Chapter 117: The Poacher

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The lamb, carrying a faint hint of char, gave off a rich, savory aroma. Zhong Di tore off a large bite, pulling at the strands of meat, his mouth filled with fragrance.

Especially that scent of cumin—it was enough to make anyone's mouth water.

And honestly, cumin paired with lamb was a match made in heaven; the feeling was as if the dish had been imbued with a soul.

A bite half the size of the chunk, or a smaller piece, Zhong Di would wolf it down in one go, chewing thoroughly, the flavor lingering endlessly in his mouth.

Zhong Di ate quickly, and the others did as well. A large pile of grilled meat vanished in no time, and they didn't stop until they'd eaten their fill.

After dinner, everyone was stuffed to the brim. This roast lamb was the kind that could make you swallow your own tongue.

"Mom, Dad, it's getting late. You two should head back and get some rest!" Zhong Di glanced at the sky, which was indeed no longer early.

"What do you mean it's getting late? It's still broad daylight. We just ate our fill; doing a bit of work to help digestion sounds just fine."

Di Chunhua muttered to herself, then started to take care of some odd chores.

Things like adding water for the sheep, tossing some fresh grass to the ducks—these were all small tasks that needed doing.

"Enough, no more work. Sis, hand out the money—cash, a thousand per person. Take Mom and Dad into town to have some fun, go window shopping, buy whatever they like."

"I remember Dad likes playing Chinese chess, right? Buy a nice set; he can play whenever he's free in the future. And Mom likes cross-stitching, doesn't she? Buy plenty of those, she can stitch away in her spare time."

In no time, Zhong Di had sent his sister and parents off.

Zhake'er stood there holding a thousand yuan, utterly bewildered, thinking: What the hell have I even done? Why am I getting this much money out of nowhere?

And today wasn't even real work—one person ordered a table of dishes, he made a plate of pulled noodles, and that was about it. It felt more like playing than working.

"What's up? Hurry back home. Since it's still early, you can go take a stroll." Zhong Di looked at Zhake'er curiously and said.

Why isn't this guy in a rush to get off work? Something's definitely off with his thinking—needs to be kept an eye on. Overtime is not a good habit. If a person doesn't have enough leisure time to fill their life, their mind is bound to have problems sooner or later.

For instance, after working overtime for too long, the suppressed feelings might easily lead to doing something bad.

"Boss, I've decided to stay and work for you. When do we sign the contract?" After thinking it over for a moment, Zhake'er finally made up his mind to stay. The pay was good, the work wasn't tiring, and there was plenty of free time for life outside work.

Sure, he made decent money baking naan bread, but that meant rising early and working late, twelve hours a day, with no days off all year round.

"Contract? Oh... I see, you want to get right to work, huh? Fine then, just go find my sister tomorrow to sign it." Zhong Di was taken aback for a moment, then quickly caught on.

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Ever since Zhake'er first arrived, Zhong Di had basically been certain he'd end up staying—he just hadn't expected it to happen this fast.

"Alright, then, I'll be heading off." Having settled the matter, Zhake'er left the orchard. He planned to go home early today, give his family a detailed rundown, and then come back tomorrow to work hard.

After Zhake'er left, Zhong Di looked at Shao Hong and said, "Everyone's gone now. What do you say... you go take a stroll too?"

"Nope. How many grown men actually enjoy shopping? How about we tie up the loose ends from today, then sit down and do some fishing for fun?"

"Wait... where's Yüsheng?" Zhong Di muttered.

"Yüsheng? Haven't seen him! Could he have run off foraging again?" Shao Hong looked around but found no sign of where Yüsheng had gone.

"I'm honestly curious how he caught that wild rabbit yesterday. He's only a little over two months old. Let's wait a bit more—if he still hasn't come back, we'll go look for him."

The two agreed, then began tidying up the fish pond.

All sorts of miscellaneous junk—whatever needed to be gathered up was gathered up, and whatever needed to be disposed of was disposed of.

Then they started feeding the fish, tossing prepared chunks of meat into the water, along with various ground meat scraps and bone meal. These had been saved up from before, though there wasn't much.

Zhong Di didn't plan on using commercial fish feed either. Once the chicken manure finished fermenting, he'd use that as feed, mixed with some kitchen scraps—it'd be perfect.

After the meat chunks were scattered into the pond, all the big and small fish were eagerly gobbling them up, full of vitality. The whole pond was bustling with activity, and overall, the density seemed just right.

Zhong Di felt that as long as he kept using the Wild Sand Sprout, all these fish were sure to survive.

Then he'd cover it with a greenhouse. As long as the temperature stayed above freezing in winter, the water below wouldn't get too cold, and most of the shelled species could survive.

The only thing to consider was: should he primarily raise freshwater fish, or use saltwater? If it was freshwater only, the salt-loving species might not make it.

Whatever—he'd just raise them for now. Maybe they'd all survive.

Just as Zhong Di was mulling it over, the work was mostly done.

Woof! Woof!

Just then, Yüsheng came running back into the orchard at full speed, barking loudly at Zhong Di, then tugging at his pant leg persistently.

This is...?

"Shao Hong, let's go. He might have found something."

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Zhong Di had a guess. Yüsheng must have discovered something to act like this—perhaps a rabbit's den or something? That kind of amusement would be a nice way to unwind.

Zhong Di grabbed a few simple tools, then hopped onto the electric tricycle and followed Yüsheng as he ran.

About seven or eight minutes later, Yüsheng finally stopped. Along the way, he hadn't even barked once.

Hmm? That's...?

Poachers!

Zhong Di followed Yüsheng's gaze and spotted two furtive figures. Taking a closer look, he was stunned—these two were catching a Pallas's cat?

They were slowly securing a noose around it, then shutting it inside a cage.

That was strange. Pallas's cats were usually nocturnal, active at night—how did it get caught in broad daylight? The question was quickly answered.

They'd used a young Pallas's cat as bait. No wonder it had run into the trap on its own and gotten caught by the snare.

Zhong Di thought back to that mark he'd seen the other day, and suddenly something clicked.

Maybe one Pallas's cat had been tied up and kept struggling, which caused the mark, while the other had gone to rescue it and gotten caught in the trap.

The reason it managed to escape could be that it happened at night and went unnoticed.

Without a second thought, Zhong Di pulled out his phone and started taking photos—clear ones. These were all evidence. When he'd gotten enough shots and saw that the two men were about to untie the bait cat, Zhong Di made his move.

Seeing Zhong Di spring into action, Shao Hong grabbed the stick he'd placed in the vehicle and followed behind him.

"Run! Someone's coming!" One of the men spotted Zhong Di's figure.

"It's that dog—the one from last night!" The other man yelped in surprise.

Hearing this, Zhong Di seemed to understand something. That rabbit Yüsheng had brought back yesterday might have had a story behind it. Could it be that after Yüsheng helped the Pallas's cat, it brought the rabbit as a thank-you gift?

That was highly plausible—just what Yüsheng had done to manage it, he had no idea.

Seeing Zhong Di and the others charging toward them, the two men knew they couldn't get away. One of them steeled himself, snatched a shovel from the truck—still caked with dirt—and turned to face them.

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