Chapter 440: The Wolf Pack’s Domestic Expert

Xia Qing had always heard the old saying, ‘It takes all sorts to make a world.’

Now that she spent more time around animals, she realized their personalities could be just as varied. For example, the wolf pack she knew: the Alpha was strong, responsible and a natural leader. Lame Wolf was goofy and blunt, always getting into trouble. Black Wolf was quiet and ever alert. Crippled Wolf, meanwhile, was clever, had a knack for home improvement and a boundless curiosity.

Xia Qing held up her brand-new protective boots, now with a snapped lace and several fresh gouges, and demanded Crippled Wolf, “What happened to my boots? Care to explain?”

These were new boots, ones she’d only worn for a few days!

Crippled Wolf turned away, suddenly fascinated by a crack in the wall, pretending he hadn’t heard her. But the twitching of his ears gave him away.

Xia Qing sighed. “Forget about the boots. I know you meant well, saw my shoes were dirty and tried to help me take them off. But where did my socks go? Where’d you put them?”

Crippled Wolf’s ears flicked again, but he stubbornly refused to turn around.

Xia Qing switched tactics, softening her tone. “You took off my shoes and socks but didn’t even scratch my feet. That’s seriously impressive, Crippled. You’re amazing.”

Honestly, she was pretty amazing herself—she slept like a log. She hadn’t even noticed a wolf biting through her shoes and pulling off her socks.

But Xia Qing knew it was because she trusted Old Goat and the wolf pack. That’s why she could sleep so deeply.

“It’s so nice to have friends around,” Xia Qing thought, moved after five years of loneliness.

Hm?

Crippled Wolf’s ears perked up, and he turned his head, flashing Xia Qing his dazzling white, adorable fangs.

Xia Qing grinned too, pointing at her bare, furry-footed, sockless foot. “Handsome Wolf, where’d my socks go? You know, that layer of cloth that goes on my feet. I don’t have fur, paw pads or sharp claws—without socks and shoes I’ll get hurt easily.”

Crippled Wolf stared at her feet, deep in thought for a few seconds, then darted happily upstairs and pushed the bathroom door open.

Inside, there was a handwoven wooden basket hanging from a hook. Lying neatly on top of the clothes Xia Qing had taken off before last night’s bath were her socks she’d worn yesterday.

“So you sneak upstairs all the time while I’m gone—no wonder you even know where I keep my dirty laundry.”

Xia Qing couldn’t help rubbing Crippled Wolf’s head, asking with gestures, “Do you know where I keep my protective suit? You know, the outfit and hat I wear for work or battle.”

Crippled Wolf spun around in delight and nudged open the door to the storage room right next to the bathroom.

Xia Qing…

“How about my food stash? Where’s that?”

Crippled Wolf scampered over to the locked fridge, pawing at the padlock.

Xia Qing…

Impressive. Very smart. With some training he could handle all the housework.

Someday, when there was time, Xia Qing planned it all out: she’d make a wolf-friendly mop for Crippled Wolf so he could clean the floors, have Old Goat pedal the bike generator, set Er Gou to catching bugs and feeding the poultry and leave the Queen in charge of guarding their Territory.

Perfect!

Xia Qing sent Crippled Wolf downstairs to play. She washed her feet, put on her indoor shoes and went to check on the Red Squirrel in her bedroom.

The timid Red Squirrel was hiding inside a pile of dry grass in its cage, only its bushy tail poking up, fur bristling in fear.

It was warmer inside than outside, so the pure spring water in the cage hadn’t frozen. The bamboo tube of dried fruit was missing a bit too. Evolved animals had great immune systems; as long as the little thing could eat and drink, it would recover quickly.

“When the wolves leave, I’ll put you back in the sheep shed. Or you can return to your own nest if you’d rather.” Xia Qing shared, not caring if the Red Squirrel understood. She turned and headed downstairs, whipped up breakfast and started her busy day.

First on the agenda, of course, was patrolling the Territory.

Digging through a box in the storage room, Xia Qing found a patched pair of winter boots, put on her protective mask and went to check the hole in the east iron mesh wall.

Hu Zifeng’s Squad had already welded the patch tight using leftover mesh from other repairs.

When Xia Qing headed to the fields, she found Hu Zifeng’s Squad had finished breakfast and was now helping dig a cold-proof trench around the greenhouse.

It was already eight in the morning—the first time Xia Qing had ever slept in this late.

The moment she arrived, chatterbox Chen Cheng rushed over to share the news. “Sister Qing, you haven’t heard yet. Xu Pin’s dead!”

Xia Qing asked eagerly, “Is it confirmed? Not just a ruse?”

Chen Cheng nodded. “The Inspection Team confirmed on site. He got blown up by explosives—his body’s in pieces. Tang Zhengsu and Fire Phoenix are fighting over it now.”

Quiet Chen Zheng chimed in, “They’re just dogs biting dogs.”

Er Yong gloated, “Su Feng Squad lost a helicopter, a deputy captain, a recon drone and a bunch of surveillance birds. Fire Phoenix lost a trained eagle owl, totally angered Zhang San, and now the Base wants to hold them accountable for provoking that evolved bear. They’re in for it this time.”

Xiao Jiang joined in, “If Xu Pin wasn’t dead, it’d be a big problem. But now he’s gone, things get a lot simpler. Fire Phoenix and Su Feng Squad will just blame everything on him soon enough.”

“That’s definitely how it’s going to play out. But hey, getting rid of a troublemaker like Xu Pin is still great news.” With that, Xia Qing went to the livestock greenhouse to check on the animals.

Sunlight was good today. The thick straw curtains over the greenhouse had been rolled up by Hu Zifeng’s Squad, letting the temperature inside slowly climb. Xia Qing opened the vent on top and poured feed into the chicken trough.

The chicken feed was a mix of crushed corn, bran and chopped vegetable leaves, all mixed with spring water. It actually smelled pretty good.

All twenty-two Green Lantern Chickens in the coop raced over, craning their necks to fight for food. The highest-level white hen claimed her own spot; none of the others dared challenge her.

Xia Qing had no complaints about the chickens sorting themselves by rank, and she definitely didn’t interfere.

After feeding the chickens, Xia Qing checked the pure spring fish in the water tank. There was no aerator, but the tank was big and she’d mixed in pure spring water and transplanted some aquatic plants. There was even a big bottle slowly dripping water in, so there was no shortage of oxygen. The spring fish were all thriving.

Watching them, Xia Qing was already daydreaming—next spring the aquarium would be full of fish eggs and by summer she’d be able to eat fish whenever she pleased.

If only she had a cuddly, clingy little cat to share those fish meals with—it’d be perfect.

Once she checked the fish, Xia Qing turned to her Green Lantern Yellow Lantern Mealworms. Honestly, it didn’t matter which kind of ‘lantern’ they were—when they wriggled, Xia Qing always wanted to squish them. After making sure none had died, she tossed some cabbage cores on their tray for them to munch. She gave a few cabbage cores to the Yellow Lantern Rabbit as well. Then she headed to the greenhouse to check on the Green Lantern chive roots she’d planted yesterday.

After a whole night, the chive roots hadn’t changed much. Today was the day to soak some seeds and get other vegetable seeds ready for planting.

Farming broadcasts and Qi Fu both recommended waiting until the Devastation Snow ended before planting vegetables. That way, seedlings wouldn’t be hammered by excessive Devastation Element, which would lower their quality.

But Xia Qing didn’t have to worry about the Devastation Snow messing with her crops—she had the Yi Stone.