The Post-Apocalyptic Big Farm Owner

Chapter 13: Cultivation Experiment

Stumbling back home, he climbed into bed. His mouth feeling dry, Li Ba downed a few bottles of spring water from his spatial pocket and drifted off into a drowsy sleep. Early the next morning, Li Ba was roused by a knock on the door. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he called out impatiently, “Who is it?” “Uncle, time to get up for breakfast,” Yan'er’s voice came from outside the door. “Okay, go ahead. I’ll be right there.” Most of Li Ba’s sleepiness had vanished. He sat up, but instead of rushing to get dressed, he thought back on last night’s wild escapade. He looked down and saw that his little brother was all red and swollen—clearly the result of overdoing it. “A thousand jin of grain coupons—you slut, you’ve got a heart of stone!” Li Ba cursed through gritted teeth. Thinking back now, it was highly likely that the slut had set him up last night. After that night, he’d lost both money and health—the losses were devastating. The IOU was signed; that woman wasn’t someone to mess with, so trying to renege on the debt was out of the question. Li Ba began to worry about how he’d pay it back. Spotting the tattoo on his left wrist, he didn’t hesitate. He immediately focused his mind, and with a “whoosh,” his consciousness entered the bracelet’s spatial realm. A quick glance left Li Ba with mixed feelings. The plot of land inside the space was truly extraordinary—after just two waterings and a single night, all the experimental grain seeds had ripened. However, they had all mutated. The heavy rice ears bore grains each as large as a peanut. The sorghum had turned into small trees over three meters tall. The corn cobs, true to their name, were each half a meter long, resembling giant mallets. Even the soybeans he’d planted had pods as thick as bananas, with plump beans that were likely as big as walnuts. Needless to say, the mung beans, adzuki beans, and sweet potatoes had all mutated as well. A plot of land in front of the Tower had one half piled high with previously harvested melons and their vines. The other half was now covered with lush, verdant crops, thriving beautifully and filling the air with the fresh scent of plants. Such a bountiful harvest clearly demonstrated the wonder of the bracelet’s spatial pocket—a delightful surprise. But for Li Ba, his top priority was to grow ordinary grain crops. Although these mutated crops were highly valuable, they were a hot potato for him. It was fine to eat them himself, but selling them on the market would entail considerable risk. “What a headache!” Li Ba rubbed his temples. Deciding to put that aside for now, his consciousness quickly harvested all the mature crops and arranged them neatly. Then he went to the bathroom, took off his clothes, and turned on the showerhead to wash up. For some reason, when he woke up this morning, there was another layer of grime on his body. Although there wasn’t as much as yesterday, it still smelled unpleasant. Now that he had a place to stay, Li Ba naturally wanted to wash up thoroughly and keep himself presentable. After his shower, he changed into clean clothes and felt much more refreshed. Li Ba walked out of his room and headed straight for breakfast. When he arrived, the table at the very back of the restaurant—where they usually ate together—was set with plain congee, large steamed buns, and two kinds of pickles. All four women were there, already seated around the table and eating. Today, Zhou Yan was dressed very simply, wearing a loose apron with her hair tied back and no makeup—a complete contrast to the alluring, sexy temptress from last night. The twin sisters were the same: white shirts and jeans, looking innocent and cute, just like the girls next door. “A bunch of deadly temptresses!” Li Ba muttered to himself. It was precisely because he’d been blinded by these vixens’ appearances that he’d bled himself dry last night, leaving him deep in debt—from the waist down and beyond. “Eat up.” Zhou Yan acted like a model housewife, scooping some plain rice porridge for Li Ba and bringing it to him. Without so much as a “thank you,” Li Ba buried his head in his bowl and began eating in silence. After a few spoonfuls, he suddenly felt someone’s gaze on him. He looked up to see Yan'er’s big eyes fixed intently on him. Li Ba furrowed his brow. “Kid, why are you staring at me instead of eating?” “Uncle, are you feeling unwell? Or did you not sleep well last night? Why are your eyes so dark?” Yan'er’s face was full of concern. Ever since her grandfather passed away, Uncle Li had been her closest relative. Li Ba was mortified. These dark circles under his eyes… did she really need to ask? It was all those demons’ fault! Snort! Hearing Yan'er’s concerned words, the twin sisters had already been biting their lips to stifle their laughter. Now, seeing Li Ba’s utterly pathetic and frustrated expression, they could no longer hold back. They burst into fits of laughter, shaking so hard they nearly passed out. Last night, Li Ba had been in full swing, jerking off seven times—and they’d all witnessed it firsthand. Zhou Yan was also beaming with amusement. “What a disgrace…” Thinking of his own embarrassing behavior last night, coupled with the blatant mockery he was now facing, Li Ba wished the ground would swallow him whole. His chubby face flushed alternately red and pale, and with his appetite completely gone, he tossed aside his bowl and stormed out. “I’m not eating anymore!” Acting like a sulking child, he tossed out that line before leaving. As a result, it only sparked even more raucous laughter. After Li Ba left, Yan'er blinked her big eyes, looking a little aggrieved, and asked Zhang Jie, “Sister Jie, my uncle seems upset. Did I say something wrong?” Everyone, including Zhou Yan, was very fond of Yan'er. Zhang Jie ruffled her little head and said with a smile, “You didn’t say anything wrong, Yan'er. It’s all your uncle’s fault—he’s just not a good