Rebirth in 2011: Starting as an Advertising Genius

The observation hall is a small glass room facing the milking workshop.

It's definitely impossible to let them go directly to the milking site; milkmen usually wear special clothes.

They're here for a visit and research; if they were leaders, the staff might pay more attention.

They are students, so they can be arranged casually. It is precisely because they are students that they are allowed to enter; otherwise, people from outside the community would definitely not be allowed in.

Through the glass, you can see cows walking one after another onto a circular turntable, where workers skillfully attach milking cups, and white milk flows through pipes into storage tanks.

"This rotating platform can hold forty cows at a time and completes one rotation every eight minutes," Old Zhou explained. "Each cow is milked twice a day, producing more than thirty kilograms of milk each time."

Yu Ying exclaimed in surprise: "More than 60 kilograms a day? That's the weight of a cow?"

"Yes, but our more than 400 cows produce nearly 20 tons of fresh milk every day, most of which cannot be sold and can only be dumped or fed to calves." Old Zhou's tone was full of heartache.

Wang Lei frowned: "Isn't this such a waste?"

Chen Jianghe didn't speak, staring at the turntable for a long time.

The group toured around for a while longer and learned about most of what they wanted to know.

"Thank you, Master Zhou." Chen Jianghe said sincerely as he prepared to say goodbye, "What you said has been a great help to our work."

"Don't mention it, you students have it tough too." Old Zhou waved his hand. "By the way, if you want to take some photos for your homework, you can go to the pasture in the back. There are calves there, they're very photogenic."

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The pasture is located behind the ranch; it is a gentle slope covered with lush green grass.

Several calves were frolicking in the enclosure, their black and white stripes and big, wet eyes making them incredibly adorable.

Yu Ying screamed as soon as she saw it: "So cute! I want to take a picture!"

Wang Lei also joined in, and the two of them took pictures from various angles with their phones.

Chen Jianghe stood a little distance away, looking at the distant hills, lost in thought.

Yuan Meng hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked to his side.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked softly.

"I'm thinking about how to tell this story." Chen Jianghe didn't turn around. "An internet guy who came back from Beijing invested all the 20 to 30 million he earned in a ranch, raising more than 400 Australian dairy cows, but he couldn't sell the milk. This isn't a business case; it's a story."

Yuan Meng turned her head to look at him, and the sunlight fell on his profile, outlining a clear contour.

"Did you... already have a plan in mind?"

Chen Jianghe turned his head and met her eyes.

They were so close that she could see her reflection in his pupils.

"It's not fully formed yet," he said, "but we have a direction."

"Which direction?"

"Let consumers get involved, let consumers see these cows." Chen Jianghe stretched out his hand and pointed to the cowshed in the distance, "See what kind of grass the cows eat, what kind of houses they live in, how they are milked. See that old Zhou, who is over fifty years old, gets up at four o'clock every morning to feed the cows. See that their boss has staked his entire fortune on this land."

He withdrew his hand and looked at Yuan Meng: "Milk is not just milk; it represents specific people and events."

Yuan Meng's heart skipped a beat.

It wasn't because of what he said, but because of the look in his eyes when he spoke—earnest, resolute, and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on.

It's like... a kind of clarity that comes only after going through something.

"You..." She opened her mouth, as if to ask something, but then swallowed her words back.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." She lowered her head and flicked at the pebbles on the grass with her toes.

The two remained silent for a few seconds.

The wind blows across the meadow, bringing the fresh scent of grass and the distant mooing of cows.

"Yuan Meng".

"Um?"

"Thank you."

She looked up: "Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for doing so much research." Chen Jianghe smiled. "Without your homework, I wouldn't have been able to ask questions so smoothly today."

Yuan Meng's face flushed slightly, and she turned her head away: "I... I just looked it up casually."

"How about investigating for a week while we're at it?"

She didn't say anything, but the tips of her ears turned red.

Chen Jianghe didn't expose her, and turned to walk towards the fence.

"Let's go see the calf."

Yuan Meng followed behind him, took two steps, and suddenly there was a pothole in the grass under her feet, causing her to miss her step—

"ah--"

He leaned forward and was about to fall.

Chen Jianghe reacted quickly, turned around, reached out and firmly grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards himself.

Yuan Meng bumped into his arms.

Time seemed to have been paused.

She could feel the warmth of his chest, clearly visible through his thin T-shirt, like a brand.

She could hear his heartbeat, steady and strong, a beat slower than hers—her heart was about to leap out of her throat.

"Are you alright?" His voice came from above, slightly hoarse.

"N-nothing...it's nothing." She tried to back away, but her ankle twisted and throbbed with pain. "Ouch—"

Chen Jianghe glanced down at her feet, but instead of letting go, he put his arm around her shoulder and helped her to sit down on a large rock nearby.

"Did you sprain your ankle?"

"It seems a little... but not serious." Yuan Meng bit her lip, not daring to look at him.

Chen Jianghe squatted down and reached out to touch her ankle.

"What are you doing?" Yuan Meng was startled and instinctively shrank back.

"Check if there's any swelling." His tone was very natural, as if he were doing something perfectly normal.

My fingers gently pressed against her ankle, the warm touch coming through the thin boat stockings.

Yuan Meng froze.

He was touching my ankle...

His hands are so hot...

Does it hurt here?

"No...it doesn't hurt."

"And here?"

"A little..."

Chen Jianghe pressed on it a few times, then released his hand and stood up: "It's not swollen, it's probably just a sprain. Just apply some cold water when you get back."

The moment he stood up, their faces were very close.

They were so close that their noses almost touched.

Yuan Meng could see the curve of his eyelashes and smell his scent—the fresh scent of laundry soap mixed with a hint of sunshine.

Time stopped for another second.

"Jiang He! Yuan Meng! Come quick, this calf is so much fun!" Wang Lei's loud voice came from afar.

As if startled awake, the two of them simultaneously took half a step back.

"Coming!" Chen Jianghe responded, then looked down at Yuan Meng, "Can we go?"

"Yes." She stood up, tried it, and found that her ankle was indeed not serious.

"Let's go then."

He didn't help her up anymore, but walked very slowly, matching her pace.

Yuan Meng followed behind him, watching his back, her heart still pounding.

She secretly put her right hand behind her back; it was just her wrist that he was holding.

The warmth of his palm still lingered on it.

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On the bus back, the four of them changed buses twice.

Yu Ying was so tired that she fell asleep leaning on Yuan Meng's shoulder, and Wang Lei also dozed off in a daze.

Chen Jianghe and Yuan Meng sat side by side, with a backpack between them.

The car swayed gently, and the setting sun slanted in through the windows, turning the interior orange-red.

Yuan Meng turned her head, pretending to look at the scenery outside the window, but her eyes were always on Chen Jianghe.

He had his eyes closed; I don't know if he was asleep.

She had long eyelashes, a straight nose, and slightly pursed lips.

When she's asleep, she doesn't look as mature.

Like an ordinary eighteen-year-old boy.

She looked at it for a few seconds, then quickly turned her head away, her heart starting to race again.

Just then, the car lurched, and her shoulder bumped into his arm.

He did not dodge.

She didn't have any either.

The two of them sat side by side on the swaying bus, neither of them saying a word.

Outside the window are fields in April, where rapeseed flowers are in full bloom, a golden expanse.

The setting sun cast the shadows of the two people on the car window, very close, very close.