Chapter 92

Inside the viewing gallery, staffers from Shanmu Farm were massaging their dogs .

Fang Zhao and Wu Yi hung out in the official viewing gallery . The competition venue was too big . They could never take in the entirety of the grounds . Some viewers used binoculars, whereas others who were lazier were ensconced in their chairs, watching the live broadcast .

"We're third up today . It's a decent position . Relax, Master Su . Don't worry . We'll keep you updated through your earpiece," Wu Yi said . "Master Su, you can warm up with the dogs right now . Even roaming around or jumping up and down will do . It will help calm nerves and prevent your muscles from stiffening . Just follow your routine in practice . We should be able to post a time of under 7 minutes . "

Zuo Yu glanced at Wu Yi then at Fang Zhao before dropping his head . Even if they managed a sub-7 minute performance, a first-place finish would likely require a time 5 minutes or less . If they didn't place first, then Fang Zhao's 10 million dollar bet was gone .

The order of appearance for the eight teams from the eight farms had been determined in the morning by a draw of lots . The results of the betting would be announced after the competition . After Fang Zhao placed his bet, he started monitoring betting activity on this eastern regional contest online .

There was some discussion of the third team to appear, Dongshan Farm .

"Dongshan Farm? How come I haven't heard of it before? It's got 30-odd points already . "

"Dongshan Farm is what was known as Xishan Farm . There was a change of ownership, so the name changed . "

"Let me check who the owner is . Oh, it's a member of the Su family . And it's one of the Su kids . Who is this kid?"

"Isn't it Su Hou, the kid who was caught on camera by paparazzi a while back? Now he's buying farms?"

"I'm not worried about the farm being renamed or a change in ownership . All I care about is the dogs it's entered in the competition . I checked . Dongshan's lineup won't do . Apart from its A dog, the others don't look promising . And there's actually a tiny puppy . Ha—were they that short on talent that they had to draft a pet dog to beef up their numbers?"

Many folks noticed the list of dogs that Dongshan had entered . The last one was a curly-haired dog that stood out . These experienced dog watchers could tell right away that this was not a professional shepherd dog . They scrutinized its listed weight . Wow, it's that small?

"There's actually a team that fielded a pet dog to boost its numbers . "

From a Muzhou native's perspective, a pet dog was different from a work dog . In their eyes, a pet dog was a house plant pampered in a greenhouse . It was sissy, fragile, and served no practical purpose whatsoever, so when they spotted a small curly-haired dog on Dongshan Farm's roster, some folks completely lost interest .

"To be fair, Dongshan Farm's A dog isn't bad . It's a shame that . . . "

More often than not, the A dog was the lead dog . That was why it was the first dog that fans paid attention to . They evaluated the entire team, its herding patterns and so on based on the strength of the A dog . But Dongshan Farm's unprofessional lineup on paper disappointed many .

Apart from the official betting pool, other private companies organized their own pools, but their bets were capped at 1 million . After Wu Yi placed an official bet, he bet through a private platform as well .

Unlike the official pool, the private platform offered only one type of bet—first place .

Different odds were listed for the eight teams . Dongshan Farm was the least favored with the lowest odds .

"5 . 4? That iss to say, if we place first, I'll receive 5 . 4 times the amount I bet?" Zuo Yu was going to enter the official pool like Fang Zhao, but when he noticed Wu Yi betting on a private platform, he switched over as well . They were only betting on themselves—might as well pick the platform with the bigger payout .

Zuo Yu bought 10,000 entries in the private pool for a total sum of 50,000 dollars .

"Boss, you're not going to place a heavier bet?" Zuo Yu asked casually . Lo and behold, Fang Zhao placed another 1 million .

By the time betting had ended on all platforms, final preparations were underway at the competition venue . Workers inspected the pasture, a scene that was shown in the live broadcast to highlight the fact that organizers conducted a meticulous sweep . There would be no cheating .

When the first team performed, Su Hou started jogging in circles, but the warm-up didn't alleviate his nerves, instead aggravating his anxiety . Every time he stopped, he would get antsy and check the timer obsessively .

"Six minutes and 51 seconds! The first team finished with a final result of 6 minutes and 51 seconds . That's a decent time . " The commentator evaluated the performance of the first team of dogs .

The first team of shepherd dogs wasn't fast, but they didn't make any big mistakes . Posting a sub-7 minute time was a decent showing . At least they wouldn't finish last .

By the time the second team was competing, Su Hou had to lead his dogs out into the field . Wu Yi followed and returned soon . He kept wiping the sweat on his forehead . He was a picture of calm just now, but this was his first competition as a contestant . While the team was named after Dongshan Farm, six of the dogs were from his farm . No wonder he was so nervous .

