Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 156 - 155: The Arrogant Daily Life of Buying Cabbage, The Man Who Wants to Touch the Big Tiger!

Chapter 156: Chapter 155: The Arrogant Daily Life of Buying Cabbage, The Man Who Wants to Touch the Big Tiger!

A gust of wind came, and the withered yellow leaves fell from the branches, floating toward Xu Yang’s direction.

A single tree can shed many leaves.

Xu Yang remembered that his family used to have a tree which would shed its leaves every autumn, covering the yard so thoroughly that it could never be fully swept away.

After finishing the sweeping, by the afternoon there would be a fresh carpet of leaves again.

It wasn’t until the tree was cut down that this situation ceased.

So, planting trees in the yard can be quite troublesome; they look nice, but when it’s time to sweep, the trees don’t seem so appealing anymore.

In the forest, there’s no one to sweep. A gust of wind means countless falling leaves.

The ground is covered with them.

Walking among the drifting leaves gave Xu Yang a different feeling.

He thought of the Black Kite he saved today.

The reward was the gratitude of the Black Kite.

That is to say, once the Black Kite grows up, it will fly to Xu Yang’s side on its own initiative.

He didn’t know what it would be like by then.

Raising a bird of prey is pretty cool.

Xu Yang saw a vlogger’s video; he was a Huaxia person living in France, raising various Spear Falcons and Snow Minks, training them to catch rabbits.

The vlogger owned a farm, raised Eagles and Snow Minks, and made money by catching rabbits, which were overabundant there, creating holes all over the farmland, making it necessary to hire people to catch them.

Xu Yang felt those Spear Falcons were really handsome.

There were white ones and black ones, all very beautiful.

He liked watching these kinds of videos.

There was another guy raising lizards of various colors, the very precious kind, which after shedding their skin became as beautiful as Jade, also a pleasing sight to see.

In comparison, his own farming was still simple.

If not counting that Leopard.

It’s not allowed for private individuals to raise birds of prey in China to prevent injury incidents. Only some ethnic minorities can keep them, in respect of their customs.

So, Xu Yang couldn’t keep them.

But if a bird of prey came on its own, there was nothing he could do.

His rhetoric remained the same:

"What? Keep a bird of prey?"

"I need to state here that I have no relationship whatsoever with this bird of prey; it approached me of its own volition."

"This is slander, you’re slandering me."

He just needed to wait for after winter when the Black Kite could fly high in the sky, by that time it would come to Xu Yang’s farm.

Xu Yang hoped it would grow up healthy.

He would check on it during winter, and take the opportunity to see the tiger as well.

There was one more place to which his thoughts would wander.

Xu Yang returned to the farm already evening.

There was still some food in the kitchen, so Xu Yang heated up the meal and ate something.

Everything on the farm was still in good order.

Soon after, Wang Wu came to report on the day’s work; today a faucet was leaking, and Li Shan and Ma Wen fixed it together.

Running a farm means dealing with various small issues from time to time.

Frozen pipes, power outages, leaking water, plants looking yellowish, and so on.

One needs to be ready to respond at any time.

Water and electricity are the two most critical elements among these issues.

To ensure smooth farm operations, there needs to be an employee who understands piping and electrical systems.

In this regard, Ma Wen is quite strong. According to him, through incurring losses he gained experience, having suffered quite a bit from these issues when running his own farm.

Although Li Shan’s mobility may not be excellent, his dexterity is quite skilled; fixing faucets, repairing wires, changing fuses, he’s capable of dealing with these minor tasks.

Wang Wu, fresh out of university, specializes in farming, but he doesn’t know much about plumbing or electrical systems.

However, that’s not necessary. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Together, they’ll run the farm well.

Xu Yang went to inspect the place where the incident occurred.

The faucet had been replaced with a new one.

One of the most exhausting things about being a farmer is worrying, having concerns about everything.

No wonder some farmers look ten years older than their actual age.

If employees can relieve some of the stress, it’s a luxury.

"Okay, in the future handle these issues directly. Just let me know how much money you spend," Xu Yang told the three of them.

"Sometimes I’m not here, and I’m depending on you to keep watch."

The three hurriedly agreed.

They were capable of handling such matters.

Inside, all three of them really hoped that the farm would thrive.

The combined salaries of the three of them was not a small sum; selling so many potatoes could only cover two or three months’ wages.

The current profitability of the farm wasn’t particularly good.

It could only be described as a small profit but nothing substantial.

If the farm were to collapse, that would be troublesome.

Xu Yang was confident, though.

This was just the beginning.

Grass and potatoes were just appetizers.

Blueberries and Annona were the main courses.

A greenhouse could net over 100,000 yuan after costs.

In a year, income should be around 300,000 yuan.

If everything goes smoothly, that is.

That night, Xu Yang calculated his popularity value.

He had been opening livestreams from time to time and the accumulated popularity value had reached over 600,000.

He hadn’t done any lottery draws for the time being.

Prizes from the Advanced Lottery were items worth several tens of thousands - not satisfying enough.

To do a draw, it had to be a Special-level Lottery.

Or save up to 1,000,000 and upgrade the Treasure Compass.

Looking at it this way, he still needed popularity value.

But livestreaming requires content, and Xu Yang could only stream when he went into the mountains.

"The saving process is quite painful, but for that moment of thrill, I’ll endure," Xu Yang thought to himself.

When it comes to lotteries, different people have different strategies.

For example, with ten consecutive draws in a game, some people like to draw whenever they can, while others prefer to save up for ten and draw them all at once.

There are even more extreme people who just like to save, enjoying hoarding draw chances without actually drawing, just for the pleasure of seeing them accumulate.

