Chapter 264: The Morning Barter at the Signpost

The loudspeaker atop the patrol car crackled to life, its announcement echoing through the nearby territories. Every lord needing to exchange daily supplies grabbed what they’d prepared and gathered beneath the signpost to wait.

When the blaring reached the edge of Section Three, Xia Qing arrived carrying her goods, slipping through the wall of wild grass to stand under the sign.

Tang Huai, who had already been lounging against the post, greeted her with a big, enthusiastic wave. “Xia Qing, you made it!”

Xia Qing nodded in reply.

Seeing she acknowledged him, Tang Huai turned even more cheerful. “What kept you busy in your territory today? Got any plans for those migratory birds? That’s a hefty goose you’ve got there—what grade is it? It’s probably not Green tag, right? Otherwise, you’d have traded it to Third Brother already.”

Xia Qing picked the last question to answer. “Red tag.”

Tang Huai stepped forward, ready to keep chatting, but just then Zhong Tao’s car pulled up and parked right between him and Xia Qing.

Zhong Tao leaned out to ask Tang Huai, “Huai, does Territory Two need to trade for supplies today?”

Tang Huai snorted, “Got any Green tag rice or spices?”

Zhong Tao answered, “Only Yellow tag rice today. Green tag spices? We’ve got cumin and Sichuan peppercorns.”

Tang Huai’s eyes sparkled. “Where’s the cumin from?”

Zhong Tao grinned. “Laner Base. Just shipped in.”

Everyone knew that in Huaguo, Laner Base’s cumin was the best quality. Tang Huai asked Zhong Tao for a bag to inspect right away.

While Zhong Tao went to fetch the cumin, Zheng Kui jumped out of the car and walked over to Xia Qing.

After the third Scourge Rain, this was the first time Xia Qing had seen Zheng Kui, who’d lost both his wife and infant daughter. He was a shadow of his former self—thinner, and completely changed.

Zheng Kui had always been quiet, but there used to be a steely determination in his eyes. Now, the lifelessness around him was so heavy even the air was tinged with gray.

Everyone who lost hope after a disaster looked this way. Some would recover and push forward, others drowned in sorrow until the Scourge elements ruined their bodies and minds, leading them to death.

Since Zheng Kui was still on duty, he was clearly one of the former. He just needed time before he could truly heal from losing his wife and daughter.

Xia Qing had been through that kind of pain herself and knew words were useless. She simply greeted him and handed over the Red tag goose, the Red tag snakes caught recently, and said, “All Red tag. Plus two crates of Yellow tag veggies. I’m here to swap for cooking oil.”

After weighing everything, Zheng Kui’s voice sounded rough and hoarse. “All Red tag animals are alive. Total weight: fifty-two jin. That’s 1,300 points. Tomatoes and cucumbers cost more now—fifteen points per jin. Other Yellow tag veggies are still ten points per jin. Veggies total 521 points. Today we have corn oil, sesame oil, and cottonseed oil—Red tag or regular Yellow tag pressed. Which do you want?”

With over 1,800 points, it was enough for one six-liter jug of Yellow tag corn oil with a little left over. Xia Qing handed over her ID. “Six liters of Yellow tag corn oil, two liters of sesame oil, one jin Green tag cumin, and two jin Green tag Sichuan pepper.”

Zheng Kui processed the points and handed back her card, along with a small note. On it was written: Sun Zhe and his parents are in the back of the van.

Xia Qing gave a subtle nod, understanding Sun Zhe had cut a deal with Territory One and brought his parents there to ‘take refuge.’

While chatting with Tang Huai, Zhong Tao had been listening in on Xia Qing and Zheng Kui. When he heard their exchange was done, he headed for the back of the van to help Zheng Kui with supplies.

After Xia Qing accepted the goods, she passed over two bags of vegetables, each weighing three or four jin. “Been a bumper cucumber crop lately. Here, Tao, Kui, keep your throats healthy.”

