Chapter 53
Recently, Yomi had stopped appearing at the stalls in person. He simply had too many things to do, so he handed most of the decision-making power for the Little Lamb Chef Team over to Meikai.
Lynn, meanwhile, was studying medicine seriously under Yesi and only went to help when he had spare time. So now the main bosses running the stalls were Meikai, Harvey, and Arlo.
There were fewer people, but not less presence. With the Sheep Asura faction backing them, no one in the entire market dared provoke them. Sometimes, when Meikai and the others saw other people fighting, they would even meddle like busybodies and try to break it up, and both sides would actually give them face. That alone showed that they had already become important stall owners in the market.
Back at the farm, Yomi spent every day clicking away at a calculator. The stalls had earned them quite a lot of money by now, and that made him feel much more at ease. As long as there was income coming in, he no longer had to worry about simply eating through their savings.
Anxius was not idle either. In order to expand Yomi’s business, no one knew what methods he had used, but he somehow got hold of an enormous truck made by an off-world manufacturer. It was really, truly huge!
That day, Yomi circled around the truck for ages, his lashes trembling with excitement. Climbing up the ladder, he felt less like he was standing on a vehicle and more like he had reached the top of a mountain!
Anxius quickly picked Yomi back down, the wind blowing him so hard he was nearly wobbling, and that very same day had the truck’s ladder modified. For Yomi, the gaps in the steps were far too wide. If he missed a step, he would absolutely fall straight through the middle.
That was far too dangerous!
Once the ladder problem was solved, Yomi often climbed to the top of the truck to overlook the whole farm. Sometimes he would end up sneezing, with a feeling of how lonely and cold the heights could be.
Winter on Junk Star really was very cold.
Seeing that Yomi liked staying up there, Anxius added guardrails, a small retractable canopy, little tables and chairs, and a pile of warm blankets… Just like that, the truck roof became Yomi’s secret base.
When the weather was good, he would fold the canopy away and lie on the beanbag chair Anxius had made for him, sunbathing on the roof. Once he got too warm, he would press a button, and the canopy would rise back up. Then the little one would roll over, reach out for a handful of jerky, close his eyes, and chew happily, feeling life was absolutely wonderful.
When he was feeling a little less lazy, Yomi would sit on top of the truck with Anxius—back in human form—and supervise the prisoners.
Or more accurately, Yomi stared at the prisoners, while Anxius sat beside him brewing milk tea, shelling nuts, cutting up jerky, and feeding each thing to Yomi one by one.
Fed until he started hiccuping from fullness, Yomi often felt as though they were using the giant truck as some kind of camping van~
Really, life was so comfortable!
A few more days passed like that. Seeing that the prisoners were becoming more obedient by the day, Yomi counted up the money they had saved on Junk Star and decided it was time to go into town and buy more supplies.
This time, the main shopping list included sewing machines, basketballs and soccer balls, plus related sports equipment.
Once the prisoners got out, they could use the sewing machines themselves. Who knew—they might even open a little shop to sell clothes.
As for the sports equipment, Yomi was planning to take inspiration from the prisons he remembered and build a sports field on an open area near the farm. That way the prisoners could get yard time and maybe build some friendly social connections.
And besides, there was still a whole group of young men in the house. There was no way that sports field would sit unused.
Of course, Yomi himself also wanted to exercise. Lazing around all day, eating greedily and sleeping so much—clearly that was because he had gone too long without working out!
So early the next morning, Yomi set out together with Anxius.
Both of them were wrapped up tightly in large cloaks, concealed from head to toe.
Anxius drove in his original form, while Yomi sat high up in the passenger seat, constantly taking photos of the scenery outside. It was his first time ever going into town.
The town on Junk Star was not like the kind of rural town Yomi had imagined. It was enormous, more like the size of an actual city, but all the buildings and facilities were crude and worn down.
Still, there were places like hospitals, schools, and shopping centers. The hospital was just an ordinary small hospital, but the schools were not the sort that taught general knowledge. They were all technical schools of various kinds. Most of the principals were aliens, and among the teachers were exiled Snarians as well.
A doctor like Yesi, for example, probably should have been making a living through that kind of work.
The schools here were very popular. Once people from Junk Star graduated with technical skills, they no longer had to live by hunting and farming. With work, they could even settle down in town. Any family with the means would send their children there to study.
