Chapter 23
While Yu Xiaoyuan was still busy picking on Big Orange, Qian Mingtian pulled out a handwritten price sheet and walked him through the logistics. It laid out everything in clear detail, from freight and fuel costs to the per-kilogram purchase price and formal contract terms.
“My second uncle took a crew of villagers to throw together two more granaries,” Qian Mingtian said. “They’re pretty simple post-and-beam structures, so they’ll be finished in two or three days.
“Half of the harvest will go straight to that depot you mentioned,” he continued, sharing the compromise reached with the village council. “My dad rode along in the truck yesterday to inspect the site. The facility at your address is huge—it can easily hold three-quarters of the crop. He even asked about the vacant unit next door; the monthly rent is cheap. If we run out of room, we’ll just pay for an on-site manager to look after it for a couple of weeks.
“It’s not that we don’t trust you, mind you. We’re just worried some folks might try to double-sell their yield. For the honest families, we’ll keep their grain safe right here in the village. As for anyone looking shifty, we’ll load theirs onto the trucks and send it your way first.”
Yu Xiaoyuan listened and nodded without objection. After all, his goal was to stockpile food, not merely play the philanthropist. The warehouse his uncle had leased was conveniently close to their suburban villa. He could easily take a casual stroll there every evening, slip inside after dark, and sweep the day’s delivery straight into his cheek pouches before heading home.
Having Qian Mingtian manage the local supply chain meant grain would pour in steadily day after day, keeping his personal reserves growing without drawing unwanted attention.
By seven or eight in the morning, the heavy dew had evaporated from the fields, and the pale mist drifting over the valley had cleared into a bright, crisp day.
Yu Xiaoyuan decided it was time to hit the road. Yesterday afternoon, Qian Mingtian’s father had driven a convoy out to the villa to deliver the livestock: twenty pigs, cattle, and sheep, alongside two miniature donkeys, fifty chickens, ducks, and geese, and several aerated tanks of fingerlings.
If he didn’t rush back to stash those noisy creatures inside his spatial realm, the chaotic farmyard ruckus would surely cause a neighborhood scandal—and drive his poor uncle and sister to the brink of a nervous breakdown.
Right, I still need to buy bulk livestock feed, he reminded himself. No matter how much he had gathered over the past few days, practical needs always revealed fresh gaps in his preparations. In modern society, a trip to the local supermarket was all it took to solve any shortage of food, clothing, or daily comforts. In the wasteland, however, even a single roll of toilet paper would be an unobtainable luxury.
He climbed behind the wheel of his commercial flatbed truck, which was heavily weighed down with nursery stock and supplies. Just past the stone village archway, he pulled onto a quiet dirt shoulder, hopped into the enclosed bed, and transferred the entire haul into the Kuntian Jade.
Appearing inside the jade dimension, he commanded his bound artifact spirit, “Plant all the fruit saplings along the western slope. The vegetable starts go into the valley plots. For this first harvest, your primary mission is seed harvesting. Once the crops mature, harvest the seeds, label them neatly, organize them inside the wooden cottage, and replant the next cycle immediately.”
Kun Tianya’s expression flickered with lingering resentment, but he bowed his head with practiced obedience. “Understood, Master. Kun Tianya will see it done. All fruit saplings will be rooted on the western slope, and any non-bearing species will be set along the second ridge.”
Having learned that open defiance was futile, the spirit had grown remarkably cooperative. The master-servant contract was bound directly to his soul; harbor a single rebellious or malicious thought, and searing spiritual flames would scour his consciousness without mercy. The ancient pact cared nothing for excuses or morality.
Yu Xiaoyuan trotted over to inspect the patch of test wheat he had sown earlier. The shoots were already standing lush and vibrant green. “Coming along nicely,” he murmured. He needed to acquire mechanized harvesting tools as soon as possible.
For the time being, he had channeled a measured fraction of his spiritual authority into Kun Tianya, granting the spirit just enough power to plant and reap by hand. Yet should the spirit ever attempt to turn that energy toward unauthorized purposes, the contract would flare, engulfing him in agony. Having passed out from the spiritual burns several times already—on top of the lingering trauma from the heavenly lightning strike—Kun Tianya wouldn’t dare test his boundaries again.
