Chapter 25.2: Desires should be fulfilled, dreams should be cherished.

The two of them headed to the racetrack. Ye Tianhui trailed behind them but naturally didn’t want to follow in their wake. Taking the opportunity, she lingered and slipped off to the side.

She quickly spotted Jessie in the crowd. Jessie had clearly noticed what had just happened and asked, “What did they say to you?”

Ye Tianhui: “Not much. They went to watch the competition.”

Jessie: “It’s said that, besides the Ye family’s young miss, the consultants hired by the Ye family also came this time. They’re here to observe the performance of these Chong Zai.”

Ye Tianhui was curious. “If they see one they like, will they just buy him?”

Jessie nodded: “Yes, after the competition ends, the Chong Zai’s performance results will be submitted to the major VIP members. Those VIP members will bid on the Chong Zai according to their preferences. From now on, there will be competitions for the Chong Zai every few days, and the results from each competition will be accumulated into their points. These competition performances and overall points will be presented to these VIP members in a timely manner, so that they can fetch a good price at the auction later.”

The Chong Zai enter the racetrack under long-term contracts. The racetrack invests in their training without any costs and even provides them with some subsidies so they can support their families. In return, the racetrack buys out their future for the next ten, twenty, or even more years.

These contracts naturally provide the Chong Zai with a share of the competition earnings, but it’s definitely disadvantageous for them and involves serious exploitation. However, most of the Chong Zai have no choice. After all, if it weren’t for the racetrack’s careful training, they would be doomed to poverty, with no chance of rising. It is the racetrack that has given them a path to strive for.

Jessie said, “Now the most famous rider in Hong Kong, Ke Zhiming, comes from the Chong Zai. Although he also sold himself to the racetrack, now that he’s famous, his family lives in a mansion. I heard the racetrack even gave him some shares. In short, he has already changed his fate.”

Ye Tianhui recalled the scene in front of the old house she rented earlier, with everyone crowded around the TV. Clearly, that figure racing on the racetrack was a legend and a dream for poor boys.

Children cramped in slums could widen their bright eyes, flashing with longing, hoping to become someone like Ke Zhiming, who could change their life through hard work and change their family’s fate.

While they were talking, the horse race had already started. They were grouped by drawing lots, with ten participants per group. Most of them were young, local professional jockeys, but there were also Chong Zai. These jockeys would appropriately adjust the weight for the Chong Zai based on their years of riding experience.

Jessie lowered her voice: “Let’s go over there. I know the supervisor of the stables over there. When they pass the eastern track, we can watch up close.”

Ye Tianhui thought it sounded good, so she followed Jessie, subtly slipping through the crowd, and quickly reached the east side of the track. The mountain path was a bit rugged, but there was a patch of bauhinia trees and stables nearby, perfect for watching the race with a great view!

Ye Tianhui: “This spot is perfect, whether it’s a high-level or a low-level, it should at least be a seat worthy of a VIP!”!”

Jessie responded: “It’s very high, not low.”

Ye Tianhui laughed.

Jessie, puzzled: “What’s wrong, is it low?”

Ye Tianhui: “No, it’s very high. The view is fantastic!”

Jessie still didn’t quite understand, so Ye Tianhui smiled and said, “Come on, let’s watch the race!”

Jessie nodded, then took out two sugar cubes from his pocket: “Here, one for each of us.”

Ye Tianhui looked and recognized that it was the same as the sugar cubes he gave to the horses earlier. She thought to herself, he really is obsessed, then took it and ate it. It was quite sweet.

While eating the sugar, watching the race, it was clear that after several rounds of elimination, those Chong Zai were very talented. They could be said to be natural riders. After only a short period of special training, they already looked quite proficient.

Under the condition that the professional jockeys adjusted the weight, some Chong Zai were even able to beat the professional riders. In fact, one Chong Zai had won the group race with a half-horse head advantage.

Jessie was captivated, occasionally cheering. He excitedly said to Ye Tianhui: “Look at that Chong Zai, his name is Chen Zongwan. He’s also a Chong Zai and has been working for several years. He’s outstanding. You see, he won the group race. Soon, the VIP members will start asking about him. His value is probably going to increase.”

Ye Tianhui: “Winning this kind of competition, besides the points, what other benefits are there?”

Jessie: “The main thing is extra points. The higher the points, the higher the value. The higher the value, the higher the share they get in the future. Besides that, the racetrack also gives rewards. If the overall score is first among the Chong Zai, they might give 500 Hong Kong dollars? I remember hearing them mention it, it’s 500 Hong Kong dollars.”

Ye Tianhui: “Winning gives 500 Hong Kong dollars? That’s quite a lot.”

Jessie nodded: “Yes, it’s a quarter of our salary, so although these Chong Zai work hard, each one keeps coming because they’re making money!”

Ye Tianhui: “Enduring hardship is the way to success.”

Jessie: “Exactly. As assistants in the stable, we’ll never rise above. We can only take our monthly salary.”

While talking, they saw that another race had begun. Jessie leaned forward to take a look, somewhat excited: “I saw the schedule. Lin Jianquan is in this one. I wonder how he’ll do. This is his first internal race, right?”

Ye Tianhui also looked over. Because it was too far away, she couldn’t see the situation clearly. She could only see the horses, all ready to go behind the starting gates. As for the riders, they were all wearing helmets and goggles, and their bodies were wrapped in black riding suits.

At this moment, there was the sound of a gunshot. The gates opened, and the race began, with the horses shooting out from behind the gates!

Jessie whispered: “It’s started!”

Ye Tianhui looked over. At the moment the gates opened, rider number six gained the lead. She vaguely remembered that Lin Jianquan was number twelve.

Jessie said: “This is a professional jockey. His win rate is usually 10%. Lin Jianquan is at a disadvantage facing him!”

