(The racing starts in Chapter 11. Everything before that is horse buying and background information, so feel free to skip ahead if that doesn't interest you.)
Jianzhou Ranch was on the outskirts of Mindu, about an hour and a half away by car.
Sitting in the car, Zhang Jun gazed at the scenery outside the window and found himself recalling the dark days after his father's death.
June 10 was just after Zhang Jun had finished his college entrance exams. He had barely enjoyed a few days of freedom from his oppressive high school life when his father, Zhang An, died of cancer. Zhang Jun was devastated. Even the funeral had only been arranged with help from his father's two childhood friends, Luo Fei and Liu Yong.
After his father's death, Zhang Jun, who had grown up in a single-parent household and been raised by his father alone, felt as though the sky had collapsed. He drifted through his days in a daze, and at one point, he even considered following his father into death.
But before he died, his father had held Zhang Jun's hand and urged him to live well. In the end, he had not chosen that path.
After the seven-day vigil and the funeral, Zhang Jun shut himself in his room. His two uncles, Luo Fei and Liu Yong, came to see him.
Only then did Zhang Jun learn from them that Zhang An had known about his cancer for a long time. Worried that Zhang Jun would be unable to manage his businesses after his death, he had contacted the two men early on and asked them to help convert his business holdings into shares to leave to Zhang Jun.
Zhang An had also left Zhang Jun a recorded will, with four copies: one kept at home, one filed with the court, and one each held by Luo Fei and Liu Yong.
At the time, tears streamed down Zhang Jun's face as he listened to the familiar voice coming from the recorder.
In his will, his father had said that a person died three times. The first was the death of life itself: the heart stopped beating, breathing ceased, all bodily functions stopped, and the person was pronounced medically dead.
The second was their disappearance from society. Through the funeral rites, friends and family marked the end of the deceased's social ties.
The third was their complete disappearance from memory. When the last person who remembered the deceased died or forgot them, every trace of their existence vanished, leaving nothing connected to them anywhere in the universe.
He hoped Zhang Jun would live well. Even if he could not do it for himself, he should do it so that Zhang An's existence would not vanish completely.
From that day on, Zhang Jun resolved to live well, because his own life was a continuation of his father's. He did not want his father's existence to become something no one remembered.
Afterward, once Zhang Jun had gathered himself, he inherited his father's estate with the help of Liu Yong, who was a lawyer: shares worth twenty million yuan, yielding around one and a half million yuan in annual dividends.
There was also the right to choose any one horse from the ranch Luo Fei owned, which his father had arranged for him.
Zhang An had prepared this especially for him. Worried that his words would not be enough to bring Zhang Jun out of his grief, he hoped a sensitive young horse could keep Zhang Jun company in his place and help him heal.
As time passed and the car drove through the ranch gates, the sight before him caught Zhang Jun's attention.
The vast pastures glowed a soft green in the afternoon sunlight. In the distance, several groups of horses grazed and wandered leisurely. White fences wound across the grounds, and red stables stood in neat rows. Everything seemed peaceful and orderly.
Screeech~
As the brakes sounded, the three of them got out of the car. Luo Heng eagerly pulled Zhang Jun along.
"We're here! Our ranch might not be big by national standards, but it's definitely among the top three in Min Province. We have more than ninety foals born here every year."
After they passed several rows of stables, an open pasture unfolded before them.
Twenty-odd horses were scattered across the grass. Some grazed with their heads lowered, others played together, and a few foals stayed close to their mothers, watching the visitors curiously.
"You can't choose any of the two-year-olds that have already joined a club, but that still leaves more than two hundred horses."
"Not counting those three and older, there are twenty two-year-olds. We sold some of the yearlings at the foal auction, but there are still over sixty left. This year's foals are the largest group, with more than ninety."
As Luo Heng explained, Zhang Jun followed him on a leisurely tour of the Luo Family's Jianzhou Ranch.
Luo Heng brought Zhang Jun to a fenced paddock. More than ten broodmares were grazing there with their young foals, and six or seven similar paddocks surrounded it.
Luo Heng pointed into the paddock. "This is Paddock One. All the mares grazing here are our family's best. For example, that chestnut one over there with the white streak on her forehead is Crimson Red Crane. Not only did she win two Grade 3 races during her racing career, but all three of her offspring that have started racing already have Graded Stakes wins."
Zhang Jun looked where Luo Heng pointed. The mare was chestnut all over, with black at the end of her tail, and a foal of a similar color stood beside her.
The moment Zhang Jun's gaze settled on the mare, a pale blue, translucent panel suddenly appeared before his eyes, accompanied by a voice.
"Ding~ Horse Racing Tycoon System awakening complete."
Zhang Jun blinked, but the panel did not disappear. It was like a screen floating before his eyes, clearly displaying several lines of text:
[Horse name: Crimson Red Crane Sire: Jianzhou Flying General Dam: Scarlet Meteor Damsire: Falling Star Sex/age: Female, 12 Coat color: Red chestnut Speed: D Power: ? Stamina: ? Burst: B Competitive spirit: ? Mental strength: ? Intelligence: ? Flexibility: ? Health: A Surface aptitude: Running style: ? Distance: ? Growth type: ?. Breeding attributes: Offspring: 6 Hereditary traits: ?.]
Zhang Jun froze and instinctively looked at the foal beside Crimson Red Crane:
[Horse name: Crimson Red Crane 2022 Sire: Jianzhou Senior General Dam: Crimson Red Crane Damsire: Jianzhou Flying General Sex/age: Male, 0 Coat color: Red chestnut Racing attributes: Speed: F+ ... Competitive spirit: C ... Breeding attributes: Offspring: ??? Hereditary traits: Burst.]
This wasn't a hallucination.
Zhang Jun forced himself to calm down.
Although he had focused on his studies at his father's insistence, he had still read a few webnovels during his breaks. Now he had awakened a system himself.
But why now?
Why had it happened when he came to Jianzhou Ranch to choose a racehorse, following his father's will?
The system's functions were related to horse racing, too.
He couldn't figure out why, but he was just an ordinary person with nothing worth coveting. That made this a good thing. He should explore the system's functions first.
Zhang Jun shifted his gaze to the other mares and foals in the pasture, and the panel refreshed to display each foal's attributes.
[Horse name: Jianzhou County Lady Sex/age: Female, 7 Coat color: Brown bay Racing attributes: Stamina: E Intelligence: B Surface aptitude: Turf ◎, dirt △ Breeding attributes: Offspring: 7] [Horse name: Jian'an Scarlet Cherry Sex/age: Female, 9 Coat color: Red chestnut Racing attributes: Power: B Mental strength: C+ Breeding attributes: Offspring: 6] [Horse name: Jian'an Yellow Maple 2022 Sex/age: Male, 0 Coat color: Yellow chestnut Racing attributes: Burst: B Breeding attributes: Hereditary traits: None.]
"Well? See any you like?"
Standing nearby, Luo Fei watched Zhang Jun study the horses one by one and asked with a smile.
"I'll keep looking. Didn't you say there were more than two hundred foals? Let me see them all before I decide."
Zhang Jun shook his head, deciding to use this opportunity to figure out how the system worked first.
"Sure. I still have a few things to take care of, so I'll have Heng go through the paddocks with you one by one."
Luo Fei nodded and left first.