Chapter 33 of 100

Chapter 33

17 min read4,340 words

As the two of them chatted and laughed along the way, the over an hour car ride didn’t feel tiring at all, and they arrived at Quanwan Ranch.

Quanwan Ranch is located not far from the border between eastern Texas and Louisiana, within the jurisdiction of Nacogdoches County, in the town of Brown Springs. Because it is close to the Gulf of Mexico, the air is not particularly dry.

Charlie’s agent friend, Dylank, accompanied the ranch owner and others waiting there. The ranch owner was about 50 years old, wearing a high-crowned wide-brimmed felt hat, a leather coat with the chest open, and long suspenders with fringes on the leather pants. He wore leather boots with high spurs and had a cigar in his mouth, a typical American Western cowboy style.

"Hey, Dylank, my friend. Oh, my God, you’ve gotten even bigger," Charlie first gave Dylank a strong hug and then complained, pointing to Liu Yunxuan and introducing him, "This is Liu from the mysterious East, you can also call him Andy. He is now my best friend, but it’s better to call him Liu. Don’t you think Chinese sounds so flavorful?"

I don’t know if all lawyers are this talkative, or if Charlie is just special, but he didn’t stop talking the whole way there.

"Hello, Mr. Liu, welcome to the American West." Dylank didn’t hold back, giving Liu Yunxuan a big hug. Liu Yunxuan is already quite tall, but when Dylank hugged him, he couldn’t be seen from behind. No wonder Charlie said he had gotten even bigger.

"Oh, Dylank, I’ve already felt your enthusiasm, can you let me catch my breath?" Liu Yunxuan exaggeratedly said.

Liu Yunxuan’s exaggerated expression made everyone laugh, even the ranch owner, who had no expression, pulled the corners of his mouth.

"Liu, we must have a drink after we’re done," Dylank said. "Look, this is the ranch owner, Hudson."

"Mr. Hudson, hello," Liu Yunxuan greeted the ranch owner.

"I’ll show you around the ranch first," unexpectedly, Old Hudson didn’t acknowledge Liu Yunxuan’s greeting and directly walked towards the ranch, leaving a sentence behind.

"Liu, don’t mind, that’s just how Old Hudson is," Dylank explained.

Following Old Hudson, they toured the entire ranch, of course, in the farm’s pickup truck. After all, 220 acres is quite large.

Quanwan Ranch is trapezoidal in shape, with a large lake on the wider side, which is also the boundary of Quanwan Ranch. On the other side of the lake is the neighboring Kate Ranch. The narrower side is used for growing corn.

Liu Yunxuan also visited a two-story wooden villa. There were quite a few rooms. The kitchen was on one side of the living room, completely open. There were three rooms on the first floor and four on the second. Of course, the basement, often seen in American movies and TV shows, was also a must-have.

Old Hudson introduced that the house had been renovated less than two years ago. And as a well-operated ranch for many years, it had water, electricity, and internet, with no additional costs. He then led Liu Yunxuan and the others to see the cattle and horse barns. Old Hudson used to specialize in raising cattle, so the cattle barn was larger, while the horse barn was smaller, only for the cowboys’ horses.

"Mr. Hudson, overall, I am very satisfied. However, I have a question: why is the pasture grass so poor, and even the soil is exposed in some places?" Liu Yunxuan asked. He had noticed during the tour that there were patches of exposed soil on the pasture. This might be the poorly managed part that Charlie mentioned earlier.

"Even if you didn’t ask, I would have told you," Old Hudson sighed, "This pasture used to be very good. When I handed Quanwan over to my youngest son to manage, he and his friends messed around. They didn’t take care of the cattle properly, and some areas were overgrazed, damaging the roots."

"That’s also why my ranch is relatively cheaper. Texas summers are prone to drought, and any ranch near a water source is a premium ranch. The main reason is that I have other matters to attend to and don’t have time to manage this side, so I’m thinking of selling it."

After hearing this, Liu Yunxuan looked at Dylank, who nodded.

"Mr. Anderson, are the agricultural machines included in the sale price?" Liu Yunxuan asked again.

"Of course, these are all part of the ranch’s equipment and will be sold together. And I don’t have any other ranches, so I don’t need them. Although they’ve been used for a few years, I have maintained them well," Old Hudson said.

"Charlie, what do you think of the price? I’m not very familiar with American ranches," Liu Yunxuan asked Charlie. In fact, he had already decided to buy it, but he couldn’t just agree after a brief introduction, as it would make him seem naive and rich.

"The price is indeed reasonable. And I heard from Dylank that Old Hudson really needs the money. However, the main issue is the pasture; you’ll need to take care of it for a while before you can graze the cattle," Charlie thought for a moment and said.

"Alright, Mr. Hudson, I think we can find a lawyer to sign the contract," Liu Yunxuan smiled at Hudson.

"Trust me, kid, you’ll be proud of your wise decision," Old Hudson finally showed a genuine smile, probably because he was really in need of the money.

Liu Yunxuan had Charlie, and Old Hudson had his own familiar lawyer. The two lawyers discussed the contract clause by clause, while Liu Yunxuan, Old Hudson, and Dylank sat on the sofa drinking coffee.

"Mr. Hudson, to be honest, I’ve never managed a ranch before. Do you have any cowboys you can recommend?" Liu Yunxuan asked.

"No problem, the economy is down, and many cowboys are looking for work. Two cowboys should be enough for this ranch. You can hire more when your cattle grow," Old Hudson said.

"Liu, may I ask for a favor?" Old Hudson asked.

"Mr. Hudson, no need to be so formal, just tell me what you need."

"It’s like this, I didn’t expect you to decide so quickly. Could you give me some time to move out some meaningful things from the house?" Old Hudson asked hopefully.

"Oh, of course, no problem. These are all your things, you can take them all if you want," Liu Yunxuan said readily. After all, he could buy new things when needed.

"You misunderstood. I usually drive the ranch’s pickup truck, which will belong to you. I need to wait for my son to drive over to pick me up so I can take some things my father left me. So you might have to wait until tomorrow to move in," Old Hudson explained, seeing that Liu Yunxuan had misunderstood.

"That’s no problem, as long as you can introduce me to some good cowboys," Liu Yunxuan said. He found Old Hudson a bit endearing.

"Don’t worry, Liu, I’ll take care of it. We’ll go to the cowboy bar for a drink later, and I’ll introduce them to you," Old Hudson patted his chest and said.

At this moment, Charlie and Hudson’s lawyer had already finalized the transfer contract. Liu Yunxuan and Old Hudson signed the contract, and Liu Yunxuan wrote a check for $800,000. This was the first time Liu Yunxuan had written a check in his life. Fortunately, he had seen others do it before, so he didn’t embarrass himself.

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