The Post-Apocalyptic Big Farm Owner

Chapter 19: A New Plan

Whoosh! The Villa’s living room. Li Ba held a shield in his left hand and brandished a steel spear in his right, striking one imposing pose after another. Leaning back on the sofa, Yan'er munched on a sorghum stalk and clapped her hands in admiration. Finish the move! Li Ba, not even out of breath, strode over to Yan'er, ruffled her hair, and asked with a smile, “Little one, do you think Uncle’s pretty strong?” Yan'er nodded vigorously. Her big eyes were filled with admiration. Thanks to Li Ba’s few flashy moves, she had already become his die-hard fan. “Well… will you still let Uncle go out of town?” This was what Li Ba cared about most. After returning, he’d gone to great lengths to comfort the little girl, but to no avail. She was absolutely adamant that he never leave the city to take risks again. With no other options, Li Ba thought on his feet and decided to demonstrate his martial prowess to change her mind. This tactic worked like a charm. However, he had underestimated just how dependent Yan'er was on him. Yan'er had been about to nod, but upon hearing those words, she pursed her lips and shook her head resolutely. Seeing this, Li Ba felt both touched and helpless. “Little one.” After gathering his thoughts, Li Ba softened his tone, his voice growing deep. “In this damned apocalypse, if we want a comfortable, prosperous life, we have to work hard with our own hands. To be honest, Uncle doesn’t want to take risks either, but for the sake of our future, I have to accumulate some wealth so I can provide you with a life free from want.” As he spoke in that emotional tone, Yan'er's eyes welled up, and tears began to stream down her face. “You’re overacting!” Seeing this, Li Ba quickly tossed aside his steel spear and iron shield, pulled the little girl into his arms, and comforted her repeatedly: “I promise you, in a month at most—once I’ve stockpiled enough supplies—I’ll never leave the city again.” “Uncle Li, Yan'er knows you’re working so hard just so I can have a good life… I won’t stop you from leaving the city. I want to go with you to search for supplies, okay?” The little girl’s heartfelt words deeply moved Li Ba. But immediately afterward, a headache set in. If this girl really went out of the city with him, that would be a real headache! After much persuasion, Yan'er finally changed her mind. Having learned from Li Ba about the harsh conditions outside the city, she realized that going with him wouldn’t be of the slightest help to Uncle Li—it would only be a burden. “Don’t worry, kid. Uncle’s combat prowess speaks for itself. Never mind zombies—even if we run into mutated beasts, I’ll take them out one by one with a single shot and handle them with ease.” Li Ba started bragging and blowing his own horn. His main goal was to put the little girl’s mind at ease, and secondarily, to satisfy his own vanity a little. “If only this bracelet could grant this Lord Ba incredible combat prowess, that would be just wonderful!” As he boasted, Li Ba couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. The bracelet’s storage space was miraculous—it provided him with an endless supply of food. It was just a shame it offered no offensive power. After being reassured, Yan'er took an interest in the steel spear and iron shield lying on the ground. She walked over, picked them up, and—surprisingly—began practicing, imitating the flashy moves Li Ba had just demonstrated. Together, the steel spear and iron shield weighed over seventy jin, yet the little girl swung them about with what seemed like little effort. A thought struck Li Ba, and he asked, “Little one, have you felt your strength increase significantly lately?” “Yes!” Yan'er turned her head and gave a sweet smile. Li Ba nodded. It seemed he wasn’t the only one whose strength had increased—Yan'er’s had as well. He concluded that this was likely the effect of the spring water from the spatial realm, which could alter a person’s constitution and enhance their strength. Hot spring water gushed from the faucet. Li Ba lay in the pool, his face radiating pure enjoyment. Now that he’d settled things with the little girl, he had no more worries. He could leave the city once every three days to wash the grain and bring it back. He’d also gained a deeper understanding of the spring water in the spatial stone trough of his bracelet. Not only did this water heal wounds, ward off hunger, and cultivate mutated grains and fruits, but it could also enhance a person’s physical constitution. It was, quite simply, a miraculous spring worth its weight in gold. Since it was so precious, he had to use it sparingly. Ever since the bracelet’s spatial realm opened, between what Li Ba and Yan'er had drunk and the mutated fruits and grains they’d cultivated, they’d already used up a significant portion of the half-trough of spiritual spring water. Now, by a conservative estimate, less than three hundred jin remained. The stone trough’s walls secreted small droplets of water daily to replenish it, but the amount was minuscule—at most, the equivalent of one cup of spiritual spring water over a twenty-four-hour period, which fell far short of their consumption needs. “Starting today, we’re suspending the cultivation of all mutated grains and fruits. As for what Yan'er and I drink… we’ll have to cut back on that too,” Li Ba decided. Spiritual Spring was scarce; they had to ensure there was a reserve for emergencies. The next day, after breakfast, Li Ba took Yan'er with him and drove the Shifeng tricycle out of the city. This time, they were heading to the refugee camp to pick up the brothers Dafang and Xiaofang, so bringing the little girl along posed no danger. Before leaving the city, Li Ba made a stop at the market. In the back of the tricycle were