The Post-Apocalyptic Big Farm Owner

Chapter 18: Uses

for Mutated Food After unloading the cargo, everyone returned to the restaurant. Li Ba unloaded the steel spears, iron shields, and ******, still holding a burlap sack in his left hand—it was bulging, half-filled with goods. “Here you go!” He set the burlap sack on the table, then casually pulled a stack of grain coupons from his pocket. Counting out ten, he handed them to Zhou Yan and said with the arrogance of a man of means, “Keep the change. I’ve worked hard all day—I’ll treat myself to some wine and meat tonight.” Returning with a bountiful haul, he stood tall and spoke with growing arrogance, addressing the woman as “sir.” Zhou Yan didn’t mind in the least. Her eyes were fixed on the grain coupons in Li Ba’s hand—a thick stack, all high-denomination 100-jin coupons, amounting to no less than four or five thousand jin. “So many grain coupons—where, where did you get them?” It took Zhou Yan a long while to snap out of it; she licked her lips and finally managed to ask. “I traded for them, of course.” Li Ba said impatiently. Then, after a moment’s thought, he pulled a sweet potato the size of a basketball—along with a bunch of fresh sweet potato stems and leaves—from the burlap sack. In a boastful tone, he said to Zhou Yan, “Ever seen one of these? Mutant giant sweet potatoes. I’m in luck today—I managed to get over a hundred jin…Take this one, wash it, and steam it. Stir-fry the stems and leaves. I haven’t forgotten about you guys—I’ll let you try something new too!” Zhou Yan had already slipped the grain coupons into her pocket. Now, seeing the giant mutant sweet potato Li Ba was handing her, she covered her mouth in shock, looking utterly incredulous. “T-this is mutated grain…” She’d long heard from her late husband’s two close friends that there were mutant fruits and grains in the wild mountainous regions—extremely rare and of great use to Evolvers, hence their exorbitant price. Though Zhou Yan had heard of them, she’d never seen them before; today was truly an eye-opening experience. She stood there dumbfounded for a full four or five seconds before her delicate features finally snapped back to reality. Taking the giant mutant sweet potato and its stems and leaves, she cradled them as if they were treasures, beaming from ear to ear. Just as she was about to turn away, she shot Li Ba a seductive glance: “Master Ba, please wait a moment—the food and drink will be right out.” With that, she swayed her slender waist and plump hips as she headed to the kitchen to get to work. “What a slutty little thing!” Li Ba shot Zhou Yan’s plump hips a leering glance, then plopped down in his chair, waiting like a lord for the food to be served. Several women, including Yan'er, were busy in the kitchen at that moment. Before long, the sound of stir-frying filled the air, and waves of enticing aromas wafted out. It sure feels good to be rich! Li Ba narrowed his eyes as he sipped the light tea brewed by the “Sisters in Bloom,” his plump face radiating pure contentment. Before long, the meal was served. There was braised beef, stir-fried ham slices, and stir-fried sweet potato leaves, accompanied by two other vegetable dishes, a bowl of soup, plus white liquor and beer—all brought to the table. Of course, the giant mutant sweet potatoes had also been steamed and brought to the table. Zhou Yan’s cooking skills were second to none; the sweet potatoes had been cut into slices and steamed thoroughly over high heat in a bamboo steamer. Each slice of cooked sweet potato had a deep reddish hue and gave off a tempting sweet aroma. “Let’s eat!” At Li Ba’s signal, everyone immediately dug in. As they ate, Li Ba boasted, making up a story about today’s supply run: “…You have no idea how many zombies there are outside the Safe Zone. I barely managed to break into a village and had just found a few bags of corn when I was surrounded by over a dozen—no, at least a hundred zombies. I kept my cool, shield in my left hand and gun in my right, and fought my way out through a trail of blood. As I was leaving, I happened to glance at a patch of land by the roadside. Guess what I found?” “Mutant sweet potatoes!” Yan'er raised her hand and answered. Li Ba pinched her little cheek and chuckled, “You’re a smart girl. That’s right—I found a few sweet potato vines by the roadside. Damn, each stem was as thick as a thumb, and the leaves were bigger than a banana fan. I knew right away—these were definitely mutant sweet potatoes.” “Li… Uncle Ba!” Zhang Ting, the younger of the two sisters, wasn’t quite used to the honorific “Uncle Ba.” She stammered, “The situation was so dangerous back then—you… you