Chapter 696: Shen Xin’s Farmhouse (Part 2)

Jon’s jaw dropped. He didn’t ask why York hadn’t mentioned this before, simply stunned into silence.

He suddenly realized he might have underestimated this seemingly unreliable fellow.

‘Speaking multiple languages… This guy was no ordinary person.’

‘Then again, how could a supervising agent be an ordinary person?’

Du Yong was a little surprised and said, “It’s getting late. Why don’t we go tomorrow morning?”

It was already almost four in the afternoon.

York shook his head. “It’s fine. I think the timing is perfect. We can grab dinner together tonight and get to know each other better.”

Du Yong was secretly amazed. ‘This foreigner sure knows a thing or two.’

Yang Zeran’s eyes lit up. “Captain Du, how about we go to Lao Shen’s for a barbecue?”

After Shen Xin returned from Wudu, he rented a house over in Nanzhu.

It faced Li Lake, with a mountain at its back. The property was quite large, a huge plot of land. Every day, Shen Xin was either walking his dogs or flying his eagle. He had also renovated the yard to his liking, making it look quite impressive, and often invited them over for barbecues and whatnot.

It had become the go-to spot for gatherings within Shen Xin’s circle of friends.

Du Yong thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

‘That could work.’

‘Shen Xin’s place is spacious, and everything’s already there. It’s a great spot to relax and have some fun.’

And so, the group got in the car and headed for Nanzhu.

York was quite talkative on the way, pulling Yang Zeran into a conversation about Shen Xin.

The old guy had done his homework, asking about the police dogs and even the police bird.

He said that while he knew crows were intelligent, he still found it incredible that one could be trained to help the police with their cases.

“Talking?”

Yang Zeran snorted inwardly. ‘Talking? Big deal. I’ve seen a few crows get together and argue with my own eyes. They even start cussing when they get pissed off.’

‘As for the police dog, Shen Xin also brought Tian Kui over to Nanzhu to help train the others. It can’t talk, sure, but the way it looks at me… there’s no difference between it and a creature that’s become sentient.’

「A little over an hour later, the group arrived.」

They turned onto a side road off Shanshui West Road, which led to a house in the mountains. It had been vacant for a long time, and the landlord had been ecstatic to hear that Shen Xin wanted to rent *and* renovate it.

About a hundred meters in, there was an empty plot of land by the roadside, which was a perfect place to park.

Not far off was the courtyard gate, which had a sign hanging on it. The words “Shen Xin’s Farm Cottage” were written on it in large, crooked brushstrokes.

Just as the group got out of the car, a parrot flew out from inside the iron gate.

It was Plane. He landed on the roof of the car, tilted his head, and squawked at Yang Zeran, “How dare you show your face here?”

The enunciation was crystal clear.

York’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Hey, Plane, I just forgot to bring you a treat! You don’t have to be like that,” Yang Zeran retorted.

At their get-together the week before last, he’d promised to bring Plane something tasty, but he’d forgotten.

The little guy actually held a grudge and brought it up every time he saw him.

“Stingy,” Plane squawked, then flapped his wings and took off, adding, “Lao Shen isn’t here. He went up the mountain to walk the dogs.”

Yang Zeran hurriedly shouted, “Well, can you give him a shout for us?”

Plane circled in the air. “Idiot, what’s your phone for?”

With that, he turned and vanished into the treetops.

Yang Zeran was so angry he clenched his fists. Plane’s speech was getting more and more fluent, and also more and more sharp-tongued.

Besides, he’d been a real pain ever since they first found him.

Now, he was just completely foul-mouthed.

Yang Zeran had been tempted several times to suggest that Shen Xin just pluck, roast, and be done with the bird.

Du Yong and Deng Zhiliang were used to it, but York’s eyes were wide as he grabbed Jon’s arm. “Jon, did you hear that? That parrot can talk.”

‘It’s normal for a parrot to talk, but I’ve never seen one speak so fluently!’

Jon’s eyes were just as wide. He’d been curious, actually. He had seen videos online about a new bird that had appeared at the Anjing Square kiosk in recent months. It had been filmed talking, and the videos had gone viral.

‘Now I get it. It must be one of Shen Xin’s.’

“Let’s head inside first,” Yang Zeran said, ushering the group through the gate.

The yard’s iron gate was often left open.

Inside the iron gate, a gravel path wound its way forward into the secluded-looking yard.

The areas on both sides had been tidied up; the weeds had been cleared and flowers planted, though they hadn’t sprouted yet.

Just last month, Yang Zeran had been roped into doing his fair share of the manual labor.

