The term "Cowboy" was a foreign word in the Empire. In the local dialect, those who tended cattle were simply called *Niuban* (Cow Herds), a title often associated with the lowest rung of the social ladder—often lower than farmers, as farmers at least owned land, while *Niuban* often just tended the landlord's beasts.
But Li Wei was determined to change the definition.
He stood in the center of the lower pasture, the morning mist swirling around his ankles. He wasn't holding a whip. He wasn't shouting. Instead, he held a long, light bamboo pole, about six feet in length, with a small red rag tied to the end.
"Step," Li Wei commanded softly.
He lifted the pole and tapped Hei Feng gently on the left flank.
The massive bull, who usually tolerated no one, shifted his weight and stepped to the right.
"Good," Li Wei nodded. He looked at Da Niu and Li Jun, who were watching from the fence. "You see? It's not about force. It's about pressure. The pole extends your reach. You enter his space, he moves to relieve the pressure. That is the conversation."
"He looks like he's dancing with a stick," Li Jun chuckled. "Very poetic, Third Brother, but does it get the manure shoveled faster?"
"It gets the cattle moved without stress," Li Wei retorted. "Stressed cattle don't grow. Stressed cattle get sick. We are not chasing them; we are guiding them. That is the essence of the cowboy."
He tossed the bamboo pole to Da Niu. "You try. Ranger! Come!"
The yellow dog trotted over, tongue lolling out. He looked healthier now, his coat shinier, though his ears were still torn.
"Ranger acts as the pressure from behind," Li Wei explained, forming the mental image of a herding drill. "We act as the pressure from the side. Together, we move the herd."
For the next hour, the West Slope became a training ground. It was clumsy at first. Da Niu was too aggressive with the pole, startling An, while Ranger barked at the wrong time, sending Hei Feng into a snorting trot that nearly trampled the flower bed.
"Stop! Stop!" Li Wei laughed, holding up his hands. "We are not hunting tigers! We are moving cows! Softly! Ranger, *hush*."
The dog sat down, looking guilty.
"Again," Li Wei said. "Walk. Don't run. Eyes on the shoulder. If the shoulder turns, the body follows."
Slowly, the rhythm began to emerge. It wasn't the thundering cattle drives of the American West yet, but a quiet, synchronized movement. Da Niu would step left; Hei Feng would turn right. Ranger would flank wide, blocking the exit.
They were learning to speak "Cow."
***
**The Runaway**
Just as they finished the morning drill, a shout erupted from the village below.
"Help! My cow! She's gone mad!"
The voice was shrill, panicked.
Li Wei dropped his pole and ran to the edge of the slope. Down on the main dirt road, a chaotic scene was unfolding.
A large, reddish-brown cow, owned by a widow named Auntie Liu, had broken her tether. She was in a frenzy, likely spooked by a snake or a sudden noise. She was charging down the street, knocking over a vegetable stall, sending baskets of radishes flying.
Villagers were scattering, screaming. Children were crying.
"She's heading for the wheat fields!" Li Jun shouted. "If she tramples the sprouts, Auntie Liu is ruined!"
Li Wei saw the village men grabbing hoes and sticks, trying to surround the animal. But their movements were jerky and aggressive.
"Don't hit her!" Li Wei yelled, sprinting down the hill. "You'll make her charge!"
He vaulted over the low stone wall at the bottom of the slope, landing on the road. He turned to Da Niu and Ranger, who were right behind him.
"Da Niu, the rope! Ranger, flank right! Cut off the path to the fields!"
Li Wei didn't wait for an acknowledgement. He ran straight towards the commotion.
The cow was cornered near the village well, her eyes rolling white, foam flying from her mouth. She lowered her head, preparing to ram the stone wall of the well structure.
"Hey!"
Li Wei shouted, a sharp, piercing sound.
The cow's head snapped towards him.
Li Wei didn't look her in the eye—that was a challenge. He looked at her shoulder. He widened his stance, making himself look big, but kept his body language calm.
"Walk," he murmured, stepping sideways. "Not that way. This way."
He moved in an arc, positioning himself between the cow and the well.
