Chapter 248: Bath Day for Wolves and Deals for Seeds

Xia Qing had given the sick wolf a bath before, but back then it was under anesthesia and couldn’t move. Even though she was now familiar with the wolf, bathing an evolved wolf who’d grown up in the Evolver Forest still made her feel a bit of pressure.

But when she saw the sick wolf grinning at her and got a whiff of its stench, Xia Qing steeled herself. “Alright, I’ll bathe you. You are an SSVIP guest after all. The sun is out today and there’s plenty of hot water in the tank. Boss Sheep, keep an ear out for anything suspicious outside, okay? If anything happens, call me.”

These days, the sick wolf had been standing guard at night. Now that she was taking it for a bath, Xia Qing felt a little uneasy. Boss Sheep lay on the tatami mats, eyes half-closed, lazily chewing cud, showing no reaction to her instructions.

Still, Xia Qing knew it had heard her.

“Stand still here while I rinse you off.” After adjusting the water temperature, Xia Qing began washing the sick wolf’s body. It was only then that she realized the wolf had put on a little weight. Not much, but it was an improvement from the skin-and-bones look it had the first time.

Thanks to continuous medication, the sick wolf’s skin disease had cleared up too. A thin, patchy layer of new fur was growing in, and seeing that actually gave Xia Qing a sense of accomplishment. Once she’d rinsed off all the grime, she grabbed the body wash. “This is an antibacterial, bug-repelling wash. If I rub it in and rinse thoroughly, you won’t get skin problems, plus it keeps mosquitoes, flies, and fleas away. When I’m done, you’ll smell just like Boss Sheep.”

Whenever Xia Qing worked around the animals on her territory, she always chatted while she was at it—because the animals at home really were clever. “Once you’ve finished getting everything out of your system these past few days, all those parasites should be gone, and you’ll start eating more. Autumn’s the best time to fatten up, so I’ll keep making you something delicious every day…”

Muttering away, Xia Qing gave the sick wolf a thorough wash, dried it off with an old blanket cover, and swung open the bathroom door—only to find another wolf squatting right outside.

Soaking wet, Xia Qing locked eyes for two seconds with this calm, sharp-looking wolf and asked, “You want a bath too?”

The wolf with the spinal injury turned to sniff the spot where the ointment was stuck to its waist, then calmly looked back up at Xia Qing.

So, it hated the smell of the ointment and wanted to get clean?

Life wasn’t easy. Xia Qing sighed, “Alright, let’s wash up! Come on in, but once you’re clean I’m putting another patch on you. Number Two, Boss Sheep, keep watch outside for anything unusual.”

Boss Sheep still lay motionless, eyes half-shut, but the freshly-washed wolf—Number Two—obeyed Xia Qing’s instructions, unlocked the security door, and went out to stand guard.

With one wolf swapped for another, Xia Qing kept going. This new wolf was even stronger than the sick wolf, but giving it a bath didn’t make her nervous at all.

After all, this was a brain-evolved wolf—sharp as they come. Not only was she unafraid, Xia Qing even started complaining as she scrubbed. “You know, Broken-Back, you’re taller than Boss Sheep, and you’ve got way more fur than Number Two. I’m using the most body wash on you! Such hard work. Once you’re all healed up, you owe me a pair of greenlight wild rabbits. They’d better be alive…”

The drenched wolf with the spinal injury stayed silent, quietly watching Xia Qing squeeze stuff from a bottle and turn on the spray. If you looked closely, you’d notice its eyes were way brighter than usual.

After tending to the second wolf, Xia Qing—tired from her busy day—finally went upstairs to her own bathroom for a shower. When she changed and headed back down, she found both wolves and Boss Sheep sprawled cozily on the tatami mats. Boss Sheep, eyes half-closed, chewed his cud lazily, while the two wolves raised their heads and gazed at her, as if waiting to see if she’d chase them out.

Now that the wolves were clean, they were starting to dislike the smelly sheep shed. Xia Qing didn’t mind letting them sleep indoors. She pointed at the stairs at her feet and told them, “Number Two, Broken-Back, you can sleep inside, but don’t go up there, got it? Number Two, keep an eye on our territory from upstairs. If anything happens, wake me right away.”

“Bzzz—”

Xia Qing was barely finished when her phone rang. Seeing Zhang San’s name on the caller ID, she picked up right away. “Third Brother!”

“Xia Qing, how about I swap rice for your greenlight chestnuts? Deal or not?”

“Third Brother, can I trade for unhulled rice instead? It keeps much longer.” Xia Qing agreed eagerly. She’d guessed Zhang San would offer a swap ever since she had chestnut chicken for dinner, so she’d already planned what to trade for.

Right now, she wasn’t short on food but she did need high-quality grain seeds. Even with the hundred greenlight rice plants she’d traded from Zhang San back in June—which were down to ninety-seven now—there was no way she’d meet her goal of being self-sufficient in top-tier rice next year.

Her farmland also had yellowlight rice she’d exchanged from the Safe Zone. She got four hundred plants, but lost a hundred straight away in the third Xiang Rain. If those yellowlight rice fields hadn’t bordered her greenlight rice and received partial protection from the Yi Stone, the loss would have been even greater.

After the third Xiang Rain, Xia Qing ran checks on the surviving yellowlight rice and found that thirty of the plants had Xiang element levels above one part per thousand—which meant they couldn’t be eaten, only pulled out. So now, she had two hundred seventy yellowlight rice plants left, all sitting at Xiang element levels between one and 1.4 parts per hundred—not what she’d call premium quality.

She urgently needed top-grade rice seeds to expand her fields.

Zhang San didn’t agree to her proposal right away, instead asking, “You want what I’m planting in my own territory, or what the Safe Zone Planting Center’s growing? Mine are better, but they cost more.”

The Safe Zone only sold rice, not paddy. That’s because they processed the hulls into food to feed more people. Given the option, Xia Qing wanted the highest quality she could get. “Yours, please.”

Zhang San replied, “The yellowlight rice grown on a large scale in the Safe Zone is the H-12 variety, with Xiang element at about one part per hundred. The ones I’m growing now are J-2, with Xiang element at just over six parts per thousand. If you mill them, they cost over a hundred points per unit. Unhulled, as seed, they’re even pricier. Your greenlight chestnuts are worth about four hundred points per unit. I’ll give you four pounds of unhulled yellowlight rice for every pound of greenlight chestnuts. Acceptable? But you can only plant the J-2 seeds yourself—you’re not allowed to sell them.”

“Absolutely, yes! Thank you, Third Brother!” Xia Qing beamed. Being able to plant grain with Xiang element levels close to greenlight food was a no-brainer for her—she’d never choose the higher-Xiang stuff. Four to one was a great rate. She was hoping to get two hundred pounds of yellowlight rice seeds!

Of course, that depended on how much her idol was willing to part with. Xia Qing asked, “So, Third Brother, how many pounds of greenlight chestnuts do you want to trade for?”

Zhang San shot back lazily, “How many pounds can you provide?”

So generous! Just like her idol should be! Xia Qing answered without hesitation, “Eighty pounds.”

On hearing she had that many greenlight chestnuts, Zhang San’s tone brightened. “I can give you forty pounds of rice at most, plus matching-quality wheat seeds—the same rate and the same forty pounds, also just for your own use, not resale. Anything else you need besides those two?”

Other than rice seeds, Xia Qing did have some needs—or more accurately, tricky questions she needed to consult about.