Chapter 26: Trading Sprouts and Alliances

The lords were all curious, each reporting the grains and vegetable seeds they’d received.

It turned out they’d all been given six jin of seed, the same kinds: wheat, mung beans, cotton, and potatoes. As for vegetable seeds, each lord had four small packets. Everyone got pumpkin, cucumber, and eggplant seeds, while the last type varied from person to person.

Plot Two and Plot Six, like Xia Qing, had tomato seeds. Plots Four and Five got yardlong beans, while Plot Seven drew chili peppers.

Xia Qing wanted both the beans and chilies, so she pressed the walkie-talkie button and spoke up. “Xia Qing from Plot Three. I have tomato seeds, but they’ve already been planted. Once they sprout, I’d like to trade seedlings for beans or chilies. One for one.”

“Whoa!” Kuang Qingwei suddenly heard a woman’s voice and cursed in surprise, then quickly apologized: “Sorry, miss, my bad. I was tongue-tied. I was right behind Zhao Ze at the territory counter in the mission hall. Do you remember me? I was fourth in line—just missed getting double rations by a spot.”

Xia Qing…

“Nope. Don’t remember.”

Tang Huai, who’d gotten chewed out by Miss Tang after Xia Qing took double rations, spoke first. “I think Xia Qing’s idea is good. Trading seedlings is more reliable than just swapping seeds.”

Qi Fu from Plot Five chimed in, “Agreed!”

Zhao Ze of Plot Four echoed, “Agreed.”

Kuang Qingwei from Plot Six jumped in, “Agreed, it’s fairer this way.”

Zhang San from Plot Seven chimed in lazily, “Works for me too. If none of my people can get any sprouts, I’ll buy them with points or trade medicine.”

Tang Huai immediately asked, “Zhang, what kind of medicine do you have?”

Zhang San answered with a slow drawl, “Medicine for wounds, antidotes—I’ve got all qualities.”

“Deal, I’ll trade for some. How do we count it?” Tang Huai agreed right away.

After some discussion, it was decided all seedlings would be a flat rate—100 points each. Xia Qing then added, “Anyone found any edible plants in their territory? Want to trade? I have evolved perilla—safe, no radiation, and the Xiang element is only 1.3 per thousand.”

As soon as she spoke, even laid-back Zhang San perked up. “I’ll trade! I want it! I’ll swap you medicine, name your price. We can meet tomorrow at 7:30 a.m., under the Plot Three sign?”

Any food with Xiang element below 5 per thousand is safe; the lower it is, the better. At just over 1 per thousand, who could say no?

Kuang Qingwei jumped into the trade. “Xia Qing, I’ve got a green-lamp elm. When its fruit comes in, I’ll trade three jin of elm coins for one jin of perilla. Does that work?”

If he only mentions it’s green-lamp but not the Xiang element, it means he used a basic tester—it might be safe, might be borderline edible. Still, three for one was a fair deal.

Qi Fu also spoke up: “Xia, this is Old Qi from the Third Construction Crew. I’ve got green-lamp chive sprouts. Ten chive sprouts for ten perilla seedlings with roots. Deal?”

Tang Huai jumped in, too. “Termite mushrooms, Xiang element at 2 per thousand. One jin of mushrooms for one jin of perilla.”

Before Xia Qing replied, Zhang San piped in again. “I want all your trades—points or medicine, you name it!”

Zhao Ze joined, too: “I’d like to trade for chive and perilla seedlings. I’ve got green-lamp Jerusalem artichoke that’s already sprouting.”

The channel was getting noisy like a marketplace, so Kuang Qingwei called for order. “Let’s go one at a time. Xia Qing, which trades do you want, and how?”

Xia Qing replied, “I’ll trade for everything except mushrooms, but I don’t want face-to-face trades. We can have the Inspection Team deliver. Once we agree on the amounts at night, the team will drop off the goods when they first pass by in the morning.”

Tan Junjie’s team was in charge of security for territories one through ten. They patrolled morning and night, making delivery both easy and safe.

Tang Huai was surprised anyone could refuse premium mushrooms, so he changed his offer. “Three taels of mutton with Xiang element at 8 per thousand in exchange for a jin of perilla.”

