Beef cattle are actually quite particular—much like the theory of racial classification.
While all cattle may seem similar at first glance, in reality, they're divided into distinct quality tiers.
Setting aside Jiang Hai's unique advantage—his access to spiritual energy—under ideal breeding conditions, the best beef cattle in the world, though he's reluctant to admit it, are Japanese Wagyu from the island nation. Coming in second are American Angus cattle.
These two breeds account for about 70% of all high-grade marbled beef worldwide.
Though they're all technically cattle, the difference in quality is substantial—especially in today's technologically advanced agricultural industry.
As for Chinese cattle breeds, sadly, there aren't any particularly outstanding ones. The Luxi breed, the best among Chinese cattle, doesn't even rank in the global top 50.
Although breeds like Simmental and Limousin have been imported, they're usually not purebred and are limited in number—most of them bulls. Crossbreeding yields calves of significantly lower quality.
To be honest, this is a case of genetic superiority and inferiority. It's like comparing all cats—can you really equate a tiger with a house cat? Wagyu and Angus cattle aren't tigers, of course, but in the world of beef cattle, they're at least lynxes. Chinese cattle, unfortunately, are more like your everyday domestic cat.
But that's not to say Chinese cattle have no advantages.
In fact, when compared to premium breeds, their strengths are quite clear—they're remarkably strong, aggressive, and have high stamina.
A few hundred years ago, when cattle were mainly used for farming, that kind of strength would have been a tremendous advantage.
But times have changed. Nowadays, farmland is cultivated by machines—especially in countries like the U.S.—and brute strength no longer matters. What matters most now is meat quality.
That's why, despite China having the second-largest beef cattle inventory in the world—second only to the U.S.—Chinese beef still has little international reputation. Japan may sell less than 1% of the number of cattle China does, but their earnings surpass the total revenue of Chinese beef sales.
China's beef industry doesn't even implement the three-, six-, or nine-grade classifications used globally.
Domestically, around 70% of beef is still priced and sold according to cuts, not quality grades. Most consumers remain unaware of how beef is graded.
Ordinary American beef already sells for a high price in China. If Jiang Hai tried to sell his premium beef there, he'd probably end up losing money. Different markets take different paths—and the impact is not always equal.
Simmental cattle originally came from Switzerland. If Jiang Hai had purebred Simmentals, he might be able to produce some excellent beef. But hybrids? Not so much.
At least for now, Jiang Hai has no interest in raising them. Once they settled on the breed, everyone split up to begin the search.
This time, Jiang Hai's team planned to buy a total of 15,000 head of cattle. There were still around 12,000 cattle left on his estate, but 4,000 of them were calves. After another six months, they'd be ready for sale.
That means by next April, Jiang Hai will have around 19,000 cattle to sell.
And even before they're ready, they've already been reserved. Zhang Dehai from Haishang Supermarket wants 5,000 head.
This year, Jiang Hai's beef has been a goldmine for Haishang. They now limit their supply, but every time the beef hits the shelves, it gets snatched up immediately. It's especially favored by high-end restaurant owners—but sadly, the supply is limited.
After slaughtering 2,000 cattle this year, Zhang Dehai went ahead and pre-ordered another 5,000.
Qi Li also wanted to open a new branch, but Jiang Hai declined. Qi's restaurant currently avoids taxation due to its small scale. Expanding recklessly could attract unwanted government attention, which would cause more harm than good. Better to grow slowly and steadily. In the end, she only ordered 1,000 head.
That's 6,000 accounted for. The remaining 13,000 are reserved for Pla Walton. The Walton family's Wal-Mart stores span the globe, and their customer base can afford premium beef.
This time, they're even looking to expand into China—specifically in Magic City (Shanghai) and Guangdong. Originally, the capital wasn't on the list, but thanks to Qi Li, they made an exception to give Jiang Hai some face.
In short, all 19,000 cattle are already sold before they've even matured. There's no denying Jiang Hai's beef is in high demand.
If each cow sells for $40,000, Jiang Hai's beef business could generate $2.66 billion next year.
As the saying goes—this is faster than robbery.
The group split into pairs and started picking out cattle. The market had all kinds—small groups, individual breeding cattle, and large-scale lots.
Jiang Hai and his team focused on calves, selecting individual breeding cattle for transport. Don't forget—they came in an F-750. That truck isn't just for show.
They planned to haul back several top-quality breeding bulls—that's what the truck was for.
Unfortunately, they didn't find many worth buying. They only chose five. The rest were just mediocre farm stock.
When selecting cattle, they looked for tight skin, bright eyes, and healthy teeth. Coat patterns didn't matter much—but many other factors did. Fortunately, in the U.S., cattle are tagged and tracked via computer. You can check their histories with relative accuracy—though not perfect.
Still, the other three with Jiang Hai—Robbins, Garcia, and the rest—were seasoned cowboys. They could spot issues at a glance.
Before they knew it, two hours had passed, and they'd bought more than 4,000 bulls. After leaving their delivery address, Jiang Hai paid the deposit. The rest would be paid upon delivery to the ranch.
As for the remaining 11,000 bulls, that required working with a cattle dealer. The scale was simply too large.
But they didn't have to go looking—once word got out that they were buying, the dealers came to them. These people had a keen eye for opportunity.
After reviewing a few sample bulls, Jiang Hai chose to purchase from a dealer named George Woog, who repeatedly assured them of the quality of his stock. If he made $50 profit per head, he'd earn $550,000 from this single deal.
For context, the highest-paid dentists in the U.S. make about $150,000 annually. This one deal could quadruple that. Naturally, he was careful. After all, Robbins, Garcia, and the others were well-known in the area—if he tried to scam them, he'd ruin his own reputation.
Once the deal was finalized, Jiang Hai and the team stopped by a small law firm next door to draft the contracts. These firms make their living off cattle trade paperwork.
Three contracts later, their work for the day was complete.
By then, it was nearly dark, so they decided to head back. As for selecting breeding bulls, they'd return tomorrow—it wasn't far.
With everything wrapped up, Jiang Hai offered to treat the group to dinner before heading home.
Since there was a cattle market here, restaurants were plentiful.
But after a whole day surrounded by cows, Jiang Hai had no desire to eat beef. After circling around, they settled on pizza. At the restaurant, he ordered three 12-inch meat-lovers' pizzas and waited with the others.
While waiting, they saw a Black man walk into the restaurant carrying a cage.
Jiang Hai's eyes were immediately drawn to the creature inside.
It was snow-white, plump, and limbless—almost like a fluffy stick—lying motionless inside the cage. It had large black eyes and a pair of whiskers. Jiang Hai, a fan of wild animals, was momentarily stunned, then leaned in for a closer look.
The man noticed Jiang Hai's interest after ordering.
"Hey, yellow man, interested in this little guy?" he called out loudly.
Jiang Hai frowned but still nodded.
That's just how it is—many Black Americans are blunt, often unrefined, and frequently bring up race in conversation. Ironically, they tend to be the most racist of all.
Calling someone "yellow man" isn't technically wrong, but it says a lot that he didn't say "brother," "buddy," or "friend." Deep down, it was clear he didn't think highly of Asians.
"If you want him, he's yours for $10,000," the man added, slapping the cage and startling the animal inside. The little creature flinched and looked back at him in fear.
Watching that reaction, Jiang Hai's frown deepened. This guy was really something else.
To be continued...