Chapter 820: A Deal for Seeds and Schemes
by xennovel“A new phone?” Xia Qing shook her head. “I’ve already ordered one.”
The new phone from Red Two Base is impossible to buy without special connections. No need to ask—Xia Qing must have placed her order through Xin Yu.
An order means the phone hasn’t arrived yet. There’s still time to sell his. “Have you paid for it yet?”
“…Not yet.”
Good, that makes things easier! Yang Jin pulled a brand-new phone from his pocket, still sealed in its box, and pushed it in front of Xia Qing. “This has been the hottest phone all spring—water resistant, long battery life, perfect for missions outside the base. Red Two is already sold out. You can’t get it anymore. I’ll give it to you for just twenty thousand credits.”
Xia Qing likes pink pearls and gold necklaces—she’s bound to love this phone too!
Hmm…
…
…
Looking at the soft pink phone box, Xia Qing’s first thought was: If she bought it and resold it to Crippled Wolf, she’d easily get at least one Yi Stone in return.
Smart creatures really do think alike. Crippled Wolf and Yang Jin, even though they’re half-brothers, have an uncanny resemblance in taste.
Still, Xia Qing had standards as a secondhand dealer. She couldn’t bring herself to sell a phone to an evolved wolf deep in the Evolved Forest with no way to charge it.
Not wanting to hit Yang Jin’s hopes too hard, she said, “It’s a beautiful phone and the price is decent, but I already have one on order and can’t cancel. Zhu Li would probably love it though. Why not ask her next time you collect spinach seeds?”
Kuang Qingwei and his wife made tens of thousands of credits juicing vegetables. Maybe they’d splurge on this cute new phone.
Yang Jin hid his disappointment and asked intently, “Who’s Zhu Li?”
Xia Qing explained, “She’s the wife of Section Six’s leader, Kuang Qingwei.”
Yang Jin nodded, put the phone away, and moved on to his next deal. “Sister Qing, are you interested in pea seeds from Hui Nine?”
“Are these yellow lantern peas with fourth-generation stability?” Xia Qing asked.
Yang Jin nodded. “That’s right.”
No farmer would refuse quality seeds. Xia Qing nodded back. “Our alliance already ordered this variety—they’ll arrive early next month. How many pounds do you have, Captain Yang?”
Xia Qing’s alliance only grew more capable—she could even get the coveted seeds from Hui Nine Base now. Yang Jin felt genuinely happy for her. “I scored a hundred pounds. Forty for Territory One, the rest are up for sale.”
“Your connections are always impressive. We only managed to get fifty pounds. We’ll take the full sixty you’re selling.” Xia Qing didn’t need that much personally, but her alliance had plenty of farmers. “Kuang Qingwei is our commerce chief, so he’ll handle the deal. I’ll have him reach out to you, alright?”
If he had to negotiate with Kuang Qingwei, how would he ever have an excuse to come back to Section Three?
Yang Jin replied like it was nothing. “These are just normal seeds. Let him talk to Hu Zifeng. I’ve also got Green Lantern rice seeds, wd-6, from Hui Five Base. You’re growing Green Lantern rice in your greenhouse, aren’t you? Want to trade? Five pounds for five?”
Xia Qing’s rice hadn’t matured yet—she still needed good seeds for seedlings. “Is the wd-6 available now? Ready for sowing?”
Yang Jin nodded.
Xia Qing agreed but bargained. “I’m growing J-2, the new rice variety cultivated last year in Territory Seven—it tastes much better than Hui Five’s wd-6. How about four pounds of J-2 for your five pounds of wd-6?”
The wd-6 variety had a Devastation Element content of 4.5‰, about the same as J-2 from Xia Qing’s territory. But wd-6 was a hybrid—not pure-bred like J-2—so despite its higher yield, the flavor was lacking. That’s why wd-6 seeds sold for less.
Yang Jin didn’t care about the weight so much as the variety growing in Xia Qing’s fields. “J-2 is a special supply bred by Third Brother’s team for Hui One. You’re allowed to trade it?”
Yang Jin already knew Zhang San held Xia Qing in high regard—he wasn’t surprised the precious seeds were for her own use. But she was offering J-2 for trade too? That was something new.
Xia Qing nodded. “I can.”
Yang Jin looked at her with curiosity. “When did Third Brother say you could trade them? Just these past few days?”
Xia Qing’s face was impassive. “That’s between me and Third Brother. I can’t share details.”
Share with outsiders?
Yang Jin leaned back in his chair. “Third Brother made a lot of tough promises to Hui One to build a lab here in Territory Seven. If he’s willing to offer up these special seeds, something’s changed in his official deal with Hui One. If he just now told you, then those seeds are probably part of compensation for Hui One’s Special Forces defecting during the second Devastation Rain. But if he decided much earlier, maybe he’s wrestled back more freedom from them.”
When Yang Jin saw the way her eyes dipped down—the same eyes that could empty his secret stash with a single wink—he smirked. “Looks like it’s the first situation after all.”
“What makes you say that?” Xia Qing asked, surprised.
Yang Jin grinned. “Sister Qing, don’t underestimate a mid-tier Tier Two Brain Evolution specialist! You keep a good poker face, but when I mentioned the second option, your eyes flicked down and dodged mine.”
Brain Evolution types really were scary. Best to interact with him less in the future or he’d figure out all her secrets.
Xia Qing drew a deep breath and raised her gaze. “You’re mistaken, Captain Yang. I was just distracted—you’ve got a tomato seed stuck to your chin. I’ve spotted it several times now.”
Yang Jin quickly reached up and sure enough, there was a tomato seed. He’d been negotiating with Xia Qing the whole time like that—feeling smug, no less…
A faint blush spread across the handsome man’s ears, making him even better-looking. Xia Qing arched a brow and seized the moment to bring up business. “So—four pounds of J-2 for five pounds wd-6? Deal?”
Yang Jin’s voice had a rasp to it. “Four and a half.”
“Done. Deal!”
Yang Jin was left speechless.
Xia Qing smiled sweetly and moved on to collecting debts. “Captain Yang, the Azure Dragon Squad took three hundred liters of spring water from me each month from March through May. That’s a lot of credits to settle up. If you’re short on funds, feel free to pay all four months together next month.”
Yang Jin…
After seeing Yang Jin off, Xia Qing was in high spirits, humming to herself as she walked home clutching a bag of vegetable seeds and three pounds of spinach stalks. She burst into the sheep shed to brag to Old Goat, who was riding the generator bike. “Boss, look! We’re having spinach for dinner!”
“Baa~”
Old Goat gave a happy bleat—good food always cheered him up.
“Look, Boss!” Xia Qing waved her points card. “Credits from selling spring water, and this is the 8,600 credits from the spinach stalks. We’re rich again!”
Old Goat wasn’t impressed by money and pedaled even faster, squinting at Xia Qing.
“Boss, you look dashing on that bike! Not even Blue Star’s grandest pyramid would suit you. Someday I’ll have Big Wolf build you an even bigger one on a bigger planet! With this money, I’ll buy you the tastiest ration bars, how’s that?”
“Baa~~”
Right on schedule, Xia Qing went to the sheep shed and grabbed Little Fei Mao to medicate him. She was amazed to see that his legs weren’t shaking anymore, and he could now lift his head and tail. In just two days, his wounds had improved so much. The surgery was a huge success, and that miracle medicine worked wonders.
Little Fei Mao still owed her credits—but now she was sure she’d get them back.
That night, while Xia Qing jogged around her territory, the Northern Gate sent word: Er had brought Alpha and Crippled Wolf with him!