Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 176 - 175: Gem Corn Ripens, The Joy of Opening Blind Boxes!

Chapter 176: Chapter 175: Gem Corn Ripens, The Joy of Opening Blind Boxes!

It was another bountiful day.

After catching two big fish, Xu Yang headed toward the farm with the Leopard and the Arctic Fox in tow.

The Arctic Fox still didn’t dare to get too close to the Leopard.

That was just as well; it’s better for wild animals to maintain their wild instincts.

Farm life might be tiring, but it’s quite pleasant when it’s time to harvest.

Xu Yang felt just like that.

Returning to the farm with two fish and having harvested a large amount of popularity value, he was definitely very satisfied.

The popularity value had reached 500,000.

As Xu Yang walked back on the mountain road, the Arctic Fox turned and ran away near the bottom of the mountain.

It was probably going to its den.

Xu Yang then said to the netizens:

"I’ll take a day off tomorrow, and I’ll start a live broadcast the day after tomorrow."

"The Gem Corn on my farm is ripe, and I’m planning to open the "blind boxes" the day after tomorrow."

"Let’s see if among all the Gem Corn I’ve planted, there are a few with particularly good appearance."

"Some people say planting Gem Corn is a trap, after all, there’s barely any sales channel once they’re grown."

"But trying my luck isn’t bad."

As Xu Yang said this, the netizens were also looking forward to it.

[To have another live broadcast, that’s not easy!]

[It’d be nice to see the daily life on the farm in the live broadcast!]

[Yeah, it’s been a long time since we saw Little Black and the Maquan, and that Sika Deer, we can only see them in the videos!]

Everyone responded.

Then, as he was not far from the bottom of the mountain, Xu Yang waved to everyone and ended the live broadcast.

He made his way back to the farm.

Of the two fish, one was given to the farm staff for them to figure out how to share.

The other fish was taken back home, ready for him to cook a meal himself.

Fish freshly caught from the lake are the freshest.

It’s best to eat it while it’s fresh; this kind of freshness is a flavor that not even the best chefs can recreate, and it would be very satisfying to eat.

Xu Yang started to work on a fish soup.

His cooking skills were pretty good, so naturally making a bowl of fish soup was quite easy for him.

He completely removed the fishy smell from the fish, then fried a couple of sunny-side-up eggs, and prepared shredded radish and tofu. Next came the cooking, adding various ingredients to simmer.

The fish soup was milky white and infused with the fragrance of green onions.

Drinking a mouthful, he felt a warm flow spreading from his tongue and quickly diffusing to his limbs.

The sensation was indescribably refreshing.

Dinner was simple: a big pot of fish soup, some fish meat, paired with a bowl of rice, two pickled vegetables, and he also gnawed on half a pig trotter.

Having been cold and hungry from spending the whole day in the mountains, he had a good meal that night.

The little ones were also fed well by him.

Winter was here, and it was very cold outside. Inside the warm house, being full and content was a very comfortable feeling.

This is why many people gain weight in the winter—too little exercise and they can only wait for warmer weather to lose weight again.

The heating in the farm was burning strongly, tended to by Li Shan who was especially responsible.

Many households used coal for heating.

The coal business was tricky; the fear was that dishonest people might sell poor-quality coal as good coal, and there were always people getting cheated.

Naturally, Xu Yang had a keen eye, selecting only the strong and long-burning good coal, not only for his own farm but also for his parents’ place, buying a lot.

It would last the whole winter without any issues.

The coal shed was filled with coal, covered with tarpaulin. After it snowed, the snow would also cover it, and occasionally, one could see many cat paw prints left on top.

Who knows which cat roamed onto the coal pile.

A warm night passed.

The Leopard felt hot in the night and took the initiative to run outside the house.

This big guy was quite simple-minded and finally stopped sleeping on the heated brick bed.

Outside, it had its own den.

Its den was essentially a small house without a door, and Xu Yang had made all the arrangements for it.

The two dogs’ kennels were the small type, with cotton curtains added to the entrance to keep them warm inside.

The Sika Deer was placed by Xu Yang in the horse enclosure, with its own fenced area separate from the black horse.

Winter was here, so proper arrangements for the little guys were necessary.

The little leopard was finally learning to sleep on its own.

Though it matured more slowly, it was also gradually growing up.

The next day.

Outside was still somewhat chilly, not as comfortable as inside the house.

There was not much physical labor to be done in winter.

Li Shan was catching up on sleep, while Ma Wen and Wang Wu went to check on the corn in the greenhouse.

"Do you think we can make money with this corn? The corn traders won’t take it; it’s just not that easy to sell."

"It all comes down to luck. Even if we don’t sell the kernels to those trinket merchants, we won’t make much."

"The farmer said we’ll start harvesting the corn tomorrow. Once it’s picked, we’ll peel it all and do the live broadcast in the meanwhile."

