Chapter 227: Restless as a Stray Dog
That evening, Zhou You returned to the village.
He handled his own affairs. The next morning, with his elder brother Zhou Guoqin accompanying him, he went to check out the racetrack.
Li Baoyin was overjoyed, even willing to accompany Zhou You to see the horse farm without a single complaint.
Damn, being on CCTV—that was a first for the school.
"Teacher Zhou, when you go back to school tomorrow to reshoot the footage, make sure to edit in my teaching scenes," Li Baoyin said excitedly.
"No problem. This is just the beginning. If you want to be on TV later, there'll be plenty of chances—you might even get sick of it," Zhou You said with a smile. If things kept growing and he became a model example, TV appearances would be so frequent you'd be fed up.
"I'm not sick of it yet. I'll deal with that when it comes. I've been in breeding for half my life, always in obscurity. It's not that I'm greedy for fame or profit, but sometimes I feel like my efforts aren't worth it. This profession requires a calm mind and practical work, but you can't let people shed blood and sweat only to end up in tears. I've got a bit of a reputation now, and it's all thanks to you giving me a hand to realize my ambitions. Let alone others," Li Baoyin said with deep emotion.
Zhou You understood that feeling. University professors, scholars after all.
They'd been raised on that set of ideals—all wanting to write books and leave their names in history.
"Alright, from now on, you'll be the public face of the breeding farm," Zhou You said. His approach to using people was mainly to leverage their strengths.
"We need to expand the farm further. It's already in short supply, and once the CCTV program airs, demand will definitely grow," Li Baoyin said, thinking long-term. Since he was in this line of work, he had to plan ahead.
"Fine, you handle the arrangements. If you need money, just tell me," Zhou You said with that one sentence.
Li Baoyin was left speechless.
A belly full of words got choked back, but he still outlined the general plan: "We have enough land. I'm planning to build another area, separate the two sites to spread the risk. The current facilities aren't enough either; expanding further would put some pressure on us."
Zhou You understood—it meant setting up a branch base. Since it was free-range, not broiler chickens, as long as there was enough space, it would work.
Soon they arrived at the racetrack. Calling it a racetrack, it was really just a big open field with some grass planted.
Not bad. Small in size, but very quiet.
Next to it, a stable had been built.
"Professor Li, I'll need you to keep an eye on the horses. Everyone can relax a bit when they're free, take a few rides," Zhou You said. He wanted them to help care for the horses, but he also had to let them have some fun.
"Alright, it's no trouble anyway. Good thing you bought prairie horses—they're easy to raise. If you'd bought racehorses, I wouldn't have the skill, and you'd have to find someone else," Li Baoyin said. He knew a little, but not much—still more than Zhou You.
Once Zhou You had seen enough, he called Daxi to arrange the horse transport, leaving Li Baoyin's contact info.
Back at the breeding farm, he saw Li Houliang playing with a few big dogs.
They were the rural mutts bought when the farm first started—tall and fierce, locally called wolf dogs.
Black ones, yellow-black mixed ones.
After Li Baoyin looked them up, he found the breed was likely wolf-blue dogs, perfect for guarding the yard.
"Brother You, should we get a couple to take home and raise?" Li Houliang was interested.
Zhou You had kept dogs since he was a kid—big ones, small ones. He'd even ridden a big dog as a child.
There was a rural saying: riding a dog ruins your pants.
A kid on a big dog looked mighty impressive.
Dogs were truly attuned to human nature. Whoever raised them when they were young, that's who they bonded with.
In elementary school, Zhou You had raised a big dog from puppyhood. When he started middle school and was away for a month, it still recognized him and was very affectionate. Plus, in the countryside, dogs were mostly free-range, so they could run wild through the fields, a pack of them tearing around the village.
His own dog was fierce and tall, often leading a group of dogs behind it—pretty much the village's dog king.
Sadly, it was later poisoned by dog catchers and vanished without a trace. Zhou You grieved for a long time.
