The Post-Apocalyptic Big Farm Owner

Chapter 35: Highway Robbery

With his motorcycle, Li Ba quickly reached the provincial highway. He’d left it on a field ridge by the roadside, hidden by weeds so it wouldn’t be easily spotted. Besides, in the post-apocalypse, cars were worthless—even if a survivor happened to find the motorcycle, they wouldn’t be interested in it. After glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, he climbed over the barbed wire fence, entered the safe zone, and strode toward where the tricycle was parked. Ten minutes later. He arrived at the usual spot. With a wave of his hand, Li Ba released food and supplies from his bracelet’s storage space, piling them onto the cart one by one. He estimated that there was quite a lot of supplies this time—enough to fill three carts. He took out a tarp and covered the food and supplies in the cargo area. Li Ba even took the trouble to tie it down with rope to prevent it from falling out during the bumpy ride. Afterward, he whistled, hopped on the tricycle, and drove off. The usual spot was very close to the settlement, and it took only twenty minutes to return to town. As Li Ba drove the fully loaded tricycle into town, he drew the curious glances of many survivors. “That kid… he’s really got some skills—he managed to get another batch of supplies!” Right next to the city gate was Luo Jianguo’s office. There happened to be hardly anyone around today, and when he happened to catch sight of Li Ba returning with his tricycle fully loaded, he was surprised and a faint smile crossed his face. When Li Ba pulled his tricycle up to the side of the restaurant, it was still early, so Yan'er wasn’t at the intersection, and the others were busy inside the restaurant. “Everyone, come out and unload the cargo!” After Li Ba bellowed at the top of his lungs, first Da Fang, Xiao Fang, and the twin sisters came out, followed by Zhou Yan, and finally Yan'er came running out as well. Seeing that Li Ba had returned with a tricycle full of supplies, they all beamed with joy. “Uncle, you’re back so early today!” Yan'er wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. She’d been diligently tending to the vegetables at the Villa lately. When she realized Uncle Li had left today, she’d planned to wait for him at the intersection around 5:30, but she hadn’t expected him to return so early. “I had a great haul today. There’s so much stuff that I made a point of coming back early—I still have to head out of town for a couple more trips later!” Li Ba reached out and pinched Yan'er’s little cheek. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he pulled a soundly sleeping puppy from his coat and said to Yan'er with a grin, “Little one, I brought you a little pet.” As soon as Yan'er saw the chubby little puppy, she cheered with delight. She reached out to take the puppy, and without even helping unload the goods, she started playing with it. “So many supplies!” “Rice, rapeseed, sesame seeds, ham… and live chickens and ducks.” From the other side came the exclamations of the Da Fang and Xiao Fang brothers, along with the two sisters. Li Ba turned his head and saw them all staring wide-eyed at the piles of grain and supplies beneath the tarpaulin. Zhou Yan was just as astonished. She made a rough estimate: this truck was loaded with three or four thousand jin of grain, all of it top-quality. On top of that, there were several hundred jin of ham. Perched on top were two chicken cages containing about twenty live birds. All together, this was worth a full ten thousand jin in grain coupons. “Well, isn’t your husband impressive!” Li Ba walked over, wrapped his arm around Zhou Yan’s slender waist, and said with a grin. Zhou Yan snapped back to reality, shot him a glance, blushed slightly, lowered her head, and whispered, “He’s impressive.” This “Sexy Queen” now looked as bashful as a young bride. This greatly satisfied Li Ba’s vanity; he beamed with pride and burst into laughter. “It’s just 120,000 jin of grain coupons… Yan Yan, as long as I’m here, you don’t have to worry!” As Li Ba patted his chest and spoke those words, Zhou Yan noticed he was covered in dirt, with several scrapes on his arms and knees—clearly, this shipment hadn’t come easily. She felt inexplicably moved; her eyes welled up slightly, yet her heart was filled with warmth. All the grain and supplies were unloaded. Li Ba gave a shout, then drove out of the city again. He still had two more trips of supplies to bring back. As he left the city, Zhou Yan began bustling about in the kitchen. She planned to prepare some extra delicious food tonight to treat the Fat Man. The second shipment arrived quickly. It consisted of another three or four thousand jin of grain, along with ham and daily necessities. No sooner had Li Ba parked than everyone rushed over to unload the cargo. Even Yan'er, who was holding the little puppy, came over to help this time. Li Ba glanced at the little girl and couldn’t help but smile. The puppy had already woken up and was snuggling contentedly in Yan'er's arms. It was still damp, as if it had just had a bath. A bow was tied around its neck—no doubt Yan'er had dressed it up—and paired with its plump little body, it looked utterly adorable. “Little one, if it gets hungry, feed it some rice—but don’t spoil it, or we won’t be able to afford to keep it!” Li Ba didn’t forget to give a word of advice. With dogs, you can’t let them get too picky; otherwise, they’ll refuse to eat anything but the best. Feeding them some coarse grains will still help them grow up strong and healthy. Yan'er glanced around. Seeing no one else nearby, she crept over mysteriously and whispered, “Uncle, why didn’t you say so sooner? Just now, I snuck a big melon from under your bed. I took half, and gave the other half to Xiao Heihei—I fed it to him!” What a spendthrift! Feeding a mutant melon to a dog—that girl really isn’t afraid to splurge! Li Ba rolled his eyes. Oh well, since it’s already been eaten, he couldn’t very well make the little rascal throw it up. Besides, its mother was a mutant dog, so there was an eighty to ninety percent chance this little guy was a mutant too. