Chapter 656 - 656: The Wolf Pack's Work Arrangement

An old man, holding a Hunting Bow with a Hunting Knife tucked at his waist, pushed through the crowd. Though well on in years, his Essence, Qi, and Spirit were excellent.

Looking at the wolf pack sitting obediently in the courtyard, he clicked his tongue in amazement. "When I was young, I tamed a wolf too, but it was only one. It's nothing compared to you, Brother Yuan, taming over twenty in one go. Simply incomparable!"

Zhao Yuan was overjoyed to see him and hurriedly said, "Grandpa Ren, you're too modest. Who doesn't know you're the best hunter in the ten miles and eight villages? It's great that you're here. I have a favor I'd like to ask of you."

This Elder Ren had followed his elders into the mountains to hunt since he was a boy. In his youth, he was the most formidable hunter in the ten miles and eight villages. Not only was he a master of the Bow Skill and adept at setting traps, but he also had a unique talent for training hunting dogs.

The hunting dogs he trained were loyal, intelligent, and highly disciplined—top-notch hounds, every one of them!

In recent years, due to his age and national policies and regulations, Elder Ren no longer went into the mountains to hunt. But he never gave up the work of training dogs. Many people from the cities down the mountain even sought him out, asking for his help in training their dogs.

Before Zhao Yuan established his medicinal herb farm, Elder Ren's family was the most well-off in Jinhua Village.

Elder Ren said readily, "Whatever you need me to do, just say the word. Whatever Brother Yuan asks, I'll be sure to do it!"

Zhao Yuan quickly waved his hands. "Grandpa Ren, I don't deserve such words. Strictly speaking, you're my master. I learned all my skills for setting traps and catching wild rabbits from you."

Elder Ren laughed heartily and stopped joking around. "Alright, tell me. What is it you need my help with?"

Zhao Yuan pointed to the pack of wolves in the courtyard and said, "I'd like to ask you to help train them properly."

"But haven't you already trained them to be very obedient?" Elder Ren was puzzled.

Zhao Yuan gave a wry smile. "They're far from it. Right now, I've only managed to stop them from randomly attacking people and instill a basic sense of obedience. But they can't understand more complex commands yet."

"I see."

Elder Ren thought for a moment, then said, "Alright, I'll take the job. Ever since I trained a wolf when I was young, I've wanted to train another one, but for all these years, I never got the chance. Today, I can finally fulfill that wish. I just don't know what you want to train this pack for. Are they pets, for fun, or do you want them to help with work? I need to know your goal so I can create a targeted training plan."

Zhao Yuan stated his goal, "I want them to be security guards at the medicinal herb farm, responsible for assisting the employees with patrol work."

"Alright, I understand." Elder Ren nodded, handed his Hunting Bow and Hunting Knife to someone nearby, and walked up to the wolf pack, inspecting and petting each one in turn.

After the White Cat's 'intimidation' and 'tutelage', the wolves wouldn't bite indiscriminately. They allowed Elder Ren to pet and inspect them, one by one. Although they were a bit unused to it and displeased, they didn't get angry and endured it.

"What a fine pack of wolves!" After looking them all over, Elder Ren praised them with satisfaction. He pointed at the alpha wolf and said, "This one in particular is full of spirit and has great potential!"

Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "Then I'll entrust them to you, Grandpa Ren."

"Leave them to me," Elder Ren replied, then said eagerly, "When does the training start? How about I start with them right now?"

This was exactly what Zhao Yuan wanted. He walked over to the alpha wolf, pointed at Elder Ren, and said to it, "From now on, you'll follow this man. You must obey his instructions and learn well from him. No matter what, you are not to snarl or bare your teeth at him."

The alpha wolf tilted its head, listening intently to Zhao Yuan's words. It was hard to say how much it understood, but after Zhao Yuan finished speaking, it turned and let out a howl to the pack behind it. Then, they all rose and followed Elder Ren.

Even Elder Ren was stunned by this scene. He couldn't help but praise them again, "Good wolves, a truly fine pack of wolves!"

As for the other onlooking villagers, they quickly cleared a path while clicking their tongues in amazement.

"These wolves are so obedient."

"Aren't they? They're even more obedient than my dog at home."

"If these wolves can really be trained, imagine how cool and impressive it would be to patrol the medicinal herb farm with them?"

Hearing these words, Zhao Yuan couldn't help but smile. His biggest fear had been that the villagers wouldn't be able to accept the wolf pack. Now, it seemed that worry was unfounded.

Shen Lijun, however, was worried about something else.

She frowned, a troubled look on her face, and said, "Over twenty wolves… how much meat will they eat in a single day?"

"Mom, you don't need to worry about that," Zhao Yuan said, breaking into a laugh. "Their feeding costs are quite cheap compared to the role they can play. Later, I'll have Bai Mei transfer some money to your card specifically for buying meat to feed the pack."

After the wolf pack left, the villagers gathered in the courtyard also began to disperse. Some went home, while others followed Elder Ren to watch him train the wolves.

Shen Lijun took the now-cold dishes back to the kitchen to reheat them, then brought them out for Zhao Yuan and Lin Xue to eat. The dishes, cooked with wild mountain vegetables, were surprisingly delicious—a flavor not easily found in the city. Lin Xue ate her fill, exclaiming how tasty it was.

Over the next two days, Zhao Yuan took Lin Xue all around the mountains to have fun. They didn't run into any more accidents and had a wonderful time each day.

「Finally, the day of departure arrived.」

As they were parting, Shen Lijun held Lin Xue's hand, reluctant to let go. No one knew what the two of them said to each other in the house, but their bond was so strong they were like a real mother and daughter.

Today, Zhao Yuan not only had to take Lin Xue back to Rongcheng City, but he also had to bring Zhao Ling with him.

Fang Yi had called two days prior to say that Zhao Ling's school transfer had been taken care of. Once the new semester began, Zhao Ling could attend a key middle school in Rongcheng City. Therefore, Zhao Yuan planned to take Zhao Ling to Rongcheng City before school started to let her get used to life in the big city. He would also find an opportunity to invite the new school's principal, head teacher, and other teachers out for a meal to build some goodwill.

Some connections must be nurtured; some invitations must be extended.

Zhao Ling was both excited and sad about this.

She was excited because she could go study in the big city, but sad because she would have to leave her parents.