Satisfied, Yu Xiaoyuan exited the jade realm, settled back into the driver’s seat, and set off along the rural highway.
The accelerated growth rate inside the Kuntian Jade was remarkable, cutting standard crop maturation down by roughly two-thirds. Winter wheat typically required about two hundred and thirty days to ripen into a single annual harvest. With a two-thirds reduction, he could cycle through three full harvests every year!
As for rice, which could manage up to three seasonal plantings in warm climates, the dimension’s rich soil and gentle spiritual air could easily push that to five—perhaps even six—harvests annually.
Just imagine the staggering mountains of grain that will produce!
The leftover rice bran could be mixed into poultry mash for the chickens and ducks, while the dried straw and stalks would make nutrient-dense fodder for the cattle, sheep, and pigs. Better yet, the shallow waters of the flooded paddies could support freshwater crabs and river fish, offering high-protein table fare for his family while serving as supplemental feed for the waterfowl!
The little hamster grew giddy just working through the logistics. It was the ultimate ecological farming cycle—a self-contained, closed-loop homestead!
Crucially, agricultural cultivation inside the Kuntian Jade was entirely self-sustaining; as long as the crops and livestock thrived in balance, the realm’s internal spiritual energy would naturally replenish itself.
Reviewing the instructions recorded in the ancient manual, Yu Xiaoyuan recalled that the realm was currently resting at Tier Two out of nine possible stages. With each subsequent breakthrough, the cultivable land area doubled in size.
Gripping the steering wheel, he looked out across the horizon with quiet reverence. He finally grasped why this divine heirloom had been forged in the first place: it was an enduring spark of hope left behind to preserve humanity. Its abilities were tailor-made for survival. Though a solitary flame amid a dying world, it burned with steady, inextinguishable brilliance.
Recalling how Jiao Yuwan had squandered such a miracle for petty vanity, cold fury stirred in his chest. In the previous timeline, the original owner had simply wanted to use the jade’s bounty to keep his loved ones safe and fed. How could that ever be a crime? He might have lacked grand ambitions, but compared to Jiao Yuwan’s ruthless greed, he had been pure of heart.
Ahead on the shoulder of a narrow country lane, the sight of a farmer pacing beside heaps of drying grain caught his eye. The middle-aged man was shouting bitterly into his phone, furious over the exploitative market rates.
“This is prime-grade grain! How can you offer only ninety cents? You quoted ninety-five just three days ago! Do you people have any conscience?!”
The voice through the receiver was cold and dismissive. “Ninety cents is the offer, take it or leave it. Keep dragging your feet, and it’ll be eighty-five tomorrow!” The line went dead with a sharp click.
The farmer stared at his golden harvest scattered across the asphalt, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “This is good grain… honest, clean grain.”
Yet raw grain couldn’t sit out in the open forever. “My kid’s semester starts in a couple of weeks, and the tuition is due,” he muttered miserably, kicking a loose pebble. He cursed himself for hesitating, wishing he had locked in the sale days earlier instead of watching the price slide into the dirt.
Gritting his teeth, he reluctantly redialed the number. “Fine! I’ll sell, I’ll sell!”
“Should’ve agreed to that earlier,” the buyer sneered over the line. “Sit tight. I’ll send a hauler out the day after tomorrow.” The call disconnected once more.
Taking in the man’s dejected posture, Yu Xiaoyuan pulled the truck onto the verge. Rolling down the window, he held out a contract slip. “One yuan twenty per catty. I’ll take it.”
It was the standard procurement contract Qian Mingtian had drafted for the village: simple, fair, with payment cleared upon loading.
“Really?!” The farmer spun around, his eyes wide. “Are you serious, young man?”
“I can transfer the funds to your account right this second. Just round up a few hands to help shovel it into the truck bed.”
Yu Xiaoyuan knew the man was desperate enough to let the commercial distillery haul it off within forty-eight hours. Rather than letting prime food be fermented into cheap liquor, he might as well claim it.
“Yes, right away!”
The transaction took mere minutes. Once both signatures were on the paper, Yu Xiaoyuan pulled up his banking app and wired the full balance on the spot.
