Chapter 1064: Earning Goodwill Indirectly

Once Liehuo and Mieshi finish their fight, if she goes to the blind tiger on Mountain 37 to earn goodwill, will it still work? No.

Strike while the iron is hot.

If she can't earn goodwill directly, she'll do it indirectly. Xia Qing scrolled through her Evolution Forest friend circle, quickly picked a cooperation target, said a few words to Er Yong and the others, slung the black blade across her back, walked down the buffer forest, drove the mini-tiller home, and stood in the yard calling for Old Wolf.

"Fourth, Fourth…"

Xia Qing had called nearly ten times before Old Wolf reluctantly poked its head out from the tall, dense qiang grass in the shack amid the house ruins, looking down at the tiny human below whose hair was damp with sweat and clung to her face in strands.

Xia Qing beamed, gestured to the proud old wolf, and asked, "Fourth, the qiang rain is finally over. Want roast chicken tonight?"

Old Wolf was no longer the same as when it first arrived. It stared motionlessly at the human below, waiting for her terms.

"Want some? Great! I'll go roast the chicken—can Fourth run over to Mountain 55 and bring Her Majesty and Broken-Waist Wolf here?"

Before Xia Qing could finish, Old Wolf had already retreated into the qiang grass without a moment's hesitation.

Xia Qing's smile didn't fade. "If Fourth goes and brings Her Majesty and Broken-Waist Wolf over, you can sleep all day tomorrow and the day after. I'll catch bugs to feed the fish and chickens, and I'll roast meat for you too. How about it?"

Xia Qing soon heard rustling and swishing sounds from the ruins—an old wolf that hated work had finally stepped out of its territory.

The qiang grass was too thick for Xia Qing to see it, so she could only call toward the direction of the sound, "The roads are slippery in the rain, and the Evolution Forest is dangerous. Fourth just howl a few times on Shanfeng of Mountain 52 and call the Head Wolf and Broken-Waist Wolf over."

Old Wolf wordlessly headed up the north buffer forest, beeped open the north gate, and left.

Xia Qing led Sheep Boss out of the house, sent it to the forage shed, then worked with Er Yong, Guan Tong, and the others to pull the rainproof cloth over the greenhouses, letting the crops that had been sealed up for three days get some air.

During this fifty-hour qiang rain, the losses in Territory Three—besides the green-light sweet potatoes in Greenhouse 11 torn open by the bird tide—were mainly several greenhouses of green-light mung beans and green-light cotton that had entered late growth, which weren't protected by yi stones.

Xia Qing grew cotton for the fiber; there was no need to keep protecting it with yi stones.

After opening the greenhouse rainproof cloth for ventilation, Er Yong and the others cleared qiang grass from the greenhouses in Territory Three. Xia Qing drove to the Ninth Center for a patrol, then called Zhang He to confirm the situation on Mountain 50. By the time she returned to the territory, night had fallen completely.

The two honored guests she had invited had already entered Territory Three and were sitting in the living room on the first floor of her house, air conditioner on, eating cucumbers, watching videos on her big TV.

Sheep Boss, having rinsed its hooves, walked over and sat on the tatami, not minding at all that the Head Wolf had taken its hanging chair.

Xia Qing greeted them with a smile, "Her Majesty, Broken-Waist, we're having chicken tonight to celebrate getting through another disaster safely."

The Head Wolf gazed calmly at Xia Qing with its rich-gold eyes. Broken-Waist Wolf bared its adorable, snow-white little fang tips in a grin.

Xia Qing went upstairs and took a long, satisfying shower, changed into clean, comfortable loungewear, went into the kitchen, hummed a little tune as she started the rice steaming, then boiled water, dipped the two thawed chickens in the hot water to loosen the feathers, plucked them efficiently, cleaned out the cavities, and hung them in the oven.

