Chapter 531: Hidden Exchanges and Subtle Bargains

The high-quality Greenlight Corn from Red Eleven is as famous as the Greenlight Rice from Bai Seven Base. Xia Qing had even heard it mentioned over the radio. But since corn doesn’t taste as good as rice, it hasn’t really caught on with the crowd.

But! Thanks to the knowledge drive Yang Jin sent her, Xia Qing learned that Red Eleven’s Y-3 Greenlight Corn is an evolved variety. The kernels are packed with lutein, which studies have shown to be great for protecting your eyes.

Xia Qing needs this corn badly since she wants to become a top-tier vision-evolved sniper. Eating the Y-3 corn would boost her chances of making that dream real. Tan Junjie really knew how to pick his seeds; trading for them must’ve cost him a fortune.

After putting away the Greenlight Corn safely, Xia Qing opened the bag of Yellow Lantern Wheat seeds Tan Junjie had sent over.

No doubt about it, these seeds matched exactly the ones her Idol had traded her before. Which meant Tan Junjie had flown a helicopter over the vast Evolved Forest, bartered for the M-14 Yellow Lantern Wheat that Hui Three’s Territory Seven cultivated at Red Eleven Base, then crossed another huge distance to Section Three—just a few miles from Territory Seven—and traded it to her for premium evolved python meat.

Xia Qing packed away the wheat seeds with a smile. She understood why Tan Junjie had chosen to trade for wheat. After all, the wheat sprouts in Xia Qing’s territory had suffered serious losses during the Devastation Snow, and wheat was their staple crop. So that’s why he swapped for it.

She stowed the Greenlight Garlic Tan Junjie brought in the vegetable storage room beneath the rack building. With these, plus what she’d grown herself and what she’d traded from Xin Yu, Xia Qing now had 71 heads of Greenlight Garlic. That’d be more than enough for her own use once she planted and harvested them next spring.

Humming a little tune, Xia Qing headed back outside. She checked in with Hu Zifeng and found out there was a speed evolver training session at Hill Forty-Nine that afternoon. She signed up and, after lunch, made her way there to join as a sniper.

In the Inspection Team’s dormitory on the eastern side of the territory, a bright-eyed Tan Qi hummed a children’s song as she skipped around her father, who was busy building her a wooden bed.

The Lords’ Alliance meeting wrapped up smoothly the next morning, and by afternoon the Lords’ channel was buzzing with offers to trade.

Kuang Qingwei called out, “Anyone around? I’ve got something to discuss with everyone.”

“Go on,” replied Tang Huai, who was recuperating in Territory Twelve and was the first to log on.

Kuang Qingwei grinned, “Huai, your voice sounds much better now.”

“Not really. Still need rest,” Tang Huai replied weakly. “So, what is it?”

Kuang Qingwei got serious. “I want to buy a batch of high-grade filter cartridges. I’m sure everyone knows the benefits of drinking water filtered by these—I won’t go over that again. Anyone interested? I’m offering them at a better rate than the Safe Zone: just 495 credits apiece.”

Tang Huai gave a chilly snort. “Only five credits cheaper—really? What’s the occasion? Hitting a windfall or something?”

Kuang Qingwei explained, “Not a windfall. My wife’s been feeling under the weather for days. The medicine’s not helping, so I want to get her a filter. If you guys need any, I can add to the order.”

Zhao Ze’s mother chimed in, “Is Zhu Li still feeling worn out from working over at Hill Fifty?”

Kuang Qingwei sighed. “I’m honestly not sure. She worked herself to the bone for days, and now all the credits I earned have to go into this.”

Madam Shi joined in to comfort him. “If you need to spend them, spend them. Credits can be earned again, but if you burn out your health, that’s real trouble. Those high-grade filters are just too expensive for us right now—we’re barely scraping by for meals. I’ll have to skip this time.”

After Zhao Ze’s mother and Qi Fu declined, Xia Qing logged on too. “Your wife’s still young. Give her clean water for a while and she’ll recover. My credits are a bit tight lately, so I’ll have to pass this time too.”

“No worries at all,” Kuang Qingwei replied eagerly. “Once I get the filters and good water, I’ll send a few bottles to Sis. Friends, if you’d like some, we can trade—10 credits a liter. Limited supply, so if anyone’s interested, sign up now.”

Back in Territory Twelve, Tang Huai yawned and let out another cold snort. “You just want to split the filter cost with people, not give us some great deal. You make it sound so nice, though.”

Tang Heng, warming his hands by the fire nearby, smiled. “High-grade purification filters really are too expensive for ordinary folks.”

Tang Zhengbo chimed in as well. “Kuang Qingwei isn’t just a shrewd, qualified businessman—he’s also a good husband.”

The moment their dad took the conversation that way, Tang Huai and Tang Heng both pulled their heads in and buckled down.

In the Lords’ channel, Kuang Qingwei kept pitching the filters, but nobody responded.

Then Zhang San, the big shot from Territory Seven who liked to play along with this kind of drama, logged on. “How much Devastation Element can the Safe Zone’s high-grade filters remove?”

Kuang Qingwei answered quickly, “They remove 8 per thousand. Normally the Devastation Element in our river is between 14 and 17 per thousand. So with high-grade filters, you can get your water pretty close to the standards for Greenlight Water.”

Zhang San insisted on being precise. “Close isn’t the same as real Greenlight Water.”

A Devastation Element level of 5 per thousand is the cutoff between safe food and food that’s only optional. So even water that’s close to 5 per thousand isn’t technically Greenlight Water.

Kuang Qingwei explained politely, “You know this stuff better than I do, Third Brother. Removing Devastation Element is a complicated process—the less there is in water or air, the harder it gets. If you really want true Greenlight quality, you need filtration and distillation. That setup costs even more.”

Zhang San yawned. “If anyone wants Greenlight Water, trade with me. My filter cartridges can remove 10 per thousand from our river. Each one can filter 60 liters.”

Wrong! The other lords in the Alliance silently corrected Zhang San all at once: not 60 liters, it should be 50.

“You’re the best, Third Brother!” Zhao Ze wasted no time hopping on to shower Zhang San with praise, beating even Xia Qing to the punch.

Kuang Qingwei continued playing along. “Third Brother, can I trade for one of your cartridges?”

“Sure, 700 credits,” Zhang San replied, then added, “but only for Greenlight food.”

“That’s hardly a bargain,” Tang Heng murmured to himself in Territory Twelve. “I doubt Kuang Qingwei will go for it. He’s better off buying the Safe Zone option.”

“He’ll use Greenlight Mung Beans to trade,” Tang Zhengbo predicted. “Every territory has them, so prices will drop further next year.”

“Third Brother, can I swap Greenlight Mung Beans for one of your cartridges?” Sure enough, Tang Zhengbo had called it—Kuang Qingwei made his offer.

“Deal,” Zhang San agreed.

Tang Zhengbo took the chance to teach his two sons. “Kuang Qingwei treats his wife very well.”

Tang Huai just gave him a look…

Tang Heng couldn’t help but react silently as well…