Fruit Farmer In A Cultivation World

East Ridge city was a melting pot of people from all walks of life. Being the Green Wind Empire's most isolated city, it was particularly appealing to thugs who wanted to make a name for themselves.

With not enough personnel at hand, the city lord had allowed the thugs and their gangs to do as they pleased as long as they didn't cause unnecessary trouble.

Because of this, many youths who didn't have a clear path ahead of them had joined the several gangs that were active in the city. Doing so would allow them to live comfortable lives.

Unfortunately for some newcomers though, the market had been saturated. And though the gangs still took in new members, the benefits clearly couldn't be distributed as promised, especially when winter arrived.

In order to keep things under control, the gang leaders pulled some strings behind the back and arranged for some newly initiated thugs to live in the surrounding villages. Doing so would result in some homeless people in the city freezing to death but it didn't matter to them.

As long as they could grow their influence, all was well.

Lin Zedong was among the hundreds of new gangsters who had been distributed in the surrounding villages.

Having initially joined the Black Blade gang with the hopes of learning martial arts and living an easy life, Lin Zedong was very dissatisfied with the current arrangement.

Not only had he not yet been taught any martial arts, he was also forced to live in a run-down hut in the Red Rock village.

The village chief had arranged for enough food to last through the winter but how could the meager amount be enough for a growing young man like him? Emboldened by the fact that the Black Blade gang was behind him, he caused trouble in the village center, demanding more food.

Sadly, things didn't go as planned. Instead of getting more food, he and three of his accomplices were forced to run when the villagers rushed at them with sticks and stones. The four of them were only allowed to continue staying in the village after they knelt down and apologize.

The villagers wanted to chase them all away but the village chief calmed them down. After all, the city lord had instructed for the homeless to be sheltered and fed during every winter. Every village had to abide by this without exception.

And though the village chief and all villagers were clear about the origin of these thugs, they really didn't have any way to deal with them without breaking the law.

Lin Zedong and his friends had laid low since then, not daring to cause trouble.

But unlike his accomplices, who had lost all will and turned into dogs that could do nothing but bark, Lin Zedong hadn't truly given up. He had been collecting information and had learned about a pair of old man and his granddaughter who were living in a house in a hill.

Sure, he couldn't cause trouble over here as the villagers would gather quickly and force him into a corner but that wouldn't be the case in the hill. He had already scouted it and aside from the old man and the little girl, there was only a young farmer who lived there.

They were prime targets. As long as he didn't leave any evidence behind, there was nothing the villagers could do to him.

Lin Zedong couldn't help but chuckle at his genius. What was even better was that the young farmer had poultry. It had been a long time since he had tasted meat and he couldn't wait to dig into the tender flesh of the chickens.

For this reason, he hadn't even shared his plans with his accomplices. He'd already made up his mind. He'd first empty the farmer's chicken coop and then call on his brothers to rob the old man and his granddaughter.

And when they returned to the city, he'd report about the magical sunflowers growing on the snow to his superiors.

This way, not only would be able to enjoy meat all alone but he'd also make a name for himself among the freshly initiated thugs. Once word of his deeds spread, the higher ups of the Black Blade gang would surely do their best to nurture him and teach him martial arts.

Lin Zedong walked into the barn with the beautiful pictures still playing in his head. He ignored the sleeping donkey and made his way to the coop.

Inside, he could see four chickens sleeping cozily. Maybe because of the cold, they'd all huddled together and didn't wake up even when he opened the coop's door.

Lin Zedong steadied his hand and slowly approached a hen. Though it was almost midnight and the farmer had already gone to sleep, it would be best if he could take the chickens away without anyone noticing.

He grabbed the hen and forced it into a sack. The bird struggled desperately but how could it contest against his strength. Done with the first, he tried catching another chicken but the little critters were quick on their feet, dodging him repeatedly.

After almost a minute of struggle, he finally managed to shove another hen inside the sack. But just as he was about to move his hands towards the third bird, he felt an impact on the back of his head.

"Who the fuck dares hit me?"

Though the hit caused him to stagger, he maintained his standing position. Overtaken by rage at being ambushed, he turned around to confront the attacker.

What came into his view was the flat part of a shovel's blade.

Dang!

That was the last sound he heard before losing consciousness.

*****

Sen Lin looked at the man twitching on the barn.

I can't believe I didn't knock him down on the first hit. Looks like I've gotten soft after years of peaceful farming.

Sen Lin thought to himself before landing another blow on the unconscious thief. Seeing that the twitching had stopped, he nodded in satisfaction.

He had been burning with rage as he watched the thief lay his hands on the chickens he had worked so hard to buy. If it weren't for his uncertainty in taking down the intruder, he'd have confronted him earlier.

Sen Lin looked disapprovingly at Blacky who was still asleep after all the commotion and quickly put the chickens back in the coop.

After making sure that none of his precious birds were harmed, he dragged the thief outside.

It didn't take long for the intruder to regain consciousness, only a minute or so. He flailed like a fish before looking up at the man who had knocked him out.

"Do you know who I am? How dare you attack someone from the Black Blade gang?"

Sen Lin ignored the man's threatening words. He had already tied his hands and legs with a rope. Besides shouting, what more could he do?

As expected, the thief stopped shouting after some time. His haughty look was also replaced by one of fear.

"Looks like you're ready to talk." Sen Lin crouched in front of the man and stabbed the shovel into the ground in a threatening manner. "Why don't you tell me why you are targeting me?"