Chapter 510: Trading for Protection

As soon as Xia Qing drove the rotary tiller into Territory Eight she handed Xin Yu an advanced hardness-evolved snakeskin jacket, half a pound of Green Lantern chives, four Green Lantern eggs, and a pound of Green Lantern rice. She also asked about Xin Yu’s health and whether she’d caught the virus. Xin Yu answered calmly, “I’m fine. It’s a pair of gray parrots I keep—they got infected. My medicine isn’t as good as Third Brother’s so I wanted to trade for some reserves.”

Xia Qing already knew about the talking ravens in Xin Yu’s territory, the speed-evolved Ribbon-Tailed Sea Eagle, and that impressive evolved eagle owl she owned. She just hadn’t expected two gray parrots, so she asked with curiosity, “Are these evolved animals too?”

Xin Yu nodded. “They haven’t evolved mentally, but they’re way better at mimicking words than normal parrots. Their enunciation is spot-on, but you can’t really communicate with them, so they can’t be truly tamed. If you like, I could give you a pair of baby parrots next year after they hatch.”

Xia Qing shook her head. “I don’t have the right setup for keeping birds.”

Honestly, it wasn’t just the lack of space. Xia Qing had zero motivation to keep two parrots that couldn’t pull their weight.

If you asked Xia Qing, a country girl at heart, parrots that could talk were far less useful than swallows who couldn’t speak but could catch bugs.

If one day she ended up as rich and leisurely as Xin Yu, she wouldn’t keep birds—she’d get cats. Soft, cuddly kittens who’d let her pet them as much as she liked.

Xin Yu pulled out the snakeskin jacket from its plastic bag and gave it a once-over. She was very pleased. “The craftsmanship is great. Did someone from Hui Three Base’s Safe Zone make this?”

“Yeah, it’s from Uncle Huo, the owner of Huo Family Forge. He’s a pro at making blades and protective gear.” Xia Qing reminded her, “Put it on and check if anything feels off. If it doesn’t fit right, I’ll take it back to ask Uncle Huo to fix it.”

Xin Yu gave a nod. “Let me try it on. Have some tea and snack on my roasted sunflower seeds while you wait.”

“Sure.”

Xia Qing glanced at the soft white leather sofa in the snow-white living room, then looked down at her own not-so-clean protective suit. Deciding better, she carried the tea and plate over to a chair by the wooden dining table.

The table and chairs were rough—almost as basic as the ones back in the little gatehouse at Territory Eight. Sitting here, Xia Qing felt much more at home.

She picked up a sunflower seed from a small plate on the table, cracked it open, and popped it into her mouth.

The Green Lantern sunflower seeds had a rich caramel flavor—so good!

Xin Yu soon came out wearing that black snakeskin jacket, holding a black bulletproof vest in her hand. She looked over at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing explained, “Uncle Huo made that from extra snakeskin. You can wear it when it gets too hot for a jacket in summer.”

Xin Yu gave a rare, excited smile. “Want to go outside and test out its bulletproof power?”

“Absolutely.” After getting the jacket, Xia Qing had brought it straight over, so they hadn’t had a chance to test it yet.

Once Xia Qing agreed, Xin Yu grabbed a protective mask from the table and pulled it over her head, then headed out the door. Xia Qing put on her own mask and gloves and followed.

Honestly, with her long legs and tall, slender frame, Xin Yu in that fitted black jacket against the snow was a stunning sight.

Xia Qing felt a little proud too. She and Xin Yu were about the same height, but as a strength-based evolutionary, she was a bit sturdier. She bet she’d look even cooler in that jacket. She couldn’t help picturing herself, Old Goat, and the wolf pack all kitted out in snakeskin jackets, hunting in the Evolved Forest. That’d be a sight.

Xin Yu strapped the bulletproof vest to a human-shaped target they used for shooting practice, pulled out a homemade pistol, and fired at it.

Bang!

Seconds after the gunshot, Tang Huai’s crackly voice came through the walkie-talkie. “Territory Eight? Xin Yu? What’s up? Weren’t you two eating dumplings? Why are you playing with guns?”

