"One from Wilpas Manor, numbered A4566378, and one from Familia Company, numbered A278894o."
At night, after the daytime tourists left and either returned to nearby hotels or headed home to New York to eat, rest, and sleep, some people remained busy in the central activity room of the New York Beef Cattle Exhibition Hall.
These people were the staff, exhausted from a full day's work. However, they couldn't rest just yet, as they had the task of selecting the sixteen most popular cows from the numerous animals on display.
Although the process was mostly managed by computers, human staff were still needed for registration.
The cow numbers themselves provided a wealth of information. These numbers didn't signify more than 500,000 cows; the exhibition halls only contained just over a hundred at most. Even with an average of ten cows per exhibition hall, the total was barely over a thousand. The system for these numbers was standardized. "A" represented bulls, "B" represented cows, the first two digits indicated the state the cow came from, the second set indicated the city, and the last three digits were the cow's ID number. This system mirrored the ID numbers registered with the Beef Cattle Association. Any discrepancies would be flagged for review, so these numbers had to be accurate.
"Longteng Manor, number A479248," one of the staff members read aloud. When he first glanced at the entry, he thought the cow came from a company, but it seemed to be listed as coming from a manor, which puzzled him.
"Tenglong Manor? Are you sure you didn't read that wrong?" The person recording next to him raised an eyebrow, surprised by the error.
In truth, the beef cattle exhibition was a platform for large companies to showcase their power. Only big companies could afford the extravagant costs associated with such exhibitions. Booths, even in less favorable locations, could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention the additional expenses for TVs, models, and more.
To participate in this exhibition, a company would spend at least $250,000–$600,000, a sum that many ranchers in the U.S. might not even make in a few years, let alone in a single year.
The median household income in the U.S. was about $4,000 per month, or around $3,300–$3,400 after taxes. Therefore, $250,000–$600,000 was a considerable amount of money.
In previous years, some private, large ranches did take part in the exhibition, so when Jiang Hai signed up, the staff hadn't given it much thought.
However, Jiang Hai's cows making it to the top 16 left them slightly surprised, and many of the staff turned their attention toward him.
"Well, I'm sure I didn't read it wrong. It's Tenglong Manor. Wait, he didn't just have one cow on the list—he has two! This is really strange. Is this just a case of a rich second-generation throwing money at this?" The staff member muttered, growing a little annoyed as he scanned the details more carefully.
Indeed, Jiang Hai's manor had not only one, but two cows in the top 16—one ranked 10th, and the other ranked 15th. This unusual occurrence caught the attention of everyone around.
"Hey, I said you're just shocked by what you're seeing. The owner of this manor is this year's new Asian participant. Didn't he bring Selena Gomez here today? It's not that surprising." One of the staff members, working further away, laughed and chimed in.
The others suddenly recalled Jiang Hai's face—unremarkable, yet he had managed to invite the popular star Selena Gomez to the exhibition. They'd quietly mocked him earlier, but they couldn't deny the success of his efforts today.
Jiang Hai, on the other hand, couldn't contain his excitement when he received the news. His cows had made it to the top 16! He immediately sent a thank-you message to Selena Gomez for her help.
At that moment, Selena Gomez was sitting in a banquet hall, eating dinner uneasily. Upon receiving Jiang Hai's message, she took a quick glance at it and gave an approving thumbs-up.
"Who's texting you?" A woman sitting across from Selena asked casually.
If Jiang Hai had been there, he would have recognized the woman as Prawalton, though she was now dressed more casually in a loose dress that resembled a nightgown rather than the sharp business suit she wore earlier.
Selena Gomez, now much calmer and less wild than during her daytime performance, sat opposite her like a kitten.
"It's Jiang Hai—the one you asked me to help today. You're not interested in him, are you, Sister Pra?" Selena asked teasingly.
Prawalton smiled and set down her knife and fork, answering seriously, "Me? Ha, you think too much. It's not him I'm interested in. It's his cattle. He's very skilled at raising cattle. Looks like I underestimated him at the start. The beef he raises should be perfect for Sam's Club to expand its main product line."
As Prawalton spoke, her eyes burned with intensity. Selena lowered her head, suddenly embarrassed. Prawalton, intrigued by her reaction, stood up, gracefully dragged her black dress across the floor, and moved closer to Selena. With a gentle lift of her chin, Prawalton looked into Selena's eyes and said softly, "And even if I was interested in someone, it would be you, baby."
Before Selena could respond, Prawalton kissed her deeply, a kiss full of passion. Though startled, Selena didn't resist, unsure whether it was because of confusion or something deeper. As the kiss intensified, Prawalton's hands moved from her shoulders to her chest, but just as they approached, Selena's hand gently pressed down on Prawalton's.
"Sister Pra... I... I'm not sure," Selena hesitated, voice tinged with uncertainty.
"Not ready yet? Or are you still thinking about that guy?" Prawalton's voice was firm, but she wasn't forcing the issue.
"I've completely moved on from him," Selena quickly clarified, though a trace of hesitation lingered in her voice. "But... my heart still can't let me take that step with you, Sister Pra."
"It's okay. I believe you'll figure it out," Prawalton shrugged. "What's so great about men, anyway? Women can do it just as well, even better. You've already learned that, haven't you?"
Selena's face flushed with embarrassment at Prawalton's words, but she didn't say anything more. She simply focused on her steak, continuing to eat while the waiter, expertly trained, pretended not to notice anything unusual.
Meanwhile, Jiang Hai sat quietly, his focus not on dinner, but on the cows he'd raised.
As the evening wore on and the staff packed up, Jiang Hai decided to take the three cows to a nearby restaurant for a meal, after which he would stay at the exhibition hall to ensure no trouble arose.
In addition to guarding the cows, Jiang Hai had another task—he needed to further strengthen them.
"I know you're the best. You've made it to the semi-finals, and I believe you'll make it to the finals. Come on, I'll add some extra ingredients for you tonight." Jiang Hai whispered to the two cows, then channeled his spiritual energy through the scale on his body into his hands. He didn't just focus on the two cows that made the top 16, but on all fifteen cows.
The cows' eyes, already somewhat intelligent, seemed to become even sharper. However, after briefly locking eyes with Jiang Hai, they returned to their usual state. The spiritual energy, although powerful, was diluted across the fifteen cows, leading to only a subtle evolution.