Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 127: The Horse Caught My Eye, The Scenery of the Grasslands!

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: The Horse Caught My Eye, The Scenery of the Grasslands!

The ranch had finished harvesting, and a large area of the pasture was now empty.

Only neatly trimmed low grass remained, looking like a lawn.

Cats and dogs enjoyed strolling over it.

These past few days, Xu Yang had been busy and hadn’t gone into the mountains, so he had only livestreamed once, showing the scene of mowing grass, collecting it, and making hay bales.

However, he kept his video content updated regularly, maintaining a daily upload schedule.

The short video platform and specialized livestream platforms are different; as long as you update videos, even if you don’t broadcast for half a month, your popularity won’t suffer any loss.

At present, the total popularity value had already exceeded 970,000, and Xu Yang had been saving it up, planning to do something big.

He hadn’t held a lottery since the last time he looked at the tiger.

"Another livestream, and I should be able to do the lottery," he thought.

"Just right, I’ve sold the grass, and all the potato work is done."

"It’s time to take a stroll outside."

Xu Yang thought to himself.

He planned to go into the mountains again in a couple of days because early autumn had arrived, and the leaves in the mountains were just starting to turn yellow.

Even if there were wild goods in the mountains during this time, they were not fully ripe.

He needed to wait a little longer into the autumn to go, that’s when the first batch of ripe mountain goods would be available.

He could also catch a bumper harvest.

Today, he would first go to the market to look around.

He had previously considered raising Sika Deer, but since a group had come into the forest, Xu Yang decided to switch to something else.

Buy a horse.

Xu Yang remembered that when he was very small, many people in the Northeast raised horses, just like on the grasslands. When he was a child, he would go out to herd horses.

It was because a lot of agricultural work required oxen and horses.

Now with mechanized farming and the prevalence of tractors, there were fewer people raising horses.

But some people still kept horses, some were breeding horses for meat, meant for consumption; others simply raised them for fun, similar to buying a car.

Youth in particular enjoyed this.

Basically, all the big farmers, or slightly wealthy landowners, would raise some horses.

Xu Yang also knew of a second-generation rich in the town who raised seven or eight horses and built a ranch.

This was something you couldn’t afford without a bit of money.

For instance, the famed Ma, an obstinate old man in Capital City, also owned a big ranch in the outskirts of Capital City.

Xu Yang made an announcement in a video:

"Today, I’m heading over to the grasslands in Inner Mongolia to buy a horse."

"We have a livestock market for donkeys and horses here, too. It’s just a big market fenced off with iron bars, with a pathway for people to walk through in the middle, and horses, donkeys, and mules all inside the enclosure for people to choose from."

"But those are all working horses."

"I’m thinking that the horses from the grasslands are a bit better and surely stronger than the ones we breed here."

"So I want to go and have a look."

"I’ll start the livestream once I get to the grasslands."

"Our province is also close to the grasslands."

As soon as the video was released, many netizens responded:

"Old Xu, you’re living the life!"

"Hahaha, looks like you’ve got money now!"

"He’s actually buying a horse—that’s something rich people do!"

"I’m so envious of this life, the best kind of rural living!"

Xu Yang decided to drive there; his own van definitely wouldn’t do, so he had to rent a car.

He rented a Tank 300, with a daily rental fee of 500 yuan, and rented it for two days.

He would also take a little road trip.

Soon, Xu Yang started driving, heading in the direction of Inner Mongolia from Shenyang.

Shenyang borders Inner Mongolia, and some cities in the Mongolian East region, like Chifeng and Tongliao, are closer to Northeastern culture.

If you continue westwards, that’s where the grassland culture is.

Initially excited to drive, Xu Yang grew a tad weary after being on the road for a while.

Not until he entered Tongliao, Ke’erqin Left Wing Post Banner, Charisu Prairie.

Xu Yang stopped the car by the roadside, sent up the drone, and started the livestream.

Quickly, the number of viewers in the livestream began to jump rapidly.

