Chapter 198: Bartering for Survival: Remedies, Deals, and Restless Wolves

Zhang San let out a lazy yawn. “The aquatic type is for detoxifying Luo Pei. The terrestrial one helps regulate a wolf’s digestion. One medicinal herb, roots and all, goes for ten thousand points. I’m in no rush. Take your time looking.”

“These are for Luo Ge and the Sick Wolf, right?” Xia Qing replied seriously. “I’ll do my best to help the Wolf Pack understand how important these two herbs are, and I’ll urge them to find them as soon as possible. Third Brother, do you have either of these herbs? Even dried works. If the wolves can smell them, they should find them faster.”

“If I did, would I be making you search?” Zhang San replied, sounding drained. “All I have are pictures.”

Xia Qing understood and moved on to the next deal. “Third Brother, if the wolves can bring back more than six of the medicinal herbs, can I trade the extras with you for interior wall panels from the storage room? Or, if the Greenlight meat the wolves deliver goes over seventy jin, I’ll trade the extra meat with you.”

Zhang San nodded. “Ten herbs. If they’re fresh, with roots intact and still alive, five. No Greenlight Python meat, though.”

So the interior wall panels cost one hundred thousand points? That’s steep. But honestly, anything that cuts energy use and boosts storage security is worth it.

“Alright, thanks, Third Brother. I agree—the Greenlight Python meat really isn’t great. I’ll just keep it for myself.” Xia Qing carefully packed up the medicine bottles and asked, “Can I take the interior wall panels back now and get them installed?”

“Sure. Talk to Ji Li about it.” Now that Zhang San agreed to the deal, he clearly wasn’t worried about Xia Qing skipping out on payment.

When she was about to leave, Xia Qing noticed her idol yawning. It tugged at her heartstrings. Why? Because her idol, dressed in a white lab coat, looked absolutely drained—almost not even human anymore.

Change his skin color and stick a giant syringe in his hand, and he’d pass for the zombie doctor from Plants vs. Zombies.

If her idol actually became a zombie, who would she trade supplies with? Xia Qing rummaged through her territory for anything decent and finally found something: “Third Brother, a while back on a mission in Evolver Forest, I picked a Greenlight water caltrop. It’s finally ready to eat. I can bring it over for you later?”

Zhang San didn’t sound interested. “Water caltrop’s not tasty. Got anything else?”

Xia Qing was speechless.

Even with Greenlight food, he’s picky. No wonder her idol’s grown so scrawny.

Carrying three wolves out of the operating room with Yan Long, Xia Qing glanced at the standardized greenhouse in Plot Seven packed with plants. She couldn’t help but suspect Zhang San had developed an eating disorder. With all these veggies and meat on hand, how did he end up looking like that?

Back at the mouth of the abandoned cave, after setting down the wooden board, Yan Long asked, “That Alpha Wolf missing part of an ear—is it one of those brain-evolved creatures?”

Right now, the Alpha was standing atop the cave, staring their way. Xia Qing didn’t dare call it the one with the missing ear. Who knew if the Alpha would pounce at her for that? “It’s really smart—probably is.”

Yan Long continued, “What Zhang Lord gave you was a picture book. It’s actually a guide for training evolved beasts to find plants. If you show that wolf, it’ll understand it.”

Yan Long spoke calmly, but Xia Qing still caught the urgency in her voice. Maybe Yan Long helped carry wolves this time hoping Xia Qing could assist in finding medicinal herbs.

Looks like Yan Long and Luo Pei are close—maybe former comrades who once fought side by side.

Once Yan Long left, Xia Qing finally lifted the old bedsheet draped over the wooden board, revealing three wolves lined up neatly.

She undid the splint on the Wolf with the Broken Leg’s hind legs. “Your Majesty, both hind legs are healed now.”

See? Trading herbs and Yi Stones with me was definitely the right move.

After the demonstration, Xia Qing set aside the Wolf with the Broken Leg, then pointed to the brain-evolved injured wolf whose waist was braced in a cylinder that was now half its original length. “This one’s recovering, too—just needs to keep taking medicine. We’ll check again in twenty days.”

Next, Xia Qing carefully picked up the Wolf with the Spinal Injury and set it aside before gently feeling the Sick Wolf’s sunken belly and jutting ribs, her tone heavy. “This one’s stomach is damaged. We’ll need at least three months of medicine. Humans don’t have anything for this—the Alpha will need to look in Evolver Forest.”

Xia Qing lifted the Sick Wolf and placed it beside the Wolf with the Spinal Injury. Then she pulled out Zhang San’s pictures and a medicine bottle from her pack and held them up for the waiting Wolf Pack. “Your Majesty, if you find these two herbs, we can get medicine and treat the wolves.”

After showing each photo, Xia Qing set the medicine bottle next to the Sick Wolf’s belly, then took a box of pushpins from Plot Seven and firmly tacked the photos to a sturdy wooden board.

The board had two sides, each covered with images of a different plant in various forms. Then she used two big stones to stand the board up inside the cave. “Your Majesty, if you spot either of these herbs, dig it up—roots and all.”

At the cave mouth, Xia Qing found a wild weed about the same height as the mature terrestrial herb, dug it out, and showed it to the Alpha. “Like this, with the roots attached. You’re smart, Your Majesty—you’ll find it in no time, right?”

The Alpha took one look at the plant in Xia Qing’s hand, then went to sniff the three wolves lying anesthetized on the ground. The rest of the wolves were roughhousing, except for the brain-evolved injured wolf, who stared intently at the plant in her hand.

Xia Qing switched her attention, showing the plant to the brain-evolved injured wolf. “The two herbs on the board—bring them back, roots and all. Once you’re better, you can join the search, too. But you’ve got to be careful—wherever there are medicinal herbs, there are aggressive evolved beasts.”

After her explanation, Xia Qing wrapped the Sick Wolf in the old bedsheet and lifted it. “Your Majesty, I’m bringing this Sick Wolf back to the territory. Please be careful when you look for herbs.”

The Sick Wolf’s stomach was too weak—it could only eat cooked meat for now, so it couldn’t recover safely in the cave.

Once she was back at the territory, Boss Sheep came running. Xia Qing stopped and lifted the bedsheet to show the Sick Wolf’s head. “I brought your friend home. It can’t move right now. You guard it here while I go work in the fields.”

When it comes to farming, there’s never an end to the chores. Seedlings need fertilizer, pests have to be eliminated, water’s needed for the thirsty crops. Once irrigation is done, there’s weeding and soil loosening to handle next.

Last week, Boss Sheep and Guan Tong finished irrigating both the farmland and the terraced plots. Now, except for the tall cotton fields and the spinach beds Xia Qing tended so carefully, every other field was full of weeds that needed to be pulled fast.

Otherwise, in just a few days, weeds will smother the vegetable seedlings.

Territory Three’s hillside had twenty-five terraced plots, each about fifty square meters, for a total of roughly 1.7 mu. Down at the foot of the mountain, the farmland had five greenhouses, totaling five mu.

Since moving to the territory, Xia Qing had cultivated 6.7 mu in total—not counting a handful of small sheds and Boss Sheep’s three meadows of pasture grass.

Among all ten territories—excluding the totally isolated Plot Eight—her amount of reclaimed land ranked second from the bottom. The worst of all was Territory Two, where no one farmed properly and everyone just liked digging up bugs.