Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

The ranch is conveniently located, connected to the Ushun Romantic Street via the Minowa Bridge, and there are also round-trip buses to Tomakomai within the town.

The quotation proposed by Gaocun was also very reasonable, and even including the investment in subsequent reconstruction, it was within his affordability.

However, before the formal negotiations began, Kitano commissioned several specialized appraisal agencies, including the Hokkaido Livestock Asset Appraisal Agency, to conduct on-site surveys and assessments of the ranch.

The results of the evaluation also made both Kitano and Takamura breathe a sigh of relief.

Although the shape of the Gaocun Ranch's land is not ideal, other aspects such as road accessibility, deep well water quality, sewage discharge capacity and winter snow removal costs all meet the RSI (Pasture Survival Index) standard values.

So today's negotiations took place.

Kitano and the acquisition team walked side by side towards the ranch, with Zep chasing after them.

At the entrance of the ranch, a plump man in his thirties or forties was already standing there waiting.

Unlike the general impression of lawyers as tough and tough, Takamura gives people the impression of being more amiable.

"Good morning, Mr. Takamura."

Kitano nodded slightly in greeting.

Mr. Takamura smiled and responded softly.

After obtaining permission, the acquisition team dispersed and began to assess the specific value of the ranch.

Kitano followed Takamura, took off his shoes at the entrance, and walked into the house, chatting while waiting for the results of the formal evaluation.

Takamura brewed black tea for the two guests, then gently patted Grandma Takamura who was sitting on the sofa.

"Mother, Mr. Kitano is here."

He almost shouted into Grandma Gaocun's ear.

Grandma Gaocun nodded blankly and didn't say anything.

Kitano walked up to her and bowed to greet her, but Grandma Takamura also seemed to have no reaction.

"I'm sorry, my mother has become increasingly slow to respond to the outside world. Even I find it difficult to speak to her for more than a few words a day."

Gaocun smiled apologetically and made a cup of tea for Gaocun's grandmother and himself.

"It would be great if the ranch could be handed over to Mr. Kitano."

The defense lawyer's face showed no trace of nostalgia, but instead an expression of almost relief.

Kitano was not surprised by this.

Not everyone who comes from a racing family is comfortable with the way the racing world treats horses.

Takamura was one of those who became completely disappointed and began to think about leaving the industry.

Because of this, he seemed to have had a big fight with the late Mr. Takamura.

The topics mentioned in the casual conversation between the two sides often deliberately avoided topics related to horse racing.

After a while, the acquisition team reported the results of the evaluation to Kitano.

Since there have been multiple rounds of surveys beforehand, this time is actually just the final confirmation similar to the insurance mechanism.

In terms of time, it was also much faster than the previous times.

"The stables, consisting of twelve double-row stables, are in relatively good condition, but considering the wooden structure, the price is quite high."

As an old ranch with a history of nearly 50 years, the maintenance condition of Gaocun Ranch surprised the real estate appraiser.

However, in order to lower the price for his employer, he still tried to point out some shortcomings.

Kitano quietly listened to the acquisition team's experts' assessment and asked, "Are there any other points that haven't been explained?"

The experts all shook their heads.

So he turned his head and looked at Gaocun again.

"In that case, let's sign the contract."

Although it is called a negotiation, in fact both parties are ready to sign the contract today.

The price was agreed upon early on and was slightly lower than the market valuation of 1.9 million yen.

In exchange, Takamura made a request—

Continue to adopt two retired horses from the ranch, including Aru-chan.

Kitano readily agreed to this.

"Then, the introduction is established."

Of course, the acquisition process is not that simple.

After signing the contract, it is necessary to submit a change permit for the livestock business entity to the Hokkaido local agricultural bureau within the specified time.

In addition, due to changes in farm type and representative, updated farm information needs to be submitted to JRA and NAR.

The registration of farmland conversion and business license also takes a considerable amount of time to review by the Agricultural Committee of Shin-Hidaka Town.

Even if Kitano completes the capital increase of the contract company ahead of schedule and uses an asset acquisition method that is as simple as possible and avoids continuous debt, it will take at least four weeks to complete the acquisition process.

There is no way we can catch up with this year's breeding season.

But, it's not that depressing.

To look at it another way, there is still a whole year to prepare for the next breeding season.

Plus, there’s more than one thing to do in the summer.

During a meeting a few days ago, WJS [Taketoyo Team] leader Taketoyo himself invited Kitano to be a guest at the Japan station.

