Chapter 645: Spring Planting and a Stir at the Border

As early March warmed the air and sprouted new buds, it was the perfect time for planting trees.

Xia Qing returned to her territory carrying two Green Lantern orange saplings she’d traded for. After circling the Green Lantern Orchard on the high slope and greeting Old Goat by the massive Toon Tree, she lugged the saplings down the hill.

Unlike apple trees that thrive in slightly alkaline soil, orange trees prefer mildly acidic, sandy earth. The soil in her Green Lantern Orchard was neutral to slightly alkaline—not ideal for growing oranges.

After careful consideration, Xia Qing picked a spot right in her own yard to plant the orange saplings. No other reason, really—she just loved how orange trees looked when laden with fruit.

Near the east wall, she dug a patch, mixing in animal manure to boost nutrients, then added decomposed pine needles and willow leaves to increase acidity. Only then did she plant the orange trees.

With the orange trees in place and time to spare, she tilled another patch near the east wall and planted thirty-nine Green Lantern jujube pits.

Last year, her two Green Lantern jujube trees produced one hundred thirty-six jujubes. Come late July, hail knocked them down while they were still green, so Xia Qing wasn’t sure if the pits had matured. Still, she dug up the leftovers, soaked them in Pure Spring Water for a day and night to soften the hard shells, and planted them into the fertile earth.

She figured if even two or three of the thirty-nine pits sprouted, she’d be satisfied.

She fenced in the new orange and jujube planting area with thorny branches and told Old Goat, who’d been watching, not to let anyone step inside the enclosure.

Even after spelling it out for Old Goat, Xia Qing was still uneasy. She draped an insect net over the jujube planting patch—not to guard against Old Goat, but to deter Red Squirrel. Jujube pits were, after all, just another nut, and prime food for that crafty squirrel.

That sneaky little guy hadn’t changed a bit—just that morning, he’d been digging around her greenhouse for snacks. Xia Qing could see it all clearly on her surveillance cameras.

Work finished, Xia Qing grabbed a pouch of toon sprouts and a few eggs and set off to visit her good friend Xin Yu—time for a simple meal and a bit of company.

This visit had another purpose: she needed a plausible source for the rice seedlings she’d soon retrieve from the Hidden Valley.

Within Territory Eight, the official Greenhouse was, in name at least, the Lords’ Alliance’s rice breeding base. To make everyone believe she was truly cultivating rice in Territory Eight, Xia Qing and Xin Yu had already laid groundwork a few times. Anyone with a sharp eye would see this, so no one would look up to Hill Fifty.

They chose Territory Eight—not Territory One or Seven—because Xin Yu lived alone in the southern section. It offered the right conditions for breeding and was also very private. Other than Zhou Zhaoping, no one knew Xin Yu’s greenhouse was filled with more flowers and decorative plants than grains or vegetables.

In a few days, the rice seedlings from the Hidden Valley would be quietly transported into Territory Eight, then shipped out to plant in rice fields across the Lords’ Alliance’s various territories.

Just imagining her own rice paddies filled with top-notch seedlings put a spring in Xia Qing’s step.

Xin Yu was delighted to see her, but the happiest one was Jasmine, the Brain-Evolved Raven squatting on her shoulder.

After greeting Xin Yu, Xia Qing turned to the tiny black bird—whose glossy feathers matched the Black-Feathered Rooster in her own land—and greeted her formally. “Hello Jasmine, I’m Xia Qing.”

Jasmine bounced twice on Xin Yu’s shoulder, lifted her right wing, and chirped in a clear voice tinged with distinct avian inflection, “Hello, Shrimp.”

Shrimp—or did she mean Xia?

Her pronunciation might be a little off, but it sure beat the blockhead sheep back home that couldn’t say a single word. Xia Qing grinned and nodded. “That’s right, I’m Xia Qing.”

“You’re the third person Jasmine remembers.” Xin Yu lifted a finger to gently rub Jasmine’s tiny head.

No need to ask—Zhou Zhaoping had to be number two. Curious, Xia Qing asked, “What does Jasmine call Uncle Ping?”

“She just calls him Uncle Ping. She’s not great with the fourth tone.”

Definitely not. She even mixed up entire species. Following Xin Yu back to the house, Xia Qing paused to watch a video of a den of yellow weasels and swallows on her own territory, then peeked in on a gorgeous pet parrot called a Peachflower, busy hatching eggs in the glasshouse. Only after that did they start making lunch and hashing out the details of the transplant plan.

After lunch, Xia Qing headed home along the barrier. Passing by the Chonglian construction crew hard at work, her hand shot out out of nowhere—she grabbed a crew member’s arm with one hand and clamped her other hand on the back of his neck.

Her sudden move caught both the construction team and the security guards off guard.

The rest of the crew instantly backed away. Two Chonglian Security Team members stepped forward, leveling their guns square at Xia Qing’s chest and throat, their tone chilling: “Three seconds. Let go or I’ll shoot.”

Xia Qing lifted the worker’s right wrist, showing the watch he wore. “He was taking pictures of me.”

Seeing the worker’s guilty eyes dart away, the security officers got the picture quick. Annoyed with their own guy, one kept his gun on Xia Qing while the other put his gun away and walked over, raising a hand. “Miss Xia, we need to check the evidence before we handle things by company rules.”

Evidence check or evidence destruction? Xia Qing took off the worker’s watch herself, not handing it over. Instead, she pulled up a front-facing photo of herself from its digital storage and flashed it at the guards—clear proof the worker had been secretly filming her. Without delay, she called Xin Yu over the lord communicator.

“Xin Yu, are you there?”

As Xia Qing radioed Xin Yu, both the construction and security crews’ faces fell.

Xin Yu replied calmly, “I’m here.”

“On my way back along the barrier, a Chonglian construction crew member tried to take secret photos of me. What’s the right way to deal with it?”

Taking pictures of the lord or the territory near the boundary without permission was a criminal offense under the Territory Law.

Xin Yu answered steadily, “He’s broken the Chonglian employee rules already. Hand him directly to the Inspection Team. Uncle Ping will report this to headquarters—it’ll be dealt with seriously.”

“Understood.”

“Understood.”

Xia Qing and Zhou Zhaoping replied almost at the same time. Inspection Team leader Tan Junjie chimed in on the line, “Xia Qing, report your current position. Is the suspect in custody?”

Xia Qing pressed the communicator again. “Western barrier, near the border between Territory Eight and Territory One. Suspect is already detained.”

“Copy that. We’ll arrive in three minutes,” Tan Junjie responded.

At this point, further protest was pointless. The construction foreman and security guards went silent, busy figuring out how not to get dragged into the mess.

Still pinned by Xia Qing, the worker suddenly lashed out, broke free, and whirled around to grab the watch from Xia Qing’s hand—intent on destroying the evidence.

He was quick, but way too weak compared to Xia Qing. He managed to grip her hand but couldn’t pry the watch loose.

Xia Qing clamped down, twisted his wrist, and with a swift kick to the back of his knee, forced him to kneel hard into the dirt.

“Aah—” The caught worker screeched in a showy panic. “Mercy, Miss Xia, I swear I only did it because I admire you—don’t kill me!”

“Miss Xia…”

A security guard started to object to Xia Qing’s rough handling, then met the fierce glare in her eyes and hesitated. The dossiers hadn’t lied—Territory Three’s lord, Xia Qing, really was just as reclusive and ruthless as rumored. No wonder she and the equally withdrawn Xin Yu were friends.

Su Ming pulled up by car just in time to witness the whole scene.