Chapter 201: The Squirrel Thief and the Price of Mercy

The moment Xin Yu spoke up, everyone straightened their necks and perked up their ears.

Luo Pei answered gently, “I’m here.”

Xin Yu asked politely, “A Speed Evolution Evolved Squirrel from Plot Forty-Nine has broken into my territory several times to steal bird nests. I caught it. Is it one of your tamed animals?”

That Evolved Squirrel stealing bird nests?

Before Luo Pei could respond, Xia Qing pressed the button. “Xin Yu, this is Xia Qing, Lord of Territory Three. That Evolved Squirrel is mine. I’ll compensate Plot Eight double for the bird nest. Please don’t harm the Evolved Squirrel and return it to me, if that’s all right.”

All the other Lords…

Luo Pei…

Tang Huai couldn’t help but mutter, “Xia Qing, raising sheep is one thing, but why keep a squirrel?”

Xia Qing answered calmly, “Didn’t manage to raise a cat so I ended up with a squirrel to play with.”

Zhao Ze was stunned. “You play with a squirrel?”

“Evolved Squirrel,” Xia Qing reminded him. “Xin Yu, can I have the Evolved Squirrel back?”

Xin Yu replied, “Sure. I’ll hand the squirrel over to the Inspection Team later. No compensation needed for the bird nest.”

Xia Qing thanked him, but since a tamed animal caused trouble in another lord’s territory, double compensation was the rule they’d all agreed upon. Xia Qing didn’t want to break it.

“Thank you. I’ll make it right and compensate you double as agreed. Was the bird nest in your territory made from Redlight tobacco fiber? How much did the Evolved Squirrel take?”

Bird nests were everywhere, but unless the nests in Plot Eight were special, there was no reason for the Evolved Squirrel to target them.

Xin Yu replied, “Six jin of Redlight tobacco fiber.”

“Xin Yu, you’re really generous,” Tang Huai teased.

Xia Qing replied, “At July’s Produce Trade Fair, six jin of Redlight tobacco fiber could be traded for a jin of Yellowlight, Greenlight, or Yellowlight wheat. Which do you need, wheat or Greenlight?”

Xin Yu answered, “Wheat.”

“All right. I’ll have the Inspection Team deliver two jin of Yellowlight wheat to you. Thanks for going easy on the Evolved Squirrel,” Xia Qing said.

Tang Huai started complaining again. “Xin Yu, if you needed wheat, why did you turn us down the other day when we offered you twenty jin to help inspect your territory’s security?”

The Lord of Plot Eight didn’t bother replying to nonsense like that, so Tang Huai kept on pushing Xia Qing. “Xia Qing, how’d you manage to tame a Speed Evolver Evolved Squirrel? Did you raise it from a baby?”

“It’s not fully tamed yet, that’s why it runs around everywhere. If it ends up in anyone’s territory, please go easy on it,” Xia Qing replied.

“What do you use to train the squirrel, nuts?” Kuang Qingwei asked curiously.

“Vegetables,” Xia Qing answered.

Vegetables aren’t cheap, either. Qi Fu spoke up, “Xia Qing, watch out—that Speed Evolver Evolved Squirrel might scratch you.”

Shi Chong offered some advice too. “Squirrels are timid. Not easy to train.”

Hu Zifeng, still petting his cat, thought Xia Qing was a bit pitiful. “Xia Qing, Third Brother’s cat may have kittens next year. Just wait a few months and you might finally get your cat.”

Zhang San said weakly, “Even if Princess has kittens, Xia Qing still won’t manage to raise one. No luck with cats.”

Everyone…

With wolf fur still clinging to her, Xia Qing couldn’t help but shed a few tears. Maybe she really was doomed to never have a cat.

Tan Junjie’s cool, serious voice came on. “Xin Yu, Inspection Team will arrive at Plot Eight’s road sign in ten minutes. Xia Qing, twenty minutes.”

“Received,”

“Received,”

Xia Qing and Xin Yu both replied at the same time.

Xia Qing rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a bag of sealed grain from the metal cabinet. She didn’t want to reveal her underground food storage, so she only kept part of her supplies in the kitchen and left them inside the metal box. She also hid a small Yi Stone in the kitchen, keeping all her food and spices within its protective range.