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have become so full of energy so quickly. Feeding it some good stuff would help it grow up fast. By the time he finished unloading, it was almost six o’clock. The Sun had already set, and Li Ba planned to bring back the third batch of supplies before dark. He got in the vehicle, started the engine, and amid the roar of the engine and billowing black smoke, the tricycle headed toward the city gate once more. The third load consisted almost entirely of grain—well over 5,000 jin, or about two and a half metric tons. After loading it, Li Ba looked down at the steel plate, which had already been bent under the weight. “I’ll have to drive slowly on this leg of the trip—I can’t let the steel plate snap under the weight. That would be a real headache.” He got back on the tricycle, started the engine, and set off at a leisurely pace in low gear. It took him a good half hour to drive from the usual spot to the paved road. By then, dusk had already fallen. Once on the paved road, the ride wasn’t as bumpy, so he could go a little faster. Li Ba estimated that he should be able to make it home before dark. Although it was the same journey back to the city, Zhao Bazhi was in a terrible mood. More than five months had passed since the apocalypse struck, and the supplies near Xibu had been virtually scavenged clean by survivors. Today, he’d led his men on a risky expedition to search for supplies near Liyang County. In the end, they didn’t manage to get even half a jin of grain and were surrounded by a massive horde of zombies. Relying on heavy firepower and his own abilities as an Evolver, Zhao Bazhi led his men to break through the encirclement. But in the process, he lost more than a dozen men. The Mad Blade Mercenary Corps he had formed originally had over fifty brothers; now, only about thirty remained—a devastating loss. “What a fucking disaster!” Sitting in the passenger seat, Zhao Bazhi was distraught, overcome by an urge to kill. “Brother Scar, look at that tricycle up ahead—it’s got steel-plated tires and looks heavy as hell. It’s loaded with at least several metric tons of supplies!” his subordinate, who was driving, exclaimed. Zhao Bazhi looked in that direction and sure enough, saw a tricycle ahead, packed with cargo and covered with a tarpaulin, so he couldn’t make out what was inside. But his experience told him it was definitely a load of grain—otherwise, it wouldn’t be that heavy. “Using a tricycle to haul cargo…” Zhao Bazhi stroked his chin. The henchman driving beside him immediately caught on to what he meant. He stepped on the gas, swerved sharply, and as he passed the tricycle, forced it to a sudden stop on the side of the road. At the same time, the screech of brakes echoed from behind. One pickup truck after another closed in, trapping the tricycle firmly on the side of the road. When a black SUV suddenly appeared and cut him off, Li Ba had a bad feeling. Immediately afterward, another eight or nine pickup trucks arrived, and he silently cried out in his mind—he was in trouble; he’d run into highway robbers! His instinct was to grab his ****** and flip the safety off. But then he thought better of it and slowly lowered the gun. At that moment, dozens of men began pouring out of the surrounding vehicles, all heavily armed and looking fierce. A few of them even raised their guns, aiming them at Li Ba with cruel grins on their faces. This was a mercenary group! No matter how confident Li Ba was, he didn’t stand a chance against this bunch. A man with a scar on his left cheek stepped out of the black SUV blocking the front of the car. He lit a cigarette, sized up Li Ba with a look of utter disdain, and said coldly, “Kid, leave the car here and get the hell out of here!” Li Ba’s expression shifted slightly. He forced a smile, leaned his head out the car window, and said cautiously, “Bosses, this is a safe zone. According to the settlement’s rules, in a safe zone, it’s not allowed…” Crack! One of the rearview mirrors shattered. A crisp gunshot cut off the rest of Li Ba’s sentence. Li Ba instinctively pulled his head back. Through the driver’s side window, he saw a guy standing next to Scar-Face, holding a replica Type 54 pistol, the barrel pointing upward and still emitting a wisp of blue smoke. Luckily, the guy had aimed at the side mirror and not at his head—otherwise, he’d be a dead man. “Didn’t you get what Scar-Face said?! Baldy, leave the car here and get the hell out of here fast. If you dare say another word, I’ll blow your head off!” The guy who fired the shot was brimming with arrogance as he threatened Li Ba. These guys are not to be messed with! Although Li Ba was reluctant to give up a whole truckload of grain, the situation left him no choice but to back down. “Fair enough—you’re ruthless! I’ll remember this!” He slowly got out of the truck. Being fearless doesn’t mean you can act recklessly. Losing your life over a truckload of grain just isn’t worth it. Seeing Li Ba obediently get out of the truck, Zhao Bazhi’s face broke into a smug grin. He gave a nod, and several of his henchmen ran over. After inspecting the load, they shouted, “Brother Ba, it’s all grain—and top-quality grain at that!” This truckload of top-grade grain was worth at least six or seven thousand jin in grain coupons. He’d accidentally stumbled upon a fat sheep today—enough to make up for the losses from earlier in the day. A smile spread across Zhao Bazhi’s face. Just then, more vehicles began closing in from behind. Zhao Bazhi’s convoy, having stopped to block Li Ba, was taking up most of the road. The cars behind couldn’t get past and kept honking their horns. “A good dog doesn’t block the road! Zhao Bazhi, what kind of shenanigans are you and your gang of scumbags up to now?” A familiar voice rang out.