Chapter 258: Squirrels, Wolves, and Pine Cones

The red squirrel was still useful—couldn’t risk scaring it off. So this time, Xia Qing didn’t reach for her gun. Instead, she pulled out a slingshot and fired a steel bead at the branch near the pine tree’s hole. Raising her voice, she called out sternly, “Red Squirrel! Hand over the pine cones you stole!”

“Woo—” Er Gou thumped the ground with his paws, growling low.

“Awoo!” Lame Wolf dashed around the pine tree, wild with excitement.

There was a faint rustling from inside the tree. Having already been scolded by Xia Qing once, the red squirrel quickly tossed the green pine cone it had just stolen out of the hole, then darted back inside.

Seeing things were going her way, Xia Qing picked up the pine cone and held it up for Er Gou. She coaxed him in a gentle voice, “Look, Er Gou, we’ve got our pine cone back. No need to stay upset, okay?”

Er Gou happily grabbed the pine cone in his jaws. Xia Qing set the basket down right away, letting him drop the pine cone in, and showered him with praise. “Good job, Er Gou. You’re amazing.”

Alpha’s striking golden eyes shifted from the pine cone to Xia Qing, then to the tree hole. He took a few steps back, then charged forward and leapt high, his sharp claws swiping at the branch near the hole.

Crack.

The branch snapped and came crashing down. Even though the tree hadn’t undergone any hardness evolution, pine was still hardwood—but Alpha’s swipe had snapped a branch as thick as a bowl in one go.

The display made Xia Qing’s heart skip a beat. “Your Majesty, this tree’s nuts are food. Please, take it easy. I still need the red squirrel, so don’t scare it to death, okay?”

Alpha ignored her, clawing the pine again, tearing away a large chunk of bark around the hole. When he hit the ground, he crouched and growled low at the hole. Lame Wolf and Er Gou flanked him—one on each side—faces full of menace.

Noticing Xia Qing’s position was wrong, Lame Wolf and Er Gou each shot her a glance, but Xia Qing, staring up at the tree hole, didn’t notice their looks.

Alpha’s voice wasn’t loud, but even Xia Qing felt a pang of fear just hearing it. It was nothing compared to what the red squirrel inside must have felt.

In a panic, the red squirrel dragged its stash out of the hole and threw it all on the ground—chestnuts, pine nuts, cotton, pipe tobacco, soybeans, Xia Qing’s broken spoon, and even a cracked shell from her Yi stone protector.

Alpha flicked a glance at the dumbstruck Xia Qing, then sprang away, vanishing without a trace. Lame Wolf looked around and rushed after him, leaving only the honest-looking Er Gou, the red squirrel trembling in the tree hole, and Xia Qing still stuck in disbelief.

Xia Qing wasn’t about to read too much into whatever look Alpha shot her before leaving. She reached out to ruffle Er Gou’s head. “Come on, Er Gou, help pick up the food off the ground. Your packmates fought for your justice.”

After scooping up the food on the ground, Xia Qing didn’t bother with the rest of the odds and ends—the random junk on the ground, or even the yellow-lit pine cones on this tree. She wasn’t planning to take them.

Why not?

She was worried that if the red squirrel got spooked again, it might relocate in the middle of the night. She still needed it to lead her to the peanut stash.

That afternoon, Xia Qing finished harvesting all the pine cones from four green-tipped pine trees. Without exception, all four trees had undergone hardness evolution. No wonder the red squirrel kept stealing the pine cones she knocked down—it probably couldn’t collect them itself and had to wait for the cones to split open so the pine nuts were exposed before it could collect any.

She bagged up the pine cones—four sacks in total. Once they were dried, she’d get over ten jin of pine nuts. Not a huge haul, but Xia Qing was still pretty pleased.

The next morning, the red squirrel was too scared to show up on Xia Qing’s windowsill for a drink. She spotted it early, having moved to the farthest tree hole from her within Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine. At least it was still within range, so Xia Qing didn’t worry.

With Er Gou in tow, Xia Qing spent the day knocking down pine cones from all seven yellow-tipped pine trees in Section Three. She was much faster today; by the time she was done with all seven, it was only 2:00 PM.

With the pine cones laid out to dry on the open ground inside the greenhouse, Xia Qing called over her partner, Old Goat, to help carry water tanks. They worked together, watering and fertilizing the crops on the terraced slopes.

Of course, the green-tipped spinach on those terraces got the best manure and pure spring water. Xia Qing didn’t slack at all when it came to this batch—she was following Zhang San’s growing manual to the letter, hoping the spinach’s Yi element content would ramp up quickly.

After irrigating the terraces, Xia Qing picked a basket of veggies and was about to head home to cook when she heard heavy footsteps coming from the northern barrier.

“Ahem, ahem.”

The person, worried Xia Qing might not hear him, cleared his throat loudly and stomped his feet for good measure. Xia Qing sent Old Goat and Er Gou back first, then hurried toward the northern barrier.

Tang Huai, still making a racket with every stomp and cough, looked smug when he saw Xia Qing running over. “What’s the rush? Bet you’ve been waiting for those protective suits, huh?”

Xia Qing stayed calm. “Hand them over.”

Could it kill her to talk like a normal person? Tang Huai grumbled to himself, but handed the suits over. “All the sizes match that wolf’s build from last time.”

Xia Qing took the suits and checked them. They were even better quality than the set she’d traded from Yang Jin—quite a win.

While she was inspecting them, Tang Huai babbled quietly at her side. “These are Level Four outdoor-grade—the kind military dogs use. See? I treat you well. I even came alone. Go ahead and call your two wolves and your goat, get them to try the suits on. If anything doesn’t fit, I’ll take it back and swap it. Yesterday, the wolf up on Hill Forty-Nine was yours, wasn’t it? I knew it.”

Xia Qing packed up the suits. “Thanks. I’ll take them home and have them try them on—if anything doesn’t fit, I’ll let you know.”

Tang Huai bristled. “Seriously? What’s the harm in calling your animals over for a second? I just want to see them—won’t kill me!”

“My goat’s in a bad mood and the wolves aren’t trained. If I call them all out, you might actually end up the dead one.” Xia Qing turned away. “It’s getting late and I have chicken coops to collect. See yourself out.”

Watching Xia Qing briskly disappear into the forestry belt, Tang Huai muttered curses under his breath. “Damn, so she wasn’t desperate for the suits—she just wanted to get the chickens. Big deal. I’ve got more than a hundred in the Safe Zone anyway…”

Xia Qing could hear Tang Huai’s grumbling, but it didn’t surprise her a bit. Tang Zhengbo ran a restaurant, so he needed a steady food supply—their place even had green-tipped crabs. It’d be strange if they didn’t have chickens.

Hefting the heavy chicken coop back to the village, Xia Qing put it right in the goat shed. The bigger the chicken, the more it pooped, and the bigger the mess. Cleaning up was a pain. That’s why she kept the chickens with the wolves—let them help keep watch.

After harvesting pine cones from Hill Fifty, Xia Qing planned to build a proper chicken house in the yard before the migratory birds arrived—no more lugging chickens back and forth every day.

At six the next morning, Xia Qing set out with Hu Zifeng and Jing Kuan.

The wild fields on Hill Fifty were covered in tall que grass gone to seed. As they moved forward, they automatically cut off the que grass heads brushing their path, stuffing them into sealable bags.