Chapter 19.1: Boy in the rain

It had been cloudy in Hong Kong these past few days, with continuous drizzling rain. On this day, Ye Tianhui went to the racecourse to participate in the assessment, and it was still overcast.

There was a traffic jam on the way, but fortunately, she had gotten up early, so she had plenty of time to get there.

When she arrived at the Pentium Racecourse, she saw that there was already a long line of people waiting outside. Everyone needed to register and fill out forms, so she took a pen and began writing.

She had learned simplified characters in the mainland, but fortunately, the script of the Dazhao era was somewhat similar to the traditional characters used in Hong Kong today. She had to use the writing style she had learned in Dazhao.

Unexpectedly, the person in charge said, “What is this you’re writing!”

Ye Tianhui: “…”

She cautiously said, “Isn’t this how the character is written?”

The person in charge gave her a disdainful look, took a sheet of paper from the side, pointed to it, and only then did she realize her mistake.

Although most of the traditional characters here were the same as those in the Dazhao era, some were different.

As she was registering, a recreational vehicle slowly drove up. Upon seeing the vehicle, the staff at the racecourse immediately approached respectfully and opened the door.

The vehicle belonged to the Ye family, and sitting inside was none other than Ye Wenyin.

The Ye family had recently established an equestrian company and spent a significant amount of money purchasing several horses to participate in this season’s races. The family equestrian company was currently headed by Ye Lichen, the second uncle of the Ye family, but Ye Wenyin had also been involved in the procurement process for these horses. Because of this, she held a position in the equestrian company. Her visit to the racecourse this time was to check on the family’s horses.

Her gaze casually swept over the group of people registering in front of the racecourse. She had intended only to glance casually, but to her surprise, she immediately spotted Ye Tianhui among them.

Her heart sank instantly.

She knew that a group of stable workers was supposed to be assessed today, and Ye Tianhui had come to interview for this?

It was important to note that the Ye family’s recently purchased horses were all at the Pentium Racecourse. If Ye Tianhui started working at the racecourse, she would inevitably come into contact with members of the Ye family…

Ye Wenyin stared at Ye Tianhui’s back, her brows slightly furrowed.

She had a vague feeling that things were heading in a direction she could no longer control.

At this moment, Ye Wenjing, standing beside her, followed her gaze and also saw Ye Tianhui.

Ye Wenjing, a member of the fourth branch of the family and ranked fifth in the family, was slightly older than Ye Wenyin by half a year. The two of them had been close since childhood.

As soon as he saw Ye Tianhui, he frowned. “Isn’t that the mainland girl from the other day?”

Ye Wenyin nodded slightly. “It’s her.”

She took a deep breath and glanced at Ye Wenjing. “The one we ran into at Yunfang the other day.”

When Ye Wenjing heard “Yunfang,” his expression darkened. “So it really is her. That mainland girl is truly despicable!”

Ye Wenyin sighed. “Forget it. It’s not her fault. Maybe she’s just here to do some work at the racecourse. That incident was, of course, a loss of face for me, but I can only blame my own bad luck. How could I blame anyone else?”

However, Ye Wenjing felt a strong sense of injustice on her behalf.

That day, when they returned home, Ye Wenyin’s eyes were red. He happened to see her like that and asked about it, but Ye Wenyin had quietly returned to her room and started crying. When he knocked on the door, she wouldn’t open it.

He asked around and finally found out what had happened. For Ye Wenyin, it was naturally quite humiliating, and it was even a disgrace to the Ye family.

For families like theirs, who wouldn’t want to step out with glory?

Later, he specifically had professionals appraise the crocodile leather, but to his surprise, after the boots were appraised, they were indeed made of crocodile leather, and the material was genuinely very sturdy. As for why they had torn at that time, even the experts were baffled. Currently, they were still researching, trying to come to a conclusion.

The shop also refunded their money and issued a formal apology. To them, the matter ended there, but Ye Wenyin remained visibly gloomy and sometimes even restless, which made Ye Wenjing unhappy.

