The desert at night was no better than the desert during the day, perhaps not as scorching, nor as boundless, yet it was the peak activity ti for many dangerous creatures.
Wolves, scorpions, venomous snakes.
The harsher the living environnt, the stronger and more lethal the creatures within it are, especially against humans who lack the ability to protect themselves, displaying unquestionably deadly aggression.
However, compared to the harshness of the environnt, the most terrifying aspect was still the loneliness within.
The more vast the heavens and the earth, the more insignificant humans appeared.
The unobstructed sky revealed its entirety, intensely releasing a sense of emptiness that magnified the inner loneliness.
Each person's innermost fears hid within them, triggered by the dark night and the infinite starry river, erging one after another.
Anyone without a strong enough spirit would falter when facing this vast universe alone.
Regrettably, the one who would falter was not the current Bi Fang, who ti and again braved adventures, for had his heart harbored even the slightest weakness and fear, his grave would have long been overgrown with grass.
The stars sprinkled across the sky, so bright they didn't hinder travelers on their journey. Bi Fang even saw his and his cal's shadows on the sand dunes, walking on the silvery white fine sand, which resembled bright, dry snow, felt like stepping on a thick woolen carpet.
The cal, with its thick fur, naturally didn't fear the low temperatures. Bi Fang, however, felt a chill, and in this cold, he felt the reality of his existence.
The desert night was gentle, the red flas turned into silver-white fine sand, the sparkling Milky Way almost seed like it could be blown down by the wind.
No pack of wolves or venomous scorpions could frighten Bi Fang. Compared to the desert's fiery, red-hot day, the starry night of the desert was truly gentle and moving.
The valleys were full of wind, the sky full of stars, that deep blue silence carried loneliness mixed with longing.
Most of the viewers in the live stream had followed from Nemo Point, where the sky was equally dazzling. However, the nature of the northern hemisphere differed from the stars of the southern hemisphere; the desert was ultimately different from the ocean.
Having traversed half the Earth, from the ocean to the desert, the experience was now another flavor entirely.
[Really haven't seen such a pure sky in a long ti, last ti I saw it was as a child, with my grandfather...]
[This sky is a luxury for everyone living in the city.]
[Qaidam Desert isn't bad either, it seems you've watched too few Master Fang streams (Dog's head)]
[Indeed, intensify it!!! Give Old Fang so attention!]
[The departed are gone, yet the full sky's stars leave another kind of taste.]
[Damn, it's really beautiful]
"For thousands of years, we've been obsessed with the solemn sun, the clear moonlight, and the brilliant stars."
"These mysterious celestial bodies, besides signaling the changes in ti and geographical location, also nourish our endless imagination."
"From the Mayans thousands of years ago, who used their naked eyes to observe the starry sky and predict the future, to now, when we've invented the 'Heavenly Eye,' enabling us to take mankind's sight to incredibly distant places."
"We've always been trying to understand the universe, this planet we live on, and our own destinies."
At so point, Bi Fang had picked up a straight wooden stick to use as a walking stick, guiding the cal while sharing the secrets of the starry sky with everyone.
However, the viewers seed to have a slightly different focus.
Where did this piece of wood co from?
[Damn, it's the Divine Tree Stick!]
[By the way, where did he pull that thing from?]
[It's from Master Fang's two-dinsional butt!]
[One has to admit, last season didn't feature the Tree Stick, I miss it]
"This?" Bi Fang lifted the long stick in his hand, the grip feeling surprisingly good. He pointed to the path they had passed, where footprints were still clearly visible on the gravel, "I just picked it up from beneath the sand over there, it's hardwood, its length and feel are quite nice, felt handy, so I took it."
"Perhaps it was left behind by so traveler,"
"Don't pick up random things."
"Monkey dung, this is monkey dung."
By the predawn hours of the next day, the silvery sand had finally turned into Gobi, solid ground underfoot once more, and clumps of shrubs sporadically visible within sight.