She’d gotten those Yi Stones from trading with the Wolf Pack. Aside from one she gave Luo Pei, she hadn’t thought about trading away the rest. Out of four stones, she’d already cracked open two. Besides the two underground storage rooms and the kitchen, she and Boss Sheep both wore one, and even the Sick Wolf had a small piece hanging around his neck.

The reason she put one on the Sick Wolf was because after his surgery and a dose of Dewormer, he’d had diarrhea for a whole week, drawing swarms of flies and attracting Evolver Fungi. Worried he’d end up catching something worse, Xia Qing made him a collar and tucked the Yi Stone inside.

In short, Xia Qing tried every method she could think of to save that wolf. Despite being eaten away by parasites, he pulled through.

After packing up the food, Xia Qing saw Boss Sheep and the Sick Wolf standing at the kitchen door with eager eyes. She tore open a compressed ration and gave half to Boss Sheep, then ripped open a bag of Greenlight dried meat for the wolf. “Boss, Second, watch the house for me. I’ll be back soon.”

While Xia Qing prepared the food for trade, conversation in the Lord’s Channel kept rolling.

Zhao Ze asked, “Third Brother, the chicken I got from you died from an ultrasonic shock. Will you hatch more chicks next year? Can I trade for two next time?”

Zhang San replied, “Even though the chicken died, you still owe me a leaf of Green-glow Alfalfa. Don’t forget.”

Zhao Ze replied right away, “Of course, of course. Next year I’ll plant a whole field of Green-glow Alfalfa. However many you want, I’ll have them for you.”

Qi Fu chimed in, “Third Brother, you were away for a while so I dried the ripe wild grapes and made fruit snacks. I’ll send them over to you tomorrow.”

Qi Fu had traded a Yellowlight pullet to Zhang San in exchange for wild grapes. If he hadn’t wanted to protect the grape vines, Qi Fu wouldn’t have taken a hailstone to the head. Even with the injury and losing the pullet, he’d had his wife dry and seal all the wild grapes for Zhang San, not a single one missing.

Zhang San replied, “Hand them to the Inspection Team tomorrow. Is your head wound better now?”

Qi Fu answered right away, “It’s healed, thanks to the medicine I got from you through Xia Qing. Third Brother, can I trade Greenlight scallions for some hemostatics? I had a harvest of green onions at the end of July—perfect for scrambled eggs right now.”

Shi Chong joined in, “Third Brother, I’ve got Greenlight Pumpkin. It’s great for dumpling filling or fried pumpkin balls. Can I trade that for hemostatics too?”

“Cut two jin. I’ll send someone to pick it up in the morning,” Zhang San agreed, sounding in excellent spirits.

“Me too!”

Shi Chong cheered. “Great, thanks Third Brother. I’ll bring you the best one.”

Tang Zhengbo spoke up as well, “Third Brother, do you want to try our Greenlight river crab? Next month they’re perfect for eating.”

“What’s the trade?” Zhang San asked.

Despite his son’s blunders, Zhang San hadn’t put Tang Zhengbo on the blacklist. Tang Zhengbo was glad. “How about hemostatics?”

“Sure. Save me six fat ones.”

“Will do. Thanks, Third Brother,” Tang Zhengbo replied excitedly.

Greenlight river crab…

Standing by the road sign with her vacuum bag in hand, Xia Qing couldn’t help swallowing hard.

She wanted one so bad…

“Director Tang, how many points for a single river crab?” Kuang Qingwei asked.

Tang Zhengbo answered in his usual unhurried way, “Ours are pre-ordered. This year’s already sold out. The six for Third Brother are ones I set aside for my own family.”

So much for wanting one—no chance at all. Xia Qing sighed.

Qi Fu asked, “Director Tang, can I trade for crab seedlings next spring?”

Tang Zhengbo replied, “Of course. River crabs do well here—our water’s not bad after purification. Plant the seedlings in spring, and by autumn they’ll weigh about six to eight liang. You’ll have no trouble selling them. How many do you want? Fifty points each. More gets a better price.”

Fifty points each wasn’t expensive—the only question was how many would survive in the river.

As Xia Qing considered whether to try raising a few herself, she heard the footsteps of the Inspection Team approaching.