The cow pawed the ground, snorting. She wanted to go forward, into the open square, but Li Wei was blocking her path with his mere presence. He tapped his thigh with his hand. *Thwip. Thwip.*
The sound was rhythmic, annoying, but not scary.
The cow hesitated.
Suddenly, a yellow blur shot out from the side. Ranger.
The dog didn't bark. He didn't bite. He simply ran a tight circle around the cow's hindquarters, forcing the animal to turn.
At the same time, Da Niu arrived, panting. He held the rope loop in his hand.
"When she turns, throw it over the neck!" Li Wei ordered. "Not the horns! The neck!"
The cow, confused by the dog behind and the calm man in front, turned her head to snap at Ranger.
*Swish.*
Da Niu threw the rope. It wasn't a perfect lasso, but the loop caught around the cow's neck and one shoulder.
"Pull!" Li Wei shouted, grabbing the end of the rope as it slid through Da Niu's hands.
The cow lunged, but Li Wei didn't try to hold her dead weight. He ran *with* her for a few steps, using her own momentum to guide her, then dug his heels into the dirt and pivoted.
"Back! Back!"
He turned the cow's shoulder.
The animal, feeling the pressure on her neck and the confusing presence of the dog, suddenly stopped fighting. She stood there, trembling, her chest heaving.
Li Wei slowly took up the slack. He walked up to the cow, stroking her neck.
"Shhh… it's over. Just a scare."
Auntie Liu came running up, tears streaming down her face. "My cow! My baby! Is she hurt?"
"She's fine," Li Wei said, handing the rope to the widow. "Just spooked. Keep her away from the construction noise near the temple. Her ears are sensitive."
He turned to Da Niu and Ranger. "Good work. A bit sloppy on the throw, but effective."
The villagers who had been screaming moments ago stood in silence, staring at the boy who had tamed a rampaging beast with a dog and a rope, without raising a hand in anger.
Old Man Sun, whose stall had been knocked over, picked up a radish and dusted it off. "That… that was like magic. Li Wei, you move like a *Niuban*, but you act like a general."
Li Wei smiled, wiping the sweat from his brow. He patted Ranger's head. The dog sat proudly, tail wagging.
"It's not magic, Uncle Sun. It's just understanding the beast. A cow is simple. She wants safety. We gave her a path to it."
As he walked back up the hill, he heard the whispers following him.
"Did you see the dog?"
"He didn't hit her once."
"Maybe that sign is true. Maybe he does know genetics."
**[Reputation Event: Successful.]**
**[Ranch Reputation: Recognized Professional -> Village Expert.]**
**[Unlock: New Service Available – "Cattle Handling/Taming".]**
***
**The Expansion**
The incident with the runaway cow had an unexpected side effect. It validated Li Wei's training methods.
That afternoon, while Li Wei was mixing feed, Auntie Liu returned. She was carrying a basket of eggs—her own hens' eggs.
"Wei'er," she said, bowing slightly. "You saved my cow. She's my life. If she had run into the well… I…"
She pushed the basket forward. "Please, take these. It's not enough, but it's what I have."
Li Wei looked at the eggs. There were about twenty. "Auntie, you don't have to pay."
"I want to," she insisted. "And… I want you to check her hooves. She walks funny. Can your… cowboy methods fix that?"
Li Wei blinked. *Cowboy methods.* The word was spreading.
"I'll check her," he said. "Bring her up tomorrow. I'll trim her hooves. That's another service."
After she left, Li Wei looked at the eggs. He couldn't sell these; they were a gift of gratitude. But they were a resource.
"Hua," he called out. "Bring the incubator. We're filling it again."
He also realized something else. The coop was getting crowded. With the ten chicks from the first batch now half-grown, and more eggs coming in, they needed space.
"I need to build a mobile coop," Li Wei told Li Jun later. "A chicken tractor."
"A what?"
"A movable cage with no floor. We put the chickens inside, drag it to a new patch of grass, and they scratch, eat the bugs, and fertilize the soil. Then we move them again. It saves us from having to clean the coop, and it spreads the manure perfectly."
"Lazy farming," Li Jun grinned. "I love it."
They spent the rest of the afternoon building the frame. It was a simple A-frame structure made of light wood and wire mesh (expensive, but Li Wei had bought a roll from town). It was heavy enough to keep predators out, but light enough for two men to drag.
