The Post-Apocalyptic Big Farm Owner

Chapter 15: Xue’s Armor

and Equipment Shop Li Ba was indeed planning to leave the city. He had successfully grown ordinary crops in the bracelet’s storage space. Thanks to that magical soil, he could harvest a batch of grain in just three days. Though the quantity wasn’t large, he still needed to sell it. Once or twice wouldn’t be a problem, but if he—someone who never left the city—started selling grain regularly, it would surely arouse suspicion among those with ulterior motives. Therefore, he had to use leaving the city as a cover to “launder” the grain so he could sell it openly within the settlement. Rule Number Five of Post-Apocalyptic Survival: A single slip-up is enough to cost even the most cautious person their life, so one must act with caution! Caution! And more caution! Before leaving the city, Li Ba needed to buy some gear. He didn’t have a single half-liang of grain coupons in his pocket, so his only option was to sell some more mutated crops—or rather, mutated grain. Walking down the main street, Li Ba scanned his surroundings and found a quiet alley. He went in and came out quickly. By then, a bulging sack had appeared on his shoulder. Carrying the sack, Li Ba headed straight for the farmers’ market. Upon arriving, he didn’t rush to the shops that bought various supplies but instead began to wander around. For this second sale, the value of the mutated grain should be roughly the same as that of the mutated fruit, so he had to proceed with caution. Dressed in a black trench coat, wearing leather boots, sporting a shaved head, and with a cigarette hanging crookedly from the corner of his mouth, Li Ba didn’t look like a good guy from any angle. After wandering around for a while, he spotted the young man who had been selling cigarettes at a stall a few days earlier and immediately walked over. “Hey, business’s looking good today!” He greeted him and casually handed him a cigarette. The young man took it and recognized it as “Soft Honghe”—a brand that had cost six yuan a pack before the apocalypse. He remembered that this bald-headed man who’d just struck up a conversation with him had bought an entire carton of Honghe cigarettes from him just a few days ago. “Hey, it’s you.” The guy was quite talkative; he lit up and started chatting with Li Ba. “Hey, man, looking at you, you’re here to sell, right?” The other guy spotted the big bag Li Ba was carrying and asked with a grin. But his wording was a bit crude—selling stuff, or whatever it was. Just saying the word “sell” could easily lead to misunderstandings. “Just picked up a few things outside the city—brought them here to make a little cash!” Li Ba shrugged, sounding casual. “Judging by your demeanor, you’re definitely a pro at scouring for supplies.” The young man, named Yang Jian, began chatting with Li Ba about the ins and outs of business. “You look like a newcomer, so you must’ve just arrived in town. If the stuff you’ve got is just small trinkets, you can find any empty stall at the market to sell them—how much you make is all up to your own skills, and you’ll just have to pay a small management fee afterward.” “If it’s really good stuff, though, I’ll give you some advice: find a reputable shop to sell it to. You won’t get shortchanged on the price, and you won’t get into trouble.” ” At this point, Yang Jian glanced around. Seeing no one passing by, he lowered his voice and added, “The farmers’ market is Dragon Lord’s turf. He’s got all sorts of people under his wing—every walk of life. If they spot something good in the market, they’ll pull some tricks to make you sell it for a song. That’s the worst kind of deal!” Li Ba nodded thoughtfully after hearing this and said gratefully, “Thanks, buddy.” Afterward, Yang Jian enthusiastically recommended a few well-regarded shops to Li Ba. Having achieved his goal, Li Ba said his goodbyes and turned to leave. Following Yang Jian’s advice, Li Ba arrived at the entrance of a shop called Xue’s Armor and Weapons Store. In addition to buying up various supplies, the merchants in the farmers’ market also specialized in a particular type of merchandise. As the name suggests, Xue’s Armor and Weapons Store specialized in selling all kinds of swords, blades, and other weapons and armor. Yang Jian had told him that this shop produced the