abcnovels
Chapter 234
Chapter 234
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The messenger raced back towards the capital city.0
They were all veteran soldiers of the Meng family.0
Wounded in battle and retired.0
Taken in by the general.0
Able to live like proper human beings.0
Now that there was joyous news in the general's household, they had to report back immediately.0
The young Madam Meng had not only given birth, but to twin boys.0
Breaking the curse of single heirs in the Meng family.0
Both mother and sons were safe and sound.0
The old soldier rode his horse, galloping all the way.0
Even the cold winds of the human world felt warm at this moment.0
Because his heart was on fire.0
Unlike modern day workers, these old soldiers were people who lived and died with the Meng family.0
When the Meng family prospered, the old soldiers' families prospered too.0
If the Meng family fell, the old soldiers would surely die first.0
The horse's hooves kicked up dust, magpies flew ahead.0
......0
Dwarf Horse Town.0
When it came to what to eat during postpartum confinement, Aunt Yin was the expert.0
But she couldn't resist a very demanding new mother.0
During pregnancy, she wasn't allowed to eat rabbit, fearing the child might have a cleft lip.0
After giving birth, she suddenly had a craving for rabbit.0
Spicy rabbit.0
Of course, there was no spicy option.0
Just rabbit.0
A bit harder to catch, but should be available.0
Not called rabbit, but hare-rat, very common on the grasslands.0
Aunt Yin recommended breastfeeding here.0
Mainly because they hadn't prepared a wet nurse for the journey, and it wasn't easy to find one on short notice.0
Secondly, based on grandaunt's experience, those less favored royals in the palace who were worried about issues with wet nurses and breastfed themselves, ended up with much stronger children.0
On average, children fed by wet nurses weren't as robust as those fed by their own mothers, for reasons unclear.0
Anyway, this was all based on experience.0
Jiang Yu was a very healthily developed girl, with plenty of milk.0
Her own breast milk should be enough, especially for twins.0
She needed to drink lots of crucian carp soup, pork trotter soup, chicken soup.0
All kinds.0
Sister began her long and blissful postpartum confinement, eating, eating, eating every day.0
It's a good thing she had two babies to output to, otherwise with this appetite, Mianmian was worried sister would become a big fatty after the confinement.0
How strange, brother-in-law should have initially liked sister because of her good looks, but now sister looked quite unkempt, yet brother-in-law seemed to like her even more, wanting to stick to her all the time.0
That feeling of love overflowing, even Jiang Mianmian could sense it.0
She felt too embarrassed to go read to her two nephews.0
Never mind, let them rest for a month first, then start learning after a month.0
That should be in time.0
Jiang Mianmian planned to take Little Tree out for a stroll today, along with bodyguards and maids.0
This was the largest donkey and horse trading center in the entire Northwest, a town formed because of horse trading.0
Mianmian also wanted to choose her own horse first.0
The previous little white horse, since it was given by brother-in-law, of course was returned to him when he came to propose.0
Thinking back to Guo Jing, who gave Huang Rong a Ferghana horse upon their first meeting, the kind that's rarely found, similar to a handcrafted limited edition Rolls-Royce, possibly worth tens of millions.3
Huang Rong fell in love with Guo Jing at first sight, the precious horse wasn't important, what mattered was his sincerity...0
Thinking of it this way, brother-in-law had similar intentions.0
Meeting by chance, he gave away precious horses, swords, family heirloom jade pendants and various gifts.0
When brother-in-law came back to propose to sister, father and mother didn't object.0
Money wasn't important, what mattered was his sincerity...0
......0
Today's horse market was very orderly, with far fewer people.0
There were still many horses.0
Jiang Mianmian didn't know how to choose.0
Apparently, horse appraisal was very difficult.0
In ancient times, horse appraisers were a very high-level profession.0
The owner was very enthusiastic in promoting his wares.0
Something unknown had happened, and people in town couldn't leave, the city was inexplicably locked down.0
