Reborn in 1985: Starting from Contracting a Ranch

Chapter 55 Blizzard Warning

Dog Egg sat in front of the cabin, cracking sunflower seeds and shaking his leg.

Upon seeing the two disheveled individuals return, he immediately let out a cold laugh:

"Hey, you two are such a perfect couple, what important business are you up to?"

Lin Nian felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look her older brother in the eye. Shan Yaowen was a little embarrassed—he had just finished being intimate with his girlfriend when he ran into his brother-in-law, but fortunately he managed to keep his composure.

"Hey, did you find your prey?"

"What the hell are you going to find besides snow?" Gou Dan sneered. "Don't change the subject. I'm asking you two, where did you go from shoveling snow to disappearing halfway through?"

Shan Yaowen led Lin Nian over naturally, saying, "Oh, let's go whisper something."

Gou Dan stared at the two of them, speechless for a moment.

So they're just being so brazen, not even trying to hide it from others?

Also, does that outfit make it look like they're whispering? What does licking your lips mean?

Lin Nian noticed her brother's gaze falling on her clothes and straightened them somewhat embarrassedly.

Who knew that as they were kissing, Shan Yaowen's hands would start to wander and grope.

Looking at Lin Nian, who was looking down, and Gou Dan, who was scrutinizing him, Shan Yaowen felt helpless. He kissed her hand as if he had an autopilot. Honestly, he really didn't mean to touch her.

However, he was also surprised. Lin Nian usually seemed ordinary, but he didn't expect her to be so talented.

Seeing Shan Yaowen still rubbing his hands, Lin Nian blushed and reached out to pinch him.

She never expected that Shan Yaowen, who seemed so honest before, would start groping her after just one kiss.

Gou Dan glanced at the two who were constantly making little moves, but he couldn't be bothered to care. Anyway, they were getting married, so let them kiss.

"By the way, the water in the pasture is frozen. Go and break the ice yourself."

"Frozen?" Shan Yaowen asked, somewhat puzzled. "The water coming from the spring is flowing; how can it freeze?"

"It's frozen, and it looks quite nice, all layered up."

Shan Yaowen took his axe and went to check the spring. Sure enough, the gushing water had stopped flowing, and there was a layer of transparent ice waterfall at the spring.

This spring is not on the ground, but on a rock wall, about the height of a person, so that you can see it at eye level when you stand on the ground.

Water flows from a spot about the size of a bowl on the cliff face all year round. The water condenses in the cold wind and hangs down like a crystal curtain, sparkling in the sunlight. It's a bit like the WLTZQ Dripping Cliff, but this one is much smaller and more exquisite.

After admiring the rock for a while, Shan Yaowen picked up an axe and smashed the ice crystals on the rock wall.

There's no other way; if we don't break the snow, no water will come out, and the sheep will have to eat snow.

"It would be great if there was a spring here that doesn't freeze." Gou Dan looked at the spring that had been smashed but was now gushing water again, and then glanced around.

"An unfrozen spring?" Shan Yaowen originally wanted to complain, but after thinking about it, he realized that there really was one around, but it wasn't on his ranch; it was a bit far away.

We'll see if we can expand the ranch area over there later.

As for non-freezing springs, they are actually springs with geothermal activity or spring water flowing from deep underground. They are not considered hot springs, since they are only around four or five degrees Celsius, and can only guarantee that they will not freeze.

"Alright, I've got another task to do every day from now on." He looked at the rock wall where water was flowing again, tidied up the surrounding area, and went back.

"Troublesome," Dog Egg muttered. "Once you open a ranch, you'll be spending all your time running around it."

"It's all the same. Besides, don't you deal with wood every day now?"

"How are they the same? Besides, I don't have to work every day and I can rest. You have to watch over these sheep every day. What will you do when you raise more, with herds of cattle, sheep, and horses? Can you manage to look after them all by yourself?"

"Then we definitely need to hire someone." Shan Yaowen carried an axe and on his way back, he broke the ice in the water trough so that the sheep could drink directly when the water came.

Dan Yaowen looked at Gou Dan suspiciously. Was this guy a local herdsman?

Why would anyone complain about having a ranch and cattle and sheep?

Isn't this the same as farmers complaining about having arable land? Is this some kind of anomaly?