By evening, the "Chicken Tractor" was finished. They loaded the adolescent chicks into it and dragged it to the edge of the new Gen II pasture.
"See?" Li Wei pointed. "They're happy. They have fresh grass. And look at the ground behind them—perfectly scratched and manured. Tomorrow, we move them ten feet. The land heals itself."
***
**The Scholar's Dilemma**
Dinner was a quiet affair. The excitement of the day had settled into a pleasant fatigue.
Li Chen sat at the small desk in the corner of the main room, an intense frown on his face. He was grinding ink, the sound of the stone against the slate a rhythmic *scritch-scratch*.
"Trouble?" Li Wei asked, sitting down with a bowl of rice.
Chen sighed, putting down the brush. "The teacher gave us a topic for an essay. 'On Governance'. I have to write about how to rule a county. But I don't know anything about ruling. I only know about farming."
Li Wei chewed his rice thoughtfully. In his past life, he had managed teams, departments, and budgets. Governance was just management on a larger scale.
"Don't think about ruling, Chen," Li Wei said. "Think about managing a household. Or a ranch."
"A ranch?" Chen looked confused. "What does a ranch have to do with governing a county?"
"The principles are the same," Li Wei said, leaning forward. "Think about it. A ruler has three resources: Land, People, and Taxes.
"First, the Land. Just like our pasture. If you overgraze it—take too much tax from the people—the grass dies. The soil erodes. You have to let it rest. You have to rotate the crops. That's policy."
Chen's eyes widened slightly. He dipped his brush in the ink.
"Second, the People. Look at Da Niu. If I beat him, he works out of fear and runs away at the first chance. If I feed him, give him a house, and treat him with respect, he works hard and stays. A ruler must inspire loyalty, not just fear. Benevolence is not just a virtue; it is a strategy for stability."
Li Chen began to write rapidly, the characters flowing onto the paper.
"And third, the Herd—the population. They need direction. Just like the cows. You can't force them all at once; you apply pressure on the sides—education, laws—and guide them gently to where they need to go. If you push too hard, they panic. If you guide them, they move smoothly."
Li Wei smiled. "Write that down. 'To govern is to herd. To rule is to cultivate.' Use the ranch as your metaphor. The examiner in the prefecture city is tired of reading flowery poems about mountains. He wants to read something practical. Something that shows you understand the reality of the land."
Li Chen looked at his brother with awe. "Third Brother… you should be the one taking the exam."
Li Wei laughed, shaking his head. "I belong on the hill, Chen. You belong in the hall. Write the essay. Show them that a farmer's son knows more about the roots of the earth than the sons of officials."
Chen nodded, his hand trembling with inspiration. He turned back to the paper, the brush moving with renewed confidence.
***
**Night: The Count**
Later that night, Li Wei sat in the storage room, the lamp flickering.
He counted the money box.
Stud fees: 60 coins.
Medicine sales: 20 coins.
Egg sales (yesterday): 30 coins.
Gifts/Gift equivalents: ~40 coins value.
Total liquid funds: 150 coins (after buying chicken wire).
He looked at the ledger. The exam fee was a mountain. 2000 coins.
He was climbing a cliff with his bare hands. One slip, one bad harvest, one sick bull, and the dream would crumble.
He needed leverage. He needed to multiply his income. Eggs were good, but they were copper. He needed silver.
He looked at the status of the Gen II grass.
**[Growth Status: 15 cm (Ready for Intensive Grazing).]**
The grass was ready. The silage was ready. The bull was proven.
"We need more cows," Li Wei whispered. "Buying cows is too expensive. We need to breed them."
He looked at the calendar. The breeding season was short. He needed to get as many cows pregnant as possible in the next month.
"Tomorrow," he decided. "I'll go to the village meeting. I'll offer a discount for anyone who signs a contract for the whole season. I'll turn the whole village's cattle into my herd."
He blew out the lamp.
In the darkness, the sounds of the ranch filled the room. The soft clucking of the hens, the low snore of Da Niu in the next room, and the distant, rhythmic chewing of Hei Feng on the hill.
It was the sound of an engine starting up.