Chapter 1105: Potato Fertilizer, Territory Deals, and a Special Find

Monkey waddled home with its belly full, only to be grabbed by Xia Qing, who shoved it into a water basin for a good scrub. Once washed clean, she hung it under the eaves to dry. “Goofball, when your fur’s dry, put on the clothes beside you and come find me. The cotton in the greenhouse needs picking.”

Employee 002, after getting a full meal and a wash, naturally had to get to work. With its small frame, there was no one better suited to dart around the cotton fields and pick cotton.

“Ehh—” Monkey replied, settling comfortably onto a hardwood pole to sun itself.

Xia Qing led the Green Lantern Calf outside the village and tied it beneath a big tree, cut some fresh grass for it, then set about catching insects to feed the fish while listening to allies chatting on the Lords’ channel.

Xia Qing had already gotten news of Yan Meng’s death from Xu Juan while still on the helicopter, so the allies weren’t talking about that now—they were discussing the new potato-specific fertilizer developed and being promoted by the Hui Four Base.

During the recent third round of Devastation Rain, Type B Magnetic Sense Evolvers from the Ninth Center had patrolled the sunflower fields in the territory, clearing out any aggressive mutated plants they found. Thanks to this, Section One in the north didn’t have a single crisis with runaway sunflowers spraying seeds and attacking people or greenhouses.

That made the lords certain that Type B Magnetic Sense Evolvers really could identify problematic plants ahead of time. So not only were sunflowers safe to grow now, potatoes were back on the table too.

Because potatoes served as both staple and side dish, and yields were high, once they’d solved the crisis with the Dancing Potato Vines, the lords all decided to mass-plant potatoes in the greenhouses. News of a new potato-specific fertilizer coming from the base made everyone perk up.

Xia Qing pressed the walkie-talkie. “Sister Li, how much does this potato fertilizer cost, and how much do you need to use?”

Zhu Li answered right away. “It’s a foliar spray: apply once every half month, half a jin per acre each time. Half a jin costs 150 credits.”

Shizhong chimed in, “So the whole growing cycle needs six to eight doses. That makes 900 to 1200 credits per acre. Not exactly cheap. Xiao Zhu, did Hui Four mention how much yield increases with it?”

Zhu Li replied, “The sellers only said it gives significant yield boost, but didn’t give specifics.”

Zhang San’s lazy drawl chimed in, “Zhu Li, what’s the active ingredient in this potato fertilizer?”

Zhu Li flipped through the ingredient list and dutifully read it out. “They say it contains at least 46% nitrogen, boosted with chlorophyll, plus a special addition—polyaspartic acid. Third Brother, do you think this could work for us?”

“What the heck is that?” Huo Lei, pulling weeds in Territory Eleven, straightened up and turned to Huo Zhun.

Hmm…

Who knows what that stuff is? Huo Zhun pretended not to hear, swinging his hoe harder and wishing he could get farther away from his old man.

Before Huo Zhun could escape, Xia Qing’s voice rang on the channel, “Third Brother, polyaspartic acid promotes root growth and helps plants absorb nutrients, right? That’s probably the main difference between this fertilizer and the rest. If Hui Four is willing to sell it, they must have run stability tests already. Have you heard anything about that?”

Since the catastrophe, Blue Star’s ecosystem had changed drastically. Any fertilizers for crops needed to go through stability tests—in other words, you had to apply it per instructions then observe the affected crops through the full growing cycle to see if the Devastation Element content or mutation rate changed significantly.

If a fertilizer tipped crops’ Devastation-Yi element balance or clearly raised their Devastation Element level or mutation rate, it failed the test.

No matter how much a failed fertilizer helped crops grow, it was more trouble than it was worth.

Hearing Xia Qing recognize polyaspartic acid, Zhang San’s tone grew friendlier. “From the ingredients, it’s probably that amino acid. You can check the Agriculture Department website for the stability test results yourself.”

Catching the exchange between Xia Qing and the Senior Expert, Huo Zhun hacked at the weeds with even more energy. Sister Qing really left him no way out.

“Thanks, Third Brother.”

Having scored favor points with her idol, Xia Qing immediately went for the follow-up, “Third Brother, what’s for lunch today? The big tomatoes in my territory are ripe. Would you like tomato scrambled eggs for lunch? I can bring it over.”

Zhang San was silent for more than ten seconds before answering, “No need. I’ll have Zheng Chen pick it up.”

“Sure thing, Third Brother. I’ll go pick them now.” Xia Qing packed five eggs at home, then went to Greenhouse One and picked four uniform, plump red tomatoes. She bundled those with some purple-flower groundwort she’d dug up in the One-eyed Tiger’s territory, handing them all to Zheng Chen. “Brother Zheng, could you please have Third Brother test the quality of this little herb for me?”

Since her idol had said he didn’t want to see her, Xia Qing wouldn’t risk marching over for a scolding. Now she just hoped the groundwort she’d found was the evolved variety he wanted: then he’d be happy, and she’d be able to make up her previous losses.

Zheng Chen took the unremarkable herb sealed in a clear sampling test tube. He hesitated a few seconds, as if wanting to say something, but then just walked off in silence.

Xia Qing pretended not to notice and went back to work in her own territory.

Come lunchtime, Xia Qing heard Yu Wenchuang call out on the Lords’ channel, “Miss Xia, are you finished yet? This is Yu Wenchuang.”

The other lords pricked up their ears when they heard Yu Wenchuang calling for Xia Qing again.

Xia Qing pressed the walkie-talkie, asking calmly, “Not yet. Xiao Yu, this is the second time you’ve looked for me this morning—anything urgent?”

Playing dumb!

What official business could their Chonglian Group have with a farmer anyway?!

No wonder that woman could get along with Xin Yu—every word out of her mouth so annoying, she really needed someone to set her straight!

Yu Wenchuang’s voice was tight with suppressed anger, but he answered like an old friend, “There are some business matters I want to discuss, Director Xia. When will you have time? Should I come to your side?”

Xia Qing replied in the same calm tone, “Four o’clock this afternoon. I’ll be waiting for you at the Ninth Center’s office.”

How were they supposed to talk business in an office?!

Just as Yu Wenchuang went to reply, Fu Tianfeng’s voice came through again, “Xia Qing, check the test report I sent you on your phone.”

“Okay, Third Brother, I’ll check right away.” That tone from her idol told Xia Qing the purple-flower groundwort she’d sent to Territory Seven was exactly what he needed.

She closed the walkie-talkie and checked her phone, finding the test report for the groundwort. Many of the numbers had little upward arrows next to them: that meant the key ingredients in the sample from the One-eyed Tiger’s territory were higher than in ordinary groundwort.

She messaged: Third Brother, is this groundwort I found the same quality as the grass stalk I once found inside the Evolved Tiger’s fangs and wounds?

Zhang San replied: Yes, send me the site coordinates for the original habitat. I’ll need detailed environmental data too.

Xia Qing sent him the coordinates she’d logged earlier, adding, “That’s the core territory of the Evolved Tiger I rescued. There are at least four other Evolved Tiger companions nearby, all bigger and stronger than it.”

Zhang San…