Bi Fang found a huge rock to use as a shelter, checked for venomous insects and snakes before clearing so rubble nearby, and pulled out a giant wooden peg from his backpack. He then sifted through the pile of rubble to find a suitably sized hamr stone and was about to drive the peg into the ground when the first strike split the stone into two.
The grayish-white rock split neatly in half, slipped from his hands, and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Rock: I'm cracked."
"The ga's up, Master Fang has discovered he's a superhuman."
"A wilderness expert, terrifying as this."
"Due to the significant temperature difference between day and night, the rocks on the surface of the Sahara continuously expand and contract with heat, crumbling and peeling off. The small stones and sand ford from weathering get blown by the wind into lower areas to form sand dunes, while the bigger stones remain nearby, turning into Gobi gravel patches."
"Sotis a rock that appears intact on the surface might already have many fissures inside, and it would easily break when slightly stressed. We'll just find another piece."
After rifling through the rubble, Bi Fang resud his hamring. This ti, there were no issues.
The nearly half-ter long wooden stake gradually inserted into the soil, with Bi Fang occasionally pouring so water on the ground.
"In the countryside, when building houses, so might have seen contractors showing off various skills to help 'save money,' such as water tamping."
"Since water penetrates everywhere, after watering, the sand, stone, and mud absorb the water and tightly integrate together, using this thod to lay a foundation."
"This is, of course, incorrect and not according to the standard, because once the soil loses moisture, it cannot et the soil density requirent for backfill, and over ti, there will still be issues of subsidence, but it poses no problem when used briefly."
Mixed with water, Bi Fang shook the wooden post—it was immovable, very firm—then he tied a brightly colored cloth to it.
"Taming cals is a challenging task because once cals beco agitated, even over a dozen people cannot hold them back, so we must train them to have an operant conditioning reflex."
"What's operant conditioning reflex?"
"Simply understand it like conditioned reflex (facepalm)"
"Do well and give rewards to stimulate, then increase the likelihood of behavior occurring, roughly like that."
"All experts."
"Got it, it's cals' PUA."
"Many who raise cals start by deeply driving a vividly wrapped, red-threaded wooden stake into the ground to tether the cals."
"Initially, untad cals will continuously resist, pulling hard on the rope, trying to completely uproot the small wooden stake, which of course, is impossible. A half-ter deep nail is difficult to pull outwards."
"After nurous attempts and repeated failures, the cals gradually co to believe that the wooden stake with the cloth tied to it is invincible."
"At this point, casually inserting a wooden post tied with the sa cloth into the ground, without going too deep, will make the cal walk around the small stick instead of trying to pull it out. This successfully creates a conditioned reflex."
"In the desert, sandstorms are common. When an unexpected sandstorm arrives, so cal caravan people, to prevent their cals from getting lost, will quickly insert a wooden stick into the ground, tying one or even several cals to this small stick."
"After the caravan's owner is swept far away by the massive sandstorm, those large-bodied cals will firmly lie around the small stick, staying right there without moving."
"This is PUA!!!"
"To accelerate the process, we still need to incorporate so reward stages to help form a consistent cognition."
Having completed all this, Bi Fang tethered the cal to the wooden stake, not by the bridle on its nose but by another rope tied to its body, and then he removed its blindfold.
As so light returned to the view, after being dazed for a few seconds, the cal imdiately began to struggle, but the wooden stake was firmly planted in the ground, unmoved.
After waiting about a quarter of an hour, the fatigued cal lessened its struggles.
Having confird the stability of the wooden stake, Bi Fang leaned against the rock, turned off the livestream, and took a few hours' nap.
When Bi Fang woke up again, it had already turned from early dawn to noon, and the air had beco stifling hot once more, with heat waves rippling in the distance as soon as he opened his eyes.
