A Package from JA

When Kitano had just gotten out of bed, an unhurried knock sounded from outside.

"Hello, this is JA Hokkaido."

"Is Mr. Kitano at home?"

The visitor's tone sounded quite polite.

Kitano's sluggish mind instantly snapped awake.

Was the debt already due?

But he had never heard of an agricultural cooperative coming in person to collect a debt.

Had they outsourced it to some violent gang?

With some apprehension, he opened the door and found a man in a JA uniform standing outside, with a highly conspicuous refrigerated truck parked beside him.

"I'm Kitano."

He stepped outside and nodded to the man.

"Hello, Mr. Kitano. You have two refrigerated delivery packages entrusted through JA Hokkaido."

The man bowed slightly, 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.

The two burly men efficiently carried the seemingly heavy packages inside.

"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 transportation fee..."

"Please rest assured, sir. The client has already paid it in advance."

The man promptly replied.

Only then did Kitano let out another sigh of relief.

Once delivery had been confirmed, the JA staff quickly left.

After leisurely brushing his teeth and washing his face, Kitano finally began opening the packages.

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 seals, Kitano opened the cardboard box.

The larger box was packed full of neatly arranged fresh grass.

After weighing it, he found that the total weight with the box was exactly twenty kilograms.

Timothy grass was on the left, while Bermuda grass was on the right, separated by a sheet of cardboard.

The ratio was one to one.

Though he was not obsessive-compulsive, the arrangement of the forage still gave Kitano a moment of pleasure.

Looking at the two types of grass before him, Kitano tried hard to recall what he had learned.

Timothy grass was a cool-season grass that mostly grew in temperate regions. It grew vigorously in spring and autumn. When harvested early, its protein content was 12%–14%, its fiber content 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 it had relatively low sugar and starch content. It was primarily made up of soft fiber and was easy to digest.

Bermuda grass, on the other hand, was a warm-season grass that generally grew in tropical and subtropical regions. It was resistant to both cold and heat and yielded heavily in summer. 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 fibers were denser, and when harvested late, they hardened quickly, possibly requiring more time to digest.

By visual inspection, the grass was a vivid green. Up close, it carried a faint grassy fragrance, with no signs of yellowing, browning, rot, or mold.

It really was exceptionally fresh grass.

But aside from that, it did not seem particularly special.

The 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 content, and whether there were 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, smaller cardboard box.

Inside was neatly arranged hay as well.

At a glance, the hay was an even pale yellow overall.

He grabbed a handful of hay and brought it close to his nose. It smelled like perfectly natural hay.

Kitano then clenched the hay, shook it, and released it. No fragments remained on his hand, and the hay was not clumped together.

He took some outside, then used a lighter to ignite it.

The hay burned at a normal rate and produced little smoke, without giving off any pungent odor.

The hay produced by the system store was indeed excellent in quality.

Of course, considering the price of 250,000 yen, such quality became only natural.

"The hay can be delivered directly to Nishiken Farm, but the fresh grass..."

After thinking for a moment, Kitano made a phone call.

"Hello, Professor Ota. Would it be convenient if I troubled you for a moment?"

Professor Ota was the close friend of his mentor, Professor Yamazaki, and had dedicated many years to improving domestic forage 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 why he had called.

He planned 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. Go ahead and send it over."

Professor Ota agreed readily.

Although it would take four to five days to obtain the test results, Kitano felt it was worth it.

After all, one twenty-kilogram box of fresh grass only cost one Green Omamori.

He could earn that back by watching the news for half an hour every day.

Kitano tried his best not to do the math.

It really was still too expensive.

After casually reheating the leftover pasta from last night in the microwave and quickly finishing breakfast, Kitano set out 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 on toward Nishiken Farm.

When he arrived at the farm, the Ogawa family was busy with their work.

"Good morning, Mr. Kitano."

Ogawa Kanna, who was conducting her routine observation of the foals in the pasture, noticed the silver pickup truck arriving. After Kitano got out, the girl nodded to greet him.

"Good morning, Miss Ogawa. Are you feeling better?"

Kitano set the cardboard box from the back of the truck on the ground and greeted her.

Ogawa Kanna put down the form in her hand, lifted her head, and revealed two delicate canine teeth.

"Thanks to you, I'm completely fine now~"

"Mr. Kitano, you came to see Pegasus, right? After that child returned yesterday, he strutted around for ages as if he knew he had won the race."

As she spoke, the girl suddenly turned her head.

"Masaru! Get over here already—"

A terrifying voice completely at odds with her petite frame came out of her mouth.

"You're so noisy! Don't you know I'm... Oh, it's Mr. Kitano!"

Ogawa Masaru stormed out of the stable in anger, then awkwardly scratched his head after spotting the figure standing in front of Ogawa Kanna.

Somewhat embarrassed and irritated, he glared at Ogawa Kanna.

Ogawa Kanna, hiding behind Kitano, immediately stuck out her tongue at him.

"Why don't you hurry up and take Mr. Kitano to the stable?"

Ogawa Kanna pointed toward the stable with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah, yeah, got it!"

Ogawa Masaru casually looped the towel in his hand around his neck and walked ahead with a sullen expression.