After tying the hay for more than an hour, Jiang Hai went to the stable to check on his horse, Xiao Xia.
After a year of feeding, Xiao Xia had fully grown and was much taller than ordinary horses.
Most notably, it seemed to have changed slightly due to Jiang Hai's spiritual energy.
Its size was even larger than an average Shire horse. Jiang Hai himself was over 1.9 meters tall, but standing next to Xiao Xia, he barely reached its shoulders. That meant the horse was at least two meters tall—without counting its head.
After feeding Xiao Xia some carrots, Jiang Hai led it outside. With his strong jumping ability, he flipped onto the horse's back without needing a saddle. He rode it around the grassland for a while.
Shire horses were different from ordinary horses. Regular horses loved to run—they were born to run. But Shires were much heavier, almost like big, strong men. They could run, but not for long; sustained running would strain their bones. That was their main limitation.
So Jiang Hai and Xiao Xia trotted and played for about half an hour before Jiang Hai led it back and returned to his villa.
By the time he got back, the five girls in the villa were already up.
Azarina, however, seemed to be floating somewhere else every day, and Jiang Hai didn't know where she was. Xiaoya, Darlene, and Marian were busy preparing breakfast, while Bernice was exercising upstairs. After greeting them, Jiang Hai took a shower.
Once clean, he chatted with them briefly and then drove to Winthrop.
When Jiang Hai's war shield entered Winthrop, the townspeople noticed him.
The atmosphere between them was still somewhat awkward. They no longer treated him with the hostility they had a few days ago or hid at a distance, but neither did they approach him to say hello like before.
Jiang Hai didn't pay much attention to their subtle changes. He parked and walked into the town's shopping street. It was late October, and Winthrop's weather was cold—no longer ideal for traveling.
Although people could still visit the beach, even the warmest part of the day wasn't suitable for swimming.
Most visitors came for the sea, so with the sea off-limits, fewer tourists arrived.
Travel agencies had lowered their prices for winter, but Winthrop, once crowded, now seemed quieter. Still, a few hundred tourists remained.
They strolled along the commercial street, which had indeed become a draw since its opening. The American History Museum and the Indian Museum on the street were especially popular—and both were free to visit.
The nearby cathedral also attracted visitors, giving the area the feel of a genuine tourist spot.
The goods sold here were far cheaper than those in China, both in price and quality, and many were brought directly from the United States. This made the shopping street, once highly anticipated, increasingly important.
According to the financial report Moses Adams submitted to Jiang Hai last month, the shopping street's net profit for that month alone was $1.7 million USD. This figure was net profit, after deducting labor, rent, and purchase costs.
Still, each store earned around $20,000 to $30,000, with the Indian store making the most—$410,000 in net income.
This store was jointly owned by Jiang Hai, the town, and the Iroquois tribe. Jiang Hai owned 20%, the town 20%, and the Iroquois 60%. The tribe was very pleased, as they used to sell these goods for only $50,000, but now sold $250,000 worth before returning to the mountains.
The relationship between Jiang Hai and Winthrop was growing closer, and Jiang Hai was the biggest beneficiary.
Between store rent and his share of the profits, he earned nearly $1 million last month alone. Adding villa rent and income from the shooting range, Jiang Hai made close to $2 million from the town's tourism industry in the last month, though the industry was still far from its potential.
According to Moses Adams, once the sea park Jiang Hai mentioned was built, Winthrop's tourism could generate over $20 million annually—a significant sum.
But to Jiang Hai, that wasn't much. He made far more selling meat.
This year alone, he earned over 1 billion yuan from cattle and planned to start fishing next year. Jiang Hai felt confident his income could exceed 3 billion yuan. The tourism industry's growth was mainly due to his efforts to stabilize the town.
By current standards, things were going well—he was already ahead of the townspeople.
While pondering this, Jiang Hai wandered the commercial street, looking for a store selling pumpkin lanterns and candy.
Suddenly, a voice called out.
"Jiang Hai?"
He turned and saw Cindy Clive standing in front of a store, holding a bag of clothes. Her eyes looked a bit complicated when she saw him.
"Cindy, what a coincidence!" Jiang Hai smiled. She was the first girl who made him seriously consider a relationship. Though they never got together, they once had a good impression of each other.
Now, he wasn't sure if it was right to continue flirting with other girls.
"Yeah, quite a coincidence," Cindy said, brushing her hair back as she looked at him.
"Are you here to buy clothes? Is the town busy lately?" Jiang Hai asked with a smile.
"The town's fine. Things are basically back on track. I'm on vacation today, so I came to look around and maybe buy some clothes," Cindy replied with a smile. The town had been calm recently—a rarity.
After all, where there are people, there are disputes. More tourists meant more incidents.
Chinese tourists abroad were generally well-mannered, but spoiled guests existed everywhere. Winthrop often dealt with strange tourists.
For example, those who got drunk and caused trouble, or those who wanted to buy guns after shooting, or take bullets with them, or swim in the sea when it was off-limits—the police would intervene. Drunk troublemakers were detained until sober and fined; those causing problems were reprimanded. Repeat offenders were banned from shops.
With the cold weather, tourists dwindled. Last week had a boycott against Jiang Hai, making the town government very busy. This week, things finally calmed, and Cindy could enjoy a day off.
She didn't want to stay home, so after sleeping in, she decided to go shopping—only to unexpectedly run into Jiang Hai again. There really was a lot of fate between them.
"What brings you here today? Inspection or shopping?" Cindy asked, recalling Jiang Hai's homebody tendencies—he rarely left unless necessary, especially in cold weather.
"Shopping. What kind of inspection? It's almost Halloween—I'm here to buy candy and pumpkin lanterns," Jiang Hai shrugged. He clearly disliked the word "inspection," which sounded like he was some high-ranking official, holding a big teacup.
"Hah, didn't expect you to be so childish. If you want, I can help you pick out what to buy!" Cindy smiled and offered.
Jiang Hai and Cindy both paused, exchanging a glance and smile before walking toward a nearby store together. After a short walk, Cindy chose a shop.
"Halloween is a Christian festival," Cindy began as they entered. "About 2,000 years ago, the Catholic Church designated November 1 as All Saints' Day. In 500 BC, the Celts in Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands moved the festival forward to October 31. They believed this day marked the official end of winter and the start of the new year, the beginning of a harsh winter. On this day, people thought the souls of the deceased returned to their homes, seeking living bodies to be reborn. At first, people extinguished fires and lights to hide from these souls. Later, they dressed as demons and ghosts to scare them away. Of course, these are legends. I'm just explaining the origin of Halloween…"
Jiang Hai nodded thoughtfully. This Western Ghost Festival was truly fascinating.
(To be continued.)