As for the shopping center, it was more like a giant wholesale market. Junk Star bosses of all kinds of appearances bustled around arranging goods, while customers haggled and walked away if they were dissatisfied. Fights like the ones that happened in the market rarely occurred here, because anyone who wanted to open a stall or shop in the shopping center had already paid off the right people before coming in.
Simply put: if I’m allowed to do business here, that means I’ve got backing. Maybe I even paid off the same local power you did. So trying to pick a fight won’t work—most likely you’ll just end up having your own people beat each other up!
While shopping, Yomi followed Anxius around and gained a much deeper understanding of the survival rules of Junk Star’s town. He took out a little notebook and wrote it all down very seriously.
The shopping process itself went smoothly. They bought five sewing machines, then picked up everything else on the list as well. The giant truck was stuffed to the brim, even the roof not being spared.
They ended by buying some tasty snacks, and then the two of them climbed back into the truck. Anxius turned the vehicle around.
Time to go home!
On the drive back, Yomi rummaged through a plastic bag and picked out things to eat. At noon they had only had soup noodles in town, and after a whole busy day, he was a little hungry.
He found a small bread roll. It had been imported from Snar Star and counted as a relatively expensive food item. Earlier he had seen several wealthy Junk Star people decked out in gold and silver fighting to buy it, so he had concluded that it must be good, and had followed the trend by buying one for everyone at home as a way of easing their homesickness.
At that moment, Yomi took out two little bread rolls. Since Anxius was driving, he tore open one and started eating first.
The bread was soft and sweet, not greasy at all. Both the taste and the texture were excellent. He ate with great satisfaction, even licking his fingers afterward, then tore open the second bread roll. Just as he opened his mouth to bite into it, he suddenly remembered in time that this one belonged to Anxius.
“Anxius, here.” Yomi quickly held the little bread out toward his mouth, his expression guilty, praying Anxius had not noticed how he had nearly given in to his own greed and eaten it too.
“You eat it first.” Anxius glanced at him with one eye.
“I already had one,” Yomi said, letting out a small sigh of relief. Good—Anxius must not have seen him nearly eat his bread too.
A moment later, Anxius steadily pulled the truck over to the roadside. He took the half-opened bread from Yomi, carefully sniffed it, then lowered it right to Yomi’s mouth. “Eat.”
Yomi: …This is seduction.
Already hopelessly hooked on the little bread, Yomi could not bring himself to refuse. Embarrassed, he opened his mouth and took a small bite.
Then another bite, then another. Fighting back tears, Yomi ate half the bread before finally, by sheer force of will, twisting his head away. “You eat it. I’m full.”
Anxius took back the remaining half of the bread, bit into it right where Yomi’s saliva had touched, then smoothly fed the rest right back into Yomi’s mouth in one seamless motion. Yomi had no time to react at all.
“…”
Yomi sat stiffly upright, chewing the bread in his mouth and trying his best to put on the dignified expression of someone who was not greedy, merely not picky.
The truck set off again.
In the driver’s seat, the monster, sneaking glances at the little one with one eye, was in an excellent mood.
When they got back to the farm, Yomi rested for one night and then immediately began arranging the newly purchased equipment.
Five sewing machines were not many. After taking out blueprints and planning a little, Yomi led everyone in clearing out another empty building. Inside, they placed the sewing machines along with the bolts of cloth, patterns, and other materials they had bought.
Yomi himself did not know how to use a sewing machine either, but that was something one could learn. He remembered one of his classmates back in the day had a sewing machine at home. That classmate loved handicrafts and had taught themselves to make many things. One of Yomi’s canvas crossbody bags had been a birthday gift that classmate made for him on a sewing machine.
Yomi turned on his communicator and projected a downloaded beginner’s guide to sewing machines onto the wall. He had some of the prisoners sit and watch, while leading the others in trying it hands-on. Those who learned quickly taught the ones who had not. Since there were only so many sewing machines, the prisoners were split into two groups, alternating daily. Those who were not using the sewing machines went outside with Anxius to help build the sports field.
In only a few days, the prisoners—who had excellent concentration—were already working the sewing machines with perfect ease. Compared with the other forms of labor, they loved using the sewing machines most of all! It was a type of creative work, and in order to keep their enthusiasm high, Yomi would give them each a piece of cloth every day after they finished their assigned work and allow them to create freely. Naturally, whatever they made belonged to them.
