CHAPTER 1277: CHAPTER 1204: COW FARM

Jiang Yuan got off work and chose to walk home slowly.

After being away for so long, even if staying in a five-star hotel or a self-purchased small house, it still felt like a business trip, and unknowingly accumulated some mental stress.

At this time, walking home was like a pressure relief valve; the closer to home, the less the pressure.

Mu Zhiyang and Wen Ming followed Jiang Yuan, each carrying a Type 92 pistol. Although the safety in Ningtai County was reasonably assured, Mu Zhiyang only wore a standard bulletproof vest without a ceramic plate, focusing more on the surroundings and vehicles.

The road was lined with greenery, and the gentle breeze blew. Many others chose to walk too. Occasionally, someone would take out their phone to aim at the two in police uniforms, probably preparing to post on social media. Whenever this happened, Mu Zhiyang would turn around, facing the person, so that the law enforcement recorder on his chest captured the person’s face.

Jiang Yuan took out his phone and called his father: "I’ll be home for dinner."

"Good, good, good." Jiang Fuzhen was very happy, laughed loudly and said: "Home is always best, running outside all the time, can’t even eat properly."

"Didn’t you send a chef over?" Jiang Yuan also felt good returning home.

"A chef’s cooking is never as good as your dad’s." Jiang Fuzhen boasted for two seconds and then said: "I’ve learned two new ways to cook meat, hurry back to try it. Don’t bother going upstairs, just come downstairs."

"Alright." Jiang Yuan agreed with a smile and quickened his pace.

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

Jiangcun Residential Area was as lively as ever, with the small supermarket entrance occupied by a dozen uncles and aunts as usual.

Jiang Yuan greeted them as he walked in, and someone shouted: "Your dad is at the smokiest spot."

Jiang Yuan looked up and saw the wisps of smoke rising from the center of the complex and asked: "What’s he doing?"

"Brazilian barbecue. Your dad had someone build a furnace, like the kang we use, it’s pretty interesting." An old man said a few words, and out of respect for Jiang Yuan and the village’s richest man, added only a slight sarcastic hint.

Jiang Yuan nodded with a smile, recalling his dad’s earlier phone call mentioning buying a new breed of cattle. Now it seemed the new breed probably needed a new way of cooking, and the new cooking method required new stoves and utensils, which made sense.

He passed a flower bed made of green trees and flowers, and circled into the community’s public dining hall. As he entered, he saw 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 furnace. The furnace appeared to be more than two meters tall, about as thick as five or six people embracing it, and seemed to be made of fire bricks and cement.

The strange thing was, this rough-looking furnace was set inside the newly renovated dining hall. Although the public dining hall itself was modest, a combination of village aesthetics and pragmatism, the furnace appeared to be even sillier, bigger, and cruder.

But looking around, a group of children played around the cow and the furnace. Further back, young mothers holding their children, and grandparents pushing strollers were watching. Some people even held skewers in their hands, as if freshly grilled.

"Son." Jiang Fuzhen had been watching the entrance, knowing Jiang Yuan was coming home, and when he saw the taller Jiang Yuan appear, he instantly waved the tongs joyfully.

"Be careful not to burn anyone." Jiang Yuan jogged over.

Jiang Fuzhen patted Jiang Yuan’s back heavily, then pointed to the burning red furnace: "Started preparing early in the morning, now is the best time for grilling, want a piece of tri-tip?"

"Sure." Jiang Yuan imitated others, grabbed a plate, and went over.

A cousin jokingly said: "Uncle always saves the best meat for Jiang Yuan."

"If you like the rump steak, I’ll slaughter another one for you." Jiang Fuzhen said, taking out an arm-length iron skewer and placing it on Jiang Yuan’s plate: "Be careful, it’s hot, let it cool before eating."

The cousin circled around Jiang Yuan, tutting: "I can’t afford to like it, slaughtering a whole cow is too extravagant."

"I just bought another batch of cattle at the ranch, you can pick one to slaughter if you like." Jiang Fuzhen pulled out his phone, handing it to someone nearby: "Choose one from the pictures, can be delivered in two hours."

