Chapter 24: Peril

Xiao Weiguo listened and realized that a big deal was coming his way.

At that moment, someone nearby said, "Aunt Shen, that's not very fair. This young man doesn't have much grain, and you're buying it all. What are we supposed to buy?"

"Everyone, don't worry. I'll weigh the grain for this lady first. As for the rest, there's more, there's more. Please wait here—I’ll go outside and bring more in, just a few more trips," Xiao Weiguo replied quickly.

"Alright, we'll go one by one then," the person next to him agreed.

Aunt Shen took her share of the grain, picked up a kernel of wheat, and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly. She said, "Young man, where did you get this grain? The quality is excellent—more than good enough to use as seed grain."

"It's from my family's own private plot. We harvested early, probably because I took good care of it myself. There won't be more later, as you know—private plots don’t produce much after the initial harvest," Xiao Weiguo explained.

"That's truly a pity, such a shame," Aunt Shen said, sighing.

"Everyone wait a moment, I'll go outside and bring more," Xiao Weiguo said, taking his certificate and leaving the small grove. He transferred four full bags of grain from his space, making two trips to carry them in.

At the Pigeon Market, the rule for sellers was simple: as long as you had the certificate, you could freely come and go all day without paying another entry fee. This was because many sellers were cautious, only bringing in small samples at first. If someone wanted to buy, they'd fetch more from outside, then seal the deal, or sometimes lead buyers out to complete the transaction, which was much safer.

And so, Xiao Weiguo busied himself with selling, moving in and out and relying on this wave of buyers to nearly sell out all the harvest he’d collected in his space. Each buyer wanted more than the last.

After serving the customers, Xiao Weiguo tallied up his earnings—over a hundred yuan. He had truly struck it rich in a single morning.

Seeing that there was little grain left, he decided to store the rest in his space and call it a day.

At that moment, a burly middle-aged man appeared, carrying a large machete on his back, a fork in one hand, and his seller's certificate in the other.

He looked every bit the hunter, with a massive basket slung over his shoulder. There seemed to be the sound of pigs coming from inside.

Xiao Weiguo approached and asked the hunter, "Uncle, what are you selling in your basket?"

The man set down his things, found an empty spot, and sat directly on the ground. "I hunted a group of wild boars—there’s a litter of piglets in here. Mainly selling those. Want one? Three yuan each, no haggling."

"May I have a look?" Xiao Weiguo asked.

"Go ahead!" The hunter casually handed over the basket, unconcerned that Xiao Weiguo might run off with it.

Inside, there were five piglets, each very small—likely about a month old. Without milk, they'd only be good for roasting.

But Xiao Weiguo remembered the miraculous effects of his land and thought he could raise them. He said to the hunter, "Uncle, I’ll take them all. Could you throw in the basket? It's hard for me to carry otherwise."

The hunter's eyes lit up as he realized Xiao Weiguo wanted them all. He knew these piglets, without milk, would be difficult to raise. He’d planned to haggle, and if it didn’t work, sell them as meat. But Xiao Weiguo bought them without a second thought.

"Sure, take it!" The basket was cheap enough—just some time spent by his wife to weave it, thought the hunter.

"Here's fifteen yuan, Uncle. Please count it," Xiao Weiguo handed him the cash.

The hunter glanced at the money, saw the amount was right, and without another word, turned and headed out of the market.

After a couple of steps, he turned to Xiao Weiguo and said, "Son, get home quickly. Don't linger here."

Xiao Weiguo was puzzled, but decided not to dwell on it.

He continued wandering the market with the basket on his back. Hearing the piglets whining, he sprinkled some cornmeal mixed with water in the basket to see if they'd eat—it seemed they were starving. One by one, they ate greedily and soon quieted down.

Xiao Weiguo then found the ticket vendor and bought a large batch of tickets—everything the vendor had that interested him.

With his purchases done, Xiao Weiguo had finished his business at the Pigeon Market. He felt lucky; he’d solved the issue of the pigs in his space.

The only regret was that these were wild boars, not domestic pigs—the meat would be a bit inferior.

He planned to keep one male and one female as breeding pigs, and slaughter the rest to fatten them up. That way, the meat wouldn’t taste too strong when they grew up, and it would be delicious.

The key was that they grew fast—he hoped to achieve "pork freedom" as soon as possible.

Once he had domestic pigs, he’d try crossbreeding.

With the Pigeon Market winding down, Xiao Weiguo took another stroll around, found nothing else of interest, and decided to leave. He headed to a breakfast stall to fill his stomach.

Afterwards, Xiao Weiguo walked toward the town. Suddenly, he noticed someone not far away staring at him intently. He instinctively turned, and found another person following behind, staring straight at him.

Xiao Weiguo thought, "This is bad. Maybe I flashed too much wealth at the market. Did the hunter spot something and try to warn me?"

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

A twenty-first-century Chinese had never experienced anything like this—at most, a bit of bullying at school, being asked for pocket money, maybe a beating.

As long as you weren’t in rough neighborhoods, life wasn’t usually in danger.

Xiao Weiguo saw the two men start moving toward him. Wait—not just two. There was another approaching from the right.

He quickly ran toward the gap between the three, exerting all his strength.

The three followed silently, not making a sound.

After a hundred meters or so, another man appeared ahead, blocking the path. It was a classic ambush.

A triumphant voice called from behind, "Kid, why did you stop running? Go on, run!"

Xiao Weiguo turned, saw the other three had caught up, and now four men surrounded him, with no other pedestrians in sight. The place was very secluded.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Xiao Weiguo forced himself to stay calm.

"Let me introduce myself. I’m Dog Master. We don’t want much—just a bit of pocket money. You made a good profit today, right? Hand over your cash and tickets, and we’ll leave. Next time we meet, we’ll be friends," said the young man blocking his way, clearly the leader.

Xiao Weiguo realized there was no easy way out. He had no fighting skills and was physically weak. What could he do?

The other three edged closer.

Suddenly, Xiao Weiguo remembered his space. Could he use his mind to hurt them?

He decided to try.

He raised his left hand, wrapped his spatial energy around it for ten centimeters, and struck at Dog Master's chest with a fierce, direct blow.