I was forced to start the second round because I was raised in poverty

Chapter 314 The Ambiguous Relationship at the Horse Farm

Based on the height and weight of Su Cheng and others, the horse groom selected several suitable warmblood horses.

After selecting their horses, Su Cheng and the others were taken to the changing room to change clothes and put on the appropriate equipment and protective gear.

Each person was provided with a riding outfit and an ASTM-designated riding helmet.

Jiang Shuyue hesitated a bit when changing into her riding boots, afraid that she might have athlete's foot inside the shoes.

However, the horse trainer told her that these riding boots were all brand new and that they could take them back after training, which reassured Jiang Shuyue and made her put them on without worry.

Equestrian boots have smooth soles, primarily to reduce the risk of slipping on the foot. Sandals, slippers, high heels, and any shoes that expose the toes are strictly prohibited.

Sneakers are also not suitable, because the deep treads on the soles can easily cause your foot to slip into the stirrups, and any heeled shoe could cause your foot to slide too deep into the stirrups.

Ma Shuning must be a regular here. She chose not a warmblood or a mixed breed, but a large, calm, cold-blooded draft horse.

This type of horse has a stable gait and is not easily startled, making it one of the few cold-blooded horses suitable for basic training.

The overall priority for equestrian training should be ranked as follows: venue safety, equipment, psychology, and the trainer's skills.

As for the fees, those are listed last.

Despite everyone being mentally prepared and beginning basic training under Master Ma's instructions, an accident still occurred.

Su Cheng had barely mounted the horse when she lost her balance and fell off.

Not only that, Su Cheng's left foot was also stuck in the pedal.

This startled everyone, including Master Ma.

Fortunately, the horse didn't move, otherwise it would have dragged Su Cheng around the horse farm by one leg.

The crowd reacted quickly and rushed forward to help Su Cheng remove his footrests and then helped him up.

"Are you alright, Mr. Su?"

"Cheng-ge, how are you?"

Jiang Shuyue, Zhang Yangwen, and Tang Li rushed over immediately to check on Su Cheng's injuries.

Ma Shuning quickly dismounted and jogged over to Su Cheng's side.

"It's okay, it's okay, I just didn't maintain my balance."

Su Cheng gently patted the dust and dirt off his body. He didn't feel any pain, except for the slight pain from his ankle getting stuck in the stirrup. Otherwise, he was fine.

In other words, the horse didn't run away in fright; otherwise, if he had been dragged around for a while, it probably wouldn't have been easy to save him.

Fortunately, Su Cheng's horse wasn't very tall, and when he fell off, he braced himself with his arms, so he didn't hit his head or the back of his head, and his upper body wasn't bumped at all.

Regardless, it still scared everyone half to death.

Especially Ma Shuning, her heart skipped a beat just now.

If Su Cheng were seriously injured at the horse farm, the Su family would definitely cause them trouble.

Although he is not Lao Su's biological son, his cousin, who can get President Bai to personally go to Australia to take care of him, is also very important.

Ma Shu would rather see Su Cheng die before she even begins to besiege him; that would be too tragic.

She didn't dare let Su Cheng take any risks, so she simply decided: "President Su, let me teach you how to ride."

"also."

Ma Shuning had Master Ma lead Su Cheng's horse away, then dismounted first and let Su Cheng mount her cold-blooded horse.

She was very familiar with this horse; it didn't matter if it was a cold-blooded horse, and it could carry both her and Su Cheng.

Ma Shuning dismounted first, and after she helped Su Cheng sit comfortably, she remounted herself and sat behind Su Cheng, with the two sharing a saddle.

After what just happened, all the horse handlers are now more cautious and dare not let their guard down.

Ma Shuning repeatedly reminded everyone to pay attention to safety and to follow Ma Shi's instructions and guidance.

"Horses are sensitive animals with instinctive reactions. They may be startled by sudden noises, movements, or changes in the environment, so it is essential to respect their strength and nature."

Ma Shuning took the reins and slowly manipulated the horse beneath her to move, gently and patiently instructing Su Cheng.

"They can sense your emotions. Your tension will be transmitted to them, and they will also feel uneasy and tense. Try to stay calm and interact with them with confidence."

Ma Shuning taught Su Cheng to pay attention to the direction of the horse's ears, that is, what it is focused on. The swaying of the horse's tail represents basic signals such as its level of agitation and physical tension, which helps to understand the horse's state.

At this moment, she resembled a highly skilled horse trainer, first teaching Su Cheng the correct sitting posture, how to hold the reins, basic horse control commands, and most importantly, the sense of balance.

Keep your body upright, with your weight on your ischial tuberosities, head up, chest out, and eyes looking straight ahead. Relax your shoulders and let them hang down naturally. Let your arms hang down naturally.

Your calves should naturally rest against the horse's body, knees bent and relaxed, heels down; this is key to maintaining stability and generating power.

