Inheriting a dilapidated ranch in North America, he became a billionaire through animal taming and t

Su Chen walked into the supermarket.

Lia is arranging goods on the shelves.

Upon seeing Su Chen, his expression became somewhat unnatural.

"Lia, what happened with the beef?"

Leah sighed and lowered her voice.

"Bert came by yesterday afternoon."

"He said if I continue to sell your beef, Hawkins will take back my lease on this supermarket."

"As you know, I rented this shop. The landlord has a partnership with Hawkins, so there's nothing I can do about it."

Su Chen nodded.

"Understood."

He didn't make things difficult for Leah and turned to walk out of the supermarket.

Walking down the main street, the situation was worse than expected.

On the menu of the town restaurant, the line for "Sunset Beef" was covered by a sticker.

The proprietress saw Su Chen.

He smiled sheepishly and offered no explanation.

The old man at the gas station saw Su Chen's car come in.

Standing behind the cashier, he looked conflicted.

Su Chen filled the gas tank and handed over the money.

The old man took the money, hesitated for a moment, and said:

"Su, you might not be able to refuel for the next few days."

"Someone from above said they couldn't refuel your car."

"Who made the call?"

The old man shook his head.

"I can't say."

Su Chen didn't ask any further questions and drove away.

Luke was unloading goods in front of the agricultural supply store.

He stopped when he saw Su Chen's car pass by.

Lower your head and pretend you didn't see it.

Su Chen did not stop the car.

He knew it wasn't Luke's fault.

Bert severed the entire commercial chain of the town overnight.

It's not about the law, it's not about contracts.

It was due to Hawkins' control over the land.

Whoever's shop lease is related to him, that person has to obey.

Back at the ranch, Su Chen told Emma and Old Tom what had happened.

Old Tom's face turned ashen after hearing this.

"That's Hawkins' tactic: avoid direct confrontation and block all your paths."

"If you have no feed, no oil, and no sales channels, you'll have to sell the land and leave after a few months."

Emma flipped through the ledger.

"Our feed reserves are enough for ten days, and if we use oilseeds sparingly, they can last for half a month."

"The sales channels have been cut off, which is quite troublesome."

Su Chen thought for a moment.

"For sales, talk to John."

John answered the phone quickly when I called.

"Sue, I was just about to call you. Bert also came to see me."

Su Chen's heart sank.

"Did he tell you not to sell my meat?"

"Yes," John said.

But I didn't agree.

Su Chen was stunned for a moment.

"John, aren't you afraid of him?"

"I'm not afraid of him at all."

John raised his voice.

"My shop is my own, the land deed is in my hands, Hawkins has no right to interfere."

"I'll still sell the meat, and nobody can stop me."

Su Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

"Thanks, John."

"Don't thank me, just focus on raising the cattle well, I'll sell the meat."

After hanging up the phone, Su Chen looked at Old Tom.

"The sales channels have stabilized for the time being."

Old Tom nodded, but his expression remained serious.

"Where's the fuel?"

Su Chen thought for a moment, then dialed John's number again.

"John, do you have any ideas about the fuel?"

There was silence for a few seconds on the other end of the phone.

"I have a batch of gasoline in my store, which was originally intended for refrigerated trucks. You can take half of it and use it first."

"How much? I'll transfer it to you."

"Don't mention money to me."

John hung up after he finished speaking.

In the afternoon, John's nephew arrived again in his pickup truck.

This time, the truck wasn't carrying feed; it was carrying ten 20-liter oil drums.

He unloaded the oil drum at the entrance of the tool shed, waved to Su Chen, and drove away.

Juan and Luis carried the oil drums into the tool shed and stacked them neatly.

Su Chen stood at the door of the tool shed, looking at the ten oil drums.

The fuel problem has been temporarily resolved.

The issue of feed remains unresolved.

Anderson called.

"Sue, I heard that Bert's men are after you."

"You've heard about it too?"

"The whole town knows," Anderson said.

"I still have some extra hay here. If you want it, I'll have someone send it over."

Su Chen thought for a moment.

"Anderson, aren't you afraid Hawkins will cause you trouble if you deliver hay?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Su, I'm telling you the truth."

"I used to look down on you, thinking that you, an outsider, couldn't stay in Baiyu Town."

"But I've seen everything you've done these past few months."

"Everyone in town knows what your ranch is like, what your cattle are like."

"No matter how powerful Hawkins is, he can't drive everyone to their deaths."

"I'll deliver the fodder, don't stop me."

Su Chen agreed.

In the evening, Anderson himself drove a truck loaded with hay into the ranch via a small road behind the mountain.

Old Tom, along with Juan and Louis, unloaded the cargo, working until dark.

Su Chen stood at the entrance of the hay warehouse, looking at the hay bales piled up to the brim.

The feed issue has been temporarily stabilized.

But Su Chen knew that this was not a long-term solution.

Bert was able to cut off Luke's agricultural supplies.

It can cut off the fuel supply to gas stations.

It can cut off the sales channels of supermarkets and restaurants.

John and Anderson can hold on for now.

But Bert won't stop.

Sure enough, on the third day, the situation escalated.

A rumor began to circulate in the small town:

Sunset Ranch's cash flow has dried up and it's about to be seized by the bank.

Su Chen didn't know who had started the rumor.

