Chapter 252: Fertilizer Wars and Barter Deals

Whenever the Squad sends out a team to the Evolver Forest but returns without gathering the target supplies, or when the Strength Evolver members aren’t maxed out, they end up hauling manure out to the Safe Zone’s Planting Center. Five pounds for one point.

As an auxiliary logistics member, Xia Qing often found herself carrying more than her fair share of manure.

The Squad Alliance noticed the lords’ growing need for fertilizer. So, they stopped delivering manure to the Planting Center and instead started stockpiling it for fermentation, selling it off to the lords in bulk. This way, the squads could make much more money.

The Squad Alliance is basically a council. Its core is made up of eleven members—seven from the top seven squads by power and four elected by the smaller teams.

Once the Squad Alliance makes a decision, every allied squad has to follow it. That’s real authority. Even the base officials seek the Alliance’s opinion before making big decisions.

From the Alliance’s angle, their actions make perfect sense. But who the hell set the price so high?!

Was it the ever-scheming Azure Dragon deputy captain Xie Yu, or was it the infuriatingly smug Xv Pin, vice-captain of Sufeng?

Those two are key players at the heart of the Squad Alliance.

Xia Qing pressed on, “Qing-ge, what’s your plan?”

Kuang Qingwei sighed, “We can’t grow crops without fertilizer, and we can’t produce it ourselves or find a cheaper source. We’ll just have to grit our teeth and swallow it. I plan to buy earthworm castings from Plot Forty-Nine. Also, in a while, the Guilin City Base will deliver a new batch of crab shell fertilizer—still six points per pound. Want any?”

“Let me think about it, but thanks, Qing-ge.” Xia Qing didn’t answer right away; she wanted to check with Zhong Tao first. He might have a line on cheaper crab shell fertilizer.

With the batch of crab shell fertilizer coming in soon, earthworm castings arriving in twenty days, and the leaf compost Xia Qing fermented herself, she finally felt at ease—more than enough for the autumn wheat planting and the greenhouses.

Shi Du chimed in, “Qing-jie, Qi Ge, how about we team up and haul animal manure from the Evolver Forest to ferment ourselves? What do you think?”

Qi Fu had already revealed that he was a Strength Evolver, so he could now join missions into the Evolver Forest.

Kuang Qingwei immediately responded, “That’s a good idea. If you guys produce more fertilizer than you need, would you sell me the extra? Or I can resell it for you, and you can take a cut.”

Qi Fu brought up a practical issue, “I don’t mind hauling it, but the animal manure in the Evolver Forest probably carries insect eggs and bacteria. We’d need to disinfect it first, then ferment. Where animals gather, there’s always danger—so we need a group of fighters, and they’d need to be paid at least 100 points a day. Factor in the cost of insecticide and compost starter, and our homemade fertilizer might end up costing more than buying it off the shelf.”

Shi Du nodded. “You’re right, Qi Ge. I made it sound too easy.”

Making trips just to gather animal manure from the Evolver Forest really doesn’t add up. Most of the manure out there is yellowlight or redlight, and the greenlight stuff can only be sourced from her own chickens. Still, any fertilizer they could bring back was a win, so Xia Qing replied, “If we spot animal manure on missions, we’ll bring back whatever we can use.”

Hauling manure wasn’t something Tang Huai ever volunteered for. Instead, he was curious about Xia Qing’s mission the day before. “Xia Qing, what did you guys bring back from the Evolver Forest yesterday? Care to trade?”

Xia Qing said flatly, “Not trading.”

Tang Huai was left speechless.

Zhao Ze, afraid Tang Huai might say something that would put Xia Qing in a tough spot or offend the Tang Family, quickly interrupted, “Xia Qing, Third Brother was looking for you last night. You weren’t around.”

Xia Qing replied, “I’ll get in touch with Third Brother soon. Thanks.”

“No problem.” Zhao Ze was all smiles. Even though Xia Qing’s tone was still chilly, at least she said thank you. That was way better than the way she spoke to Tang Huai. As her neighbor, Zhao Ze was pretty satisfied.

When Hu Zifeng stopped by to pick up some spinach juice, Xia Qing slipped five pounds of greenlight chestnuts into the vegetable basket. “Take these back for Luo Ge to try.”

“We cooked up some yellowlight ones last night—amazing flavor. Luo Ge’s in for a real treat.” Hu Zifeng took the basket and mentioned, “While we were picking chestnuts yesterday, I spotted something that looked like wild ginger in the valley. The leaves seemed greenlight, judging by the color.”

Hu Zifeng then sent Xia Qing photos of wild ginger they’d found in other parts of Mountain 49. “No rush harvesting the wild ginger. We can wait until the migratory birds pass through and then test it.”

“Alright, thanks, Hu Dui.” Based on Xia Qing’s agreement with the Azure Dragon Unit, every time greenlight species were discovered on Mountain 49, Luo Pei would let Xia Qing know. So she was already aware of the wild ginger and had put it on her to-do list.

Hu Zifeng didn’t know about the deal between Xia Qing and the squad leaders, which was why he’d brought it up.

With the talk of medicinal herbs over, Hu Zifeng asked Xia Qing, “Can I buy thirty pounds of yellowlight chestnuts from you? The quality is great this time, and I want to stock up. Would 100 points per pound work for you?”

That was exactly the price Zhang San offered, too. While Xia Qing wasn’t looking to actively sell the chestnuts, she wouldn’t turn away a friend looking for a trade. “That’s fine. Hang on Hu Dui, I’ll go get them.”

“Ones with cracked shells are fine.” After saying that, Hu Zifeng asked, “What about greenlight chestnuts? Can I trade for those? How many points per pound?”

Some chestnuts with cracked shells had already been sorted out yesterday—eight pounds of greenlight, over twenty pounds of yellowlight. Xia Qing had actually cooked with the cracked yellowlight ones last night.

Of course, for a deal with Hu Zifeng, she wasn’t about to hand over cracked greenlight chestnuts. “Third Brother said this batch is worth 400 points a pound, and we traded more than two hundred pounds. I don’t have much left, how many do you want?”

The moment he heard the price, Hu Zifeng quickly reduced his order. “Just two pounds—for gifting. I’ll transfer you 3,800 points?”

“Deal,” Xia Qing replied, taking the full amount without hesitation.

After trading supplies for a while, Xia Qing had become a firm believer in the saying, ‘Business is business, friendship is friendship.’ Following that rule made every deal smooth and hassle-free.

After handing over the chestnuts, Xia Qing asked, “Hu Dui, have you heard of Jiang Quan from the Lords’ Administration? What’s his background?”

Hu Zifeng nodded, “He used to work under Tang Zhengrong before the disaster. They’re birds of a feather. Why do you ask?”

Xia Qing filled him in on Jiang Yansheng trying to snatch Sun Zhe’s earthworm casting business. “Sun Zhe used to work under me on the Construction Crew for years—steady, hardworking, and a quick learner. His territory’s worm castings have been developing well for half a year now.”

Hu Zifeng nodded. “I’ve never heard of Jiang Yansheng—probably not an Evolver. Plot One does need tons of fertilizer, though. Not sure if raising earthworms is doable. I’ll let Luo Ge know.”

Xia Qing didn’t try to advocate more for Sun Zhe and instead asked Hu Zifeng to have someone watch over her territory while she was gone. “I’m heading to the valley—back soon.”

While waiting for Hu Zifeng’s people to arrive, Xia Qing didn’t waste a second. She took the sheep-powered water pedal-bike from the storeroom and set it up by the reservoir.