Chapter 1062: The Value of Seeds and the Strength to Move Forward

Holding more than half an apple, Zhang San commented warmly, “Yang Jin’s got solid character.”

To detoxify Luo Pei, Yang Jin brought out four types of Green Lantern fruits plus other supplies to exchange for Pure Spring Water from Xia Qing’s territory. During the years of calamity, Green Lantern saplings with good flavor are worth double the price of ordinary ones.

Yang Jin’s known for being shrewd—based on the deal, he only needed to offer standard saplings, but instead handed over high-quality ones.

During that trade, Xia Qing was a lone Level 4 Strength-Based Evolutionary with rare resources, facing the much stronger Captain of the Azure Dragon Squad, who badly needed those supplies. Even so, Yang Jin never tried to cheat her or seize her resources, which is why Zhang San said, “He’s got integrity.”

With the small remaining piece of apple, Xia Qing nodded happily. “He’s the best trade partner I’ve met. Hey, Third Brother, those thirty Green Lantern jujube pits I brought you last year—how many seedlings did you get?”

Zhang San took another crunchy bite of the juicy Green Lantern apple before answering, “Eight. Each is about 80 to 100 centimeters tall, and the Devastation Element content is all below four per mille.”

“You’re impressive! I planted thirty-nine pits and only got seven seedlings out. Four of them caught leaf blight in June, so I have three left. Xin Yu grew two. Territory Five, not a single pit sprouted.”

Last year, the jujube tree in Section Three bore over a hundred fruits, most knocked down by hail. Xia Qing gave some to Hu Zifeng’s Squad, traded a few to her Idol and to Xin Yu, and brought others when visiting Qi Fu, who’d been hit on the head by the hail. After everyone ate the fruit, they carefully saved the pits and planted them in rich soil when spring came.

It figures the most successful cultivators are always those standing at the top of the human pyramid!

Zhang San corrected her, “Actually, Zhang Tao and Zhang He did the growing.”

“Well, that’s thanks to your sharp eye—you always pick the best people for your team.”

Zhang San shook his head, speechless. “You just can’t help but compliment people, can you? Must be a family trait.”

Uh…

Xia Qing took a bite of apple and replied seriously, “It’s a trait I got from my mother’s side. My dad’s not as good at it.”

No matter how bad things got, Xia Qing’s grandma and mom always saw a bright side. To them, Xia Qing was the prettiest, smartest, hardest-working, luckiest person on Blue Star, which left her bursting with confidence as a kid.

By the time she grew up and realized those were just her grandma and mom’s personal opinions—not absolute facts—it was already too late. Those beliefs were etched in her brain for good.

If her family hadn’t filled her with so much positivity from day one, Xia Qing likely could never have survived those brutal years alone after her parents died—one step at a time.

Zhang San took another bite, asking, “Were you an only child?”

Xia Qing nodded.

“They really should’ve had a few more kids.” Zhang San stuffed the last chunk of apple into his mouth and advised, “I’ll hand these apple seeds to Zhang Tao to cultivate. As for the apples still hanging in your territory, don’t pick them until they’re fully ripe.”

Waiting until fruit is completely ripe before harvesting improves the germination rate of its seeds. Last year’s low Green Lantern jujube sprout rate was largely because the fruit had been knocked down by hail before it matured.

Xia Qing fished out a box of pickled eggs from her backpack. “Third Brother, these are Green Lantern pickled eggs I made. They’re packed with flavor—especially with Sister Ping’s steamed mantou. Honestly, they’re perfect together.”

Zhang San shook his head. “I’m too full now. Maybe tonight.”

Only half an apple and you’re already full?! Xia Qing tried to persuade him, “You really need to eat more. Expand your stomach so you can get enough energy from food.”

Idol never moves around much, but the research he does is pretty taxing on the brain—which burns plenty of calories. Idol never mentions it, but Xia Qing knows he gets headaches a lot, which is why he’s always trading for things like Green Lantern pecans, chestnuts, and pine nuts, all said to boost brainpower.

