It wasn't because he was close to the wolfdog, but rather because the wolfdog had caught a faint lingering scent of the medicinal solution on him.
It was the same solution he had used before when rescuing Liu Yadong and the others in the deep mountains.
This solution could penetrate his body and blood through his tiny pores, allowing the scent to last for a long time.
It was just that human noses weren't sensitive enough to detect the scent on oneself the next day.
But dogs were different; they possessed an innate, acute sense of smell. Even the slightest, most subtle odor could be detected if they got close enough.
This was why the wolfdog was afraid when Liu Yifeng approached it holding a stone.
It was because he had previously sprayed himself with a gas that suppressed the bloodline of animals.
The reason it hadn't feared him the first time was that Liu Yifeng had kept his distance.
Upon entering the orchard, Liu Yifeng found his father, who was watching others weigh the fruit and recording the weights in a notebook.
He wrote down the weight of each bag as it was weighed.
"Yifeng, why are you here? Where's Tongtong?" Liu Chunsheng asked as he approached.
"Tongtong is at home. I came to see how much grapefruit has been picked today?"
Liu Xincheng, standing nearby, chuckled and replied, "More than half has been picked. We should be done by around three or four in the afternoon tomorrow. Remember to arrange for trucks for transport."
Liu Yifeng nodded, "Alright, I'll call the truck drivers later to pick up some. Have all these weights been tallied?"
"They've all been tallied. I've recorded the weights in this notebook. We just need to use a calculator later!" Liu Chunsheng showed Liu Yifeng the notebook in his hand.
Looking at the densely packed numbers, Liu Yifeng said, "Dad, you've worked hard today!"
"Don't say that, what's so hard about it? I'm not the one doing the heavy lifting, I'm just standing here calculating weights!"
As Liu Chunsheng finished speaking, another bag of grapefruit was weighed: "One hundred and twelve jin and five liang!" he quickly added.
Seeing his father busy, Liu Yifeng didn't disturb him. Instead, he went to watch the workers pick grapefruit. Some of the higher grapefruit needed to be dislodged with a pole.
To prevent the grapefruit from being bruised, protective material was wrapped around the top of the pole.
Seeing that most of the grapefruit were intact, Liu Yifeng felt relieved.
After all, this directly affected the price of the grapefruit. People wouldn't buy damaged fruit if they were paying the same price.
They worked until half-past six, as dusk began to settle, before finishing for the day.
Liu Xincheng provided lunch for the workers, with a daily wage of eighty yuan.
So, after finishing work, everyone took a van back.
Liu Xincheng invited Liu Yifeng and his father to have dinner at his home.
However, Tongtong was still home alone, and they were worried, so they politely declined.
Before leaving, he called the truck drivers, asking them to come early the next morning to load the grapefruit.
Since they didn't know the exact location, Liu Yifeng asked them to drive to the village around six in the morning. He would wait at the village entrance and guide them from there.
After making the arrangements, he drove back.
Upon returning home, Liu Yifeng hurried to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
His father hadn't eaten at home for lunch, so there were no leftovers. Everything had to be cooked from scratch.
As he walked into the living room, he expected Tongtong to still be mixing nutrient solution. To his surprise, Tongtong had already come out and was playing with Dabai.
"Tongtong, have you finished adjusting the nutrient solution ratios?" Liu Yifeng asked.
"Daddy, it's all ready! You can use it tomorrow!" Tongtong said with a smile, his earlier gloom gone.
When Liu Yifeng heard it was ready, he hugged Tongtong and kissed him repeatedly, "Tongtong, you're amazing. Daddy loves you so much."
Tongtong giggled, "Daddy, you're tickling me! Your beard is poking me."
Liu Yifeng stopped and then touched his beard. He hadn't shaved for two or three days, and it had grown quite long. He decided to shave it tomorrow.
Then, he put Tongtong down, "Tongtong, Daddy is going to cook. What do you want to eat?"
"I'll eat whatever Daddy makes!" Tongtong's reply made Liu Yifeng's heart swell with joy, and he happily went to cook.
The next morning, Liu Yifeng quietly got out of bed, afraid of waking Tongtong.
After a simple wash, he went to the village entrance.
He had agreed with the truck drivers last night that they would come to load the grapefruit this morning!
After waiting for about five or six minutes, Liu Yifeng, sitting in his van, saw through the rearview mirror two medium-sized trucks driving towards the village, one after the other.
He honked his horn and turned on his hazard lights. The truck drivers heard the sound and responded with a honk.
Liu Yifeng didn't get out of his car. He led the way directly to the orchard.
They soon arrived at the orchard. The pickers hadn't arrived yet; they were scheduled to start at seven.
Getting out of his car, Liu Yifeng handed out cigarettes he had prepared, "Thank you for your hard work, driving here so early.
Take these two packs of cigarettes.
However, you might have to wait a while. At seven o'clock, the orchard owner will arrange for someone to load the grapefruit onto the trucks."
The two men, seeing the "Soft Zhonghua" cigarettes, happily accepted them. "No problem, this is our job. Sometimes we have to drive out at four in the morning. There's no fixed schedule!"
"Have you had breakfast? If not, I'll bring some for you later!" Liu Yifeng asked.
"We've eaten. We bought some steamed buns on our way here!" one of them replied.
"That's good. When the trucks are loaded, call me, and I'll take you to the warehouse!
For now, please wait here. I've already spoken with the orchard owner.
I have to go back and make breakfast for my son, and then take him to kindergarten in the city. I won't be waiting here with you." Liu Yifeng checked the time; it was already 6:20.
At seven o'clock, he had to take Tongtong to kindergarten and also drive his father to the orchard. If he was late, Tongtong would be marked tardy.
"Okay, we brothers can just lie down in the truck and catch a nap!" the two men nodded in agreement.
Back home, Liu Yifeng immediately rushed to make breakfast. He simply made fried rice using leftover rice from last night and heated a few steamed buns.
He had made too many meat buns last time.
Liu Yifeng had put them in the freezer. When he felt like eating them, he would take some out to heat. Today was the last of them.
After making breakfast, he was about to call his father and Tongtong to wake up, but Liu Chunsheng had already gotten up and was sweeping the yard.
"Dad, have you rinsed your mouth? Breakfast is ready!" Liu Yifeng said to his father.
"Yes, I have. You go wake Tongtong first. I'll finish sweeping, and I'll be right there!" Liu Chunsheng continued sweeping.
"Daddy, is it dawn yet?" Sometime later, Tongtong appeared at the door of his room, rubbing his eyes sleepily, seemingly not fully awake yet.
Liu Yifeng walked over and said softly, "Tongtong, it's dawn! Go wash up and have breakfast quickly. We have to go to kindergarten soon!"