The heat of summer was beginning to break, replaced by the crisp, drying winds of early autumn. The leaves on the trees surrounding Willow Village turned yellow, fluttering down like gold coins that couldn't be spent.
On the East Hill, the "cowboy training" was entering its third week.
Chen Yuan sat on Red Cloud, the chestnut mare. He was no longer sliding off like a sack of grain, but his thighs were wrapped in thick strips of cloth to protect his raw skin.
"Posture!" Xu Tie barked from the ground. He held a long stick, occasionally tapping the horse's flank to keep her moving. "You are hunching. A hunchback can't throw a lasso."
"I'm just trying not to fall," Chen Yuan gritted out, adjusting his seat. He held the coil of rope in his right hand, trying to find a balance point.
"Riding isn't sitting," Xu Tie lectured. "It is standing... with your legs. You move with the horse. Be part of her."
Chen Yuan took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second. He felt the rhythm of the horse's gait—the expansion and contraction of her muscles. He synchronized his breathing.
*Thump-thump. Thump-thump.*
He opened his eyes. The world seemed more stable.
"Better," Xu Tie grunted. "Now, try the throw. At the stump."
Chen Yuan guided Red Cloud towards a dead tree stump in the middle of the pasture. He started to swing the rope overhead.
The loop spun.
He released.
The rope flew out... and landed over the stump.
"I got it!" Chen Yuan exclaimed.
"It was a lucky throw," Xu Tie said, though there was a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Do it again. While trotting."
Chen Yuan groaned. "Can I rest?"
"Horses don't rest in battle. Neither do ranchers," Xu Tie said sternly. "We have work to do. The feed store in town said the bean cakes arrive tomorrow. We need the cart."
"I know," Chen Yuan said, dismounting. His legs wobbled as he hit the ground. "But I need to go to the market again today. For the bull."
"You have the money?" Xu Tie asked.
"I have enough," Chen Yuan said, patting the horse's neck. "But I'm not looking for a champion. I'm looking for a fighter."
* * *
The cattle market was crowded. It was the season for buying draft animals for the autumn plowing, and prices were inflated.
Chen Yuan walked through the pens, his hands behind his back. He looked like a young steward, but his eyes scanned the animals with a professional intensity that made the traders nervous.
He bypassed the sleek, fat oxen. They were too expensive and too docile.
He moved to the back, where the older, wilder, or "problem" animals were kept.
He stopped in front of a pen containing a massive black bull.
It was a monster. Its horns were thick and jagged, spanning nearly four feet from tip to tip. Its coat was the color of charcoal, matted with mud. It stood in the corner, pawing the ground, snorting clouds of dust.
A sign hung on the gate: *Dangerous. Sold for Meat Only.*
"This one," Chen Yuan said.
A trader rushed over. "Young Master, look elsewhere! That beast is a killer! It broke a handler's arm last week. It's untrainable. The butcher is coming for it tomorrow."
"I'm not looking to train it for plowing," Chen Yuan said calmly. "I need a breeding bull. And I need vigor."
He looked at the bull. *System.*
**[Subject: Black Bull (Local Yellow Cattle Variant - Melanism).]**
**[Age: 4 Years.]**
**[Status: High Aggression. Testosterone levels critical.]**
**[Health: Excellent. Lung capacity: High. Muscle density: Very High.]**
**[Genetic Compatibility with Hope (Brahman): 92%.]**
**[System Note: Aggression is due to confinement and poor handling. In a open pasture with a herd, dominance instinct can be channeled.]**
"How much?" Chen Yuan asked.
"For meat? Two taels," the trader said, eager to be rid of the liability. "But you have to transport it. I won't open the gate."
"Two taels?" Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow. "The hide alone is worth one tael. The meat... another tael. But I'm not a butcher. I'll give you one tael and five hundred coins. And you help me load it."
"One tael five? You're robbing me!"
"Then call the butcher," Chen Yuan shrugged, turning to leave. "Butchers only pay one tael for dangerous meat because of the risk. I'm offering a premium."
"Wait! Fine! One tael five!" the trader yelled. "But if it kills you, it's not my fault!"
* * *
Transporting the bull was a nightmare.
They didn't have a proper cattle cart. They only had the donkey cart.
"You want to put that demon on a donkey cart?" Chen Hu asked, his face pale. "San Lang, it will tip over!"
"We walk it," Chen Yuan said. He had bought a heavy iron nose ring and a long lead rope. "Xu Tie, I need your help."
Xu Tie looked at the bull, his eyes cool. "We need to break its will to fight, not its spirit. If we drag it, it will fight. We have to convince it to follow."
Xu Tie took a long chain from his pack. He looped it through the bull's nose ring, but he didn't pull.