Originally, the merchants coming and going would surely need to enter and exit, but not allowing entry or exit meant no one would buy anything, as they'd have nowhere to keep what they bought.0
Suddenly having a customer, even if just a young girl, but with such extraordinary beauty and manner, surely a young lady from a wealthy family, a big client.0
The owner was a thin, not tall man, dressed quite well, though his sleeves weren't very clean, perhaps because he often had to pull on horses, easily dirtying his sleeves.0
He seemed very talkative.0
Mianmian felt like she was choosing a car in a 4S store.0
And it was a 4S store with many brands of cars.0
She felt very wealthy, seeming to only need to consider her preferences, not how much it cost.0
The experience also felt very advanced.0
The owner said if she had a license (knew how to ride), she could test ride.0
Under the bright sun, Mianmian sat under a sunshade, with tables and chairs, tea and snacks on the table.0
The tea and snacks were prepared by Pangya, the owner had also prepared some, but they didn't look very appetizing.0
Mianmian generally didn't eat opened food outside, not because she was worried about poisoning, but because conditions were limited at this time, many foods might not meet hygiene standards.0
There were also no preservatives, so food could easily spoil.0
So Pangya always carried tea and snacks with her.0
Seeing this, the owner's eyes twitched slightly, but he became excited inside, big client, big client!0
The owner personally accompanied her, having his subordinates lead out the horses for viewing.0
Five horses at a time.0
Tall and short, fat and thin, white, brown, black, grey, each different.0
The owner patted each horse as he introduced them: "Feel this back, broad and sturdy, these legs, strong, this rump, round... Just look at how robust it is, how powerful..."0
Mianmian looked at the horses displayed before her one by one, inexplicably feeling like she had entered an improper establishment.3
The owner's introductory words became increasingly explicit...0
"Look at these legs, aren't they long!"0
"These pectorals..."0
Mianmian took a sip of warm tea, wolfberry with dates, starting health cultivation from a young age.0
She really found it hard to choose.0
Every horse looked quite good.0
In the end, she decided to let Little Tree choose.0
Jiang Mianmian selected a group of horses that looked pleasing to her, then let Little Tree make the final decision, whichever horse Little Tree climbed onto would be the one chosen.0
In the end, a white horse was chosen, but with a tuft of mane on its forehead that seemed slightly pink-gray, not very strong, but pleasing to the eye. The owner said this was still a young horse, still growing.0
Jiang Mianmian saw this horse's eyes were moist and bright, Little Tree climbed onto its head, and it was very docile.0
After Mianmian made her choice, she also let Pangya and Wei Biao each choose a horse.0
If she was going to ride, she would definitely need someone to accompany her, if no one accompanied her, mother, father and brother certainly wouldn't let her ride alone.0
In the end, Pangya chose a brown horse, and Wei Biao chose a large black horse.0
Horses were indeed expensive.0
As expensive as cars.0
After the family's conditions improved, parents gave them fixed pocket money every month.0
Mianmian got ten taels of silver.0
One tael of silver was equivalent to about 1,100 yuan, rounding down to 1,000 for easier calculation, so ten taels was 10,000 yuan.0
So Mianmian had 10,000 yuan of pocket money per month.0
Pure pocket money, clothes, food, accessories and such were all provided by the family.0
But the horse she chose actually cost two hundred and fifty taels, Mianmian bargained it down to two hundred and forty taels of silver, equivalent to two years of her pocket money, 240,000 yuan for one horse, about the price of a small BMW.3
While the horses chosen by Wei Biao and Pangya added up to one hundred taels, that's 100,000 yuan, equivalent to each choosing a Wuling Hongguang.0
Fortunately, when going out shopping, Father had given plenty of money.0
After choosing the horses, it was time for test rides.0
Pangya had been with the Jiang family for many years, and her main job was to take care of the young mistress and improve her own work skills, so she had gotten her "driver's license" early on and learned to ride horses early.0
Pangya's parents were both servants in the household, belonging to professional family servants, with decent living conditions.0
