After feeding Lightning Chaser some carrots, Zhang Jun patted her neck and left the stable. He had originally planned to take a taxi back to his university dorm in Mindu, but as he passed the ranch's office area, he spotted Luo Fei.
He was speaking with two people in the open space outside the reception room. One was Luo Fei's second son, Luo An—twenty-four this year, leanly built. Unlike his elder brother and younger brother, he had not chosen to work in the family ranch business, instead becoming a Central Racing jockey.
Now in his sixth year since debuting, he had achieved excellent results with the support of his family's quality horses and connections. He currently had 573 wins, with a career win rate of 13.5 percent. He was in outstanding form this year, with his win rate already exceeding 16 percent and eighty wins to his name.
The other was a middle-aged man Zhang Jun did not know, around fifty years old. He wore a slightly tight suit and had an anxious expression.
The conversation did not seem to be going well. The middle-aged man spoke agitatedly, gesturing constantly with both hands, while Luo Fei looked troubled, shaking or nodding his head from time to time. Standing behind Luo Fei, Luo An also had his brow tightly furrowed.
Just as Zhang Jun was about to leave, the discussion broke up on bad terms. The middle-aged man left with a gloomy face, while Luo Fei shook his head and sighed. When he turned around and saw Zhang Jun, he waved him over.
Zhang Jun walked over. Luo Fei said, "Come sit with me in the tea room and have a cup of tea. I happen to have some time today, so I'll talk to you about the knowledge in that notebook and see how much you've learned."
The three entered the tea room. Luo Fei picked out several points recorded near the beginning of the notebook and questioned Zhang Jun about them. Zhang Jun answered them one by one, then asked Luo Fei about several things he did not fully understand. Luo Fei patiently explained each one, while Luo An also taught Zhang Jun about the unspoken rules and general knowledge of Central Racing.
After the questions and answers were over, Luo Fei nodded in satisfaction and smiled approvingly. "Jun, you've mastered the knowledge in that notebook very well, and you have great comprehension too. You understand as soon as I explain something you don't know. You'll definitely grow your own ranch into something great in the future."
Zhang Jun modestly replied, "It's because Uncle Luo's notes are so detailed and your explanations are so thorough. You absolutely deserve to be called an excellent teacher."
Luo Fei and Luo An laughed. Zhang Jun asked curiously, "Uncle Luo, what was that uncle here for just now? You all looked pretty worried."
Luo Fei sighed. "He's an old customer of our ranch. His name is Li Jianming, and he works in construction materials. He entered horse racing ten years ago and registered as a Central Racing owner, but his luck has never been very good. The horses he bought have basically never achieved much."
"Since he bought quite a few horses from our ranch, I recommended one of our good horses to him the year before last. It got decent results, so he felt our ranch was very trustworthy. That's why he comes here whenever he has free time or something comes up."
"This time, he came because a filly he bought for 800,000 at an auction in another province has been performing poorly. It's been a year since her debut. Other than winning her Debutant Race and one one-win class race, she's lost every other race."
Zhang Jun was surprised. "800,000? Was she bought at the Elite Sale? Horses from the Elite Sale shouldn't be this bad. Did the staff there happen to overlook her?"
"Maybe. Anyway, her current record is two wins from ten starts. She finished seventh in her most recent open race, and he completely fell apart afterward. According to the rules of Huaxia racing, when owners want to sell horses they have, they usually ask the ranch that bred the horse to help."
"But the small ranch that bred her went bankrupt because its owner failed in an investment and racked up massive debts. The ranch was sold to someone else, and the broodmares were sold off to repay the debts. There's no breeding ranch left to help contact buyers."
Luo Fei shook his head helplessly. "He had no choice but to come to our ranch, hoping we could help him contact other owners and see whether anyone would take her over. Normally, ranches don't handle brokerage work for horses bred by other ranches, but... sigh."
He sighed, and Luo An took over. "Because Father recommended him a good horse before, I've been riding the horses he owns these past two years. He's also an old family customer, having spent several million at the ranch, and he's bought quite a few partial ownership shares in horses through the club as well."
"Besides, that mare is being boarded and grazed here. Father couldn't easily refuse him, so he had him leave the details and said he'd see if he could find an owner willing to buy her. Honestly, that mare's pedigree is pretty good. Her sire ranks near the top of Huaxia's stallion rankings every year, and her dam is a black-type mare with a Grade 2 win."
Luo Fei gave a bitter smile. "If she were a two-year-old, she would be easier to sell. But she's a three-year-old filly with results this poor. Who would want her? Unless the price were extremely low—low enough that winning prize money from a race or two on the local circuit would earn it back. But the price he set isn't that low."
