"Mr. Jiang Hai, we meet again!"
Luke Sean approached with his son, a friendly smile on his face.
"Oh, it's you!" Jiang Hai was momentarily surprised to see Luke Sean and Anthony, having forgotten about their meeting the day before. But recognizing them now, he smiled and greeted them warmly.
"I wonder if you've given any more thought to our conversation from yesterday?" Luke Sean asked, still smiling but with clear intent behind his words.
For them, forming a partnership with Jiang Hai—and securing a supply of his special forage—was critical.
"I did ask about it yesterday," Jiang Hai said after a moment's thought, shifting into a more serious tone. "I can sell the grass to you, but the price... won't be low."
In truth, Jiang Hai realized there was significant money to be made just from selling forage. Originally, he wasn't too concerned about land expansion. But now, if the grass business continued to thrive, why not expand? There were plenty of small and mid-sized ranches around Winthrop. If he bought them out and turned them into dedicated grass farms instead of cattle pastures, it could be incredibly profitable.
This was the first time Jiang Hai seriously considered territorial expansion.
"We understand the price won't be cheap," Luke said seriously. "This kind of forage is a monopoly product—only you have it. So the price is yours to set. As long as it's within reason, I'm buying."
Jiang Hai nodded, thinking it over. Then he laid it out bluntly:
"I'll be straight with you. I sell it to Du Famen at $200 per ton, but he handles transportation. If you do the same, I'll give you the same price—$200 per ton."
Of course, that wasn't entirely true. Jiang Hai actually sold it to Du Famen for $150 per ton. But when it came to someone like Luke Sean, he didn't intend to cut corners on profit.
Hearing the number, Luke's lips twitched. He tried not to react, but inwardly, he winced. Premium forage, even the best varieties, typically cost around $10–15 per ton. After all, it was just grass, not gold.
In northern states like Montana, ranchers often had to buy grass during harsh winters to feed their livestock. He had expected a price five times the norm at most—not this.
Jiang Hai, noticing his reaction, added, "Let me break it down for you. Take Angus cattle as an example. They're a medium-sized breed. A cow eats 10–20 kilograms of grass daily—so about 3,650 to 7,300 kilograms a year. At my price, that's around $700 to $1,400 annually in feed."
"But that same cow will yield about 5% premium marbled beef. A 750 kg cow gives you roughly 450 kg of meat after slaughter. Of that, 5%—about 22.5 kg—is top-grade beef. At $375 per pound, that's nearly $17,000 just from the premium cuts. The rest of the beef? Easily $130 per pound. When you add in the hide and other parts, you're looking at close to $50,000 per cow."
Jiang Hai smiled. "And you probably spent $1,000 to raise it—including labor and my feed. That's the profit margin we're talking about."
Luke Sean had to admit, the math added up. He didn't even need to buy cattle—his were homebred. His labor costs were far lower than Jiang Hai's. And while Jiang Hai assumed a cow might eat only $700 worth of grass, Luke knew his cattle would eat the full 20 kg daily—meaning $1,400 per head.
Still, after taxes, he stood to make an enormous profit. But as any good businessman would, he pressed for a better deal.
"Well, I've recently founded a company called Tenglong," Jiang Hai continued. "We're promoting our brand of beef and seafood, but we're also handling logistics. If you're interested, I can give you a $5 discount per ton if you use our shipping service. That's $205 per ton, and we'll deliver to a designated city. You'd just need to arrange pickup from there."
That did the trick. Luke mulled it over for a moment and then gave a small nod.
"I can accept that. And I'll use your logistics. But how much of this forage can you actually provide?"
"I've got around 30,000 cattle on my ranch," Jiang Hai replied, exaggerating a little—it was closer to 20,000. "So naturally, their feed comes first. But whatever's leftover, I can sell. Right now, I've already committed a large portion to Du Famen. Still, I can supply enough to feed about 100,000 head of cattle."
Luke blinked. That was far less than he expected.
"Only 100,000?" Jiang Hai asked, noting Luke's expression. "How many were you planning to buy for?"
"I want enough for one million cattle," Luke said calmly.
Jiang Hai nearly choked. One million? That was on par with Du Famen's operation. This man was clearly no small-time rancher.
"I'm sorry," Jiang Hai said, shaking his head. "I only have enough for 100,000 heads right now. I'll try to free up more later, but I can't promise anything."
Jiang Hai knew that if he committed to one million, he'd run into trouble. Selling just the grass was already shaping up to be more profitable than raising cattle. Cows brought in billions annually, but this grass? Potentially billions more. Still, he resisted the temptation and stuck to his original promise.
"That's unfortunate," Luke replied. "But let's start with the 100,000. It'll be a good first step in our partnership."
Jiang Hai admired his integrity. He knew Jiang Hai had sold a million-head supply to Du Famen already. And even if Luke offered a better price, Jiang Hai wouldn't go back on his deal. That kind of contract spirit was rare—and Luke respected it deeply.
What he didn't know was that Jiang Hai's loyalty wasn't just about honor. Du Famen had once helped him through a crisis with oil futures—literally saving his life. Besides, Jiang Hai knew if the price hike leaked, Du Famen wouldn't hesitate to raise his own. And Dubai tycoons didn't fuss over a few million dollars.
"Then let's have a successful cooperation," Jiang Hai said, smiling as he shook Luke Sean's hand. The rest would be handled by their lawyers. Jiang Hai called Moses Adams, who, upon hearing of a $100 million annual contract, practically rushed to the airport.
He also brought representatives from Tenglong Logistics, anticipating the expansion this would bring.
But just as Jiang Hai finished the deal, a voice echoed from outside the exhibition hall:
"Jiang Hai, come out!"
It was Roland Shalid.
Hearing the commotion, Jiang Hai stepped outside and saw a crowd gathered. His security team had already engaged in a standoff with a group of cowboys. If it had been any other day, the security guards might've backed off at the sight of carts full of cow dung.
But not today.
Jiang Hai had spent $200,000 for protection. The organizers took $50,000, the security company got another $50,000, and the remaining guards each had a personal incentive: if they held the line against a manure assault, they'd each earn a $5,000 bonus.
For just one day's work, $5,000 was more than most Americans made in a month.
So even though it stank, they fought hard—blocking the cowboys at every turn.
Roland Shalid was furious. After yesterday's humiliating ordeal, he'd rushed to a private clinic, received IV fluids, taken medication, and recovered just enough to show up today. But seeing Jiang Hai again reignited his rage.
Yesterday had been the most humiliating day of his life. He might never recover from it.
And here was Jiang Hai, smirking at him again.
"Oh, it's you," Jiang Hai said coolly. "You've got a lot of time on your hands to come stir up trouble so early in the morning."
The standoff had drawn some onlookers, but the overwhelming smell kept most people away. Only the security team and cowboys remained locked in struggle.
"You bastard!" Roland screamed. "You dare say what happened yesterday had nothing to do with you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jiang Hai replied, casually picking his ear. His expression was infuriatingly smug.
Roland trembled with rage, completely forgetting the attitude he'd shown the day before.
"You don't understand? Fine—I'll make you understand! CHARGE!"
At his order, the cowboys began pushing forward again, trying to breach the line.
"STOP!" Bell shouted, reacting quickly as the guards and cowboys clashed once more.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" A voice cut through the chaos.
Jiang Hai turned around and saw Luke Sean stepping out of the exhibition hall, his face dark with displeasure.
Roland froze. He hadn't expected Luke Sean to be here...