person… I really can’t figure it out—how could such a sleazy, lecherous man have a niece as pretty and adorable as you!” “Don’t say bad things about Uncle Li.” Yan'er suddenly stood up, her little face stern, and shouted at Zhang Jie. The little girl’s intense reaction clearly took the three women by surprise; they were all a bit startled. “Let’s eat! Stop talking about this!” Zhou Yan shot Zhang Jie a glare. Seeing that Yan'er’s eyes were red-rimmed and she looked on the verge of tears, Zhou Yan felt a surge of tenderness. She stood up, wrapped her arms around Yan'er, and said, “Your two older sisters were just joking with you—don’t take it seriously.” After some comforting, the little girl finally calmed down. She’d lost her appetite, so she ate just a little before wanting to go back. “Yan'er, your Uncle Li… isn’t he your real uncle?” Zhou Yan was very curious. Ever since Yan'er had called him “Uncle Li” a moment ago, she had keenly sensed something was off, which was why she asked. Yan'er first shook her head, then nodded, leaving Zhou Yan puzzled as to what she meant. Yan'er had a very favorable impression of Zhou Yan, so after hesitating for a moment, she recounted how she had come to know Uncle Li. Ten minutes later. The little girl’s face was streaked with tears. Zhou Yan stood by, comforting her constantly. Meanwhile, the two sisters looked on in astonishment. “I never would’ve thought Li Ge was such a good guy!” Zhang Jie exclaimed. “He’s just a bit of a womanizer,” her younger sister, Zhang Ting, added. “All right, stop talking about it. Go get to work!” After Zhou Yan spoke, the sisters immediately went back to work. Zhou Yan held Yan'er in her arms, still comforting her. The little girl, her sad memories stirred, couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face. From what she said, Zhou Yan learned of Li Ba’s heroic act of coming to the rescue of the grandmother and granddaughter, and a hint of surprise flashed across her pretty face. In her mind, Li Ba had long been labeled as cowardly, sleazy, lecherous, and a fat slob—but she never imagined that such a despicable man could actually have a chivalrous side. In the post-apocalyptic world, that was a rare sight. “You really can’t judge a book by its cover…” Back home, Li Ba was seething with anger; the humiliation of being shamed by a woman was no pleasant experience. It took him quite a while to finally calm down. His top priority was to quickly cultivate suitable grain varieties—it wasn’t worth wasting his energy getting angry at those slutty women. His consciousness entered the bracelet’s storage space, harvesting the mutated crops inside and sorting them neatly. In the post-apocalyptic world, aside from the grains themselves, the stems and leaves of crops were also valuable. For example, sweet potato stems and leaves could be stir-fried and tasted excellent. Sorghum and corn stalks were rich in sap; chewing them gave a taste similar to sugarcane. Li Ba sorted and arranged all the mutated crops—fruits, branches, and stems alike. Within the bracelet’s space, the consciousness entity could easily handle this labor. After stacking and arranging everything, Li Ba selected a few wheat seeds and planted them in the ground at regular intervals. Once the wheat seeds were in the ground, they quickly took root, sprouted, and grew vigorously. At this point, Li Ba began to ponder. This plot of land within the bracelet’s space clearly had a growth-accelerating effect; combined with the spring water from the stone trough, it allowed plants to grow even faster. Experiments had proven that when this plot was used in conjunction with the spring water from the stone trough, all the plants grown there were mutated. Therefore, based on his analysis, the key factor was the spring water from the stone trough. This spring water had miraculous uses, such as healing wounds and staving off hunger, and it was highly likely the primary cause of the crops’ mutations. For this experiment, he decided to dilute the spring water in varying proportions to water the wheat seeds. He planted wheat seeds in four separate plots. In the first plot, he watered the seeds with spring water diluted at a ratio of 1:3. In the second plot, he used a 1:5 dilution. In the third plot, he used a 1:10 dilution. As for the fourth plot, he watered it directly with water from outside. At the same time, he took out paper and pen to carefully record the growth of the wheat seeds in each plot after watering. There was no doubt that the plot of land within the bracelet’s spatial pocket possessed the ability to accelerate plant growth. The spring water from the stone trough further amplified this effect. After being watered with the spring water diluted at different ratios, the wheat seeds grew at varying rates. The first plot grew the fastest; in about half an hour, the wheat seedlings had already sprouted to a length of thirty centimeters. The second plot grew slightly more slowly, with the seedlings reaching twenty-six or twenty-seven centimeters. At the third site, the wheat seedlings were only 20 centimeters tall. As for the fourth site, where the seeds were sown but not watered with any spring water from the stone trough, the wheat seedlings grew the slowest, reaching only 6 or 7 centimeters in height. Li Ba stood nearby, taking careful notes. An hour later, he watered the plants again. Then he stood by, observing them closely. Around noon, the consciousness entity sensed someone calling at the door from outside, so he left the bracelet’s space. Opening the door, he saw Yan'er standing timidly outside, her head bowed as she said, “Uncle, it’s time to eat.” Seeing her pitiful little expression, Li Ba knew full well that his action of slamming down his bowl and storming off that morning had likely caused this little girl to misunderstand him. He ruffled her hair and smiled, “Come on, let’s go eat.” No further words were needed; his cheerful smile was enough to dispel the gloom in Yan'er's heart.