"I think that’s a good idea. I’ve looked into it; the more pale pink the corn is, the more expensive. Also, those pure, deep red Gem Corns, they’re very pricey."

The two chatted idly about the corn.

Such was life on the farm—planting and harvesting.

The time had come to harvest the Gem Corn.

However, what set it apart from before was that the crops previously grown could be sold directly for money.

With Gem Corn, it was all a matter of luck, pure luck.

The main issue was that Xu Yang’s investment costs were somewhat high; most people grew corn during the right season and simply planted it outdoors.

Xu Yang used a greenhouse, which meant higher costs from the start.

He had an idea on the spur of the moment when he didn’t know what to grow; leaving the land idle seemed wasteful, and just then, Agricultural University had Gem Corn seeds available, so Xu Yang decided he might as well plant those.

This day was for resting.

After two consecutive days in the mountains, Xu Yang felt a bit tired.

He played games in his computer room for a while and occasionally went to check on the animals.

He also took the opportunity to let the chickens, ducks, and geese out for some fresh air.

The chickens each went their own way, while the ducks and geese tended to stick together.

Since the snow hadn’t yet melted and the temperature was somewhat low, as soon as the ducks came out, they stayed put for a few seconds and then all ran back into the duck house.

They huddled together inside the duck house, where it was warmer.

The geese, not as chilled, strolled around the farmer’s yard for a while.

But they would keep their distance upon seeing the leopard.

The presence of the leopard was intimidating.

That was just the leopard; if there had been a tiger, who knows how terrified they would have been.

By then, not just the ducks, but the staff might be too scared to set foot on the farm.

Xu Yang purely rested that day.

He took a stroll around the yard, played on the computer in the study all day, and then pondered what to eat.

It felt quite pleasing indeed.

In reality, most farmers were rather exhausted, extremely worn out from the endless farm work day after day.

Xu Yang was more relaxed because he employed relatively many workers, and given the current workload of the farm, he could afford to take it easy completely.

And with no issues in his seeds, greenhouse, or techniques, he had fewer worries.

As long as the crops grew well, everything else was hardly a problem.

Occasionally, he’d cuddle with the leopard.

The little leopard’s eyes remained exceptionally clear, radiating an adorable charm, without even a hint of wildness.

It was precisely for this reason that it could live with the people on the farm.

Otherwise, it would have to be returned to the wild.

And so the day passed.

The next morning, Xu Yang went to the greenhouse, turned on the drone to hover and shoot from above, and started picking corn with the staff.

Four people working on less than half an acre of corn, they were incredibly fast.

Before long, piles of corn were accumulated.

Online viewers were enjoying the show in the live stream.

[What’s Old Xu live streaming today, not going to the mountains?]

[It’s Gem Corn blind box opening; it’s the Gem Corn he grew himself, looks like it’s worth quite a bit!]

[Most Gem Corn isn’t worth much; it’s purely an investment with little hope for good looks!]

[To be honest, if you really want to make money growing corn, you’re better off with regular corn. This is for those who enjoy ornamental corn, just planting a couple of acres with a few thousand dollars.]

[Yeah, it’s basically worthless. If it were really valuable, a lot more people would be growing it. People are profit-driven!]

Many made their points with confidence.

And indeed, things were as they said.

There was virtually no market for Gem Corn, and cultivation was even more difficult.

It all came down to luck.

In simpler terms, it was a gamble, mostly resulting in losses, occasionally a small profit, and very rarely a huge windfall.

By this time, Xu Yang had already instructed his staff to pile up the corn.

They didn’t store it but started husking right away.

Gem Corn came in a kaleidoscope of colors; any color you could think of.

Mostly dark colors prevailed, looking rather messy with an array of haphazard hues.

Like dark red, dark purple, dark black – not particularly pleasing to the eye.

Even if there were some lighter-colored kernels, the overall messiness detracted from their appeal.

The genetic expression of each corn kernel’s color was uncertain.

With so many kernels on a cob of corn, the odds of them all being the same color were extremely slim.

But sometimes, there were exceptions – a cob completely one color.

Most commonly red.

Xu Yang said to his employees,

"Everyone pay attention; the best quality of Gem Corn are the light pink kernels, those semi-transparent light pink ones that look like gems."

"The more light pink kernels, the more valuable the corn. But if there are just a few sparse light pink kernels, then it’s not valuable."

"However, we should set aside the light pink kernels as seeds. Next spring, I’ll plant the light pink kernels."

"I’ll see how that goes."

Hearing Xu Yang’s instructions, everyone nodded in agreement.

The four of them found benches to sit on and made their way outside the greenhouse.

The small animals gathered around them.

The staff were no longer afraid of the leopard; after all, it seemed no different from a big dog to them, and they had gotten used to it.

"Alright, let’s start husking. Pure colors are the best to find."

"Whether or not we can break even depends entirely on luck."

At Xu Yang’s command, the four started husking corn simultaneously.