The sun was high, beating down on the East Hill, turning the damp ground into a steaming grid of evaporation.
Chen Yuan stood in the center of the clearing, holding a length of rough hemp rope. It wasn't the smooth, waxed lariat of his modern-day dreams; it was scratchy, stiff, and smelled of flax. But in his hands, it felt like a connection to a future that hadn't happened yet.
He swung the rope overhead. The loop wobbled.
He threw.
The rope landed in a messy pile three feet in front of him, failing to snag the wooden post he was aiming for.
"Aiya," Little Stone sighed from the side, where he was shoveling manure. "Boss, if you are trying to catch a ghost, maybe that throw works. But a post? The post isn't moving, and you still missed."
Chen Yuan scratched his head, embarrassed. "It's... harder than it looks."
He retrieved the rope. The System had granted him the *knowledge* of how to construct a lasso and the theory of the throw, but it had not implanted the muscle memory. His arms were still uncoordinated, lacking the fluid snap of the wrist required to send the loop flying true.
"Your arm is too stiff," a gruff voice came from behind.
Xu Tie sat on a log, whittling a piece of wood. He had been watching Chen Yuan fail for the better part of an hour.
"You are throwing it like a stone," Xu Tie said, not looking up from his carving. "It's a snake. You don't throw a snake; you let it slide."
Chen Yuan paused. *Let it slide.*
He looked at the rope. In his past life, he had watched videos of cowboys. They made it look effortless.
"I need to practice," Chen Yuan muttered.
"Practice is good," Xu Tie nodded. "But don't neglect the animals. The ewe is looking heavy."
Chen Yuan turned his attention to the sheep pen.
The three sheep were doing remarkably well. The Ryegrass and the new mineral salt lick he had set up had transformed them. Their wool was becoming oily and dense, their ribs no longer visible.
But it was the larger ewe—the one the System had identified as a 'High Fertility Potential' breeder—that drew his attention. She was lying down, chewing her cud slowly, her breathing slightly labored.
*System.*
**[Subject: Ewe #1.]**
**[Status: Pregnant.]**
**[Gestation: Final Stage (Approx. 3-5 days).]**
**[Note: Ensure clean water and monitor for signs of labor.]**
Chen Yuan's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the birth so soon. The sheep had been bred before he bought them, a hidden surprise.
"Brother Xu," Chen Yuan dropped the rope. "We have a problem. Or rather, an opportunity. The ewe is about to give birth."
Xu Tie stood up instantly. "Now?"
"Soon. Within days."
He walked over to the pen. The shelter was dry, but it was still just a windbreak with a dirt floor. For a birth, they needed bedding. Clean, dry straw.
"Little Stone!" Chen Yuan called. "Drop the shovel. Go to the village. Ask my mother for all the old straw she can spare. And bring a bucket of warm water later."
"I'm going!" The boy dropped his tool and sprinted down the hill.
* * *
That evening, the atmosphere on the hill was tense.
Chen Yuan had prepared a separate corner of the shed, piling it high with fresh straw he had scrounged from the village. He sat on an overturned bucket, watching the ewe.
The sun set, and the hill grew dark. The only light came from a small oil lantern Chen Yuan had brought.
Xu Tie sat nearby, sharpening a small knife. "You don't need to watch all night. Nature takes its course."
"Nature can be cruel," Chen Yuan replied softly. "If the lamb is breached, or if she is too weak... we lose them both."
He remembered the statistics from his modern research. Lambing mortality was high in poor conditions. He wasn't going to let that happen.
"It's quiet," Xu Tie observed. "When I was on the border, silence usually meant an ambush."
"Here, silence just means the village is sleeping," Chen Yuan smiled.
He looked at the veteran. "Brother Xu, tell me. If you weren't here... what would you be doing?"
Xu Tie paused his sharpening. He looked into the darkness.
"Drinking," he said honestly. "Or sleeping in that damp shrine, waiting for my leg to rot off. I had no purpose. The army took my purpose when they took my rank."
"And now?"
Xu Tie looked at the sheep, then at the rope Chen Yuan had left on the ground.
"Now... I am wondering why a boy is trying to catch the wind with a rope."
"It's for herding," Chen Yuan explained. "In the West—far beyond the deserts—I read that they manage thousands of cattle on horseback. They use these ropes to catch sick ones, or to steer the herd. It is an art."
"Thousands," Xu Tie scoffed. "That is a legion of cows. Who feeds them?"
"The grass," Chen Yuan gestured to the dark hillside. "And the sky. It sounds like a dream, doesn't it?"
"It sounds like a logistical nightmare," Xu Tie smirked. "But... it sounds better than farming millet."
He stood up and walked over to the rope. He picked it up.
"Show me this 'lasso' again."
Chen Yuan stood up, his fatigue forgotten. He took the rope and demonstrated the basic loop again. He missed the post again.
