Chapter 90

Liu Yunxuan couldn't help but feel relieved when he saw Fangfang's figure. It was a good thing he returned in time; this little one was quite mischievous and would always pester him to play when she came back.

He hadn't realized it was already nearly 4 PM.

"Hey, Brother Yu, Sister Yue, when did they arrive?" Fangfang asked Liu Yunxuan, who had just opened his eyes, as she approached.

"They just got here today." Liu Yunxuan took off Fangfang's small backpack and carried her to the lounge chair. After such a short walk, her little forehead was already covered in a fine layer of sweat.

"Then, Dad, will we have something delicious for dinner?" Fangfang asked, blinking her big eyes. After saying this, she smacked her lips, probably thinking about something delicious.

It's not that Liu Yunxuan usually doesn't give Fangfang treats; it's just that she's so young, and only the things she likes are considered delicious. She's at the age where she's always craving snacks.

Hearing Fangfang's voice, the other three also woke up.

Fangfang was very polite and greeted Li Jia's brother and sister.

"Fangfang is back. Your dad bought you lobsters and crabs," Michelle said, looking at Fangfang.

"Really? That's great! Fangfang can have lobsters again, and crabs too." With that, she jumped off the lounge chair and ran towards the kitchen.

The seafood Garcia bought was all in the kitchen.

Lobsters are easy to preserve; they can live for more than two days in an ice-filled foam box. Crabs are more troublesome and are kept in an aquarium.

Seeing Fangfang run into the house, Erhuo, who loves excitement, also ran over behind her.

"Fangfang still loves lobsters and crabs so much," Li Xinyu said.

"It's already controlled. After all, crabs are cold in nature, so we don't dare to let her eat too much," Liu Yunxuan said, shaking his head helplessly.

Everyone knows that Fangfang loves seafood, but she's too young, and eating too much can upset her little tummy.

"When will Professor Lyle and the others come over?" Liu Yunxuan asked Michelle.

"Probably around 5 PM. An experiment will end at 4:30 PM, and Professor Lyle will definitely wait for the results before coming over," Michelle said after thinking for a moment.

"By the way, Xinyue, the Professor Lyle coming over is also a professor at the Austin campus, but he specializes in botany," Liu Yunxuan said.

Li Xinyue grew up in a large family and would know what to do.

"Thank you, Brother Yunxuan," Li Xinyue indeed understood.

While they were chatting, they heard Erhuo's pitiful cries from inside the house. Liu Yunxuan hurried over.

Just as he ran into the villa, he saw Erhuo lying on the aquarium, his right paw caught by a blue crab. Erhuo was shaking his right paw and barking incessantly.

Little Fangfang wanted to help but was afraid to touch the crab with its pincers spread wide.

Liu Yunxuan knew without thinking that Erhuo must have been curious about the crabs in the aquarium and stuck his paw in to play, only to be pinched by the blue crab.

Liu Yunxuan quickly grabbed Erhuo's right paw and put it in the water with the crab. The blue crab then released Erhuo and slowly swam away.

"Learn your lesson, will you? See if you're still so curious next time," Liu Yunxuan said, looking at Erhuo's dog face, which looked like it was in pain but also smiling.

Erhuo's loud barking had alarmed everyone in the villa, including the animals. Even the laziest of them, Xiao Huzi, poked his head over to see what was happening.

"Brother Xuan, Huskies are like this. They're curious about everything and are the most troublesome. A friend of mine in China once had a Husky that almost fished out a red dragon fish from the aquarium," Li Xinyu said, looking at Erhuo and laughing. "There are many pictures online of their mischief. You can't leave them alone at home, or you'll come back to a different world," Li Xinyue also laughed.

"He's never been quiet from young to old," Li Xinyu said, but still carefully examined Erhuo's right paw. Fortunately, there were no wounds.

Erhuo must have been in pain and scared, which is why he kept barking. Now that the crisis was over, he was peeking at the aquarium again.

