The Post-Apocalyptic Big Farm Owner

Chapter 32: A Big Haul

The village was small, with only six or seven households. A row of locust trees stood at the entrance, their lush foliage almost completely obscuring the buildings inside. Unless one got up close, it would be hard to spot from the provincial highway. The more secluded it was, the more excited Li Ba became. Before the apocalypse, Xibu Town had been quite prosperous, and the surrounding rural areas were no exception. Don’t let the size of this small village—with only six or seven households—fool you; every family had built a two-story house. If it hadn’t been raided by other survivors, there were sure to be plenty of supplies inside. Step by step, he drew closer. In a puddle beside the locust trees at the village entrance, Li Ba was surprised to see a dozen or so plump ducks swimming leisurely. This discovery made it almost certain that no one had set foot in this village! Staring at the plump ducks in the puddle, Li Ba licked his lips. Since the apocalypse began, poultry had rarely been infected by the virus or mutated. If he caught these ducks, raised them, and let them breed, he’d never have to worry about fresh meat again. Besides, if there were ducks, there were bound to be chickens and geese in the village as well. As for cats and dogs—he’d probably run into some of those, too. A look of gravity flashed across Li Ba’s face. As far as he knew, cats and dogs had an extremely high chance of becoming mutated beasts. If he was unlucky enough to encounter a mutated cat or dog here, he’d likely lose his life right here. He hesitated. Should he go into the village, or turn back? After thinking it over for a long time, Li Ba gritted his teeth—it would be such a waste to give up on these supplies that were practically within his grasp! Besides, Zhou Yan owed someone over 100,000 jin in grain coupons, and growing mutated crops to pay it off was far too risky. If he could get his hands on a large batch of supplies here, that would be ideal. “If I’m going to die, I might as well die facing up; if I survive, I’ll turn over. Let’s do this!” He steeled himself; the decision was made. If this had been the day before, he would never have taken such a risk, not even if his life depended on it. As he entered the village, Li Ba drew his spear and thrust it through a plump duck in a puddle of water. Blood spurted everywhere as he tossed the duck straight into the village. Whether zombies or mutated beasts, they’re extremely sensitive to the smell of blood. If there were any zombies or mutated beasts in the village, the duck’s blood would attract them. Li Ba knew exactly what to expect and could prepare in advance. Still, it was a waste of a live duck. Hiding behind the large locust tree nearby, he waited six or seven minutes without hearing a single sound. Li Ba breathed a sigh of relief and strode toward the village. He figured that even if there were zombies in the village, they’d either be trapped inside the houses or would have wandered off long ago. The same went for the mutated beasts. At the same time, he had overlooked one crucial detail. If there really were mutant beasts in the village, he wouldn’t see so much as a single duck feather, let alone a live duck. Realizing this, Li Ba felt much bolder. He walked into the village, hoisting the dead duck he’d found earlier onto the end of his steel spear, and, spotting a house, approached it. Since the apocalypse, night had fallen and never lifted. As a result, most households kept their doors and windows tightly shut. The homes in this village were no exception. The house he approached had a large courtyard, and the iron gate was firmly locked. He peered inside. It was a three-story building with mosaic tiles on the exterior—a rather nice house by rural standards. The main door at the base of the building was also firmly shut, and a motorcycle was parked in the courtyard. Li Ba scaled the wall and entered the courtyard. He walked straight over, smashed the windowpane, and, hoisting a blood-soaked duck on his steel spear, approached the house. Just because there were no zombies in the village didn’t mean there weren’t any inside the house. Luring them out would make it easier to deal with them. Li Ba had survived the apocalypse this long not only because of good luck, but also because his insight and judgment were far beyond those of the average person. Having overcome his psychological trauma, he was fearless and full of devious schemes; his experience hunting zombies was hardly any less than that of those mercenaries! Sure enough. Not long after the duck’s carcass neared the window, a howl rang out. Two zombies appeared at the window, snarling and flailing their limbs—it was unclear whether they wanted to eat the duck or devour Li Ba, the fat guy! Thwack! Standing outside the window, Li Ba took them down one by one with his spear, easily dispatching both zombies. Afterward, he hoisted the duck up to the windowsill as bait. Ten minutes later, seeing no reaction, he finally kicked the front door open. As he entered, Li Ba still didn’t dare let his guard down. The steel spear was too long—it would be difficult to wield inside the house if trouble arose—so he leaned it against the outer wall. Shield in his left hand and a ****** in his right, Li Ba stepped inside cautiously. A foul stench wafted toward him. As he looked around, Li Ba saw scattered human skeletal remains on the floor. In the main hall ahead, a family portrait hung on the wall—seven people, young and old. Now, aside from the two zombies he’d killed, it seemed everyone else had been reduced to skeletons, devoured by their own loved ones who’d been infected and turned into zombies. This is the apocalypse! Brutal and unvarnished! Li Ba first dealt with the two zombies. He got lucky and harvested another crystal core, which he immediately stored in his bracelet’s storage space. Then, he began searching room by room, collecting any useful supplies and stowing them in his bracelet’s storage space to take with him. Since the plot of land within the bracelet’s storage space had changed, he hadn’t