Claiming that his cargo bed was nearing capacity, he loaded only half of the piles, advising the farmer to keep the remainder safe at home for now—or haul it over to Qian Mingtian’s village depot once he received word.
Afraid the wealthy young buyer might change his mind, the farmer quickly called his neighbors over. Armed with wide grain shovels, the crew packed the truck bed in record time.
Before shifting into gear, Yu Xiaoyuan rolled his window down to offer a final reminder. “The Qian Family Village depot is purchasing bulk grain at this exact rate. If anyone nearby is in a hurry to sell their harvest, tell them to head over there.”
Dealing through Qian Mingtian’s cooperative ensured families received a fair price while retaining a significant portion of their food reserves. Letting corporate syndicates clear out the silos, on the other hand, would leave the valley stripped of every kernel. The little hamster was genuinely worried that ordinary folks wouldn’t have enough food left to survive the opening disasters.
Closing the cab door, he checked his side mirrors. He was currently piloting a mid-sized commercial hauler with a heavy-duty bed capable of carrying up to nine tons. He had specifically swapped out his smaller utility van for this run to move more cargo.
However, a truck this large came with major drawbacks: urban commercial restrictions meant he couldn’t legally drive it through downtown during daytime hours. He would need to route through the outskirts, unload at his leased warehouse, and quietly stash the entire truck inside his spatial dimension under the cover of night.
The idea hadn’t even been his; his uncle had insisted on securing several heavy commercial haulers, pointing out that industrial-grade freight vehicles would be indispensable once civil logistics collapsed.
Still, the thought made the little hamster’s cheeks twinge with logistical anxiety. Where on earth am I supposed to pack such a massive vehicle? In my cheeks, or inside the Kuntian Jade?
Before this, he had been cruising around town in a compact 3.2-meter box truck with an enclosed bay that kept his cargo completely hidden. With a payload capacity of under two tons, it had been the perfect nimble hauler for running supply errands around the city.
To bypass downtown traffic, Yu Xiaoyuan took the long way around the outer ring road.
Along the rural bypass, he stopped whenever he spotted farmers preparing to offload their grain to private brokers, buying out half their piles on the spot and directing them to Qian Mingtian’s depot for the rest.
By the time he dropped the day’s harvest off at the suburban warehouse, transferred the grain into the Kuntian Jade, and returned to the villa, the clock on the dashboard read nine-thirty in the evening.
The moment he pushed open the front door, he was greeted by absolute chaos.
Yu Tianwei was in the middle of a frantic scramble across the foyer, chasing down a flock of chirping, runaway yellow chicks that had slipped out of their cardboard crates.
The instant she spotted him, she lunged forward like a drowning woman reaching for a lifeline. “Hurry! Stuff them into your spatial pocket right now! Don’t you dare hesitate—a single second of delay is a mortal insult to your sister!”
Panting for breath, she thrust a squawking ball of yellow fluff straight toward her brother’s open mouth.
“Whoa, hold on, Sister! Living creatures go into the jade pendant, not my mouth!” Yu Xiaoyuan cried, waving his hands frantically as he channeled the spatial connection, sweeping the chicks, piglets, lambs, and calves safely into the lush pastures of the Kuntian Jade.
Tianwei collapsed onto the living room sofa, letting out an exhausted groan. “Preparing for the end of the world is absolute torture.”
Hearing the front door close, Yu Yuanzhou finally emerged from the second-floor study. He had retreated upstairs the moment he arrived home from headquarters, refusing to face the livestock until his nephew returned to handle them.
“It’s going to be ten times harder once the disaster strikes, silly girl,” Yu Yuanzhou said, giving his daughter a gentle lecture. “You won’t even have access to clean toilet paper back then. Once your brother’s stash runs out, you’ll be wiping with tree leaves.”
He turned to his nephew, clapping a warm hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You’ve worked hard these past couple of days, Little Yuan.”
“Not at all, Uncle. But… you’re totally right about the paper…” Yu Xiaoyuan murmured, his eyes widening. He had completely forgotten to stock up on paper products!
