First Exchange and Premium Feed

Riding his little electric scooter, Zhang Jun suddenly remembered something and silently called out in his mind, System.

A pale blue screen appeared at once.

Over the past few months, Shadow Hunter had won the Eight Min Two-Year-Old Stakes and earned 3.2 million in prize money, while Cloudstream Flying Shadow had won the Eight Min Mile and earned 3 million. Together with the wins and placings of several other racehorses, the accumulated points had become quite substantial.

Looking at the string of numbers on the screen, Zhang Jun suddenly realized—he had never actually used the system's exchange function.

Actually, I just forgot about it. Hehe.

He tapped the store icon. The screen shifted, and rows of items appeared before him:

[Premium Water Source: 1 point/kg]

[Equine Nutrient Supplement: 10 points/vial]

[Ten-Stall Stable: 200 points/set]

[Injury Recovery Potion: 100 points/vial]

[Premium Feed Generator (Permanent): 2,000 points]

[Premium Water Fountain (Building): 2,400 points]

Zhang Jun's gaze stopped on the last item—Premium Feed Generator, permanent, 2,000 points.

He opened the details with a thought:

[Premium Feed Generator: Automatically generates a corresponding amount of premium feed according to the number of horses under your ownership (once every half month; proportions adjusted automatically; purchase records generated and transported to designated locations). The generated forage is rich in various nutrients, effectively improving horses' health, endurance, and immunity while reducing the chance of injury and illness. Note: The first three store exchanges are 50% off.]

Half price? That meant 1,000 points.

Zhang Jun did the math. He had just enough points.

"This..." Zhang Jun was tempted.

Feed was the most basic sustenance for horses. If every horse under his name could eat this kind of premium feed, the long-term improvements to their health would definitely be enormous. Not to mention that it could reduce the chance of injuries and illness—this was what he valued most.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Jun gritted his teeth and pressed the exchange button. A pop-up appeared on the screen.

[Confirm spending 1,000 points to exchange for "Premium Feed Generator"?]

Zhang Jun selected "Confirm" with a thought.

[Exchange successful. "Premium Feed Generator" has been placed in the system warehouse. Please set transportation locations (may be changed at any time; multiple locations may be set).]

After thinking it over, Zhang Jun selected Jianzhou Ranch and the training center in Jian'an.

He exited the system, his heart full of anticipation—just how premium was this premium forage?

A few days later, Zhang Jun arrived at Jianzhou Ranch. He adjusted the feed generator and first produced a small batch for testing, which was delivered here. He planned to use Jianzhou Ranch's connections to find laboratory staff to analyze the feed's composition.

Although Zhang Jun had confidence in it himself, he still needed a report to dispel Luo Fei and the others' doubts. Otherwise, they might think Zhang Jun had been scammed.

Zhang Jun entered the ranch and found Luo Fei, then explained everything according to the story he had prepared beforehand.

Basically, an unnamed horse racing fan wanted to do his part for Shadow Hunter and the others while also making some money. A few days ago, he had asked Zhang Jun for Shadow Hunter's test report, then sent over a feed he had developed himself for Zhang Jun to try.

If it worked, he would become the exclusive nutritionist for the racehorses under Zhang Jun's name in the future.

Zhang Jun had come today to ask Luo Fei to help him find someone to test the feed's safety and nutritional content.

Luo Fei patted his chest. "Easy. I know the director of a laboratory in Mindu. I'll give him a call, and the results will be ready in a day or two."

Zhang Jun thanked him. After waiting with Luo Fei by the ranch entrance for a while, a delivery truck drove over and stopped outside the gate.

The driver rolled down the window and exchanged a few words with Zhang Jun. After confirming that he was delivering feed produced by the generator, the courier carried a small bucket and two rather thick-looking boxes out of the truck.

The small bucket contained concentrate feed, a mixture of oats, barley, corn, beans, minerals, and oil. The two boxes held freshly cut forage and hay produced by the generator, respectively.

They took samples of each and sent them to the laboratory for testing. Just as Luo Fei had said, the report arrived after only one day.

The concentrate feed contained even more nutrients than the feeds developed by various ranches and trainers themselves. The fresh forage and hay were likewise richer in nutrients than the alfalfa forage currently in common use.

Holding the test report, Zhang Jun discussed it with Luo Fei, Lin Zhi, and Zheng Xing. They decided that from then on, the horses under Zhang Jun's name would switch to feed produced by this generator.

After adjusting the generator in the system space and arranging the feed delivery times with the three of them, Zhang Jun and Luo Heng looked at the remaining test feed and fell silent. There was so little of it that one horse could finish it in a single meal.

[For a horse, mixed feed made from roughage and concentrate totals more than 10 kilograms a day. Horses with high activity levels need more than 15 kilograms, along with over 25 kilograms of water.]

"There's only this much anyway. How about giving it to Shadow Hunter?" Luo Heng suggested.

Zhang Jun nodded. The two of them picked up the small bucket and boxes and headed toward Paddock Three.

Shadow Hunter was sunbathing on the grass with Jianzhou Warrior. The moment he saw Zhang Jun, he immediately trotted over, rubbing his head against Zhang Jun's chest.

Smiling, Zhang Jun stroked his ears and grabbed a handful of forage from the box for him—eating some roughage before concentrate feed helped with digestion.

Shadow Hunter lowered his head and sniffed it. His ears suddenly pricked up, and his eyes lit up. He finished the forage in just a few bites. Once he was done, he pushed his head into the bag again, making urging neighs.

"You like it that much?" Zhang Jun gave him another handful, then opened the small bucket and poured the concentrate feed into Shadow Hunter's feed tub.

Jianzhou Warrior ambled over as well and poked his head into the box.

Zhang Jun took out some forage from the box and shared it with him. Jianzhou Warrior ate it, neighed twice, then voluntarily rubbed against Zhang Jun's hand.

Luo Heng stared in astonishment. "Damn, what kind of forage is this? It actually got that proud Jianzhou Warrior to rub against someone on his own?"

Zhang Jun was secretly startled. He knew nothing produced by the system would be bad, but he had not expected the effect to be so obvious.

Over the following days, feed produced by the generator was delivered by pickup trucks and large freight trucks to the forage area at Jianzhou Ranch, as well as to the stables used by Lin Zhi and Zheng Xing at the training center. All of the young horses under Zhang Jun's name began eating the generator's premium feed.

Whether it was Shadow Hunter, Cloudstream Flying Shadow, Flying Cloud Colt, or the six broodmares, every single horse showed tremendous fondness for the feed.

What delighted Zhang Jun even more was that, one week after the forage arrived, Lin Zhi and Zheng Xing called separately to say that Shadow Hunter, Flying Cloud Colt, and the others were in even better condition than before. Their coats were glossier, their spirits higher, and their training performances more outstanding.

Luo Heng also told Zhang Jun that the six broodmares recuperating in Stable Ten had improved considerably as well.

"These 1,000 points were really well spent," Zhang Jun could not help but remark.