The "Dog Days" were finally breaking. The oppressive heat of mid-summer was giving way to the crisper, clearer air of early autumn. The leaves on the trees bordering the West Slope were beginning to turn, hints of gold and rust creeping into the green canopy.
For Li Wei, the change in season meant one thing: the countdown.
He stood by the scale he had rigged up—a simple lever system using a log and two baskets of known stone weights. Iron Head, the black steer, stood in the chute, munching calmly on a bundle of Gen II Ryegrass.
Li Wei ran his hands over the steer's flank. The ribs were no longer visible. A thick layer of muscle and fat covered the frame. The coat was sleek, shimmering with health.
**[System Scan: Iron Head.]**
**[Current Weight: 420 kg (925 lbs).]**
**[Daily Gain: 1.2 kg (Peak efficiency).]**
**[Fat Content: Moderate.]**
**[Meat Quality Projection: High Marble Score (Estimated 3-4).]**
"He's growing faster than I thought," Li Wei muttered, scribbling the number on a slate board.
"He's a monster," Da Niu said, leaning on the fence. The boy was wearing his boots and hat like a second skin now. "He almost broke the chute yesterday when he saw a butterfly."
"That's spirit," Li Wei grinned. "Spirit builds muscle. How's the compost selling?"
"Three more bags this morning," Da Niu reported. "Uncle Zhang says his cabbages are twice the size of his neighbor's. He wants to buy twenty bags for his winter wheat planting."
"Good. Collect the money upfront. We need liquidity."
Li Wei hopped down from the fence. He checked the sun. It was time for the weekly trip to the Fragrant Pavilion. But today, he wasn't carrying eggs.
Today, he was carrying a proposal.
***
**The Fragrant Pavilion's Back Door**
Li Wei entered the kitchen of the restaurant, bypassing the waiter with a nod. He had become a familiar face here. The Head Chef, a man named Luo, was shouting orders at his sous-chefs, the kitchen a blur of fire and steel.
"Chef Luo!" Li Wei called out.
Chef Luo turned, wiping his hands on his apron. When he saw Li Wei, his face broke into a rare smile.
"Li Wei! My egg supplier. You're late. I was about to send someone to your village. The nobles are clamoring for that orange-yolk custard again."
"I have the eggs," Li Wei said, pointing to the baskets Da Niu was setting down. "But I have something else today."
He reached into his satchel and pulled out a cloth-wrapped bundle. Inside was a slab of beef.
It wasn't a steak. It was a cut from an older bull Li Wei had bought cheaply from a neighbor and slaughtered the day before to test the market quality. It wasn't Iron Head, but it was fed on the Gen II grass.
"I want you to taste this," Li Wei said, placing it on the prep table.
Chef Luo raised an eyebrow. "Beef? We usually get ours from the big butchers in the East Market. Tough and stringy. Needs boiling for three hours."
"Try it raw," Li Wei challenged. "Just a slice."
The Chef looked at him, then picked up his sharp cleaver. He shaved off a thin slice of the red meat. He examined it.
"The marbling…" Luo murmured. He saw the thin veins of white fat running through the muscle. It wasn't the pure white fat of a Wagyu, but it was distinct. Local beef was usually yellow fat and sparse.
He popped the slice into his mouth.
He chewed slowly. His eyes closed.
The kitchen seemed to go quiet around him. The other cooks stopped to watch.
Chef Luo swallowed. He opened his eyes.
"It's sweet," he said. "And tender. It doesn't have that gamey, sour smell of draft oxen. This is… this is meat meant for eating, not plowing."
"It's grass-fed," Li Wei explained. "Special grass. I can supply you with this. Not the cheap stuff from the market. Premium beef. Consistent quality."
"How much?" Luo asked, cutting another slice for himself. He was already calculating recipes in his head.
"Market price plus twenty percent," Li Wei said firmly.
"Market price plus ten," Luo countered. "And you deliver it cleaned and cut into primal sections. I don't have time to hack through bones."
"Deal," Li Wei nodded. "But I need a contract. A promise of purchase. I'm expanding my herd, and I need to know I have a buyer."
"I'll buy everything you can bring me," Luo said, licking his fingers. "If it tastes like this consistently, I can charge double for the 'Cloud Hill Beef' special."
Li Wei smiled. A contract. A direct line to the high-end market. This was the leverage he needed.
***
**The Exam Fee**
Li Wei returned to the village in high spirits. The egg money plus the advance on the beef contract had padded the wallet significantly. But as he walked up the path to the house, he saw a figure sitting on the rock by the gate.
It was Li Chen.
His little brother wasn't studying. He was sitting with his head in his hands. The bamboo slips were scattered on the ground.
Li Wei's heart clenched. He walked over.
"Chen?"
The boy looked up. His eyes were red. He looked terrified.
"Third Brother," Chen whispered. "I… I can't go."
Li Wei sat down next to him. "Can't go where? To the exam?"
"The Prefecture City," Chen said, his voice trembling. "I just heard from the teacher. The County Magistrate has instituted a new 'Transit Tax' for students entering the city for the exam. Because of the bandit troubles in the north, they say. It's an extra five hundred coins on top of the registration fee. And… and the inn prices have tripled."
Five hundred coins. The transit tax. The unpredictable nature of ancient bureaucracy.
Li Wei did the math in his head.
Current savings: 950 coins.
Beef advance: 100 coins.
Total: 1050 coins.
New requirement: 2000 (original) + 500 (tax) = 2500 coins.