By the time Wu Yi returned, the second team had completed its routine . He checked the time on the big screen: 6 minutes and 43 seconds .

Two consecutive teams posting times under 7 minutes put quite a bit of pressure on the third team . A time of 6 minutes or so wasn't stellar, but it wasn't bad either . Wu Yi was getting more and more nervous . He didn't expect his dogs to be spectacular—just as long as they could herd all the sheep into the pen . After all, it was their first contest . Who knew what could go wrong?

Wu Yi rummaged through his pockets impatiently . He couldn't find anything . He was so tense when he left the farm he forgot to stuff straw in his pockets . Now he couldn't fight his jitters by chewing on a piece of straw . He glanced to his side instead . "Fang Zhao, aren't you worried?"

"I am . "

"I couldn't tell . You seem quite calm . What are you jotting down? Tactical notes?" Wu Yi approached and craned his neck, then went silent .

The piece of paper was covered with scribblings that Wu Yi couldn't decipher—Fang-style musical notations .

Wu Yi was about to say something when he heard Zuo Yu comment: "We're up . "

On the big screen, the camera paused on the instructor's podium . Su Hou was very tight . He kept on mumbling .

"Little Mr . Su is probably memorizing his gestures, hehe . " The commentator followed with a knowing laugh . "As many people know, Little Mr . Su bought was used to be Xishan Farm and renamed it Dongshan Farm . The shepherd dogs he entered aren't the ones from Xishan Farm that people know so well . These are all new faces . Oh, and there's a small pet dog on their team . Little Mr . Su doesn't seem that confident either, but that's understandable . Debutant's jitters . OK, let's get back to the competition . The countdown has started . Let's see what kind of result this new team of dogs led by Little Mr . Su can manage . "

Tick, tick, tick .

The sound of the countdown clock reverberated through the field .

"Off we go!"

One hundred sheep rushed into the field, and the seven dogs emerged from passageways on their two flanks .

"Off we go! As we can see, the dogs from the third team, Dongshan Farm, have adopted a circular approach . Pay attention to how they cluster the sheep . This positioning . . . That's not right . Dog A doesn't seem to be in the right position . " The passionate commentator became confused . "Is Dongshan Farm switching tactics?"

Inside the closed viewing gallery, Wu Yi was watching in a pseudo-praying position . He kept repeating in his head—stay in position, stay in position!

But Wu Yi was rudely interrupted by the menacing voice of the commentator .

"It's Dog B . Dog B is in the wrong position . It's gone down the wrong flank . It seems a bit nervous . It's probably realized its mistake and is now slowing down . Let's see how Little Mr . Su adjusts . "

Wu Yi slapped himself in the face . He couldn't watch any more . Dog B? Little Lucky? Little Lucky was typically such a steady performer .

It was the dogs' first shepherding competition . The new surroundings were bound to take some getting used to and would lead to discomfort . But if even Little Lucky was making mistakes, the others were probably faring worse .

Wu Yi might have been quite talkative under normal circumstances, but at a time like this, he was at a loss . His head was spinning . He couldn't verbalize his thoughts . He turned his head toward Fang Zhao, who had already picked up his walkie-talkie .

The commentator continued, "Su Hou has asked to intervene . But it's a bit too late . The sheep are dispersing again . One group of sheep is peeling away from the main group . This is what happens when a dog attacks the wrong flank . "

The commentator was delighted by the rare sight of a sheep cluster gone astray . He sounded like he wanted to jump . "We're losing sheep! Let's see what Little Mr . Su signals to Dog B and if Dog B can return to the right position . Wait . . . " Halfway through his spiel, Su Hou's projection appeared not in front of Dog B but rather Dog G .

Dog G?

The curly-haired one?

Su Hou made a hand gesture . He was so nervous he got it wrong initially but quickly corrected himself . Following Fang Zhao's instructions, he signaled Curly Hair to round up the sheep .

When he was done, Su Hou didn't look very confident .

"Little Mr . Su's signal is to round up the sheep . Unbelievable . He actually signaled a little pet dog to lead the roundup . I think he made the wrong hand gesture . " The commentator was about to elaborate when he saw Curly Hair dash like the wind .

"Such amazing speed! Great coverage! But it's too far from the sheep . It can't accomplish the task . Woah, the sheep are converging . The lost sheep are returning to the fold . "

The commentator wiped away his sweat . It felt like he had not been able to utter a complete sentence since the third team had taken off . He had to switch gears mid-sentence every time .

On the field, the small cluster of sheep that had left the main group like a wayward branch veered back toward the core group on a parabolic trajectory .

"Setting up a blockade . The sheep have converged . Impressive—a tiny dog actually set up the blockade for the third team . "

The commentator stopped using the word "pet . "