The First Nights of a Group of Mares

By March, the weather in Min Province had gradually begun to warm up.

In Jianzhou Ranch's stables, the six broodmares under Zhang Jun's name had completed their conditioning and entered peak breeding condition.

According to the breeding plan Zhang Jun had drawn up before the New Year and the timing of the mares' heat cycles, they would head to different stud farms over the next two weeks to breed with the stallions they had reserved.

"Jun, the horse transport is ready." Luo Heng walked in from outside. "Who are we sending first?"

Zhang Jun looked over the list. "River Snow first. Her breeding appointment is the earliest."

Zhou Fang had already led River Snow out of her stall, and she stood in the middle of the aisle. The gray mare's coat had turned a little whiter than before, gleaming softly in the morning light.

She seemed to know she was going out today and looked rather excited, snorting repeatedly as her hooves tapped lightly against the ground.

Zhang Jun walked over and stroked her neck. "Be good. I'm taking you to find a husband today, so behave yourself during the breeding, okay?"

River Snow rubbed against his hand, her eyes sparkling. It was hard to tell whether she understood him.

Zhou Fang and Huang Tu carefully fitted River Snow with transport protection gear—thick cotton padding wrapped around her legs and body to prevent any bumps during the trip.

Once everything was ready, the two of them led River Snow slowly onto the horse transport.

Zhang Jun followed her aboard and stayed with her in the compartment. The transport vehicle started up slowly, drove out through the ranch gates, and headed toward the airport.

The compartment was a little bumpy, but River Snow stood steadily. Every now and then, she lowered her head to take a bite of the forage in Zhang Jun's hand—the premium system-produced forage that had become every horse's favorite over the past few days.

"Don't be nervous," Zhang Jun soothed her softly. "Once we get there, you'll be paired with an excellent stallion. Zhehai Flying Dragon—I looked him up. He's an outstanding stallion with very high-quality offspring. Your foal will definitely be exceptional."

River Snow raised her head and touched Zhang Jun's face with her damp pink nose, as though responding to him.

Zhejiang Stud Farm was located on the outskirts of HZ City. Covering several hundred acres, it was one of the stud farms under the Huaxia Horse Racing Association. It housed more than thirty high-quality stallions and received nearly two thousand broodmares from across the country every year.

After getting off the plane and transferring to Zhejiang Province's horse transport, they arrived at the stud farm, where staff were already waiting at the entrance to receive them.

"Hello, are you River Snow from Jianzhou Ranch?" A middle-aged man in his forties stepped forward. "I'm the supervisor here. My surname is Qian."

Zhang Jun got out and shook Supervisor Qian's hand. "Hello, Supervisor Qian. Sorry for the trouble."

"Not at all, not at all." Supervisor Qian smiled toward the horse transport. "We've reviewed River Snow's pedigree. She's an excellent mare. Zhehai Flying Dragon is in great form this year, and his breeding success rate is very high."

Zhou Fang led River Snow down from the transport, and she curiously examined her new surroundings.

The stud farm was filled with all kinds of scents: the smell of other mares, as well as the scent of stallions. Her ears kept twitching, and she looked somewhat nervous.

Zhang Jun stayed by her side, constantly soothing her.

The group arrived at the breeding area of the stud farm.

It was an open field enclosed by high walls. The ground was covered with thick, soft sand, and two heavy wooden boards stood upright in the center, each fitted with pegs for tying reins.

On one side of the grounds, the staff were leading out a tall bay stallion. That was Zhehai Flying Dragon.

Zhehai Flying Dragon seemed to sense something. He lifted his head toward River Snow and let out a low neigh.

River Snow's ears twitched, and she looked toward him as well.

"We can begin," Supervisor Qian said, signaling for the staff to lead River Snow into the enclosure.

Zhehai Flying Dragon walked over too. The two horses sniffed each other, then Zhehai Flying Dragon gave a soft neigh and rubbed his head against River Snow's neck. River Snow's body tensed slightly, but she did not pull away.

Seeing this, the staff began guiding the breeding process.

Zhang Jun stood at the edge of the enclosure, watching without blinking.

It was his first time personally witnessing horses breed, and he could not help feeling both nervous and expectant.

The entire process went far more smoothly than he had imagined.

The two horses seemed very compatible. There was no resistance or lack of cooperation at all, though it was much faster than Zhang Jun had expected. From start to finish, it took less than forty seconds.

"Congratulations, Mr. Zhang." Supervisor Qian approached with a smile. "Judging from the situation, the chances of conception are very high. We can confirm it in a month. If she isn't pregnant, we can breed her again here for free."