Coincidentally, the British thoroughbred horses the Ye family purchased arrived in the past few days. After settling them, since the old master planned to visit next week, they first had Ye Wenyin familiarize herself with the situation to help make further arrangements and plans for the family’s horse racing.

Ye Wenjing thought it would be good for her to get out and relax. After all, the open space of the racecourse, riding horses, and enjoying the scenery would surely help her mood, so he accompanied her.

Who would have thought they’d run into Ye Tianhui head-on?

Unlucky!

Ye Wenjing sneered coldly, “She’s here to work? Does she think she’s qualified to work here? If a mainland girl like her comes to work at the racecourse, every time I come here and see her, the whole place will reek of filth!”

Ye Wenyin looked at Ye Wenjing, clearly seeing the disdain and scorn in his eyes.

She sighed and gently persuaded, “Fifth Brother, we don’t need to stoop to her level. These people are pitiable. Let’s leave her be and ignore her.”

Ye Wenjing shook his head and said, “Wenyin, I know you’re kind, but you must realize that you’re too good-hearted. Kind people are always bullied. People like her, who’ve crawled their way up from the mud, have a temperament that would sell their flesh for a piece of red grouper. If we go easy on them, who knows how arrogant they’ll get in the future? They need to be taught a lesson.”

Ye Wenyin felt helpless. “Forget it. I won’t say more. Do as you wish. I get a headache just seeing people like her. Handle it yourself; I won’t interfere.”

As she spoke, her gaze shifted to the window, where she happened to see Ye Tianhui, who had finished registering, carrying a dripping wet umbrella and walking into the racecourse.

She looked at her back, curled her lips, and chuckled lightly.

---

Ye Tianhui had actually noticed a luxury car passing by her, but she didn’t think much of it. Her mind was preoccupied with the upcoming assessment.

After registering, she and a group of people were taken to the racecourse, where they lined up with some rather small and skinny youths.

These youths appeared to be around twelve to fourteen years old, all uniformly dressed in blue riding uniforms. However, each of them was very thin, even emaciated.

At this moment, she heard someone nearby speaking softly, discussing those youths. Listening closely, she learned that they were called “Chong Zai^[1]Chong-worm, Zai – child” and typically came from impoverished families. They had been taken in and trained in horse riding from a young age.

Ye Tianhui thought briefly and understood.

Gu Shizhang had once mentioned the strict weight requirements for jockeys at the racecourse.

Under such circumstances, most people might not meet the requirements. The racecourse, to train its own jockeys, might select small and thin children to train and have them control their weight from an early age to achieve the best results.

This wasn’t particularly surprising. For example, dancers or certain athletes were often trained from a young age and required to maintain their weight appropriately.

Soon, the Chong Zai were led by the person in charge to another meeting room, while Ye Tianhui and the others were arranged to take their tests.

The test began with interviews, conducted one by one. When it was her turn, the examiner asked her questions in English. Her English foundation was weak—practically mute English—but luckily, Gu Shizhang had taught her a lot over the past few days, especially professional vocabulary. The examiner found her pronunciation poor but noted her extensive vocabulary. After weighing the pros and cons, they passed her.

The second round was a practical assessment, which included tasks such as stable cleaning (essentially cleaning horse stalls), daily horse grooming, saddling and unsaddling horses, as well as cleaning and dismantling equipment like saddles.

In her previous life, Ye Tianhui had been very familiar with horses, but the modern saddles and equipment in Hong Kong were different from what she had used back then, so she wasn’t skilled with them.

However, it seemed that her fellow applicants weren’t skilled either. After all, if they were particularly proficient, they wouldn’t be applying for a temporary stable assistant position.

Soon, the results were announced. Five people passed the assessment. These five were assigned to different stables for basic trials.

A young man named Jessie came over, greeted Ye Tianhui with a smile, and told her to follow him to the stable. He said she had been assigned to his stable.

Holding a dripping wet umbrella, he said, “It’s raining outside. Let’s hurry.”

Ye Tianhui picked up her umbrella and followed Jessie. Outside, the rain had intensified, enveloping the entire racecourse. Water was flowing down from the track on the mountainside.

Jessie bent down to roll up his pant legs, muttering under his breath, “What kind of damned weather is this!”

