The Post-Apocalyptic Big Farm Owner

Chapter 27: The Barren Land

Begins He slept straight through until dawn. When he woke up, Li Ba had a splitting headache. He’d gotten completely drunk last night—he’d downed one and a half jin of baijiu—and his head was still foggy. However, the events of his encounter with Han Xue last night were etched vividly in his memory. Recalling the moment he had groped that woman and hurled insults at her, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. “Once I make it big, even if you, you stinking bitch, get down on your knees and beg me, I won’t give you the time of day!” He muttered to himself in a fit of vindictiveness. Afterward, Li Ba let out a long sigh. With the bracelet’s spatial pocket, he could live a life of plenty in the post-apocalyptic world. But there was one regret: he could never become a powerful Evolver like Han Xue. The bracelet’s spatial realm was wondrous; so far, he had essentially uncovered the functions of the plot of land and the stone trough with its spiritual spring inside. The only mystery remained the Tower—it was incredibly strange, guarded by an invisible force that prevented his consciousness from approaching it. “Inside the Tower… could there be a divine treasure?” Li Ba scratched his head. If that were truly the case, he would definitely have to enter the Tower to uncover its secrets. Perhaps this would give him a chance to become a being as powerful as an Evolver. At the very thought, Li Ba couldn’t help but feel excited. Focusing his mind, his consciousness instantly entered the bracelet’s realm. Ten minutes later, when his consciousness returned, his chubby face actually took on a rare look of gravity. Even after his consciousness had entered, he was still unable to approach the Tower. He had mentally prepared himself for this, so it didn’t matter. However, the state of the plot of land in front of the Tower left Li Ba utterly stunned. Crops have different growth cycles; under normal circumstances, corn takes longer to mature than beans. In other words, the harvest period for beans is shorter. Based on normal estimates, harvesting corn would take three days, while beans should be ready in two and a half days. It had been nearly two days since he last harvested the corn and planted the beans. Logically, the beans planted there should be nearing maturity. Unexpectedly, however, all the beans had only just begun to form pods—seemingly much later than anticipated. This discovery, of course, did not escape the notice of Li Ba, a professional in the field. After a careful inspection, he determined that the problem lay with the soil in that plot. The soil, which had originally been dark brown, appeared to have changed—its color had faded to a pale yellow, as if it lacked fertilizer and had become barren. This was not good news! If he wanted to make a name for himself and live a good life in the post-apocalyptic world, everything depended on this plot of land in the bracelet’s spatial realm. If something went wrong with this plot, it would be enough to set Li Ba back to square one. With a start, Li Ba sobered up almost completely. He quickly got up, washed up, and began to focus intently on studying the plot of land in the bracelet’s spatial realm. After several hours of observation, combined with the faint signals coming from the bean sprouts, he was able to determine that the plot was indeed in trouble and had begun to become barren. Fertilize it! That was Li Ba’s first thought. Without a moment’s hesitation, he headed out to the market to buy fertilizer. As he stepped out of the Villa, he saw Yan'er watering the flower beds, diligently tending to the garden. The row of vegetables in the flower beds was lush and green, thriving beautifully. “Uncle, are you heading out?” Upon seeing Li Ba, Yan'er ran over happily to share her vegetable-growing experiences with him. “You’re doing a great job, kid! I’ll leave this to you—I’m just going to take a quick trip to the market!” With his mind elsewhere, Li Ba didn’t say much. He ruffled Yan'er’s hair and hurried out the door. Li Ba spent the entire morning running back and forth nonstop. He brought in chemical fertilizer and manure water to water the plot in his bracelet’s space. In the end, it didn’t work at all—it just made the place stink to high heaven. Finally, Li Ba watered it with spring water diluted 2,000 times, and only then did the bean sprouts inside start to grow a little faster. Even so, it took a full night for the beans to ripen—a full day later than the expected harvest date. The next morning. Li Ba stepped out the door with dark circles under his eyes. The changes in the plot within the bracelet’s space had kept him awake all night. No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t find a solution. Although he’d watered the plants with diluted spring water, soil nutrients were the fundamental requirement for the crops growing there. If the soil continued to deteriorate and become barren, eventually, even with diluted spring water, it would be impossible to grow any crops. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Adopting a “one step at a time” attitude, Li Ba decided to head outside the city first to wash this batch of beans. As he was leaving, he spotted Zhou Yan, Heizi, and Daozai—the three of them hurrying along the street toward the southern part of town. At this point, Li Ba had no interest in getting involved in Zhou Yan’s affairs. He started the engine, revved up the three-wheeler, and sped off. Same old spot, same old place. Li Ba took out the freshly harvested soybeans and mung beans and spread them out on the cargo bed to dry. Afterward, he went to the large tree beside the mound, leaned against it, and began racking his brain for a solution. Although the plot of land within the bracelet’s space was magical and could foster plant growth, it seemed that, just like the fields outside, the soil would gradually become depleted after being cultivated several times. In the fields outside, this could be solved by applying fertilizer, but that