Chapter 36 of 100

Chapter 36

16 min read4,065 words

"Hey, Pete, do you have any good Quarter Horses to recommend?" Garcia led Liu Yuxuan to the front of a horse trader and asked, apparently they knew each other.

"Garcia, congratulations on finding a new job again." Pete congratulated him first, "Of course I have good Quarter Horses. My Quarter Horses are the best in the whole town."

Garcia and Rodriguez each picked a horse from the stable. When they asked the price, the two horses together cost $7,500. Liu Yuxuan really didn't expect the price to be so cheap. Back in Jin Tian, he had heard others talk about how those who played with horses mainly used Quarter Horses, and each one cost nearly 100,000 RMB, with some of the better bloodlines being even more expensive. He never thought they would cost only about $3,000 in the U.S., which is around 20,000 RMB.

It was clear that Garcia and Rodriguez liked the two horses, and Liu Yuxuan paid the bill without hesitation.

"Pete, what's the situation with that little red one in the corner of your stable?" Liu Yuxuan pointed to a listless horse in the corner of the stable, separated by a fence.

"Oh, this troublemaker has a very bad temper. If you're interested, I can sell it to you at a lower price," Pete said. Mentioning this horse gave Pete a headache. He had bought it from a horse trader for $3,000.

It was a wild horse, and at first, he thought even a wild horse could be tamed. But this horse had a terrible temper. Whenever it was put with other horses, it would kick and bite. It also didn't eat much and was now much thinner than when he bought it.

He had been trying to sell it for almost a month, but no one had bought it. He was really worried it might starve to death.

"Can I go and take a look?" Liu Yuxuan asked, noticing the horse's familiar eyes. Back home, he often saw that fearless look in the eyes of his horses, Da Huang and Ban Li.

"Of course, but stay outside the fence so you don't get hurt. Don't worry, once you tame it, it will be a great horse," Pete said, seeing Liu Yuxuan's interest in the horse.

Liu Yuxuan slowly walked to the fence, moving gently to avoid startling the horse. The red horse turned its head to look at Liu Yuxuan.

Liu Yuxuan saw that the horse was very thin, with a dull coat, not as bright as the other horses. Apart from its expressive eyes, even Liu Yuxuan could tell the horse was in poor condition.

Liu Yuxuan stared at the horse for a while, then picked up a carrot for feeding horses, secretly dripping a few drops of space water on it, and offered it to the horse.

The red horse curiously stretched its head to smell it. Probably sensing the smell of the space water, it bit into the carrot and quickly ate it. After finishing, it even licked its lips.

"Alright, Pete, I really like this little guy, but you know its condition is terrible."

"Liu, since you like it, how about $1,500?" Pete asked hopefully.

"No, Pete, that's too high. I can only give you $1,200. If it's more than that, I won't buy it. Who knows if it will survive after I take it home," Liu Yuxuan complained.

"Boss, you should look at other horses. Even if this one survives, its recovery won't be good," Garcia advised. In Chinese terms, this horse had already lost its vital energy. Even if it recovered, its condition wouldn't be much better, which was the main reason Pete hadn't sold it for so long.

Hearing Garcia's advice, Pete quickly agreed to Liu Yuxuan's price, "Alright, I can see you really like this troublemaker. It's yours."

Did Liu Yuxuan not know the horse was in poor condition? Of course not. But he had space water, and he knew its effects on the small animals in his village. With space water, this troublemaker would eventually become a fine horse.

After the transaction, the horse belonged to Liu Yuxuan. The people watching shook their heads, thinking Liu Yuxuan had made a bad deal. Liu Yuxuan didn't explain much, knowing he would surprise them eventually.

The market had a dedicated team for transportation, and Liu Yuxuan only needed to pay a small fee. The main issue was transporting Liu Yuxuan's red horse, which he eventually lured onto the truck with a carrot. The horse no longer rejected him, but Liu Yuxuan wanted to keep a low profile.

Garcia and Rodriguez helped Liu Yuxuan buy a set of cowboy gear, including a saddle and stirrups, which unexpectedly cost him over $400.

Following the transport convoy back to the now-renamed pastoral ranch, Liu Yuxuan noticed that Garcia and Rodriguez's horses stayed far away from his. It seemed they had been bullied before.

The cattle entered the ranch without any discomfort, finding food in groups. Although the weather was still cold, the ranch had winter-resistant grass, allowing the cattle to enjoy fresh food.

Liu Yuxuan's red horse watched him as soon as it arrived at the ranch. Liu Yuxuan pretended to bring a basin of water from the house, but it was actually filled with space water. He just made a show of going inside.

Smelling the familiar scent, the red horse's head plunged into the basin, drank it all, and then shook its head, snorting. It splashed water all over Liu Yuxuan.

"Oh, boss, this horse is starting to accept you," Garcia said in surprise. He had heard about this wild horse, known as Pete's joke. The name "Troublemaker" had stuck, showing how bad-tempered it was. He never thought it would accept Liu Yuxuan so quickly.

"This horse has a good temper, not as bad as you say," Liu Yuxuan said, petting the horse's face and feeding it a few more carrots. The red horse didn't hesitate and ate them all.

Garcia thought to himself, "It does have a good temper, but you should ask the horses it has bitten."

"Alright, boss, now that it only accepts you, you have to groom it yourself," Garcia said helplessly. In the U.S., people usually groomed their own horses to build a bond and increase their默契 (rapport). Garcia knew Liu Yuxuan had never done it before, but for this horse, even if he wanted to help, he didn't dare.

Liu Yuxuan thought grooming a horse would be simple, but he soon realized it was much more complicated.

Because the temperature was low, he used warm water. First, he used a long-bristled brush dipped in water mixed with animal-specific insecticide to brush the horse, then a short-bristled brush from head to tail. Finally, he used a blanket to dry the horse's body. It took him over two hours to finish.

The red horse was very obedient, standing in the stable and letting Liu Yuxuan do as he pleased.

"From now on, I'll call you Flame," Liu Yuxuan said, petting the horse's head. It no longer looked as it did when he first saw it. He guessed no one had dared to groom it before, and now its coat looked much brighter.

"Boss, you should bond with Flame first. Rodriguez and I will ride around the field. Your Flame can't be ridden now, but I'll teach you how to ride when it's ready," Garcia said from his horse, then turned and rode off with Rodriguez into the pasture.

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