Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 477 Rancher Mo Xingli
Rancher Mo Xingli and his group went south along the cattle and horse trail and temporarily stopped to graze on the outskirts of Dahaiwan City, about ten kilometers away from the city. They found a valley with lush grass and water and stopped there.

Light a bonfire, cook wild dog soup, and pair it with freshly made naan and wine, which is a unique and wild meal.

Naan is very popular in Arab countries. Almost every Arab woman can make it. It is a daily staple food and can be eaten with any dish.

Over time

This simple and easy-to-make baked naan became popular in nomadic areas such as Yellowstone City and Great Bay City, replacing the original flatbread. This may be the potential change brought about by Arab women.

This time, Mo Xingli and his team drove the cattle south, with a total of more than 1550 cattle. Among them, only 1128 cows belonged to the Mo Ranch, and the other 423 cows were driven south for sale on behalf of other ranches.

It's not free help. An adult steer is priced at 6 silver dollars, but calves are not accepted because they are more likely to die prematurely.

This is the routine grazing price for ranches around Greater Bay City. After all, compensation is required if cattle die or are injured.

Some ranchers do not have many cattle, or do not want to go through the hard work of moving cattle south, so they entrust some adult cattle that can be sold to trusted ranchers, and drive them south together to sell them.

Excluding the fee for herding each cow, the price is slightly higher than the local price.

The more important reason is that the consumption capacity of Dahaiwan City is limited. If all the cattle are piled up to be sold locally, the price of cattle will be depreciated dramatically, and even one cattle cannot be sold for 20 silver dollars.

Based on this

The Dahaiwan City government specifically announced a sales decree, allowing only 11 ranches around Dahaiwan City to supply local beef products on a regular basis and in fixed quantities, and no other ranches would be accepted.

If you want to sell them, you have to drive the cattle south along the cattle trail. There is no other way.

After night falls

The few bonfires lit in the makeshift camp surrounded by wagons served as a focal point for the quiet and desolate hilly terrain nearby.

A large number of cattle also quieted down, crowded together around the temporary camp, and kept chewing the ruminant, making low mooing sounds from time to time.

In more peripheral areas

There were several groups of more than 20 dogs, scattered sparsely in several directions, watching the wilderness in the night vigilantly.

Some dogs were lying down, some were chasing each other energetically, and some were strolling alone, with bursts of barking coming from time to time.

This is the dogs' instinct to warn the wild beasts around them and defend their territory.

Four black cowboys were walking in the four directions of the periphery, with their horses tied to the trees beside them. They sat on the rocks and ate baked naan, accompanied by wild dog meat and pickled vegetables whose passion had not yet dissipated. It was so delicious.

When grazing in the wild, taking turns to keep watch at night is an unwritten rule.

This is mainly undertaken by seven black cowboys, plus a Chinese cowboy who recently joined the team.

One in the first half of the night and one in the second half of the night. I can take some time to rest during the day, but I can only rest for five or six hours a day, and then there is endless work to do.

At night, the rancher Mo Xingli always rides out on horseback to patrol a few times.

Night is the time when wild animals hunt. In the African jungle, there are lion packs, African hyena packs and wild dog packs, all of which can cause harm to cattle.

Although these carnivorous beasts have been wiped out within two or three hundred kilometers of the cattle and horse trails heading south, Chinese cowboys will not let them go if they see them, especially the African hyenas and wild dogs, which are more dangerous.

If you are not careful, more than a dozen cows can be killed in one night.

As for wild beasts like the African cheetah, they generally do not hunt large prey like cattle, so they are not very dangerous.

This so-called complete clearance is dynamic. When there are no wild beasts occupying the nearby forests and grasslands, there will always be wild beasts migrating from the depths of the forest.

The weeds are not burned out, but they grow again when the spring breeze blows.

There are many wild animals in the wild West African continent. In addition to the common wild animals such as lions, spotted hyenas, leopards and wild dogs, there are also various wild animals such as foxes, honey badgers, jew pigs, bison, wildebeests, gazelles, crocodiles, rhinos, giraffes, and many poisonous snakes, all of which are dangerous.

After a sumptuous meal, Mo Xingli went on horseback patrol with his gun as usual. He did not dare to be careless when the cattle were grazing outside, as various situations would always happen at night.

Sure enough, soon the dogs on the east side started barking and rushed towards the grass in the distance.

In this seemingly silent night
There are always various green beasts staring at the cattle, maybe foxes, maybe cheetahs, and there is almost no peace.

Mo Xingli rode his horse to chase after him, put his finger in his mouth and blew a loud whistle, which was the signal to summon the dogs.

Within a few minutes

The dogs rushed back barking all the way. To deal with wild beasts at night, you only need to drive them away and not chase them too deep, otherwise something unexpected may happen.

The most dangerous ones are wild leopards. Due to their size, they cannot deal with cattle. The dogs raised by ranchers are their main target and they can take away one of their cattle at any time.

"Hei Liuqi, keep an eye on this place at night. It's too dark to see clearly. I think they are two foxes, but we can't be careless."

"Got it, Master. Hei Liuqi will be keeping an eye on it."

"Good job, man." "I will."

After giving a few words of instruction to the black fellow who came over on horseback, and seeing that the dogs had returned, Mo Xingli continued to ride forward to check the situation of the night watch on the other side.

