Chapter 983: Plans and Bricks Amidst Crisis

Seeing Little Shiyi smile so brightly beneath a face that still felt unfamiliar, Xia Qing wanted so much to snap a photo and send it to Zhang Shi back in Lan Five.

Lan Five had launched an emergency disaster response that covered both the Safe Zone and the nearby battered Evolved Forest. The disaster relief had two main goals: first, to quickly halt the spread of the Super Evolution Fungus and keep it from synthesizing Devastation-46; second, to clear the air of any lingering Devastation-46 as fast as possible.

The government rapidly allocated and sent all sorts of disaster relief supplies to Lan Five. Even high-value lab materials and Evolutionary Synthetic Elements from the Idol Laboratory were seized for emergency use.

Lan Five needed to urgently construct an isolation space for the Devastation Element within the high-risk area where the Super Evolution Fungus was spreading fast. Since Zhang He had led similar projects at Hui Three Hill Fifty, she was dispatched as well, hurrying over with relief supplies on a helicopter.

Lan Five had already built a massive air-purifying and filtration system to absorb as much floating Devastation-46 as possible. What couldn’t be absorbed would disperse and dilute with the winds, lessening the toxic gas concentration. Even if some was accidentally set off, there would be no catastrophic chain reaction.

Once Lan Five’s disaster response wrapped up and transport was back on track, Zhang Shi could finally find a chance to return and see his daughter with his own eyes.

With everyone still laughing, Tang Huai started looking a bit irritable until Ye Yang switched the topic. “Sister Qing, Shiyi is six now. Will she be able to start school with Qi Qi next semester?”

Little Shiyi, holding her melon, perked up and turned to Aunt Qing, suddenly anxious at the mention of school.

Xia Qing nodded. “As long as her physical exam checks out, she’ll be able to enroll.”

As Ye Yang asked about what tests were involved, when and where they’d take place, Little Shiyi suddenly sensed a distinct shift in someone’s magnetic field among the workers fifteen meters away.

He… was really agitated.

Without looking up, Little Shiyi quietly locked onto the man’s magnetic field using her Magnetic Sense, munching her melon piece by piece.

Because if she made eye contact now, she’d risk exposing her ability. If that happened, she couldn’t stay here for school. If she couldn’t go to school, she wouldn’t pick up more knowledge or skills, and then she couldn’t protect her mom.

“Don’t be scared, Shiyi. They just take a little blood—doesn’t hurt at all,” Tan Qi gently tried to comfort her, misunderstanding her nerves.

“Mm, I’m not scared,” Little Shiyi answered obediently.

For Little Shiyi, it wasn’t about pain—it was about whether her secret would be exposed. Xia Qing finished her melon, pulled on her gloves and protective mask, and went back to work.

According to the plan, today they’d finish pouring the first-floor walls, a couple of days later would tackle the first-floor ceiling, then move on to the second-floor walls and ceiling.

So with enough building materials and hands, the house could go up in no time.

At the end of the long day, Qi Fu, who was also hoping to build, chatted with Kuang Qingwei, “Old Kuang, using reinforced concrete for everything makes the cost way too high. We could fire our own bricks and build a brick house, then plaster both sides with cement that resists insects and corrosion—just as solid and durable.”

Kuang Qingwei considered it. “You have to use yellow clay to fire bricks, right? We’ve never done it before. Think it’ll work?”

Brickmaking took digging clay, shaping bricks, building a kiln and firing it—everything was heavy manual labor. With not enough people in Territory Six, and neither he nor his wife were Strength Evolvers, Kuang Qingwei figured it might be easier just to haul more supplies and pour a small concrete building for points.

Qi Fu was full of confidence. “I heard some folks in District Eighty-Six fired bricks hard as stone. If they can do it, so can we.”

Wen Nengjie piped up right away. “Qi, you mean that Zhang Shuishun from Territory Eighty-Six?”

Qi Fu nodded. “That’s right. After his territory’s houses were wrecked by the western Wolf Pack’s beast tide this spring, and he didn’t have enough points to buy building materials, he started firing his own bricks and rebuilding.”

Listening in, Xia Qing decided she wanted to learn the art from them too. “Qi, Jie, when are you guys starting the brick firing?”

Both of them lit up with excitement at the thought of Xia Qing joining.

Qi Fu said, “I’m planning to haul the clay next month. Right after the third Devastation Rain, we’ll make the bricks and fire up the kiln. We really don’t need many, just enough for five houses. Firing bricks releases toxic fumes, so I want to see how they handle the kiln in Territory Eighty-Six first.”

Xia Qing nodded. “Once you’ve set it up, let’s drive over and check it out. I’ll help dig the kiln and fire the bricks; just set aside five hundred bricks for me afterward.”

“No problem,” Qi Fu agreed cheerfully. Partnering with Xia Qing meant he didn’t need to worry about safety on the road.

The uses for red brick were endless—Shi Du seemed tempted too. “I’ll check with my dad, see if we should fire some too.”

“Me too,” Huo Zhun chimed in. “I’ll haul more clay, build two greenhouses for winter crops, and I’ll need Sister Qing and Qi to show me how to do the adobe walls then.”

After agreeing on brickmaking and greenhouse plans, everyone headed back to their own territories.

Six days later, the main structure of Ye Yang and Little Shiyi’s house was done. After letting it cure and taking down the wooden forms, they’d put in doors, windows, kitchen and bath. Then it would be a basic place ready to live in.

With those last steps not needing group effort, the lords got back to work in their own fields.

Xia Qing stood in Greenhouse Six, staring quietly at more than five hundred Green Lantern Soybean plants ready to harvest, her gaze deep and thoughtful.

If it weren’t for Fire Phoenix and their ridiculous bio-weapon nonsense, these would be ordinary Green Lantern Soybeans. In a few days she’d have been eating tofu and her own bean paste.

Now? After nearly four months caring for these soybeans, she had to destroy them all.

Thank goodness Zhang Shi had swapped with her for a plot of Green Lantern Soybeans of at least ten square meters. She decided she’d go collect those tomorrow.

The soybeans were growing in a valley inside the Western Evolved Forest, more than fifty li from here. Xia Qing planned to team up with Handsome Huge Wolf—if she could keep him around tonight.

Tonight was medicinal bath night again.

Bzzz—

Just as Xia Qing was figuring out how to keep Handsome Huge Wolf with her, Kuang Qingwei called.

“Hey, Xia, got a minute? I wanted your opinion on something,” Kuang Qingwei said.

Xia Qing stepped outside and sat on a rock next to Old Goat. “Sure, Qing, what’s up?”

“Here’s the thing—a friend of mine in business called and said he could get his hands on a batch of high-quality Green Lantern Rice, asked if I wanted in.” After explaining, Kuang Qingwei got to his real reason for calling.

“He says the price is 250 credits a jin, but I think there’s something off about this. Xia, have you heard any inside info?”