Chapter 195: A Safe Harvest, A Quiet Morning

When Xia Qing asked, Ya Ge answered honestly. “Without a Xiang Element Filtration Unit, even if you keep the temperature and humidity perfect, this grain won’t last longer than three months.”

Xia Qing pressed further. “If I install a Xiang Element Filtration Unit, how long would the cellar keep food fresh?”

Ya Ge replied, “As long as nothing damages it, the equipment runs smoothly, and there’s no power outage, with that filtration unit, your grain will be good for at least two years. But honestly, installing one isn’t really worth it for you.”

Xia Qing, clutching her Yi Stone, had never planned to install the filtration unit anyway. She smiled. “I get it. For a little storeroom like mine, it’d be better to just use those points and buy grain from the Safe Zone.”

Ya Ge went on, “Your walls can’t keep out evolved rodents that love to dig. You should trade for some interior wall panels from Third Brother. Those panels can block any rodent under level six and keep out moisture too. They’ll even protect against earthquakes below level five.”

Wait, Territory Seven has stuff like that? Xia Qing nodded right away. “Thanks, Ya Ge. I’ll talk to Third Brother as soon as it’s light out.”

Seeing that Xia Qing didn’t want help with a second piece of equipment, Ya Ge took the hint and said goodbye. Once he was back above ground, Xia Qing handed him a pack of Greenlight dried meat. “Thanks for your help, Ya Ge. I made this with my dehydrator. It’s probably not as tasty as what your territory makes, but it’s all good meat. Hope you don’t mind it.”

Ya Ge grinned and stuffed the treat into his protective suit’s pocket. “Greenlight meat is delicious however you cook it.”

After seeing Ya Ge off, Xia Qing put the Yi Stone back in the underground storage room under the tool shed, then headed to the kitchen to turn off the heat. She took out the Greenlight Chicken she’d been boiling, picked out the bones, and carried the pot of meat and broth to the sheep shed. “The meat’s ready! I added two greenlight tomatoes and five spinach leaves—all good for energy. Let it cool before you eat.”

After serving up food for her SSVIP clients, Xia Qing grabbed another set of equipment and went down to the storeroom cellar to set it up.

Even though she doubted that the richer territories would care for her small stash, Xia Qing still didn’t want to reveal all her storage spots. So after learning how to install the temperature and humidity control unit from Ya Ge and sending him on his way, she handled the installation in the more hidden cellar herself.

Ten minutes after hooking the second unit up to the battery, the storeroom’s climate hit the exact settings Xia Qing wanted. She reinstalled the Yi Stone and sat in the cool, dry basement, breathing in the fresh air with a look of pure contentment.

With two sets of equipment traded for Greenlight meat, two large batteries she got for shooting down a scout bird, a Yi Stone from the Wolf Pack, and reinforced wall panels, Xia Qing could now keep her grain fresh for up to two years.

And what did that mean?

It meant that as long as she grew enough food for herself, Boss Sheep, and the chickens and geese, even if Hui San Base was hit by a massive beast wave or a natural disaster, she could eat well and live safely for as long as the disaster didn’t last beyond two years.

“Having a full pantry really does keep your mind at ease,” Xia Qing thought. It couldn’t be more true.

Her next goal was simple: get stronger, build up her food stores, and take good care of the wolves.

Getting stronger meant she could protect her territory and her food. Stockpiling more food meant she’d never go hungry. And if she looked after the wolves, that meant more Greenlight meat and Yi Stones in trade.

Yi Stones and the temperature-humidity control units were the keys to storing food long-term.

After disinfecting the storeroom floor, Xia Qing sealed the heavy wooden door and took the twisting passage back to the garage, covering the entrance with a cement slab. Because the temperature-humidity unit would air out the storeroom every night at two o’clock, she left a narrow gap to let fresh air circulate between the basement and the ground above.

But leaving a gap meant she had to worry about someone noticing or an evolved animal sneaking in. As a precaution, she sprayed insect repellent at the exit and set the rotary tiller’s dirt blade on top, just to throw off any curious eyes.

Satisfied that her setup would go unnoticed, Xia Qing paused in the garage to listen carefully, then went out into the courtyard and listened again. Now that the control equipment kept the storeroom at the right setting, the unit—four meters underground—had gone into standby. And as a level seven hearing evolver, Xia Qing couldn’t pick up a single sound from it.

The only ones with keen enough hearing to even come close were Luo Pei, a level six hearing evolver; Da Jiang, level four; and Liangzi, also level six. Then there was Cao Xianyun, a level four hearing evolver from the Inspection Team who patrolled the Barrier every day, and Tang Huai, a level five, digging for bugs in Territory Two. But if Xia Qing couldn’t hear squat while standing in the courtyard, there was no chance any of them would hear anything from outside.

Nothing felt safer than that. With a spring in her step, Xia Qing grabbed a bundle of dried grass from the storeroom and carried it back outside.

By now, daylight had broken. Outside the sheep shed, not even a drop of soup was left in the food bowls, let alone meat. The sick wolf couldn’t have eaten that much. It must’ve been the Alpha Wolf who finished off all the leftovers.

When Boss Sheep saw Xia Qing spreading the grass out to dry under the eaves, he trotted over to give it a good sniff. Realizing it wasn’t his kind of chow, he turned to leave, only to be stopped by Xia Qing calling him back.

“Don’t sleep yet, Boss. I’m heading out to check the territory. Go catch some bugs for the fish while I’m gone.”

Boss Sheep, who hated bug-hunting, shot Xia Qing a sleepy look. He only started moving after she stuffed a compressed ration into his pouch. Slowly, he grabbed the little basket by the door and padded after Xia Qing, who was carrying the chicken cage.

Once the two of them left, the sick wolf trailed behind at its own pace. The Alpha Wolf didn’t budge, staying to rest in the sheep shed.

The chicks, already used to living with wolves, weren’t scared at all. They chirped away inside the cage even with the wolf following behind. Only the Redlight Gosling seemed to understand how dangerous wolves could be—it cowered in the farthest corner of the cage, keeping away from the wolf.

Xia Qing made a round of the chicken enclosure to be certain everything was in order, then finally opened the cage to let the chickens out.

The black-feathered rooster was first to burst into the run, trailed by the Redlight Gosling, and then the rest of the ten chickens. Thanks to Xia Qing’s careful feeding, all the chicks and the goose had recovered from the ultrasound attack and were looking lively with their shiny feathers. The moment they were released, they started drinking, pecking at feed, and scratching for bugs in the dirt.

Now two months old, all the chickens and the goose had their feathers grown in. Most of the chickens were a normal mix of red, yellow, white, and brown—except for that black-feathered rooster, who was showing off to the Redlight Gosling with its wings outstretched. Xia Qing had never seen a chicken like it.

Head to toe, everything on that black-feathered rooster—comb, eyes, beak, feathers, even its claws—shone with an inky blackness. Xia Qing was seriously tempted to catch it and take a little blood, just to see if it flowed black too.

Maybe sensing her ill intent, the black-feathered rooster dashed away. As soon as it ran, all ten chicks followed, staying far from Xia Qing.

Since the chickens had scratched up every inch of dirt in the enclosure and eaten most of the bugs, Xia Qing decided she’d move the pen to a new spot tomorrow morning so they could keep hunting.

Boss Sheep and the sick wolf had already wandered toward the North Buffer Forest. Xia Qing turned west, ready to check up on the southern wild grass walls and the West Buffer Forest.