The livestock market of Qinghe County was located in the western district, a chaotic sprawl of mud, manure, and noise. The air was thick with the scent of unwashed animals and the frantic shouts of haggling merchants.
Li Wei walked through the throngs of people, his steps deliberate. Beside him, Li Sheng clutched the heavy pouch of silver coins inside his sleeve, his knuckles white. To the boy, this was a terrifying responsibility. To Li Wei, this was simply the discount aisle.
"Look at those beasts, Brother!" Li Sheng pointed to a pen of sturdy, yellow-coated oxen. They stood placidly, chewing on fodder, their muscles rippling under shiny hides. "Those are prime plow oxen! If we buy those, surely we can rent them out to farmers in the spring."
Li Wei glanced at the price tag hanging from the pen. "Fifteen taels per head. We have thirty taels total. If we buy two oxen, we have no money for land preparation, feed, or shelter. And if one of them gets sick? We are bankrupt."
He shook his head. "No, Sheng. We are not here to buy the best. We are here to buy the worst."
"The... worst?" Li Sheng's face fell. "But the Magistrate expects results! If we bring home dying animals, Sister-in-law will have us flogged!"
"She will have us flogged if we lose her money," Li Wei corrected. "But we aren't going to lose it. We are going to invest in *potential*."
He steered them away from the prime auction block and toward the darker, smellier corner of the market—the 'Cull Pen.'
Here, the atmosphere was somber. Farmers brought animals that were no longer useful: cows that had stopped giving milk, oxen with injuries that made them limp, and bulls with temperaments too nasty for the yoke. These animals were sold by the pound, destined for the butcher's cleaver.
Li Wei stopped in front of a pen filled with a motley crew of miserable-looking creatures. A merchant sat on a stool, looking bored, swatting flies away with a horsehair whisk.
"Buying meat?" the merchant asked lazily, not even standing up. "Fresh slaughter happens at dusk. If you want to buy live for a banquet, I can give you a discount on the old ones. They're tough, but good for soup stock."
"I'm looking for breeding stock," Li Wei said calmly.
The merchant stared at him, then burst out laughing. "Breeding? *These?* That one has a limp. That one is toothless. And that black one over there? Vicious as a demon. He nearly killed three stable hands. He's good for nothing but sausage."
Li Wei ignored the mockery. He focused his gaze on the animals, activating the [Ranch Development System].
A faint, translucent overlay appeared over his vision. He scanned the 'toothless' cow.
**[Target: Local Yellow Cow (Female)]**
**[Age: 12 Years]**
**[Health: Malnourished, dental decay.]**
**[Genetic Assessment: Average.]
[Verdict: Low Value.]**
He moved his gaze to the 'limping' ox.
**[Target: Draft Ox (Male - Castrated)]**
**[Health: Joint inflammation.]
[Verdict: Unfit for labor.]**
Li Wei frowned. These were indeed trash. He scanned the pen, looking for the gem the merchant had mentioned. The 'vicious' one.
In the corner, chained heavily to a post, stood a massive, gaunt frame of a bull. Its coat was matted and dull, a dark, muddy black. Its ribs jutted out like the beams of an old house, but its eyes burned with a wild, intelligent fury. It snorted, pawing the muddy ground, ignoring the other cattle.
Li Wei locked eyes with the beast. The system whirred.
**[Target: Local Black Bull (Male)]**
**[Breed: Mixed heritage. Unknown strain.]**
**[Age: 4 Years.]**
**[Health: Starving, parasitic load high. Aggression level: High.]**
**[Genetic Assessment: S-Class Dominant Traits.]**
**[Hidden Potential: Natural resilience. High muscle density. Carrier of recessive marbling gene.]**
**[Recommendation: Purchase Immediately.]**
Li Wei's heart skipped a beat. S-Class. In a world of D and C-class draft animals, this starving, angry beast was a diamond in the rough. He looked closer at the system data.
*Carrier of recessive marbling gene.*
It was a mutation, a fluke of nature that the locals ignored because they only cared about pulling plows. This bull wasn't meant to be an ox; it was meant to be steak.
"I want that one," Li Wei said, pointing to the black bull.
The merchant blinked. "The Black Demon? Are you mad? He'll gore you before you get him home. I was going to sell him to the glue boiler just to be rid of him."
"I'll take him," Li Wei repeated. "And I'll take those five cows in the corner." He pointed to a group of scrawny females. They looked terrible, but the system indicated they had decent pelvic structures for calving.
"The five brood cows and the bull," Li Wei calculated aloud. "Plus those two horses over there."
He pointed to the horse corral. There were no majestic warhorses here. Just two old, swaybacked nags with dull coats.
"Those nags?" The merchant scoffed. "They can barely trot."
"They have good teeth," Li Wei lied—well, it wasn't a total lie, the system said they had strong jaws. "And I need pack animals."
"Look," the merchant said, sensing a sucker, "I'll do you a favor. The bull is dangerous waste. I'll let him go for... three taels. The cows, two taels each. That's thirteen taels. The horses, four taels for the pair. Total, seventeen taels."
Li Wei didn't haggle. He knew the true value of genetics. To the merchant, this was garbage; to Li Wei, it was the foundation of an empire.
"Deal," Li Wei said. He turned to Sheng, whose face was pale as a sheet. "Sheng, pay the man."
Seventeen taels vanished from the pouch. They were left with thirteen taels for feed and construction.
As the transaction was finalized, a commotion erupted at the edge of the market.
"Get out of here, you cripple! We have no work for you!"
A burly man kicked a figure lying in the mud. The figure rolled but didn't cry out. He simply picked himself up, dusted off his tattered grey robe.
