Chapter 45

Mishel cried for a while longer until she was exhausted and finally stopped. She rubbed her red, tear-stained eyes and went to the washroom to wash her face.

"Mr. Liu, I'm really sorry for letting your turtle escape," Mishel said to Liu Yuxuan after washing her face.

Liu Yuxuan quickly waved his hands, "No, it's not your fault. The main reason is on my side. I was the one who brought the big turtle to the lake and tempted it to go into the water. It has nothing to do with you."

Seeing Liu Yuxuan taking the blame, Mishel couldn't help but laugh.

Mishel's skin was very fair, and her deep-set blue eyes looked like two rubies. Her smile after crying had a unique charm, and Liu Yuxuan couldn't help but stare at her.

Mishel, facing Liu Yuxuan's sparkling eyes, was at a loss.

"Cough, cough," Allen, seeing his daughter's awkwardness, interrupted, "It's getting late. Thank you very much for the delicious lunch. We should take our leave now; there's still some work to do at the ranch."

Liu Yuxuan felt extremely embarrassed for staring at the girl so intensely, especially in front of her parents. He felt as embarrassed as he could be.

"Uh, okay, I'll see you out," Liu Yuxuan said, not knowing what else to say in the awkward atmosphere.

Liu Yuxuan escorted them, feeling a bit embarrassed and keeping his head down, looking at the path in front of his feet.

Just as they walked out the door, he felt Mishel grabbing his sleeve. Looking up, he saw Mishel pointing at herself and then outside.

Following Mishel's finger, Liu Yuxuan couldn't help but laugh.

It turned out that the big turtle, which they thought had escaped, was in the yard, basking in the sun with its four short legs stretched out, looking extremely content. The funniest part was the carrot it was holding in its mouth.

"Mr. Liu, am I seeing things?" Mishel asked, pointing at the big turtle, puzzled.

"No, Mishel, it's the big turtle. It really came back," Liu Yuxuan said confidently.

"Oh, the big turtle came back. It didn't run away; it came back." Confirming that the big turtle had really returned and not just a hallucination, Mishel jumped up and down in joy and even kissed Liu Yuxuan on the cheek.

Liu Yuxuan's skin was very fair, and although he had done some work on the ranch, he had worn a cowboy hat to protect himself from the sun. Besides, the sun wasn't that strong. After being kissed by Mishel, his face turned red instantly.

Allen didn't mind this time; instead, he was quite happy. As someone who had been through it, he could clearly see that Liu Yuxuan was blushing. Why was he blushing? Either he was naturally shy, or he had no experience in this area. Based on their interactions over the past few days, Allen concluded that Liu Yuxuan was likely single and hadn't settled down yet. This made him a good candidate for a son-in-law.

Mishel's face also turned red. This was the first time she had kissed a boy on her own initiative. Although she had had boyfriends before, they had mostly just held hands, and she had never let them take advantage of her. This was why she had broken up with a few of them.

Even though she had kissed a man other than her father and brother in a moment of excitement, it didn't change the fact that she had really kissed him.

Seeing Liu Yuxuan blushing and not reacting, and his daughter feeling awkward, Allen decided to step in. He thought, "Isn't it said that American kids are independent early? Why do I always have so much to worry about?"

"Cough, Mr. Liu, why haven't you dealt with the cow manure yet? It will smell terrible when the weather gets hot," Allen asked.

Hearing Allen's question, Liu Yuxuan forgot about his embarrassment, "I plan to use it as organic fertilizer. I'm currently looking for a suitable place to build a factory. Once the factory is built, I'll transport the manure there regularly."

"That's a good idea. You can use the organic fertilizer yourself," Allen nodded in approval and then asked, "Have you found a suitable location yet?"

"Not yet. There's no idle land nearby," Liu Yuxuan shook his head.

"Have you asked the Powell Brothers Feed Mill? I heard they are considering selling it. With a few modifications, you can use their equipment to produce fertilizer," Allen suggested after some thought.

"Really? Thank you so much. Do you have their contact information?" Liu Yuxuan asked eagerly.

He and Garcia had been looking for days without finding a suitable place, but today, they found one over a meal.

"It's at home. Don't worry, I'll check with them first to see if they really want to sell. If they do, I'll try to find out their asking price," Allen, now treating Liu Yuxuan as a potential son-in-law, naturally helped him more.

"Thank you so much. I'll wait for your good news at home," Liu Yuxuan said gratefully.

"Alright, we should head back. Mishel, are you going to stay here to study the turtle, or are you coming back with us?" Allen teased his daughter playfully.

"Oh, I'll go back with you. I need to report to the professor and get some things from school before I can continue my research," Mishel said, her face turning red. She understood what Allen meant.

After seeing off the Allens, Garcia and Rodriguez went to the ranch to take care of the cattle.

Sitting in the house, Liu Yuxuan thought about the events of the day. It had been quite bizarre, like a roller coaster.

At dinner, at Garcia's request, Liu Yuxuan cooked some beef-filled boiled dumplings.

The two of them found it interesting to watch Liu Yuxuan make dumplings and tried to make some themselves.

Their attempts were not very successful. Either the dumplings had too much filling and couldn't be sealed, or they had too little filling. After a few tries, they gave up.

Seeing how easily Liu Yuxuan rolled out the dumpling skins, they decided to help him. Without a rolling pin, Liu Yuxuan used a modified PVC pipe. After a few more attempts, they gave up again.

When the dumplings were finally cooked, they couldn't wait to eat them. They poured some garlic and vinegar on the plates and started eating. It was the first time they had eaten dumplings, and they ate a lot. Even Rodriguez, who rarely spoke much, said a few more words. Garcia insisted on eating more of these dumplings in the future.

Today, they finally experienced the depth and richness of Chinese cuisine.

Allen didn't keep Liu Yuxuan waiting long. The next afternoon, he found out the news.

The Powell Brothers Feed Mill was indeed for sale. The factory was not very large, with two small production lines and three medium-sized trucks. The asking price was $250,000.

Allen said the price was quite reasonable. Although it was a small feed mill, it had a large area, and the idle space was perfect for Liu Yuxuan to store the cow manure.

Liu Yuxuan calculated that the price was close to what he had expected, and it would save him the time and effort of building a factory and buying and installing equipment.

With the funds not readily available, he called Charlie to see if he could arrange a loan.