highest-quality swords, knives, and armor. Their ancestors had been blacksmiths for generations; before the apocalypse, family members had virtually monopolized the entire handicraft business in Xibu. After the apocalypse, several Evolvers emerged from the family, giving them considerable influence. They now operated a massive business dealing in all kinds of weapons and armor. The larger the business, the more it values its reputation. Xue’s Armory conducts fair trade, and many mercenaries bring all the supplies they’ve gathered there to trade. Consequently, Xue’s Armor and Equipment Shop became Li Ba’s top choice for transactions. Arriving at the entrance, Li Ba looked around and saw that the shop alone occupied three entire storefronts. The interior was lavishly decorated, featuring nothing but glass display cases filled with a complete array of bladed weapons—swords, spears, and other cold weapons—many of which Li Ba couldn’t even name. In addition, firearms were also for sale, all of which were shotguns. Li Ba flicked the cigarette butt from his mouth and walked inside, the bag slung over his shoulder. “What can I help you with, sir?” As soon as he walked in, a young woman in uniform—ordinary-looking but with a sweet smile—came over to greet him. “I’ve got some good stuff I want to sell,” Li Ba said boldly. He deliberately put on a rough-and-tumble act so he’d look like a mercenary and avoid being looked down upon by the shopkeeper. Clearly, the tactic worked. As soon as the young woman saw Li Ba’s appearance, she had already categorized him as a crude and brash mercenary. She quickly held out her hand and said, “Selling supplies? This way, sir.” She led Li Ba straight to the back of the shop. There, behind a desk, sat a middle-aged man in his forties. Behind him was an open area piled high with all kinds of supplies and goods. “Third Uncle, this gentleman has supplies to sell,” the young girl called out. “This way, please.” The middle-aged man looked up, saw Li Ba, gave a slight nod, and called out a greeting. Li Ba strode over, tossed the sack he’d been carrying on his shoulder onto the desk, and boasted loudly, “I risked my life to get this stuff. Do the math—how many grain coupons is this worth?” If he was going to show off, he was going to go all the way. Even though the man didn’t look like an ordinary shop clerk, he ignored it and treated him the same. The middle-aged man frowned but didn’t make a big deal of it. He opened the sack, and his expression immediately changed. “Is this… mutant corn?” Inside the sack, the first things that caught his eye were six or seven ears of corn, each as thick as a large mallet and weighing at least a dozen jin. Next came oversized bean pods—vivid green and translucent, each as big as a banana. At the very bottom lay half a sack of mung beans and adzuki beans mixed together, each grain about the size of a peanut. The middle-aged man swallowed hard. As soon as he came to his senses, he immediately called out to the little girl standing beside Li Ba: “Go! Hurry up and go get Grandpa!” The little girl turned and ran toward the back yard. At that moment, the middle-aged man, beaming with a smile, extended his hand to Li Ba and introduced himself: “My name is Xue Xiaoquan. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of learning your name, my friend.” “Li Ba.” Li Ba remained expressionless but was still polite as he shook the man’s hand. “Ah!” The man named Xue Xiaoquan, thinking he’d misheard, looked utterly astonished. Li Ba felt a bit exasperated. He knew his name was prone to misunderstandings, so he had to explain again: “The ‘Li’ in ‘Li Ming,’ and the ‘Ba’ in ‘Little Overlord.’ ” This time, Xue Xiaoquan heard him clearly. A smile spread across his face as he said, “Brother Li, you’ve shown remarkable skill. This batch of supplies will be very useful to the Xue family. Rest assured, once my grandfather has appraised them, we’ll definitely offer you a price you’ll find satisfactory!” “Thank you.” At that moment, a smile finally broke through Li Ba’s previously stoic, aloof expression. Soon, footsteps could be heard. An elderly man dressed in a traditional Chinese suit strode over. Behind him followed the young girl from earlier. Despite his completely white hair, the old man’s stride was light and agile—so much so that the young