Chapter 77

The next morning, Li Han got up early, washed up, and busily prepared a meal for Dudu. It would be a busy day, and he wouldn't have time to cook at noon, so he decided to prepare everything in the morning. He stewed beef, made cream bread, baked a box of cookies, sliced a plate of donkey meat and braised beef, and prepared a beef and tofu pea soup, sprinkling some cilantro. Dudu liked the beef soup, so he packed it in an insulated lunch box for her to eat at noon.

Dudu woke up at some point, changed into a pair of jeans, and leaned on the kitchen counter, watching her father cook while smacking her lips like a little cat.

Li Han smiled and pinched Dudu's little nose, saying, "Are you hungry? Go brush your teeth and wash your face, then come eat. Dad will take you to Grandpa Whitebeard's house to plant vegetables later." "Dudu wants to help Dad herd the sheep," Dudu said, lifting her little head.

"Good girl, let's herd the sheep first, then go to Grandpa Whitebeard's house. Your toothpaste is already squeezed out, go brush your teeth nicely," Li Han said, busy with the food in the pot while talking to Dudu. Dudu nodded vigorously. "Yes, Dudu is very good."

Dudu held a small red basin with a toothbrush, a small basin, and a towel inside, and ran to the sink, carrying a stool to scoop water and brush her teeth. Both father and daughter liked brushing their teeth outside because it was more comfortable, and the bathroom was too small and uncomfortable. Dudu brushed a bunch of bubbles, giggling happily, blowing bubbles, more than her father. She proudly nodded, put away the toothbrush, and splashed water to wash her face, three times on the left and three times on the right, as Big Sister Bao had taught her. She wiggled her little bottom and said, "Yes, I'm done."

She put on some perfume, wore a little cowboy hat, and brought the small red basin to the room. Dudu ran to the kitchen to show her father. "Dad, Dudu's teeth are white, and I've washed my face, I'm fragrant." "Good girl, help Dad bring the dishes to the table, let's eat," Li Han said.

"Okay," Dudu nodded happily, carried the plate to the dining table, climbed onto the chair, and placed the dishes and chopsticks. Since Dad was taller than Dudu, he arranged everything, and she nodded in satisfaction. For breakfast, they had rice porridge, small steamed buns, stir-fried vegetables, and pickled duck eggs. Li Han gave the whole pickled duck egg to Dudu, who tilted her head and used a small spoon to scoop out the oily duck egg, looking very happy. "Little cat, eat slowly," Li Han said, helping Dudu wipe the oil from the corner of her mouth.

After breakfast, Dudu helped her father clean up the dishes and wash them. The dishwasher in Li Han's house hadn't been used for a long time. Father and daughter, one big and one small, one standing on a stool, washed the dishes with big and small hands. "Dudu wash? Dudu wash?" Dudu wiggled her little bottom, coquettishly. This wasn't the way Big Sister Bao acted coquettishly; when did Dudu learn this? Li Han was speechless. "Okay, Dudu wash, Dad will rinse for you." "Okay," Dudu said happily, washed the dishes, disinfected them, and put them away neatly.

Li Han packed the lunch for the day for Dudu, put it in her bag, and instructed her to give the donkey meat, braised beef, and a few pastries to Grandpa Whitebeard. Dudu repeated it all and remembered it. He also packed some vegetables for her to take, as they had eaten and played at his house several times, and Li Han felt a bit embarrassed.

Li Han drove the pickup truck from the garage, attached a small cart, and Dudu rode the little cow, following the pickup truck. They arrived at George's farm, where Hutton and Jim were driving a pickup truck with a flatbed, loaded with fence posts and boards for building the sheep pen. Lulu was pulling a mobile house trailer behind a tractor, and several sheepdogs, led by two border collies, were herding the sheep and cattle. Some lambs were left behind, and the rest were being herded over.

Dudu's arrival with the white wolf caused a commotion. Several sheepdogs barked, and the cattle and sheep were agitated. Daina and the others were a bit stunned by the huge white wolf, which looked fierce. Fortunately, there was Dudu, who patted the white wolf. "Good dog, good dog." "Han, this is a giant," Lulu said, hiding far away. Hutton and Jim's eyes changed. Unlike Lulu, they had dealt with wolves before. This was a giant wolf, a white giant wolf, and it was rare to see an extinct North American white wolf. They wondered if it was really a big white dog with wolf blood.

"The white wolf is Dudu's guard dog. Dudu needs to watch the white wolf and not scare the lambs," Li Han explained with a smile. "Yes, the dog is very good," Dudu patted the white wolf's big head, hanging on, and said, "The dog is very good."

"Really a beautiful big guy, nice, not many," Jim said with a smile.

"Yes, very beautiful. This guard dog is really great," Hutton and Jim said, smiling and shaking their heads, impossible, as they busily loaded the wooden poles and tools onto the long flatbed. Li Han came over to help, and Lulu and Daina attached the mobile house trailer.

