Chapter 25: A Bumper Harvest and New Connections

On the hillside of her new territory, there were five abandoned farmsteads. When Xia Qing had come here the first time, she’d only given it a quick search. Today, she was going to comb through every inch.

Collapsed stone walls and toppled houses—she cleared them all out and checked every corner with a sharp eye.

Rusty farm tools with snapped wooden handles? She wanted them. If she fixed them up and gave them a polish, they might just see another day in the fields.

Dented stainless steel basins? Needed. They could still hold things even if she had to bang them back into shape. If there was a hole, she’d just patch it.

Broken kitchenware? Still useful. Even if they couldn’t be repaired, they could be torn apart for spare parts.

Cloth goods that weren’t moldy yet? Absolutely. After a hot wash and some disinfectant, they could become mop heads.

An evolved centipede that tried to bite her? Most definitely. She’d dry it out later and trade it for points.

Evolved grubs? Burn them to ashes!

……

Once she finished clearing the five yards, the supplies she planned to haul away were stacked higher than she was. Xia Qing felt a surge of pride.

What really got her excited was finding three patches of scallion sprouts beneath a collapsed stone wall in one vegetable bed. Over thirty shoots, and by the look of it, even more might soon poke through!

Scallions truly were a staple in every household.

After packing up her finds, Xia Qing rushed to wash her hands and check the scallions for Xiang energy. Two patches showed a yellow light, one even flashed red—she couldn’t ask for more.

Xia Qing almost wanted to take off her protective mask right there and savor the taste she’d missed for so long.

Reason won out, though. She stuck two of the sprout patches behind a little fence for protection, gave them mountain spring water, and sprayed some repellent.

With luck, once the weather warmed up, the terraces and high slopes would sprout even more veggies.

Xia Qing called over Boss Sheep, who was chewing cud under the toon tree. She handed it a bit of food, then loaded up two sacks, each over a hundred catties.

“Boss, you’re amazing! If it wasn’t for you, I’d never get all this stuff home.” Xia Qing discovered that Boss Sheep wasn’t just greedy—it loved a good compliment, too. She made a habit of sweet-talking it every day to keep it motivated.

Thanks to her praise, Boss Sheep grew downright smug. It tossed Xia Qing a haughty look before hefting the sacks and setting off, like it owned the whole place and the family would fall apart without it.

Stifling a laugh, Xia Qing slung the biggest bag on her own back, grabbed the Chinese toon shoots and perilla in one hand, her machete in the other, and followed Boss Sheep, ever ready to fend off attacking evolvers.

Just as they crossed the barrier between the new territory and the old one, the Hazard Inspection Team came walking over from the north side of Plot Four’s barrier.

Boss Sheep immediately dropped its bags, stepped in front of Xia Qing, and set itself to guard mode.

Tan Junjie’s squad…

Xia Qing swung her machete in greeting at the inspection team.

Yelling across that distance would be exhausting with her mask on, anyway.

Su Ming, the vision evolver leading the team, waved back energetically. Once they reached the boundary between Plot Four and Three, instead of continuing down the barrier between Xia Qing’s two territories, they veered off to patrol alongside the boar breeding center’s wire fence.

Once they were out of sight, Boss Sheep relaxed, giving Xia Qing a sleepy sideways glare.

Quick as ever, Xia Qing laid the flattery on thick. “Still the best, Boss. You saw people coming and right away thought to protect me and our land. What would I do without you?”

Boss Sheep raised its head and gave the sacks a meaningful look.

Xia Qing immediately helped load them back up. “So sharp, Boss. You even remember our supplies! It’s getting late—let’s head home for dinner.”

When the pair entered the Buffer Forest, it was only then that Cao Xianyun, with his evolved hearing, spoke up. “They’re far enough now.”

Su Ming couldn’t help but marvel. “Qing-jie is incredible. She actually gets a sheep to carry stuff for her.”

“That’s not all,” Huzi chimed in. “She’s plowed thirty whole mu of her land with a sheep pulling the plow.”

Everyone…

Utter respect!

This sheep’s more useful than any of their military dogs!