Looks like I’ll have to pay another visit to Chairman Mu’s wholesale club tomorrow morning~
Tianwei reached over and stroked the boy’s soft hair. “Don’t worry, your sister already took care of that for our little hamster.”
“Squeak?” Did Sister buy a mountain of paper towels?
The hamster’s instincts flared to life. Shifting into his animal form, he sat upright on his hind legs, resting his tiny front paws over his chest while his moist pink nose twitched with curiosity.
Sniff, sniff~
“Your sister bought you something even better,” Tianwei announced proudly. Cupping the little hamster in her hands, she carried him over to the ground-floor guest suite and threw the door wide open.
“Ta-da! A whole room full of outfits!”
“Hmph! Deceitful humans!”
The little hamster snapped his head aside, kicking his hind legs in a desperate attempt to wriggle free from her grip.
Outrageous! My sister has completely lost her mind!
The entire guest bedroom was packed to the ceiling with miniature pet clothes, gourmet hamster seed blends, mineral bathing sand, wooden chew toys, freeze-dried treats, cheese drops, specialty small-animal shampoo, conditioning rinses, and sweet orange-scented grooming oils.
Tianwei had taken his claim that he could “wash with warm water” far too literally!
There were even little running wheels, tiny travel carriers, walking harnesses, kinetic generators tailored to the wheels, and matching LED light strips. She had made sure to buy three of each!
Yu Yuanzhou couldn’t resist raising a hand to swat the back of his daughter’s head. “You never take care of proper business, but you never miss a single piece of nonsense.”
“Ouch!” Tianwei rubbed the back of her head, scooped up the little hamster, set him gently on a shelf, and pulled down an exquisite miniature Hanfu robe. “Look how dashing he looks in this! I even had it custom-tailored.”
She carefully dressed the little hamster, smoothed down his soft fur, and adjusted a tiny scholar’s cap between his ears. “See? Isn’t he adorable?”
Admittedly, he didn’t look like a poised young scholar at all. Instead, he resembled a mischievous, gluttonous pageboy trailing behind an intellectual master, lugging an armful of snacks and sweets.
His sister didn’t mind in the slightest—she absolutely adored him!
“I’ve bought mountains of supplies over the past few days, too. They’re all down in the basement. Come on, let me show you what I’ve accomplished!” Carrying the little hamster on her shoulder, Tianwei proudly led the way downstairs.
“Look here—I order takeout twice a day like clockwork. Twelve-inch deep-dish cheese-crust pizzas, spicy chicken claypots, premium vacuum-sealed steaks, and KFC party buckets every morning and evening. And those pan-fried pork buns you love so much? I’ve ordered dozens of boxes to stockpile.
“On top of that, I hired the private chef from our other villa estate to cook large batches of your favorite dishes. Everything is individually sealed into meal-prep containers and delivered fresh daily. You can stash them straight into your space, and whenever you’re hungry down the road, you can pull them out piping hot!
“I’ve also stockpiled McDonald’s, and from that artisanal boba shop you adore, I bought ten cups of every single flavor on the menu! Don’t worry, I’ll keep placing orders over the next few days to make sure you never run out of milk tea.
“And look at these!” Tianwei lifted him up toward a row of brand-new, heavy-duty commercial freezers. “Guess what’s inside?”
With a smooth whoosh, she pulled open the lid of the first unit.
It was packed to the brim with ice cream! Rows of one-gallon tubs sat stacked in neat columns, with classic vanilla taking up the lion’s share.
In the neighboring freezer sat massive seven-pound commercial tubs. One glance at that sweet, creamy mountain was enough to send the little hamster’s spirit floating into the clouds with pure bliss.
Every remaining gap between the containers had been filled with bags of clean ice cubes, packing five or six massive freezers so tightly that the heavy lids could barely latch shut.
“You mentioned that one of the Seven Catastrophes brings blistering heatwaves,” Tianwei explained. “Tuck these into your dimension first. That way, no matter how scorching it gets outside, we’ll always have plenty of ice to cool down.”
Standing on his sister’s shoulder and gazing down into the frosted depths, the little hamster cupped his chubby cheeks with both paws, his eyes shining. “Whoa! Sister, there’s so much!”