The wind carried the rain, soaking the hem of Jessie’s shirt. Ye Tianhui quickly used her umbrella to shield him.

Jessie finished rolling up his pant legs, wiped the rain off his face, and smiled at Ye Tianhui. “Thank you. Your name is Ye Tianhui, right? You’re from the mainland?”

Ye Tianhui nodded.

She could tell whether someone’s intentions were friendly or hostile. When people asked if she was from the mainland, some carried prejudice and disdain, while others were just curious.

She smiled slightly. “I just got here not long ago. My Cantonese isn’t very good, and I can only recognize some traditional characters. If I can stay, I hope you’ll guide me.”

Jessie chuckled. “My Cantonese isn’t good either. Didn’t you notice?”

He winked at her playfully.

Ye Tianhui: “It does seem like that. You have an accent—a strange one that I can’t quite understand.”

Jessie laughed heartily. “Actually, my dad is half-Portuguese. I’m Chinese-Portuguese mixed race, with one-quarter Portuguese blood. My accent was influenced by my dad. Look at my face—don’t I look a bit different from the locals?”

As he said this, he deliberately leaned in close, letting her see his face more clearly.

In the rain-soaked, humid air, with him so close, Ye Tianhui felt his face looked unusually large.

She pursed her lips and smiled. “You do look different. On closer inspection, you’re definitely mixed-race!”

Jessie grinned. “Exactly!”

With that, he led Ye Tianhui to the stable. “From now on, the two of us will be in charge of Stable No. 71. There are currently six horses in our stable. Our daily job is to take care of them. I’ve been working here for a year as a stable assistant, the lowest-level employee, always being ordered around. But now that you’re here, I can order you around. I’m your senior.”

Ye Tianhui laughed. “Alright, understood.”

As they talked, they finally reached their stable. The damp, cool air accompanied them into the stable, which was filled with the faint smell of hay and horse manure.

The two hung their dripping umbrellas on the wooden rack by the stable entrance. Jessie then gave her a general introduction to the stable’s conditions.

This horse farm currently boasts the most advanced stable facilities in all of Hong Kong, including complete horse training amenities, a horse swimming pool, mountain trails, and rest areas.

Apart from housing its own horses, the farm also manages about 300 horses entrusted to it by Hong Kong’s wealthy elite.

The stable is equipped with a full team of staff, including jockeys, horse trainers, veterinarians, equestrian assistants, coach assistants, farriers, and event trainee administrative assistants.

Of course, all these roles require a series of selections and training. As a newcomer, Ye Tianhui wasn’t qualified for such professional technical training and could only work as a trainee stable assistant for the time being.

Her duties included cleaning the stable, its equipment, and tools; monitoring the health and hygiene of the horses under her care; and accompanying horses during transport when necessary.

Jessie said with a smile, “As for our specific tasks, we’ll take care of the horses here—feeding them, bathing them, massaging them, and taking them for walks. If a horse trainer needs a horse, we have to prepare it in advance. The six horses here are all retired, but each one is an excellent horse.”

Ye Tianhui could only nod as she listened.

In her past life, she was naturally familiar with horses. Much of what Jessie was saying about horse care aligned with her own knowledge, but thanks to advancements in technology, the convenience of modern tools, and changes in perspective, what she knew was clearly outdated and old-fashioned. These new methods were evidently more scientific and reasonable. It seemed she still had a lot to learn.

As they were speaking, the door opened, and an elderly man holding an umbrella walked in briskly, bringing with him a gust of wind and rain.

The old man quickly closed the door and then said to Jessie, “Jessie, prepare horses No. 56 and No. 32. Those Chong Zai need them.”

Jessie frowned upon hearing this: “Use them now?”

The old man had graying hair and wore a suit. He spoke with a Northern accent mixed with English and appeared somewhat stern: “Yes, they need them now. Hurry up!”

Jessie sighed helplessly: “It’s raining so heavily. Why should they use our horses?”

Old man: “It’s not up to me. Just get it done.”

The old man left, seemingly needing to inform other stables. Jessie muttered a few curses in frustration.