"No, no," the cousin shook her head repeatedly: "I’ll just grab a few skewers. Uncle, why buy so many cows?"

"It’s better to have more cattle for breeding improvements. I want to create a taste I like, it’s something to do in my spare time." Jiang Fuzhen said with some excitement, starting to explain the knowledge he just learned about cattle breeding improvements.

Jiang Yuan gently blew on the meat on the iron skewer. Once it cooled a bit, he took a bite, chewing hard as the juicy meat flooded his mouth.

He wasn’t worried about his dad. With Jiang Fuzhen’s luck, having been in business for so many years and hardly losing money, even if there were slight fluctuations, things like demolition came along to even out the losses. If the Jiang Family Ranch could hold out until the new breed of cows was ready for market, it would already be a victory.

Lunchtime revolved around the barbecue.

After Jiang Fuzhen grilled half a cow and fed over a hundred community residents, Jiang Yuan followed his dad home.

Like many men, Jiang Fuzhen had a lot to say when he hadn’t seen his son. But once they met, it was like he had already said everything and was satisfied.

By contrast, the two dogs at home were more enthusiastic, circling around Jiang Yuan and sniffing excitedly, their tails wagging like they were about to fly.

Of course, Jiang Yuan gave them some beef as well.

Jiang Fuzhen turned on the TV, which was showing a football match from somewhere, and he and Uncle Qiang each had a bottle of beer, immediately livening up the house.

"How long can you stay?" Jiang Fuzhen drank a bottle of beer and handed another to Jiang Yuan.

"Just a few days, I guess. I’ll pick a couple of suitable cases and then set off." Jiang Yuan clinked glasses with his dad and took a big gulp of beer. The cold beer was perfect for cutting the grease.

"So it’s because there aren’t enough cases in Ningtai, that’s why you have to travel all the time?" Jiang Fuzhen asked.

"Yes, but Ningtai County hasn’t had a major case in a while." Jiang Yuan looked at his dad: "Do you want me to stay home?"

"Not at all." Jiang Fuzhen immediately waved his hand: "A man’s aspirations should be widespread. When you first wanted to come back to Ningtai, I thought you wanted to take it easy. I didn’t expect..."

Jiang Fuzhen paused here and said: "I was thinking, you’re frequently traveling, eating poorly and living uncomfortably. Instead, why not choose a few locations where I can buy a few more houses, making it easier for you to come and go."

"Haven’t we already bought a house in Changyang City, and there’s one in Beijing too..."

"But you don’t seem to stay in them very often..."

"No need, I can’t say where I’ll have to go next for a case." Jiang Yuan hesitated for a moment but realized the more places he had to travel to, the less convenience owning more houses would bring, possibly even more trouble.

Jiang Fuzhen pulled out his phone, expertly opened the ICBC app, and said: "I’ll wire you some money, buy a place when you need to, and let me know if you run short..."

"Alright." Jiang Yuan accepted without hesitation.

Uncle Qiang watched as the father and son both put away their phones, then said to Jiang Fuzhen: "Didn’t you mention before that the guy who owns the breed you wanted lost something at his house? Maybe Jiang Yuan can help them find it."

"Just a few paintings, most valuable probably only worth a few million." Jiang Fuzhen shook his head.

"A few million is not a small sum, what paintings?" Jiang Yuan asked proactively. Jiang Fuzhen had opened ranches three times already. Although the first two were halted due to demolition, from another perspective, running a ranch and raising cattle were genuinely his passions, as a son, he should naturally support them.

"Let me think, there’s a small piece by Zhang Daqian, said to be an original, that’s probably the most valuable. The rest are Late Qing Dynasty and Republic-era ones, I don’t remember the names." Jiang Fuzhen shifted the topic: "The ranch owner is also a squanderer, his dad specially bought Limousin cattle from France, and he made quite a success with crossbreeding on his own. But the son couldn’t get into The Great Learning, studied art instead, spends money buying paintings, getting tricked left and right..."

"Which ranch and what’s its name?" Jiang Yuan asked one by one, then sent the information to Wang Chuanxing, saying: "I’ll ask around about the situation, if necessary, I can look into it for them."