A short walk down the path, a water buffalo was munching on weeds in a corner by the wall.

“Brother Niu, having a snack?” Yang Zeran greeted him.

It was a full-grown water buffalo. Hearing the voice, it raised its head and looked over.

“MOO!”

It was as if he were returning the greeting.

York’s eyes widened once again. He quickly grabbed Yang Zeran and asked, “Officer Yang, did it understand what you said? Tell me, is this one of Officer Shen’s pets too?”

Yang Zeran nodded.

It wasn’t just the buffalo; there were also sheep and a horse. That horse they’d met on the grasslands, the one named Hong Gu’er, Shen Xin had insisted on buying it. He’d had it shipped all the way back to Nanjiang and would take it out for a ride whenever he felt like it.

The place was big enough for them, anyway.

Shen Xin’s excuse was that he was testing the limits of his Druid skill.

‘If you were going to raise these herbivores, why didn’t you get them sooner? Did you have to wait until after you’d conscripted us for hard labor?’

“There are monkeys, too,” Du Yong chimed in happily.

“They’re not Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys, though. According to Shen Xin, during his time in Wudu, if he hadn’t been worried about the inappropriateness of taking a Class I nationally protected species, he really would have nabbed a few of them.”

“But under Shen Xin’s training, even this ordinary macaque has become incredibly clever and nimble. It can even perform acrobatics.”

Du Yong had brought his son over to play before, treating the place as a great weekend spot to take the kid.

Right on cue, the monkey arrived.

It wasn’t very big. It walked over upright, with its front paws held close to its body.

It first sized up York with curiosity, then came over, took Yang Zeran’s hand, and chittered twice.

“What’s wrong, Great Sage?” Yang Zeran asked.

At everyone’s insistence, the juvenile monkey Shen Xin had brought back from the Baishui River had been named Great Sage.

The monkey couldn’t talk, of course, but it could use hand gestures, chitters, and facial expressions to get its point across. It tugged Yang Zeran toward the house in the distance.

It was a three-room, single-story house, with two utility rooms attached to the side that were now being used as a kitchen and a storage room.

A shed had been built on the other side.

The previous owner had raised ducks there, so there was also a pretty big pond. It had now been mostly filled in and planted over with a lawn, which was already lush and green.

Hong Gu’er, black as silk, was grazing peacefully in the distance.

Great Sage led Yang Zeran to the kitchen, pointed at the lock, and motioned for him to open it.

Yang Zeran understood instantly. It wanted food.

“Great Sage,” Yang Zeran said, scooping the monkey up. “Just come home with me. Look at how Lao Shen is raising you—you can’t eat this, you can’t eat that. He’s way too stingy.”

Great Sage nodded emphatically, chittering and squeaking as if lodging a formal complaint against Shen Xin.

After lodging his complaint, he turned, scrambled to the ground, and made a beeline for the shed in the distance. Moments later, he returned dragging a flannel-lined nest in one hand and hugging a rag doll in the other.

Those were all his worldly possessions.

He chittered once at Yang Zeran.

[Let’s go.]

York hurriedly grabbed Jon again, pointing at Great Sage and exclaiming that he’d understood.

“Hold on, hold on,” Yang Zeran said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry as he pulled him back.

Just as he was about to call Shen Xin, Teddy returned.

Swooping down from the sky with a whistle, he landed on a nearby wooden post where a nest had been built for him.

He stood on the crossbeam, curiously eyeing York and Jon.

“A pure white eagle!”

York was utterly astounded.

‘In the United States, the eagle is a powerful symbol.’

‘And a pure white one like this… that’s unbelievably rare.’

Teddy let out two displeased cries.

[Who are you calling an eagle?]

If Teddy was back, then Shen Xin naturally couldn’t be far behind.

A few minutes later, accompanied by a chorus of barking, Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei returned, leading a veritable army of several dozen dogs.

The police dogs were in training.

Their daily training was still held at the police dog base, which wasn’t far from here.

Through his previous experience training police dogs, Shen Xin had learned that he could exploit the dogs’ sense of vanity.

And that’s exactly what was happening now.

Shen Xin would first train the dogs at the police dog base. Once a dog’s affection level was high enough, he would select it and bring it over to his yard.

This not only stoked their vanity but also allowed him to spend more time with them, helping to quickly raise their affection to the second stage.

Then he would send them back to the base for professional training.

That’s why there were often dozens of dogs here.

Shen Xin had already seen Du Yong’s car on his way back.

He just hadn’t expected to see two foreigners as well.

Then he looked up and saw Great Sage dragging his nest, and he immediately burst out laughing.

‘What’s this? Are you running away from home?!’