Chapter 77

Everyone lay on the grass, quietly gazing at the twinkling stars.

"Yi, it's really nice here. The scenery is beautiful, and there's delicious Chinese food, fruit wine, and coffee. Even the fruits and vegetables are so tasty. Oh, I think I'm starting to like it here!" Kolo had a faint smile on his face, without any exaggeration or flattery, showing that he genuinely liked the place. Perhaps living here permanently would be a good choice?

Kristin and the others looked at the distant scenery, nodding silently. They felt a bit conflicted. No matter how good it was, could they really live here forever?

"Ha ha!" Qin Yi saw the expressions on their faces and couldn't help but laugh. "You can always come back in the future. If you miss the life here, just come over. You don't have to camp; riding horses and herding cattle are great ways to relax!"

They thought about it and realized he was right. They could always come back, maybe in a month or even less. Even if Qin Yi was busy, they could help Ryan with herding or Susie with the vegetable garden, which would be a great way to relax.

After some more casual chat, they went back to their tents to sleep. They were all tired from a day of fun, especially after relaxing. Kolo and Kristin had already returned to their tents. Susa was holding Angel, and as they walked back to the tent with Liu Qimeng, Angel looked at Susa with anticipation.

"Mom, I want to sleep with Uncle Yi. Can I? Mom!"

"Uncle Yi is very tired and needs to rest. Angel, don't disturb Uncle Yi!"

"Okay, okay!" Angel pouted, then changed her request. "Can Uncle Yi tell me a story? Can I?"

Angel looked pitiful, and Susa felt a bit helpless. She looked at Qin Yi.

Qin Yi was right there and, of course, was willing. Telling a story was no trouble, and it would make the little girl happy. Seeing Susa's look, he immediately said, "Of course, Uncle Yi loves telling stories to Angel!"

This made Angel smile. Qin Yi then took the little girl and carried her to Susa and Liu Qimeng's tent. Ryan and the other three men waved to the little girl on Qin Yi's shoulder and watched them enter the tent before they went to sleep.

Qin Yi put the little girl in her child sleeping bag and told her the story of the True and False Monkey King to lull her to sleep, allowing Susa and Liu Qimeng to rest early.

After leaving the tent, he checked the campsite, making sure the horses were securely tied and adding a few logs to the fire. He then petted the dogs, who would guard the campsite at night. McGee looked up at Qin Yi, then lay down again. Teddy lay on his back with his belly up, his head resting on McGee's belly, snoring softly and sleeping soundly.

Qin Yi smiled, turned, and went back to the tent. Ryan was loading bullets into his hunting rifle. "Tonight is really nice, Yi. To be honest, I haven't been this relaxed in years. When the Moore family managed the ranch, the rules were very strict, and life was dull and monotonous, with no new excitement!"

He looked up at Qin Yi, who was smiling and taking a rifle to load bullets. "Yi, I've also heard some negative comments about our ranch recently. Oh, man, do they think they're God, knowing everything? They don't understand our ranch! Since you took over, we've all seen the changes. The ranch is much better now and will only get better. So, Yi, don't pay attention to them. They're just people who do nothing all day and criticize others!"

Qin Yi found it interesting that Ryan, the old cowboy, knew how to comfort people.

"Of course, I won't care about those idiots. I know what I'm doing, and I believe our ranch will get better." He looked at Ryan and joked, "Do I look affected by it?"

"Of course not, Yi. I know you won't care. Smart people don't pay attention to idiots' insults. I didn't want to say it, but the young guys insisted I tell you their thoughts."

Seeing Qin Yi every day, Ryan knew his recent state. He wasn't affected at all, but he thought Qin Yi should know the young guys' thoughts.

"Thank them for me. Maybe in a few months, or even sooner, we can expand the herd."

The two of them dreamed about the future of the big ranch and then went to sleep. The hunting rifles were placed by their sleeping bags, ready to be grabbed and loaded if there was any noise. It was still cautious to be careful in the mountains at night.

As expected, they didn't sleep well. The distant howls of wolves and bird calls, and occasional strange noises, kept them from sleeping deeply. They woke up at the slightest sound.

At dawn, the dogs suddenly barked, waking Qin Yi and Ryan. They quickly grabbed their hunting rifles and peeked out of the tent. The fire only illuminated the campsite, and the area beyond was still dark. The dogs bared their teeth and growled at the east side of the camp, indicating something was watching them.

The darkness was unsettling, and the unknown was more frightening. Despite the dogs and McGee, they were still a bit nervous, gripping their rifles tightly. They looked at each other, put on their jackets, and stepped out of the tent. Trevor and Colin also came out, holding their rifles and looking around cautiously.