It was a man in his late twenties, towering over the crowd. He had a square jaw, a scar running down the side of his face, and eyes that looked dead—like a pool of stagnant water. He walked with a heavy limp, his left leg dragging slightly.
"Strong back," the man said in a low, raspy voice to the hiring manager. "I can work."
"You can't even walk straight!" the manager spat. "Go beg somewhere else."
The man didn't argue. He turned and began to limp away, his head bowed, moving toward the shadows of the alleyway.
Li Wei watched him. He felt a strange resonance. A man discarded by society. Useless in the eyes of the world.
*System, analyze.*
**[Target: Human Male.]**
**[Identity: Chen Hu (Former Soldier).]**
**[Status: Disabled Veteran. Unemployed.]**
**[Attributes: High Strength. High Loyalty Potential. Expert in combat/security.]**
**[Note: Desperate for purpose.]**
Li Wei needed a foreman. He needed security. He couldn't manage a ranch full of wild animals and guard it alone. He needed a right hand.
"Sheng," Li Wei said, "go hold the horses. I have one more hire to make."
Li Wei walked after the limping man.
"Hey," Li Wei called out.
The man stopped but didn't turn around. "I have no money. I am not looking for trouble."
"I'm not offering trouble," Li Wei said. "I'm offering a job."
The man turned slowly. He looked Li Wei up and down—the thin scholar's robes, the soft hands (relatively). "You are a gentleman. You don't want a cripple."
"I'm building a ranch on the Westland," Li Wei said. "It's hard work. The land is wild. I have a bull that wants to kill me. And I need someone who isn't afraid to bleed."
Chen Hu's dead eyes flickered with a spark of something—confusion, perhaps interest. "Westland? That's a wasteland. You will fail."
"Maybe," Li Wei admitted. "But I'd rather fail working than starve doing nothing. I'll pay you room and board, and one tael of silver a month. When the ranch makes a profit, I'll double it."
One tael was meager, almost insulting. But room and board? For a homeless veteran, that was survival.
Chen Hu stared at him, searching for the mockery. He found none.
"Why?" Chen Hu asked. "Why me?"
"Because you're the only one here who looks like he understands what it means to be thrown away," Li Wei said quietly.
Chen Hu was silent for a long moment. Then, he straightened his back as much as his injured leg would allow. He clasped his fists—a soldier's salute.
"I, Chen Hu, will follow you. For now."
"Good," Li Wei nodded. "Go help my brother with the horses. We have a long walk home."
***
The procession back to the Westland was a parade of shame.
Leading the way was Li Wei on a swaybacked horse that looked like it might collapse at any moment. Behind him, Chen Hu, the scarred giant, herded the scrawny cows with a stick, his limp pronounced but his presence imposing. Li Sheng brought up the rear with the second horse and the sheep, looking around nervously.
The real trouble was the Black Bull.
It refused to move like a civilized animal. It snorted, it pulled at the rope, and it tried to charge at anyone who came too close. Li Wei had to keep a tight grip on the lead rope, his arm aching from the strain.
As they passed through the streets, people gathered to watch.
"Look! It's the Magistrate's son-in-law!"
"Is that... a beggar's herd?"
"Those cows are skin and bones! They look like walking skeletons!"
"Haha! He spent his money on trash! He really is good for nothing!"
"He bought that demon bull! The one that killed Old Wang's dog last year! He's trying to commit suicide!"
The laughter stung Li Sheng. The boy hung his head, tears stinging his eyes. "Brother... everyone is laughing at us."
Li Wei sat straighter on his horse. He looked at the laughing faces of the merchants, the farmers, and the idlers.
"Let them laugh, Sheng," Li Wei said loud enough for the crowd to hear. "A lion does not make noise for the circus. Let them think we are raising skeletons. In six months, we will raise an army."
He spurred his horse forward.
They reached the edge of the Westland. The "barren" land stretched out before them. To the average eye, it was rocky, overgrown with useless weeds, and useless scrub brush.
But Li Wei saw something different.
He dismounted and knelt, grabbing a handful of the tall, coarse grass that grew between the rocks.
**[Grass Analysis: Wild Creeping Bentgrass. Low nutrition. Hard to digest.]**
He looked further. Near the creek bed, there was a patch of different grass.
**[Grass Analysis: Native Clover Variant. Moderate nutrition. High protein potential.]**
He stood up and took a deep breath. The wind blew across the hills, rippling the grass like a green ocean. He smelled the scent of dirt, freedom, and opportunity.
"Chen Hu," Li Wei called out.
The big man limped over. "Yes, Boss."
"We need to build a fence," Li Wei said. "And a shed for the night. We have no money for materials, so we'll use the rocks from the field and the wood from that dead copse over there."
Chen Hu looked at the wild land, then at the fierce Black Bull. A faint, almost imperceptible grin touched his scarred lips.
"I'll get the axe."
Li Wei turned to the bull. The beast glared at him, huffing steam from its nostrils. Li Wei didn't flinch. He walked up to the animal, close enough to feel its hot breath.
"I know what you are," Li Wei whispered, patting the bull's neck. The animal flinched but didn't strike. "You're not a plow ox. You're a warrior. You're the grandfather of kings. I'm going to call you 'General'."
The Black Bull—General—snorted and lowered its head slightly.
Li Wei looked out over his land.
The system chimed.
**[Mission Complete: Initial Herd Acquired.]**
**[Reward Unlocked: Basic Grass Identification Skill (Activated).]**
**[Next Mission: Build Shelter. Survive the First Night.]**
Li Wei smiled. He was tired, he was poor, and the world thought he was a joke. But for the first time in two lifetimes, he felt like he was exactly where he was meant to be.
"Alright," Li Wei said, rolling up his sleeves. "Let's get to work."