“Of course! Do you want to take the entire freezers along with the ice, or just empty out the cubes?” Tianwei remembered that time stood completely still inside his spatial dimensions, meaning loose ice would never melt once stored.
“Let’s put the ice and ice cream in first. We can keep making fresh ice at home in our spare time to stock up even more.” Once the apocalypse arrived, the electrical grid would fail, followed quickly by the municipal water supply.
With a joyful leap, the little hamster bounded onto the rim of the freezer, diving straight down into the minus-twenty-degree chill.
Tianwei’s heart nearly jumped into her throat. “little hamster! Come back out! Let me lift them out for you, and then you can take them!”
“Squeak, squeak, squeak~” No need!
Taking them out by hand was far too tedious. The little hamster burrowed into the frost, wrapped his tiny paws around a seven-pound tub of ice cream, and brought it straight to his mouth.
The moment he embraced the enormous container, it shrank into a miniature point of light and vanished into thin air, reappearing safely inside his cheek-pouch dimension.
Leaning over the edge, Tianwei watched in awe.
Gulp! Down went one tub.
Gulp! Down went another.
In a flurry of swift bites, he cleared out the entire supply of ice cream and loose cubes. The instant the first freezer was completely empty, he scrambled nimbly across to the next one.
Flicking the heavy lid open with a flick of his paws, he pulled tub after tub toward him, vacuuming up the sweet treasures with rapid, delighted swallows.
Within minutes, every scrap of ice and dairy had vanished without a trace.
Even though she had witnessed his magic before, Tianwei marveled every single time. “You really are incredible, little hamster.” Scooping him up, she affectionately squished his chubby face. “It all fit inside? You honestly can’t tell at all. Aside from being round and soft as ever, your cheeks don’t look weighed down in the least!”
Later that evening, she chatted with the little creature while filling heavy-duty silicone ice bags at the sink. After freezing overnight, the fresh ice could be packed into his dimension the following morning. She also planned to buy bulk frozen beef, lamb, and pork; the freezers would serve as a temporary holding hub during the day until her brother swept them away at night.
As she worked, Tianwei shared the latest corporate news regarding the Mu family. “You have no idea how much chaos broke out yesterday. The news of that car accident went viral almost immediately. Without someone deliberately pushing it behind the scenes, there’s no way it could have trended that fast.
“Old Master Mu reportedly fainted from shock and was rushed to the hospital, leaving the entire conglomerate completely leaderless overnight.
“Those greedy branch families the old man used to pamper wasted no time making a scene. They cornered his hospital room, demanding he transfer corporate equity on the spot. They argued that with Mu Feiyi presumed dead and the patriarch in failing health, they needed to name a replacement immediately.
“They dressed it up in pretty words, but in reality, they were trying to coerce the dying patriarch into rewriting his will right then and there.
“Who would have guessed Mu Feiyi had such absurd luck? He walked into the executive suite at his usual hour the next morning as if nothing had happened. Their petty schemes collapsed instantly, and now they’ve made an enemy of the most ruthless man in the city.”
Tossing a fresh water bag into the freezer, the little hamster paused, tilting his head toward his sister. “He actually stayed with me at Senior Qian’s place last night.”
“Wait, what?!” Tianwei squeezed the bag in her hands so hard it burst, splashing cold water across the counter. “He stayed the night with you?!”
“Yeah. He looked really down, so I turned into a little hamster to keep him company.” The little hamster thought nothing of it, wiggling his fluffy bottom as he pushed another bag into position.
Tianwei, on the other hand, felt a cold knot tighten in her chest. “You… you just turned into a hamster to keep him company? That’s all?”
“Yes.” Dropping the bag, the little hamster looked back at her with a bewildered expression. “What else would happen? We barely even know each other.”
“R-right. That makes sense.” Tianwei nodded slowly, trying to convince herself.
Her brother never attended high-society galas or family banquets, so he had cross paths with Mu Feiyi only a handful of times. How close could they possibly be?
“Actually, the only reason he avoided that crash was that he was delayed buying treats for me,” the little hamster added, dragging another ice pack forward with his teeth and tossing it into the chest.
Tianwei’s heart, which had just settled, leaped right back into her throat. “He bought treats for you?”
