wavenovel Chapter 6: The Snow Mountain King Who Begs for Footprints, the Forest Rancher's Business Plan
Chapter 6: The Snow Mountain King Who Begs for Footprints, the Forest Rancher's Business Plan
The next morning, the rising sun over the Qilian Mountains pierced through the thin mist, and golden sunlight bathed the entire pasture.
In late autumn, glistening dewdrops clung to the grass blades, and the air was so crisp and refreshing that it was invigorating.
Lin Ye started his live stream early in the morning.
As soon as the broadcast started, the screen was flooded with comments like snowflakes.
"First! First! The anchor is up so early? Hurry up, I want to see 'The East Depot's Flower'!"
"Urgent! How is Grandpa Snow Leopard's condition today? Does his wound still hurt?"
"Even the donkeys in the production team dare not rest like this, Brother Lin, hurry up and bring the Snow Leopard family out to start business!"
Seeing the barrage of urging comments, Lin Ye remained calm and composed.
He slowly squeezed out the toothpaste, then squatted down next to the tap in the yard with an enamel cup in his hand, brushing his teeth while mumbling and interacting with the live stream audience.
"What's the rush? Life on the grasslands is all about leisure. It's the king of the snow-capped mountains, after all. Do you expect it to wag its tail and greet me like a dog the moment I open the door? We need to give our national treasure some privacy."
After washing up, Lin Ye took a deep breath of the crisp, cold air of Northwest China before slowly carrying a basin of warm goat milk toward the side room where the snow leopard had been housed the night before.
Lin Ye was delighted as soon as he stepped outside.
Because of the passive skill [Listen to All Things], he had clearly heard the extremely impatient, gruff voice coming from behind the door.
"Where is he? Where did that two-legged creature go?"
"The sun's already high in the sky, why isn't lunch served yet! I'm starving! I want meat, delicious, fragrant meat!"
"Ouch... I can't open this door!"
Not only the adult snow leopard, but the two cubs had also woken up long ago and were making soft "whimpering" sounds by the crack in the door.
Lin Ye pushed open the wooden door.
The enormous snow leopard, who had been so fiercely loyal to the night before, was now squatting anxiously behind the door.
When it saw Lin Ye carrying the basin in, its eyes instantly lit up like two searchlights, and its two front paws even excitedly stomped on the ground to knead the milk.
The viewers in the live stream burst out laughing when they saw this.
"Hahahaha! What the hell is the King of the Snow Mountains? Isn't this just a begging orange cat?!"
[Snow Leopard: Food! I'm starving! Bring it up quickly!]
["The anchor also said to give the national treasure some privacy, but look how greedy it is, it practically wants to stick to you!"]
Lin Ye suppressed a laugh and deliberately didn't feed the adult snow leopard directly. Instead, he squatted down in front of the two snow leopard cubs while holding a bowl of goat milk.
"Come on, little ones, dinner's ready."
The little snow leopard smelled the milk and immediately pounced on it, burying its head in the basin and drinking it in big gulps, getting its nose full of white milk foam. It looked incredibly cute.
Lin Ye, feeling playful, reached out and gently pinched the paw of a small snow leopard, trying to teach it to do certain things.
"Come on, let's shake hands. If you learn to shake hands, you'll get an extra sip of milk. Yes, raise your paw and shake hands~"
Unfortunately, the two snow leopard cubs were too young and only cared about eating. They completely ignored Lin Ye's instructions, their front paws flailing about aimlessly, and he couldn't teach them no matter what he did.
The snow leopard standing nearby was extremely anxious!
Looking at its two good-for-nothing offspring and smelling the sweet aroma of goat milk, its mind was filled with a torrent of angry complaints.
"Idiots! You two are such useless idiots!"
"You can't even learn such a simple move? You've utterly disgraced this king!"
"Get out of the way, let the professionals handle this!"
Immediately afterwards, to the astonishment of tens of thousands of viewers in the live stream, this enormous snow leopard limped over to Lin Ye.
It made a "woof woof" sound in its throat, and then with great effort raised its furry right paw, which was bigger than an adult's palm, and pressed it on Lin Ye's arm, even shaking it up and down a couple of times!
As it rocked, Lin Ye heard its anxious voice echoing in its mind:
"I can! I can shake hands! Look at me! Look at me! Where's the meat? Give me the meat!"
The entire live stream chat exploded instantly!
"Holy crap!! This level of intelligence is incredible! Is this still a leopard? It's a person in leopard skin!"
"For a bite to eat, even a dignified apex predator would abandon its dignity!"
[“Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, beings are not allowed to become spirits. This snow leopard should be sent to Tsinghua University to audit classes!”]
"His proficiency in begging is so low, it's almost heartbreaking, hahaha!"
Lin Ye watched the snow leopard frantically giving him hints and almost lost his balance with laughter.
"Okay, okay, you're amazing."
Lin Ye took the opportunity to grasp its large paw and kneaded its thick, soft paw pads.
Since this big cat is so smart, Lin Ye decided to test it again.
He pointed to the ground: "Sit down!"