Neither of them stood on ceremony—they took the vegetables, got in the car, and drove off toward Territory One. To cover for Sun Zhe’s family, Xia Qing didn’t head back right away. Instead, she bent to organize the supplies in her basket.

Tang Huai, who should’ve been watching Territory One, was still hooked on Xia Qing. “That’s a lot of cumin. Planning a barbeque feast? Did you find any sheep in the Evolved Forest? Take me along next time, all right? My hearing’s even better than Da Jiang’s.”

“Haven’t found any sheep.”

When Xia Qing slung her basket to head back, Tang Huai rushed over. “Didn’t you get a Green tag Sichuan pepper seedling at the agri-trade last time? Why grab so much pepper now?”

“Hasn’t grown.” Xia Qing glanced sideways and caught Zhong Tao heading straight into Territory One with his van, so she got ready to stride back to her own territory.

“Miss Xia, could you please wait a moment?” Assistant Xiao Liu hurried out from Territory Nine, jogging up to Xia Qing.

Tang Huai, wary of people from Territory Nine, instantly retreated to Territory Two and hid among the Scourge Grass to eavesdrop. Inside the wild grass wall, Zhou Xun, the Visual Evolver, was also drawn by the commotion—he stopped watching the truck that entered Territory One.

Xia Qing set her basket down, and when Assistant Xiao Liu came closer, she took the initiative. “I’ve been running around nonstop these days. When you called me, it finally struck me—are you here about trading for the White-Haired Chicken Manure Vine?”

“Exactly.” Xiao Liu pushed his slipping glasses back up. “Are you able to trade now?”

Xia Qing nodded. “Let it recover for half a month or so and it grew a bit. I can trade one or two jin, but I haven’t had time to dry it. Is it okay if it’s just freshly cut?”

Of course it was. Territory Nine didn’t even want it dried. Tang Huai rolled his eyes and flicked away a little caterpillar crawling across the grass in front of him.

Assistant Xiao Liu proposed, “Can we trade for the whole plant—roots and all?”

Xia Qing hesitated, “Maybe you didn’t see my message in the lord channel—my Chicken Manure Vine took a beating from hail, then lost more during the third Scourge Rain. I barely have a few left now.”

She hadn’t turned him down outright, which meant she was open to a deal if the points were good enough. Xiao Liu, all business smiles, shot out a high offer. “Between our territories, Green tag veggie seedlings usually go for a hundred points apiece. If you give me a small seedling, I’ll pay one hundred points. Does that work, Miss Xia?”

Xia Qing looked troubled. “Wrong season for seedlings. Why don’t you wait till next spring? When it sprouts, I’ll dig one up and send it over.”

Tang Huai’s jaw dropped. He exchanged a glance with Zhou Xun. Xia Qing really would take anyone’s points.

Xiao Liu got the message right away. He apologized and asked, still polite, “Sorry—I should have made that clear. We don’t need only seedlings. If you’ve got a bigger one, how about three hundred points for a full-grown plant?”

Tang Huai silently gave her a thumbs-up as he flicked away another caterpillar.

Xia Qing finally nodded. “Absolutely. Hang on, I’ll go dig it up.”

She returned to Section Three, handed her basket to Old Goat who’d been waiting, then broke off a sturdy stick and dug up a medium-sized Chicken Manure Vine. She and Assistant Xiao Liu made the exchange right then: goods for points.

Of course, the Chicken Manure Vine Xia Qing handed over wasn’t native to Section Three—it was one she’d bartered from her Idol, Zhang San. When it came to scheming against Li Si, Zhang San was always quick and eager to help.

Even after testing showed her Idol’s Chicken Manure Vine wasn’t much different in Scourge, nutritious, or trace elements compared to her own, Xia Qing still buried it in her territory for over ten days, only digging it up for a swap with Territory Nine.

This trade left Xia Qing with a lump in her throat—but also two hundred points richer.