Chapter 234: Buying Horses
The messenger ran frantically toward the capital.
They were all veterans of the Meng Family.
Having retired due to battlefield injuries, they were taken in by the General.
They were finally able to live like human beings.
Now that the General’s family had such joyous news, they had to report it immediately.
The young Madam Meng had not only given birth, but she had twins, and both were boys.
This broke the curse of the Meng Family having only one male heir per generation.
Both Mother and children were safe.
The veteran rode his horse at full gallop.
The cold wind of the world felt warm at this moment.
Because his heart was burning with heat.
Unlike modern employees, these veterans lived and died with the Meng Family.
If the Meng Family prospered, the veterans’ families prospered too.
If the Meng Family fell, the veterans would be the first to die.
Hooves kicked up dust, and the magpies heralded the good news.
Aima Town.
Aunt Yin was a professional when it came to postpartum care.
However, she couldn’t handle having such a difficult new Mother.
Because she wasn’t allowed to eat rabbit during her pregnancy for fear the baby would have a harelip, she suddenly had a craving for rabbit after giving birth.
Spicy rabbit.
Of course, there was no spicy food.
Just rabbit.
It was hard to catch, but there should be some.
They weren’t called rabbits, but hare-rats, which were common on the grasslands.
Aunt Yin recommended breastfeeding.
Mainly because they hadn’t prepared a wet nurse on the road, and it was hard to find one on short notice.
Secondly, based on Great-Aunt’s experience, in the imperial palace, those unfavored concubines who feared the wet nurses might be problematic would breastfeed themselves, and their children always grew up much stronger.
Children raised by wet nurses were, on average, not as healthy as those nursed by their own Mothers; it was unclear why, but that was the experience.
Jiang Yu was a very healthy young woman, and she had plenty of milk.
She should have enough for her own breastfeeding, especially with twins.
She needed to drink more crucian carp soup, pig trotter soup, and chicken soup.
All sorts.
Jiang Yu began her long and happy confinement period, eating, eating, and eating every day.
Fortunately, she had two babies to feed, otherwise, Mianmian was very worried that her sister would become very fat after the confinement.
It was strange; her brother-in-law must have liked her sister because she was pretty at first, but now that her sister looked quite disheveled, her brother-in-law seemed to like her even more, clinging to her every moment.
Jiang Mianmian could even feel that overflowing love.
She felt too embarrassed to go and read to her two nephews.
Forget it, let them rest for a month, and start their studies after a month.
That should be in time.
Today, Jiang Mianmian prepared to take Little Tree, along with her bodyguards and maids, out for a stroll.
This was the largest donkey and horse trading center in the entire Northwest, a town formed specifically for trading horses.
Mianmian also wanted to pick out a horse of her own.
The previous white horse, because it was a gift from her brother-in-law, had been returned to him since he had visited.
Thinking back to Guo Jing, who gave Huang Rong a sweaty steed upon their first meeting—the kind that was hard to find, like a custom-made limited edition Rolls-Royce worth millions.
Huang Rong fell in love with Guo Jing at first sight; the horse wasn’t important, what mattered was his sincerity…
Thinking about it this way, her brother-in-law had that same intention.
Upon their first meeting, he had given her a fine horse, a precious sword, an heirloom jade pendant, and all sorts of gifts.
When her brother-in-law returned to ask for her sister’s hand in marriage, her parents hadn’t objected.
Money wasn’t important; what mattered was his sincerity…
The horse market was very orderly today, with far fewer people.
There were still plenty of horses.
Jiang Mianmian didn’t know how to choose.
It was said that judging horses was very difficult.
In ancient times, horse appraisers were a very high-level profession.
The boss was very proactive in his sales pitch.
She didn’t know what had happened, but people in town couldn’t leave; the city had been inexplicably locked down.
Normally, visiting merchants would be coming and going. If they weren’t allowed in or out, who would buy things? Even if they bought them, there was nowhere to raise them.
Since a customer had arrived—even though she was a young girl, her extraordinary appearance and demeanor meant she must be a young lady from a wealthy family, a big client.
The boss was a thin, short man, dressed quite well, though his sleeves weren’t very clean, perhaps because he often had to handle horses.
He seemed very talkative.
Mianmian felt like she was shopping for a car at a 4S dealership.
A 4S dealership with many brands of cars.
She felt very wealthy, as if she only needed to consider her preferences, not the cost.
The experience was also very advanced.
The boss said if she had a driver’s license (knew how to ride), she could test drive.
In broad daylight, Mianmian sat under a sunshade; there were tables and chairs, and tea and snacks on the table.
The tea and snacks were prepared by Pang Ya; the boss had prepared some too, but they didn’t look very appetizing.
Mianmian generally didn’t eat opened food outside, not because she was worried about poison, but because conditions were limited at this time, and many foods might not meet hygiene standards.
There were no preservatives either, so they spoiled easily.
So Pang Ya always carried tea and snacks with her.
The boss’s eyes twitched, but he was excited inside—a big client, a big client!
The boss personally accompanied her and had his subordinates lead the horses out for her to admire.
Five horses at a time.
Tall, short, fat, thin, white, brown, black, gray, each was different.
The boss patted each horse as he introduced them: “Touch this back, it’s broad and firm; look at these legs, sturdy; this rump, round… Just look at how robust and powerful they are…”
Looking at the horses displayed in front of her, Mianmian inexplicably felt like she had entered an inappropriate place.
The boss’s descriptions became increasingly explicit…
“Look at these legs, aren’t they long!”
“And these chest muscles…”
Mianmian took a sip of warm tea with goji berries and dates; health preservation started from a young age.
She really couldn’t decide.
Every horse looked quite good.
