Chapter 21

Dudu's affairs had finally settled down, and Li Han felt much more relaxed. It was not early, so Li Han took a shower, read a book, and went to bed. After an unknown amount of time, he was half-asleep when he felt he couldn't breathe properly. It seemed something was pressing on his chest, and he could vaguely hear little Dudu mumbling something. The little one was up quite early. "Dudu, be good, don't make noise, let Dad sleep a bit more." Li Han was a bit drowsy, thinking Dudu was just being mischievous and playing on him.

"Wow, Dad is awake." Dudu quickly threw away the big chili in his hand, climbed off the bed, and ran to the bedroom door in big slippers, peeking at the sleeping Dad. Li Han grunted, raised his hand to pat Dudu, but as he lifted his hand, he froze.

He heard a thud, and Li Han was instantly startled awake. He sat up abruptly, and a pile of colorful things rolled off him. Looking down, he was dumbfounded. He was covered in chilies and tomatoes, buried in vegetables. The room was full of chilies, tomatoes, and carrots, fortunately, the cucumbers were piled in the corner. Li Han glanced at Dudu, who was hiding by the door. "Dudu, come here, tell Dad where these vegetables came from." Li Han was both amused and exasperated. This must have been what the little one did last night, still holding a big tomato and sneaking a peek at him.

Last night, Dudu was upset. This little one wasn't a well-behaved child; his English name, Pandora, said it all. Dudu, with a silly and cute face, dragged his big slippers to the bed, pretending to be innocent. Li Han grabbed Dudu, gave his little bottom a couple of taps, but the little one didn't feel the pain, giggling and burrowing into Li Han's arms. Li Han gave a few words of advice, but he was curious. There were so many vegetables, at least a thousand pounds, piled all over the room, and he had a few hundred pounds of tomatoes and chilies on him.

"Dudu planted the vegetables." Dudu waved his little hand, opening a space. The tomatoes that were green yesterday were now piled like red lanterns, along with cucumbers, beans, chilies, leafy greens, and eggplants. Li Han was stunned. The vegetables matured overnight, but how did Dudu pick so many? Dudu was busy, but Li Han didn't believe it. He coaxed Dudu, and Dudu, happy, proudly demonstrated picking vegetables. With a wave of his hand, the ripe tomatoes and chilies flew into a pile, and the room was filled with vegetables Dudu had moved for Dad.

Li Han was dumbfounded, taking a while to react. This was so convenient, more so than any machine, but it could only be done in the space. Li Han got up, dressed, and gave Dudu a long talk. The little one didn't quite understand, but this couldn't be seen by others, or it would scare them. Li Han put the chilies and tomatoes in baskets, working for a while to move the vegetables to the warehouse, then thought about what to do with the space.

Dudu, munching on a tomato, closely followed Dad, saying he would help. Li Han, afraid the little one would cause trouble, gave him a few small baskets. The little one had quite a bit of strength, carrying the ten-pound baskets quickly. "Eating so early, aren't you afraid of getting cavities? Quickly wash your face and brush your teeth, Dad will make breakfast." Dudu nodded, holding his little red basin with a towel, toothbrush, and toothpaste, and a cup, happily going to the sink. At the sink, Dudu sneakily glanced at Dad, who wasn't there. Usually, Li Han squeezed the toothpaste for him, but this time, he forgot and just gave Dudu the toothpaste.

The little one excitedly squeezed a big blob, stuffed his mouth, and brushed his teeth enthusiastically. In no time, his mouth was full of bubbles, which he kept spitting out. He looked so proud, and soon the floor was covered in bubbles. The little one clapped his hands, ran into the kitchen, and pulled Dad to see, his face full of pride. Li Han, speechless, patted his forehead. This little one, last night when brushing teeth, Li Han said his bubbles were few, and he remembered it. "Bubbles, Dudu has more."

"Good, good, Dudu is the best, be good, wash your face." Li Han was really at a loss. Scolding him wouldn't work; this little one didn't understand the concept of punishment. Educating him would lead to endless questions, which Li Han feared. He was only twenty-three, still a big kid, and didn't know how to take care of children. With a unique child like Dudu, Li Han could only retreat. Fortunately, the little one, after eating, put on a new denim outfit and happily went to play with the calf.

