Chapter 1190: Cattle Farm

Jiang Yuan got off work and chose

After being away selling for a long time, even if one stays in a five-star hotel or even a small house one has purchased oneself, there is ultimately still a feeling of being on a business trip, and mental stress accumulates unconsciously.

At times like this, walking home is like a pressure-relief valve; the closer one gets to home, the less the pressure.

Mu Zhiyang and Wen Ming followed Jiang Yuan, each carrying a Type 92 pistol. The security of Ningtai County is still guaranteed to a certain extent; Mu Zhiyang only wore a standard-issue bulletproof vest without ceramic plates, focusing his attention more on the people and vehicles around them.

The roads were lined with trees, and a cool breeze blew. There were quite a few others who also chose to walk. Occasionally, someone would take out their phone and aim it at the two men in police uniforms, likely preparing to post to their social media circles. Every time this happened, Mu Zhiyang would turn around to face them directly, which also allowed the body-worn camera on his chest to capture the person's face.

Jiang Yuan took out his phone and called his father: "I'm coming home for dinner."

"Good, good, good." Jiang Fujian was very happy and laughed loudly: "It's better to be home. Running around outside every day, you can't even get a decent meal."

"Didn't you send a chef over?" Jiang Yuan also felt that being home was quite comfortable.

"What the chef makes can't compare to what your dad makes." Jiang Fujian was proud for two seconds, then turned his head and said: "I've learned two new ways to roast meat; hurry back and try them. Don't go upstairs; I'm downstairs."

"Okay." Jiang Yuan agreed with a smile and walked a bit faster.

Mu Zhiyang kept one hand on his belt, following closely.

The Jiang Village residential compound was as lively as ever. At the entrance of the small supermarket, a dozen uncles and aunts were, as usual, holding court.

As Jiang Yuan greeted them while entering, someone shouted: "Your dad is over by the smoke."

Jiang Yuan looked up and could see the wisps of smoke rising from the center of the compound, asking: "What is he doing?"

"Brazilian barbecue. Your dad had someone build a stove; it's like the heated brick beds we use, quite interesting." An old man said a few words, and out of respect for Jiang Yuan and the village's richest man, he only added a tiny tail of sarcasm.

Jiang Yuan nodded with a smile. Recalling that his father had mentioned on the phone earlier that he had bought a new breed of cattle, it now seemed reasonable that the new breed required a new cooking method, and the new cooking method required a new stove, new cookware, and so on.

Passing through a flower bed made of green trees and flowers, then circling into the public canteen in the middle of the compound, one could see a long iron chain hanging from the three-story-high ceiling, with half a cow hanging from the hook below.

Next to the cow was a newly built stove. The stove looked to be over two meters high and about the size of five or six people hugging it, with the exterior appearing to be made of firebricks and cement.

What was incongruous was that this crude-looking stove was set up inside the renovated canteen. Although the public canteen was decorated very simply and was originally a synthesis of village-level aesthetics and pragmatism, this stove looked even more foolish, big, and coarse.

But looking around, a group of children were playing and watching around the cow and the stove. Further back, there were young wives holding children and grandparents pushing strollers watching the spectacle. Some people even held meat skewers in their hands, looking as if they had just been roasted.

"Son." Jiang Fujian knew Jiang Yuan was coming back and had been keeping an eye on the entrance. Seeing Jiang Yuan, who was a head taller, appear, he immediately waved his tongs happily.

"Be careful not to burn anyone." Jiang Yuan trotted over a few steps.

Jiang Fujian patted Jiang Yuan's back hard, then pointed to the red-hot furnace, saying: "I started preparing early this morning. The heat is perfect now. Want a skewer of tri-tip?"

"Okay." Jiang Yuan followed the example of the people nearby and fetched a plate for himself.

A cousin joked: "Uncle is still partial to Jiang Yuan, saving the best meat for him."

"It's beef rump. If you like it, Uncle will slaughter another one and cut it fresh for you." Jiang Fujian said as he took out an arm-length iron skewer and placed it on the plate Jiang Yuan was holding: "Be careful, it's hot. Let it cool a bit before eating."

The cousin circled Jiang Yuan and clicked her tongue: "I can't afford to like it; slaughtering a cow on the spot is too extravagant."