two burlap sacks of mutated bean stalks and corn stalks—he had to fulfill the promise he’d made to the Xue family. When they arrived at Xue’s Armor and Supplies Shop, the young woman who had greeted him the previous day recognized him and hurried over to greet him warmly. Before long, Old Master Xue and Xue Xiaoquan also came out; upon seeing Li Ba carrying two sacks of mutated grain stalks and leaves, they were both overjoyed. After weighing them—a total of ninety-two jin—and exchanging them at a ratio of one to twenty, Li Ba received over 1,800 jin in grain coupons. Both sides were delighted. After Grandpa Jiang personally saw Li Ba and Yan'er out the door, Yan'er asked with a look of astonishment on her face, “Uncle, that one jin of corn stalks… can it really be exchanged for twenty jin of grain coupons?” “Of course,” Li Ba said with a touch of pride. “The things I bring back are all top-notch—they’re worth a lot!” She never imagined that the corn stalk she’d munched on last night was so valuable. Yan'er blinked her big eyes, thinking to herself that Uncle Li worked hard to earn money; next time, she shouldn’t eat so carelessly—she’d have to save up to exchange for grain coupons. After the transaction was complete, Li Ba didn’t leave right away. Instead, he took Yan'er for a stroll around the market. Spotting a storefront for rent, he immediately went over to inquire. After last night’s events, he had a new plan: to open his own shop in the city, dealing in the sale and exchange of various goods. That way, once he’d saved up some initial capital and the shop was up and running, he wouldn’t have to leave the city to “launder” grain. He could simply use the shop’s sales records to account for the grain grown in his bracelet’s storage space. It must be said that this new plan was safer and more reliable than leaving the city to “launder” grain. Moreover, it would solve the employment issues for Da Fang and Xiao Fang. There were plenty of storefronts in the market, but very few were available for rent; most were already occupied by merchants. The remaining ones were either too out of the way or had exorbitant rents that were simply unaffordable. “I’d better head out of town first to pick up Da Fang and Xiao Fang, so they don’t get impatient waiting!” Having made up his mind, Li Ba decided to head out of town first; finding a shop was something that couldn’t be rushed. The older brother’s name was Fang Chengwen, and the younger brother’s was Fang Chengwu. Before the apocalypse, both brothers were college students at Wucheng Normal University. The older brother was outgoing and lively, while the younger brother was reserved and steady. In terms of personality, the younger brother actually resembled the older one more. When the apocalypse struck, the campus turned into a bloody slaughterhouse overrun by zombies. The brothers were brave enough and lucky enough to lead a group of classmates out of the school. Among them were their girlfriends. After enduring wave after wave of peril, they successfully escaped Wucheng with the help of military personnel. The journey was arduous, and by the time they reached the Xibu settlement, their group of over a hundred classmates had dwindled to fewer than twenty. Among them were the brothers’ girlfriends, who had arrived safely at the settlement thanks to the brothers’ repeated life-saving efforts. When they tried to enter the city, they were turned away. Only Evolved individuals with awakened abilities and special talents were allowed entry. After enduring such hardships to reach the Xibu settlement, they never expected this outcome. But what Da Fang and Xiao Fang found even more unexpected was that, at the critical moment, all their girlfriends had thrown themselves into the arms of a senior from the physical education department at their university. This senior from the physical education department had awakened as an Evolver during their escape. The brothers felt their hearts turn to ice; they couldn’t believe it. When they saw their girlfriends acting affectionately with the senior right in front of everyone, it all became clear to them. These two women hadn’t betrayed them at that very moment—they had betrayed them long ago, the very instant that senior had awakened his abilities and become an Evolver, casting their lot with someone else. In the post-apocalyptic world, the strong reign supreme—this is the unbreakable law. Da Fang and Xiao Fang couldn’t change anything; they could only bury this humiliation deep within their hearts. Similarly, they met another person who had also been ruthlessly abandoned by his companions. Perhaps because they shared a common plight, the three of them became close friends. This was the first—and only—friend Dafang and Xiaofang made in the apocalypse; his name was Li Ba. During the few days Li Ba was missing and didn’t show up for work, Da Fang and Xiao Fang worried about him for quite some time. In their minds, they believed Li Ba must have been unable to endure the harsh labor and the torment from his enemies, so he had chosen to venture outside the safe zone in search of food. Since he hadn’t returned for so many days, they assumed the worst. But last night, when they returned from work, they learned from refugees living across the street that Li Ba was not only alive but had made it into the city, where he was doing quite well. He had sent a message through someone, telling them not to go to work today. Could it be… that Li Ba, having made it big, hadn’t forgotten the two of them and was planning to bring them into the city too? Whether that was true or not, the news kept Da Fang and Xiao Fang so excited all night that they couldn’t sleep. The next day, before dawn, the two brothers were standing at the entrance to the refugee camp, waiting for Li Ba to arrive.