"I can only try to help him look. If it really doesn't work out, our ranch will have to buy her ourselves. That would preserve a major customer and add another mare line to the ranch. After all, her pedigree is quite good."
Luo Fei shook his head, looking utterly helpless.
Zhang Jun's heart stirred, and he asked Luo Fei, "What's the lowest price he set?"
Luo Fei glanced at Zhang Jun. "Jun, you aren't thinking of..."
Zhang Jun smiled. "You know I'm preparing to start my own ranch. I plan to gather some mares first as future wives for Shadow Hunter. Didn't you say that mare has a good pedigree? If the price isn't too high and I get a decent feeling from her, I'm planning to buy her."
Luo Fei pondered for a moment. "A horse with those results would probably only fetch fifty to a hundred thousand at a secondhand horse auction. But he hasn't given up. He told me he wants at least 200,000, otherwise he'd rather keep her and continue trying his luck. Still, he's eager to sell, so I estimate his bottom line is probably around 160,000 or 170,000."
Zhang Jun did some calculations. He had spent 450,000 buying two yearlings. After deducting this year's boarding fees and the funds he had set aside to buy mares at the broodmare auction, he still had 800,000 available. He could go look at the mare first. If the several attributes displayed were decent, he could buy her and give it a try.
With that thought, Zhang Jun said, "Can I go take a look at her? If she seems all right, I'll buy her and try her on the local circuit."
Luo Fei and Luo An exchanged glances, somewhat surprised. Thinking of what his eldest son, Luo Yong, had said—that Zhang Jun had an exceptional instinct for a horse's abilities—Luo Fei decided to take him to see her, even though it had not yet been proven. What if it was true?
That way, Zhang Jun could acquire a good horse, Li Jianming could sell the horse he wanted to sell, and Luo Fei could do Li Jianming a favor by helping him sell her. One stone, three birds—a win for everyone.
As for what would happen if the mare performed well afterward, Luo Fei figured Li Jianming could deal with it. He was the one who wanted to sell her, so he would have to swallow any regrets himself.
Luo Fei stood up. "Then come with me. That mare happens to be grazing at the ranch right now."
Zhang Jun followed Luo Fei to a pasture in the ranch's grazing area. Three mares were running in the field. Luo Fei pointed at one of them. "That's her. Her name is Cloudstream Flying Shadow."
Following Luo Fei's gesture, Zhang Jun looked over. She was a bay mare, with a reddish-brown coat, black tail, mane, and lower legs, and a snow-white sock on her right foreleg.
The system's attribute panel appeared before him:
Horse Name: Cloudstream Flying Shadow Sex and Age: Three-year-old filly Coat Color: Bay Racing Attributes: Speed: D Surface Adaptability: Turf ◎, Dirt X Growth Type: Late Maturer Breeding Attributes: Foals: 7
Zhang Jun raised his brows, delight rising in his heart. She was another excellent prospect to serve as a foundation mare. Her Speed attribute was D, so as long as her other attributes were not terrible, winning a CN2 would not be a problem. Most importantly, her growth type was Late Maturer, meaning Cloudstream Flying Shadow's speed still had room to improve.
He immediately said, "I think this girl is a fine prospect for turf, and she probably isn't much slower than Shadow Hunter. How did she only manage two wins from ten starts?"
Luo Fei and Luo An exchanged looks. Luo An spoke awkwardly. "Uh... Cloudstream Flying Shadow has only raced on dirt in Central Racing. She did try one 1,200-meter turf race and finished sixth."
"Maybe they just haven't found the right distance." Zhang Jun did not care. "I'm planning to buy her and send her to trainer Lin Zhi to try local turf races. Sorry for the trouble, Uncle Luo, but please contact Owner Li for me and help negotiate the price down while you're at it."
Luo Fei tried to persuade him a few times, but seeing that Zhang Jun had made up his mind, he took out his phone and contacted Li Jianming. He helped Zhang Jun bring the price down to 160,000. When he could not push it any lower, Luo Fei looked at Zhang Jun. Zhang Jun nodded to indicate that it was acceptable, and Luo Fei informed Li Jianming and told him to come over to sign the contract.
Ten minutes later, Li Jianming drove to Jianzhou Ranch, his face full of delight. When he saw how young Zhang Jun was, he hesitated and tried to talk him out of it. Zhang Jun brushed off his warnings by saying he had a feeling she was a fine turf prospect, then signed the contract with Li Jianming.