"You can feel it, using your core, that is, your waist and abdomen strength, to maintain stability, and using your pelvis and hip joints to relax and follow the rhythm of the horse's movement."

"Your legs, center of gravity, and the movements of the reins must be clear and consistent so that the horse can understand your commands."

“Tension can cause your body to stiffen, which not only makes you tired, but also disturbs the horse, making it uncomfortable or even causing it to resist your commands.”

At this moment, Ma Shuning was like a patient mentor, carefully teaching Su Cheng how to control the horse. She constantly reminded Su Cheng to relax her body and take deep breaths: "Stiffness is the biggest enemy of a beginner."

Seeing Su Cheng's bewildered expression, Ma Shuning got what she wanted.

This is her home-field advantage.

Even if you possess unparalleled wisdom and a sharp mind in business.

But here, at the horse farm, she is the master.

Here, Ma Shuning can easily create a superior position, making Su Cheng look up to her to a certain extent, which is very much in line with and beneficial to her "law of attraction".

During this process, the two naturally had a lot of physical contact.

Logically speaking, Ma Shuning should have avoided physical contact as much as possible in the early stages of taking this route, but that's where her brilliance lies.

Any route is adjusted in a timely manner, just like the art of war, which values ​​adaptability.

Ma Shuning hadn't expected Su Cheng to fall off the horse unexpectedly; she hadn't even considered sharing a horse with Su Cheng today.

But since they were sharing a horse, Ma Shuning wouldn't resist physical contact and could interact with Su Cheng openly and naturally.

Touch what needs to be touched, stick what needs to be stuck.

Deliberately avoiding her will only make Su Cheng think less of her.

The two of them will be riding horses at the horse farm, not flirting and dating on horseback.

Especially when Su Cheng has not yet developed confidence and a sense of security with the horse, deliberately avoiding it will make Su Cheng feel that he is actually all alone on the horse and can only rely on himself, which will lead to the two becoming estranged.

In this way, the point of the two of them riding a horse together is lost, and it would have been better not to invite him in the first place.

It's unclear what Su Cheng was thinking, but the physical contact between the two evoked different emotions in the others present.

Jiang Shuyue, in particular, experienced significant emotional fluctuations and was distracted several times.

The horseman had no choice but to let Jiang Shuyue get off the horse and rest for a while to prevent any accidents.

how to say.

Jiang Shuyue felt a bit resentful.

She tried to turn her head away from watching the two men's movements and behavior on horseback, but she couldn't help wanting to look.

Jiang Shuyue could now vaguely understand what it felt like to be a victim in NTR anime.

So sad!
But the more she was tormented, the more she couldn't help but watch Su Cheng and Ma Shuning, and the more she watched, the more tormented she became.

Jiang Shuyue even suspected that she had a submissive constitution.

Su Cheng demoted her, but she didn't hate Su Cheng at all.

But now that Su Cheng and Ma Shuning are riding horses together, Jiang Shuyue feels a surge of resentment.

Su Cheng didn't actually refuse. Strangely, she didn't hate Su Cheng that much. She just felt that Ma Shuning was a bit scheming, and that feeling was mainly focused on Ma Shuning.

Tang Li looked on with envy. He envied Su Cheng for being able to ride a horse with the gambling king's daughter; it was just too ambiguous!

Zhang Yangwen showed no particular emotion; he was fully focused on his equestrian training.

Because he had some basic skills from childhood, he picked it up the fastest of all, and could already control the horse independently without the instructor's help. Occasionally, he would accelerate and sprint, enjoying the feeling of being on horseback, and sometimes even making a splash. Zhang Yangwen himself was surprised at how quickly he had learned; the last time he rode a horse was probably in elementary school, and he hadn't forgotten any of those things.

Is this what it means to learn to ride a bicycle and still remember how to ride it even after not riding for more than ten years?

Compared to Zhang Yangwen, Su Cheng wasn't particularly interested in equestrianism.

Su Cheng knew why she had come today, not to play around at the horse farm.

Ever since falling off a horse, Su Cheng has lost interest in horseback riding.

Oh shit.

He shouldn't participate in such a dangerous sport!
If Ma Shuning hadn't pulled him onto the horse, Su Cheng would have been watching them play in the nearby rest area.

He still has trillions of dollars in assets to inherit.

Never mind riding a horse.

Su Cheng wouldn't participate in any sport or entertainment activity that involved even a hint of danger, such as bungee jumping, surfing, or drop towers. She also wouldn't ride roller coasters.

After enduring so much hardship under Deng Xiaoping, what if you accidentally fall and get a concussion? In severe cases, you might become a vegetable, like Zhang Shiyuan, lying in bed with bedsores all over your body.
Not worth the candle.

But I'd rather not say it.