She herself was a first-class maid exclusively serving the young lady, and after so many years, her accumulated wages were enough to buy a horse, of course the horse bestowed by the young lady was better, not requiring her to spend money.0
Wei Biao had never ridden a horse before, but his athletic skills were very developed.0
After coming to the Jiang family, he quickly learned with just a bit of instruction.0
He never thought that now the master would buy him a horse. Unexpected that at such a young age, he could own his own horse, he felt his life was now complete.0
Wei Biao led the horse, unable to let go, wishing he could hug the horse's head tightly and kiss it.0
That big black horse snorted, looking like an adult black horse with a rather temperamental disposition.0
The horse Pangya chose was also very large, she was strong and sturdy herself and liked big horses, thinking the brown color suited her complexion.0
Mianmian simply thought the horse she chose looked good, and Little Tree liked it.0
The three of them test ran a few laps in the horse arena together, all very satisfied.0
Mianmian had Pangya pay.0
Then happily rode the horse, parading through the streets.0
But today's spending was really a lot, not feeling it when it was just a few taels of silver here and there, but when converted to modern currency, it was tens of thousands at a time, suddenly feeling the pinch.0
She'd have to ask Father for reimbursement when she got home.0
Jiang Mianmian drove her new "car", clip-clopping towards the inn.0
With the new horse, she still needed to change the interior, swap out the saddle and reins, and such. She'd have to ask Great-Aunt about this when she got back; Great-Aunt would surely be able to get her a good set.0
Pangya and Wei Biao were also riding horses, following her one in front and one behind.0
Mianmian felt like a super-rich kid with an escort vehicle in front and another bringing up the rear. She could ride however she pleased and change lanes at will.3
The sunshine was just right, and the roadside was clean and tidy, much cleaner than when they first arrived, and not nearly as crowded.0
They returned to the inn.0
Jiang Mianmian put her horse in the back yard and went to find her father.0
Jiang Changtian was discussing matters with his son when he saw his little girl skipping in.0
Instinctively, he reached out to embrace her, but halfway through the motion, he pulled back.0
His little girl had unknowingly grown into a pretty young lady. Indeed, as she used to say, you should hug them plenty when they're small; once they grow up, even if you want to, it becomes awkward.0
Jiang Changtian reached out and patted Mianmian's head, then touched her ear, which felt cool.0
"Father, Big Brother," Mianmian greeted them, while dodging her father's hand.0
"You've come at just the right time. Your birthday is approaching. Tell Father what you like."0
Without a second thought, Jiang Mianmian said, "Horses, I like horses."0
Jiang Mianmian was hoping to get more pocket money to cover her expenses.0
Jiang Changtian smiled and said, "Perfect. Father has acquired a horse ranch with over two hundred horses. I'll give them all to you as your birthday gift this year."0
Jiang Mianmian's eyes widened, her mouth agape, too excited to speak coherently... Damn it, she had wasted money!0
When Pangya and the others chose horses, they were very cautious, picking the cheapest ones at fifty taels of silver.0
That was about 50,000 yuan.0
Over two hundred horses would be close to 10 million yuan.0
What if some of them turned out to be exceptional, like some Ferghana horses or something similar?0
And horses could have foals, and those foals could have more foals.0
Jiang Mianmian sat there, counting carefully on her fingers.0
A horse's gestation period is about 300 days, so roughly one foal per year, mostly single births, with occasional twins. A young horse could start breeding at a year and a half, continuing until about ten years old, producing eight to ten foals.0
Doubling every year?0
Other people's horses might not get pregnant easily, but hers surely would.0
Jiang Mianmian suddenly felt as wealthy as a nation...0
So many horses, horses, horses, horses, horses...0
That night, she wrote in her diary:0
Month X, Day X. Shocking! Father gifted me over two hundred vehicles as a birthday present.3
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