They were short by 1500 coins. A massive gap.
"I'll have to wait three years," Chen said, his voice hollow. "I'll be twenty-one then. Too old to be a prodigy. I'll just be another village teacher. I… I failed before I even started."
He looked at the ground, tears dripping onto his dusty shoes.
Li Wei looked at his brother. The hopelessness in the boy's voice mirrored the despair of the original Li Wei—the man who had worked himself to death and achieved nothing.
*"No,"* Li Wei thought. *"Not this time. Not on my watch."*
He stood up. He grabbed Chen by the shoulder and hauled him to his feet.
"Wash your face," Li Wei said, his voice hard. "You are not waiting three years. You are going this year."
"But the money—"
"I will get the money," Li Wei interrupted. "I made a deal with the restaurant today. I have the bull. I have the steer. I have the land. I will find a way."
"But 1500 coins in a month? It's impossible, Brother!"
"Nothing is impossible for a Li," Li Wei said fiercely. "Go study. Pack your bags. Leave the money to me. If I have to sell every chicken and sleep on the bare earth, you will take that exam. You understand me?"
Chen stared at him, seeing the fire in his brother's eyes. He sniffed, wiped his nose on his sleeve, and nodded.
"I understand."
"Good. Go."
***
**The Desperate Gambit**
Li Wei walked up to the bunkhouse. He called Qin Hu and Li Jun.
"We have a crisis," Li Wei said, tossing the ledger onto the table. "We need 1500 coins in thirty days. The exam fees went up."
Qin Hu looked at the number. He whistled low. "That's a year's wages for a skilled laborer. We can't make that selling eggs."
"We can't make it selling beef either, not in time," Li Wei said. "Iron Head isn't ready for slaughter for another two months. I can't sell him early or I lose the quality. The cows are pregnant. I can't sell them."
"What do we have?" Li Jun asked, panicking. "We have nothing left to sell!"
Li Wei sat down, putting his head in his hands. He needed a high-value transaction. A single item that could bridge the gap.
He looked out the window. He saw the Black Bull, Hei Feng, standing on the ridge.
"We have the bull," Li Wei said slowly.
"Hei Feng?" Jun asked. "But he's our stud! He's making us money!"
"He's an asset," Li Wei said. "A high-value asset. He's proven. He's healthy. He's a breeding machine."
"You're going to sell the bull?" Qin Hu asked, surprised.
"No," Li Wei shook his head. "I'm going to rent him out for the season to the biggest farm in the district. Or… I'm going to sell the *rights* to him."
He stood up. "There is a large cattle farm three valleys over. The Zhao Family Ranch. They have hundreds of cows. They have money. But their stock is weak. I've heard rumors."
"You want to sell Hei Feng to the Zhaos?" Li Jun asked.
"I want to sell them a *partnership*," Li Wei said. "I can't sell the bull. He's the heart of my genetics program. But I can sell them the *breeding rights* for a month. I take the bull there, he services their herd, and I bring him back. One month exclusive access. I charge them a high premium. A risk premium."
"How much?"
"1000 coins," Li Wei said. "Plus transport fees."
"1000 coins for a month?" Qin Hu raised an eyebrow. "That's steep."
"For a bull like Hei Feng? It's cheap," Li Wei said. "If they want his genetics, they pay. It's the only way. I have to go to the Zhao Family Ranch tomorrow."
"It's dangerous," Qin Hu warned. "Big families are arrogant. They might try to swindle you. Or keep the bull."
"That's why you're coming with me," Li Wei said. "And Da Niu. We go as a team. We negotiate, we take the deposit, and we guard the bull with our lives."
He looked at the map in his mind.
"We're 1500 coins away from changing Chen's destiny. We're 1500 coins away from the Li family entering the scholar class. We are going to get that money."
***
**Night: The Preparation**
Li Wei spent the night preparing. He didn't sleep.
He groomed Hei Feng until the black coat shone like obsidian. He oiled the bull's hooves. He polished the nose ring. He Feng had to look like a king.
He also prepared his "sales kit." He took a piece of the Gen II grass, preserved in a bottle of water to keep it fresh. He took a sample of the high-protein feed. He took the ledger showing the weight gains of Iron Head.
He was selling a system, not just an animal.
At dawn, he hitched Hei Feng to a sturdy cart they had borrowed from Uncle Niu. He piled fresh hay in the back.
Qin Hu checked his crutch, though he placed a heavy iron rod in the cart—a concealed weapon. Da Niu carried the food and water.
"Third Brother," Father Li Dazhong came out. He had been silent during the discussion last night, but he had heard everything. He held out a small cloth bag.
"What is this?"
"My winter coat fund," Dazhong said gruffly. "Fifty coins. It's not much. But take it. Buy a good meal on the road."
Li Wei looked at the small bag. It was his father's life savings for his own comfort.
"I'll bring it back, Father," Li Wei said, bowing. "With interest."
"You bring back the money for the exam," Dazhong said, turning away to hide his glistening eyes. "That's all that matters."
Li Wei climbed onto the cart. He grabbed the reins.
"Heeyah!"
The cart rattled down the hill, towards the rising sun, towards the Zhao Family Ranch, and towards the gamble of a lifetime.
**[New Quest: The Seasonal Lease.]**
**[Objective: Lease Hei Feng to Zhao Family Ranch for 1000 Coins.]**
**[Difficulty: Hard (Social Status Gap).]**
**[Time Limit: 3 Days.]**
The road stretched out before them. Li Wei clenched the reins. Failure was not an option.