"Your cow looks good, but if it's not popular, it won't make it through the first round. How can you be the king of cows?" The old man smiled as he looked at Jiang Hai. Seeing his smug grin, Jiang Hai couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
"What should we do now?" Though Jiang Hai had some understanding of the rules here when he arrived, he still wasn't completely clear. He originally thought that all the cows would be displayed for scoring by the audience and tourists.
Now, it seemed he was mistaken. If he couldn't even make it through the first day of the competition, what was the point of continuing? Although Jiang Hai could afford to lose the one million US dollars, it was still an embarrassing situation.
"What else can we do? Just let it go. But, boy, I have to admit, the quality of your cows is really impressive. How do you sell them?" The old man smiled, hearing Jiang Hai's speechless response.
"Of course they're good cows. I'm not saying every cow here could be slaughtered into marbled meat, but their meat is specially selected and of the highest quality. The shank meat of my cow is just as good as the eye meat and top brain of an ordinary cow." Jiang Hai said confidently, looking at the old man seriously.
Hearing Jiang Hai's bold claim, the old man was taken aback. His son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter, who were with him, looked equally confused.
"If you're not joking, we're still good friends," the old man said with a serious expression.
"I'm not joking! Don't doubt it. Regardless, my cows will be slaughtered in three days. You'll see then," Jiang Hai responded, looking exasperated.
"If your cows are truly like you say, they must be treasures. If one cow can produce 5% premium A-grade beef, then these cows must be worth around 100,000 dollars each. Fifteen cows would be worth over one and a half million dollars. Tsk, tsk. But I suppose if you didn't have that kind of confidence, you wouldn't have spent more than a million dollars to rent a spot here," the old man mused.
Though he hadn't spent much time with Jiang Hai, the old man had a sense of his character and found him trustworthy enough not to be lying. If what Jiang Hai said were true, it would mean his wealth was unimaginable.
The old man knew that Jiang Hai didn't just have these fifteen cows; he had nearly 20,000 cows.
If one cow was worth 100,000 dollars, then 20,000 cows would be worth 2 billion dollars—comparable to the total assets of a medium-sized company.
This was just for one year. What if it lasted ten or twenty years? The 2 billion would turn into 20 billion, or even 40 billion!
At that rate, if the snowball kept rolling, it wouldn't be long before Jiang Hai became the world's richest man.
"Just trust me," Jiang Hai said, holding back tears. If anyone else had pointed to a cow and said it was worth nearly 700,000 RMB, Jiang Hai would have spat in their face, calling them crazy.
But now, it was happening to him, and he didn't know how to react.
"Old man, I'll do my best. Which one of these cows do you think is the best?" Jiang Hai, looking helpless, asked.
The old man examined the cows before pointing to the third one. "This one seems the most energetic."
The first person to enter the venue gets to vote. The old man's son took out his phone, entered their choice, and soon, Jiang Hai's cow went from zero to four votes.
Jiang Hai checked the leaderboard but immediately regretted it. The cow in first place already had over 2,000 votes, belonging to the Suzuki Yamato Animal Husbandry Company from Japan.
"Hey, this gap is huge, but I still have to thank you, old man. If it weren't for you, I might not even have four votes," Jiang Hai sighed. On the leaderboard, the first place was occupied by Japan's Wagyu, a dominant force in the beef industry. Despite America's pride and occasional government pressure, Wagyu beef had remained the king of marbled beef, always ranking in the top three at global competitions. This dominance was hard to challenge.
The second place was taken by Jiang Hai's old rival, Kalet Company, while the third place went to Duruf Company, which had garnered more than 300 votes. Combined, the second and third places had fewer votes than the leader, highlighting the strength of Wagyu beef.
"Watch out for the Suzuki company. They've participated in the New York Beef competition three times in the past ten years, and they've won Beef King both times. They're no small company in Japan, and the chances of their cows having marbled beef are high. Defeating them won't be easy," the old man warned.
"Thanks for the advice. I'll keep it in mind. And when I win, I'll send you some beef," Jiang Hai said with a grin, though now he realized there were stronger competitors than he had expected. Marbled patterns weren't a guarantee of victory.
"Forget about sending it to me, but if you sell me some, that'd be great," the old man responded with a smile. Jiang Hai, puzzled, asked, "What do you want beef for?"
Jiang Hai thought the old man just ran a small supermarket. If he wanted to eat some beef, Jiang Hai could easily give it to him. Why was he asking to buy some?
"I was thinking of selling it, but then the boss of Haishang Group showed up at the exhibition," the old man explained.
At that moment, a very confident woman walked in. She had a delicate face, appeared to be around thirty, and wore a black striped suit and high heels. Her golden hair was piled high behind her. Accompanying her were several people—some recording the event, others acting as bodyguards, all with sunglasses, standing expressionless.
Jiang Hai paused for a moment, recognizing her. He had seen her before, though back then she had been dressed in an evening gown, exuding the same aura but in a completely different way. Now, both of them were wearing outdoor sportswear.
But what did she mean by Haishang Supermarket?
"Mr. Zhang, do you still recognize me?" the woman asked, looking directly at the old man.
"Pra Walton, how could I forget you? How's your father?" the old man responded with a smile, his demeanor shifting significantly compared to when he spoke to Jiang Hai.
"My father is fine, thank you for asking," Pra Walton replied in Chinese, albeit with a strong Henan accent. Jiang Hai couldn't help but chuckle, but he didn't say anything. The woman's attempt at Mandarin was amusing.
While Jiang Hai found her accent amusing, those around him weren't surprised. Even the middle-aged man beside the old man nodded in acknowledgment.