Parties are fun and can provide some relaxation, but for Dante, work is also extremely important. Weeding is definitely hard work, especially in spring, the season when everything comes back to life and plants begin to grow wildly.
But now, with the addition of the best fertilizers, sparing no expense, the growth of these plants is even more astonishing. The grass is thriving, and weeds are also incredibly resilient at this time, so they couldn't be ignored for long.
At the moment, manual labor is the only option. Machines are useless for this task. Right now, there are only a few grass sprouts. As for using herbicides, it's just an idea and simply unrealistic.
Not to mention that Dante has great expectations for the ranch, aiming for an organic ranch development model. Therefore, pesticides and other products must be used with caution. It's not that they can't be used at all, but rather that they are not suitable for use at certain times, and the dosage must be carefully regulated.
Otherwise, if any residues were detected in the pasture or soil, Dante would feel like he had lost sight of the bigger picture over something small, and at that moment, he would break down in tears.
Naturally, Dante had to be very cautious about these things.
Then there's the matter of grass and weeds. After all, they are still plants, especially at this stage when they are just sprouting, so extra care is needed. That's why they now had to manually remove every single weed affecting the plantation.
Dante assigned his workers the task of weeding the planted areas every day.
However, the grass was growing too fast, and with that, the weeds were growing just as quickly, and the area was too large to handle with the staff he had. This also forced Dante to hire two additional workers. It was a temporary job lasting about a week, for which Dante paid a thousand dollars.
Many people's backs and waists ached from spending the entire day bent over pulling weeds. It was no easy task. But there was no other way—this was the work of a rancher, and it was something most ranchers had to go through.
Dante didn't complain too much. Since he had chosen to be a rancher for a while, he naturally needed to do these things well. That was the unique nature of the profession.
Although he was a bit tired, Dante felt a sense of pride just watching his grass grow.
Today, all the land he had gradually purchased around the ranch was no longer a desolate scene. Though there were still some withered grass and weeds, just by looking around, one could see hints of green amid the barrenness.
Dante was in good spirits as he looked around, feeling a little proud. "If the temperature weren't so low right now, my grass would definitely be growing even better. At this rate, it should be growing a third faster than normal."
Thinking about this, Dante couldn't help but feel proud. His entire life had been spent as a mafioso, making a living by selling drugs and killing people, but today, that had changed.
His plan could be considered a success. All of this gave him more confidence. He knew he would succeed and achieve even greater things.
Dante was now growing more and more confident in becoming a good rancher and a better man. The grass in front of him gave Dante enough confidence. And more importantly, his precious gourd was still constantly condensing spiritual liquid to meet the ranch's ongoing needs.
After finishing a day's work, Dante returned to his residence. His dogs were resting outside the door, and in addition, Susie had developed a concerning fascination with cats.
Seeing Susie walking with a beautiful white horse, Dante approached her and said, "I'll teach you how to brush the horse. You'll be able to handle these tasks on your own in the future."
"Now?" Susie had specifically asked Dante to teach her more about horses; she wanted to learn everything he knew.
"Of course, let's go."
Brushing a horse means keeping it clean on a daily basis. It's not just about making the horse look nice but also about building a relationship with the animal and preventing certain equine diseases.
Massage brushes, horse brushes, soft-bristle brushes, and hoof picks are the most basic tools—and naturally, Dante had plenty of them.
Holding the massage brush, Dante looked at Susie seriously and said, "These are mainly used to remove hair, dust, sweat stains, and dried mud marks. Some also say this can stimulate the horse's blood circulation, and I think that might be true. When you bring it to the horse, make circular motions like this. To clean the massage brush, tap it or rinse it directly with water—don't scrape it against the wall."
Seeing Susie nod, Dante continued, "You don't have to be too meticulous when using the massage brush—don't worry about the details. A lot of people skip this step entirely. But you do need to be careful with the stiff-bristle brush, as it removes dust. Start from the neck and brush in one direction, but for some sensitive areas, be gentler. It also helps remove loose and broken hairs."
Dante demonstrated and then let Susie do it herself while he stood nearby to reassure her.
"After the stiff-bristle brush comes the soft-bristle brush, which is also used to polish the horse's coat," Dante said in a practical tone. "If we were at a horse farm like Kayce's, they'd also have fiber combs, stable cloths, and sponges. But we're on a ranch, and our horses just need to be practically clean, so we don't have to be that meticulous in this regard."
Susie listened carefully and studied with full attention. Although she had already accumulated some theoretical knowledge after living here for about four months, theory and practice were two very different things. Obviously, just talking about it in conversation wasn't the same as doing what Dante was demonstrating right now.
She had wanted to learn for a while. She could have asked someone else to teach her, but she wanted to leave this moment for her future husband so they could create good memories together.
It can be said that, as the future wife of a man who planned to spend the rest of his life on a ranch, Susie still had a lot to learn and would continue to encounter some challenges, some of which might be quite troublesome for her.
But Susie enjoyed it; she was quite content living on the ranch. Now that she had experienced ranch life, she would never feel the same about the city again. Without a doubt, life in Montana was good.
After a brief lesson with the attentive Dante, Susie felt she had mastered the basic skills of grooming horses. The next step would probably be to keep practicing until she perfected it. These tasks weren't particularly difficult.
After finishing these chores, Dante and Susie could finally relax and prepare dinner. The arrival of spring naturally meant there was more work to do on the ranch and many things to take care of.
Susie sat on the couch and said to Dante, who was busy in the kitchen, "You should know that working on a ranch means there must be a lot of mosquitoes here. You don't plan to use pesticides or insecticides, so do you have a plan?"
There were indeed a lot of mosquitoes, which was also due to the characteristics of the grass. The area was full of vegetation.
In fact, once a mosquito infestation became severe, cattle could die from it or become infected with certain diseases.
Dante looked at Susie and said, "I discussed it with my father and the other ranchers. We all agreed that the cattle pens should use pesticides. It's simple and effective, and it won't contaminate the meat. In other areas, I think I'll have to use lights to trap them and then get rid of them. The professional pest control companies around here don't take orders, and I'm not going to spend money on that."
This was exactly how Dante felt. Many things required a different approach and specific solutions. He understood this well and still needed to focus on efficiency.
Hearing what Dante said, Susie nodded. She probably knew that Dante was obviously well-prepared. It was good that he had thought ahead to avoid being caught off guard. Being prepared was better than anything else.
Dante then continued, "But for now, it doesn't seem like a big issue. I don't need to worry about these problems for a while. I don't see any signs of plagues or diseases. If a particularly difficult situation arises, it might not be problematic at all."
Hearing this, Susie felt even more relieved. "I'm glad. What worries me the most right now is that your efforts could be ruined by small things. If the grass keeps growing this fast, we might have some issues."
This could probably be considered a good problem to have. If the grass grew too fast, it might bring hidden dangers such as diseases and pests.
If Dante insisted on the strictest standards, not only would it increase the workload, but it could also bring other inconveniences that would make people feel dissatisfied.
But for now, there was no need to worry about these things. The grass was growing quickly, but there were no hidden dangers yet, so everyone could feel at ease.
The topic that Dante and Susie had just discussed could be considered both a preventive measure and a contingency plan. Planning ahead also ensured that when faced with a problem, everyone would be more confident and wouldn't panic.
Talking about ranch work wasn't just a review of the past few days' experiences but also a way to prepare and plan for future tasks.
Observing the ranch's current progress, Dante naturally had higher expectations for his career and his land. He firmly believed his ranch would continue to improve, and he knew that many things were going according to plan.