In its first year, this global series, which features twelve of the world's top riders, encountered many difficulties.

In addition to receiving far less attention than expected, they also received very little support.

Jockey clubs in various countries are generally not interested in this event organized spontaneously by riders, and some even oppose it.

On social media, industry critics and the like have largely scoffed at the idea.

In comparison, the lack of funds raised for the event is not a big problem.

After careful consideration, Kitano made a suggestion that surprised Taketoyo.

In addition to his participation in the WJS Japan event as a guest, Mejiro Shoji will also provide sponsorship and promotional assistance for the event.

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[@MejiroShoji:

Full-time employee√ Part-time employee√ Trainee√

[Global Recruitment]

——(Same as) MEJIRO Shoji Formula

Thanks to the Magic Dragon Durin for the 100 starting coins reward

Thank you for your support

Ciallo～(∠ω<)⌒★

I originally planned to put the recruitment information of Mejiro Ranch at the end of the article, but for everyone's reading experience, I will list it separately and put it in the work-related information volume.

If you are interested, you can go and have a look

Chapter 139: Thoughts on the Ranch

The morning weather forecast shows that there is an 80% chance of rain today.

On the way here, thick lead-gray clouds had already filled the entire sky.

Wrapped up in this gloomy atmosphere, even his movements unconsciously became a little hurried.

Grabbing the souvenirs on the passenger seat, Kitano pushed open the car door with a click.

In the grazing area, several one-year-old foals were looking curiously at us through the fence.

When I glanced over, they seemed to be frightened and ran away, hiding behind their companions.

"excuse me--"

As the greeting came, the person had already stepped into the entrance hall.

As I was bending down to take off my shoes, I heard footsteps coming from the direction of the living room.

"Good morning, Mr. Kitano."

Ogawa Kana greeted with a smile.

"Good morning, this is a souvenir from Australia."

Kitano said as he shook the wrapped gift box in his hand.

"Could it be kangaroo jerky again?"

The girl took the gift box and winked mischievously.

After Zep came back from Australia, he stuffed huge packages of vacuum-packed kangaroo meat jerky to all his acquaintances like handing out flyers.

It is said that even his father who was far away in Germany was not spared.

Kitano had the opportunity to experience the lethality of this thing in Australia.

Of course, it’s not entirely unwelcome.

It is said that due to its low fat content, it is surprisingly popular among fitness enthusiasts.

However, for ordinary people's taste buds, the taste of kangaroo meat is really hard to describe.

As if trying to distance himself from Zepu, Kitano quickly waved his hand.

"Just some honey or something."

Considering that the person to whom the gift was given might have allergies, he did not consider more distinctive local products such as macadamia nuts or papaya paste when choosing souvenirs.

In comparison, honey, which has a probability of causing allergies in adults of only 1 to 2 in 10,000, is much safer.

"Oh, it's Kitano-kun here."

On the sofa, Ogawa Jō raised his eyes and smiled.

"From now on, we'll be neighbors."

The old man asked Kitano to sit down and said.

Nishiken Ranch and Takamura Ranch - and soon Mejiro Ranch - are separated by a national highway and can be reached in just five minutes by car.

Of course, if you walk, it will take about half an hour.

However, in Hokkaido, this level of distance is really no different from being a neighbor.

"Please take good care of me."

Kitano stood up again and bowed slightly.

"Haha, small problem, small problem!"

Ogawa Jō smiled and waved his hand, then asked curiously, "Kitano-kun, haven't you started thinking about decorating yet? You can actually start preparing now."

Although some of the procedures are still under approval, as long as both parties to the transaction have no objection, the ranch renovation can be put on the agenda.

"Not that fast."

When talking about the ranch renovation, Kitano's expression became a little subtle.

On the transformation plan, he tried to seek advice from "Australian Mourinho" Mahanya.

The mad horse trainer showed incredible enthusiasm for this. In addition to giving advice, he also took the initiative to take charge of the design of the ranch renovation blueprint.

"Mejiro Corporation will be CMR's most important partner in the Northern Hemisphere besides Yu Darong."

Ma Han Yazhong mentioned this repeatedly on the phone.

However, Kitano believes that their relationship has not reached that point yet.

However, he still commissioned CMR to design the ranch renovation plan with the mentality of giving it a try.

Soon they sent a complete set of ranch renovation plans - just as Ma Hanya promised on the phone.

It is said that the first version designed by an Australian horse trainer was quite amazing, but before it could be sent over, it was rejected by his development consultant and design team.