403, 2400, 4000, 5000... gradually surpassing 10,000+

In the livestream, an orange off-road vehicle was parked at the edge of the road, with Xu Yang sitting on the roof, looking into the distance.

Far away was an expansive green grassland.

It was the end of August, when the grassland was at its most lush.

Whether the grassland looks good also depends on the time of year.

When the grass is at its peak, the grassland is in full harvest and has the Naadam Festival, the scenery full of greenery is worth coming to see.

But if it were winter or early spring when the grass turns green again, the grassland would look rather bare, with sparse grass.

[Wow, are you on the grassland now?]

[Is Old Xu going to find treasures on the grassland?]

[So beautiful!]

[What are you doing on the roof of the car?]

Facing the breeze of the grassland, Xu Yang turned on the microphone and spoke to everyone:

"I’m sitting here to take a break after driving for too long," he said.

"This journey has tired me out."

"I’ve entered Ke’erqin Left Wing Post Banner in Tongliao, and now I’m at Charisu Prairie."

"This is a smaller prairie, incomparable to Hulun Bei’er or Xilin Gol, but the scenery is still worth appreciating."

Xu Yang chatted casually with everyone.

One should never drive while fatigued; take a rest after driving for a long time.

Sitting on the roof is for the better view, allowing one to see farther.

And this feeling was pretty good.

[Ke’erqin Left Wing Post Banner? Is that place real? Old Xu, see if there is a Golden Gourd Cup children’s Latin dance competition in Ganqika Town, Mandou Village!]

[Hahaha, it’s become a catchphrase, turns out Xu Juncong came from there!]

[This place is on the edge of the Northeast?]

[Where is this, still in the country?]

The barrage of comments was bustling.

Xu Yang relaxed a bit on the roof of the car.

The reason for coming here to buy a horse was also because he had a fellow countryman here who was somewhat dependable and knew Old Xu as well.

The horses on the prairie often gallop freely and, with generations of breeding, their bloodlines would be somewhat superior.

[Old Xu, what made you think of buying a horse?]

Someone chatted leisurely with Xu Yang.

"Actually, many people back home like horses, but the vast majority don’t buy them," he responded.

"Because when it comes to raising other animals, it’s either for eating the meat or pets that consume less."

"A horse, on the other hand, has no limit on how much it costs to raise."

"For example, the horse stable needs fresh straw every few days so the horse can lie down comfortably."

"Then there’s the horse’s diet, they need both concentrated feed and roughage daily, both of which you’ll need to prepare. You could just prepare grass, but that would be even more expensive."

"I just sold a batch of grass and kept two stacks for myself, specifically for keeping horses."

"In addition, there are things like horse saddles, horse stirrups, and horseshoes, those costs are even more unpredictable, a good saddle alone can cost tens of thousands."

"Keeping this thing is all about spending money, so you need a bit of a foundation to be able to keep one."

"I just genuinely like them, I don’t mind the expense each month."

Xu Yang explained to everyone.

Many people don’t understand horses.

At most, they have seen them in horse farms at some tourist attractions.

Nowadays, horses are rare; they are more common in prairies and plateaus, and in some places, people actually ride horses to school.

Xu Yang wanted to pick a good horse for himself.

Riding a horse would also be convenient for inspecting the farm.

Or even for visiting the area around the farm, it’s convenient.

He chatted casually with everyone for a while, put away the drone, and continued on his way.

He didn’t live stream while driving.

Xu Yang drove to a ranch, having contacted the ranch owner beforehand, who knew he was coming to look at horses.

Xu Yang chatted with the owner for a bit and, upon hearing that the ranch totaled 3,000 acres, he instantly felt that his 110-acre farm was still too small.

He would have to expand it later on.

"The horses will be back soon. You can take a look at the foals jumping around, and even the one-year-olds. But the old horses, I do not sell those."

"It’s better to pick a young horse."

The ranch owner said to Xu Yang.