Xia Qing walked over and touched the spot where the bullet hit. Grinning, she flashed an “OK” sign at Xin Yu.

Xin Yu headed back inside but soon returned with a submachine gun. Xia Qing quickly gestured, “A single layer of snakeskin probably can’t stop rounds from that. Aim for the spot with double layers.”

To boost its bulletproof power, the vital spots on the vest and jacket were reinforced with double layers of snakeskin.

Xin Yu handed the gun to Xia Qing. “I’m not a great shot. You do it.”

Xia Qing took the submachine gun, aimed for the back of the vest, and fired a shot.

Tang Huai’s voice bleated over the walkie-talkie again. “Now you’ve switched guns? Seriously, what are you two doing—hunting rabbits?”

Xin Yu went over to check the vest and lit up. “Didn’t penetrate!”

You really couldn’t beat advanced hardness-evolved snakeskin!

Ignoring Tang Huai’s noisy commentary in the Lords’ channel, the two of them headed back into the warm house to start making dumplings. The chives went under the knife, eggs got scrambled, then in went tiny dried shrimp and seasonings. Soon, the delicious aroma of dumpling filling drifted through the whole house.

Xin Yu’s seasonings were way better than hers. Xia Qing was practically drooling just smelling them. She rolled out dumpling wrappers and chatted with Xin Yu. “If my Green Lantern sweet potatoes do well next year, I’ll make sweet potato noodles. I remember they add noodles like that to dumpling filling and it’s delicious.”

Xin Yu nodded. “You could even make spicy-sour noodles. I remember those noodles are made with sweet potatoes and peas. I have sweet potatoes but no Green Lantern peas.”

Just hearing the words ‘spicy-sour noodles’ made Xia Qing’s mouth water. “I just swapped for 300 Yellow Lantern peas. With some luck, there might be two or three Green Lantern peas in the mix.”

She’d save the Green Lantern ones for seeds, planting them in the terrace fields and watering with spring water. If all went well, next year she’d get to eat Green Lantern peas.

That is, if she got lucky.

Before long, the dumplings were ready and cooked. Xia Qing popped one in her mouth and felt like she was floating on air.

Xin Yu’s vinegar was also way better than hers.

After eating, Xia Qing sipped some dumpling soup and asked, “Do you have a lot of vinegar? I’d like to trade a bottle. I’ve got Green Lantern pecans—Third Brother says my pecans are great for the brain, but don’t eat too many. For advanced evolutionaries, three or four a day is fine.”

Since Xin Yu had that brain-evolved raven, she was definitely interested in the dry Green Lantern nuts. “I’ll fill up a jug of vinegar for you. Want some soy sauce too? Made from Green Lantern soybeans. We can trade more nuts for that.”

“Yes, please!”

Once they’d settled the trade, Xin Yu started asking about the swallows living under Xia Qing’s eaves.

Xia Qing had known she’d ask, so she pulled out her phone to show videos and photos she’d taken of the swallows.

When Xin Yu saw the swallows all safe and sound inside the ‘little house’ Xia Qing had wrapped tightly in rain cover, she had to admit Xia Qing really had a knack for keeping birds. She started asking Xia Qing for tips.

When she learned the swallows didn’t need hand-feeding—they just hunted evolved snow-jumping bugs—Xin Yu fell silent for a moment before asking, “Aren’t you worried they’ll freeze?”

Xia Qing replied honestly, “That’s their own choice. But on those three days during the Devastation Snow when they couldn’t leave to hunt, I put out a little dish of feed mixed from cooked egg white, veggie leaves, and wheat bran.”

Spending the winter in her territory was the swallows’ own decision.

Since swallows were helpful birds that hunted bugs, Xia Qing let them live under her eaves and built them a warm little house out of rain cover. When they couldn’t forage during Devastation Snow, she even hung up a piece of Yi Stone in their house. Xia Qing felt she’d done more than enough.

Xin Yu seemed to have an epiphany hearing this and just stared for a while, holding her bowl of dumpling soup in a daze.

Xia Qing didn’t disturb her and quietly finished her soup.

The fact she and Xin Yu could share a meal and chat meant they were real friends now.