Chapter 1098: A Fighting Date

Before her idol could roast her, Xia Qing sincerely explained why she paid so much attention to hornet excrement.

"Third Brother, you asked me to bring the Yi element content of my spinach above 9% within three years. In the first eight months of this year, I used the best fertilizer and soil in my territory to cultivate spinach, planting a new batch every half month. I tried every improvement method available, and the spinach harvested before the Slash Rain only reached 7.8% Yi element content."

"You also said my water quality is better than Liehuo's, so I think the reason Liehuo can grow 9% vegetables must be the fertilizer. Next, I plan to run two cultivation experiments—one using excrement from high-grade evolved Green Light hornets, the other adjusting the ratio of Yi stone fragments in the soil."

Zhang San also grew serious. "How do you plan to adjust the amount of Yi stone fragments?"

When it came to farming, Xia Qing was extremely earnest. "The wanderer squad we captured recently had a lot of high-grade Yi stones on them. Liehuo's squad has close ties with them, so they must have plenty of Yi stones too. I plan to change the particle size and percentage of the Yi stones, adjusting it bit by bit."

Zhang San's expression visibly softened. "Make sure you record the control group's data properly too."

Xia Qing nodded. "Understood. I've always followed the methods you and Sister Tao taught me, recording every process in detail."

"I'll have the robots collect the excrement tomorrow, but it can't be used until it's fully fermented." After saying this, Zhang San rubbed his temple. "From Hui Yi's current moves, Deng Yufeng has pushed all the blame onto the already-dead Shan Ying, and offered compensation Hui City—even higher-ups—can't refuse, to keep Liehuo safe. If there's a guide to growing Gao Yi-element spinach in there, I'll find a way to get it."

"Okay, thank you, Third Brother." Xia Qing asked, "Can Liehuo really survive this one?"

Zhang San reminded Xia Qing, "This conflict did cost Liehuo quite a bit, but don't underestimate the web Deng Yufeng has woven over the years or the supplies she's stockpiled. Liehuo is the top-ranked squad in Hui City by overall combat power. It can't possibly collapse that easily."

True enough—after Sufeng's captain, vice-captain, and dozens of core squad members were killed, Bao Zhengchao cleaned up the mess and built the Nanfeng Squad, which still ranks ninth among Hui-Three squads. How could Liehuo possibly be finished so easily?

After leaving her idol's research room, Xia Qing swapped a bag of steamed buns with Chef Ping and left Territory Seven, only to see Feng Wen, hand on her hip and belly thrust out, standing not far from her off-road vehicle.

Seeing Xia Qing come out, Feng Wen walked forward a few steps, her eyes blood-red, her lips trembling.

The inspection team member maintaining order here, Yuan Rui, signaled with his eyes for Xia Qing to get in the car quickly and not clash with Feng Wen. Xia Qing nodded and walked toward the off-road vehicle.

After delivering the land use rights certificate to Territory Ten with Tan Junjie, Xia Qing had guessed Feng Wen would be waiting for her here. When Xia Qing had driven over earlier, Tang Huai had reminded her on the lord channel to park her car at the north gate of Territory Seven.

But a mere Feng Wen wasn't worth the time, effort, or gas to take a detour.

As Xia Qing reached for the car door, Feng Wen begged through tears, "Xia Qing, help me, I beg you, give me a way out…"

Before Feng Wen could finish, Xia Qing turned the steering wheel, did a U-turn, and floored it.

Feng Wen collapsed on the ground, crying and cursing at the top of her lungs—cursing Yan Meng, cursing Xia Qing, cursing the inspection team, cursing this whole world.

No matter how she carried on, aside from the guards of Territory Seven and the inspection team members watching to keep Feng Wen from causing trouble, there wasn't even a single onlooker on the roadside. Because the lords of the nearby territories were chatting up a storm in the lord group.

What everyone was hotly discussing was moving, firing bricks, building houses, and the matter of Territory Fourteen being merged into Ninth Center.

Feng Wen?

Already discussed yesterday. She just keeps going over the same few things—no new material.

"Shi Du, give a shout in the group when you move." Xia Qing pressed her walkie-talkie and replied.

When she had called the Shi family today to discuss swapping Territories Ten and Fourteen, Xia Qing was the director of Ninth Center, so the conversation was all about what Ninth Center would do for Territory Ten. Now, offering to help the Shi family move on the lord channel was personal friendship, the loyalty of allies.

