Chapter 140: Sold Out

When Liu Heming woke up in the morning and stretched, he saw four little kittens had climbed onto his bed at some point, sleeping soundly in all sorts of positions.

They were now a bit bigger than when Alex first found them, and their fur had grown longer. Still, it was impossible to tell what breed their parents were.

Liu Heming reached out a finger and scratched the chin of one of the kittens lying on its back. The little one opened its eyes and glanced, then lifted its head.

It just goes to show that Meow Star Creatures are born with a royal aura—the little kitten raised its head with such contentment. Its two short front paws lifted slightly toward the air.

Liu Heming decided to tease it a bit, scratching for a moment before pulling his hand away. The kitten stayed in the same position, waiting for more.

After a while, when it realized the servant had stopped serving, it opened its little eyes and made a few scratching motions with its paws. Then it turned over, snuggled up to its siblings, curled into a ball, and went back to sleep.

He went to his daughter’s room and found her bed empty. When he stepped outside, he saw that the little one had woken up early and was playing with the chickens, ducks, and geese.

“Why are you up so early?” Liu Heming asked as he approached his daughter.

“I wanted to check on Selin. Dad, Selin and Charming Girl sleep standing up. Won’t they get tired?” the little girl asked, her eyes sparkling.

“They don’t get tired because their habits are special. Standing actually feels comfortable for them,” Liu Heming said, patting his daughter’s head.

No wonder she had woken up so early today—she was worried about the big owl. Probably, she was the one who put the kittens on his bed.

He led his daughter into the warehouse. Selin seemed to be in good spirits but kept a safe distance from Charming Girl.

When Charming Girl saw Liu Heming come in, she walked over to him and rubbed her big head against him.

“Even though your leg is healing, you’re carrying a baby now, so don’t go running off. Take it slow—there will be plenty of time to run later,” Liu Heming said, holding her big head.

Alex found it amusing and ran over to Selin, trying to copy her dad by hugging Selin’s head. Selin cooperated, lowering his body even though the position was uncomfortable, letting the little girl have her fun.

The two Bear Cubs nearby blinked their little bear eyes, looking slightly jealous. They then ran over to Alex and leaned against her.

They had noticed that their status in the household had dropped sharply recently. Even though the little troublemaker sometimes tormented them, now that she didn’t pay them much attention, they actually missed it a little.

Liu Heming noticed that when the Bear Cubs leaned in, Selin’s eyes narrowed slightly, and his body shifted a bit. But that was all—he didn’t move away. Maybe he was afraid of hurting Alex or didn’t see the Bear Cubs as a threat.

Liu Heming couldn’t help but marvel—the System really favored his daughter, giving her such a strong bond with animals.

As the only poop-scooper on the ranch, after grooming Charming Girl with his daughter, he got back to his main job.

Just as he was scooping energetically, the System, quiet for days, issued another task, startling him so much he almost flung the manure away.

Task Name: Ambition.

Task Duration: Twenty-four months.

Task Content: Cultivate five unique products exclusive to the Magical Ranch.

Task Reward: All physical attributes +5. Intermediate Farmer Title. Ranch output quality and quantity +10%. One Lucky Grand Draw.

Task Penalty: Lake effectiveness reduced by 30%. Output reduced by 30%.

Liu Heming felt a bit annoyed—not about the task itself, but the name. “Ambition”? Did he not have any ambition? What was the System thinking? He had been working hard!

After venting about the task name, he started to worry for real.

From the last two tasks the System had given, it seemed the System was into long-term challenges now. On the surface, it looked generous—long deadlines and rich rewards—but the difficulty had increased significantly.

Like the earlier cooking training and Horseshoe forging, those were tough, but if he put in the effort, he could finish them easily.

Now the tasks had long deadlines, but the difficulty skyrocketed. “Five unique products”—he definitely couldn’t count the ones the System had already given him. That meant Sweet Potato and Pasture Grass didn’t count. Two years to cultivate new species—that wasn’t much time.

He felt a little grumpy, wondering if the System thought he lacked ambition because of his random thoughts yesterday. He’d have to watch what he thought from now on.

Still, the task wasn’t all bad—at least it emphasized the importance of the Small Lake again. To complete this task, he’d have to rely on the Lake. Otherwise, why threaten to reduce its effectiveness?

After finishing scooping, Liu Heming felt uneasy. He had to take this task seriously—the penalty was too harsh. The rewards weren’t that great, but the penalty cut output by 30% in one go. Who could handle that?

“Dexter, aren’t you going to check how your Sweet Potatoes are selling?” Robin asked with a smile after breakfast.

“I know you’re teasing me, but I’m not afraid. I’ve decided—if they don’t sell out, I’ll raise the price,” Liu Heming said cheerfully.

“Opportunity knocks but once. I… whoa, they’re sold out? Robin, check for me—am I seeing things?”

Liu Heming shoved the laptop into Robin’s arms, his emotions all over the place.

Robin looked at him, trying to see if he was being pranked, but Liu Heming’s face looked genuinely tense.

One zero, two zeros, three zeros, four zeros—even though there were only four zeros before the decimal point, Robin counted them twice. His expression was priceless, as if he’d seen God setting up a stall right in front of him.

“Hahaha, I knew it—there had to be people who recognize quality,” Liu Heming said, hands on his hips, laughing heartily.

One hundred and twenty thousand dollars—it was the most money he’d ever made in his life. “Overjoyed” didn’t even begin to describe how excited he felt. Then he picked up his daughter and ran around the room with her.