Chapter 429: Barter at the Roots: Allies and Rivals

As soon as her idol appeared, Xia Qing logged in right away, eager to show her support. “Third Brother, I need your Rooting Powder. How can I trade for it—is Green Lantern food okay?”

Zhang San replied in his usual laidback drawl, “I’m in a good mood today. If you need Rooting Powder for up to 2,500 chive roots, I’ll give it to you for free.”

Xia Qing replied without missing a beat. “Thanks, Third Brother! I’ll take enough Rooting Powder to soak 200 chive roots, please.”

Zhao Ze quickly followed up. “Section Four would like enough for 600 chive roots. Thanks, Third Brother.”

Kuang Qingwei chimed in next. “Territory Six needs Rooting Powder for 1,200 chive roots. Thank you, Third Brother.”

“Section Five wants enough for 2,000 chive roots. Thanks, Third Brother.” Qi Fu reported his numbers.

Madam Shi joined in. “Territory Ten needs enough Rooting Powder for 1,000 chive roots. Thank you, Third Brother.”

“Territory Fifteen needs enough for 2,000 chive roots. Much appreciated, Third Brother.” Yue Haiying was quick to follow her allies.

Soon, the big players started logging in too.

Hu Zifeng piped up, “Third Brother, Territory One needs enough Rooting Powder for chive roots. If I send you four pounds of Green Lantern pine nuts, will that do?”

“Two pounds is enough.”

“Alright, thanks, Third Brother.”

Tang Zhengbo joined the bustle. “Third Brother, Territory Twelve needs Rooting Solution for chive roots. Hope it’s not too much trouble. Can I trade two pounds of Green Lantern spice-blend barbecue rub for it?”

“That works.”

“Territory Eight also needs Rooting Solution for chive roots. Can I offer two bottles of Green Lantern wine in exchange?” Zhou Zhaoping jumped in next.

“Deal.” Zhang San had just scored some Green Lantern python meat, and now picked up barbecue rub and wine too. His mood soared.

Zhou Xun joined in, bracing himself. “Territory Two needs Rooting Solution for 2,000 chive roots. Thank you, Third Brother.”

Li Si followed up. “Territory Nine needs enough for 500 chive roots. Thank you, Third Brother.”

Everyone held their breath, waiting for Zhang San’s response. Faces were turning red with anticipation before Ji Li from Territory Nine finally logged in.

“Except for Territory Two and Territory Nine, Rooting Solution for other territories will be delivered along with the next supply run by the patrol car.”

Territory Two and Territory Nine? Well, let them cool their heels somewhere else.

Xia Qing grabbed three pounds of Yellow Lantern corn from home, tossing a few kernels into the sheep shed on the way out and telling Old Goat and Er Gou to rest at home. She hopped on the rotary tiller and hurried toward the territory’s south gate.

Hearing Zhong Tao’s patrol car pull up outside Section Three, Xia Qing unlocked the gate and drove her rotary tiller out to meet them.

Zhong Tao, Zheng Kui, and Ji Li all hopped out of the car. Re-energized, Zhong Tao greeted her warmly. “Hey, Sis, we’ve delivered the chive roots and that crab shell fertilizer you asked for.”

Xia Qing had ordered two thousand pounds of crab shell fertilizer, packed in twenty bags. Zheng Kui opened up the patrol car’s cargo hold and started unloading while Ji Li took the fertilizer from Zheng Kui and stacked it on the tiller’s cart.

After weighing the Yellow Lantern corn, Zhong Tao handed over 200 Green Lantern chive roots to Xia Qing and asked, “We brought ten pounds of top-grade salt from Lan City. Want some? Fair warning: it’s pricey—60 credits a pound.”

It wasn’t surprising that high-quality, low-pollution salt cost more. Xia Qing passed him her points card. “I got lucky a few days ago and found a bunch of nuts in a squirrel nest. Just traded them for some credits this morning. Give me six pounds, please.”

“You got it!” Zhong Tao quickly scanned her card for payment, grabbed the salt, and asked, “Do you need vinegar or soy sauce brewed from Green Lantern wheat bran? They’re 85 credits a bottle.”

