The reality of a cattle drive, Li Wei quickly learned, was not the romantic image of silhouettes riding into the sunset. It was a repetitive, grinding cycle of manure, grease, and noise.
By the third day, the convoy had left the familiar hills of Willow Village far behind. The landscape had flattened out, morphing into a patchwork of sprawling wheat fields and commercial waystations. The Imperial Road—a marvel of ancient engineering—stretched out before them like a grey ribbon, paved with packed gravel and stones worn smooth by centuries of traffic.
Li Wei rode his horse alongside the wagons. The sun beat down on his wide-brimmed hat, casting a shadow over his face. He watched the cattle carts bouncing on the uneven surface. The young bulls were restless.
"Boss!" Da Niu shouted from the rear cart. "The black bull is kicking the slats again! He's restless!"
Li Wei sighed. The Emergency Finishing Formula was a double-edged sword. It packed weight onto the animals at an astonishing rate, but the high-protein, high-energy mix made the young bulls aggressive and hyperactive. Cooping them up in wooden carts for ten hours a day was a recipe for disaster.
"Pull over!" Li Wei signaled to the convoy. "We're walking them."
"Walking?" Li Jun asked, wiping dust from his forehead. "We're on a deadline. Walking takes twice as long."
"Better to arrive late with calm cattle than early with broken legs and bruised meat," Li Wei said, dismounting. "If their muscles tense up from stress, the meat turns dark and tough. The Imperial Kitchen will throw it back at us—and then cut our heads off."
He walked to the back of the lead cart and lowered the ramp.
The black bull, a massive yearling they had nicknamed "Typhoon," stormed out. He snorted, pawing the packed earth of the roadside, sending dust clouds swirling.
"Easy," Li Wei said, his voice dropping to a low, rhythmic hum. He approached the animal not with force, but with a steady, side-on posture. "Easy, boy."
He utilized a technique the System had unlocked—*Pressure and Release*. He stepped into the bull's flight zone. The bull swung his head. Li Wei stepped back.
"See?" Li Wei told Da Niu, who was watching nervously with a prod. "You don't push him. You suggest. He moves, you release the pressure. You dance with him."
Slowly, the bull's breathing slowed. He dropped his head and began to graze on the sparse grass at the edge of the road.
"Unload the others," Li Wei ordered. "We walk them for two *li*. Let them stretch. Water them from the skins."
This was the rhythm of the Iron Convoy. A grueling, stop-start march. They weren't just transporters; they were mobile zookeepers, constantly monitoring hydration, stress levels, and digestion.
***
**The Hierarchy of the Road**
Around midday, the dynamics of the Imperial Road revealed themselves.
A rhythmic, heavy thudding approached from behind.
"Cavalry!" Er-Gou, the scout, shouted from his perch on the lead wagon.
Li Wei signaled the convoy to pull to the extreme right, practically putting the wheels into the drainage ditch.
A unit of twenty armored riders thundered past. They wore the black lacquered armor of the Capital Garrison. They didn't slow down. They didn't look at the peasants scrambling out of the way. They simply rode, their horses kicking up a choking cloud of dust and gravel that coated the convoy in grey.
"Filthy bastards," Li Jun spat, coughing and wiping grit from his eyes. "They could have slowed down."
"They have the mandate," Qin Hu said calmly, leaning on his crutch near the fire pit. "We are merchants. They are the sword arm of the Emperor. On this road, might makes right. Remember that."
Li Wei watched the dust settle. In his past life, he had dealt with corporate hierarchies, but this was different. This was a caste system enforced by steel.
"Stay alert," Li Wei said. "If we see a tax station, let me do the talking. We have the Magistrate's seal, but these road soldiers might not care about a country official."
***
**The Broken Axle**
The afternoon brought a different kind of enemy: Physics.
They were crossing a wooden bridge over a ravine when a sharp *crack* echoed through the air, louder than a gunshot.
The second wagon—the one carrying two of the heavier young bulls—lurched violently to the left. The wooden axle, stressed by the constant weight and the uneven road, had snapped clean through.
"Hold the lines!" Da Niu screamed, grabbing the reins of the mules pulling the cart. The mules brayed in panic, threatening to drag the tilted cart into the ravine.
"Chocks! Block the wheels!" Li Wei leaped off his horse, grabbing a wooden block and jamming it behind the rear wheel to stop the slide.
The cart teetered dangerously. The two bulls inside lowed in terror, shifting their weight. If they panicked and threw their weight to the side, the whole cart would flip over the edge, taking the valuable cattle and the supplies with it.
"Qin Hu! Shoot the bulls!" Li Jun yelled, panic rising. "They'll tip us!"
"No!" Li Wei shouted. "Don't kill them! We lose the money!"
He scrambled up the side of the tilting cart. He ignored the creaking wood that threatened to give way.
He found the two bulls pressed against the railing, eyes rolling white.
"Hey!" Li Wei roared, slapping the wooden slats with a stick. He projected an aura of absolute dominance. "Stand! Stand still!"
He didn't hit the animals. He hit the wood. *Bang! Bang!* The sharp noise snapped the bulls out of their panic. They froze, instinctively obeying the loud, commanding presence.
"Da Niu! Get the chains! Hook the cart to the lead wagon! Pull it back from the edge!"
The team scrambled. Chains were thrown. The lead wagon's mules strained, groaning as they pulled against the weight.
Slowly, agonizingly, the broken cart was dragged back onto the center of the bridge.
Li Wei exhaled, his heart hammering against his ribs. He checked the cattle.