He stood in front of the pen gate, staring at the bull.
The bull lowered its head, steam rising from its nostrils.
"Open the gate," Xu Tie said softly.
The trader unlocked the gate and scrambled away.
The bull charged.
Xu Tie didn't move. He simply swung the chain, letting it rattle loudly against the wooden fence.
*Clatter-clatter!*
The sound was sharp and unnatural. The bull hesitated, confused by the lack of fear.
"Move!" Xu Tie shouted, stamping his foot.
The bull, surprised by the dominance, skidded to a halt.
Chen Yuan stepped up from the side, holding a bundle of sweet Ryegrass mixed with bean sprouts—the good stuff.
The bull smelled it. Its nostrils flared.
"Come on, boy," Chen Yuan said, his voice low and soothing. "No more hitting. Just grass."
He took a step back. The bull, driven by hunger and curiosity, took a step forward.
"Good," Chen Yuan said.
Slowly, agonizingly slowly, they coaxed the bull out of the pen and onto the road. Xu Tie walked on one side with the chain, Chen Yuan on the other with the grass. Chen Hu followed behind with the cart, ready to block the road if the beast ran.
The journey back to Willow Village took four hours. Four hours of tension, sweat, and negotiation with a thousand pounds of muscle.
Every time the bull tried to bolt, Xu Tie would rattle the chain or shout a command, breaking its focus. Every time it calmed down, Chen Yuan offered a treat.
By the time they reached the East Hill, the bull was exhausted, its neck dripping sweat, but it was walking calmly behind Chen Yuan.
* * *
The introduction to the pasture was tense.
Chen Yuan opened the gate to the new, reinforced paddock he had built.
"Go on," he said, unclipping the lead.
The Black Bull trotted into the pasture. It looked around, seeing the green grass, the stream, and the open sky.
Then, it saw Hope.
Hope, the Brahman cow, stood by the water. She looked up at the intruder.
The bull snorted and pawed the ground. It prepared to charge.
Hope didn't run. She stood her ground, her large ears flicking. She let out a low, rumbling moo—a sound deeper than a normal cow.
The bull stopped. It seemed surprised by her lack of fear. It looked at her hump, her strange gray skin, her size.
Slowly, the bull lowered its head. It walked over to her, sniffing.
Hope sniffed him back.
The tension deflated.
"They accept each other," Chen Hu breathed out, wiping his forehead. "Thank the gods."
Chen Yuan leaned against the fence, his heart finally slowing down.
"It's a start," he said. "He's the King. She's the Queen. Now we wait for the princes."
**[Ranch Update:]**
**[Livestock: 1 Ewe, 1 Lamb, 1 Ram, 1 Brahman Cow (Hope), 1 Black Bull (Genetic High-Yield).]**
**[Current Funds: 2 Taels (Remaining).]**
* * *
That evening, Chen Yuan sat in his room. The money was almost gone.
The ledger stared back at him.
Income:
- Monthly Manor delivery: 8 Taels (Expected next month).
Expenses:
- Feed for winter (purchased on credit/deferred payment): Due in 2 months.
- Labor wages: Ongoing.
- Tools/Supplies: Ongoing.
He had two taels of silver left. That was it.
He had a horse, a saddle, a mutant cow, a killer bull, and a flock of sheep.
But he was broke.
*Knock knock.*
"Come in."
Little Ming entered. He looked excited.
"Third Brother! Teacher Zhao... he spoke to the Militia Captain!"
Chen Yuan sat up straight. "And?"
"The Captain... Captain Liu... he is a friend of Teacher's from the army. He said he can't buy 'fabric' without seeing it. But... he said the garrison has a problem. The soldiers' socks rot within a week due to the dampness in the mountains. They need something durable."
"Socks," Chen Yuan muttered. "We have wool yarn."
"He said if you can knit 50 pairs of socks, and they don't rot in a week... he will buy them. For 50 copper coins a pair."
Fifty pairs. Fifty coins each. That was 2,500 coins. Two and a half taels of silver.
It wasn't a fortune. But it was cash flow.
"Mei! Lan!" Chen Yuan shouted.
His sisters ran in. "What is it?"
"Put down the mending," Chen Yuan said, grabbing a piece of charcoal and a piece of wood. "I'm going to teach you a new way to knit. A technique from the West. Tighter weave. Reinforced heels."
He started drawing diagrams.
"We have ten days," Chen Yuan said. "We need to turn that pile of yarn into socks. Can you do it?"
Mei looked at the diagram, then nodded. "If we use bamboo needles... yes. We can do it."
"Good," Chen Yuan said. "We start tonight."
He looked at the empty coin chest, then at his family.
*Slow and steady,* he reminded himself. *One sock at a time.*