Chapter 1091: Harvests, Rumors, and Restless Hearts

After a wild shopping spree, Xia Qing not only returned the four barely-used Points Cards totaling 28,000 credits to Yang Jin, but also dipped into her own stash for another 195,000 credits. All in all, she bought two phones, a laptop, and two pairs of new running shoes designed for Evolved fighters.

Yang Jin grinned from ear to ear as he collected the credits, but Xia Qing kept a straight face, heading out from the cabin by the fields with her haul of Yi Stones, ready for some rest back home.

Honestly, there was probably only one creature who could understand how she felt right now—Crippled Wolf.

Wait, that’s not right. Even Crippled Wolf couldn’t relate. That guy’s got a literal gold mine at home…

As for Yang Jin? As Xia Qing’s boyfriend, it was unusual for him to just eat and leave. He ended up staying in the small cabin by the fields, a spot where Hu Zifeng’s Squad often crashed for the night. He offered to drop Xia Qing off at the Ninth Planting Center that afternoon, then return to Territory One.

Dragging the Green Lantern Calf behind her and carrying Old Goat over her shoulder, Xia Qing grumbled in a low voice to her two companions, “Can you believe it? In just a few months, Iron Rooster’s laptop shot up from 20,000 to 23,000 credits!”

She’d traded for this laptop on Crippled Wolf’s behalf, hoping for a 5,000 credit profit—ended up barely making two grand.

Er, hearing Xia Qing’s complaints, nuzzled her gently with his head. Old Goat, slung across her shoulder, just squinted, blissfully unaware of it all.

Xia Qing gave a little tug on the reluctant calf trailing behind, then smiled at her companions. “Just wait till we get home—you’ll see my latest haul! We’re in for another windfall!”

She was seriously pleased with what she’d scored today. These Scavengers turned out to be way richer than she’d expected. She’d even have to switch her walnut-sized Mid-Grade Yi Stones into a bigger box since she’d picked up another 28 pieces today and the old box couldn’t hold them anymore.

After splitting the Yi Stones, Xia Qing noticed Yang Jin didn’t even try to swap credits for her high-grade ones. That told her the Azure Dragon Squad must’ve hit it big on their trip to Fire Mountain. Fair enough—he took the risk, he deserved the reward. Xia Qing wasn’t envious at all.

Seeing Xia Qing’s good mood, Er couldn’t help but beam right along with her.

Yang Jin watched as Xia Qing lugged her sheep, led her calf, and had her wolf in tow on the way back to the Abandoned Village. Only then did he yawn, head for the back room, and flop down on the bed for a nap.

Section Three was peaceful as always. Over in Territory Eight, tension ran high, while in Territory Fourteen, the air was thick with wailing and curses. But in Tang Huai’s temporary Alliance chat group, the allies were buzzing, gossiping up a storm.

After stashing her Yi Stones at home and resting for an hour, Xia Qing waited out the worst of the midday heat. Then she hopped on her rotary tiller and left, ready to tackle the house ruins two hundred meters west of her little building.

Xia Qing had already cleared away all the tall grass and saplings within that range. But now that she had cows to care for and had to move the lab another two hundred meters west (just as her Idol suggested), she needed a bigger space cleared.

Once the area was cleared, she planned to build the lab and sow Green Lantern and wild grass seeds across the rest. However much grew, whichever quality, she’d take what she could get—it sure beat letting the land stay wild.

The moment activity started in Section Three, Tang Huai jumped online. “Sister Qing, Jin-ge, what’re you two up to?”

Everyone in the Alliance chat, no matter what they were working on, perked up their ears to listen in.

Xia Qing pressed her walkie-talkie. “Clearing out ruins. Gonna build a few more rooms.”

Tang Huai pried, “Jin-ge planning on moving into Section Three for good?”

“Plant propagation room and a lab,” Xia Qing answered.

Wen Nengjie chimed in fast, “Sister Qing, your fields are getting more and more professional. Is it easy to clear the ruins? If it’s a lot, I could bring some people to help out?”

Before Xia Qing could reply, Tang Huai cut in, “Old Wen, take a hint, won’t you? Go cool off somewhere else! Jin-ge’s in Section Three—if Sister Qing needed help, she’d ask way before you could volunteer. Right, Jin-ge?”