If it’s made from Green Lantern food, of course Xia Qing wanted some. Zhong Tao scanned the card again and couldn’t help but marvel, “Sis, your life is just getting better and better.”

For over half a year now, Zhong Tao had watched as Xia Qing transformed from thin and sunburned to pale and strong. Out of all forty-some lords he patrolled in the northern sector, her change was the most dramatic.

Not only had Xia Qing bulked up, she was far more outspoken than when she’d first started out. “I’m out here breaking my back growing crops just so I can eat my fill. No one knows when disaster will hit again—might as well trade credits for actual food. It’s real. These are pumpkin chips I sun-dried a few days back when the weather was good. You and Kui can take some for snacks.”

“Nice, thanks, Sis!”

Every time Xia Qing needed a delivery, she’d always prepare some homegrown food for the guys as a thank-you. Zhong Tao didn’t bother with any false modesty. He cheerfully accepted—then realized the black bag was icy to the touch.

He immediately realized this wasn’t pumpkin chips but something that needed to be kept cold. And what needs to be frozen? That could only be meat!

Zhong Tao kept a poker face as his mind whirled and lowered his voice to share some juicy news with Xia Qing. “Not sure if it’s true, but rumor has it we’ll have several heavy snowfalls this winter, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 20°C, maybe even to minus 30. Sis, you might want to chop a lot more firewood just in case.”

Before the calamities, the coldest winters around Hui Three Base only reached minus 5°C. Ever since the disasters started, winter lows dropped another ten degrees, now hitting minus 15. Xia Qing already thought that was bone-chilling—she couldn’t even imagine what minus 30 would be like.

She and those shaggy Old Goat and Er Gou could manage, but what about the rapeseed and wheat in the fields?

After unloading all the crab shell fertilizer, Ji Li handed Xia Qing a small bag of rooting agent. “Mix this bag with one liter of water at twenty degrees. Soak the chive roots for two hours, then plant them. Third Brother said you can trim any roots that are too long—just leave about two centimeters.”

Xia Qing quickly took it. “Got it, thanks, Ji.”

“You should head back now.” Ji Li glanced at Xia Qing, signaling with his eyes—the people in Territory Two were watching.

Ji Li was worried someone from Territory Two might come over and cause trouble. Xia Qing nodded, understood, and after saying goodbye to Zhong Tao and Zheng Kui, started up the tiller and headed back. She shut the gate, hauled the crab shell fertilizer, and went home.

After dropping off supplies in Section Three, Ji Li followed Zhong Tao and Zheng Kui to Territory One and Territory Eight to deliver Rooting Powder and collect trade goods.

Inside the Wild Grass Wall of Territory Two, Xu Pin listened intently as an Auditory Evolutionary reported in, frowning. “Minus 30°C? Where did this rumor come from?”

He looked over and saw Tang Zhengsu staring hard at the gates of Section Three, scoffing. “If we could win Xia Qing over, it’d mean big things for us. But she’s all thorns—a tough nut to crack. Probably takes someone of your caliber to handle her.”

Tang Zhengsu frowned deeper, “I’m sure I’ve met Xia Qing before… just can’t remember when or where right now.”

He let out a cold snort.

Xu Pin quietly suggested, “Why not invite her here and ask her yourself?”

“You’re the deputy, not a damned matchmaker. For once, can you just do your real job?” Tang Zhengsu shot Xu Pin a fierce glare. “Did you get through to Yang Jin? What’s his story?”

Xu Pin clenched his jaw but kept his eyes down. “Phones aren’t going through. He didn’t hand over the evidence right away—clearly trying to bargain up the price. What’s Fire Phoenix’s position on all this?”

Just mentioning Fire Phoenix made Tang Zhengsu snap, “What do you think? They all talk big when there’s benefits to grab, but the moment things get dicey, they run faster than ghosts! Didn’t you say you knew someone high up at Fire Phoenix? Then make the call! Otherwise, you’ll be the one making up the loss out of your own hide!”

It was the Tang brothers who got hoodwinked by Fire Phoenix’s promises, and Xu Pin hadn’t been able to stop them. Now, with trouble brewing, they were trying to dump all the blame on him?

Xu Pin’s face darkened too.