Chapter 41: Micro Tiller: The Farmer’s New Best Friend

The mini rotary tiller really was like a giant multifunctional toy truck and all four twenty-something overgrown kids couldn’t keep their hands off it. They took turns testing every single attachment, finally agreeing the machine was incredibly easy to use—just guzzled a ton of fuel.

Given the soil quality on her plot, turning over an acre with a double-share plow would burn through three to four liters of fuel, way more than using sheep-powered plows. Xia Qing cheerfully decided to use sheep for plowing from now on and save the tiller for big farm jobs, while handling odd tasks herself.

After sending off the trio of Su Ming—who looked ready to sign on as her chauffeur—Xia Qing happily drove her beloved rotary tiller, pushing a dirt blade to level out a straight path home and parking in front of the east yard warehouse.

Right now, the rotary tiller was Xia Qing’s most valuable piece of equipment. To store it safely, she’d converted a ground-floor room in the southwest corner of the east yard warehouse into her own garage.

She lugged the attachments back in two trips, opened the garage, neatly stacked everything in the back, then drove the tiller in and locked it up. Stepping back, she took a long, satisfied look at her handiwork.

Using scavenged red bricks, stones and steel bars from three different villages, Xia Qing turned a building that was only a skeleton into a two-story warehouse with walls, windows and doors. Since it was patched together with whatever materials she could find, her massive warehouse looked almost as wild as Howl’s Moving Castle.

Of course, that was just the outside. Inside, her castle was nothing like Howl’s—bare walls, just a spritz of repellent here, some moisture-absorbing charcoal there, no real décor, just the original unfinished interior.

This castle would be a miserable place to live, but it was perfect for storing supplies.

As Xia Qing shut off the rotary tiller, the generator in the basement’s second level on the southwest side of the village powered down too. With plenty of stored battery power, the surgery room lights stayed on for another eight hours before going dark. It was already past midnight.

Even in her dreams, Xia Qing was driving her tiller while Boss Sheep stood out front, head low, staring at the garage deep in thought.

At dawn, Xia Qing took a walk around her territory, catching more than a dozen evolved grubs and squashing eight oversized predatory beetles and some flapping moths. She even dug up two little mice from the dirt. After eating breakfast at home, she sent Boss Sheep off to patrol the land, then hurried back herself to open the garage and fire up her tiller.

Today, she was determined to carve out the road from her house to the reservoir and farmland.

Worried about fuel? Not her—she’d stocked up two hundred liters of diesel.

Run out? No problem—she could always trade more supplies for oil.

Grinning, Xia Qing backed the rotary tiller out, locked the garage, and sprinkled some repellent. Just then, the thunder of Boss Sheep’s hooves came rushing up.

Uh-oh. Boss Sheep was charging straight for the machine!

Xia Qing spun around, but she was still a step too slow. Boss Sheep was already climbing onto the rotary tiller, plopping squarely in the driver’s seat and refusing to budge.

Realizing he wasn’t there to fight the machine, Xia Qing’s anxiety faded and she burst out laughing. “So you spent yesterday up on the hillside watching us take it for a spin, then spent all night parked outside the garage for this exact moment? Your hooves are split, you can’t even grip the steering wheel! How are you supposed to drive?”

Boss Sheep didn’t answer, firmly holding his ground on the driver’s seat.

Switching tactics, Xia Qing tried to bargain with food. “Come on down, boss. I’ll pick you some fresh Chinese toon shoots.”

“Baa.”

Boss Sheep immediately jumped off the tiller and stood in front of Xia Qing.

Xia Qing…

Figures. This glutton wasn’t trying to hog the tiller—he just wanted to use it as leverage to get snacks.

She’d eaten her fill of Chinese toon shoots by now and could let Boss Sheep have more. After spring, they’d be full of nitrates and not taste as good anyway.

There were now five edible veggies on her land—Chinese toon shoots, spinach leaves, perilla, chives and green onions. After ten years on rough grains, Xia Qing was honestly starting to get picky.

