harvested and dried, then bundled and stored in the barn. When settling the temporary workers, Qin Yi gave them an extra $50 bonus, and they all praised him as a good person! The $50 didn’t matter to Qin Yi, and the good reputation would make future hiring easier.

The next morning, Ye Fang had to return, as the company had just been established and there was much to do. Qin Yi took him to the Augusta airport and watched the plane take off before leaving.

Thinking of the lack of Chinese seasonings at home, Qin Yi decided to look for them at the Augusta supermarket, though he didn’t have high hopes. If they were available, great; if not, he would just explore the small town.

After searching the supermarket, he found no Chinese ingredients or seasonings, so he decided to go to Niagara City. Since he had to go, he might as well do it now.

After driving for over an hour, he arrived in Niagara City and found a large supermarket. Indeed, there were many Chinese ingredients, such as tofu, sausages, board ducks, and pickled vegetables. Qin Yi decided to buy in bulk, moving the items in boxes, which left the plump female clerk speechless, wondering if the world was ending!

Qin Yi didn’t care, finished buying the ingredients, and then went to find Chinese spices, such as Sichuan pepper and star anise, taking one pound of each. After paying, he asked the clerk to help him load the items into his pickup truck and left the supermarket.

Before leaving, he noted the name of the supermarket, Smith’s Supermarket, thinking he would come back if needed!