Seeing Erhuo's behavior, it seemed he wanted to play with the crabs again. Liu Yunxuan had no choice but to close the lid of the aquarium.

"Dad, is Erhuo hurt?" Fangfang asked, concerned.

Although Erhuo is the most mischievous in the family, everyone likes him.

"He's fine. Look at him; he doesn't look hurt," Liu Yunxuan said, pointing at Erhuo.

Erhuo was now circling the aquarium, and because the walls were made of transparent glass, he kept tapping the crabs near the glass with his paw.

Seeing Erhuo acting normally, Fangfang was no longer worried. She had been quite scared just now.

"Fangfang, how about having one crab and half a lobster for dinner?" Liu Yunxuan negotiated with Fangfang.

"Then, can Fangfang have one crab and one lobster?" Fangfang bargained.

"If you have one crab and one lobster, your little tummy will be too full," Liu Yunxuan insisted.

Fangfang thought for a moment, then stretched out her little hand and patted Liu Yunxuan's big hand, saying, "Okay, I won't eat so much."

Liu's mother found it amusing; this big and small pair always had such a fuss over eating crabs.

"By the way, Dad, I have a notice from Teacher Joanna for you," Fangfang said, taking out a notice from her small backpack.

Liu Yunxuan took it and looked. It turned out that due to the hot weather, Fangfang would be dismissed at noon and have only half a day of classes. Classes would resume when the temperature dropped.

This notice required Liu Yunxuan to sign it and have Fangfang return it to Joanna the next day to confirm that he knew about it. If it wasn't signed, the school would contact the parents as soon as possible. If they couldn't be reached, the school would arrange for a teacher to supervise the students after school.

In fact, for any information that needed to be conveyed to the parents, the school would provide a notice for the parents to sign.

Liu Yunxuan signed the notice and gave it back to Fangfang to put in her small backpack. At this moment, he noticed Michelle and the others looking towards the aquarium.

Liu Yunxuan looked over and saw that Erhuo had somehow managed to open a gap in the lid and was sticking his right paw through the gap, playing with the crabs in the water.

Liu Yunxuan was speechless at this.

Fortunately, Professor Lyle and Rodriguez arrived soon after, and the crabs were served on the table, saving Erhuo from further mischief.

The crabs were steamed, the lobster was baked with cheese, the scallops were served with truffle powder, and the steaks were cooked to different doneness according to each person's preference. Of course, these were not made by Michelle but by the ranch's chefs.

The Grizzly Ranch originally had a chef, a gardener, servants, and security personnel. When Liu Yunxuan acquired the ranch, he took them all over, which increased his annual labor costs.

However, these people were essential for a large ranch. For example, having a dedicated chef made things much easier for the family. Except when Liu's mother cooked Chinese food, the rest was handled by the chef.

As for the truffles they had last time, Michelle, being a top chef, naturally wanted to handle such premium ingredients herself.

The current Grizzly Ranch maintains the same habits as when it was a pastoral ranch. For example, they bought a lot of lobsters, crabs, and scallops today and distributed them to the workers to handle themselves.

Liu Yunxuan never discriminates in this regard, except for premium ingredients like truffles. However, he has plans to share some with the cowboys when production increases, so they can enjoy them with their families.

Moreover, Liu Yunxuan provides two buckets of beer to the cowboys every evening to help them relax. This saves them money and allows them to save more.

Therefore, the cowboys are very satisfied with working at the Michelle Ranch.

Although Liu Yunxuan always tries to limit Fangfang's eating, he is happy to see her eating the lobster with big bites and even wants her to eat more.

If necessary, he will give her more space water, he thought to himself.

During the meal, he introduced Li Jia's brother and sister to Professor Lyle. The three of them had a pleasant conversation, and by the end of the meal, Professor Lyle invited Li Xinyue to attend his lectures when she had the chance.