girl couldn’t keep up with him. Upon arriving, the old man’s eyes fell on the mutated corn and bean pods on the table. He immediately took a quick step forward, picked up a corn cob, and sniffed it. A look of delight instantly spread across his face. Afterward, he examined the mutated bean pods and the mutated mung and adzuki beans, repeatedly exclaiming his approval. “Young man, where did you get all this mutated grain?” After inspecting the items, the old man turned to ask Li Ba. Li Ba rolled his eyes but said nothing. The old man seemed to remember something, slapped his forehead, and laughed, “Look at me—I’m getting senile and even forgot the rules. Young man, please don’t take offense!” “It’s fine, it’s fine,” Li Ba finally nodded and smiled. “San’er, weigh it up. Charge the young man at a ratio of one to fifty!” the old man ordered. Xue Xiaoquan immediately pulled out an electronic scale and began weighing the grain. “Fifty to one? Damn it, did I hear that right?” Li Ba was completely taken aback. The green jade melons he’d sold a few days ago had only gone for a 1:30 ratio. Were these mutant grains now even more valuable than the mutant fruits? Plus, the corn cobs hadn’t been removed, and the bean pods hadn’t been shelled. Judging by the delighted look on Xue Xiaoquan’s face as he weighed them, it seemed he intended to count all of that in. Li Ba swallowed hard. “If we calculate it that way, the mutant grains weigh at least one hundred jin. Doesn’t that mean they’re worth five thousand jin in grain coupons? I’ve hit the jackpot—a massive one! If I take this back… it’ll be more than enough to book the whole place and have those sexy ladies put on a striptease!” It was rare that, at a moment like this, he was still thinking about the landlady’s seductive dance moves. “A total of one hundred and twelve jin and seven liang, which comes to five thousand six hundred and thirty-five jin in grain coupons.” Over there, Xue Xiaoquan had already finished the calculations. Just as Li Ba had expected, he hadn’t deducted the weight of the corncobs and bean pods—he’d included every last bit. “Let’s round it up. Here’s 5,700 jin in grain coupons for you, young man.” The old patriarch of the Xue family waved his hand grandly, full of generosity, and rounded the amount up for Li Ba. Xue Xiaoquan acknowledged the order, pulled a stack of grain coupons from the drawer—all in denominations of 100 jin—and counted out fifty-seven of them for Li Ba. Li Ba took them and swallowed hard. He’d originally planned to sell just a thousand or two jin worth of grain coupons to buy some gear. Little did he expect that, in the blink of an eye, he’d struck it rich. Old Man Xue, a shrewd veteran, seemed to see right through Li Ba’s thoughts. Smiling broadly, he said, “Mutant grains and mutant fruits are the most in-demand commodities in the settlement. Most are controlled by the authorities, who offer very low purchase prices. When they come to us, of course we have to buy them at market price.” Li Ba finally got the picture. He cursed inwardly—those bastards in the settlement’s government were truly ruthless, offering only sixty percent of the market price. They were nothing but a bunch of bloodsuckers exploiting the common people. “Young man, if you have any stems from these mutated grains, bring them to us. The Xue family will exchange them at a rate of twenty to one. Also, if you come across any more mutated grain in the future, the Xue family will buy as much as you have—at the same price. Furthermore, I, the Old Man, personally guarantee that this transaction will remain strictly confidential. Should any problems arise, the Xue family will take full responsibility.” These words from Old Master Xue once again stirred Li Ba’s desire; he was itching to produce another batch of mutated grain or sell the green jade melons to the Xue family. However, he only entertained the thought; his common sense wouldn’t allow him to act on it. “All right, no problem,” Li Ba nodded with a smile. He also promised that he still had some stems and branches from the mutated grain; if needed, he would send them over tomorrow. As for the mutated grain itself—a rare find—he would do his best, and as long as he managed to get any, he would definitely sell it to the Xue family. Xue Taigong was very satisfied with Li Ba’s response.