Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

"Great!"

Ogawa Katsu was so excited that he waved his fists several times, and even a faint blush appeared at the base of his ears.

"I told you, Mr. Kitano, there's really no problem with Pegasus!"

He turned his head, subconsciously grabbed Kitano's hand and shouted.

"Yes, it is indeed a very smart horse."

Looking at the somewhat embarrassed expression on Ogawa Katsu's face, Kitano smiled lightly after letting out a long breath.

Although a bit reckless, the boy in front of him is not a bad person.

"Let's go, isn't there a Kuchitori ceremony next?"

He patted Ogawa Katsu's shoulder and said.

Of course, there will be no such things as trophies, shields, and victory flags in the Xinma War.

However, the winning team will usually take a group photo after the game.

"Right, that's right! Let's go quickly!"

Xuhe Sheng dropped his head in excitement.

"Congratulations, Mr. Kitano."

On the way to the Kuchitori ceremony, Master Tanaka also had a happy look on his face.

In any case, Medaimaru at least nominally belonged to his stable.

Moreover, for horse racers, isn’t victory itself something to be happy about?

"Pegasus's reaction is truly remarkable!"

On the other side, as the stable attendant, Kobayashi, was leading Medaima towards the Kuchidori area, he couldn't help but praise him.

"On my side, I almost made a fool of myself."

With the blessing of Yusheng, even the Ochiai rider made a rare joke.

The rider Ochiai, the trainer Tanaka, the stable boy Kobayashi, the ranch representative Masaru Ogawa, the owner Kitano, and the real main character - Medairo Makoto.

The winning team was thus assembled.

"You have worked hard."

Kitano bowed to Ochiai again.

"No, it's on your side."

This time, Ochiai's reaction was much more immediate. He took off his hat and bowed to Kitano in salute.

“Thank you very much for your trust.”

"Okay, I'll save the thanks for later!"

Tanaka clapped his hands with a smile and pointed at the camera in front of everyone.

Several people on horseback jointly grabbed the Kuchidori rope that symbolized victory, while Ochiai raised his left hand high on the saddle.

click-

The memory of the victory of the five people and one horse was frozen in the sound of the shutter.

Kitano decided to use this photo as his new phone wallpaper.

"Um, um! Excuse me, are you Mr. Kitano?"

After finishing the Kuchitori ceremony, Kitano was preparing to leave the stadium from the edge of the stands.

At this time, a young woman in a cosplay costume in the front of the stands asked bravely with the encouragement of her companions.

"If there's no other horse owner with the last name Kitano and the name Mejiro, then it must be me."

Kitano was amused by her somewhat confusing statement and imitated her.

"Great! Can you sign for us?"

Ignoring Kitano's teasing, the girl cheered along with her companions behind her after receiving the affirmative answer.

"Signature?"

Kitano was a little hesitant, but decided to agree to this not-too-excessive request.

I felt in my pocket out of habit, but couldn't find the pen.

His body suddenly stiffened.

I almost forgot I was wearing a suit today.

"If you don't mind, please use mine!"

The girl who was also wearing a cosplay costume seemed to notice Kitano's embarrassment and took the initiative to hand over a black marker.

Kitano immediately breathed a sigh of relief and kept signing his name on the cardboards handed to him by the boys and girls.

"Look at the white horse, one move."

After posting the pictures he got from the staff and this short text on several social media platforms, Kitano drove home with satisfaction.

Along the way, he hummed enka softly along with the car stereo.

After soaking in the slightly hot bathtub, he slowly opened the system panel.

First, it is time to collect the mission rewards.

It was very shabby, with only two green amulets.

Even the prize money for the competition is a full 2.5 million yen.

Of course, that's before the riders' and stables' share is deducted.

However, there seem to be new changes in the system's mall panel.

[High-quality forage grass: 1 green amulet]

【High-quality hay: 5 green amulets】

Two new items appeared at a distance from the two columns of goods that had been unlocked.

[High-quality forage (one box): This forage stimulates the horse's appetite and has slightly higher nutritional value than ordinary forage]

[High-quality hay (5 kg): Carefully selected from the highest quality alfalfa, a small amount can be used as bedding in the stable to improve the quality of rest for horses]

【Note: Not recommended for consumption.】

Kitano began to calculate silently in his mind.

