Chapter 110: Trading Day at the Safe Zone

The Mission Hall is the cleanest place accessible to ordinary people and average Evolvers living outside the Safe Zone.

Usually, the hall is crowded with people running errands or picking up tasks, but today, it’s packed way fuller than usual.

Besides the regular crowd, the hall is buzzing with hosts of the produce trade fair, lords from various territories here to trade, shoppers, and even Safe Zone residents, all eager to watch the excitement.

Jiang Quan, head of the Land Management Department, offered a lively but brief welcome, then began introducing the big names attending the fair.

To Xia Qing’s surprise, Huang Jie—the head of Land Management at the Huicheng Main Base—had shown up for the event, accompanied by Tang Zhengrong, the deputy director of Hui San Base.

After Jiang Quan’s remarks, both Huang Jie and Tang Zhengrong got up to say a few quick words, then a representative for the lords took the stage to share a ‘moving’ speech about life before and after farming, urging everyone to farm for both country and self.

Not many paid much attention to this kind of pep talk. Xia Qing just half-listened, quietly scanning the room.

Tang Zhengrong’s daughter, Tang Zheng, was standing at the back in a sharp suit. Judging from her spot, she’d probably been demoted after that whole Evolved Potato Seeds incident. But Xia Qing caught a steadiness in her this time—Tang Zheng seemed less impulsive than before. If this really helps her grow, the Tang Family will gain another fierce talent.

For Xia Qing, that’s not good news.

Several of the team members trailing after Tang Zhengrong, and even a few clerks behind the mission windows, had changed too. Clearly, while she’d been away from the Safe Zone these past months, there’d been quite a shake-up among the base management.

General Qi Zhongye, the Hui San Base director and Army Lieutenant General, was still missing, but the soldiers guarding the hall sported the latest weapons. No one doubted the Safe Zone’s security.

Finally, the lords’ speeches ended and the trade fair officially kicked off.

“Come on, let’s grab those seats!” Kuang Qingwei quickly rallied the group while Zhao Ze, still limping from his injuries in the second Xiang Rain, hurried after him without falling behind at all.

Tables circled the hall. Xia Qing settled into the seat Shi Du had saved for her, pulling things out of her pack.

The lords’ booths looked about the same—wheat, mung beans, eggplant, cucumber, beans—all grown from Safe Zone-issued seeds. The prices were clearly marked so haggling wasn’t an issue. Xia Qing sat quietly at the back, keenly listening in on the conversation between Huang Jie and Tang Zhengrong.

“Xia Qing, I knew you’d be back.”

That voice was all too familiar. Xia Qing didn’t even bother to look up.

Feng Wen shot a look of distaste at Xia Qing’s measly display, then played at being friendly. “You must be running short on good food in your territory, right? Look at you, you’ve gotten so thin. Let’s grab dinner tonight—my treat.”

“No time,” Xia Qing replied flatly. Huang Jie was describing the sprout rate of the Hui One Base’s Seedling Center, and Xia Qing didn’t want to miss a word.

Feng Wen hadn’t expected Xia Qing to stay so cold even when she’d tried being nice. “Do you have to be so—”

Xia Qing just pointed at the armed base guard nearby keeping order. Feng Wen bit her tongue, muttered “I’ll wait for you after the fair,” and stomped off in her heels.

Not long after Feng Wen left, another person stopped at Xia Qing’s booth. “Dinner together tonight?”

Xia Qing smiled and handed over a cucumber. “Sure.”

“See you at the usual place,” Xu Juan said, taking the cucumber and leaving with a smile.

After Tang Zhengrong and Jiang Quan walked Huang Jie out, Xia Qing was just eavesdropping on clerks gossiping about Huang Jie’s background when, at the next booth, Tang Huai suddenly stood up and called, respectfully, “Sis.”

Tang Ning, once the Vice President of the Tang Group Hotels, had arrived. She looked at Tang Huai with approval. “Haven’t seen you in months—you’ve gotten tanned and stronger. Good. How’s Dad holding up?”

Xia Qing mentally quipped: Squatting in the dirt every day digging up bugs, of course he’s tanned.

Tang Huai was notorious for losing patience and picking fights in the group chat, but now—in front of Tang Ning—he acted as docile as a kitten. “He’s doing great. Why do you look skinnier, Sis?”

Tang Ning patted his shoulder. “Focus on the fair first. We’ll talk more at home tonight.”

The first morning of the trade fair was open to Safe Zone residents for browsing and buying; only in the afternoon did the lords get to trade among themselves. The morning displays were all common crops from Safe Zone seeds, while the afternoon was when the real gems came out.

