Just as Kitano got out of bed, an unhurried knock sounded from outside.
"Hello, this is JA Hokkaido."
"Is Mr. Kitano home?"
The visitor sounded quite polite.
Kitano's sluggish thoughts immediately snapped awake.
Had the debt come due already?
But he had never heard of Japan Agricultural Cooperatives coming personally to collect a debt.
Could they have outsourced it to some violent gang?
With some apprehension, he opened the door and found a man in a JA uniform standing outside, with an especially conspicuous refrigerated truck parked beside him.
"I'm Kitano."
He stepped outside and nodded to the man.
"Hello, Mr. Kitano. You have two refrigerated express parcels entrusted through JA Hokkaido."
The man gave a slight bow, then called to his companion in the truck to bring out two cardboard boxes.
"I see—"
Kitano suddenly understood. Only then did he realize that the goods he had ordered through the system had arrived.
As long as they were not here to collect a debt, it was fine.
The two burly men efficiently carried the seemingly heavy parcels into the house.
"If everything is correct, could I trouble you to sign here?"
The man took out a delivery slip and asked.
"No problem."
As he signed his name, Kitano asked, "About the shipping fee..."
"Please rest assured, the client has already paid it in advance."
The man answered promptly.
Only then did Kitano let out another sigh of relief.
After confirming the delivery, the JA staff quickly left.
After leisurely brushing his teeth and washing his face, Kitano finally began unpacking the parcels.
There were no logos or anything similar on the cardboard boxes. Aside from the seals affixed by JA, they looked no different from ordinary packages.
Using a utility knife to cut through the seal, Kitano opened the cardboard box.
The larger box was packed full of neatly arranged fresh grass.
After weighing it, he found that it came to exactly twenty kilograms with the box included.
Timothy hay was on the left, Bermuda Grass on the right, with cardboard separating the two in the middle.
The ratio was one to one.
Though he was not obsessive-compulsive, the arrangement of the grass still gave Kitano a brief sense of pleasure.
Looking at the two kinds of grass before him, Kitano tried hard to recall what he had learned.
Timothy hay was a cool-season grass, mostly grown in temperate regions. It grew more vigorously in spring and autumn. When harvested early, its protein content was 12%–14%, its fiber was moderate, and its metabolizable energy was 2.2–2.4 Mcal/KG. Its energy density was moderate, its calcium-to-phosphorus ratio was around 3:1, and its sugar and starch content was relatively low. It consisted primarily of soft fiber and was easy to digest.
Bermuda Grass, on the other hand, was a warm-season grass generally grown in tropical or subtropical regions. It was cold- and heat-tolerant, with high summer yields. When harvested early, its protein content was 10%–12%, and its metabolizable energy was 2.3–2.6 Mcal/KG. Its energy density was moderately high, its calcium-to-phosphorus ratio was around 1:1, and its soluble sugar content was relatively high. Its fiber was denser, and when harvested late, the fiber hardened quickly, so it might take longer to digest.
To the naked eye, the grass was vividly green. Up close, it carried a faint grassy fragrance, with no signs of yellowing, browning, rot, or mold.
It really was remarkably fresh grass.
But beyond that, there did not seem to be anything particularly special about it.
Moreover, its CP (crude protein), NDF (neutral detergent fiber), ADF (acid detergent fiber), TDN (total digestible nutrients), and ME (metabolizable energy) contents were all unknown.
The mineral ratio, vitamin content, mycotoxin levels, and whether it contained parasite eggs or bacterial contamination were equally unclear.
He could not exactly drag Mejiro Tenma over to test the palatability of this "three-no product."
Setting the fresh grass aside, Kitano opened the second, slightly smaller cardboard box.
Inside was hay, also arranged neatly.
To the naked eye, the hay was an even pale yellow overall.
He grabbed a handful and brought it close to his nose. It smelled like perfectly natural dried hay.
Kitano clenched the hay, shook it, and then released it. No fragments remained on his hand, and the hay had not clumped together.
He took some outside, lit it with a lighter, and watched it burn.
The hay burned at a normal speed and produced little smoke, with no pungent odor.
The hay produced by the system store truly qualified as excellent in quality.
Of course, compared to its price of 250,000 yen, such quality became only natural.
"The hay can be sent straight to Nishiken Farm, but as for the fresh grass..."
After thinking it over, Kitano made a phone call.
"Hello, Professor Ota. Would it be convenient for me to trouble you for a moment?"
Professor Ota was the close friend of his mentor, Professor Yamazaki, and had devoted many years to improving native pasture grass varieties.
"Yes, this is Kitano..."
"No, no, that was all thanks to the jockeys. I don't know anything about horse racing."
"Haha, that's right—"
After some small talk, Kitano explained his purpose.
He intended to borrow the other man's laboratory to conduct a full set of tests on the fresh grass, including NIRS (near-infrared spectroscopy).
"Is that so? No problem, just bring it over."
Professor Ota readily agreed.
Although it would take four or five days to get the test results, Kitano felt it was worth it.
After all, a twenty-kilogram box of fresh grass only required one Green Omamori.
Watching the news for half an hour each day would earn it back.
Kitano tried his best not to do the math.
It really was too expensive.
He casually reheated the leftover pasta from last night in the microwave. After quickly finishing breakfast, Kitano set off with samples of the fresh grass.
He also brought along the other box of hay.
After delivering the samples to Professor Ota's laboratory, he continued toward Nishiken Farm.
When he arrived at the farm, the Ogawa family was busy with their respective work.
"Good morning, Mr. Kitano."
Ogawa Kanna, who was conducting her routine observation of the foals' condition in the pasture, noticed the arriving silver pickup. After Kitano got out, the girl nodded to greet him.
"Good morning, Miss Ogawa. Are you feeling better?"
Kitano placed the cardboard box from the back of the truck on the ground and greeted her.
Setting down the form in her hand, Ogawa Kanna raised her head and revealed two delicate canine teeth.
"Thanks to you, I'm already fine~"
"Mr. Kitano, you came to see Pegasus, right? After that child came back yesterday, he strutted around for ages as if he knew he had won the race."
As she spoke, the girl suddenly turned her head.
"A-Sheng! Get over here already—"
Her voice was terrifyingly loud, utterly mismatched with her build.
"Shut up! Don't you know I'm... Oh, Mr. Kitano is here!"
Ogawa Masaru stormed out of the Horse Stall in irritation, then awkwardly scratched his head when he saw the figure standing before Ogawa Kanna.
Somewhat embarrassed and angry, he glared at Ogawa Kanna.
Ogawa Kanna, hiding behind Kitano, immediately stuck her tongue out at him.
"Why aren't you taking Mr. Kitano to the Horse Stall already?"
Ogawa Kanna pointed toward the Horse Stall with a mischievous grin.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it!"
Ogawa Masaru casually looped the towel in his hand around his neck and walked ahead with a sullen expression.