"Brother Liang, you want to keep one?" Zhou You was a bit torn now.
"Yeah, these dogs are really smart!" Li Houliang hugged one dog, stroking its head.
"In the countryside, there's plenty of space for dogs to run. In the city, it's all people—where would a dog go? I'm worried it might hurt someone or get cooped up," Zhou You said. He loved dogs and felt for them. A big dog like that stuck at home all day would be miserable.
"I've thought it through. The yard at our Zhulang Pavilion is pretty big. When I get back, I'll buy a doghouse, let it roam the yard usually, and take it to empty spots nearby when I have time," Li Houliang said. He'd probably been tempted since his last visit and seized the chance to bring it up now.
Seeing that Li Houliang had already considered everything, Zhou You had no objections. He could play with the dog too: "Alright, but it's best to start with a puppy. It'll be more loyal that way."
Li Houliang grinned and picked out two puppies from the side: "One black, one white—perfect!"
Zhou You laughed heartily. This had been planned all along.
Just then, Li Fengying walked over, grabbed Zhou You, and pulled him away without a word. Zhou You struggled a bit but found her grip tight, so he could only follow with a grimace.
The others were at a loss, curious: "What's going on?"
Li Baoyin stood there, hands on his hips, gloating: "Heh heh, what else? It's marriage nagging. He's raising horses and dogs, but not kids—his mom's getting anxious."
Li Houliang knew more. Getting Zhou You to marry wasn't easy—with so many beautiful women around, playing before marriage and after marriage were two different things.
"Mom, with all those people around, you just drag me away. At least give me some face—I'm grown up," Zhou You dawdled, unwilling to go, and couldn't help complaining.
Li Fengying was already annoyed, and this made her angrier: "You know you're grown up? Almost 30 and still not married. I heard from your brother that you have a girlfriend, but you don't bring her home to meet us!"
"Mom, I'm only 27, how am I 30? And yes, I have a girlfriend, but it's not time to talk marriage yet. Let's take it slow—what if it doesn't work out?" Zhou You said with a long face, full of sorrow. When he had no money in his past life, they nagged him to marry; now that he had money, they still nagged.
"In the countryside, by the traditional age, you're 30. Whether it works out or not, bring her home first, let us see her, and we'll help you decide," Li Fengying insisted. Her son had a job and money now, but he wouldn't marry—it was driving her crazy.
From a parent's perspective, once they'd held a wedding for their child, they'd basically fulfilled their duty.
The rest was seeing off the elders, and their obligations were mostly done.
If a child didn't marry, it felt like a major life task was incomplete, something missing.
Zhou You wouldn't budge, constantly using delaying tactics: "I'm working on a part-time doctorate now, and the school values me highly. It's a critical time. Once I get through this period, I'll bring someone home for you to see."
In Li Fengying's eyes, no amount of money mattered as much as work. Hearing Zhou You say that, she relented a bit.
Just then, his phone rang. Zhou You used the excuse of answering it to escape.
Zhou Guoqin called: "Brother, the filming here is done. What's the plan next?"
"Wait for me at the county seat. We'll drive straight back to the provincial capital to film the rest," Zhou You said without looking back, walking while talking on the phone.
Seeing Li Houliang, he shouted: "Let's go! Back to the provincial capital to keep filming. Professor Li, come with us. Let's go now."
He got in the car first: "I'll head to the county seat and wait for you all. Pack up and catch up quickly. We'll meet there."
Restless as a stray dog.
Li Houliang didn't hesitate. He picked up the puppies, put them in the trunk, and drove off.
Only after getting in the car did Zhou You calm down.
Sigh, life was going to be tough from now on. What about New Year's? What about coming back to ride horses?
He needed to think of a way, or he might not even be able to come home.
A living person couldn't be choked to death by pee.
A dozen ideas flashed through his mind in an instant, but which one was best required careful thought, considering everything to be as thorough as possible.