Stable Inspection · Horses Arrive

After returning to Mindu, since the eight horses he had bought were spread across three provinces in East China and would not arrive until October 10th, 11th, and 12th respectively, Zhang Jun decided to first inspect Zheng Xing's stable in Jian'an as agreed.

After resting in Mindu for a day, Zhang Jun took a high-speed train back to Jian'an on the morning of the 9th, then took a taxi to Zheng Xing's stable. Zheng Xing, full of anticipation, had been waiting at the entrance early.

When Zheng Xing saw Zhang Jun get out of the taxi, he immediately came forward and took Zhang Jun's right hand in both of his. "Mr. Zhang, I'm Zheng Xing. Thank you very much for coming to inspect my stable."

Zhang Jun nodded, exchanged a few pleasantries, and said, "Seeing you in person is better than hearing about you. How about we take a look inside the stable?"

Zheng Xing nodded repeatedly, calling himself discourteous as he led Zhang Jun into the stable.

Zhang Jun entered the stable and looked around.

Zheng Xing's stable was somewhat smaller than Lin Zhi's, with only twenty-four stalls. There were currently just seven horses inside, though another seven stalls contained feed buckets and thick bedding.

The environment was also excellent. The floors were spotless, the ventilation was good, and although the seven horses had poor attributes, their coats gleamed and their eyes were bright. They had clearly been very well cared for.

(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

Zhang Jun had already made up his mind, but he still needed to hear Zheng Xing's introduction. He could not appear too eager.

Zheng Xing began, "My stable only opened this year, so I don't have many horses—fourteen in total. Aside from these seven, four are in training, while three are at the racecourse preparing for races."

"Although there aren't many horses in the stable and their quality isn't particularly high, all management, training, feed, and everything else are done according to what I learned at my teacher's stable."

"The feed uses the same formula as my teacher's, and all the supplements, roughage, and concentrated feed are fresh..."

While Zheng Xing introduced the stable, Zhang Jun observed its condition.

Because it was smaller, the corridors looked a little more crowded than those at Lin Zhi's stable. However, the stall sizes, environment, feed, training, and other aspects were nearly identical to Lin Zhi's stable.

After making a round, Zhang Jun nodded in satisfaction. "Teacher Zheng Xing's stable is much better than I imagined. Those four kids will return to Jianzhou Ranch by the 12th at the latest. After resting for a few days, they'll be sent here by horse transport truck. Sorry for the trouble, but please handle the relevant procedures first."

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Zheng Xing's face filled with wild joy, and he nearly burst into tears. He bowed repeatedly. "Please rest assured, I'll give it everything I have and help them achieve the best results possible."

Zhang Jun said goodbye and left. Since horses would arrive at Jianzhou Ranch the next day, he did not return home. Instead, he took another taxi to the station and returned to Jianzhou Ranch in Mindu.

At noon the next day, Zhang Jun rode Jianzhou Ranch's horse transport truck to the airport. Two mares from Zhejiang Province would arrive today aboard a transport plane from the Zhejiang Local Racing Association.

The two mares belonged to a racing club in Zhejiang Province. Since the club's theme this year was classical poetry, the horses were named Quiet Night Thoughts and River Snow.

They would come to Min Province accompanied by their own stablehands and spend some time adapting.

The plane arrived quickly. Two middle-aged men got off first, and Zhang Jun approached with two young men.

"Hello, I'm Zhang Jun."

After shaking hands with the two men, Zhang Jun introduced them. "These two are Du Chun and Zhou Fang. They're the stablehands I hired for Quiet Night Thoughts and River Snow. Both are students at the Min Province Stablehand Academy."

October was the time when many university students looked for work. After returning to Mindu on the 9th, Zhang Jun had recruited four employees from a specialized stablehand academy with Luo Yong's help to serve as stablehands for the four mares.

Since the ranch had not yet been purchased, the four of them would stay in Jianzhou for the time being, making it easier to care for the horses. Zhang Jun would cover their wages and lodging, while they would pay for their own meals like the Jianzhou staff.

