Chapter 48: Greenlight Bamboo and Weathering Change

After loading bamboo rat meat into the food dehydrator and setting the timer and temperature, Xia Qing hummed a little tune, turned on the radio and listened to the evening news while going through the manuals for the dehydrator and the vacuum packaging machine.

There wasn’t much useful information in the news. The Base’s weather forecast said there’d be no Xiang Rain or large-scale insect swarms for the next five days, but today’s farming segment was all about how to eliminate evolver rats. Xia Qing raised an eyebrow, put the manual away and grabbed her walkie-talkie.

Zhao Ze spoke first today, asking Qi Fu for advice about collecting manure for fertilizer.

Everyone knows inorganic fertilizer is made via chemical or physical methods, supplying one or more nutrients crops need for growth—it’s also called chemical fertilizer. Organic fertilizer, on the other hand, comes from things like animal waste or plant residues that are rich in organic matter; after fermenting and rotting down, it can be used as fertilizer.

Before the Great Biological Evolution on Blue Star, chemical fertilizers were the main choice for crops. But after everything changed, using fast-acting chemical fertilizers actually turned out to be the main cause of ‘Xiang-variation’ in plants. Now, organic fertilizer is the only safe way to help evolution crops thrive.

With farming on his mind, Qi Fu launched into an explanation. “We don’t have livestock or poultry, just the handful of us here in our territory, so we really can’t gather that much manure. The Safe Zone doesn’t sell organic fertilizer either. Does anyone know how many pigs the Breeding Center north of Plot Four and Plot Five keeps? I wonder if they’d sell us pig manure…”

That topic was enough to ruin anyone’s appetite, and Xia Qing was glad she’d eaten early today.

Turns out Xia Qing wasn’t the only one put off. Zhang San abruptly cut Qi Fu off. “Enough! Don’t ruin the aftertaste of my delicious dinner.”

Qi Fu shut up right away, while Kuang Qingwei chuckled and asked, “So what did you have for dinner, Third Bro?”

Zhang San answered honestly, “Of course it was the incredibly tasty greenlight vegetables. If I ever find more, I’d trade all the points I have for them.”

Xia Qing knew those words were meant for her.

She wasn’t the only one. Hu Zifeng, who was eating stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat, knew too. And so did Tang Huai—even though he was snacking on fried bugs. But Tang Huai couldn’t admit it, or he’d be ratting himself out. Hu Zifeng left the decision to Xia Qing, since she’d been the first to find the bamboo grove.

Xia Qing didn’t pick up the conversation then. She waited until after all the small talk was over, then dialed Zhang San directly. “Third Bro, it’s Xia Qing from Plot Three.”

Zhang San’s tone was as serious and direct as ever. “Xia Qing, how much greenlight bamboo shoot do you have left? Name your price.”

Xia Qing didn’t beat around the bush. “I’ve got ten pounds left, but I want to keep that for myself. I do have thirty pounds of yellowlight bamboo shoots I’d be willing to trade. Interested, Third Bro?”

“No thanks,” Zhang San immediately refused. “If you won’t trade greenlight, would you be willing to trade the location where you found them?”

Xia Qing set her conditions straight out. “That’s doable. The bamboo grove covers at least a hundred acres. We only explored about ten acres today and already found one greenlight evolver bamboo. I’d like to trade the location for two solar panels, including the matching wires and battery. How about it?”

The Evolver Forest didn’t belong to anyone, and a bamboo grove that vast was impossible to keep secret. Even if Xia Qing didn’t tell Zhang San, he could figure out the general direction and area, send a team into the forest, and they’d probably find it in a couple days. That’s why she wanted to exchange the location for some practical supplies.

Most people wouldn’t agree to a deal like that, but Zhang San wasn’t just anyone—he loved good food and never seemed short of resources.

Xia Qing was prepared for hard bargaining, but unexpectedly, Zhang San agreed right away. “No problem. I’ll give you a brand new solar kit. So where’s the bamboo exactly?”

Xia Qing described the spot in detail. “It’s in the Evolver Forest north of Plot One. Just follow the creek in the mountain gulley along the border between Plot One and Plot Three, heading north for about fifteen miles, and you’ll see it.”

Zhang San thanked her sincerely. “Thanks! I’ll have the Inspection Team deliver everything to you tomorrow. Once my cat has kittens, I’ll send you photos.”

The next day, just after Huzi finished installing Xia Qing’s new solar panels, Zhong Tao arrived.

Xia Qing handed him four sealed redlight rodents, and traded ten pounds of yellowlight bamboo shoots each to Zhong Tao and Zheng Kui, all at market price. With the points she earned from the rodents and trades, she exchanged for extra-thick vacuum packing bags, then spent the rest of her points on rainproof tarps.

Zhong Tao couldn’t help but ask, “What’d you need all this rainproof tarp for, Sis?”

Xia Qing explained, “I’m planning to build a shelter over the vegetable garden. Otherwise, one round of Xiang Rain and there won’t be any seedlings left.”

“You sure don’t mind investing. Makes sense though—if you bother to grow sprouts, it’d be heartbreaking to lose them to Xiang Rain,” Zhong Tao said, then shared the latest. “Up in the north sector, a territory close to the Safe Zone lost all its seedlings to rats overnight after a month of hard care. Over in the west, there were two plots like that. One landlord, desperate after losing his, went to steal from a neighboring plot… and got beaten to death on the spot.”

Since Zhong Tao shuttled between the Safe Zone and the territories, he was always in the know. After hearing his stories, Xia Qing suddenly realized why last night’s farming news focused on rat extermination.

Apparently the core territories started having rat problems a whole month after the edge zones like hers. Xia Qing filed that time gap away in her mind and took her packing bags home.

With enough power and vacuum bags now in reserve, Xia Qing washed all the greenlight and redlight bamboo shoots clean with spring water, sliced them up and set them to dry.

Not wanting to waste a drop, she carried the used spring water up the hillside to water her saplings. The apple and jujube trees were both planted on the highland, not far from the Chinese toon tree.

Just a few days ago, the apple trees had started sprouting. With a copy of ‘Apple Cultivation Techniques’ in hand, Xia Qing compared the buds closely and confirmed there were thirteen flower buds between the two trees. That meant, maybe this year, she could finally taste apples again.

But according to the book, it’s best not to let transplanted apple saplings fruit their second year. After a year to grow stronger, they should fruit in the third year. Yet, she hadn’t eaten a fresh apple in ten years—how could she bear to cut those flower buds off?

The book was written before the evolution, anyway. With strength gained since, the trees should be hardy enough. Surely letting them fruit in year two is okay… right?

Even if she shouldn’t let them set fruit, maybe she could at least let the apple blossoms bloom for a couple of days before pinching them off.

Torn, Xia Qing stared from the budding apple trees to the still-bare jujube trees, her pretty brows drawn together with worry.

It was frustrating. After half a month, the two jujube trees still looked just as lifeless as when she first planted them—not a single sign of new growth. If they both died, could she convince Yang Jin to give her two more as compensation?

Would a penny-pincher ever cough up an extra cent?

Once she’d finished watering the trees, Xia Qing carried her bucket down to the spring. Just below it, in a tiny terraced field five meters down, she’d planted two grape vines and two strawberries. The strawberries had already begun to flower. The grape vines, too, sprouted tiny cheerful leaves. Once they grew a few more, Xia Qing would be ready to pluck one for a Xiang element test.