The Chinese could not remember the long and difficult names of the blacks, so when they registered the free blacks in the vassal army, they would give them a Chinese name. Usually, they would use "Hei" as the surname, but the given names varied greatly.

Hei Liuqi is the name on the identity certificate. No matter what his name was before, he can only be Hei Liuqi from now on.

After a round of inspection
Mo Xingli finally finished a day of hard work. Being a rancher is indeed profitable, but it is really hard work. The Chinese are the people who can endure the most hardship.

The mule carts gathered together to form a circle, most of which belonged to the ranchers. The Chinese cowboys and black helpers each had a large covered wagon for women and children to rest.

It can shelter from wind and rain and does not require setting up an additional camp.

After tying up the horse, Mo Xingli walked towards the caravan with somewhat tired steps.

He took a look and chose the covered wagon of the third tweed. Now that the first and fourth tweeds were pregnant, the second and third tweeds were naturally the ones to be taken care of mainly.

The grilled dog skewers and dog meat soup they had in the evening ignited a fire in his young body. When he lifted the tarpaulin, his breathing became heavy.

Soon after Mo Xingli entered the covered wagon, it began to shake violently...

the next morning
It started raining in the wilderness in the second half of last night, and the drizzle stopped in the early hours of the morning.

Mo Xingli had a good sleep that night. The next morning, he got off Sanni's caravan feeling refreshed and full of strength.

After all, he has the physique of a 26-year-old young man. He eats meat and drinks milk on a daily basis, so his recovery ability is strong.

When we got off the wagon, there was still a light drizzle in the sky, and the ranch workers who had gotten up early had already started working.

Dani was carrying a bucket of freshly squeezed milk. When she passed by him, she rolled her eyes and said a few words in incomprehensible Arabic. She didn't look very satisfied.

Mo Xingli didn't understand anyway, so he slapped her on the butt, causing Dani to scream and the atmosphere became cheerful.

Among the cattle herd heading south, there are three black and white dairy cows, which eat concentrated feed and are responsible for providing milk drinks for the group of more than 40 people, big and small. Together with naan, pickles and dried meat, they are the daily staple food of the ranch.

Women would also dig up some wild vegetables nearby, wash them, and season them with a little salt to make a refreshing side dish.

Just as everyone was busy making fire and baking naan, the sound of horse hooves came from afar, which made Mo Xingli and several cowboys stand up and look over.

Eight cowboys on horseback appeared in the distant hills, coming along the cattle trail.

Mo Xingli and a few others jumped on their horses and rode towards them, wanting to know where the other party came from.
"Hey, hello there, man, where is this going?"

"Oh, you are nomadic farmers who migrated south, right? Let's go to Great Bay City."

"Great Bay City shouldn't be far away. How about you grab a bite to eat at my place? I have milk, some wild dog meat I hunted yesterday, and some naan bread. If you don't mind the simple food, please stay and be my guest."

"Hahaha... Thank you so much. We're on our way, so there's no need for that. I'm Pan Laoer from the Yellowstone Mountain Ranch. These are my brothers, Lao San and Lao Wu, and a few children. I haven't asked for your name yet, have you?"

"My last name is Mo, and I'm from the Mo Family Ranch in Hewan."

"I know, I know, Mo Laoqi, right? You probably don't know that a shocking event has happened in Great Bay City?"

"I haven't asked Brother Pan yet, what earth-shattering event happened?"

"I, the King of Chu, have arrived. This is the first time in the history of the Congo River region that a royal presence has been welcomed. I'm afraid this will also be the only chance in our lifetime to see His Majesty's face. I've brought my brothers and children here to broaden our horizons and kowtow to His Majesty."

"Oh my God! There's such a big thing. Brother Pan, wait a moment, I'll go with you."

Mo Xingli lost his composure after hearing this, and his heart was burning with anger. He hurriedly gave the others a few instructions and then rode away with the Pan brothers.

As soon as they arrived at the Great Bay City, they saw hundreds of cavalrymen marching out in two columns in the distance. They were all wearing the Royal Guards Cavalry uniforms and looked extremely majestic and powerful.

The flags fluttered in the wind and the scene was quite shocking.

These people and other local residents who hurried over dismounted and knelt on the slightly damp grass, their eyes filled with fiery reverence, which reflected their faith in the kingdom and their deep attachment to their hometown.

Under the escort of a large group of cavalry, there were more than a dozen trucks full of armed soldiers in the front, more than thirty cars in the middle, and more than a dozen trucks full of fully armed soldiers at the end.

The cavalry guards were on both sides of the imperial chariot, isolating the worshippers from outside.

This is the inspection convoy of the King of Chu, which is on its way to inspect nearby towns and Chinese settlements. They happened to pass by here, and the sight of the royal flag fluttering in the wind makes people's blood boil.

from start to finish
Neither Mo Xingli nor the Pan brothers had the opportunity to meet the King of Chu. Just watching the majestic imperial chariot fleet roar past, they felt greatly comforted and honored.

This experience
It’s enough to brag about for many years and will be unforgettable for a lifetime.

Even though he was in a remote frontier, His Majesty the King of Chu did not forget his overseas subjects and personally visited them. This added a warm memory to the hearts of all overseas subjects, enough to be savored for a long time.

(End of this chapter)