"Don't look at me like that. I don't want to be stuck on this grassland. I'm going to the city later."

Seeing Gou Dan's arrogant demeanor, Shan Yaowen picked at his ear. It seemed that Gou Dan was just like that in his past life, wanting to live in a big city but ending up working as a carpenter his whole life, making furniture in the village.

After tidying up the sheep pen, Shan Yaowen went back.

After all, you can't cook at the sheep pen, so you have to go home to eat when you're hungry.

Breakfast was porridge. In the past, it would have been a dish of pickled vegetables, but since Shan Yaowen was reborn, he has been making money and acquiring supplies, so the family now has a much more abundant diet.

There's a plate of small, mixed fish in soy sauce left this morning; they were all caught from Sandao Lake a while ago.

His family had already eaten. Usually, Shan Yaowen's meals were set aside separately, since he sometimes went out or went to the ranch and missed mealtimes. If it was too late, his mother would usually bring the food to him.

Mr. Shan was working on the kang (a heated brick bed) listening to opera on the radio, while Mr. Shan Yaowen slurped down his porridge to the sound of the opera. But after one segment of the opera ended, all that followed was a crackling sound of static, followed by a very clear and resonant announcer's voice:

"...The provincial meteorological observatory has issued an emergency warning: affected by cold air from the north, most areas of the province will experience blizzards with snowfall far exceeding previous levels, and there is even a possibility of torrential snow. All regions are requested to organize their own snow removal and clearing operations to ensure smooth roads. In the event of a disaster, the responsible persons in each region are responsible for launching rescue operations immediately..."

"A blizzard?" The father was taken aback when he heard the news on the radio.

Shan Yaowen had anticipated this, otherwise why would he have stockpiled so many things at home?

However, with the blizzard approaching, New Year's Day is just around the corner, which means the wedding date is approaching.

He slurped down the porridge and the last bit of braised fish in his bowl. Just as Shan Yaowen was about to get up to put the bowl down, his younger sister, who had been watching from the side, came running over: "Erguo, I'll do it!"

Watching the little guy, barely tall enough to reach the table, struggling to lift the bowl and tiptoe to place it on the stove, Shan Yaowen chuckled softly.

"My little sister is getting more and more diligent."

Upon hearing this, the woman next to her pressed the needle in her hand into the insole. "The little one is so good to you, she doesn't even clean up her own bowl after she finishes eating."

The mother added, "And the dogs too. She really dotes on those three dogs now. She even washes their broken bowls after they finish eating before putting them away."

Shan Yaowen was stunned. His buddy was being treated like a dog?

Before he could think further, his elder brother Shan Yaowu walked in.

"Brother, has there been no work on the ranch these days?"

Hearing his younger brother's words, Shan Yaowu shook his head, "The cattle, horses, and sheep are fine, but we are in trouble."

"Blizzard?"

"Yes, we need to go to the ranch to reinforce some sheep pens and other infrastructure during this period. After that, we won't have to work there all the time, but we still need to shovel snow every day."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Shan nodded. "That's normal. The ranch has been like this for years. In winter, there's no need to stay there all the time. They just need to shovel snow every morning."

"Now we have to shovel it both in the morning and afternoon."

"Is it that serious?" Mr. Shan frowned upon hearing this.

Previously, shoveling snow once in the morning was enough, unless it snowed for 24 hours straight, in which case we would shovel twice a day, morning and evening.

"Yeah, a huge blizzard is coming." Shan Yaowu rubbed his face and looked at his younger brother, "Awen, how's your ranch?"

"Looks like we'll definitely have to shovel snow sooner or later. But my sheep pen is fine; you can just push it down with a shovel and it'll slide right back down."

"You were so farsighted. Not only did you build the sheep pen, but you also made it triangular, which makes shoveling snow much easier."

"It's not much more convenient. When the snow comes down, you still have to shovel it further away, otherwise if it keeps piling up around the sheep pen, the snow will eventually cover the sheep pen."

"..."

After the family chatted for a while, the captain's voice came from outside, also talking about the blizzard.

It must have been something the Party Secretary said at a special meeting, and then the team leaders of each production team notified every household.

Shan Yao thought the heavy snowfall wouldn't start until New Year's Day, but when he woke up the next day, he found that he couldn't even open the door.