Chapter 349: Harvest Days and Unlikely Alliances

Maybe it really did understand Xia Qing this time. Over the next two days, the clever Crippled Wolf, whose brain had evolved, stopped bringing food into the territory. The three wolves ate nothing but thawed python meat every day.

Python meat, with its evolved hardness, was tough and definitely not a wolf’s favorite. As the resident ‘server’ and Strength Evolution user, Xia Qing sliced the snake meat thin, added a splash of fresh spinach juice, and made sure her VIP wolf clients ate well, recovering in peace.

Er Gou the sick wolf still had his meat porridge, while Xia Qing’s own go-to dish lately was roasted snake slices. After grilling them in a flat pan, she’d brush on her father’s secret barbecue seasoning—traded from Er Yong—and roll the meat up with thin strips of cucumber and radish. Unbeatable flavor.

Finishing a chewy snake-and-veggie wrap, washed down with a bowl of rice and yam porridge, Xia Qing felt like she might ascend right then and there.

She’d bartered ten jin of rice with Tan Junjie for Green Lantern Chestnuts a while back. Not enough for many rice meals, but by stretching it out—mixing mung beans, corn, pumpkin, and sweet potato for porridge—she made it last. Xia Qing was more than content.

Full and satisfied, suddenly everything looked a little brighter to Xia Qing.

“Queen, you’re in good spirits today! That leg is healing up nicely, isn’t it?” Xia Qing stepped outside to greet the top VIP—Alpha, lounging in the sheep shed. After taking the antidote for the synthetic Devastation toxin twice, Alpha was finally free of the Devastation Snake’s venom. Only a surface wound remained on his leg, and he’d be healed up soon.

Well-fed and basking lazily in the soft hay, Alpha looked over his shoulder with those golden, money-hued eyes, gaze steady and gentle.

Xia Qing got a little too excited. She rushed into the chicken house and pulled a rabbit out of the rabbit cage. “Once your leg’s better, Queen, think you could catch me a few of these? Alive, please.”

Alpha glanced at the squawking Xia Qing, then at the rabbit trembling in her hands, and turned his head away with disinterest, continuing his sunbath.

Xia Qing didn’t expect Alpha to jump into action for her. She just wanted to keep driving home how much she liked live rabbits—really engraining it into the wolves’ heads.

Mission accomplished, she tucked the rabbit back into its cage and tossed in a few vegetable leaves for good measure. Xia Qing couldn’t help noticing—this rabbit wasn’t the brightest. Once inside the chicken yard, it thought it was safe, even as it started nervously munching away.

After Xia Qing left with the day’s four eggs, the Black-Feathered Rooster immediately hopped over to the rabbit cage. Peering in, it poked its beak and claws through the bars but came up short on reaching the greens, squawking in annoyance.

With breakfast finished and time with Alpha done, Xia Qing rallied her squad. “Old Goat, Er, let’s get to work out in the fields!”

Thanks to the special meds from Territory Seven, Er Gou’s leg swelling faded within three days. She could walk fine again and joined Xia Qing in a busy harvest.

And what about Lame Wolf’s little sister?

Every day, she scarfed down the shredded snake meat Xia Qing supplied and washed it down with polluted spring water and anti-inflammatory medicine, but she was still as fierce as ever. If Xia Qing got close to the sheep shed, the wolf would snarl and bare her fangs.

Honestly, this was how any properly evolved wolf from the Evolved Forest ought to behave. Xia Qing had no plans to change Lame Wolf’s attitude.

She’d only brought the wolf back to treat her injury because she’d accepted a Yi Stone from Crippled Wolf. Once recovered, the wolf would leave on her own.

Now in the tenth year of disaster, humans and the great, intelligent evolved beasts on Blue Star lived in an uneasy peace, each keeping to their own. As long as neither side invaded the other’s territory, there’d be no fighting.

But if they crossed paths while hunting in the public Evolved Forest, with the same prey in their sights, strength settled who won.

Taking advantage of another rare sunny day, Xia Qing pulled up all her mung bean stalks. Green, yellow, or even black, every pod got picked to dry out on a plastic sheet. Old Goat and Er Gou handled hauling the haul.

For this second crop, Xia Qing planted an acre of Yellow Lantern Mung Beans and half an acre of Green Lantern Mung Beans. Judging by the pods, the yield was about the same as her spring planting—around 133 jin of Yellow Lantern and 75 jin of Green Lantern beans.

There were endless ways to eat mung beans, and Xia Qing’s heart was truly light as she picked pods.

“Woo—”

Hearing a low growl from Er Gou, Xia Qing looked up to see the Red Squirrel had shown up again. The flashy little guy was perched on a rock outside, bushy tail waving, eyes fixed longingly on the piles of mung bean pods sunning on the plastic.

Every time Xia Qing brought in a harvest, it would try its luck, hoping for a free snack.

It never succeeded, but the squirrel never gave up either. Xia Qing had to respect its sheer brazenness. “Er, ignore it. It won’t dare come steal anything.”

Though honestly, Xia Qing was hoping the Red Squirrel would try to steal her crops for once—then she’d have a perfect excuse to barge into Section Three and raid its stash.

The Red Squirrel, tracked by a locator, scurried nonstop every day, having now packed four tree holes, a stone burrow, and one dirt pit full of food.

With no family or friends, it couldn’t possibly eat its haul in one winter. Last year, the black peanuts it’d hidden in the dirt even sprouted in the spring.

Yet this year, the Red Squirrel had never gone to collect peanuts. Xia Qing couldn’t tell if it was waiting for the right moment or if the peanuts hadn’t grown. All she could do was wait.

“Xia Qing, are you there?” Tang Huai asked in the Lords’ channel.

“I’m here,” Xia Qing replied.

“Your late-season corn should be ready, right?” Tang Huai’s voice was tinged with hope. “I can help you harvest it for free, just let me fish by the reservoir afterward.”

Guessing his oil press finally arrived, Xia Qing answered calmly, “You can help with the corn, but no fishing. If that works, show up at eight tomorrow morning.”

“So stingy!” Tang Huai grumbled but agreed.

Assistant Xiao Liu from Territory Nine also came online. “Miss Xia, the Green Lantern Soybeans have been delivered. Are you ready on your end?”

“Ready. We can trade anytime,” said Xia Qing, who’d swapped fifteen eggs with Territory Seven yesterday and was just waiting for Territory Nine.

Given these extraordinary times, both territories sent their goods via the Inspection Team.

At the Section Three signpost, Cao Xianyun handed Xia Qing a bag with ten eggs and took the bag of soybeans.

Once Xia Qing crushed a soybean to make sure it wasn’t the hardness evolution variety and checked its Devastation Element levels, Tan Junjie introduced a woman in camo with two aides. “This is Lu Ying, team leader for the Section Three intrusion case.”

Lu Ying removed her protective mask, saluted Xia Qing, and flashed her badge: Lu Ying, Investigation Squad 2, Criminal Investigation Division, Hui Three Base.

Based on disaster-era administrative divisions and hierarchy, Squad 1 meant she led the main investigative team. To be a squad leader here—especially as a woman in her forties—meant Lu Ying was undeniably capable.

Judging by Tan Junjie’s by-the-book style, he would have notified Xia Qing and gotten her approval before bringing the investigation squad. The fact that the three showed up unannounced proved this was out of his hands.

Xia Qing took off her mask with practiced calm, greeted Lu Ying, and gestured for the investigation team to enter her territory.