Zhang Jun let out a breath of relief and thanked Supervisor Qian.

River Snow was led out of the enclosure and walked over to Zhang Jun. Her breathing was a little rapid, but her gaze was calm. She did not seem opposed to what had just happened.

Zhang Jun stroked her head and fed her several horse treats. "Thanks for the effort, good girl."

Over the next few days, Zhang Jun accompanied the remaining five mares as they traveled in turn to various stud farms.

Drunken Flower Shade's destination was Jianzhou Ranch's own stud farm. It was located within the ranch, though separated from the broodmare and young horse areas on the other side of the property.

The breeding went very smoothly. West River Moon liked Drunken Flower Shade very much, and Drunken Flower Shade seemed quite fond of West River Moon too. Before it began, the two horses were affectionate with each other, and even after it was over, they rubbed against one another reluctantly.

"West River Moon seems to like her a lot. How about we pair the two of them exclusively from now on? We can set the breeding fee at two hundred thousand."

Luo Fei smiled as he made the suggestion, and Zhang Jun gladly accepted.

Quiet Night Thoughts traveled to Gan Province to breed with White-Haired Swordsman, and everything went smoothly.

Shangcheng Heroine, meanwhile, went to Mindu Ranch's stud farm on the Mindu Plain to breed with Mindu Gentleman.

The last two to breed were the mares Zhang Jun valued most: Gentle Breeze Arrives and Stormcloud Lightning.

Gentle Breeze Arrives headed to Eight Min Stud Farm to breed with Standing Like a Mountain.

When Gentle Breeze Arrives was led into the breeding area, she was extremely excited.

Ever since this mare's coat had faded to white and she had become obsessed with treats, her personality had grown increasingly lively. Whenever she saw something, she wanted to go over and rub against it.

Standing Like a Mountain stood in the middle of the enclosure like a small mountain. When he saw Gentle Breeze Arrives, he lifted his head and let out a deep neigh.

Gentle Breeze Arrives was not intimidated in the slightest. She trotted over and immediately rubbed herself against him.

Standing Like a Mountain froze for a moment, then lowered his head and sniffed her. There was a trace of helplessness in his gaze, but also affection—he was already fifteen years old, a full two generations older than Gentle Breeze Arrives.

The breeding went smoothly. As she left, Gentle Breeze Arrives looked back several times and whinnied, as though saying goodbye to Standing Like a Mountain.

The last mare was Stormcloud Lightning.

She was headed to a small stud farm jointly established in Xinghua by several tiny and ultra-tiny ranches, where she would breed with a stallion named South Mountain South.

South Mountain South was a ten-year-old gray horse. His offspring trait was only 5, but his hereditary traits were quite exceptional. He possessed Golden Pony-level explosive acceleration. Zhang Jun had chosen him for his high chance of passing down that explosive burst, hoping to land a double explosive-acceleration inheritance and produce a foal with an astonishing finishing kick.

As for South Mountain South's poor offspring trait, Zhang Jun felt that Stormcloud Lightning's offspring trait of 7 would be enough to make up for it.

Because of his violent temper and poor racing record, very few people sought South Mountain South for breeding. Most were simply ranch owners bringing a few mares from their own properties.

Thus, when Zhang Jun called to make a breeding appointment, the ranch owner was so excited that he waived Zhang Jun's breeding fee outright and even wanted to pay Zhang Jun a breeding fee instead.

The staff led South Mountain South out. He was a very small gray horse, his body already faded to a grayish white.

When he saw Stormcloud Lightning, South Mountain South stopped and quietly watched her. Stormcloud Lightning looked back at him.

The breeding process was very calm. When it was over, Stormcloud Lightning remained where she was and watched South Mountain South being led away, an imperceptible flicker passing through her eyes.

On the transport ride back, Zhang Jun sat in the compartment with Stormcloud Lightning.

Six mares, six breedings—every one of them had gone more smoothly than he could have imagined. Perhaps it was the boost from the system forage, or perhaps these horses were simply exceptional themselves. In any case, everything was moving in a good direction.

Stormcloud Lightning stood quietly in the compartment, occasionally lowering her head to take a bite of forage. Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened, and the distant mountains became silhouettes in the dusk.

Zhang Jun stroked her neck. "This time next year, your foals will be born. By then, we might have a ranch of our own."

Stormcloud Lightning raised her head and looked quietly at him with her dark brown eyes. Then she snorted and buried her head against his chest.