The little one looked adorable in a fringed denim hat, suspenders, denim pants, and boots, with a little whip, looking like a real cowgirl. She rode a white Brahman calf, which had a large hump like a saddle. Though only a meter tall, the calf could weigh over four hundred kilograms, with long horns and a sturdy build. The little calf obediently lay down, waiting for Dudu to climb on. Dudu patted the calf's head, and the calf seemed quite happy, a real flatterer.

Dudu went to "patrol" on the calf, and Li Han breathed a sigh of relief. It was not early, so Li Han rode a four-wheeler to the barn. The cattle and horses had just arrived and were not yet accustomed. Daina had to spend a lot of time getting them across the river. When Li Han arrived, the last batch of cattle was still crossing.

The morning was Daina's busiest time: driving the horses out of the barn and the cattle to the pasture. Fortunately, Li Han hadn't bought sheep yet, or he would have to place them in different pastures. Driving the cattle was tiring. George's thousand-acre pasture was divided into four sections, and the other three required crossing a small river. The temperature had been high, melting the snow, and the river had risen. The cattle were unfamiliar with the pasture and hesitant to cross, requiring repeated driving, but not too aggressively. The cattle would scatter, and Daina had to run back and forth. Sometimes, a small group would lag behind, and Daina would have to cross the river to find them.

Li Han had worked as a cowboy a few years ago and knew that mornings were the busiest. The work was heavy and tiring, but the pay was low. Most ranches provided accommodation and meat, but the boss only provided meat, and vegetables had to be bought. The monthly pay was less than a thousand dollars. Li Han paid over a thousand, which was rare. He also provided vegetables, saving a lot of expenses. Daina and Hutton were grateful to Li Han; otherwise, Daina wouldn't have been able to buy her beloved saddle.

It was only during the busy spring season that the pay would be higher, and sometimes the boss would give extra bonuses to retain workers. Daina grew up on a ranch with Hutton, without much education, and didn't know how to do other jobs. She had only recently learned to use the internet. Li Han asked Daina, and she didn't even have her own email, using a shared one with her boyfriend. But Megan told Li Han that she loved horses and was willing to work at a horse ranch for less pay. Her trailer was full of various horse equipment, which she said was quite valuable.

"Does Daina need my help?" Li Han parked his four-wheeler by the trees, came to the river, and asked Daina, who was busy driving the calves.

"Han, this is my job, no problem."

Daina had an optimistic personality, was strong, tall, and had fair skin and golden hair, making her quite beautiful.

"Alright, a batch of four-wheelers will be delivered this morning. Daina, tell Hutton." Li Han didn't disturb Daina further but turned on the irrigation pump on this side of the river. George's farm had four pastures, and only this one was automatically irrigated, as the others were too expensive. Hutton had already ridden an old four-wheeler to the other side of the river to irrigate the pastures.

The farthest pasture was about a half-hour away, and Li Han hadn't had time to check it. The other two farms were even farther, near the Millstone Ranch. Li Han planned to hire another worker to manage them, as farming required scientific management and was relatively easy.

Li Han set the timer, returned to his small farm, which was under construction. In two days, his parents, sister, brother-in-law, and niece, Baby, would arrive. The small farm was convenient, being closer to the town.

Li Han checked and found that the septic tank and drainage system were cleaned, the collapsed cowshed and stable were repaired, and the water troughs were cleaned. The small farm looked brand new, and he wrote a check. Li Han looked around; the small courtyard was not large, about ten acres, with a neat lawn, two small flower beds, a fence, and a small chestnut horse grazing leisurely. A group of chicks were fighting over a worm, and a few ducks were playing in a small pond.

"The pond is deeper, more water troughs are added, and the windmill is installed. With the wind, water can be drawn from the well. A small brewery would be perfect here." Li Han thought, planning to turn the small farm into a weekend farm. The farm wasn't profitable, but tourism was. He hadn't had the money to do it before.

Li Han thought about contacting his friends in China. Tourism abroad had become popular, and there were many wealthy Chinese.

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