Because the chickens had been frozen, Xia Qing didn't let the two wolves eat the raw offal. Instead she washed the hearts, livers, gizzards, and kidneys clean, and fed the intestines directly to the snakes in the snake box in the yard.

When the aroma of roasting meat drifted out, the Head Wolf walked to the kitchen doorway and stared at the oven. Only Broken-Waist Wolf was still seriously watching an instructional video—"Learning to Read Scans with the Experts."

The experts in this video included Zhang San, Zhang Song, and a few others Xia Qing didn't recognize—footage of them interpreting CT scans when treating humans and animals. Zhang Song had his assistant edit these clips and add in the necessary knowledge points and explanations, so Xia Qing could learn more thoroughly.

Xia Qing hadn't finished studying it yet, but Broken-Waist Wolf had already watched it several times over.

After the roasted and boiled meat was done, she took it out and set it aside to cool. Xia Qing cooked her own dinner while chatting casually with the Head Wolf. "Her Majesty, did that giant black python run to Mountain 55 during the qiang rain?"

She glanced at the Head Wolf, surprised. "The python really went? It didn't manage to burrow out through the underground river at the bottom of the water, did it?"

The Head Wolf tilted its head slightly, looking very proud.

Xia Qing laughed. "Her Majesty is still the smartest—having me block the underground river exit in advance. That black loach must be furious. Her Majesty, what did the black loach go to Mountain 55 for? To eat qiang-free grass?"

The Head Wolf showed no expression or movement; it probably didn't know the giant black python's purpose either.

After the steamed eggplant mash and cold spinach were ready, Xia Qing first brought Sheep Boss's fodder to the living room, then set the two guest wolves' meat bowls beside Sheep Boss's feed basin. When she carried the last bowl out to the yard, she found Fourth already waiting there.

Fourth was hungry too—hadn't eaten properly in three days.

"Eat up. Thanks, Fourth, for going to bring Her Majesty and Broken-Waist Wolf over." Xia Qing set the bowl in front of it. Inside was half a roast chicken, a handful of dried mealworms, two boiled eggs, some chicken and yellow-light antelope offal, and of course a few leaves of high-yi-element spinach.

Old Wolf, the Head Wolf, and Broken-Waist Wolf all got the same meal.

Xia Qing's meal was half a chicken, a plate of steamed eggplant, a bowl of stir-fried cucumber shreds with chili, plus a salted egg.

After a hearty meal and answering several professional questions for Broken-Waist Wolf, Xia Qing picked up the remote and changed the video. "Her Majesty, that evolved tiger we ran into in the western Evolution Forest the day the qiang rain started—it was injured, remember…"

Xia Qing began playing the video she had recorded of treating the blind tiger's wounds. She paused when she discovered the old injury on its hind leg. "This is a tearing wound left by a kind of barbed arrowhead humans use. Look here…"

Using images and video, Xia Qing carefully explained to the two wolves how the blind tiger's hindquarter wound had come about, then speculated, "The human who shot it was wearing protective gear and was about my size, which is why this evolved tiger attacked me."

Broken-Waist Wolf looked thoughtful. The Head Wolf yawned.

Xia Qing continued playing the video, fast-forwarding to when she discovered the grass leaves and stems in the blind tiger's teeth and wound, explained the herb's effects, then took out the medicine Zhang San had prescribed. After explaining why she couldn't leave the territory, she asked the two wolves to deliver the medicine to the blind tiger, so they could build a good relationship and trade for herbs later.

The Head Wolf yawned again, lay on the sofa, and stared at the curtain in a daze. Broken-Waist Wolf was very interested in Zhang San's medicine, sniffed it, pawed at it a few times, then looked at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "Broken-Waist, you want to drink this medicine?"

Broken-Waist Wolf slowly bared its lips, revealing those adorable, snow-white little fang tips.

Xia Qing…

The two wolves weren't interested in saving an evolved tiger that had fought the wolf pack or in trading for herbs. What was she supposed to do?