didn’t actually go back, did you?” “Bingo!” Li Ba snapped his fingers, shot Zhang Ting a “correct answer, prize awarded” look, and continued to brag: “Mutant grains and fruits are worth a fortune. I thought to myself at the time… since I’d already come out here, I might as well go big. I steeled my resolve, turned the steering wheel, and raced back to harvest those mutant sweet potatoes from the field.” Before the apocalypse, Li Ba had worked in sales and was an excellent speaker. He made his made-up story sound as real as could be. He even bragged shamelessly, practically portraying himself as Zhao Zilong at the Battle of Changban—charging in and out seven times, fighting until the heavens and earth grew dark and blood flowed like a river—all to snatch the giant mutant sweet potatoes right under the noses of hundreds of corpses. As he recounted the entire story, Yan'er and the twin sisters looked at him with admiration. But Zhou Yan didn’t believe a word of it. If what the Fat Guy said were true, his agricultural tricycle would have been covered in zombie blood and flesh by now—if not completely destroyed, it would at least have sustained some damage. Yet now, that agricultural tricycle looked as good as new—not even a chip in the paint. She wouldn’t believe for a second that the Fat Man had managed to snag those mutant sweet potatoes from a horde of zombies. In Zhou Yan’s mind, the fat guy was just lucky—he’d stumbled upon a batch of mutant sweet potatoes by sheer chance and struck it rich. Talking nonstop, Li Ba rambled on, taking the time to grab a piece of meat and take a sip of liquor. With his vanity satisfied, he felt utterly content. “Hey, why aren’t you guys eating these mutant sweet potatoes?” He picked up a piece of mutant sweet potato, just as he was about to eat it, when he noticed that aside from himself and Yan'er, the other three women hadn’t touched their chopsticks at all. Even when they did eat, they stuck to other foods, leaving the mutant sweet potatoes and the stir-fried sweet potato leaves completely untouched. The taste of the mutant sweet potato was unbeatable—sweet on the tongue, soft as glutinous rice, and with an excellent texture. Even the simply stir-fried sweet potato leaves were first-rate. Li Ba could see clearly that the three women, including Zhou Yan, had long been drooling with craving, yet they simply refused to reach for their chopsticks. Li Ba took another look and realized what was going on. The giant mutant sweet potatoes he’d given them weighed at least a dozen jin. Yet only one plate had been served—at most three or four jin. The same went for the sweet potato leaves: a shallow dish with a meager portion. “This woman is really greedy!” Li Ba was a bit annoyed. The only reason he’d brought out the mutant sweet potatoes tonight was because Zhou Yan had shown him some concern earlier that day, so he’d let her have a taste. Yet this woman had actually had ulterior motives and skimped on the portions. Even if she and her two friends chose not to eat them, that still didn’t make sense. Noticing Li Ba’s displeased expression, Zhou Yan gave an embarrassed smile and explained, “Mutant sweet potatoes are quite expensive, so I saved the three portions for Zhang Jie and Zhang Ting…” “Even if you were going to skimp, you shouldn’t have taken that much!” Li Ba muttered under his breath, thoroughly dissatisfied with this money-grubbing woman’s explanation. “There’s still some left in the pot. If you and Yan'er need more, I’ll go get some.” Zhou Yan quickly stood up, about to head to the kitchen. “Sister Yan, there’s enough to eat. No need to go get more.” Yan'er called out. Indeed, there were plenty of dishes tonight, and the portion of sweet potatoes was enough for her and Li Ba to share, so it wasn’t necessary. “Ba, Master Li Ba, please don’t blame Sister Yan—this was all our idea.” Sensing Li Ba’s displeasure, the sisters stepped in to defend their landlady. “Mutated grain is extremely precious, especially for the esteemed Evolvers—it plays a vital role… We’re saving some to give to an esteemed Evolver, asking him to help Sister Yan resolve a problem!” Hearing this, Li Ba found himself able to accept it. He glanced at Zhou Yan, who was standing nearby looking utterly embarrassed, and gave a slight nod of his head, motioning for her to sit down. At that moment, Zhou Yan bore no resemblance to the sexy queen she’d been that night; she looked like a wronged young wife, and she sat down with her head bowed. “Sister Yan, if I may ask, what kind of trouble are you in? Also, what use do those mutated grains and fruits have for an Evolver?” The first question was meant as concern. The second was