"Oh my god, boss, your car is so awesome! I realized I fell in love with it the moment I stepped on the accelerator. But boss, didn't you say your budget was running low?" Sitting in the brand new Ford F750, Robbins couldn't hide his excitement. Yes, excitement. After all, who wouldn't be thrilled driving such a massive machine?
But the only issue was that Jiang Hai's driver's license wasn't upgraded yet, or Robbins would have been out of a job.
"It's fine, it's just a small amount of money." Jiang Hai smiled, touching the car in front of him with a look of contentment.
Yes, Jiang Hai had bought a Ford F750. In China, the biggest pickup truck you could generally get was the Ford F650, costing up to three million yuan, which would make anyone hesitate. But in the United States, there was a larger F750. The F650 costs around $350,000, while the F750 is priced at $480,000.
After inquiring about the price, Jiang Hai didn't hesitate much. He swiped his card and bought three cars: two F750s and one F650. The two F750s were for work around the house, and the F650 was for leisure. Jiang Hai's hobbies were indeed a bit unconventional.
However, the price of the car was not excessive. After all, compared to supercars that cost millions or tens of millions, a pickup truck costing less than half a million dollars was quite a good deal. After buying the cars, Jiang Hai drove one off immediately. The other two, along with Robbins' old pickup truck, were sent back to Jiang Hai's manor by Druff.
As they drove, Jiang Hai couldn't help but enjoy the stunning view ahead. It would be a lie to say he wasn't excited.
Even more excited was Robbins, who was driving. Initially, they had planned to buy a car first, then adopt some dogs. In the U.S., it was quite difficult to find people selling dogs, especially cattle dogs, so they would ask around or adopt strays. Of course, the most important thing was that the dogs had to be intelligent.
But now, driving this new car, their plan naturally shifted. After driving around town for a bit, they reluctantly drove to the stray pet center. When this massive beast of a car stopped in front of the center, the dogs inside immediately began barking. This was the first time they had seen such a huge vehicle in Winthrop.
Upon hearing the barking, the staff came out to see the colossal monster parked outside.
With two loud thuds, Jiang Hai and Robbins jumped out of the car. The vehicle was so high and large, the step to get out was nearly a meter off the ground. If a woman were driving it, it would certainly be a challenge.
But Jiang Hai and Robbins didn't have to worry about that. With two more jumps, they landed on the ground.
"Uh, hello, how can I help you?" A girl approached them, giving them a puzzled look. Although she wasn't an expert on cars, she knew this one wasn't cheap.
This meant the two men must be wealthy, but she wasn't sure what wealthy people like them were doing here.
"Ah, it's like this. I own the green forest on the outskirts of the city. I'm looking to raise some cattle, so I need some cattle dogs. I came to see if there are any suitable ones," Jiang Hai explained with a smile.
The girl, about 1.6 meters tall, with a little extra weight and some freckles, responded to his words. This wasn't a judgment from Jiang Hai—after all, his "wife" in the past had been a beauty, and his taste was still somewhat biased toward Chinese aesthetics, not American looks.
"Oh, I see. Follow me then." The girl smiled and led the way, as Jiang Hai followed her inside.
Upon entering, Jiang Hai was surprised by how big the stray pet center was. There was much more than just dogs and cats—other animals were also housed here.
In the United States, there were few regulations protecting wildlife, so rich people could buy any animals they wanted. One famous example was the tiger owned by boxer Mike Tyson. As long as the animal didn't hurt anyone, it could be kept. This stray center even had unusual pets like spiders, snakes, lizards, and turtles. There were also birds of prey like eagles and falcons, as well as venomous snakes like black mambas and king cobras.
Some of the snakes even hissed at Jiang Hai as he passed.
"You have a lot of animals here," Jiang Hai commented, his eyes lighting up.
"Yeah, I guess you just came to the U.S. right? People here raise all sorts of animals. These are just the smaller ones; the larger ones are further in," the girl shrugged and said.
Since the U.S. had open pet-raising laws, there were all sorts of creatures kept as pets.
However, not all pet owners were responsible. Some people raised animals for a short while but then abandoned them once they grew bored. This was a common issue in both China and the U.S. People didn't always treat their animals well, and in the U.S., many stray dogs and cats ended up in these centers.
After passing the area with stray birds, snakes, and smaller pets, they arrived at the back of the center where the larger animals were kept. The first thing that caught Jiang Hai's attention was a bear.
"Roar!" The bear, which had been lying down, stood up and roared at the intruders. Robbins instinctively stepped back at the sight of the towering beast.
Jiang Hai, however, wasn't intimidated. He studied the bear and noticed one of its eyes was blind, and there were several scars on its body.
"Paul, lie down," the girl called out, patting the cage. The bear immediately obeyed, lying down and returning to silence.
"This is a Colorado brown bear. It had a rough past. Its previous owner wasn't good to it. The bear lost its eye and got these injuries from them. When we found it, it was near death, but it's recovered now. However, it still hates humans, except for us here," the girl explained.
Jiang Hai nodded, understanding, and continued walking through the area. There were other large animals as well, including leopards, jaguars, black bears, anacondas, and crocodiles. These animals had mostly been abandoned by owners in New York, according to the girl. Some rich people were truly eccentric.
Now that Jiang Hai was wealthy himself, he couldn't help but feel the desire to raise some of these animals.
But he shook his head, dismissing the thought for now. He followed the girl to the final area.
The dog kennels were located behind the larger animal cages. As soon as Jiang Hai entered the room, the dogs all perked up, staring at him with curiosity. Some were friendly, while others appeared more wary.
The girl led them to one of the rooms and gestured toward the dogs.
"These dogs were all former cattle dogs or sheep dogs. They were either abandoned after their owners passed away or when their owners sold their ranches. They're friendly toward humans and relatively easy to handle. You can check them out, and if you find one you like, we can go through the adoption process."