There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

"That unfilial daughter! We have nothing to do with each other anymore!"

He stared at the roof, letting the raindrops fall on his head. "That obedient Julian is gone! The Julian who would ask Dad if he was tired, pick flowers for me, boil water for me, and chat with me and the cows and sheep—that's all in the past!"

His adjectives were still restrained, yet they carried a profound sense of despair, a pain greater than the despair of a broken heart.

I remained silent for a while, but did not back down because of his strong reaction.

Because I know that this old man's state is a form of self-protection against past traumas, a painful awakening of a certain memory, and behind it often lies a wound that bleeds constantly and tears the heart apart.

"Old Muqi, quickly think about what you still have, Mei," I whispered a reminder.

Old Muqi fell silent, finally releasing the small flower he was about to crush, and snapped out of his reverie.

But the moment he woke up, his eyes were filled with hope, and that gaze...

He looked at me.

“Marcus, you must teach May well.”

His withered hand gripped mine tightly. "I'm old now, and my efforts to educate Julianne have failed. I don't want Mei to repeat the same mistakes... She's still so young..."

Perhaps to encourage me to focus on educating Mei, he also told me about Muqi's daughter in his intermittent monologues.

Old Man Muqi was forty years old when he had his daughter. After his wife passed away, he loved his daughter even more. When he was fifty, in order to escape the chaos, he took his daughter Julian away from the turbulent city and came to Mineral Town to enjoy a peaceful life.

After experiencing setbacks in establishing himself, Muqi, who was still young and energetic at the time, successfully bred superior breeds of livestock and ran a thriving Yudel Ranch. He also had enough money to provide a better education for his school-aged daughter.

After completing their basic education at the town church, Julianne and Mr. Dick’s daughter, Anzo, were sent to federal college together when they were twenty years old.

Muqi had been eagerly awaiting news from his daughter, but within a year, none of his messages came.

Dick only learned after contacting his daughter that Anzo, who had dropped out of school halfway through, had gone to work for a company, while Julianne, who had successfully enrolled, had lost herself in the city.

This was something Muqi, who was trying so hard to create a fairytale life for her daughter, never expected.

Dart, a man with some connections in the city, accompanied the furious Mookie on a trip to the Federation, only to bring back an infant girl in swaddling clothes.

Later, I asked Boss Dart about this, and he just shook his head and said that people's joys and sorrows are not shared. After that trip, the once vigorous and strong Muqi aged rapidly, became a hunched old man, and swore a solemn oath that he would not leave or let Mei leave the island.

I was silent for a moment. "Muqi, if you can trust me, then I will do my best in Mei's education. I can't guarantee she will become an outstanding person, but I will definitely ensure she carries on the right beliefs and grows into a dignified adult!"

Have you ever heard of quantum speed reading? The students I teach can at most write 2000 poems a day, 300 ci poems, and 15000-word novels. They're still a long way from driving a Maserati at the age of 12.

It's nothing to mention, nothing at all...

Because of the heavy responsibility I had just taken on, I was already planning to use all the connections in town, such as Professor Baqir, Mary, and Dr. Dort, to help raise the two children, Mei and You.

But then I suddenly noticed a strange whimpering sound coming from near the hot spring house, like both crying and a low growl...

Thinking of the mine shaft so close by, I couldn't sit still any longer.

We absolutely cannot allow any more accidents to happen in this horrible place!

I used a magical girl-like ability to instantly dress up, leaving the dumbfounded old man Muqi behind, and ran outside to find the desolate mine still calm and undisturbed.

However, in the grass nearby, two strange gray animals were lying on the ground, rolling around and rubbing their faces back and forth. They were also showing signs of being drunk, making strange snoring noises.

Both of their originally aloof cat faces now wore expressions that said, "My feline life has reached its peak..."

"Old Muqi... I haven't yet asked you the name of the flower you're holding?"

Seeing Old Muqi rush out wearing a bathrobe, I quickly asked.

"Catnip!"

Old Muqi said.

Chapter 558 Change Me

Catnip, its flower language is "love that never fades." But I suspect that this phrase refers to cats' enduring love for catnip.

