The Post-Apocalyptic Big Farm Owner

Chapter 7: Entering the City (Part 1)

Li Ba could swear he’d never eaten such delicious fruit in his life—or rather, such a delicious melon. The green jade melons grown in his bracelet’s storage space were large, sweet, crisp, and delicious—so addictive that one simply couldn’t stop eating them. The melon, weighing about fifteen or sixteen jin, was quickly devoured by him and Yan'er. The two—one big, one small—lay on the wooden bed, their bellies so full they were round as balls, unable to move. “That was amazing…” Ever since that damned apocalypse struck, this was the first time Li Ba had ever eaten his fill. Rubbing his bulging belly, his chubby face radiated pure contentment. With the mysterious space at his disposal, he would never have to worry about going hungry again. Next, he urgently needed to address the issue of safety. The refugee camp was too chaotic and the conditions too harsh—it was simply unfit for living. Therefore, if he wanted to find a stable and peaceful life in this post-apocalyptic world, he had to head into the city. “Into the city! I absolutely must get into the city!” Li Ba lay on his bed, a gleam of determination flashing in his small eyes. With the mysterious space, he could grow and harvest plenty of food; getting into the city shouldn’t be a problem. According to the rules of the Xibu settlement, refugees could obtain the right to live in the city as long as they turned in a certain amount of supplies. Li Ba wasn’t sure exactly how much he needed to turn in; he had never gone out to search for supplies and knew nothing about it. “I’ll have to head over to the North Gate to check things out and get a better understanding of the situation.” Since the apocalypse struck, the weather seemed to have been affected—scant rain, drought, and a blazing sun hanging high in the sky. It took no more than two hours for the clothes hanging outside to dry completely. After getting dressed, Li Ba prepared to take Yan'er for a stroll over to the North Gate to scout the situation. As for manual labor, thanks to the giant green jade melons grown in his mysterious space, he had long since given that up. As they were leaving, Yan'er scooped up a handful of dust from the ground and smeared it all over her little face. Li Ba watched her and sighed inwardly. In peaceful times, this little girl would surely be basking in the care and affection of her elders, but now, she had no choice but to fend for herself. Li Ba didn’t stop her; perhaps by dirtying her own face, the little girl might avoid some trouble. The two figures—one big, one small—made their way toward the north gate of the settlement. Glancing up at the sky, it was around nine o’clock. The laborers at the refugee camp had long since gone to work, leaving behind only the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. Walking along the stench-filled road, Li Ba vowed to himself that he would leave this damned refugee camp and give Yan'er a better life. When they reached the North Gate, the area around it was bustling with activity—pedestrians and cars, the constant roar of engines, and a steady stream of people filing in and out. Gazing at the people in camouflage uniforms holding firearms inside the vehicles, Li Ba couldn’t help but let a look of envy show on his plump face. Not all of these people were Armed Police officers; quite a few had originally been civilians. After the apocalypse struck, they took up arms to fight the zombies, and those who survived were all highly capable fighters. Some had aligned themselves with the authorities, while others had formed their own teams to hunt zombies and scavenge for supplies. Although they lived a life on the edge, it was undoubtedly much more comfortable than that of the people in the refugee camp. Going out to hunt zombies and search for supplies—that was a job Li Ba had no desire to do. With his mysterious storage space, he was confident that as soon as he made it into the city, it wouldn’t take long before he and Yan'er could start living a good life. To the left of the city gate stood a row of makeshift wooden shacks. A crowd had gathered there, mostly refugees. As Li Ba walked past with Yan'er, he glanced over and noticed a blackboard set up in front of the shacks. It was covered with the names of various supplies, along with the quantities required as payment for entry into the city. Three hundred jin of grain! That was the fee required to enter the city: three hundred jin of grain per person. “Grain” was a general term and also served as the standard for measuring the value of goods. The blackboard was extremely detailed, listing a wide variety of items that covered almost all daily necessities. The exchange rates for grain varied; for example, one jin of meat was equivalent to ten jin of grain. Live poultry and livestock required as many as several dozen jin of grain per jin. Li Ba scanned the list line by line. Suddenly, his plump face twitched, and he couldn’t help but reveal a look of delight. The blackboard stated clearly that fruit could be exchanged for grain at the same rate as meat—one jin for ten jin. There was also a note beside it: if anyone could gather edible mutant fruit from the mountains, and it passed inspection, one jin could be exchanged for thirty jin of grain. Mutated fruit! He believed these were fruits that had mutated due to the influence of this damned apocalypse. Their value was actually higher than that of meat, which took Li Ba completely by surprise. He surmised that the extra-large green jade melons grown in the mysterious space—judging by both their appearance and taste—must belong to the category of mutated fruits; otherwise, how could an ordinary melon weigh over ten jin! If the jade-green melons grown in the mysterious space were indeed mutant fruits, then