Xu Tie took the rope. He was left-handed due to his injury sometimes, but his right arm was still powerful. He mimicked Chen Yuan's motion.
He threw.
The loop sailed through the air and landed perfectly over the wooden post.
"Huh," Xu Tie grunted. "It's all in the wrist. Like throwing a dagger."
"You have talent," Chen Yuan laughed. "Maybe you can be the first 'Cowboy' of the Great Qian Dynasty."
"Cowboy?" Xu Tie tested the word. It sounded foreign. "Sounds like a name for a child's toy."
"It's a name for a warrior of the grasslands," Chen Yuan corrected.
Suddenly, a bleat broke the night.
It was low, guttural, and strained.
Both men turned. The ewe was standing up, pacing restlessly. She lay down again, straining.
"She's starting," Chen Yuan said, his voice dropping to a clinical calm. "Xu Tie, the warm water. Little Stone should be back with it soon."
* * *
The birth was not easy.
The ewe was a first-time mother, and the lamb was large—a side effect of the improved nutrition.
Chen Yuan knelt in the straw, his sleeves rolled up. The lantern cast dancing shadows.
"The hooves are showing," Chen Yuan said, squinting. "Front hooves. Good. But the head is stuck."
He reached out, his hands steady. He grasped the slippery front legs.
"Brother Xu, hold her head. Keep her calm."
Xu Tie moved with surprising gentleness for a warrior. He knelt by the ewe's head, speaking low, guttural sounds, stroking her neck.
Chen Yuan waited for the next contraction. When it came, he pulled.
"Steady... steady..."
He applied traction, pulling downwards towards the ewe's hind legs, following the natural curve of the birth canal.
The ewe strained, letting out a cry.
*Pop.*
With a rush of fluid, the head emerged. Followed by the shoulders. And then, the rest of the body slid out onto the straw.
A wet, slimy bundle of life.
Chen Yuan didn't hesitate. He cleared the membrane from the lamb's nose and mouth.
"Breathe," he whispered. "Come on."
He rubbed the lamb vigorously with a handful of straw, stimulating its lungs.
A sputter. A cough. And then, a weak, high-pitched *baa*.
The sound cut through the night like a trumpet.
"It's alive," Xu Tie said, relief evident in his voice.
The ewe turned around, sniffing her offspring. She began to lick it instinctively, cleaning the mucus and drying the wool.
Chen Yuan sat back on his heels, his hands covered in slime and blood. He was exhausted, but the adrenaline made him feel weightless.
*A new life.*
**[System Notification: Successful Livestock Birth.]**
**[Subject: Lamb (Male).]**
**[Breed: Local Mixed (Improved).]**
**[Trait: Strong Vitality. Rapid Growth Potential.]**
**[Ranch Experience: +50.]**
Chen Yuan smiled. He watched the little lamb struggle to stand on wobbly legs, searching for milk.
"This is the start," Chen Yuan said. "One becomes two."
He looked at the cow, Hope, who was watching from the other side of the fence with curious eyes.
"She will be next," Chen Yuan said. "And then... the herd grows."
* * *
The next morning, the news spread through the village like wildfire.
"Chen San Lang's sheep gave birth!"
"I heard it happened in the middle of the night. He delivered it himself!"
"Is the lamb alive?"
"Alive and kicking! They say it's bigger than most new lambs!"
By mid-morning, a small crowd had gathered at the foot of the East Hill, trying to peek up at the shed.
Chen Yuan came down the hill to fetch water. He looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes, but his spirit was high.
"San Lang!" a neighbor shouted. "How is the lamb?"
"Healthy," Chen Yuan said, filling his buckets. "Drinking milk well."
"Aiya, you have bad luck with cows but good luck with sheep," another villager laughed.
Chen Yuan just smiled. He didn't bother correcting them. Let them think it was luck.
He walked back up the hill. The sun was warm. The grass was growing. And the ranch was no longer just an idea. It was a living, breathing entity.
He found Xu Tie sitting by the shed, holding the lasso rope again. The veteran was tying a complex knot, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"You're still here," Chen Yuan said.
Xu Tie looked up. "I told you. I have nowhere else to be. And... someone needs to teach you how to throw that rope properly. You throw like a girl."
Chen Yuan laughed out loud. It was a hearty, genuine laugh that echoed across the hillside.
"Then teach me, Master Cowboy."
"Don't call me that," Xu Tie grumbled, but the corner of his mouth twitched upwards.
He stood up and tossed the rope to Chen Yuan.
"Again. And this time, hit the post. If you miss, you muck out the stable."
"Yes, sir!"
Chen Yuan picked up the rope. He looked at the post, then at the horizon. The road ahead was still long. There were taxes to pay, lands to buy, and emperors to feed.
But for today, he had a healthy lamb, a friend, and a rope in his hand.
And that was enough.