Xu Yang was the type who could hold out.

In the following days, the farm was busy with its routine affairs and work.

Feeding chickens and ducks, watering the plants, and so on.

Day by day, you watch the chickens, ducks, and geese grow up.

It was the season to eat them.

The vegetables in the garden were also growing well.

When it came to cooking, you just looked at what was available in the garden, picked some at random, added some meat, and that was a meal.

That afternoon, Ma Wen came over early to report:

"Farmer, it’s time to buy cabbages this season, isn’t it? I heard in the town that cabbages are on the market now, and the cabbages at this time are the best."

By mid-October, it was the season to buy cabbages.

Here, people bought cabbages in hundreds of pounds, without any exaggeration. Many people bought thousands of pounds at a time and carried them away in carts.

The prices were not expensive.

A single cabbage could weigh over ten pounds.

For instance, last year Xu Yang’s family bought 73 cabbages for a total of 804 pounds, and they actually paid 320 yuan.

The economy here was not developed, hence the prices.

No wonder life was worry-free.

"Yes, it’s time to buy cabbages. For the four of us on the farm, we’ve got to buy at least 3,000 pounds."

"My family needs to buy some too. My mom likes to pickle cabbages,"

Xu Yang responded.

"I’ll go take a look this afternoon. I’ll handle this personally."

In the afternoon, Xu Yang started up his diesel three-wheeler, which made rattling noises, and drove out of the farm.

Here, people used carts to transport cabbages. They could eat them all winter long.

The low temperatures and dry climate here meant that cabbages could be preserved for a long time.

Xu Yang called Mrs. Xu, who said she also wanted to come; she believed only in the cabbages she picked herself.

"Mom, are you saying you don’t trust me? Could my choice of cabbages be poor?"

Xu Yang argued on the phone.

"Forget it, you pick yours, and I’ll pick mine,"

Mrs. Xu responded decisively.

Afterward, Xu Yang went to the village to pick up Mrs. Xu and then drove to the town.

Having a diesel three-wheeler was indeed convenient.

Before, they used vans to transport goods, which couldn’t carry too many cabbages and would run slowly when fully loaded.

Vans were like that, and you could often see them moving slowly on the road because they were carrying heavy loads.

Now, it was different. With the three-wheeler, there was plenty of power.

Mrs. Xu sat in the passenger seat, feeling quite happy.

The two arrived at the town’s market.

Many big trucks were selling whole loads of cabbages.

Many people were gathered around buying them.

There were also small carts hauling cabbages.

The scene was very lively.

This time, Xu Yang took on the role of photographer.

Daily vlog of the farm, and my mom’s routine of buying vegetables

Mrs. Xu was a professional when it came to picking vegetables. She approached a large truck, quickly inspected a cabbage, and then started haggling with the owner.

In the end, they didn’t make a deal, so she put the cabbage back on the truck and coolly said, "This won’t do."

Xu Yang didn’t say a word on the side.

For bargaining, Mrs. Xu was indeed the right person; a Northeastern auntie’s combat effectiveness was very high.

And so, after making the rounds, Mrs. Xu returned to the first large truck.

"I’ll pick a few dozen from you,"

she told the owner and began picking right away.

As a child, Xu Yang felt embarrassed by this. Bargaining and not buying, then nonchalantly returning to make a purchase—it was too awkward.

But now, he thought it was normal because everyone did it.

The owner, familiar with such situations, let Mrs. Xu pick freely.

Mrs. Xu swiftly picked out 70 large cabbages, each weighing more than ten pounds.

"Mom, pick some for me too. Take 250. My farm can eat them,"

Xu Yang quickly called out when he saw this.

"Okay, let me see,"

Mrs. Xu climbed onto the large truck and began picking cabbages while Xu Yang was responsible for moving them onto their vehicle.

Soon, the cabbages piled up in several stacks.

The back of the vehicle was filled.

Their purchase was considered a large one.

Most households would usually buy around five or six hundred pounds.

Those buying thousands of pounds were rare.

Since Xu Yang ran a farm, he directly bought 250 cabbages, which was quite the gesture.

Many people looked their way.

Some recognized Xu Yang and even took out their phones to snap pictures of him.

He was considered a local internet celebrity in Yanji.

However, the term "internet celebrity" held somewhat of a derogatory connotation, and Xu Yang didn’t like the label. He preferred to carry on quietly as a farmer who doubled as a small-time broadcaster.

Just a small-time broadcaster with a stable viewership of 30,000 to 40,000 people.

Cabbages were really cheap.

No wonder anything that went on sale or was discounted was referred to as "cabbage price."

A full load in the vehicle, over three thousand pounds, only cost around 1,400 yuan.

Xu Yang drove the three-wheeler back to the village first.

The elders chatting at the entrance of the village pointed and gossiped as they saw him, probably exchanging some kind of information.

Xu Yang didn’t mind.

He dropped Mrs. Xu off at the supermarket and called out Xu Hongshan to come out. The three of them moved some cabbages down from the vehicle.

As they were leaving, Xu Hongshan asked:

"Does that big tiger really not bite you? How do you manage it?"

Xu Yang had thought Xu Hongshan would remind him to be careful, but then Xu Hongshan added:

"Can I go and touch it?"

Hearing this, Xu Yang was taken aback and hurriedly said:

"Dad, that tiger only recognizes me, not others, not even my real dad."

"You’d better not go; it’s dangerous."

Xu Hongshan clicked his tongue, feeling it was a pity.

He had seen the Northeast Tiger in the video; it was really beautiful, with those patterns, that big face—who wouldn’t like it?

Unfortunately, others weren’t allowed to touch it.

So, it had to be let go.