Chapter 351: Trading Armor and Ambitions in Section Three

After watching the investigation team’s car fade into the distance, Cao Xianyun, the Inspection Team’s member with enhanced hearing, returned to the dorm. She reported what she overheard between Xia Qing and Lu Ying, as well as Lu Ying’s chat with the investigators before they drove off, straight to Captain Tan Junjie. She couldn’t help but remark:

“When I brought Team Leader Lu over, I was worried Sister Qing would panic seeing the investigators so suddenly, but she was cool as ice. Nothing shakes her. Her nerves are something else.”

Tiger, busy jotting down inspection notes, looked up. “It’s not just her nerves. She’s the full package. That’s how she keeps Section Three together and keeps making it better.”

Tan Junjie pulled out his phone, smiling at the beaming face of his daughter on the screen. He silently resolved to make her training even tougher. If something ever happened to him, he hoped his daughter would be able to guard her own territory, just like Xia Qing—capable and unyielding.

The next day, Tang Huai showed up in Section Three carrying an oil press to help Xia Qing harvest corn. Sure enough, he ran straight into Hu Zifeng.

The moment these two saw each other, it was like two roosters in Xia Qing’s chicken yard—both bristling and itching for a fight.

Xia Qing couldn’t be bothered with their squabbling. She picked up her mini-mattock and got to work digging up the corn.

Hu Zifeng just snorted and ignored Tang Huai, turning to the shredder. With practiced hands, he stuffed corn stalks and mung bean vines inside. Once shredded and mixed with compost starter, they’d ferment into a rich organic fertilizer by spring—good for crops, even better for the soil, and it helped prevent erosion.

The never-ending racket from the shredder had Tang Huai wishing he could toss both Hu Zifeng and the noisy machine straight into the reservoir. Spotting Xia Qing in the corn greenhouse, he rushed over to make himself useful.

“You rest. I’ll handle this.”

The moment Tang Huai tried his hand, he found out just how tiring Xia Qing’s quick and effortless pace actually was.

Damn, why is this mattock so heavy? Why do corn roots have so many tangles? Why is there so much silk falling off the cobs? Sweat-soaked and itching from corn silk stuck to his neck, Tang Huai was nearly cursing out loud.

By the time he finished, teeth gritted and pouring sweat, the entire greenhouse was cleared, and his hands had four brand-new blisters. He chugged half a bottle of water and flopped onto the pile of scattered corn stalks, gasping. “Xia Qing, let your Old Goat out so I can have a look, yeah?”

Because she knew Tang Huai was coming, Xia Qing had already told Alpha and Er Gou to keep Old Goat home, not wandering around the territory.

There was no way she’d let Old Goat out.

She knew her goat too well. If he showed up, he’d probably send Tang Huai flying. Overhearing all the idle banter over the walkie-talkies, Old Goat seemed especially put out whenever he heard Tang Huai’s voice.

If Tang Huai wanted a beating, he could get it another time—not today. Xia Qing had more important business with him.

Today, she planned to trade for two types of protective gear with Tang Huai: three sets of grade-four canine field protective suits, and one set for humans.

“No can do for the human suit. My friend doesn’t deal in those,” Tang Huai said, flopping onto the corn stalks with a lazy grin. He eyed Xia Qing as she peeled ears of corn. “Why do you need grade-four armor anyway? Going up against some big-shot evolved creatures? Who’s your team?”

Xia Qing peeled a sorry cob with just one kernel, and tossed it in the bag. “Not going anywhere.”

Who was she fooling? If she wasn’t going, what did she need heavy-duty armor for? With Hu Zifeng’s shredder still howling, Tang Huai scooted closer to make his pitch. “If you take me with you, I’ll score you six sets of canine armor. Deal? A single set runs for 7,000 credits, you know.”

Seven thousand credits? Xia Qing just smirked—those days were over. “That’s about nine and a half eggs.”

Tang Huai almost lost it. He shot back, fuming, “Your eggs are only worth this much for a few more months. Wait until everyone starts raising chickens next spring and summer—the price will drop like a stone. Hey, that cob looks pretty nice!”

Xia Qing had just peeled a truly perfect ear, plump kernels from tip to end. Even Tang Huai, who was far from a farming expert, knew this was a beauty from all the talk among the other territory leaders.

She tucked the perfect cob in her pocket and started bargaining. “Three sets of grade-four canine armor. Thirty Green Lantern hatching eggs.”

Tang Huai stared. “Why do you need so much dog armor? You planning to run a wolf pack?”

Xia Qing shrugged. “Eggs are still valuable for now. Might as well stock up on some gear while I can.”

Tang Huai lay back on the corn stalks, hands behind his head, gazing up at the clouds. After a while, he nodded. “Deal. When do I get the eggs?”

“Mid-next month.” Xia Qing had six hens, but even then, they only produced three or four eggs a day. Thirty eggs would take a while to collect.

“Works for me.” Tang Huai agreed, propping his legs up and launching into his grand plan. “Once I get your eggs, I’ll trade for thirty more with Third Brother and reach sixty—should be enough to hatch thirty Green Lantern Chickens. The bugs I dig up can feed ‘em…”

Even Tang Huai, who loved digging for bugs, was now considering chicken farming. For someone like Xia Qing, who actually took farming seriously, that was even more reason to double down.

She didn’t think Tang Huai would succeed in trading with Zhang San for those eggs, though. Territory Seven only took in Green Lantern food—they never let any out.

After Hu Zifeng and Tang Huai left, Xia Qing called Old Goat over to help haul the peeled corn home, laying it out to dry on the cement rooftop of her apartment building.

Now that the territory had started harvesting late-season corn, the flocks of birds returned in force. The cats from Territory Seven and the hawks from Territory Nine were back on duty, hunting for their rations.

Section Three didn’t have cats or hawks, so they had it extra rough. After Xia Qing used her slingshot to take out a few of the ringleader birds, she put the task of guarding the crop in Er Gou’s paws. She settled into the shade of the solar panels and opened a book on chicken farming.

The book was written before the disasters, but plenty of it was still useful.

For instance, it said chickens stop laying in winter because it’s too cold and there isn’t enough sunlight.

If you want eggs, the book said, keep the chicken house warm and lengthen the daylight. Neither was a problem for Xia Qing.

She already planned to build a greenhouse for vegetables. Once it was up, she’d set aside space for the chicken coop—just stick a light in there, easy.

But maybe it wouldn’t be that simple. Raising animals and plants in greenhouses had different requirements for light, heat, and airflow, and she wasn’t sure exactly how big the differences were. Luckily, her allies Qi Fu and Shizhong definitely knew their stuff.

She’d ask them about it when she visited Section Five and Territory Ten to learn more about greenhouse construction.

Right now, the top priority was to dry and store all the corn and mung beans, then water and fertilize the soil to sow winter wheat and rapeseed. All the corn stalks harvested today had already been pulverized and hauled out of the greenhouse. That afternoon, she’d clean up the weeds, get Old Goat to water the fields, let them dry out for a few days, then spread the fertilizer and turn the soil for planting.

Sounds like a massive workload, but Xia Qing only had enough seed for two acres of wheat and one acre of rapeseed. Three acres in total—easy enough for her and Old Goat to irrigate and till.

The only issue was the lack of a seeder. Planting by hand would take more time. Maybe Qi Fu and Shizhong had a better solution.

Xia Qing picked up her phone and reached out to Qi Fu, arranging for a meeting with the alliance at six that evening. First, they’d discuss food storage, then she’d take the chance to ask about better planting methods.