Xia Qing calmly pressed the button. “He’s resting.”

Everyone else…

Xin Yu sat nearby, peeling sunflower seeds and feeding her bird, looking quite pleased as she watched Yu Wenchuang’s twisted expression.

Holding a teacup, Yang Jin looked out the window and spotted a person, a sheep, and a wolf all squeezed into the rotary tiller’s protective cab with three little fans spinning. The sight made him laugh out loud.

Xia Qing was nothing if not hardworking—and she knew how to enjoy life, too.

After another hour’s work, Xia Qing headed home, showered, and changed. She left Old Goat and Er to look after the house, asked two people from Hu Zifeng’s squad to keep watch over the territory, then finally drove her off-roader out of the Abandoned Village to meet up with Yang Jin.

As luck would have it, Yang Jin had changed into the same new protective suit material, too. Xia Qing’s was pale purple, his a soft gray. No matter how you looked at it, they screamed matching couple outfits.

Yang Jin looked incredible in that suit. Xia Qing itched to snap a picture and send it to Crippled Wolf. That guy had good taste—pretty sure he’d buy two of the same suits for himself and his brother.

Standing in the sunlight, Yang Jin’s smile was especially refreshing. “Sister Qing, want me to drive?”

Yang Jin still had to drive her car back to Territory One after dropping Xia Qing off at the Ninth Planting Center, then pick her up again later, so it made sense for him to be behind the wheel. Xia Qing gave up her seat and politely asked, “Captain Yang, how’d you sleep?”

Yang Jin didn’t bother correcting her. He smiled and answered, “You’re a real pro at building houses—soundproofing in that bedroom is excellent.”

At the south gate, before Xia Qing could get out, Yang Jin held out his hand.

They’d just entered Tang Huai’s eavesdropping range. Xia Qing shot Yang Jin a look: if you overact, it just looks fake.

Yang Jin pushed his hand forward, not backing down in the slightest.

So Xia Qing handed over the key, watched as he unlocked and opened the door, then drove out and got out again to lock up before coming back to the car, grinning wide as he handed the key back to her.

Over in Territory Two, Tang Huai was pretending to dig for bugs but really squinting in the sunlight. Was Yang Jin, the Alliance’s most eligible bachelor, seriously in such an embarrassing stage of romance…?

If Tang Lu saw this, would she just lose it?

It wasn’t just Tang Huai. Yue Haiying, who thought Yang Jin was just helping Xia Qing out of politeness, couldn’t help but feel these two really were together after witnessing that scene.

Even Yan Yue, who handed materials to Xia Qing, couldn’t resist her own bit of gossip. “Director, Captain Yang deals with the higher-ups at the Base all the time—maybe you could ask him to polish your report draft.”

Having been watched like an animal in a zoo all morning, Xia Qing was thoroughly numb. She just nodded.

Yue Haiying kept up her report. “School starts tomorrow. Since there are some safety risks with the three routes, the Inspection Team proposed sending patrol trucks to pick up the kids from the territory. They’re requesting access to the Ninth Center.”

Section One’s school sits inside the Ninth Planting Center. Kids living on the territory have to enter through the south or north gate of the center, then go through a special passage to reach school.

Yue Haiying is deputy director at the Ninth Center and only approved to allow outside delivery vehicles past the gates temporarily. The three patrol trucks from Section One need to go in and out of the center twice daily—well outside her authority, so she rejected the request.

Xia Qing flatly refused. “Denied. The patrol trucks can stop outside the gate. After strict checks, the kids can walk in themselves.”

“Understood.” Yan Yue took notes right away.

After finishing her own approvals, Xia Qing told Yan Yue, “Tomorrow, we’ll take the Azure Dragon Squad’s helicopter. Meet at the north gate of Territory One at 7 AM sharp.”

Tomorrow, at the Agriculture Department’s meeting attended by the Hui Three Base Director, one of the key items is Xia Qing’s report on disaster response in Section One. She would present, while Yan Yue would run the slides and video, jumping in if extra explanation was needed.

Tomorrow’s meeting could decide whether the Ninth Planting Center could win over Territory Fourteen—they’d need to be at their best.