Chapter 1001: A Deal in the Greenhouse and Trouble in the Fields

After digging the pits, Xia Qing watched as Huo Lei and Kuang Qingwei finished installing the first greenhouse’s automatic rain cover system. With her experience, Xia Qing quickly grasped the assembly process—she could handle the pits and assembly for the remaining greenhouses herself.

Kuang Qingwei discussed pricing with Xia Qing. “The core parts for this setup are the pulleys, latches and handles. What do you think about setting the price at 200 credits per set? If we include the steel cables and ropes for pulling the covers, the price would be 360 credits. Sister Qing, Brother Huai, what do you think?”

“Each greenhouse needs two pulleys, four latches and two handles—all crafted by Huo Lei,” Xia Qing confirmed before asking, “Uncle Huo, can we still make a profit selling each set for 200 credits?”

Huo Lei nodded. “We can. The material cost for one set is 120 credits. This price gives us better profit than when I used to sell ironware.”

Tang Huai put on an air of professionalism. “But aside from the material costs, what about the labor, transport, sales and installation? What does that add up to?”

Kuang Qingwei explained, “If we don’t consider delivery fees and handle the installation ourselves, the cost is 160 credits for Section One and Section Three up north. For the other three sections, we’re partnering with a local territory that wants the work. We’ll just supply the parts—they’ll install, and costs come out about the same.”

Tang Huai turned to Xia Qing. “A 20% profit margin isn’t bad. Our main clients are other territories, so if the price is too high, we won’t open up much of a market.”

Xia Qing nodded. “Alright let’s go with those prices. I’ll take sixteen full sets and install them all myself.”

It wasn’t about saving the installation fees for Xia Qing. She just didn’t like strangers walking around her territory. Tomorrow, she could have Hu Zifeng’s squad help her dig and assemble everything.

At the moment, Xia Qing’s territory had thirteen greenhouses and two additional climate-controlled greenhouses. Since she’d turned one of the climate-controlled ones into a beekeeping greenhouse, after the third Devastation Rain she’d need to build another one for planting fresh winter vegetables.

Tang Huai immediately chimed in. “Territory Two wants fifty sets.”

“No problem!” Kuang Qingwei said happily, pulling out his ledger to record his first two big orders.

Last time, after the Green Lantern Rice incident, he’d somehow ended up blacklisted. He lost his wholesale supply routes he’d spent nearly a decade maintaining, and the other local traders started isolating him.

It’d be a lie to say losing those credits and business connections didn’t sting. But he couldn’t call it overwhelming heartbreak either.

Stripping away his old skin as a wholesaler, Kuang Qingwei had a much tougher one left—now he was the Alliance’s Minister of Commerce.

This new role put him in direct contact with top-level suppliers from Chonglian Group and the Azure Dragon Squad commerce department. When he’d been a wholesaler, he wouldn’t even dream of reaching these big players.

Now, Kuang Qingwei could buy all the critical supplies for the Alliance straight from these industry giants.

Sure, as commerce minister he wasn’t earning credits as fast as before, but on the upside, there was way less risk. And he was certain, as the Alliance grew stronger, his earnings would only go up.

That was why Kuang Qingwei was more motivated than ever.

After unloading his goods, Xia Qing quickly settled the credits. As she walked Kuang Qingwei, Huo Lei and Tang Huai out through the south gate, an inspection team for Devastation Evolution plants arrived not long after.

The group had fourteen people. Besides Magnetic Sense Evolvers Wang Jun and Geng Min, there were eight security team members from the Ninth Center and a four-person inspection team.

The inspection group was led personally by Tan Junjie. The rest were all old friends of Xia Qing: Su Ming, Cao Xianyun and Yuan Rui.

Xia Qing calmly opened the door and invited them in. If she didn’t want to reveal her own Magnetic Sense ability, she’d have to let Wang Jun and Geng Min inspect her fields.

For the Ninth Center staff, it was their first time entering Section Three—and they were excited.

After all, this was the territory of Xia Qing, the director of the Ninth Center, who had a stellar reputation among the employees.

Still, they all kept their excitement to themselves and acted properly professional. Everyone here had been through serious training; no one would go snooping or messing with anything inside the territory.