“Mm-hmm! He stole my buttered peanuts the other day, which made me furious. So he bought fancy snacks to make it up to me.” Taking it entirely for granted, the hamster urged his distracted sister, “Come on, hurry up with the ice bags!”
“Right, right, on it.” Bending over the filtration tap, Tianwei handed over another filled pack.
“Since when did you two get so close?” She couldn’t shake the suspicion that this little creature had been keeping far too many secrets from her. “And when on earth did he steal your peanuts?”
“A couple of days ago! I told Uncle all about it.” The hamster dragged the pack across the linoleum, shoving it into the freezer with a soft thud. He didn’t bother arranging them neatly; as long as the water froze solid, it was fine.
Tianwei tightened her grip on the plastic, shooting a sharp glare at her father, who was casually shrugging from the living room sofa.
He actually kept this from me!
“And then?” she pressed, trying to coax more out of the little furball. “Did he know you were staying in Qian Family Village? Is that why he showed up with snacks?”
“No, the accident happened right on the expressway adjacent to the village. I heard it was a sapphire-blue Bentley, and since there’s only one in the entire city, I ran over to check.” The little hamster shrugged innocently. “He looked so miserable, so I shifted into a hamster to cheer him up.
“I even shared his pillow last night—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to sleep at all.” The hamster puffed out his chest with immense pride, holding his chin high.
He had no idea that his sister had already popped two more ice bags in pure shock.
“When he arrived at the office this morning, did he take control and steady the markets?” Seeing that the first freezer was full of water packs, the little hamster swallowed the entire appliance into his cheek pouch, scurrying back toward the basement stairs to haul up another empty unit.
Having a magical hamster around really did make moving furniture effortless!
The instant his furry tail vanished down the stairwell, Tianwei lunged across the living room, grabbing her father’s collar in a fierce whisper. “You claimed Mu Feiyi had zero interest in my brother?!”
“They’re just friends!” Yu Yuanzhou protested, swatting at his daughter’s hands. “Who doesn’t have a few close companions? I kept quiet about the peanuts because I knew you’d jump to wild conclusions!”
He gently shoved her back. “Keep your voice down—your brother is coming back up.”
Tianwei glanced nervously toward the basement door. Confirming the coast was clear, she hissed under her breath, “Do casual acquaintances go out of their way to buy specialty snacks?! I remember you pulling that exact same move when you were chasing Mom!”
“That was completely different!” Before Yu Yuanzhou could finish his defense, the little hamster came trotting back up the stairs, casually spitting an enormous white freezer onto the kitchen tiles.
Tianwei smoothed her expression, pretending nothing had happened. “No… the moment he showed his face, the plummeting stock price stabilized immediately. But when his grandfather ordered him back to the hospital to fall in line, he flatly refused.
“Instead, he called an emergency press conference at noon and publicly resigned, announcing his complete departure from the Mu Corporation.”
That had been the true turning point.
The market, having just caught its breath, plunged into an absolute freefall. Before the closing bell rang, every desperate attempt by the board to prop up the stock had failed miserably.
No one in the financial world was foolish enough to believe in the company without him. The remaining heirs were incompetent parasites; handing the conglomerate to them was a death sentence, so investors rushed to dump their shares before the ship sank entirely.
Whether Mu Feiyi was executing a brilliant tactical retreat or genuinely walking away out of disgust hardly mattered.
Old Master Mu needed to learn a harsh lesson: it wasn’t that Mu Feiyi couldn’t survive without the Mu Corporation, but that the Mu Corporation couldn’t survive without Mu Feiyi.
Setting his newspaper down, Yu Yuanzhou looked toward the busy hamster balanced on the freezer rim, busily tucking bags inside with his fluffy behind wiggling in the air. “Mu Feiyi reached out this evening. He mentioned he might drop by tomorrow if his schedule allows.”
Walking over to the freezer, the uncle casually extended an index finger, gently flicking the hardworking little furball straight into the frosty chest with a playful tap.
“Old Master Mu actually brought up a formal marriage alliance between our two households last month,” Yu Yuanzhou murmured thoughtfully. “Given how things have turned out, though…”