"No problem."

Xu Yang casually inquired whether he could live stream, and the ranch owner readily agreed, so Xu Yang started the live stream again.

The drone captured the distant scenes.

Soon after, the herd was herded back by the herdsman.

The farm had twenty-six horses, including five foals.

Watching the thundering herd, Xu Yang felt awestruck.

The number of viewers in the live stream room quickly increased, with many netizens lingering to admire the scene.

[So many fine horses, they look so majestic when they run!]

[I want to keep one too!]

[Unless you have a prairie, at least you need to have a yard!]

[You need land to keep one of these creatures!]

[Forget it, I live in a 60 square meter house, which is about 0.1 acre, barely enough space for me to move around!]

The barrage of comments scrolled rapidly.

Soon after, the horses returned to their stalls.

Xu Yang followed the ranch owner to take a look.

All the foals were with their mothers, and seeing this, Xu Yang couldn’t bear to buy one.

Or if he did buy, he would take the mother and foal together; he definitely wouldn’t be the villain who separated them.

But it was hard to tell the quality of the young horses.

All looked pretty good.

The ranch owner also shared his experience in judging horses, such as body shape and limb proportions, among other criteria.

Xu Yang was already familiar with these.

Just then, the sound of horses neighing in the distance caught his attention.

Xu Yang immediately turned to look.

He saw a herdsman riding a horse, presumably holding a whip in his hand, vigorously chasing another horse.

This black horse, with a robust body and well-defined muscle lines in its legs and torso, galloped with its mane dancing wildly behind its neck.

Super cool.

Sometimes, it’s like that with relationships, if you feel a spark at first sight, then there is a spark.

Xu Yang was immediately taken with this black horse.

"What’s the deal with this horse?" Xu Yang asked.

"This horse is a year and a half old, has a fiery temper, and is antisocial, hence it’s ostracized by the other horses."

"Usually, it doesn’t like to return to the stall, so it has to be herded back."

"It always stays by itself."

"You know, animals have their own personalities, this one is stubborn and even fights with other horses."

The ranch owner explained to Xu Yang.

Seeing that Xu Yang was interested, he asked, "Are you thinking of buying it?"

"This one is actually for sale."

"Don’t underestimate the horses I raise. We have a riding club here, and when they need extra horses because of high demand, they pick from my stock."

"They are no worse than the horses from the riding clubs."

Xu Yang kept his eyes on the black horse running in the grass.

His initial plan had been to shop around—check out the horses on the prairie, then visit specialized horse farms to make his selection.

After comparing several places, he would then decide which one to buy.

After all, one should not rush these kinds of decisions.

He even thought the horses from the riding clubs would be the best. These clubs usually have a lot of people learning to ride, which helps in raising pretty decent horses.

But now, Xu Yang’s thoughts had changed.

Just arriving at the first ranch, he had fallen for an antisocial black horse.

Xu Yang glanced once more at the herd.

Being antisocial doesn’t necessarily imply a problem with the horse; it could be the environment that’s the issue.

Stubbornness could stem from pride; this black horse simply didn’t like living with the others, hence its reluctance to return.

At a year and a half old, a horse is in its prime and can run very fast.

More importantly, this horse was truly handsome.

The way it ran was just too cool!

When Xu Yang chose a horse, he certainly wanted one that was handsome.

"I’ll take this one, I’ll take a closer look in a bit."

Xu Yang told the ranch owner.

"Sure, you can trust that this horse is in excellent condition, with absolutely no problems. The riding club even inquired about this horse before, but they didn’t take it since it doesn’t get along with the group and is hard to manage."

"In terms of capability, this guy is amazing."

"If you can master it, it will surely be a fine horse."

The ranch owner responded.

Most horses are gentle-natured, but some wild horses need to be tamed to be managed.

Otherwise, they become proud and stubborn.

Xu Yang looked at the black horse without any worry.

With his current physical condition, handling a fiery horse shouldn’t be a big problem.