Although reluctant, the snow leopard obediently lowered its large rear end and sat down properly in order to get meat.
"This snow leopard is incredibly intelligent."
Lin Ye stroked the snow leopard's large, fluffy head with satisfaction, then shouted, "Good! Here's your God's Right Hand!"
After saying that, his right hand moved with lightning speed, lightly tapping the snow leopard's nose!
[God's Right Hand: Forced Belly Turnover] Skill, activated instantly!
Just a moment ago, the snow leopard was obediently waiting for its meal when it suddenly felt as if its body had been electrocuted, and it was completely out of control of its brain!
Its once powerful and massive body, as if its bones had been drained, crashed backward!
Four thick legs spread out to the sky in utter shame, revealing a soft, white belly.
What's even more shocking is that this once majestic beast uncontrollably emitted a series of extremely soft, kitten-like sounds from its throat:
"Waaaaah~"
The snow leopard writhed on its back on the ground, its deep blue eyes filled with extreme terror and utter shame!
"What...what's going on?! Why is my body out of my control?"
"This is so embarrassing! So embarrassing! I don't want to make these weird noises! Stop it!!"
After a brief pause, the live stream chat exploded with an unprecedented barrage of comments, showering viewers with virtual gifts and special effects.
"Hahaha! Help! What did I just see? A snow leopard whining monster?!"
"That belly-rolling pose is so alluring!"
"Who made that 'whimpering' sound just now? I don't believe it was a leopard's roar; it was definitely a voiceover from the streamer!"
[“Snow Leopard Grandpa: I may have lost my weapon, but I haven’t lost my dignity! Streamer, have some decency!”]
Just as Lin Ye was having a great time, the female students from the previous night arrived early in the morning, wanting to pet the little snow leopard again.
They pushed open the door and saw this enormous beast, usually so unapproachable, now rolling over on its back in front of Lin Ye like a whimpering dog. Their eyes immediately welled with envy.
Several girls were excited and wanted to come over and pet the big cat's belly.
As soon as they approached, the snow leopard, which was in a "forced belly-up" state, had its skill time expire.
In an attempt to salvage its last shred of regal dignity, it abruptly flipped itself to its feet. Facing the approaching female students, it instantly abandoned its begging demeanor, revealing sharp fangs and letting out an extremely ferocious roar:
"Hiss—! Get out of my way! You two-legged female, don't even think about touching me!"
If Lin Ye hadn't been quick enough to hold down its neck, this beast would definitely have slapped it.
Aside from its absolute affinity and dependence on the forest, it remains the dangerous and deadly king of the snow mountain in front of others.
The female students were terrified and quickly retreated, only able to pitifully go to a corner to tease the two snow leopard cubs that were only focused on drinking their milk.
"Alright, stop pretending to be fierce. I'll heat up your food."
Lin Ye chuckled and patted its head, then turned and went to the kitchen to reheat the leftover mutton from yesterday (number 014), bringing over a large bowl of it.
The snow leopard immediately put away its fierce demeanor and transformed back into a gluttonous machine, eating until its face was covered in oil.
After settling the snow leopard family in, Lin Ye wiped his hands and straightened his expression for the drone camera. He hadn't forgotten his current identity.
"Brothers, we've had our fun, let's get down to business. I'm a proper rancher, I can't let having a national treasure cause me to throw the baby out with the bathwater and put the cart before the horse."
As Lin Ye walked out, he pointed to the vast grassland in the distance and began his analysis of his business plan.
"Look at my pasture, everyone. Although it's large, the nutritional value of the native pasture grasses is no longer sufficient. If you want your sheep to grow fat and have good meat quality, high-quality pasture grass is the key. Yesterday, System... cough, I just had someone buy a full 500 kilograms of top-grade alpine ryegrass seeds. This grass is cold-resistant, drought-resistant, and extremely nutritious."
Lin Ye walked to the fence, looked at the Kazakh sheep in the distance, and sighed.
"But now there's a big problem. I'm herding livestock all by myself now, riding my horse all over the mountains every day, which is too inefficient and seriously affects my ability to experience the leisurely ranch life!"
Lin Ye stroked his chin and said seriously, "So I've decided that if I want to completely free my hands and enjoy slacking off, I need to find another extremely intelligent sheepdog. Border Collie or German Shepherd, it has to be able to work!"
The comments section immediately began offering suggestions.
"Why did you buy a dog?! Is that snow leopard behind you just for show? Let it herd sheep!"
"That's right, with a snow leopard appearing, which sheep would dare disobey?"
Lin Ye glanced back at the snow leopard eunuch licking the bottom of a basin in the side room and rolled his eyes.
"Let the snow leopard herd sheep? Do you want to help me herd sheep, or do you want all my sheep to be wiped out? If you want to bankrupt me, just say so! Judging by how lazy it is now, it could secretly eat three sheep a day!"
"We really need to get the sheepdog situation on the agenda. Once I finish dealing with the grass seeds in the next couple of days, I'll head over to the homes of the local herders and see if I can find a perfect dog!"