Tan Junjie, who never joined in on these silly chats, suddenly asked Cao Xianyun, “What does she call the sheep?”

“Boss. Boss Sheep.” Cao Xianyun grinned mischievously. “We should bring Jin-ge over to hear that one.”

The Azure Dragon Unit calls their squad leader ‘Boss’ too. ‘Yang Boss’.

Tan Junjie chuckled, “Not the same ‘Yang’.”

“Right.” Cao Xianyun laughed even harder.

Su Ming glanced back. “Old Cao, what’s so funny?”

“None of your business. Lead the way.”

“Tsk!” Su Ming snorted, then turned east after passing behind the northern wire fence, heading toward the north buffer zone of Xia Qing’s new territory.

Returning home, Xia Qing couldn’t wait to plug in her cell phone. When the screen came to life, her spirit soared. She finally had power again!

Just as excited were the lords of Plot Four, Five, and Six, who had also installed solar panels and received walkie-talkies.

After listening to the base’s broadcast, Xia Qing switched her freshly charged walkie-talkie to the private channel shared among the lords. Sure enough, someone with a deep, booming voice was already on the air.

“Hey, brothers and sisters from Plots Three, Four, Five, and Six, is anyone out there? Can you hear me?”

“We’re here, we’re here.”

With her keen hearing, Xia Qing recognized the voice as Zhao Ze from Plot Four.

The caller sounded thrilled. “Oh man, it’s been over half a month, and aside from some patrollers in camo, this is the first time I’ve heard a human voice outside my territory. This is Kuang Qingwei from Plot Six. What plots are you guys from?”

Zhao Ze replied, “Plot Four, Zhao Ze.”

“Plot Five, Qi Fu.”

Hearing that, Xia Qing raised her eyebrows. Qi Fu was also from the construction crew—not on her squad, but she knew he’d claimed some land. She hadn’t expected him to be so close.

Kuang Qingwei from Plot Six started sharing news. “Have you guys heard? Everyone in Plot One is dead. Good thing I had enough people and proper gear, or we might’ve been in trouble too.”

Xia Qing smirked silently. Kuang Qingwei was passing on the news and also warning his neighbors not to get any ideas. Surviving ten years of disaster, none of them were pushovers.

“What?” The folks from Plots Four and Five cried out together.

Kuang Qingwei sighed. “I heard it from some soldier who installed the solar panels. Anyone know how they died?”

After a pause, a familiar voice chimed in, “Bitten to death by venomous evolved caterpillars.”

Kuang Qingwei was eager. “Brother, what plot are you from?”

“Plot Two, Tang Huai.”

There was another pause before Kuang Qingwei asked, “I remember Plot Two doesn’t have any buffer forest. Tang-ge, is that your private walkie-talkie?”

He’d called him ‘brother’ at first, but as soon as he heard ‘Plot Two’ he switched to ‘ge’ out of respect.

Tang Huai was nonchalant. “Yeah, when I was leaving I grabbed one without thinking.”

Another brief silence, then a slow voice from a stranger came through:

“I picked up one too. Plot Seven, Zhang San.”

Xia Qing…

That name… Is he serious?

Kuang Qingwei piped up again. “San-ge, how do you charge your walkie-talkie? I’m Kuang Qingwei in Plot Six—we’re neighbors. I’ve got solar panels if you want to come charge up.”

Grinning by the fire, Xia Qing said, “Hear that, Boss? Plot Six just got their solar panels and they’re already hustling for business.”

Boss Sheep stayed silent, eyeing the walkie-talkie with suspicion.

Xia Qing gave a stern warning. “This thing’s off-limits—no biting, no kicking, or you’re cut off from rations and banned from the house!”

Boss Sheep glared at the walkie-talkie. Xia Qing glared at Boss Sheep. Neither would back down.

While they were locked in a silent standoff, the slow voice of Zhang San drifted through the walkie-talkie. “I’ve got a solar panel too. By the way, what kind of seeds did you guys get? Anyone up for a trade?”

At the mention of seeds, Xia Qing forgot all about Boss Sheep. She perked up, listening intently.