The moment Xia Qing came online, the group got even livelier. Everyone eagerly asked how she'd taken Territory Fourteen. Xia Qing gave a brief reply: "Our base's higher-ups rolled out a new territory construction model—private territory plus public planting center. The Director of the Agriculture Department proposed merging Territory Fourteen into Ninth Center, and Third Brother agreed."

So, it had nothing to do with her.

As the group began heatedly discussing the new model, Xia Qing's off-road vehicle arrived outside the south gate of Territory Three. Tang Huai came running out, grinning as he stretched out his hand to her.

Xia Qing pressed down the car window and handed him the key. After Tang Huai opened the south gate and ran back, he made a fighting date with Xia Qing: "Sister Qing, my little ram is quite the fighter too. Later I'll bring him to the north gate of Territory Three for a match with Boss Ram?"

Xia Qing nodded. "Injuries and deaths at your own risk?"

"Of course!" Tang Huai handed the key to Xia Qing and happily dashed back to his territory to fetch the sheep.

Xia Qing also returned to her own territory. She drove to the disinfection section, disinfected the car body and tires, then passed through the new wild grass wall and entered the territory.

The ring of wild grass over two meters tall, right next to the south iron-mesh wall, had been melted by the blood-red potion her idol had mixed up, and was still in the clearing stage. So Xia Qing had left another five-plus-meter-wide, roughly two-meter-tall stand of trimmed slash grass on the north side of the isolation ditch to block outside prying eyes.

The moment Xia Qing emerged from the wild grass wall, she saw Boss Ram standing not far away, pawing the ground and looking ready to charge over and teach her a lesson.

The little yellow ox lay under a tree near the farmland, chewing its cud.

Wolf Lao Er wasn't anywhere in sight—probably at home, waiting for the chickens to return to the coop so he could block the coop's entrance with a stone slab. With Wolf Lao Er back, Xia Qing felt much more at ease.

Xia Qing jumped out of the car, grabbed her companion's horns with both hands, and asked, "Boss! Want to go fight Flat Top?"

Boss Ram shook his head and turned back toward the village. Xia Qing immediately followed. "The new rations I bought from the safe zone today have a very high grass content—Boss will definitely like them…"

After helping Wolf Lao Er gather the chickens at home and putting protective gear on Boss Ram, one sheep, one person, and one wolf marched out the north gate with great momentum to teach Flat Top—who was currently banging on the gate and provoking Territory Three's boss—a lesson.

Even though the thing was ramming the north gate of the North Section One iron-mesh wall, the commotion was still a challenge to Boss Ram's authority. It had to be taught a lesson!

When the ram and the honey badger met, there was no talk—just action. The scene was extremely heated. Tang Huai, leading his snow-white little ram that weighed only a little over a hundred jin, had just turned from the west isolation belt into the north isolation belt and hadn't gone far when he heard the commotion.

Tang Huai excitedly led his sheep forward a few steps before being blocked by the charging wolf pack. Wolf Lao Er lowered his body, bared his fangs, and roared at Tang Huai and the little ram.

The little ram got scared, jerked its neck trying to break free of its restraints and flee. Tang Huai yanked hard on the sheep, stretched out his neck just about to call Xia Qing, when he heard Xia Qing shout, "Lao Er, come back."

Seeing the blocking wolf-dog turn and leave, Tang Huai drooled with envy, hugged his sheep, and followed. "Sister Qing, this one of yours…"

"Bang!" Before Tang Huai could finish, Flat Top—kicked to the ground by Boss Ram—caught the scent of fresh prey, locked onto a new target, and slammed into the gate trying to eat the little ram.

"Baa—!!!"

"Thud!"

The little ram screamed in terror and struggled. After Tang Huai lost his balance and fell, the freed little sheep ran for its life. Seeing its prey flee, Wolf Lao Er instinctively moved to chase and bite, but Xia Qing grabbed him around the neck.

Tang Huai ignored the pain, scrambled up and gave chase, shouting as he ran, "Sister Qing, my sheep got scared by Flat Top. I'll bring him to play with Boss Ram another day."

Play, not fight.

"Clop clop clop—" Boss Ram charged over, sent Flat Top flying with a headbutt, and kept fighting.

After Tang Huai and his sheep ran far away, Xia Qing released Wolf Lao Er and gave him a stern warning. Then, once Flat Top lay on the ground playing dead, she enthusiastically praised Boss Ram, tossed Flat Top a piece of jerky, and headed back to the territory with her two companions to pick some vegetables for dinner. Suddenly, Wolf Lao Er slightly turned his ears toward the north buffer forest.