For the lords’ safety, the system was changed so lords handed their trade goods over to the management, who’d then present them onstage and announce trade terms.

The chosen MC for the lords’ afternoon session was a pretty young woman in her early twenties. As soon as she started speaking, all the lords recognized her—Wang Chuqi, the Hui San Base’s farm knowledge show host.

“Thank you, everyone.” She didn’t need a microphone—the moment Wang Chuqi spoke, her voice cut through the cheers, easy to hear from anywhere in the room. Xia Qing immediately guessed her ability—Evolved Vocal Cords.

“If only we could recruit her to Territory Nine,” Xia Qing overheard Assistant Liu mutter. She found this neighbor lord’s assistant pretty amusing.

The first product Wang Chuqi presented was a batch of dried Green-glow Purslane, seeking Greenlight vegetable seeds as a trade.

“You can make dumpling filling with dry purslane in winter, but you really need meat for it. Who needs this in their territory, anyway? It’s gotta be—” Zhao Ze didn’t finish, because Ji Li raised her hand.

“I’ll trade three pounds for Greenlight garlic seeds.”

Zhao Ze had nothing left to say.

The second product was dried Greenlight Bay Leaves, a common pre-apocalypse kitchen spice for removing odors and enhancing flavor. The offering lord wanted food in return.

Before Wang Chuqi even finished, Ji Li raised her hand again. “One pound for Yellowlight mung beans.”

Xia Qing raised her own hand. “One pound for Yellowlight mung beans.”

Zhao Ze was speechless.

The third item was Greenlight coriander seeds, and the trade was for more Greenlight seeds.

After Wang Chuqi’s intro, everyone from Plots One through Ten turned to look at Ji Li. When she didn’t raise her hand, everyone got it: Third Brother doesn’t like coriander.

If Third Brother won’t eat it, nobody needs to plant a ton.

Qi Fu, a coriander fan, raised his hand and swapped Greenlight scallion seeds for a batch.

Fourth up was a Redlight plant. Wang Chuqi paraded a bunch of tobacco fibers across the stage. “These are Redlight tobacco leaves. But the provider says they’re fantastic for absorbing moisture and repelling bugs—birds love them for building nests. This lord used tobacco fiber to attract over thirty Evolved Magpies, which ended up eating tons of pest insects. One pound of Yellowlight mung beans or wheat gets you six pounds of tobacco fiber. Any takers?”

Bug-obsessed Tang Huai hated noise. “Like birds wouldn’t come without tobacco—either way, all that chirping’s a pain in the neck.”

Xia Qing calmly raised her hand. “Six pounds for Yellowlight mung beans.”

Tang Huai was left fuming.

Qi Fu raised his hand too. “Six pounds for Yellowlight wheat.”

Shi Chong whispered, “You raising birds too, Qi?”

Qi Fu quietly explained, “I want to get more Evolved Cuckoo Birds nesting in the Buffer Forest. They’re death on venom caterpillars.”

People from Plot One had lost their first group to Evolved Venom Caterpillars. After hearing Qi Fu’s reasoning, Kuang Qingwei and Zhao Ze joined in for tobacco fiber, and even Wei Chengdong joined the fun. Tang Huai was so mad his nose seemed to bend sideways.

Xia Qing almost warned Wei Chengdong that Plot One was about to get a cat, so building bird nests might be pointless. But picturing Hu Zifeng’s soon-to-be smug “crazy about cats but trying not to show it” face, she kept quiet.

During the afternoon trading session, Xia Qing traded for one pound of Greenlight bay leaves, six pounds of tobacco fiber, a little bag of Yellowlight onion seeds, one Greenlight Sichuan pepper tree, and one Greenlight passion fruit sapling.

The most heated moment came when Wang Chuqi brought out a pair of Greenlight quail. Lords vied to outbid each other, turning a drab pair of birds into pure gold.

Plenty of lords from Plots One through Ten didn’t bother—they had a generous neighbor, Zhang San. If you happened to impress him, you could get a genuine egg-laying hen by trading just a few wild fruits.

Even if it’s only Yellowlight, having a real chicken is unbeatable.

Qi Fu figured he’d wait for Third Brother to be in a good mood before he traded for a rooster. With a breeding pair, he could hatch chicks and bring a whole fluffy flock to next year’s fair.

Soon, Xia Qing would have seventeen Greenlight chickens at her place too. Mentally, she thanked her idol, Third Brother, over and over.