Just in case the evolved rodents chewed up her tiller, Xia Qing drove it back to the warehouse, took Boss Sheep to pick some toon shoots, then finally went home and brought the tiller out for the day’s roadwork.

Hearing the machine in Territory Three, Su Ming and the others passing by looked on jealously, while Wei Chengdong down in the basement of the ruined village chuckled, “Fire up the generator and charge the batteries for a while more.”

It was four hundred and seventy meters from Xia Qing’s building to the stone bridge over the river to the north. She leveled the dirt path she’d stamped out, digging and packing it down with her shovel. The whole process was almost therapeutic, leaving Xia Qing relaxed and content.

But her peace barely lasted half an hour before Boss Sheep, now fed and watered, came lumbering back and blocked the tiller, head up with that unmistakable look—”Let me ride, or else.”

Xia Qing couldn’t even get mad. Honestly, she was itching to share her driving joy with someone. Alone in her territory, talking it over with a sheep was fine by her. She powered down the tiller, let Boss Sheep climb into the driver’s seat, and started rambling as she worked. Quickly, she pulled out the little metal toolbox from the track cover on the tiller, grabbed the wrench and pliers, and built a large wooden lounge seat strong enough for Boss Sheep, padding it with dry straw.

Once the lounge chair was done, Boss Sheep didn’t even need coaxing—he sprawled out in his new, comfier spot right away. Cheerful, Xia Qing restarted the engine and got back to building roads. Boss Sheep lounged contentedly, lazily chewing his cud. Both were completely satisfied.

The folks over at Territory Two had gotten used to the faint hum of the tiller and paid it no mind. But on the east, people in Territory Four were obsessed, even climbing the tallest pine on the buffer forest at the north edge to spy on Territory Three.

About a mile and a half away, they spotted a cat-sized machine moving across the land. Perched high up, Zhao Chong pulled out binoculars and adjusted the focus. He caught sight of the tiller’s dirt blade, then shifted his view and was so startled he shrieked, tumbling from the tree. His scream carried all the way to Plot Three.

That wasn’t Zhao Ze’s voice. Xia Qing holstered her gun, pulled out her walkie-talkie and called Tan Junjie. “Captain Tan, this is Xia Qing from Territory Three. Someone just used binoculars to spy on my land from a big tree in the buffer forest of Territory Four. I spotted them and they fell right out of the tree.”

Tan Junjie replied immediately, all business. “Copy that, we’ll investigate right away.”

“Thanks, Captain.” Xia Qing put away the walkie-talkie and got back to paving the road.

Why use the walkie-talkie? Because anyone on the same channel can hear the chatter—Xia Qing actually wanted to blow the matter up. Plus, satellite calls weren’t cheap; she’d save those minutes whenever possible.

After finishing the road from her house to the bridge, Xia Qing was working on a new stretch from the main road to the farmland and reservoir when Tan Junjie called her back. “Zhao Chong from Territory Four has been detained and will be dealt with according to the Territory Law. How did you catch him snooping?”

Under the Territory Law, a lord caught spying on another territory would lose five hundred points, forfeit their material exchange discounts, and see their tax-free window shortened from five years to three. If a hired worker was caught, the territory lord would be hit with the same penalties, the worker would be expelled, docked five hundred points, and if they couldn’t pay, forced into labor. They’d also be banned for life from applying for A or B grade jobs in the Safe Zone.

In chaotic times, harsh penalties were a must. Five hundred points was as much as two years’ earnings for most people not daring to risk life outside the Safe Zone. During disaster years when food was scarce, not a soul had savings. Forced labor meant dangerous jobs—fixing defensive walls or clearing the Evolver Forest. For ordinary folks, that was a death sentence.

Xia Qing was very satisfied with Tan Junjie’s efficiency and calmly replied, “The reflection from his binoculars gave him away.”