Three taels of mutton for a whole jin of her perilla? Such a classic Tang Family move.

Meat with 8 per thousand Xiang is considered a borderline edible in the Safe Zone, going for 50 points a jin.

Safe vegetables also started at 50 points per jin, but hers was under 2 per thousand—worth at least 100 points per jin.

As she petted Boss Sheep, Xia Qing shot back, “No thanks, I don’t eat mutton. Anything else?”

Tang Huai frowned and glanced at his teammates; they all scratched their heads. Gritting his teeth, he pressed the walkie-talkie button. “A brand-new, outdoor-grade Level 1 protective suit, goes for 1,500 points in the Safe Zone, for fifteen jin of perilla.”

Now they were talking. Xia Qing pressed her button. “Twelve jin. I’ll deliver one jin at a time, at most once a week. Otherwise, it won’t grow back. You give me the suit up front.”

She figured Tang Huai wouldn’t refuse—he’d gotten the suit through the Tang Family, not personally paid for it. Using one for a veggie trade? He’d just file an extra loss report, no problem.

By spacing out the perilla deliveries, Xia Qing wanted to make it seem she didn’t have much in her territory and keep people from eyeing her supply.

Tang Huai agreed, “Deal. I’ll hand off the protective suit to the Inspection Team in the morning. You give me one jin, the rest we arrange as we go.”

The moment Tang Huai finished, Zhang San called out, “I want both meat and mushrooms—will trade medicine!”

Zhang San and Boss Sheep were like brothers, both greedy. After negotiating times and quantities with them, Xia Qing shut off the walkie-talkie and jotted down her haul: a protective suit, one vial of antidote, chive sprouts, Jerusalem artichoke, future elm coins, and bean and chili pepper seedlings.

With every item she wrote down, Xia Qing’s smile grew wider. By the end, she was grinning like a fool—her vegetable selection had just grown by five types.

She didn’t offer up her Chinese toon shoots for trade—they had such incredibly low Xiang element, if they reached the Safe Zone everyone would be in a frenzy. Then there’d be no hiding the spring in Plot Three.

If exposed, she simply didn’t have the strength to protect the toon tree, the spring, or Boss Sheep.

She could probably keep the spring safe, but the toon tree was out on the hillside, totally exposed. She’d mentioned it to Tan Junjie before—no way to hide it. If Tan wanted a trade, though, she might agree, but only if he promised to keep the secret.

There was one more person she could trust—the one who’d sent her tips by text. But she’d need to confirm their identity and intentions, first.

Next morning, Xia Qing dug up fifteen rooted perilla plants, carefully choosing the biggest, untouched by Boss Sheep, and harvested one jin. Five perilla plants for Plot Four’s sprouted Jerusalem artichoke, ten for Plot Five’s chive sprouts, half a jin for an antidote, and half a jin for the protective suit.

You could tell a lot from these trades—Plot Four and Five were serious about farming, swapping seedlings like Xia Qing did. Plot Six’s people were a bit sly, but they were settling in. But Plots Two and Seven were clearly rich—they didn’t lack supplies.

Plot Two belonged to the Tang Family. But what’s the story with Zhang San from Plot Seven?

Hearing the Inspection Team’s footsteps in the distance, Xia Qing waved goodbye to Boss Sheep and headed toward the new northern barrier carrying her perilla.

“Qing-jie!” From a distance, Su Ming waved, greeting her warmly.

Xia Qing had just waved back when Boss Sheep came charging out and blocked her, standing guard like a one-man army.

Xia Qing grinned and rubbed its head, whispering, “You’re the best, Boss Sheep. You hear a sound and rush out to protect me—even skipping your breakfast! I’m so touched, you’re amazing!”

“Old Cao, what do you think Qing-jie’s whispering to the sheep about?” Xia Qing heard Su Ming whisper to Cao Xianyun.

“Can’t make it out,” Cao Xianyun whispered back.

“Quiet,” Tan Junjie cut in, voice low. “Less talking.”

Head bowed, Xia Qing raised her eyebrows, confirming that Cao Xianyun’s hearing evolver wasn’t as good as hers. Just as she’d expected—her own hearing evolution had to be at least level four.