pjbooks Chapter 34 Feeding the Sheep
Chapter 34 Feeding the Sheep
The mother mainly came to help tidy up his living quarters; Shan Yaowen usually took care of the sheep pen himself.
After sweeping up the sheep manure, Shan Yaowen took out some straw stored nearby and fed them some sheep.
The sheep pen is quite large, after all, Shan Yaowen originally asked Uncle Lin to build it according to the standard of one hundred sheep.
One half of the area was used to keep sheep, and the other half was used to store straw.
"By the way, your brother-in-law sent a message saying that the straw harvest is almost complete. He's worried that he won't be able to deliver it after the heavy snow, so he plans to deliver it all in the next couple of days."
"Okay, if there's not enough space here, we'll put it in the yard." Shan Yaowen took a big broom, went inside and swept around, and when he came out, even his little sister kept her distance from him.
There was nothing we could do; there were only a few sheep in the pen, and the smell was too strong.
If Shan Yaowen hadn't left ventilation openings beforehand, the smell would have been even worse.
"It's better to let these sheep roam free. Keeping them in the shed makes them smell bad and is hard to clean." Mother Shan frowned repeatedly after smelling the odor.
"It's snowing heavily now, and there's nothing to eat. We'll let them out again when the snow stops."
Previously, Shan Yaowen would indeed let the sheep out during the day to roam around, so he didn't have to clean the sheep pen so frequently.
However, because we knew there were wolves in the vicinity, we kept them in the sheep pen all day.
"Erguo, what are you doing?" After the smell from Shan Yaowen dissipated, Shan Xiaomei came running over again.
Shan Yaowen tied the machete and a long wooden stick together, then walked into the nearby woods to test it.
"Cut down some of these branches; they'll be good for the sheep when they come out."
They also have some green vegetation here in winter, such as pine and fir trees. The reason they chose this forest was probably because it has some evergreen plants mixed in.
In winter, when there is little food, herders will cut some tree branches and throw them on the ground so that the sheep can easily eat them.
However, the knife was not tied securely enough, and when I tried to remove it, it almost got stuck in the tree.
"Oh, right, go and get some rope for Second Brother."
"Here we go!"
Watching the three puppies running around behind his little sister, Shan Yaowen put down his knife, reached out and picked up Little Grey, patting it. "You've gained weight."
The mother helped bring over a pile of salt bricks and placed them on the ground, complaining as she did so: "How can she not gain weight? Besides this girl liking it, your dad is the same way, feeding her every day, at every meal, as if he's afraid the three dogs haven't eaten."
The woman next to her chimed in, "Your brother is the same way. He acts like he's never seen the dog in his life. He hugs and kisses it every day when he comes home from get off work."
"It's alright, the little guy is just being good." Shan Yaowen put down Little Gray, then picked up the other two black ones and squeezed them; they were both very sturdy.
"What good is being obedient? Forget about watching the sheep, today when I went into the sheep pen, a sheep kicked me over, and I was still picking up sheep droppings to eat."
"They're still young."
Shan Yaowen put down the three puppies and then went to put down the salt bricks.
Just hang two salt bricks together on a low branch that the sheep can reach, and you don't have to worry about it anymore; the sheep will eat them on their own.
After placing the salt bricks, Shan Yaowen went to pull over the water pipe to fill the amniotic fluid trough with water.
It wasn't really a water trough; it was just a small ditch that was dug to draw water from a spring on the mountain.
"Awen, has this water always been available? I've never seen you dig a well." The older sister-in-law washed her hands in the small ditch that was flowing by.
"Anyway, it hasn't stopped until now." After tying up the salt bricks, Shan Yaowen went to cut tree branches.
The older sister-in-law was amazed when she saw it, saying, "This water source seems even more amazing than the well at home. We don't know we have such a water source around here."
The mother didn't seem to care. "It's probably just groundwater seeping out. It'll be gone in a while. We still need to dig a well for the second child."
In their minds, aren't water vents only found in the south?
We mostly draw water from wells to drink; there's no place where water flows directly from a well.
In some places, they even use dry wells because there's no other way, there's no water.