The dogs stopped barking when they saw their owners, baring their teeth and stepping forward, ready to attack. Qin Yi patted Black Rice and Little Wheat's heads to calm them down, turned on the powerful flashlight, and shone it in the dark direction. He saw five pairs of green eyes, about 50 meters away, behind some willow trees, coldly watching them!

These were five strong wolves. They didn't show fear despite the dogs and the humans with rifles.

The five wolves were in two rows. The front row had three gray and one black wolf, and the back row had a more robust wolf, likely the leader.

"Damn, these are North American gray wolves, very fierce and one of the top predators in North America! Fortunately, it's still summer, and there's plenty of food in the forest. They probably won't attack us. In winter, when they are starving, they might attack. But don't worry, we're not afraid of them!"

Ryan was a bit nervous when he saw the gray wolves but quickly realized they had nine rifles and eleven dogs. With McGee, the big brown bear, they could easily handle the five gray wolves. He relaxed as he spoke.

Under the strong light, Qin Yi observed the fierce wolves. They looked robust, with the front four about 1.8 meters long and the back one about 2 meters long, with a shoulder height of nearly 1 meter.

Although the strong light helped, it was still night, and they were far away, so he couldn't see the details. But their size was impressive. The eleven dogs might not be able to handle the five gray wolves, despite their higher intelligence and lack of fighting experience.

He wondered if the fully grown dogs could handle a gray wolf one-on-one. Even if two dogs fought one gray wolf, it would be a challenge. In the future, with a large dog army, they could surround and attack them!

Trevor's heart was pounding as he looked at the gray wolves. "Oh, man, these are gray wolves? They're more impressive in real life than in pictures. I never thought I'd see real gray wolves and not get bitten!"

Colin's face was pale, like everyone else, holding a rifle but not raising it. The wolves showed no signs of attacking, and raising the rifle would only provoke them.

"Yi, what should we do?"

Susa and the others didn't come out, each holding a rifle and watching from the tent entrance.

"Don't come out. It should be fine. They'll leave soon." Qin Yi shouted, not wanting them to come out if there was no fight.

At this moment, Angel's happy voice was heard from the tent. "Mom, are the big dogs here to be my friends?"

"Yes, the big dogs are here to be Angel's friends, but they came too late and disturbed our rest. That's not polite, so we won't be friends today! Go to sleep, and maybe birds will come to be your friends tomorrow!"

Susa laughed, still in a good mood, not worried about the situation outside.

Liu Qimeng and the others, including Kolo and Kristin, were scared, seeing the green eyes and feeling chills.

Susa noticed their reactions and comforted them. "Don't be afraid. It's just five gray wolves. McGee can handle them, and it's summer, so they're not very aggressive."

Qin Yi heard Angel and Susa's conversation and found it interesting. Most people would describe the gray wolves as very dangerous, but Susa's approach to educating her child was different, reflecting American thinking.

Susa's words also reminded Qin Yi of McGee. A regular brown bear would fight a few gray wolves for food, and a big male bear would be fearless, charging around all day!

It seemed they didn't need to wait for the gray wolves to leave. They could let McGee drive them away!

"McGee!"

Qin Yi called to McGee, who was still sleeping. The dogs had barked loudly, but McGee didn't care, showing he didn't take the gray wolves seriously.

McGee shook his head, licked Teddy, and slowly stood up, walking over. Seeing Qin Yi point to the gray wolves, he sat down and took a moment to understand, then slowly walked toward the wolves.

Qin Yi was speechless. The bear could run fast but walked slowly! Trevor and Colin were relieved, having forgotten about McGee.

The gray wolves saw McGee and became restless, but they didn't retreat.

McGee walked carelessly, and when he was about 20 meters from the wolves, he suddenly stood up and slapped a willow tree, breaking it with a "crack." The tree fell toward the wolves, breaking branches and leaves along the way.

The scene stunned Qin Yi and the others. They knew brown bears were strong, but breaking a tree with one slap was impressive. Was this a unique way for brown bears to show their strength?

However, it was effective. The gray wolves, already not very aggressive, were scared by the sudden action and retreated, even the leader stepping back.

"Ah-ao!" McGee roared at the wolves. The leader wolf barked and led the four gray wolves back a few meters, then turned and disappeared into the forest.

Seeing this, McGee growled softly, stood up, and slowly walked back to the camp. Teddy, seeing the bear mom return victorious, stood up, patted his belly, and cheered in his young voice.

Qin Yi patted McGee's head and praised him, then told everyone to go back to sleep.