a single large melon would be worth nearly five hundred jin of grain. Just two of those melons would be enough to secure entry into the city for him and Yan'er—with plenty to spare. Li Ba was overjoyed. He took Yan'er's little hand and quietly slipped out of the crowd. “Little one, stay right here and don’t wander off. Uncle has something to take care of—I’ll be back soon!” Li Ba said in a hushed voice. He was now bursting with impatience to find out the value of the giant Green Jade Melon he’d grown. To avoid arousing Yan'er’s suspicion, he had to come up with a plausible excuse to leave the refugee camp and take a stroll around the neighborhood—only then could he bring out the Green Jade Melon in broad daylight. Yan'er, however, didn’t see it that way. Her big eyes were filled with suspicion and pleading as she tugged at the hem of Li Ba’s shirt, refusing to let go. “Silly girl!” Li Ba immediately realized what was going on and ruffled her little head. “Uncle won’t leave you behind. Even if I die, I’ll die right here with you.” Seeing the sincere emotion etched across his round face, Yan'er unconsciously let go of his sleeve. “Wait for me.” Li Ba smiled as he pinched the little girl’s cheek, then turned and jogged away. He ran back to his home in the refugee camp in one go, dug out a plastic bag from inside, then left the camp and wandered around a nearby safe area. By the time he returned, the plastic bag slung over his shoulder now held four more green jade melons. Unsure whether the green jade melons he’d grown were a mutated variety, he’d decided to bring a few extra. Even if they were ordinary fruit, there should be enough to secure entry into the city for both him and Yan'er. Carrying the melons, which weighed sixty to seventy jin, Li Ba moved swiftly, jogging toward the city gate. Not wanting to keep the little girl waiting, he unconsciously picked up the pace. Despite his eighty-five kilograms plus the sixty to seventy jin load, it didn’t slow him down in the slightest—he was actually running faster than he ever had in a 100-meter dash! Li Ba didn’t notice this unusual performance. His mind was completely focused on getting into the city; he paid no attention to anything else. When he reached the city gate, he could see Yan'er from a distance, peeking out and looking around. As soon as she spotted Li Ba approaching, she let out a cheer and ran to meet him. “Come on, Uncle will take you into town!” Li Ba stopped in his tracks—not the slightest bit flushed or out of breath—patted the bag slung over his shoulder, and beckoned Yan'er to follow him as he strode forward. Before the apocalypse, Luo Jianguo had been a mid-level official at the Liyang County Materials Bureau. When the apocalypse struck, he evacuated with a local Armed Police unit stationed there and arrived in Xibu. He was a man of integrity, and after the Xibu settlement was established, he was appointed deputy director of the Materials Management Office, overseeing outer city affairs. Whenever he saw those emaciated, foul-smelling refugees crowding around his desk, asking this and that, he felt not the slightest bit of disgust. Instead, he patiently explained the settlement’s policies to them, fulfilling his duties to the letter—a behavior that earned him widespread praise. Deep down, he sympathized with the refugees outside the settlement, but he also understood the settlement’s predicament: supplies were limited, and there simply wasn’t enough to support so many people. He could only do his best to offer the refugees whatever help he could. “Old man, this radio is worth no more than three liang of grain. If you want to go into town… that’s nowhere near enough!” Luo Jianguo fiddled with the radio in his hands and said apologetically to the filthy old man standing before him. Before the apocalypse, this radio might have been worth a few dozen yuan, but in this post-apocalyptic world, it was nothing but junk. Survivors couldn’t even fill their stomachs—who would have the heart to listen to the radio? Besides, with the apocalypse upon them, all communications had been cut off—even if they wanted to listen to the radio, they couldn’t pick up a signal. “Sir, I know this thing isn’t worth much. I wasn’t planning on going into town—I just wanted to trade it for some extra food,” the old man said with a trembling voice. He’d risked his life traveling to a nearby village just for this radio, all to get a little more food to fill his stomach. “At my age, there’s nothing to regret if I die. I just want… to die with a full stomach!” Upon hearing this, Luo Jianguo nodded, his expression growing somber, and said to his colleague standing nearby, “Xiao Li, give the old man half a jin of grain.” The settlement had strict regulations; giving even two liang more than allowed could very well result in a deduction from his salary. “Thank you, sir. The old man took the half-jin of grain, tears of gratitude streaming down his face, and turned to leave, his steps unsteady. This half-jin of grain—a mixture of broken rice and corn—would be enough to make a pot of porridge back home, enough to last him two days. As he watched the old man walk away, he noticed that many other refugees were staring at him with the hungry eyes of wolves. Luo Jianguo let out a soft sigh. If he was unlucky, the old man might not even have time to finish cooking the porridge before his food ended up in someone else’s hands. This is the apocalypse! An apocalypse where the weak are devoured by the strong! Among the refugees before him, how many could truly produce enough supplies to qualify for entry into the city? Without firearms, knives, or significant military strength, if they ventured out to search for supplies, they would be devoured by zombies or killed by mutated beasts—that was the ultimate fate awaiting most of them.