what Li Ba was most eager to know. “A high-ranking official from the Management Committee has set his sights on me—and my family’s business.” Zhou Yan made no attempt to hide it, a hint of resignation flitting across her face. Li Ba suddenly understood. In the post-apocalyptic world, a beautiful woman like Zhou Yan was bound to attract suitors, not to mention that she also had a sizeable family business. “You want to know what mutated grains and fruits are used for by Evolvers?” Wiping the resignation from her face, Zhou Yan looked at Li Ba with interest and asked with a smile. “Mm-hmm.” Li Ba nodded. “The authorities have classified this as top-secret; very few people in the settlement know about it. If you want to know, you’ll have to pay a price!” Zhou Yan flashed another sly, fox-like smile. This woman—she’s just waiting for a chance to shake me down! Li Ba had originally felt a bit of sympathy for Zhou Yan’s plight, but now it was completely gone. He glanced at the table—there were still a few pieces of mutant sweet potato left—and immediately picked up the plate, holding it out to Zhou Yan. “Here, they’re all yours.” “This isn’t enough,” Zhou Yan said, her hand already reaching out. She tasted a piece of the mutated sweet potato herself and gave the rest to the twin sisters. “Tell me or not, it’s up to you. I’m not an Evolver anyway, so even if I knew, it wouldn’t do me any good.” Li Ba shrugged. Although he was dying to know what use the mutated grains and fruits had for Evolvers, he wasn’t going to let this slut blackmail him. He’d been taken advantage of once; he wasn’t about to make the same mistake again. “Fine, I’ll let you off the hook this once and tell you,” Zhou Yan said, seeing that her tactic wasn’t working, and decided not to keep blackmailing him. She was afraid of making Li Ba resent her, which could jeopardize her future plans. From Zhou Yan, Li Ba learned the purpose of the mutated grains and fruits for Evolvers, and upon hearing it, he was greatly astonished. According to Zhou Yan, after an Evolver awakens their abilities, they can continuously strengthen themselves by absorbing the crystal nuclei of zombies and mutated beasts. However, the energy contained within these crystal nuclei is extremely violent and chaotic, making it very difficult for Evolvers to absorb—and it comes with significant side effects. This is where consuming mutated grains and fruits comes in to counteract them. Otherwise, once the side effects reach a certain level, they can cause the Evolver’s consciousness to become disordered, leading to madness. “Mutant grains and fruits contain a unique active molecule that helps Evolvers absorb crystal cores more effectively while also neutralizing the side effects.” Zhou Yan spoke as she ate, having already finished the mutated sweet potato in her hand. She licked her alluring red lips, shot a sidelong glance at Li Ba, and continued, “In the wild mountains, while there are many mutated plants, very few are edible. Only those fruits and grains that were edible before the apocalypse contain these active molecules after mutation. Therefore, they are scarce, and their value is self-evident.” Li Ba nodded. No wonder—he’d gone into town to sell a few melons, and it had drawn the attention of high-ranking military officials. Selling some mutated grains had even prompted the Xue family patriarch to personally come out to receive him. The fact that mutated grains and fruits were so vital to Evolved Beings was precisely the reason. After dinner, Li Ba moved all the grain piled in the corner back to his Villa. He currently had quite a few grain coupons, so he planned to store this corn and wheat for future use. After all, the grain coupons were issued by the Management Committee—much like pre-apocalyptic currency—and could lose their value at any moment. With Li Ba’s business acumen, he figured that while grain coupons were sufficient for immediate needs, he had to stockpile actual grain—better safe than sorry. All four women pitched in. They quickly moved the grain back to the Villa. Afterward, taking advantage of a moment when no one was around, Zhou Yan pressed her voluptuous, sensual body against him and whispered softly in Li Ba’s ear, “Come over to my place tonight—it’ll be even more exciting.” As she spoke, her ample breasts brushed against Li Ba’s arm a few times, whether intentionally or not. Here we go again! Li Ba rolled his eyes, but deep down he was tempted. Just as he was about to agree, he spotted Yan'er walking over and quickly changed his mind: “Not tonight. Let’s do it tomorrow.” The little girl had been worried all day—no matter what, he had to comfort her properly tonight.