Turning on the live stream, Bi Fang waited until the number of viewers stabilized before stepping out from the shadow of a rock, his eyes squinting, and sand cascading from his body.
The drodary, towering over two ters tall, crouched in place with the wooden post still unchanged.
But as Bi Fang approached, the behemoth quickly stood up and started to struggle again.
Bi Fang was not discouraged, as this was all within his expectations, he rolled up the sleeves on his arms, "Today is only the first day, we still have two more days, no need to rush, and today we also need to start training it to kneel."
"All cals need to be trained to lie down; first, tie its front legs with a rope, pull over its head from the spine forcefully, if the left front leg is weak, a yank or a push will make the cal kneel."
"Alternatively, tie up the calves of the two hind legs with a rope, a pull will also make it lie down."
"Regardless of the thod, hold the cal's reins, press the cal's head down while shouting commands to match your actions, and make it kneel."
"After getting used to kneeling, simply pressing its head inward, lightly yanking the rein, issuing commands, or making movents will make it lie down automatically."
"This isn't just for convenience in mounting after the cal kneels, it's more about instilling a sense of obedience."
[Understood, still PUA]
[Can training even be called PUA? (Dog's head)]
[Master Fang must be good at training dogs too]
[I want to be Master Fang's dog (Heart)]
[Tone down the flirt, too provocative]
"When a cal is one year old, tying its legs and putting on a muzzle makes it easy to ta, but if it's an adult, it needs a noseband along with a muzzle, and training involves soone leading from the front and another driving from behind, making it easier for the cal to learn."
"But we don't have a trained cal, so we are destined to put in more effort."
Using a pole, Bi Fang again covered the enormous cal's eyes, unleashed it, and led the cal under the shadow of a massive rock to begin its training.
Just as he had explained, Bi Fang tied the cal's legs and then held down its head, pulling on the reins.
When he saw the giant cal actually kneel down under his tugging, the live stream viewers imdiately cheered.
However, Bi Fang knew this was just the beginning.
Now was the blindfold training, followed by eyes-open training, each step more complex and difficult than the last.
"Training animals, especially wild ones, is a process that requires much patience, so often you should not get impatient or take it lightly; observe their small movents and be cautious of them lashing out."
"Be careful if it suddenly stops, steps back, or gets temperantal, as it might tear through its nostrils and dislodge the noseband."
"Like a drodary, it often shows displeasure through stomping and running, as well as spitting and kicking. Seeing these actions ans you should understand it's ti to rest."
Two afternoons later, after countless tis of making the cal stand up and kneel again, Bi Fang led the cal back to the post, retied the reins and removed the blindfold.
Supplies were plentiful, water and food sufficient for more than three days, but the cal still needed to eat and graze.
There are only two ways to make an animal obedient.
One is through intimidation, whipping, frightening, and physical pain, like the tigers in circuses, but you have to be careful that it might bare its teeth at you one day.
The other way is to make the animal understand what it should do, and that after it does, living is far better than surviving in the wild, a beneficial choice for survival, like a pet cat yearning for life outside the window, which will obediently return ho after a month of wind and rain.
As a positive-energy live strear, Bi Fang would naturally not choose the first option, as it did not align with his moral values.
"I didn't notice before, and only now do I realize how big this cal really is, even among ordinary male cals, it's considered large."
Bi Fang, hands on his hips, watched the struggling cal carefully.
"Its humps are also very plump, indicating it eats well. We don't need to worry about food and water right now, but that doesn't an it doesn't need to eat. Each successful training session should also be followed by a certain reward to make it willing to be tad."
"Being well-fed makes it rather troubleso."
Bi Fang stroked his chin, contemplating that if he could not provide a better lifestyle, it would indeed hinder his efforts to ta the cal.
In the afternoon.
Bi Fang ca to the cal carrying a bundle of colorful hay and a large number of fruits, the results of his busy afternoon.
Anyone familiar with desert plants would have recognized these hays and plants.