Very quickly, every one of them had a little wallet they had sewn themselves. There was no money to put inside yet, but once they got out, they could use them then. How could the cloth bags and wallets bought in town possibly compare with things they made themselves? Now they could DIY exactly according to their own needs! They could even make the same styles that only the big local bosses in town wore at their waists!
The prisoners, who had not yet been beaten down by assembly-line labor, only felt that operating sewing machines was pure joy. It got to the point where the first underground trade among prisoners at Little Lamb Farm Prison soon appeared:
“Brother, I’ll give you all my jerky for today—tomorrow don’t switch with me, okay? Let me use the sewing machine all day.”
“Ah, fine, my foot’s getting tired from stepping on the pedal anyway. Lucky you, kid.”
Yomi, who had been eavesdropping from behind a wall because he thought the prisoners were plotting a jailbreak: “…”
The first batch of clothes the prisoners made on the sewing machines was blue-and-white striped prison uniforms. After washing and drying them, they all put them on in delight and even commented on each other’s looks in them.
Karl: …Do you all really understand that those are prison uniforms?
Once they had prison uniforms, the prisoners seemed to gain a kind of conviction as well: they really were serving their sentences, and once the sentence was over, Boss Little Lamb would not seek revenge on them. They could have a brand-new life!
Just thinking about it filled them with energy!
Yomi, meanwhile, could not let them spend all their time on sewing machines. Every few days, he also led them to learn blacksmithing at a nearby smithy… The blacksmith, of course, was thrilled to get free labor.
A few days later, under Yomi’s guidance, the immensely strong prisoners produced their first batch of handcuffs.
Karl: …Better eat some jerky to steady the nerves.
The prisoners did not feel at all that those handcuffs were meant for them. Their release date was getting closer and closer. The handcuffs should be kept for the next batch of prisoners instead.
After making the handcuffs, everyone began focusing wholeheartedly on building the sports field.
In that regard, the prisoners did not dare slack off in the slightest. They pushed progress along very quickly, terrified that if they got out before the field was finished, all their work would end up benefiting someone else.
At night, after bathing, the prisoners would discuss the day’s construction progress with great enthusiasm. They even argued over different ideas for how the work should be done, going to bed angry after the quarrel, only to half-consciously realize later: while serving a prison sentence, how had it become so much like going to school? Not only had they learned to use sewing machines, but now they knew blacksmithing and construction too!
Good heavens, it almost felt like wasting all these skills if they went back to merely setting up stalls.
…
Yomi, meanwhile, had more and more to do. Besides supervising the prisoners, he was also carefully planning the farm.
Spring was almost here. There were so many things to plant, and animals to raise as well. But what kind?
All of that needed careful thought.
Now the sports field was basically complete. Every day, the prisoners were allowed to spend an hour on it playing ball. Their happiness level had gone up, and they were also using the sewing machines even more efficiently.
When he had the chance, Yomi would go play ball too. He could never quite dunk properly, of course, and was often picked up by Anxius—back in his original form—and lifted high up to the basketball hoop.
Yomi would squint one eye and toss the ball in while wobbling a little.
No matter what, it still counted as a basket!
The prisoners watching from afar: “…”
One day, Anxius was preparing to go into town again. Before leaving, he asked Yomi whether there was anything he wanted.
Knowing the candies there were cheaper, Yomi asked him to bring some sweets back.
That same evening, Anxius came back with a lot of candy, and also the same little bread rolls as before—this time, he had bought many. On top of that, there was even a large cake covered with strawberries.
Yomi was stunned when he saw the cake. “Whose birthday is it?”
“Shouldn’t the question be who likes cake?” Karl said with a smile. “No one’s birthday is today.”
Yomi froze and turned to look at Anxius, whose gaze rested on him gently.
Did Anxius buy it for him?
“…”
Yomi was delighted. “Thank you, Anxius!” Cake here was expensive—last time he had not dared buy any.
That evening, after dinner, Yomi started cutting and sharing the cake. Besides giving everyone in the house a piece, he also set aside some for the prisoners.