When Su Cheng was on horseback, she could indeed feel Ma Shuning's soft and delicate body.

While the others were still playing in various corners of the stable, the two had already returned to the rest area, and the stable master led the cold-blooded draft horse away to drink water and rest.

Ma Shuning ordered two glasses of orange juice.

"President Su, you seem to learn very quickly; you have a talent."

Talent my ass.

He almost fell to his death.

"It's all thanks to Mr. Ma's excellent teaching."

"No need to call me President Ma, just call me Shu Ning in private."

"it is good."

Ma Shuning picked up her glass, took a sip of orange juice as usual, and smiled as she looked at Su Cheng, taking the initiative to ask about the investment: "How have you been these past few days? Have you come up with any direction yet?"

"I've roughly decided on a direction. I think the tea beverage sector in mainland China is a good place to invest."

"Oh? Tea drinks? Like milk tea or coffee?"

"To be precise, it's a new type of tea drink."

Ma Shuning countered Su Cheng's question: "Isn't this field highly homogenized?"

Ok?
This one sentence gave Su Cheng a new understanding of Ma Shuning.

"It seems you have some knowledge of the tea beverage industry."

"I have a little bit of research, but it's definitely not comparable to what President Su has done."

The tea beverage industry does indeed suffer from severe product homogenization.

Cheese strawberry and mango pomelo sago have become standard offerings in various milk tea shops. You can drink mango pomelo sago no matter which shop you go to, and the innovation has been quickly copied.

It's not just a matter of homogenization; there are many pitfalls in the tea beverage industry.

Franchising is also a potential pitfall.

Many brands have closed stores on a large scale due to losses suffered by their franchisees.

There is a certain amount of capital bubble in this sector.

Nayuki's Tea's stock price fell below its IPO price on its first day of trading, indicating that the profitability of individual stores is fragile, with a net profit of only 0.2% per store.

But Su Cheng still believes this is a field worth investing in.

Heytea is expanding nationwide this year.

Nayuki Tea received its Series A+ funding this year.

Mixue Ice Cream's expansion into lower-tier cities has been explosive.

Su Cheng would describe it as: a new type of tea drink.

Simply put, it's about: social space + visually appealing design + uniquely flavored products.

"This is much more reliable than the shared bikes that Mr. Ma Ru mentioned."

"ofo's cash-burning strategy to seize market share led to a broken capital chain, while Mixue relied on two-yuan ice cream to support its 10,000 stores."

If franchisees suffer losses and have to close their stores, then Su Cheng will stop franchising and only operate directly-owned stores.

Su Cheng briefly introduced Tang Li's C'est La Vie to Ma Shuning.

Homogenization is not a problem in the coffee industry. Even if a shop doesn't serve lattes and Americanos, each brand can still do very well.

Tang Li's innovative abilities are indeed quite impressive.

Su Cheng suggested, "We can change locations later and go to a coffee shop to have Tang Li make a few drinks for us to try."

Ma Shuning was puzzled: "He also has a store in Australia? I've never heard of this brand before."

“We don’t have any stores in Australia. Currently, C’est La Vie only has two stores in Keong Chau. We rented a cafe for a day and used their equipment.”

"Oh, you're all prepared, then let's go over there later, I'm really interested too."

Jiang Shuyue and Zhang Yangwen were quite perceptive. After Su Cheng and Ma Shuning dismounted, they were already making preparations to leave, and they stayed in the vicinity of the rest hall with Master Ma.

Tang Li was different; he was having a great time and was even moving around at the other end of the horse farm.

Jiang Shuyue waved at Tang Li, but he didn't notice her. Helpless, Jiang Shuyue ran to Tang Li's side to remind him, "Mr. Tang, we should go."

Tang Li then remembered that he had other things to do today: "Oh, okay."

Jiang Shuyue saw that Tang Li still seemed reluctant to leave the horse farm and didn't know what to say.

If she were Ma Shuning, she definitely wouldn't do business with Tang Li.

This attitude alone is unacceptable...

The group showered and changed clothes in the locker room before returning to the company's Alphard minivan.

They and Ma Shuning rode in two different cars; she rode in a Rolls-Royce, which was much more luxurious than the Geely Emgrand.

Tang Li then remembered to say to Su Cheng, "Um, President Su, there's something I might need to tell you first."

All three of them frowned simultaneously.

Su Cheng pressed on urgently, "What's going on?"

"The coffee shop may have some financial problems."

What the hell?

Are there financial problems?

Why didn't you say so beforehand?!

"I forgot, and nobody asked me."

Tang Li's answer left the three of them speechless... pretty speechless, right?

Su Cheng didn't ask because C'est La Vie was profitable every month, so what financial problems could it possibly have?

"There's a slight loss on paper."

Su Cheng: ???
in.

That's spot on!

Tang Li is still the same Tang Li that Su Cheng knows.

(End of this chapter)