**[Stress Level: High.]**
**[Injury Risk: Moderate.]**
**[Status: Stable.]**
"Check the axle," Li Wei said, jumping down.
Li Jun crawled under the cart. "It's shattered, Brother. The wood is rotted in the core. We can't fix this with duct tape and prayers."
"Can we splice it?"
"Not with this break. We need a new axle. Or a new cart."
They were in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town was five *li* ahead.
Li Wei looked at the sun. It was already dipping towards the west.
"We can't stop," Li Wei said. "We'll lose a day."
"We can't move without a cart," Jun countered. "We can't carry two bulls on our backs."
Li Wei looked at the convoy. They had four carts. They were already pushing the weight limits.
"Transfer the bulls," Li Wei decided. "Spread them out. Put the lighter calves in the remaining three carts. Leave the broken wagon here."
"Leave it?" Da Niu asked. "It's worth money!"
"It's dead weight. We take the wheels and the canvas. We leave the frame. We buy a new cart at the next town."
It took an hour of sweating, heaving, and wrestling to redistribute the cattle. The convoy was now more cramped, the animals more stressed, but they were mobile.
As they rolled away, leaving the broken skeleton of the wagon on the bridge, Li Wei felt a cold knot of anxiety in his stomach. Every breakdown ate into their margin. Every delay was a step closer to failure.
***
**The Night Market**
That evening, they reached a small waystation town called "Iron Ridge." It was a cluster of inns, stables, and brothels catering to travelers on the Imperial Road.
The place was rowdy. Merchants, soldiers, and vagabonds mingled in the torch-lit streets. The air smelled of roasting lamb and cheap wine.
"We need a cart," Li Wei told the team. "Qin Hu, stay with the cattle. Keep them quiet. Da Niu, find a carpenter or a trader. Jun, get us rooms. I'll find food."
Li Wei walked through the market. Prices here were double what they were in Willow Village. The further they went, the more expensive everything became.
He stopped by a tea stall. He needed to think.
A merchant at the next table was complaining.
"…bandits at the Twin Pass. They jumped a silk caravan yesterday. Killed the guards. Took everything. The road is getting unsafe."
Li Wei listened intently. Twin Pass was a chokepoint on the route north. They had to go through it.
He finished his tea and went to find Da Niu.
He found the boy haggling with a rough-looking wagon merchant in a back alley.
"Eight taels?" Da Niu shouted. "This cart is older than my grandmother! It's practically falling apart!"
"It's solid oak!" the merchant countered. "And you need it now. You've got cattle panting in the street. Eight taels or walk."
Li Wei stepped forward. He saw the cart. It was decent, but the wheels were dry and cracked.
"Five taels," Li Wei said calmly.
"Seven," the merchant sneered.
"Five taels, and I throw in a jar of Cloud Hill Butter," Li Wei said. He pulled a small clay jar from his pack—one of Mei's productions.
"Butter? What would I do with butter?"
"It's the finest in the province. It doesn't spoil. Sell it to a noble in the capital for a profit. Or eat like a king. Five taels and the butter. Final offer."
The merchant eyed the jar, then the desperate look on Li Wei's face. He grabbed the jar, popped the lid, and sniffed. The rich, creamy scent of high-fat butter filled the alley.
"Fine," the merchant grunted. "Take the cart. But don't blame me if a wheel falls off."
Li Wei counted out the silver. Another five taels gone. The emergency fund was dwindling.
***
**The Campfire Gourmet**
That night, they camped in the courtyard of a cheap inn. The convoy was parked in a defensive circle, the cattle lowing softly.
The men were exhausted. The breakdown had taken the fight out of them.
"We're bleeding money," Li Jun said, sitting by the fire. "Five taels for the cart. Two taels for the tolls. Brother, we'll spend the whole profit before we get there."
"We won't," Li Wei said. He pulled out a pot.
He took some of the hard cheese wheels Mei had made. He grated them into a pot of boiling water. He added dried noodles (bought cheap from a stall) and some of the cured pork fat.
Then, he took the "Scholar's Manna"—the dried yogurt balls. He crushed them into a powder and stirred them into the broth.
The mixture thickened into a creamy, tangy, savory soup.
"Eat," Li Wei ladled it out to the men.
The smell was incredible. Rich, salty, and comforting.
Da Niu took a sip. His eyes widened. "This… this is good. Really good. It tastes like… luxury."
"It's efficiency," Li Wei corrected. "High calorie. High protein. The yogurt helps you digest the fat. It keeps your strength up."
He looked around the circle. The men were eating with gusto. The despair of the afternoon was fading, replaced by the warmth of the meal.
"This is 'Convoy Stew'," Li Wei announced. "Tomorrow, we make it to Twin Pass. We get through the mountains. Then it's flat land to the Capital. We can do this."
Er-Gou looked up, wiping his mouth. "Boss, can we get more of those cheese wheels when we get back?"
"When we get back," Li Wei smiled, "we'll make a whole warehouse of them. We'll be the cheese kings of the Empire."
He stood up and checked on the cattle one last time.
The black bull, Typhoon, was sleeping. His sides were rising and falling rhythmically. The stress of the day was gone.
**[System Update: Herd Health.]**
**[Recovery Speed: Accelerated by high-quality feed.]**
**[Projected Arrival: On Schedule (38 Days remaining).]**
Li Wei looked up at the stars. They were brighter here, away from the village. He thought of Chen in the capital, studying by lamplight. He thought of the sisters making cheese in the kitchen.
They were all moving forward, one step at a time.
"Sleep," Li Wei whispered to the wind. "Tomorrow, we climb."