Chapter 176

Endless yellow sand stretched out as far as the eye could see.

After finishing lunch, Zhong Di and his group decided to hike across the desert. Calling it a desert crossing was a bit of a stretch; it was really just a casual walk. The idea of actually hiking across a desert on foot sounded utterly deranged.

Originally, the group had planned to rent a couple of jeeps to cruise around the desert, but Zhong Hui insisted that, according to the itinerary, the current activity was experiencing a desert hike on foot. While driving jeeps offered the thrill of a joyride, it completely missed the sense of relief that comes after enduring hardship.

However, it did not take long before everyone lost interest.

It was boring, tedious, and damn tiring.

Little Xi, in particular, refused to walk after just a few steps, insisting that her uncle carry her. Fortunately, Zhong Di was quite strong, and Little Xi wasn't heavy, so he carried her the entire way.

Soon, the second person could no longer hold out. Like a contagious plague, the exhaustion spread until everyone collectively decided to cancel the plan.

Returning to the starting point, the group discovered a camel-riding attraction and decided to give it a try. At eighty yuan a ride, the price was reasonable enough, so they bought a few tickets.

Since they couldn't hike the desert, they would use camels as transportation instead! At least they could enjoy the scenery along the way.

This time, Little Xi stubbornly refused to go with Zhong Di and insisted on riding with her mom. According to Little Xi, she was afraid her uncle would tie her to a camel again.

Well

Being on the canoe was a necessity because Zhong Di had to paddle and couldn't look after Little Xi properly; without tying her down, she could easily fall off. But damn it, how could anyone fall off a camel?

Still, Zhong Di couldn't be bothered to explain and let her ride with whoever she wanted.

For the camel ride, adults had to ride individually, with room for at most one small child.

Zhong Di reached out and touched the camel's head. It felt somewhat furry, but not very pleasant. The texture felt like touching hair that was ridiculously coarse.

Yuck! Thumbs down, absolute thumbs down.

Zhong Di thought to himself, how could this ever compare to the comfortable feeling of stroking his pet Pallas's cat back home? They had only been away for a single day, and he was already missing his cat.

Once Zhong Di mounted the camel, to put it simply, it was not nearly as comfortable as he had imagined.

Very soon, the camel caravan Zhong Di was in reached its full capacity.

As the caravan started moving, Zhong Di regretted it all over again. Riding a camel wasn't just uncomfortable; it bounced up and down relentlessly, making it even more exhausting than walking.

Since he had already paid for the tickets, Zhong Di gritted his teeth and endured the experience. When he finally dismounted, both of his legs had turned to jelly.

He really had to wonder: were people in ancient times actually comfortable riding horses? Or was it just that he lacked the mastery of equine arts? Oh no, make that camel-riding arts.

Having finished the camel ride, they originally wanted to check out other activities, but after glancing at the sky, they gave up. Abandoning the attraction, they decided to head back. Their original two-day itinerary had been forcibly compressed into a single day, leaving tomorrow open for everyone to rest on their own.

Aside from the initial canoeing session, which had been quite satisfactory, today's outings had been a total waste of time. They would have been better off staying put, finding a scenic spot to chat, drink tea, and shoot the breeze—how comfortable that would have been.

By the time they returned to the farmhouse, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening.

His parents had been dropped off at their home in Lingjing Village, while Shao Hong had parted ways with them immediately upon returning to the city.

Since tomorrow was a rest day, Shao Hong could come back early the day after tomorrow and spend two nights at home.

"Zhong Di, I've organized the recent work summary and sent it to your WeChat tonight. Take a look to see if there are any issues, and let me know if you have any additions," Zhong Hui brought up just as she was about to leave.

A holiday was a holiday, but she hadn't slackened off at all. Not a single thing that required her concern had been neglected.

The recent workload had been far too chaotic; without regular summaries, problems would easily arise. This was precisely the difficult phase inherent to the early stages of development.

"Sis, I already said it's a holiday. Let's not talk about work," Zhong Di said, feeling an instinctive wave of resistance.

Clearly, it was vacation time; why were they still discussing such matters? Couldn't they just rest properly on a holiday?

Or better yet, clear their minds, enjoy life, walk the dogs, feed the chickens, and leisurely research production stuff when the mood struck.

"It's just this one thing. Take a look quickly; I still need to make plans, and I don't want anything to slip through the cracks," Zhong Hui urged.

While canoeing alone during the day, Zhong Hui had found herself unable to appreciate the scenery. Her mind had been entirely occupied with work. She realized that whenever she engaged in work, both her body and mind felt joyful, which was why she had brought up the work summary.

"All right then, I'll take a look and send you whatever additions I have."

Seeing his older sister's high spirits, Zhong Di didn't have the heart to refuse. It was just reviewing a work summary, after all, and it wouldn't take up too much time.

After exchanging a few more words, Zhong Hui left.

His Pallas's cat! His very own Pallas's cat!

The very first thing on Zhong Di's mind was to go to the guesthouse room and check on his little buddy to make sure everything was alright.

Before leaving, everything had been fully prepared, but that didn't stop Zhong Di from worrying about the cat.

It was just like leaving home yourself: even though you've prepared everything for your child and they are capable of living independently, you still can't help worrying about them when you're far away.

Wondering if they were hungry, whether they had eaten...

Upon arriving at the guesthouse room, Zhong Di saw the Pallas's cat playing energetically. Being nocturnal creatures, their energy levels at this hour were through the roof.

Good heavens, why was there a huge pile of dead mice lying around?

Zhong Di instinctively thought of previous incidents—could someone have planted poison again? But with the security cameras mounted right there, surely nobody would be that bold!

After looking closely for a moment, Zhong Di confirmed that these weren't poisoned mice at all. They were ordinary, legitimate mice that had clearly been bitten to death.

Wait, in just the single day he was away, it had caught all these mice? And kept them here—were they stored rations, or had it simply not eaten them yet?

After all, before leaving, he had left behind plenty of chicken meat. Wasn't chicken vastly more delicious than mice?

Zhong Di guessed that this sudden hunting spree was undoubtedly the result of the adult Pallas's cat's training.

After confirming that the Pallas's cat was completely fine, Zhong Di began patrolling the surroundings.

With nobody at the farmhouse all day long, some thief might have slipped in. Nowadays, if someone stole even a few random items from the farm, they would be worth a small fortune.

Fortunately, ever since the incident with the Pallas's cat, cameras had been installed at all four corners of the property. While they couldn't cover every blind spot, they at least provided a general overview.

After making a full circle, Zhong Di realized that nothing at all was missing—except for Yusheng.

No wonder everything felt so off upon returning; it turned out a dog was missing. And without even a bark, Yusheng had been getting increasingly wild lately.

Woof!

Right as he was thinking about it, Yusheng trotted back.

"Yusheng, where the hell have you been running around?"

Woof!

"Out chasing female dogs again?"

Woof!

Anyone unaware would think Zhong Di could actually converse with the dog.

In reality, Zhong Di had no idea what Yusheng was trying to express; perhaps it was purely a one-sided interpretation on Yusheng's part.

It was just like your own child: they might understand a portion of what you say, but you often have no clue what they are babbling about—especially since Yusheng was, after all, a dog.

After eating a simple dinner, Zhong Di turned in for the night.

Accompanied by the chirping of insects and the croaking of frogs, drifting through the delicate and rhythmic sounds of the night, Zhong Di slipped into dreamland.