The three days of Magistrate-sanctioned protection passed in a blur of tension and exhausting work. The ten guards left by the Yamen were a motley crew—bored, loud, and more interested in raiding the Li family's vegetable cellar than patrolling the perimeter. They ate like locusts and slept like logs.
But their presence served a purpose. They were a shield of legitimacy. No wandering bandit scout dared approach the hill while the imperial banners flew.
On the morning of the fourth day, they left as abruptly as they had arrived, taking with them a basket of eggs and a chicken as "travel provisions." They left behind a silence that felt heavier than before.
Li Wei stood at the gate, watching the dust settle on the road.
"The shield is gone," Li Jun muttered, gripping his spear. "Now we're naked again."
"No," Li Wei said, turning back to the ranch. "We're not naked. We're just waking up."
He walked to the center of the yard. He picked up a handful of soil. It was time to spend the blood money.
***
**The Investment in Earth**
The pouch of silver sat on the table in the main hall. Thirty-five taels. In a peasant's life, such a sum was usually a fantasy, something only seen in stories of corrupt officials or buried treasures.
Li Wei had allocated the funds mentally before the sun had even risen.
"We keep five taels for emergency medical supplies and winter grain," Li Wei told Li Chen, who was manning the ledger. "Five taels for the Co-operative Rearing advance payments to the villagers. And the rest…"
He pointed out the window towards the flimsy wooden fence that surrounded the upper pasture.
"The rest goes into stone."
"Stone?" Father Li Dazhong asked, sipping his tea. "Wood is cheaper, Wei'er. And easier to move."
"Wood burns," Li Wei said firmly. "Wood rots. Wood breaks under a shoulder charge. I want a wall that laughs at axes. A wall that says, 'This is not a farm; this is a fortress.'"
He rolled out a rough sketch he had made during the night. It wasn't an architectural blueprint, but a concept. A low stone wall, waist-high, topped with a wooden palisade. A dry moat in front of it. And a proper gatehouse.
"We need a quarry," Li Wei said. "Or a kiln. We can't drag stones from the river forever; they're too small. We need cut stone."
"I know a man in Stone Village," Qin Hu spoke up. He was sitting in the corner, whittling a new crutch. "Old Liu. He owes me a favor from the army. He has a stock of grey granite blocks he can't sell because the road to the prefecture was cut by bandits. He might sell cheap."
"Go," Li Wei said. "Take the cart. Offer him two taels for five hundred blocks. If he haggles, go to three. Don't go above three."
Qin Hu stood up, grabbing his crutch. "I'll bring the mountain to you, Boss."
***
**The Employment of Hands**
With the bandit attack still fresh in their minds, the villagers of Willow Village were on edge. The news that Cloud Hill Ranch was hiring had spread like wildfire.
By noon, a crowd had gathered at the gate. Not beggars this time, but men—farmers with strong backs, looking for work. The harvest was over, and the spring planting hadn't started. This was the "hungry season" where granaries shrank and bellies rumbled.
Li Wei stood on a crate. Mo Lie stood behind him, arms crossed, his presence enough to keep the crowd orderly.
"I'm building a wall," Li Wei announced. "A stone wall. I need diggers, haulers, and masons. I pay ten copper coins a day. One meal included."
Ten coins. The crowd gasped. That was double the wage of a common laborer in the town!
"But the work is hard," Li Wei added. "You listen to the Instructor—" he gestured to Mo Lie, "—and you work until the sun goes down. No slackers. No stealing materials. Understood?"
"Understood!" the men shouted, eager for the coin.
"Good. Line up. Da Niu will take your names."
Li Wei wasn't just being generous. He was stimulating the local economy. Every coin he paid to the villagers would eventually cycle back to the ranch in the form of eggs, meat, or loyalty. A rich village was a safe village.
He looked over the crowd. He saw Uncle Niu. He saw the young farmer who had bought the sick pig. He saw familiar faces that had once mocked him as the "Crazy Chicken Boy."