With the security team watching over them, Wang Jun and Geng Min started their inspection, sweeping across every plot of farmland while the inspection team waited outside the greenhouses.

Su Ming and Xia Qing walked over to Greenhouse 11. Looking in at the lush sweet potato vines, Su Ming asked, “Sister Qing, can I trade for some sweet potato leaves?”

The inspection team didn’t have farmland, so their grains were allocated by higher-ups, and they usually traded with lords for vegetables. But Xia Qing was always busy—Su Ming hadn’t had a good chance to trade for veggies in ages.

Xia Qing nodded. “Sure.”

Yuan Rui piped up too. “Sister Qing, those are Green Light Sweet Potatoes, aren’t they?”

Judging plant quality by leaf color was standard—there was no point hiding it, and Xia Qing didn’t bother. She nodded, “During last month’s inspection, most of them were Green Lantern grade.”

“Will you be selling those after the harvest, Sister Qing?” When Xia Qing nodded, Yuan Rui asked, “Could I buy fifty jin?”

“Sure.” To Xia Qing, it made no difference who she sold her greenhouse-grown sweet potatoes to.

Tan Junjie noticed the greenhouse was filled with flowering plants and immediately guessed Xia Qing was preparing to keep bees.

In Territory One, the Azure Dragon Squad had introduced Green Lantern Bees from Hui Six. Tan Qi wanted to keep bees too. Just as Tan Junjie was about to discuss trading quality flowering plant seeds with Xia Qing, Su Sibao—the security captain from the Ninth Center—called out, “Director, there are abnormal plants over here!”

Xia Qing followed the sound and saw they were inspecting Greenhouse Six, where the sunflowers and most of the soybeans had already been harvested.

The major event she’d spent months preparing for was finally about to begin.

Xia Qing hurried with Tan Junjie’s team to Greenhouse Six and saw that Geng Min and Wang Jun were already standing near the soybean patch. She stepped up to ask, “Which plants are we looking at?”

Geng Min pointed to the soybeans. “Director, this one, this one, and those six over there—all abnormal.”

Xia Qing’s usually impassive face finally showed a reaction. Her eyebrows knitted together as she stared, making Wang Jun shudder a little. He remembered the last time she looked like this—it was after someone from the construction crew made a tasteless joke. The next day, that person had fallen from the scaffold and died.

Su Ming’s eyes widened. “That many?”

“Yes. These eight are all aggressive Devastation Evolution soybeans,” Wang Jun answered, deadly serious. They’d inspected thousands of acres in two territories and only found twelve abnormal plants. Yet here, in just one small patch, Xia Qing had eight—the ratio was terrifying.

Thinking back, Xia Qing’s Green Lantern Soybeans had been traded last year through the Lords’ channel with Li Si from Territory Nine, using Green Lantern hatching eggs. Tan Junjie felt the situation was grave. “Xia Qing, what was the Devastation Evolution rate for these soybeans after the second Devastation Rain?”

Xia Qing’s poker face returned. “They’re all Green Lantern Soybeans. After the second Devastation Rain, the evolution rate was about 12%. I just harvested a batch ten days ago—what’s left are these pods, still a bit too young. I planned to pick them after the third Devastation Rain.”

Geng Min frowned. “If the evolution rate was that low during the second rain, why did it spike now that they’re mature?”

Vision Evolver Su Ming examined the soybean plants carefully. “Sister Qing, did you notice anything weird when harvesting the soybeans?”

Xia Qing shook her head. “This is my first time growing this variety.”

Post-cataclysmic plants were wildly different from those before. With her first attempt at a new crop, Xia Qing didn’t even know what was normal, let alone what counted as odd.

With help from Tan Junjie’s team, Xia Qing dug up the abnormal plants, soil and all, and packed them into large bags.

Tan Junjie asked, “Should I take these soybeans back with me?”

Aggressive Devastation Evolution plants could be handled directly by a territory lord or turned over to the Inspection Team for disposal. With such a high abnormal rate, Tan Junjie wanted to send them to the Territory Management Department for analysis.

Xia Qing shook her head slowly. “I’ll take them to Section Seven and let Third Brother have a look.”

Zhang San was even more of an expert than the Territory Management Department, so Tan Junjie had no reason to object.