Catnip contains a special compound called nepetalactone, which can interact with a cat's sensory nerves, stimulating the cat's brain and making them feel high.

But many people haven't tried it. Actually, catnip isn't just effective for cats; it works on large felines as well. If you're bold enough, you can try it on lions, tigers, and leopards like I did.

Today, by sheer coincidence, I caught a massive party in the act, and some of the participants were even police officers from our town! It's truly disheartening... Arrest them, arrest them...

The two police leopards were now completely captivated by the catnip, as if they had discovered a new continent. One rolled around on the ground, whimpering, while the other squinted its eyes to savor it. Their behavior was completely different, yet they seemed to be lost in a strange illusion.

Fortunately, this state did not last long. The police leopard was excited for more than ten minutes under the stimulation of catnip, and then returned to normal, lazily lying on the ground sunbathing, forgetting his hidden mission.

"Marcus, is this your pet?"

Old Man Muqi witnessed this scene and stared wide-eyed at the two strange, grayish-brown creatures.

"This is... something I brought back from my trip..."

I was about to speak up and clarify the identities of the two police leopards, fearing that the old man would be so frightened that he would suddenly faint, but I found that the old man Muqi quickly recovered from his surprise to his expression of novelty.

"Is this your pet lynx?"

The old men in town all had such poor eyesight; one said it was a greyhound, another said it was a lynx, and not a single one seemed to be right.

The old man squatted down and stroked the police leopard's soft fur, his face showing a look of complete comfort. The police leopard was still in a state of blissful tranquility after the catnip had taken effect, and it didn't resist the petting, lying on its back and occasionally wagging its tail.

I said awkwardly, "That's right... it's a lynx. Such a big gray lynx isn't easy to find; I paid a hefty price for it..."

Old Man Muqi stood up with satisfaction and said to me approvingly, "You have a good idea, young man. There aren't any fierce wild animals on the island that need to be driven away, but field mice and rabbits often burrow underground and damage crops. These two big tabby cats will come in very handy."

I actually encountered the situation of calling a deer a horse today, and I even had to play along with the old man calling a leopard a cat.

This Muqi certainly has the air of a ruthless leader...

However, he was disappointed. My two police leopards hadn't mastered the skill of digging holes, nor could they catch the field mice and rabbits scurrying about. Their greatest use was simply to scare people during strange summoning rituals.

After taking a bath and petting the cat, old man Muqi changed his clothes and came out, looking refreshed. Leaning on his cane, he chatted with me as we walked down the mountain. "The fur on your two lynxes is a bit sparse, not quite like the ones I see on TV. Are they not getting enough nutrition? I have a lot of cheese and cow and sheep milk in stock. Take some with you later and give the little guys some extra nutrition!"

...The little guy you're talking about is very well-nourished. If he were truly lacking in nutrition, he'd need to eat a whole person in one bite to be truly full.

Cheetah: I'm sorry for eating a person alive.

Seeing that I didn't answer, Muqi thought I was just shy about speaking up. "Don't worry about it. Shipping has been disrupted lately, and there's a huge backlog of dairy products at Yudel Ranch. They'll spoil if we leave them any longer, and I'm afraid I'll have to dump them in the river..."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony, the weather's been a bit dry lately..."

Good heavens, the Great Depression was accompanied by capitalists dumping milk into the Mississippi River; capitalism really did deliver on its promise.

Therefore, I decided to accept Old Muqi's kind offer and drink as much as I could, starting with myself to prevent the first economic crisis in Mineral Town. This is my small contribution within my power.

This morning, I strolled down the mountain like a true old man, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way, immersing myself in the hidden landscapes of the forest, and listening to old man Muqi talk about old stories. My restless heart was gradually replaced by a peaceful mood, and many things that I hadn't had time to think about before gradually became clear.

The biggest takeaway from my conversation with Muqi was that I suddenly realized that while drive is important, anticipating the consequences of one's actions is equally crucial. Otherwise, one might end up like old Muqi, heartbroken over a failure to properly educate his daughter, yet unable to make amends.

Many things are like this: every event can lead to unpredictable results, and sometimes the cause and effect are only weakly correlated.

The Black Death was followed by the Renaissance, so if things are not carefully considered, who can guarantee that good intentions will necessarily lead to good results?