The prisoners, who had originally been preparing to go to sleep, stared blankly for a while when they saw the little slices of cake delivered to them. Then the second-in-command, recalling a crime drama he had watched recently, blurted out reflexively, “Are we about to be sent to the execution grounds?”
The instant he said that, all the prisoners backed away from the cake as if struck by lightning, trembling violently.
“You don’t like cake?” Yomi asked in surprise. “If you won’t eat it, I’ll take it away.”
“…Why are you suddenly giving us this?” the boss asked timidly.
“Because we bought cake today.” Yomi did not understand their reaction at all. To him, sharing cake was perfectly normal. Whether for a birthday or a celebration, wasn’t cake always something a group of people shared?
After a short silence, the sweet smell proving too tempting, the boss took the lead. He accepted one small piece of cake and swallowed it while holding his breath.
Seeing that the boss ate it and was not poisoned, the others also cautiously came forward to take their own slices and began tasting them little by little…
Once the cake had been handed out, Yomi left.
And slowly, sobbing sounds began to rise from inside the room.
“So sweet… so delicious… wu wu wu…”
“So this is what the flavor of life is like…”
“Boss Little Lamb is such a good person, wu wu wu… Boss, I want to work for him.”
“Get lost, even I’m not qualified. Stop dreaming!”
“…”
The tough guys ate cake with tears in their eyes and sighed: so this was what it felt like in those legal dramas when one’s heart was spiritually cleansed? So moving!
This unprecedented emotion deeply pried open those hearts that were not especially soft to begin with. As a result, the next day, while working around the farm, they were all hiding behind trees wiping away tears: our old lives really were wasted! Luckily, we can still start over! Wu wu wu…
By sheer coincidence, a hunter lived not far from the farm. After returning from a hunt, he passed by on his way to place an order with the Little Lamb Chef Team for some chive pockets. But before he even got close, he saw a bunch of burly men wiping tears, looking pitiful beyond measure… Thinking some kind of punishment was taking place inside, he turned and ran.
The very next day, the story reached the market and only further cemented Boss Little Lamb’s terrifying reputation.
During that period, a few defiant troublemakers from the market also came to the farm looking for trouble. It was not that they intended to rescue anyone—far from it. They simply felt their own power and status had been challenged, so in order to secure their position as the market’s top bosses, they came charging furiously to the farm with weapons in hand…
The result was that the farm gained several new prisoners.
By now, everyone in the market knew that provoking Sheep Asura meant there was only a one-way trip in—but no way back out!
Spring had not even arrived yet, and already, because of Sheep Asura’s terrifying existence, no one in the surrounding area dared claim themselves top boss anymore.
And in just a few more days, it would be the release date for the strongmen from the jerky stall.
Yomi planned to notify their families so they could come pick them up in time. The difficulty, however, lay in getting the family addresses, because the prisoners hemmed and hawed and clearly did not want to say.
In the end, under Anxius’s deathly stare, they obediently confessed.
The reason they had not wanted to say was simple. Part of it was embarrassment, of course, but mainly they believed their families had probably already given up on a group of troublemakers like them.
Back when they were strong and swaggering around everywhere, no one dared provoke them. But once they got sick, old, or were abandoned by their faction, all their enemies would come at them at once. Not only would they die horribly, but their families would immediately distance themselves too, just to preserve the next generation.
That very day, Yomi wrote several notices by hand and had Karl—now functioning as an assistant—deliver them.
Karl went to each address the prisoners provided and handed over the notices.
The prisoners’ families had not moved away from their original homes, but when an unfamiliar man knocked on their doors, they were badly frightened at first. Only after Karl kindly explained that he was simply notifying them to come pick their relatives up from prison in due time did they reluctantly come out, still half doubtful.
Family structures on Junk Star were rather complicated. Most of the time, if two people liked each other, they simply started living together. Quick marriages were extremely common. The local thugs from the jerky stall were like that too. Their families were not necessarily equally overbearing; they simply did not interfere too much in their partners’ affairs. After all, Junk Star was a world where the strong preyed on the weak. Fighting and brawling were everyday matters, and everyone was used to it.
There were also those who, fearing future retaliation, hoped their families would live quietly and keep their heads down. But if their original forms were not fierce enough, words of restraint were useless.