“Give it a rest for later. I finished analyzing those herb samples you brought from Hill Thirty-Seven. They’re evolved violet groundsel leaves and stalks—really good for treating all sorts of inflammatory diseases.” Zhang San handed her the test report. “That Evolved Tiger knew to use this plant to treat its wounds—its brain evolution is pretty high.”

Xia Qing slid the fruit and eggs over to Idol, wiped her hands, and then carefully checked out the test report.

Zhang San quietly gazed at the fruit box for a few seconds, wiped his hands, and went back to eating.

Xia Qing doesn’t know much about medicinal herbs, but the report Idol printed included data on both her samples and those cultivated in Territory Seven. The difference was clear—hers scored higher across the board. She got Idol’s hint. “After the Devastation Rain, I’ll head to Hill Thirty-Seven to dig up some of those evolved medicinal herbs—root and all.”

Given Zhang Tao and Zhang He’s exceptional cultivation skills in Territory Seven, as long as she brought the plants back with soil and roots, they’d have no problem keeping them alive.

If those herbs grew in the Northern Territory, Xia Qing could just send Broken Back Wolf or White Weasel with a reference photo to gather them. But things are different in the Western Evolved Forest. It’s a funny coincidence—every big beast she knows in the Western Evolved Forest, from the Western Wolf King to Brother and Sister Leopard and that one-eyed tiger, has a rotten temper.

Right now, her only possible ally is that Black Huge Wolf in the Western Wolf Pack who drinks medicinal mixtures. Too bad it’s not a Brain Evolutionary—no way it’ll manage such a delicate task, even if she gets friendly with it.

When Zhang San finished the grapes and started in on wild berries, he reminded Xia Qing, “You only brought back stalks, not the soil around the roots, so there’s no way of pinpointing the growth area. Violet groundsel likes plenty of sun and moist spots but isn’t picky about soil, so it could grow anywhere in the Western Evolved Forest. The evolved variety in the tiger’s den is the same color as ordinary groundsel, so if you want to find it amid acres of regular violet groundsel, that’s quite the job.”

Xia Qing nodded. “This plant probably grows in the tiger’s core territory. Third Brother, how big is an Evolved Tiger’s core range, usually?”

Animals know the flora in their home turf best. Hill Thirty-Seven sits on the border between the Western Wolf Pack and the Western Evolved Tiger’s lands. That wounded tiger only ended up there because some Scavenger led it over. So if Xia Qing wants to find that special violet groundsel, she’ll need to locate the tiger’s true core territory first.

Zhang San asked, “Is that Evolved Tiger male or female?”

Xia Qing had tended to the one-eyed tiger’s wound herself, so she knew, “Female. Over eight hundred pounds, barely any tooth wear, so she’s pretty young.”

Zhang San reasoned, “Barring outside interferences, a tigress will stake her core territory right next to her mother’s. This herb could be in her territory or her mother’s. Since there are more and larger herbivores now than before the disasters, a tigress’s core range should be 30 to 100 square kilometers.”

It’s totally reasonable for a carnivorous tigress to claim a core territory that’s six to twenty times the size of Xia Qing’s own domain.

Tigers are solitary animals. It’s safer to find territory next to their mothers after they grow up. That’s exactly what Red Squirrel Qiang Zai did.

Animals need to breed. There should be a strong male tiger living next to the tigress’s mom, and another or several suitors near the one-eyed tigress herself. That makes perfect sense…

But in the middle of all those tigers’ core lands, a human suddenly shows up digging for herbs—not so reasonable!

Xia Qing put the test report down and seriously said to Idol, “Third Brother, do you have anything that speeds up wound healing, boosts resistance, or lowers Devastation Element content? Once this rain passes, I’m heading to Hill Thirty-Seven. I want to win that tigress’s trust—it’s the only shot at future herb trades.”

Zhang San just stared speechlessly.