Finally, she decided to let Little Tree choose.
Jiang Mianmian selected a group of horses that she found pleasing to the eye, then let Little Tree make the final decision; whichever horse Little Tree climbed onto, that would be the one.
In the end, he chose a white horse, but it had a tuft of mane on its forehead that looked a bit pinkish-gray, not as strong, but it looked very pleasing to the eye. The boss said it was still a young horse, still in its growth phase.
Jiang Mianmian looked at the horse’s watery eyes, and when Little Tree climbed onto its head, it was very well-behaved.
After Mianmian finished choosing, she let Pang Ya and Wei Biao choose one each.
If she wanted to ride, she would definitely need someone to accompany her. If no one was with her, Mother, Father, and Elder Brother definitely wouldn’t let her ride alone.
In the end, Pang Ya chose a brown horse, and Wei Biao chose a large black horse.
Horses were indeed very expensive.
As expensive as cars.
After the family’s situation improved, her parents gave them a fixed amount of pocket money every month.
Mianmian received ten taels of silver.
One tael of silver was equivalent to about 1,100 yuan, or roughly 1,000 yuan for easy calculation; ten taels was 10,000 yuan.
So Mianmian had 10,000 yuan in pocket money a month.
Pure pocket money; clothes, food, and accessories were all provided by the family.
But the horse she chose cost 250 taels. Mianmian bargained it down to 240 taels of silver, equivalent to two years of her pocket money—240,000 yuan for a horse, about the price of a small BMW.
And the horses Wei Biao and Pang Ya chose added up to 100 taels, which was 100,000 yuan, equivalent to each of them getting a Wuling Hongguang.
Fortunately, when going out shopping, the money Father gave was more than enough.
After choosing the horses, it was time for a test drive.
Pang Ya had been with the Jiang Family for many years, and her main job was taking care of the little mistress. She improved her work skills, passed her driving test early, and learned to ride a horse early on.
Pang Ya’s parents were servants in the mansion, professional domestic staff, and their living conditions were decent.
She was a first-class maid who served the young miss personally, and the wages she had saved up over so many years were enough to buy a horse. Of course, the horse bestowed by the young miss was even better, so she didn’t need to spend her own money.
Wei Biao had never ridden a horse before, but he was very athletic.
After arriving at the Jiang Family, he learned it after a little practice.
He hadn’t expected that his master would actually buy him a horse now. He couldn’t believe that at such a young age, he could own his own horse; he felt this life was worth it.
Wei Biao led the horse, unable to put it down, wanting to hug the horse’s head and kiss it.
The big black horse snorted; it looked like an adult black horse with a rather irritable temper.
The horse Pang Ya chose was also very large; she was strong and liked big horses, and she felt the brown color complemented her skin tone.
Mianmian simply thought the horse she chose was good-looking, and Little Tree liked it.
The three of them test-ran a few laps in the horse field together and were all very satisfied.
Mianmian had Pang Ya pay.
Then, happily, they rode their horses, showing off in the street.
But they had spent a lot of money today. Paying a few taels here and there didn’t feel like much, but converted to modern currency, it was tens of thousands; it made her heart ache.
She would have to ask Father for reimbursement when she got home.
Jiang Mianmian rode her new car, clippity-clop, toward the inn.
With a new car, she still needed to change the interior, replace the saddle and whip; she would go to Great-Aunt for that, as Great-Aunt could definitely get her a good set.
Pang Ya and Wei Biao followed, riding their horses, one in front and one behind.
Mianmian felt like a super wealthy second-generation heir with a car leading the way and a car guarding the rear; she could ride wherever she wanted and change lanes at will.
The sun was just right, and the roadside was clean, much cleaner than when they first arrived, and not as crowded.
They returned to the inn.
Jiang Mianmian put the horses in the backyard and went to find Father.
Jiang Changtian was discussing matters with his son and saw his little daughter run in, bouncing and skipping.
He instinctively reached out to catch her, but halfway there, he pulled his hand back.
His little daughter had unknowingly grown into a beautiful young girl. She was right—he should have hugged her more when she was little. Now that she was older, even if he wanted to, he felt embarrassed to hug her.
Jiang Changtian reached out and touched Mianmian’s head, then touched her ear; it was ice-cold.
“Father, Elder Brother,” Mianmian greeted, while dodging Father’s hand.
“You came at the right time. Your birthday is coming up. Tell Father what you like.”
Jiang Mianmian said without thinking: “A horse, I like horses.”
Jiang Mianmian wanted to get more pocket money to get reimbursed.
Jiang Changtian laughed: “Perfect. Father just acquired a horse farm with over two hundred horses. I’ll give them all to you as your birthday gift this year.”
Jiang Mianmian’s eyes widened, her mouth hung open, and she was a bit incoherent with excitement… Damn it, she had wasted her money!
Pang Ya and the others had chosen their horses cautiously; they were the cheapest horses, costing fifty taels of silver.
That was about 50,000 yuan.
Two hundred horses—that was about 10 million yuan.
In the meantime, what if some of them were exceptional, like sweaty steeds?
And horses could give birth to foals, and the foals would give birth to more foals.
Jiang Mianmian sat there counting on her fingers very carefully.
A horse’s gestation period was three hundred days; it was about one foal a year, usually a single birth, though sometimes there were twins~~. A one-and-a-half-year-old foal could start breeding, and until about ten years old, they could have eight to ten litters.
Doubling every year?
Other people’s horses might not get pregnant easily, but hers definitely would.
Jiang Mianmian suddenly felt like she was wealthy enough to rival a nation…
So many horses…
Writing in her diary at night.
Month X, Day X. Shock! Father gave me over two hundred cars as a birthday gift.
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