马匹每天的理想干物质摄入量为体重的1.5%到3%，而鲜牧草的含水量通常在60%至75%，也就是说对于一匹五百公斤重的马而言，一天的鲜牧草摄入量应该在30-60KG这个范围内波动。

A box of fresh grass usually weighs around 20-30 kg.

One day's salary is equivalent to at least one month's feed for local horse racing.

He couldn't help but smack his lips.

The price of the forage provided by the system is almost four or five times that of imported forage.

Is it really not some black marketeer?

In comparison, the price of another commodity, high-quality hay, looks much more reasonable.

However, after a brief thought, Kitano bought both new products once each.

He wanted to see what was so special about the 50,000 yen worth of grass and the 250,000 yen worth of hay.

Chapter 12 Package from JA

Just as Kitano got up, there was a slow knock on the door outside.

"Hello, JA Hokkaido."

"Excuse me, is Mr. Kitano at home?"

The other party's tone sounded quite polite.

Kitano's originally sluggish thoughts suddenly became sharp.

Is the debt due now?

But I have never heard of the farmers’ association personally coming to collect debts.

Could it be outsourced to some violent organization?

I opened the door with some trepidation and found a man in a JA uniform standing outside, with a very conspicuous cold chain truck parked next to him.

"I'm Kitano."

He stepped out of the room and nodded to the man.

"Hello, Mr. Kitano. Two cold chain packages have arrived for you, which were commissioned by JA Hokkaido."

The man bowed slightly, then asked his companions in the car to take out the two cardboard boxes.

"That's it-"

Kitano suddenly realized that the goods he had ordered through the system had arrived.

I hope you're not here to collect debts.

Two strong men nimbly carried the heavy-looking package into the house.

"If everything is correct, could you please sign this?"

The man took out a logistics list and asked.

"no problem."

While signing his name, Kitano asked: "What about the transportation costs?"

"Please rest assured that the client has already paid in advance."

The man immediately replied.

Kitano finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After confirming that the package had been delivered, the JA people left quickly.

After slowly brushing his teeth and washing his face, Kitano began to unpack the package.

There was no logo or anything like that on the surface of the cardboard box. Apart from the seal affixed by JA, it looked no different from an ordinary package.

Kitano opened the cardboard box by cutting the seal with a utility knife.

Inside the slightly larger cardboard box was a whole box of neatly arranged hay.

I weighed it and found that the weight of the box was exactly 20 kilograms.

On the left is Timothy grass, and on the right is Bermuda grass, with cardboard separating the two.

The ratio is one to one.

Although he is not someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder, the way the grass is arranged still makes Kitano feel a moment of joy.

Looking at the two kinds of grass in front of him, Kitano tried hard to recall what he had learned.

Timothy is a cool-season grass that mostly grows in temperate zones. It grows more vigorously in spring and autumn. Early harvest has a protein content of 12%-14%, moderate fiber, metabolizable energy of 2.2-2.4 Mcal/KG, moderate energy density, a calcium-phosphorus ratio of about 3:1, low sugar and starch content, and is mainly soft fiber, making it easy to digest.

Bermuda grass is a warm-season grass that usually grows in tropical/subtropical areas. It is cold-resistant and heat-resistant, and has high yields in summer. The protein content of early harvest is 10%-12%, and the metabolizable energy is 2.3-2.6 Mcal/KG. The energy density is medium-high, the calcium-phosphorus ratio is about 1:1, the soluble sugar content is high, the fiber is dense, and the fiber hardens faster when harvested late, so it may take longer to digest.

The grass is bright green when observed with the naked eye, and a light grassy scent can be smelled when you get close. There are no signs of yellowing, browning, rotting or mold.

It was indeed quite fresh grass.

But other than that, there seems to be nothing special.

Moreover, the contents of CP (crude protein), NDF (neutral detergent fiber), ADF (acid detergent fiber), TDN (total digestible content), and ME (metabolizable energy) are all unknown.

The mineral ratio and vitamin content, mycotoxin content, and whether there is contamination by parasite eggs or pathogens are also unclear.

He couldn't possibly bring Bai Tianmara over to do a palatability test on this "three-no product".

Putting the grass aside, Kitano opened a second, slightly smaller cardboard box.

Inside was the hay, which was also neatly arranged.