"I bought another batch of cattle for my ranch; you can pick a batch you like to slaughter." Jiang Fujian took out his phone, handed it to the person next to him, and said: "Pick your cow from the pictures; it can be delivered in two hours."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare." The cousin shook her head repeatedly: "I'll just mooch a few skewers. Uncle, why are you buying so many cows?"

"You need a lot of cows to do proper breeding. I want to create a flavor of beef I like; I'm idle anyway." Jiang Fujian said, looking a bit excited, and began to introduce the knowledge of cattle breed improvement he had just learned.

Jiang Yuan gently blew on the meat on the iron skewer. Once it cooled a bit, he took a bite and chewed hard, the rich meat juices filling his mouth.

He didn't worry about his father. Given Jiang Fujian's luck, in all the years he had been doing business, he had basically never lost money. Occasionally, there would be small fluctuations, but soon there would be a demolition project to help balance the books. If the Jiang family ranch could hold out until the new breed of cattle was ready for market, that in itself would be a victory.

Lunch was held around the barbecue stove.

After Jiang Fujian had roasted half a cow and fed hundreds of residents of the compound, Jiang Yuan finally went home with his father.

Like many men, when Jiang Fujian didn't see his son, he had all sorts of things he wanted to say, but once he actually saw him, it was as if he had already said everything, and he was satisfied.

By comparison, the two dogs at home were more enthusiastic, sniffing around Jiang Yuan, their tails wagging as if they were about to take flight.

Of course, Jiang Yuan did give them some beef, that's true.

Jiang Fujian turned on the television, playing a soccer match from somewhere, and then he and Uncle Qiang each had a bottle of beer. The house immediately became lively.

"How many days can you stay?" Jiang Fujian drank a bottle of beer and handed another to Jiang Yuan.

"Just a few days. I'll pick one or two suitable cases, and then I'll be off." Jiang Yuan clinked glasses with his father and took a big gulp of beer. The beer was crisp and very suitable for cutting the grease.

"So, are there just too few cases in Ningtai, which is why you're on business trips all day long?" Jiang Fujian asked.

"Yes, but Ningtai County hasn't had any major cases for a long time." Jiang Yuan looked at his father: "Do you want me to stay at home?"

"Not at all." Jiang Fujian immediately waved his hand: "A man's ambitions lie in the four corners of the world. When you first wanted to return to Ningtai, I thought you wanted to lie flat. I didn't expect..."

Jiang Fujian stopped here for a moment and said: "I was thinking, since you're always on business trips outside, eating poorly and living poorly, why don't you pick a few places, and I'll buy a few more houses? It would be convenient for you to come and go."

"Haven't we already bought a house in Changyang City, and there's one in the capital..."

"I see you don't stay there much..."

"No need. I never know where I'll be handling cases next." Jiang Yuan hesitated for a moment, but thinking about how he was going to more and more places now, he felt that this approach would be hard to bring any convenience to his life and might instead bring a lot of trouble.

Jiang Fujian took out his phone and, while skillfully opening the ICBC app, said: "I'll send you some money. Buy a place to stay when you need to. If it's not enough, tell me..."

"Okay." Jiang Yuan accepted it calmly.

Uncle Qiang, who was waiting for the father and son to put away their phones, said to Jiang Fujian: "Didn't you say earlier that the owner of the cattle breed you wanted had something stolen from his house? Jiang Yuan might be able to get their things back for them."

"Just a few paintings, worth a few million at most." Jiang Fujian shook his head.

"A few million is not a small amount. What kind of paintings?" Jiang Yuan asked proactively. Jiang Fujian had started a ranch three times already. Although the first two times were interrupted by demolition, from another perspective, running a ranch and raising cattle really belonged to Jiang Fujian's hobbies, and as a son, he naturally had to support him.

"Let me think. There's a small painting by Zhang Daqian; they say it's an authentic work, so that should be the most valuable one. The rest are paintings from the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China; I don't remember the names." Jiang Fujian said, then changed the subject: "The owner of this cattle ranch is also a spendthrift. His father specifically bought Limousin cattle from France and did a great job with crossbreeding, but the son couldn't get into college and studied art. Whenever he had money, he bought paintings and was cheated left and right..."

"Where is the cattle ranch, and what is its name?" Jiang Yuan asked one by one, then sent the information to Wang Chuanxing, saying: "I'll ask about the situation first. If necessary, I can help them take a look."

(End of chapter)