But even a fool would know that Bert is involved.

Bank manager Smith called.

"Sue, I've heard some bad rumors. Did you get into a conflict with Hawkins' people?"

"They're the ones who came looking for trouble with me."

Smith remained silent for a few seconds.

"Su, your loan record has always been excellent, and the ranch's credit rating is also the highest."

"No matter what's going on outside, the bank won't touch your account."

"But you need to resolve this as soon as possible; the longer you drag it out, the worse it will be for you."

Su Chen agreed.

After hanging up the phone, he looked at Emma.

"Rumors are circulating that our funding chain has broken down and our ranch is going to be shut down."

Emma opened the ledger.

"The account has sufficient funds, and the loan has long been paid off, so seizure is impossible."

"But if these rumors spread, they will affect customer confidence."

Su Chen walked to the window and looked in the direction of the ranch entrance.

Three pickup trucks are still stuck in traffic.

Bert somehow managed to get a few more people transferred from somewhere.

There are more than a dozen thugs blocking the road right now, taking turns.

Black Fang, leading his pack of wolves, crouched inside the fence, watching the people.

The thugs dared not approach the fence, but they also did not leave.

Su Chen took out his phone and called Cole.

"Cole, is there any way to deal with the road blockage?"

"Su, I checked the license plates of those pickup trucks."

"None of the car owners are locals; the cars are registered under the name of a rental company, and the people renting them are using fake identities."

"Even if I forcibly tow the car, they won't lose anything; they can just replace it with a few more cars and continue blocking the road."

Su Chen hung up the phone.

Legal means are not an option.

A direct confrontation won't work either.

Su Chen returned to his study and turned on his computer.

I've compiled all the evidence from the past few days.

Photos and videos of the road blockage. Surveillance footage from Bertley Ranch.

Photos of notices from supermarkets and restaurants indicating that beef has been removed from their shelves.

Screenshot of rumors circulating in the small town.

Emma came in and placed a cup of coffee on the table.

"Are you compiling evidence?"

"Yes," Su Chen said.

"Just because we don't need it now doesn't mean we won't need it in the future."

He stored all the files in an encrypted folder.

I also backed up a copy in the cloud.

After doing all this, Su Chen stood up and walked to the window.

It was getting dark, but car headlights could still be seen from the direction of the ranch entrance.

The thugs didn't leave; they stayed in the car, smoking and listening to music, like they were on vacation.

Hei Feng crouched inside the fence, his eyes fixed on the car lights.

Lingfeng hovered silently in the night sky.

Su Chen turned around and looked at Emma.

"Tell Juan and Luis that starting tomorrow, all supplies will be transported via back roads."

"Feed, oil, and medicine must all be obtained through illegal means."

"it is good."

"Also, have Old Tom inspect the fence again, paying special attention to the west and north sides."

"Are you worried they'll come in?"

Su Chen did not answer.

He wasn't sure if Bert would go that far.

But we need to take precautions in advance.

Su Chen slept very lightly that night.

At two o'clock in the morning, he was awakened by Black Fang's low growl.

Su Chen walked to the window and looked towards the entrance of the ranch.

The headlights of the three pickup trucks were still on, but there was an extra black sedan.

Bert's car.

Su Chen couldn't see what the people in the car were doing.

But you can sense that a storm is coming.

.......

Black Fang's low growl turned sharp at 2:13 a.m.

Su Chen stood up from the study and walked to the window.

At the entrance to the ranch, the headlights of the black sedan and three pickup trucks were all off.

But the thugs didn't leave.

Several figures could be vaguely seen moving around outside the car.

Lingfeng let out a short cry in the night sky.

Su Chen didn't understand the signal.

But I instinctively felt something was wrong.

He walked to the door of the main house and pushed it open.

The night breeze was cool, carrying the scent of pine and hay.

Black Fang crouched under the porch, his head facing west.

His ears were perked up, and the low growl in his throat grew deeper and deeper.

Su Chen followed Hei Feng's gaze.

The woodland to the west was pitch black.

It was an old pine forest, with trees that were all over fifty or sixty years old.

The trunk is thick and the canopy is so dense that it is impenetrable to the wind.

It looks quite ordinary during the day.

But now it's night.

Those tree shadows resembled a seamless black wall.

Su Chen stared at the darkness for more than ten seconds.

I didn't see anything.

But Black Fang's reaction is not wrong.

He retreated back into the house, without closing the door.

Emma came down from the second floor, wearing her pajamas.

Her hair was loose, and she was holding a glass of water.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Su Chen said.

"Go back to sleep."

Emma glanced at him, didn't ask any more questions, and went upstairs.

Su Chen returned to his study and switched the surveillance camera feed to the west side.

The camera is a high-definition night vision model.

However, the canopy of the trees in the woodland was too dense, making it impossible to capture the depths of the forest.

The only things in the picture are blurry tree shadows and the occasional gust of wind.

Black Fang's growl stopped.

It's not that the alarm is off; it's that we've entered a state of maximum alert.

Su Chen had seen Hei Feng react like this before.

Black Fang was in this state when the cattle thieves reached the East District fence last time.

It remains silent and still, waiting for its prey to enter its attack range.

Lingfeng's second cry came from the sky.

This time it was much more rushed.

Su Chen had just stood up when the gun fired.

boom!