Daina drove the horses out of the barn and herded hundreds of cattle to the fourth pasture. She then helped Lulu settle the sheep, waiting for Jim to be ready. Moving the herd wasn't easy, as they had to herd the cattle and sheep to a pasture over ten miles away, and the weather was very hot. They needed to prepare a lot of things, especially for herding the cattle, which was tiring. They had to cross a small river in the middle of several pastures, and many calves were afraid to cross. Fortunately, this time it was only the sheep, but the sheep needed to take a detour, as they couldn't cross the river and had to go over two ranches. Li Han had called ahead the day before, and the two families, who were familiar with each other, agreed to lend the pastures.

Everything was ready, and the group set off. Daina stayed behind to take care of the cattle and the farm, while Li Han, Lulu, Jim, Hutton, and Dudu, along with two border collies, herded the sheep. The journey was lively, with Dudu riding the little cow and chasing the lambs, who were very active and interested in everything.

After a series of stops and starts, they finally arrived at the Glasserman pasture. The pasture was large, with most of it on the mountain, where there were many wild grasses with small red flowers, growing vigorously. Hutton and Jim told Li Han that these wild grasses threatened the growth of the pasture grass, and Glasserman had no intention of managing the pasture or spending money on chemical herbicides. Renting the pasture for free was a way to solve this problem.

Lulu drove the tractor to the hillside, stopped, and parked the mobile house trailer. Lulu would stay there for three to four months, a tough job, to prevent wild animals from stealing the sheep at night and to gather the sheep to graze in different areas.

Staying alone for three to four months was not easy, but only Lulu was willing to do it. Americans were not willing to do such hard work, as it was far from the town, without electricity or water, and the transportation was inconvenient. Li Han had done it for a while and knew how hard it was. "Lulu, the vegetables, fruits, meat, and water are here. Hutton and Jim will deliver them every two days. You have a tough job."

"No problem, boss. Hey, I've lived in the mountains for nine months, this is nothing," Lulu said, actually quite grateful to Li Han, as his salary was higher than others. Many ranches only paid $800 to $900 a month, but Li Han paid $1,000, which was quite good.

Li Han unloaded the prepared food and drinks from the pickup truck and talked to Jim and Hutton. He first took Dudu to play at Glasserman's house and then came back to help build the temporary sheep pen. He drove the pickup truck, following Dudu on the little cow, and arrived at the Glasserman estate. From a distance, it looked like a small castle. Glasserman really knew how to enjoy life. At the gate, there were over ten pit bulls and several German shepherds, which startled Li Han.

The white wolf was agitated, growling and facing the ten pit bulls. Just as they were about to fight, Dudu jumped off the little cow, clenched her little fists, and ran to the pit bulls, tapping one on the head. These fierce pit bulls obediently lay down, whimpering, and the four German shepherds had already hidden. The white wolf, after being tapped by Dudu, whimpered and stepped back. Li Han was stunned, wondering how he had forgotten that Dudu had come a few times and had probably disciplined these pit bulls before.

At the gate, Glasserman's butler came over and opened the door. "Miss Pandora." "Grandpa Vissa, hello." "Hehe, come in." Li Han was ignored, speechless, as there was no intention to invite him in. Li Han attached the little cow to the white cow and herded it in, not forgetting to instruct Dudu. "Dudu, be good, no mischief, Dad will pick you up in the afternoon." Vissa found someone to take Dudu in and left, handing Li Han a contract.

The free pasture rental contract. Li Han looked it over, found no problems, and signed it. Vissa took it and left, closing the door. Li Han was speechless, drove the pickup truck back to the Glasserman pasture. Hutton and Jim, along with Lulu, had already marked out a place and were using a machine to dig holes and bury the wooden posts.

Li Han came over to help, driving the tractor, pushing the soil, and leveling the sheep pen. They worked all morning, and at noon, they ate the bread and braised beef they had brought. "A cup of beer," Li Han brought a small bucket of beer, and Jim, Hutton, and Lulu didn't hesitate, as it was a hot day, and they had been working all morning. Drinking cold beer was refreshing. They rested for a while at noon and continued working in the afternoon, aiming to finish the sheep pen before dark. Li Han worked until three or four in the afternoon, planning to pick up Dudu.

On the other side, Dudu, driving the little cow cart with the white wolf, entered the Glasserman estate. Glasserman, who was reading a book in the lawn pavilion, heard Dudu's laughter, stood up, and said to the person beside him, "Bring out the snacks." "Yes, sir."

Dudu waved her little hand from a distance, jumped off the little cow, and hugged a big bag, bringing gifts for Grandpa Whitebeard. Glasserman was very happy to see Dudu take out the gifts one by one, small things, souvenirs from Anxi, small terracotta warriors, small decorations, and meat. "Grandpa Whitebeard, the meat is very delicious, Dudu likes it," Dudu said, smacking her lips, secretly, Dad said Dudu would drool, embarrassing. A plate of braised donkey meat, Li Han bought several dozen pounds of this, which was very tasty, an old brand, and very good.

Seeing Dudu's greedy and cute face, Glasserman laughed. Dudu pouted, not believing Grandpa Whitebeard. "Grandpa Whitebeard, do you eat it? It's delicious." Dudu smacked her lips, having eaten a lot, and Dad said to give Grandpa Whitebeard a taste. Dudu had already eaten the delicious cake that Grandpa Whitebeard had given her.

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