"The beef cattle in this exhibition hall belong to my friend's farm. Please support him. Thank you!"
As another song and dance concluded, Selena Gomez's voice could be heard from outside. The people behind her packed up their instruments and followed her into the exhibition hall.
As soon as they entered, Jiang Hai awkwardly approached them.
"Uh, sorry for the trouble. Please, have a drink," Jiang Hai said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"It's fine. We're friends, right? You helped me before, don't you remember?" Selena smiled as she took the drink Jiang Hai handed her. She twisted off the bottle cap and took a sip, looking a little tired after performing several songs.
"Uh, hehe..." Jiang Hai was even more embarrassed after hearing her words. They had never even exchanged a phone call, and they'd only met once. Calling them friends seemed a bit far-fetched!
At that moment, Selena's performance had attracted a large crowd, and although many people left once she did, a lot of others came in, curious about the connection between their boss and Selena Gomez. Despite the curiosity, Robbins and the others focused on their mission and immediately started introducing the cattle to the newcomers.
Thanks to this, the people who entered the exhibition hall didn't have time to bother Selena Gomez.
Selena looked at Jiang Hai and asked, "By the way, I think your location is pretty good. Why are there so few people?"
"Uh, I didn't prepare anything," Jiang Hai said helplessly.
"I didn't realize you were such a rich man, haha. By the way, let me introduce you. This is Zede, DJ Zede. He's very famous in the United States. The songs he's produced and written lyrics for have topped the charts in 26 countries. He's also the producer of my latest album."
Selena was trying to ease Jiang Hai's embarrassment. Although they weren't very familiar with each other, she had helped him out because of Pra Walton's request and because she felt she owed him a favor from the past.
After all, Jiang Hai had helped her vent some frustration. Later, she introduced him to Pra Walton, intending to help him open up his market. But now it seemed like Jiang Hai was either overly confident or lacked social experience.
Additionally, they were a bit tired from practice and decided to visit for a break.
"Hello." Jiang Hai extended his hand to the handsome man.
"Hello." Zede, who seemed indifferent at first, reluctantly shook Jiang Hai's hand. While musicians like him had unique personalities, they were still professional enough not to make things awkward.
Of course, Zede didn't have a high opinion of Jiang Hai. There were two main reasons for this. First, He was a mixed-race person of Soviet Russian and German descent. Neither of these countries had been particularly friendly to China. Secondly, Zede assumed that Jiang Hai was interested in Selena, viewing him as a rival.
Zede had been working with Selena for two months, and despite his efforts, he had never been able to invite her to dinner alone, always having to bring along the entire orchestra. This had caused some resentment toward Jiang Hai.
After the handshake, Zede didn't say anything more to Jiang Hai. He seemed more interested in speaking with Selena, but their conversation was limited to the beef cattle exhibition. After a while, they ran out of things to talk about.
Fortunately, Bell Lester excitedly approached.
"Boss, we made it to the top 16!" he said, holding up his phone to show Jiang Hai.
Despite the distractions outside—balloons, TVs, and free drinks—having a celebrity like Selena Gomez helping out had a great impact. Soon enough, all fifteen of Jiang Hai's cattle had received votes.
The one with the most votes was the one chosen by Zhang Lao and Pra Walton. It had reached 736 votes and was still rising rapidly, putting it in the top 16 and quickly heading toward the top 10.
While the other cows didn't receive as many votes, they were also gaining traction. Many of the visitors who initially hadn't come to see Jiang Hai's cattle were now impressed by them.
Despite the smell of grass and a slight cow odor, the scent was faint, and people found it manageable without a mask. The cattle themselves were strong and healthy, and while nothing stood out at first glance, closer inspection revealed each cow to be special.
Most visitors to the exhibition were amateurs, but they could still tell the difference between good and bad cattle. From their perspective, Jiang Hai's cows were far superior to those from Carlett Company.
"Manager, that guy's cattle are in the top 16," a young man whispered to his manager, glancing over at Jiang Hai's popular exhibition hall.
"Damn, I didn't expect him to know Selena Gomez. I underestimated him," the manager muttered, narrowing his eyes. "I thought he was just another newcomer with no ability, but now it seems like he's more than I thought."
Despite his surprise, the manager wasn't overly concerned. "It doesn't matter if he makes it to the semi-finals. He only has 20,000 cows. We have the most elite cattle, handpicked from 2 million. The base numbers are different, and the impact will be too. Let him enjoy his success for now."
The manager sighed, realizing that Jiang Hai had managed to unsettle him, but he quickly regained his composure.
By the time Selena Gomez and her crew left, the crowd in Jiang Hai's exhibition hall had diminished by more than half. But thanks to the recent surge in popularity, the number of votes for his cattle kept increasing.
Jiang Hai remained confident in his cattle. His only worry was not making it past the first day. But once he passed that hurdle and reached the second day—when popularity no longer mattered—he knew his cattle had a strong chance.
As the day came to a close, the official rankings were posted on the New York Beef Show website.
The top spot went to Suzuki Group's 5A-level beef cattle, with 17,556 votes.
Jiang Hai's old rival, Carlett Company's Belgian Blue Bull, took second place with 9,788 votes. Although its muscle definition was impressive, experts predicted it wouldn't fare well in the long run due to the excessive fat under its marble-patterned skin.
Jiang Hai's cattle had two cows selected for the semi-finals, one ranked 11th and the other 15th, which was a huge accomplishment.
To be continued...