By the time dinner rolled around, the Long family's three men—Grandpa Long, Colonel Long, and Long Yi—finally returned home.
They already knew about the new family member because Han Yue, ever the social butterfly, had posted a photo of her latest adoption on Weibo. The post featured the handsome German Shepherd looking solemn, with a cheeky caption:
"My scumbag owner abandoned me, thankfully this farmer girl said she's looking for a guard dog for her salted fish life."
The photo already had 10 million views and counting.
When they sat down at the dinner table, curiosity naturally followed.
Colonel Long raised a brow and asked, "That dog looks trained. What's the story?"
Han Yue, happily munching her stir-fried shrimp, nodded enthusiastically. "Oh him? That poor thing—he was abandoned at the pet hospital! His previous owner got saved by the dog during a robbery, but when the dog got injured protecting him, he dumped him like trash."
She snorted in disdain. "The vet was pissed. The poor dog just sat there, licking his wounds like a sad little hero. And well… I was just there eating free melon slices and watching it all unfold. So I said, 'I'll adopt him!'"
Grandpa Long, halfway through sipping his tea, almost spat it out. "You were eating during all that?"
Long Yi covered his smile with a cough. "Of course she was."
Colonel Long pinched the bridge of his nose but eventually sighed in surrender. "Well… it is a well-trained dog. He can protect you now, at least."
Han Yue nodded smugly. "Exactly. It's not just cute, it's useful. Like a fluffy security guard!"
After dinner, Han Yue didn't linger. There was another delivery waiting at the warehouse.
When she returned home around 9 p.m., she walked into the dark living room—only to be startled by two glowing green eyes staring at her from the shadows.
"AH! You almost gave me a heart attack, mister!" she squeaked, clutching her chest.
The German Shepherd gave a low whine as if to apologize.
She walked over and gently rubbed his head. "Come on, let's go to the space for some spiritual water. You'll feel better."
Inside the space, she let the dog drink, then tucked him back onto his new bed in the house before heading up to her room.
She decided to take one last look at the space's progress.
And wow—what progress it was.
It had only been a day, but the place looked transformed. Fences now stretched over hundreds of meters, already dividing off animal enclosures. The livestock were calmly situated in their designated areas. Chickens were clucking in stacked coops that resembled library shelves. The pig pens had muddy wallows dug deep and wide for comfort.
There were individual zones for cows, goats, ducks, and more—each section built intelligently to scale up for hundreds or even thousands of animals.
In the garden sector, the black soil had already been tilled. Neat rows had been carved out, and small wooden place cards labeled each row—Apples, Carrots, Tomatoes—carefully hand-written. A section for Rice and Wheat had also been dug out on the far side, hinting at future massive yields.
She blinked. They're planning for thousands of acres' worth of harvest?
The medicinal and herbal field was even more detailed. Neatly aligned plots with delicate spacing—clearly managed by someone who knew what they were doing.
Even the bee farm had its own remote forest corner. Bee boxes were placed safely apart from each other, surrounded by flowering plants being actively seeded by beekeepers. There were even colorful wildflower mixes scattered to encourage natural pollination.
In the mountains, farmhouses for fodder and breeding supplies were halfway built. Workers had already stocked one of them with tools, spare fencing, and seed sacks. In both forest and mountain, they'd even hung wooden birdhouses and nests in the trees—some birds already fluttered about, nesting peacefully.
The silent, methodical movements of the workers impressed her.
They didn't ask questions. They didn't speak. Just worked—focused, efficient, and experienced. They were even thoughtful enough to prepare wide zones for large-scale farming, balancing aesthetics and practicality. Her instructions were brief, but they had executed them with surprising brilliance.
"I didn't expect this level of care," Han Yue murmured, watching as the night sky within the space twinkled above her miniature empire.
She went back to her house within the space, poured a bowl of diluted spiritual water, and carefully fed it to the injured dog, who drank gratefully. After checking on the workers one last time, she patted the pup's head.
"Alright, buddy. Let's get you comfy."
She took him back to the outside world, settling him back into the living room bed. He curled up quietly, already familiar with the space's scent on her.
Then, with a yawn, Han Yue returned to her room and plopped onto her bed.
"Not bad," she muttered, curling into the blankets.
She had a cute baby bunny, two chubby kittens, and now even a loyal guard dog.
Half the farm was built. The rest would be ready by tomorrow.
And as she drifted to sleep, she thought with satisfaction:
My salted fish life is really coming together now.