planted anything there this time. The interior was quite spacious, large enough to hold a massive amount of supplies. Li Ba began ransacking the rooms one by one. Any supplies that could be put to use were stashed away in the bracelet’s storage space. Half an hour later, all valuable supplies in every room upstairs and downstairs had been completely ransacked. Additionally, in the stairwell, he discovered the family’s hidden grain reserves. Rice, rapeseed, sesame seeds, sweet potatoes, and more—all together amounted to well over a thousand jin. Most farmers make their living by tilling the land. Even if someone in the family works away from home and isn’t short on money, they’ll still continue to farm their fields to harvest enough grain for their own consumption. As a result, farmers in Xibu have a habit of storing grain; only when they have more than they can eat do they take the surplus to the market to sell. This small village had only six or seven households and a small population, but their grain reserves were certainly substantial. All these goods combined would definitely make Li Ba a fortune. Overjoyed, he stepped out the front gate and headed toward the second household. 3:00 p. m. Li Ba strode out of a house on the east side. He carried a bamboo chicken cage in each hand, each containing six or seven chickens and two large white geese. This small village was indeed an untouched, undeveloped area. Among the few households, there were only a dozen or so zombies scattered throughout the houses. Li Ba didn’t have to exert much effort to kill them one by one. The haul of supplies was extremely rich; every household had grain reserves—ranging from five or six hundred jin at the low end to two or three thousand jin at the high end—along with daily necessities like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. The haul was immense. On top of that, there were live chickens and geese, as well as tobacco, alcohol, and tea—all of which Li Ba plundered completely. By now, the space inside his bracelet was already packed with supplies. There was still one household left in the village that he hadn’t visited yet. He glanced at his watch; it was still early. Li Ba set down the chicken cage and strode toward the last farmhouse. This household appeared to be the wealthiest in the village. A three-story building with high walls and a large courtyard, glazed roof tiles, and built in the style of a Villa—it was quite imposing. The courtyard gate was welded from a single piece of steel plate and painted vermilion, exuding the air of a wealthy, prestigious family. He resorted to his old trick. Li Ba scaled the wall but didn’t jump into the courtyard. In addition to the main building, this household had a row of single-story houses built alongside it. The doors weren’t locked, so there was no telling if there might be zombies inside. Therefore, standing on the wall, Li Ba picked up the dead duck from the tip of his spear and tossed it directly into the courtyard. That unfortunate duck had long since kicked the bucket. After several hours, its blood had completely congealed into a dark brown mass. However, that didn’t stop it from attracting zombies. The scent of blood it gave off would surely draw them in droves, provided there were any zombies inside the courtyard. After tossing the duck down, Li Ba perched on the wall, lit a cigarette, and observed the situation inside. Within six or seven seconds at most, a commotion came from the direction of the building. One by one, zombies appeared, crowding around the windows and letting out low growls and strange screeches. Before the apocalypse, even in rural areas, the vast majority of households used aluminum alloy doors and windows. Glass alone, of course, couldn’t hold the zombies back. On the outside of the doors and windows, almost every home had installed security bars welded from rebar as thick as a thumb. No matter how strong the zombies were, they were trapped inside and couldn’t get out. This house was no exception. The window glass had long since shattered into a pile on the floor. At least ten zombies were crammed against the window, their black claws reaching out, flailing and clawing wildly, yet unable to break through the security bars on the outside. “Wealthy families really are different—they’ve got more zombies than anyone else!” Seeing no movement from the bungalow, Li Ba flicked away his cigarette butt and leaped over the wall directly into the courtyard. He walked up to the window with a smirk, then raised his spear and struck—one with each thrust—effortlessly killing all the zombies crammed against the window. Fortunately, these zombies were trapped inside the house; they lacked any sense of reason and couldn’t open the door to get out. Otherwise, with more than ten zombies swarming him, Li Ba’s current combat prowess would have left him in grave danger. The zombies all lay sprawled in the corner by the window. Li Ba hooked a dead one with the tip of his spear and tossed it directly into the house. After a few minutes, seeing no movement, he finally kicked the front door open and stepped inside. Half an hour later, he had ransacked the entire house, top to bottom. Wealthy households really are something else—they have a wide variety of supplies, all of high quality. There were six or seven cartons of “Great China” cigarettes alone, not to mention all kinds of fine liquor. With such a bountiful haul, Li Ba couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear. “This jade pendant is nice—I’ll take it back to give to Yan Yan!” Upstairs, he found a jewelry box filled with gold and silver jewelry. Among them was a heart-shaped jade pendant—translucent and a delight to the eye. He decided to take it back to give to Zhou Yan as… a token of their love! With a flick of his wrist, the jewelry box was stowed away in the space inside his bracelet. Li Ba came down the stairs and headed straight for the back door. Having searched the first few houses, he had already gained some experience. According to the village’s customs, there was definitely a room in the backyard specifically for storing grain.