Now, they looked at him with respect. He was a job creator. A provider.
***
**The Masonry of Defense**
The construction began that afternoon.
The sound of picks breaking earth and the rumble of carts hauling stone replaced the quiet of the hill.
Li Wei had chosen the perimeter carefully. He didn't want to enclose the entire slope—too much area to defend. He wanted to create a "Citadel"—a fortified core where the animals and the family would sleep.
He designated a section of the upper pasture near the bunkhouse and the new shed.
"Dig the trench here," Li Wei commanded, marking the line with lime powder. "Three feet deep. Three feet wide. The dirt goes inside to build the rampart."
He was applying principles from his past life—ancient siege warfare tactics adapted for a small ranch. A wall was good, but a wall with a ditch in front of it was exponentially harder to storm.
Mo Lie walked the lines, correcting the workers. "Not like that! The trench floor must be uneven. Broken rocks. If they jump in, they twist their ankles. You want them to break their legs before they even reach the wall."
The workers grumbled but obeyed. Mo Lie's presence was a constant reminder that this wasn't just a construction project; it was preparation for war.
By the third day, the foundation was laid.
Qin Hu returned with the first shipment of grey granite. The blocks were rough, jagged, and heavy.
"Masons!" Li Wei called out.
Two older men from the village, known for their skill in building house foundations, stepped forward.
"Stack them dry first," Li Wei instructed. "Mud mortar for the interior. We don't have cement, so we rely on gravity and friction. Interlock the corners."
He watched as the wall began to rise. It was slow, back-breaking work. But with every stone laid, Li Wei felt a knot of anxiety in his chest loosen.
The ranch was growing teeth.
***
**The Gen 1 Progress**
Amidst the noise of construction, the animals continued their work.
Bao, the Gen 1 calf, was now four months old. He was a monster compared to the local calves.
Li Wei stood by the pasture fence, watching Bao graze. The calf didn't just nibble; he tore the grass. His hump was becoming more pronounced, a storage of fat and energy that allowed him to thrive even when the feed quality dipped.
**[System Scan: Bao.]**
**[Weight: 180 kg (Average for local calf: 90 kg).]**
**[Health: 100%.]**
**[Trait Activation: Thermoregulation (Active).]**
"He's a tank," Li Jun said, leaning on his shovel. "Look at him. He's eating the grass down to the dirt."
"He's converting it into muscle," Li Wei said. "He's going to be our breeding bull for the next generation. But for now… he needs to learn manners."
Li Wei climbed into the pasture. Bao stopped eating and looked at him. The calf lowered his head and pawed the ground.
"He's getting aggressive," Li Jun warned. "Testosterone?"
"No, he's just asserting dominance," Li Wei said. He didn't use a stick this time. He used his body language. He stood tall, squared his shoulders, and walked directly at the calf.
"Back up," Li Wei commanded, clapping his hands loudly.
Bao hesitated. He snorted, considering a charge.
Li Wei didn't blink. He continued walking forward, invading the calf's personal space.
At the last second, Bao broke. He tossed his head and stepped back, turning to the side in a gesture of submission.
"Good boy," Li Wei said, scratching the calf's ears. "I'm the boss. Remember that."
This interaction was crucial. A bull that didn't respect humans was a liability. A bull that respected strength was a partner.
"Boss!" Da Niu shouted from the gate. "Someone is coming! A cart!"
Li Wei looked up. "Another delivery?"
"No! It's… it's a woman. And a kid. They look like refugees."
***
**The Refugee**
Li Wei walked to the gate. The construction workers paused, wiping sweat from their brows.
A ragged woman stood there. She was thin, her clothes torn and stained with mud. She held the hand of a small boy, maybe five years old. He was coughing, a weak, rattling sound.