They have very few water eyes here, but that doesn't mean they don't have any. Shan Yaowen has seen quite a few. If you really want to know, there's only one ranch in town that has one.
However, the water source of that ranch was different from his. That water source was still within the scope of groundwater, but the well was very shallow, only about a meter deep.
After placing the salt bricks, cutting the branches, and putting the straw on the ground, Shan Yaowen finally let the sheep out.
After a period of training, the sheep now mostly roam around the area and then run back to the sheep pen when it gets dark.
Shan Yaowen doesn't need to worry about herding for now.
After the sheep went out for a stroll, the mother finally had the leisure to sit down and have a good chat with her son about the wolf pack.
"Serves them right! Eating sheep is one thing, but they even killed a dog!" The sister-in-law slapped her thigh upon hearing this.
Wolves eat sheep, and under normal circumstances, herders wouldn't call upon their friends to wipe out an entire wolf pack.
But to maliciously kill half the flock of sheep, and not even spare the dogs, is no ordinary grudge.
Moreover, with such a ferocious pack of wolves around, the surrounding herders are all terrified. If they don't wipe them out, they will have to worry about their flocks of sheep at all times.
Therefore, when encountering such a ferocious wolf pack, everyone usually joins forces to wipe them out.
"Alright, you guys go back. I'll graze the sheep here for a while. They've been cooped up in the sheep pen all day, and I'm worried they'll get restless and start running around."
"Then be careful. That pack of wolves is so smart and ferocious. It would be bad if one or two escaped."
Shan Yaowen smiled and said, "Lone wolves aren't scary. They won't bother anyone unless they're pushed to the limit."
"And you said you were being watched by wolves last night?"
After giving her second son some instructions, Mother Shan sat down mysteriously as she was about to leave. "Second son, tell me the truth, how are things going between you and that girl from the Lin family?"
Upon hearing this, the eldest sister-in-law and the younger sister, who had already gotten up to pack their things, all sat down and stared intently at Shan Yaowen.
"I'm fine, what's wrong?"
"What do you mean by 'okay'? Don't say such ambiguous things." Mother Shan slapped her second son's head in annoyance.
The older sister-in-law chimed in, "That's right, you need to give a more specific signal, don't keep the girl hanging on like that."
"That's right, that's right, Erguotou is not behaving itself."
Shan Yaowen looked at the three women who were pressuring him to make a statement, even the little sister was acting like a little adult.
"They get along really well, so why are you keeping him hanging on?"
"So, Mom's asking you, would you be willing to marry her?"
Shan Yaowen was momentarily dazed. Marriage?
Seeing that the second child remained silent, the mother became anxious first, "What are you thinking, child?"
The second son used to be a reckless and penniless man, so no one wanted him. Now that he's finally grown up, a girl is interested in him, so why is he hesitating?
"Mom, is this how you talk about marriage? My career isn't established yet, and we only have three houses. How can we get married?"
"So what? Didn't your older brother marry me with just three rooms?" Shi Fang said with a look that said, "You little brat, watch your mouth."
"Don't worry about that. If you're willing to get married, I'll talk to them. If not, we'll make things clear with Lao Lin. Don't keep that girl hanging on."
The mother is now truly satisfied with Lin Nian.
They knew each other well, and the Lin family and the Shan family had a good relationship, not only because they were from the same village, but also because they were from the same production team.
Moreover, she had watched the Lin family girl grow up, and she was a good person. She felt that if her second son missed this opportunity, he would really regret it so much that he would want to bang his head against a wall.
"Let's talk about it first."
"Okay, if you can get married, you'd better treat her well and not let Lin girl down."
After giving her son a lecture, the mother left.
Shan Yaowen sat in front of the shed, lost in thought. Marriage?
He originally thought he would make a name for himself in his career before getting married, but he didn't expect that his mother would start urging him to get married so soon after his rebirth.
Of course, he wasn't really against it.
These days, when choosing a wife, people definitely want to find someone they know well and who has a good background. Moreover, having been reborn, Shan Yaowen no longer dreams of becoming powerful and winning over a rich and beautiful woman; he just wants to live a peaceful and stable life.