Cal thorn, cal bush, Doum palm fruit, and desert gourd.
The first two, as the nas suggest, are the cal's favorite foods, and the latter two are fruits that Bi Fang had not found easily.
It was also fortunate that the nearby area was still soil-bearing with relatively abundant plant life, even hosting a tree or two, otherwise, it wouldn't have been easy to manage the diet of this big fellow.
Bi Fang even handpicked the fresher parts, sweating profusely.
He casually plucked a reddish-brown fruit and started chewing, its juice oozing out, emitting a sweet fragrance.
"Doum palm fruits, people living in the Sahara Desert often use its peel to make molasses. I don't know why, but it doesn't seem very sweet to , though it tastes okay."
"And this, wild desert gourd, is a mber of the waterlon family that grows extensively in the Sahara Desert."
Bi Fang picked up a gourd about half the size of a head, weighing it in his hands.
"Its roots, leaves, and fruit store large amounts of water all year round, making them a good source of food and water for any desert animal that can break through its skin, and its large yellow flowers are also edible."
[Cal: I've never had such a lavish al in my life]
[Is it a last supper? (Dog's head)]
[Feeding well before taking action, right?]
[No wait, I think I heard soone say last ti that waterlons in the desert are poisonous, can we really eat this?]
[Co on, you actually don't trust Master Fang? Heretic!]
[I also heard that, sothing about not eating waterlons in the desert because they are poisonous]
"That's a different matter. The poisonous waterlons you are talking about are the dicinal lons, if you cut them open you will see that they are full of cotton-like pulp and have no water. Indeed, they are poisonous but are also used by locals to treat stomach diseases."
"The one I'm holding now is called the Kaffir waterlon, originally from the African desert, grown as food in the local desert regions and even used as a water source during the dry season, also used by the natives for bathing."
"Locals call it 'Chama,' and it has been cultivated in Ancient Egypt since at least four thousand years ago. Now, it's not just found in Africa, but in many other places, regarded as a plant, in the southern plains of Ugly Country it's also known as pine lon and grapefruit lon."
Bi Fang split the lon open, the flesh inside was white, not cottony, but like normal waterlons, fine grained and full of water, though not sweet at all, rather it was sowhat bitter.
"This lon's flesh can not only replenish water but also protect from the sun, retain moisture, and so say that one can survive in the desert for six weeks just by relying on Chama."
Bi Fang grabbed a handful of this flesh, squeezed out the moisture, and sared it directly on his face and arms, imdiately feeling a cool sensation.
"dicinal lons and Kaffir waterlons indeed look very similar, almost identical, even the color of the flesh is nearly the sa. But one is cottony, and the other has the sa texture as a normal waterlon, making them easy to tell apart."
"And actually, Kaffir waterlons are more common, but most marketers won't speak of them, preferring to sensationalize and warn, 'if you see a desert waterlon, steer clear,' just take it lightly, even the poisonous dicinal lons are useful and can disinfect and reduce inflammation."
Cals endure rough forage, eating sparse, small-leaved, highly lignified shrubs, various coarse straws, tree branches, and dried grass that other livestock cannot, thus they can survive long-term in harsh environnts such as Gobi and deserts.
However, just because they can endure hardship doesn't an they must face it.
If big aty als are an option, unless health prohibits it, no one really prefers to eat bran and swallow vegetables.
This large bundle from Bi Fang, for the cal, was like a lavish al for humans, even including sweet fruits, and it was treated well.
It had vomited once before, and after running away, indeed it ate sothing, but was still feeling empty and starving, and after a few tentative tries, the cal gave up resisting and started chewing heartily.
Over the next two days, Bi Fang continued with the lie-down training and fed it on schedule.
For animals, other than reproduction, there's nothing bigger than eating.
As for reproduction, the cal, having just finished its breeding period two months ago, had no such worldly desires.
Their relationship ward rapidly in front of good food.
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