"Please," the woman begged, falling to her knees. "Do you need workers? I can cook. I can clean. My husband… he was taken by the bandits. We have nowhere to go."
Li Wei looked at her. He saw the desperation in her eyes. The same desperation Da Niu had when he tried to steal the chickens. The same desperation that had driven the Li family to eat thin porridge.
But the ranch wasn't a charity. Or was it?
He looked at Mo Lie.
"What do you think?" Li Wei asked the hunter. "Scout?"
Mo Lie shook his head. "She's from a burned village to the north. I saw the smoke. She's genuine. No weapons. Just hunger."
Li Wei looked at the boy. The boy looked back, his eyes wide.
"We have a kitchen," Li Wei said slowly. "And we have a lot of men working who need to eat. Can you cook for twenty people?"
The woman's head snapped up. "Yes! I can cook! I was a cook for a merchant family before…"
"Then you're hired," Li Wei said. "Wages: five coins a day, plus food and a place to sleep in the shed. But the boy stays with you. He doesn't wander into the pastures."
"Thank you! Thank you, Master Li!" She kowtowed, pulling the boy down with her.
"Get up," Li Wei said. "Go to the kitchen. Ask Mother Zhao Lan to show you the pot. We're having stew tonight."
As the woman hurried inside, Li Wei felt a strange sensation. He wasn't just a rancher anymore. He was becoming a pillar of the community. He was absorbing the displaced, the broken, and giving them a purpose.
**[Ranch Staff Update.]**
**[Workers: 12 (Construction), 3 (Ranch Hands), 1 (Security), 1 (Cook).]**
**[Total Personnel: 18.]**
It was a small army. And small armies needed logistics.
***
**The Stone Sentinel**
Two weeks later, the wall was finished.
It wasn't the Great Wall of China, but it was formidable. A six-foot-high barrier of grey granite, capped with sharpened wooden stakes driven into the cracks. In front of it, a dry moat filled with loose stones and thorny bushes. At the front, a heavy wooden gate reinforced with iron bands.
Li Wei stood on the new walkway—a wooden platform behind the wall. He looked out over his domain.
The Gen II grass was swaying in the wind. The cattle were grazing peacefully. The bunkhouse looked sturdy. The new workers were laughing as they hauled water.
It felt different. It felt permanent.
Mo Lie walked up beside him. He was no longer wearing his traveling cloak. He wore the canvas trousers and tunic of the ranch, but he carried a sword he had bought with his first month's wages.
"Not bad," Mo Lie admitted, scanning the perimeter. "A bit rough. The corners are weak. But it will stop a casual raid. It will make them think twice."
"That's all I ask," Li Wei said. "I want them to look at this hill and see a headache, not a prize."
He rested his hand on the cold stone.
"We've built the shell, Mo Lie. Now we fill the inside."
He pointed to the lower pasture.
"Next month, we start the barn expansion. We're going to need room for fifty head by winter."
"Fifty?" Mo Lie raised an eyebrow. "Ambitious."
"I'm tired of being small," Li Wei said, his eyes hard. "I'm tired of being prey. It's time to be the predator."
He looked back at the village. The lights were coming on as dusk settled. The smoke rose from the chimneys. Somewhere, Li Chen was reading by the light of an oil lamp, preparing for the provincial exam. Somewhere, Mother was teaching the new cook how to make the dough.
It was a good life. A hard life. And now, it was a protected life.
"Sound the evening bell," Li Wei ordered.
*Clang. Clang. Clang.*
The iron gong on the watchtower echoed across the valley. It was a signal to the workers: *The day is done. The gates are closing. We are safe.*
Li Wei watched the sun dip below the horizon. The shadow of the wall stretched out long and thin across the grass.
**[Ranch Status: Fortified.]**
**[Current Funds: 60,000 Coins (approx).]**
**[Livestock: Growing.]**
**[Morale: High.]**
The foundation was set. The stone was laid. Now, the real growth could begin.