So after those men from the jerky stall got into trouble some time back, their families, though saddened, were not that surprised. You hit me, I hit you—this kind of drama played out here all the time. If your ability was insufficient, then yes, you would simply be “eaten.” After all, they themselves had chosen that path.
Later, when they heard the men had only been imprisoned rather than killed, they did not feel much relief. In some places, those in power would keep someone locked up for life, feed them barely enough to survive, squeeze every drop of labor from them, and finally work them to death. In that sense, it might almost have been kinder just to kill them outright.
So although these family members had not moved away, in their hearts they had already written off those unreliable husbands, sons, brothers, and so on. They had never imagined there would still be a chance for them to come back out.
Who could have guessed that they would receive such a notice?
The men were not dead, nor had they been turned into slaves. They had simply gone to prison, where they were getting three regular meals a day, and after labor there was also time to rest, exercise, play, and even read books and watch videos… Dear heavens, there was really someone willing to educate the useless man in their family for free?
And not just that. When this polite gentleman also said they could come visit, they fell completely into a daze… Family was family, after all. No matter what, they could not help still having some attachment. So in order to see whether it was true, the group of relatives picked a day and decided to go together and take a look.
On visiting day, the one who welcomed them was a beautiful, delicate-looking boy in a white cloak. He had sheep horns, wide blinking eyes, and a light smile that somehow seemed filled with hidden meaning… In any case, that face was incredibly bewitching.
The visitors all looked at one another. They knew at once that this was Lord Sheep Asura.
His powers of disguise truly were formidable. They were so frightened their legs felt weak, and in front of Yomi, they did not dare breathe too loudly.
Following Lord Sheep Asura, they peeped through a window at the strongmen inside using sewing machines, then went elsewhere to see the same strongmen fertilizing and watering the vegetable patch, and then still elsewhere to see them all playing ball together on the sports field… Finally, they saw the strongmen sitting properly in rows, watching alien legal programs and movies.
The relatives: scratching their heads.
Watching their once overbearing family members now living such obedient lives here, some of them even rubbed their eyes repeatedly, wondering whether they had the wrong people… and then sighed with emotion.
At dusk, under Yomi’s arrangement, the prisoners and their families began talking across the wooden fence by the vegetable patch.
The families said: “Reform yourself well. The children and I will wait for you to come back.”
(And now that you seem to have become quite good at farming, the abandoned fields at home will be yours to handle in the future.)
On the other side of the fence, the prisoners all nodded. In truth, the moment they learned their families had not abandoned them, they had nearly burst into tears.
When they could go home anytime they wanted, they had never once understood what homesickness really was. Only after one stretch of prison life did they realize how precious a home truly was. Of course, it also helped that every day lately they had been watching the big loving family at the farm live together in affection, and it had made them envious!
Thankfully, their families were also good people. They had even brought fresh clothes for the visit.
On Junk Star, people often lived more like true beasts just to survive. Useless people were looked down on and cast aside. These men had never imagined their families would come visit a bunch of troublemakers like them—people who had caused problems and could provide no help to the family while imprisoned.
…Wu wu wu, they should never have started all that trouble in the first place. Wasn’t a warm bed with wife and children the best life of all?
Still, things were not too bad now. More clearly than ever, they understood how dangerous their old lives had been.
In the past, people like them almost never had a good ending.
The tough guys thought: Once upon a time I had no choice. Now I only want to be a good person!
Likewise, their families were full of complicated emotions as well. There was no way they could fail to feel pleased and comforted—these men had lost a power struggle, had not died, and had even learned a whole set of skills here.
Under the orange evening sunset, with the night wind brushing his face, tiny Yomi stood on top of the truck overlooking this farm prison, once again experiencing what it meant for the heights to be too cold—until someone climbed up behind him and draped a thick blanket over his shoulders… The blanket was so huge it nearly swallowed him whole!
But it was so warm. Thank you very much!
Wrapped up with only his head peeking out, Yomi smiled back at Anxius behind him, then turned around again to keep watching the people in the distance, leaving Anxius nothing but a plump little bundled-up back to look at.
In the glow of the setting sun, the prisoners waved farewell to their family members, who looked back every three steps as they left. Seeing the smiles on their loved ones’ faces, the prisoners once more felt their hearts being spiritually cleansed!
For both the prisoners and their families, it was surely an unforgettable day.