The two middle-aged men shook hands with the three and exchanged greetings. One of them introduced himself, "I'm Ma Rui, Quiet Night Thoughts' stablehand. He's Ke Liang, River Snow's stablehand."

After the introductions, the four went to the rear of the plane and led down the two mares. Both appeared to be in excellent spirits. Zhang Jun took out the sugar cubes, carrots, apples, and other fruit he had prepared in advance from the truck, then gave some to Du Chun and Zhou Fang.

Quiet Night Thoughts was a black mare with a large white blaze on her forehead. She was five years old. She had raced twenty-nine times in Zhejiang Province's local circuit and won four times, with her best result being a Class B2 victory. However, she had failed to place in five consecutive races.

The attributes Zhang Jun checked were as follows:

[Horse Name: Quiet Night Thoughts

Sex/Age: Mare, 5

Coat Color: Black

Racing Attributes:

Explosiveness: B+

Spirit: A

Intelligence: C+

Health: B+

Track Adaptability: Turf ○, Dirt △.

Running Style: Closer

Distance: 1600–2200

Growth Type: Standard Early.

Breeding Attributes:

Foals: 5

Hereditary Trait: Explosiveness (Iron Pony).]

River Snow was a blue roan that had already turned gray, equivalent to a Japanese gray horse. She looked dusty gray and was also five years old. Her record was three wins from twenty-seven local races, with her best victory being Class B3.

[Horse Name: River Snow

Sex/Age: Mare, 5

Coat Color: Blue Roan

Racing Attributes:

Strength: A

Explosiveness: C+

Competitive Grit: B

Spirit: B+

Health: A+

Track Adaptability: Turf ◎, Dirt X

Distance: 1400–1800

Breeding Attributes:

Foals: 5

Hereditary Trait: Health (Bronze Pony).]

With the reassurance of the two veteran stablehands, Zhang Jun and the other two established an initial connection with the mares through feeding them. Only then did they lead the horses onto the transport truck and return to Jianzhou Ranch.

Inside the stable, the four new stablehands had already prepared stalls for the horses. Yang Fan, the assistant Jianzhou Ranch had assigned to Luo Heng, was waiting early at the entrance.

He was one of Jianzhou Ranch's stablehand leaders. Like the other three leaders, he had once been a head stablehand at the ranch and was a disciple of Tian Qi, the now-retired ace stablehand. He had been specifically assigned to assist Luo Heng, and Du Chun's group of four were now also his apprentices.

After settling in the horses, Du Chun and the others immediately began work, while the two stablehands who had accompanied the horses also helped out.

Over the next few days, the other six horses, including Flying Cloud Colt, as well as the horses Luo Heng had purchased, all arrived. The once-empty stable became much livelier.

Aside from the two mares they already knew, the other two mares were named Drunken Flower Shade and Shangcheng Heroine.

Drunken Flower Shade was a horse from Anhui Province. She matured early and declined early. At age two, she won a maiden race in the central circuit. During the first half of her third year, she won a one-win race, then never won another race. Her owner put her on the market, and she was now under Huang Tu's care.

[Horse Name: Drunken Flower Shade

Sex/Age: Mare, 4

Coat Color: Brown Bay

Racing Attributes:

Explosiveness: C+

Intelligence: B

Health: B+

Track Adaptability: Turf X, Dirt ◎

Running Style: Front-Runner

Distance: 1600–2400

Breeding Attributes:

Foals: 5

Hereditary Trait: Speed (Bronze Pony).]

Shangcheng Heroine was a local racer from Shandong Province. She had two wins from sixteen races in her career, with only one Class C2 victory. After that, she had been running for prize money. Once the prizes became higher, she could no longer earn any, so she was put on the trading platform and assigned to the last stablehand, Qi Fei.

[Horse Name: Shangcheng Heroine

Sex/Age: Mare, 4

Coat Color: Bay

Racing Attributes:

Speed: G

Explosiveness: B+

Competitive Grit:

Spirit: B

Health: B

Track Adaptability: Turf ○, Dirt ○

Distance: 1400–2000

Growth Type: Standard Early.

Breeding Attributes:

Foals: 6

Hereditary Trait: None.]