Listening to the swishing sound of my shoes scraping against the ground, I suddenly had a sudden inspiration and asked, "Old Muqi, you have two ways to recover from fatigue: one is soaking in a hot spring, and the other is putting fresh flowers in a vase... Have you ever tried combining the two for an even stronger effect?"

My original idea was to have him put some flowers in the hot spring room, which might help to neutralize the sulfur smell.

Later I realized that old man Muqi had misunderstood it as soaking flowers in a hot spring, and was actually taking a flower bath with a very girlish heart...

So you see, ambiguity in speech can lead to such errors.

…………

"Marcus, why did you let May rest for another day? Can't we start classes today?"

At the entrance of Yudel Ranch, old man Muqi, hunched over, grabbed my hand and wouldn't let me leave, seemingly afraid that I would change my mind under pressure and quit.

I scratched my head. "It's just a habit of mine. Giving the kids an extra day of summer vacation to say goodbye to childhood and adjust their mindset is more humane, isn't it?"

When I was little, I always thought that going back to school after summer vacation was a painful thing. Later I realized that the most painful thing was actually for the teachers who were about to start school...

One more day!

I'll rest for one more day before starting class!

Old man Muqi nodded, seemingly agreeing with my statement, and then took out bottled milk, large pieces of cheese, and a bag of animal feed from the house, insisting that I take them back without asking for a single penny.

I wanted to give him the money, but I was short of cash. After declining twice, I decided to accept it first and use it to pay for my tuition later.

I took the opportunity to visit his ranch and discovered that Yodell Ranch already had many modern machines. Processes such as shearing, bathing, feeding, milking, and making supplementary food can all be completed using machines made by Sebala, greatly reducing the need for labor.

Actually, I've been wondering for a long time how a hunched and withered old man could run such a large ranch on his own, raising cattle, sheep, and even horses.

As far as I know, his ranch also prefers very old-school free-range farming, and the animals running around are not so easy to control.

But when I saw him walking steadily toward me, leaning on a cane in one hand, carrying a stack of milk crates and cheese crates in the other, and dragging a large bag of hay on his arm, I was already certain that ordinary livestock could not beat this old man.

When I see old man Mouche ringing his bell and having the lead sheep lead a flock of sheep in a long line into the shearing and milking machines to create wealth, I always think of the scene in Animal Farm where the sheep sing "Four legs are good, two legs are bad".

Magical realism can't be any better than this, can it?

My worldview shattered as I walked out of the animal shed. Just as I was about to leave Yudel Ranch, Old Muqi hurriedly said to me, "Please wait a moment!"

…………

I left the cheese and milk with Mr. Dart and stored them in the kitchen freezer. I took the rest of the cattle and sheep feed back to the ranch for the animals to eat.

Alpha Chickens managed to keep their precarious food supply by feeding the wild horses and the meme-worthy ponies with specially made pasture feed.

The two police leopards were still enjoying the effects of catnip; they walked listlessly, showing no interest in anything, and found a dry corner to sleep.

After using persuasion to trick the green-skinned kappa away, I finally had a more peaceful atmosphere and didn't have to worry about being disturbed by those messy guys.

But here's the saddest part: when I finally manage to sleep, I'm wide awake and just can't fall asleep.

After lying in bed for a few minutes without any results, I decided to use the time I had to refresh myself at the hot spring to finish my morning farm work.

Classes will be opened here in the next day or two, and the time for farm work will be further reduced. We will still do as much farm work as we can.

As for animals...

My pets happen to be very good at self-management! ∠(?」∠)＿

"What..."

A weak sound came from my feet. A small white animal, barely reaching my knees, was cowering close to my leg, its wet eyes timidly surveying its surroundings, filled with fear of this completely unfamiliar place.

If it weren't for the thin rope still tethering it to my hand, and the fact that I had given it a mouthful of dry grass to keep it as a companion, this helpless little lamb might have already disappeared into the grass.

To help it adapt to its new life on the ranch, I loosened the rope. The trembling lamb hesitated for a moment, then huddled at my feet, too afraid to move.

In other ranches, cattle and sheep are commonplace; you can just add any flock of sheep.