wasn’t an option for the land within the bracelet’s space. “What on earth should I do?” Li Ba scratched his head so hard he felt like he might tear his scalp, but he still couldn’t come up with a solution. Time ticked by, second by second. By noon, the Sun was blazing, and the temperature soared. He was sweating profusely from the heat. Still worried about the plot of land and utterly exhausted, he drifted off into a drowsy sleep. The sound of his snoring echoed across the vast wilderness, carrying far into the distance. To the north, two or three li away, a figure staggered forward under the scorching sun. It was a zombie—judging by her attire, she had been a young woman in life. She wore a black stockings-and-skirt ensemble and high heels, with long hair cascading over her shoulders and a slender figure. But her face was utterly terrifying: rotted beyond recognition, oozing pus. Her eyes were a hazy white, devoid of any emotion. This female zombie, who had appeared out of nowhere, seemed to have been starving for a long time. Her tattered clothes exposed her shriveled breasts and lower abdomen, and her entire body gave off a foul stench like that of a dead fish. She wandered aimlessly. Suddenly, her ears twitched as she caught the sound of food in the air. With a low growl, the female zombie quickened her pace, heading toward the source of the sound. At that moment, Li Ba was fast asleep, completely unaware that a zombie, drawn by his snoring, was closing in on him. It wasn’t until the female zombie was less than ten meters away that Li Ba rubbed his nose and mumbled groggily, “What’s that smell? It stinks…” Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. Living through the apocalypse had honed his sense of smell, making him incredibly sensitive to such strange, foul odors. Li Ba turned his head and was terrified out of his wits. A zombie was lunging toward him at breakneck speed, now less than five meters away. Waves of foul stench nearly washed over him. “Holy shit!” His reflexes were lightning-fast; he rolled to the side in a quick somersault. In the very next instant, the female zombie crashed into the spot where he’d been sleeping. Her sharp claws ripped a large chunk of bark right off the dead tree. If he hadn’t dodged in time, that single blow would have taken Li Ba’s life! He never expected to have such bad luck today! Not only had the plot of land in his bracelet’s storage space gone haywire, but he’d also run into a zombie right in the safe zone! There was no time to think. Li Ba scrambled down from the mound, scrambled to his feet, and took off running for his life. This was a zombie—possessing twice the strength and one and a half times the speed of an ordinary person. Even a minor scratch from its claws would lead to infection; there was simply no way to fight it! Determined to save his life, Li Ba ran with all his might. But within just a few seconds, he heard the female zombie’s low growls and roars coming from behind him, along with waves of a nauseating stench. “No way! On flat ground, there’s no way I can outrun it. Once it catches up, it’s death—nothing but death!” Even in this critical moment, Li Ba’s mind remained clear. Since the apocalypse began, he’d survived countless zombies not only through good luck but also thanks to his exceptional judgment. ******He’d left his steel spear and iron shield on the mound of dirt. Turning to fight meant certain death. There wasn’t enough time to escape by vehicle. The tricycle was slow to accelerate; he feared he’d be torn to shreds by this female zombie before he could even start the engine. His thoughts raced. As he ran toward the tricycle, Li Ba had a sudden flash of inspiration: instead of continuing straight ahead, he began circling the tricycle. Although the zombie was fast, its joints were stiff, and it certainly couldn’t keep up with him as he circled. Sure enough, as Li Ba circled the tricycle, the female zombie pursued him relentlessly. Though she was fast, she was always just a hair’s breadth short of catching up to him. “If you want to eat me, you’ll have to wait till your next life!” Li Ba shouted as he fled. At that moment, he was handling the situation with ease, and his mood had lightened considerably. Twenty minutes later. Li Ba was panting heavily, drenched in sweat, and his pace began to slow. In contrast, the female zombie was like a tireless machine, still closing in at full speed. The distance between them began to narrow. “Sis, you seemed like a decent person when you were alive. Don’t go chasing after every guy you see—that’s… really unladylike!” Li Ba shouted, his voice breaking with emotion. Circling the tricycle did indeed allow him to temporarily evade danger. But as time went on, he grew exhausted and thirsty, while his pursuer remained completely unaffected. At this rate, he’d be caught sooner or later. He glanced over—all his weapons were on the mound of dirt. Given the current situation, he had no chance of survival unless he took out this zombie. But with his current stamina, he’d likely be caught by the zombie before he even reached the mound. He didn’t even need to think about the outcome. “God, please give me a way out!” Li Ba shouted in despair and anger, begging the heavens for mercy. If anyone else had come along and witnessed the scene before them, they would surely have burst out laughing. A man and a zombie were running in circles around the tricycle as if playing a game. The fat man in front kept wailing pitifully, begging the zombie behind him to spare him. Yet the zombie’s only response was to chase him with even greater ferocity. Snap! At one point, the female zombie lost her footing with her right foot and actually fell to the ground. The reason? The high-heeled shoe on her foot snapped right at that moment. Li Ba was in tears. He was deeply grateful to whoever invented high heels. Seizing the opportunity while the female zombie was down, he ran like a madman toward the mound of dirt. As long as he got his hands on that thing, taking down a lone zombie shouldn’t be too hard!