But this was a result of the draw. It was a matter of luck.

Ye Tianhui narrowed her eyes, watching the scene in the distance. The horses galloped like lightning, their hooves kicking up fiercely as they already shot far ahead.

Ye Tianhui finally spotted rider number twelve, currently in third place.

A barely advantageous position, but he was on the outer circle.

In this kind of intense race, where even half a horse’s head could mean the difference between victory and defeat, the inner and outer circles naturally mattered a lot.

If a horse occupies the outer circle, it has to run a longer distance than the inner circle. This is a huge disadvantage, but compared to the inner circle, the outer circle has the advantage of not being obstructed while turning.

Because the racehorses are huge animals weighing over a thousand pounds, and they also carry an additional hundred pounds or more on their backs, turning requires ample space. Running the inner circle requires higher riding skills and judgment.

Jessie muttered under his breath: “This is a bit of a disadvantage. I’ve already placed a bet on him, I bet fifty Hong Kong dollars!”

Ye Tianhui raised an eyebrow and glanced at Jessie: “Fifty Hong Kong dollars, you really don’t mind.”

This was naturally a small bet among the internal staff. Fifty Hong Kong dollars wasn’t small, considering he probably earned just over two thousand Hong Kong dollars a month.

Jessie: “I bet Lin Jianquan is the best!”

Ye Tianhui sighed, “The road is long and difficult, how long has he even been trained? I hope he can walk the road more steadily, not be too hasty.”

Eager to achieve results might lead to overdoing it and making things worse.

Jessie looked at Ye Tianhui in confusion, clearly not understanding what Ye Tianhui was saying.

Ye Tianhui looked at the field, suddenly said, “Look, Lin Jianquan is going to the inner circle!”

Jessie looked over, and sure enough!

He whispered, “Inner circle, go to the inner circle!”

However, Ye Tianhui didn’t think highly of it.

Going to the inner circle requires superb riding skills, and to go from the outer circle to the inner circle requires excellent judgment. It takes precise judgment in an instant to catch the subtle information in the positioning of the racehorses ahead, to analyze by intuition whether the gaps ahead can accommodate him and his horse to pass through.

This is not something that can be measured leisurely. The acceleration ability of the racehorses ahead, the fleeting gap size, whether his horse can perfectly and precisely pass through that gap and reach the inner circle—this is something a mathematician would need to calculate on paper, but for a rider, it is simply an intuitive judgment that doesn’t require thought.

In fact, from the moment Lin Jianquan expressed the intention to squeeze into the inner circle, to Jessie shouting that, it took less than half a second.

Ye Tianhui held her breath, staring at the situation on the field. She saw a horse unexpectedly turn into the inner circle from the left front, blocking Lin Jianquan’s path!

Jessie had clearly also realized this. He widened his eyes, almost unable to make a sound!

If they collided, the consequences would be unimaginable! Either disqualified from the competition, or seriously injured!

Everything happened in an instant, like a flash of lightning across the sky, too fast for anyone to react or think.

Ye Tianhui saw Lin Jianquan’s horse leap, just in time to clear the horse that had turned into the inner circle, agile and swift, rushing into the inner circle.

The wildly swinging tail of the horse brushed the head of the horse coming diagonally!

It was only a fraction of a second, in that narrow moment, Lin Jianquan succeeded, successfully overtaking the other horse and entering the inner circle ahead of it.

Jessie let out a long sigh of relief. “My God, my heart almost jumped out!”

He wiped his sweat, looked at Ye Tianhui beside him, and found her expression calm to the point of being almost ruthless, with no fluctuation in her eyes, as if the scene before her had no impact on her at all.

He was a little surprised. “You don’t care about this? I thought you were worried about Lin Jianquan.”

Although they had only been together for a short time, he could sense that Ye Tianhui still cared a lot about Lin Jianquan.

Ye Tianhui’s gaze was still following Lin Jianquan’s figure. She heard the question and whispered, “I care.”

The more she cared, the more she had to maintain an exceptional calmness. This was almost an instinct carved into her bones.

Jessie became even more confused, but his attention quickly returned to the race.

At this point, Lin Jianquan had successfully overtaken the second place using the advantage of the inner circle and replaced them, becoming second. He was now only half a horse length away from the first place rider, number six.

Jessie clenched his fists in excitement. “Go, go!!”

At this moment, the galloping horses were about to pass by the stables where they were. He didn’t dare shout loudly and could only whisper a roar of encouragement, his face flushed with excitement, his eyes shining.

However, Ye Tianhui felt something was wrong.

Although she had not seen many horse races, she had extensive riding experience.

At this moment, Lin Jianquan was between the first and third place riders. In front of him in the inner circle was the first-place rider, number six, and behind him in the outer circle was the third-place rider, number eleven. It meant he was currently surrounded. If he didn’t seize the opportunity to break through number six quickly, and if number eleven suddenly surged forward from behind, he could easily be caught between the two horses, leading to a collision, which would affect his speed and waste the perfect sprinting time.

Whether it was number six ahead or number eleven behind, both riders were clearly experienced jockeys. They knew far better than Lin Jianquan the tricks and tactics of the race!

She furrowed her brows, her gaze fixed on those horses, watching them gallop at full speed on horseback, carrying immense power but speeding like meteors along the track, about to pass by the stables where they were.

At that moment, suddenly, Ye Tianhui saw that the rider of number three was spinning and extending his leg.

Jessie was surprised. “What is he going to do?”

Ye Tianhui had already shot out like an arrow.

Jessie gaped in astonishment, wanting to stop her, but it was too late.

The moment Ye Tianhui rushed out, she saw the rider of number eleven’s leg kick toward Lin Jianquan’s horse.