Chapter 1175: Labor Force

"Buzz—"

"Your friend Er Yong is calling you."

"Buzz—"

"Your friend Er Yong is calling you."

Lying by the pool watching a math video inside the tent, Broken-Waist Wolf heard the phone ring, turned around, fished a dull-gray phone out of Xia Qing's hazmat-suit pocket, and tapped the green button on the screen with its nose.

Over the noisy background roar of a helicopter, Er Yong's booming voice came through. "Sister Qing, we were out on patrol and passed Mountain Fifty-Nine when we spotted Does Daigua. But it ran off as soon as we landed. What do you want us to do about it?"

Broken-Waist Wolf stared at the dark, image-less phone screen, lost in thought.

"Hello? Sister Qing? Can you hear me?"

"Hello?"

"Awooo—"

Hearing a wolf howl come from the phone, Er Yong, who was standing on the mountaintop, tripped over his own left foot and fell to the ground, grimacing in pain. "Queen? Broken-Waist?"

Broken-Waist Wolf grinned, baring its little pointed fangs.

Er Yong kept asking, "Queen, Broken-Waist, where's Sister Qing?"

Broken-Waist Wolf turned its head to look at the pool outside the tent, then turned back to the phone.

Getting no response, Er Yong could only hang up and limp back to the helicopter.

"Splash—"

Xia Qing surfaced, holding a metal detector in one hand and raising her shortest black blade in the other. "Hey, Broken-Waist, look—I found my black blade!"

An otter that had been sleeping on its back at the water's surface was woken by the rising and falling waves, opened its eyes, glanced at Xia Qing, and went back to sleep. A few half-grown wolves on the mountaintop stared at the water; the alpha wolf sunning itself on the slope only flicked one ear.

Xia Qing looked at the thoughtful Broken-Waist Wolf and instinctively felt something was up. "Broken-Waist, what's wrong?"

Broken-Waist Wolf glanced at the phone, then turned back to Xia Qing, and scratched a very neat "2" on the ground with its paw.

Xia Qing climbed ashore, took off her diving mask, looked at the mark on the ground, then glanced at her phone. "Er Yong called me?"

Broken-Waist Wolf opened its mouth, revealing its little white, adorable pointed fangs.

"Alright, I'll ask him what he wants." Xia Qing took off her wetsuit, only to discover that Er Yong's call had actually been connected—it had to be Broken-Waist Wolf's doing, no question. She called Er Yong back, listened to what had happened, and instructed, "Come to Peak Three of Mountain Fifty-Five. Don't land—just lower the rappel rope and I'll go over and take a look."

After hanging up, Xia Qing ducked into the tent to change into her hazmat suit. Before she had time to take the tent down, she heard the helicopter's roar.

She sped up, packed all her gear into her backpack, grabbed the rappel rope, and left Mountain Fifty-Five. Riding the helicopter to the airspace above Mountain Fifty-Nine, she indeed spotted Does Daigua the monkey, curled up on the mountaintop with its grubby little bag on its back.

Down at the foot of nearby Mountain Sixty-One, Does Daigua's very large friend was crouching.

The helicopter landed again, and Xia Qing called out to Does Daigua on the mountaintop. The little fellow recognized Xia Qing, then ran over with its heavy little backpack and skillfully climbed onto her.

Xia Qing stroked the little guy's smooth, silky fur, confirming it had been doing well lately. "Does Daigua, come back to the territory with me?"

Does Daigua immediately grinned, baring its teeth.

"Good, let's head back." Xia Qing took Does Daigua aboard.

After the helicopter took off, Er Yong, rubbing his ankle, couldn't help asking, "Sister Qing, when I called you the first time…"

Xia Qing answered calmly, "I was underwater looking for something and didn't hear it. Broken-Waist Wolf was trying to carry the phone to me and accidentally answered it."

So that was what happened! Er Yong grinned. "I figured it was that one."

Xia Qing brought Does Daigua home, opened its backpack, and sure enough found quite a few stones of various sizes that Does Daigua considered very pretty.

Without exception, every single one was the kind Broken-Waist Wolf liked.

Now it was certain—there was a crystal mine inside Xiong Qun's territory!

Xia Qing cheerfully put the stones away and asked, "Does Daigua, are you hungry?"

The little monkey's eyes lit up at once. "Ee!"

"Come on, I'll pick some cucumbers for you. It's gotten cold lately, and the cucumbers in the greenhouse aren't growing much anymore." Xia Qing took off Does Daigua the monkey's green loincloth and headed out with it. "But I've bred cucumbers, tomatoes, and scallions in the lab, and they've already sprouted and put out their first true leaves…"

After bringing Does Daigua to Greenhouse Two and letting it eat a small tomato, Xia Qing took it to the cotton field and handed it a small bundle.

Without Xia Qing having to say anything, temporary worker No. 002 Does Daigua picked up the bundle and dove into the cotton field, whose leaves were already beginning to wilt, and nimbly started picking cotton.

What a natural!

Xia Qing pointed at Does Daigua picking cotton and instructed another companion, "When Old Four and Broken-Face come back, Wolf Lao Er has to keep Does Daigua safe."

Though Old Four was quiet, it was a very formidable old wolf—after it came back, the red fox family that used to come every day to mooch medicine at Xia Qing's territory didn't dare show up anymore.

Xia Qing didn't care whether the red fox family came or not, but she absolutely couldn't let Old Four and Broken-Face Wolf scare off Does Daigua, who knew how to work. This was the busy farming season, and the territory was short on labor.

The wolf-dog Wolf Lao Er trotting at Xia Qing's side grinned, showing a happy smile.

Xia Qing rubbed its head and went back to her busy work.

The corn stalks still lying in the field needed to be bundled up and carried home as soon as possible; the peanuts drying under the bird-proof covers on the roof needed to be turned over; the fire wall in the beekeeping greenhouse needed to be lit soon, because the nighttime low had already dropped below 15°C; the five greenhouses slated for wheat needed soil improvement, sterilization, fertilizer transport, irrigation, tilling, and sowing done as soon as possible; over in the hidden valley, Zhang Shi and Little Ye Yiyi had already gone through the peanuts once, and Xia Qing needed to get over there to fertilize and sow oil sunflower; Mountain Sixty also needed a trip soon to bring back the green-light hickory nuts…

By the time Xia Qing finished all the work above, the rice would be ready to harvest.

Looking up, she saw a big red squirrel with bulging cheeks and a sneaky look disappear into a tree hollow. Xia Qing took a deep breath and quickened her pace.

A farmer isn't afraid of being busy—the busier it is, the bigger the harvest.

"Beep beep—"

Hearing the rumble of a vehicle, Xia Qing, who was carrying a pickaxe, stopped and looked toward the road.

"Captain Tan, you guys got a new vehicle?" A few seconds after the car honked, Tang Huai's voice came over the lord channel.

Su Ming answered cheerfully, "Yep, the higher-ups gave us three patrol vehicles at seventy percent new, electric."

Kuang Qingwei came online immediately. "Brother Su, the solar panels won't generate enough power for you guys in winter. Want to trade for two pedal-powered generator bikes?"

With Lord Huo Lei's help, Jiang Ying had upgraded the generator bikes. The ones now being traded out pedaled more easily and generated power more efficiently. Kuang Qingwei, the Alliance's Minister of Commerce, had already sold over 400 of them at 630 points each.

Su Ming, who had just gotten the new patrol vehicles, was feeling very generous. "Two isn't enough, let's do three. Brother Qing, where should I pick them up later?"

Kuang Qingwei, smelling a deal, grinned from ear to ear. "The generator bikes are in Territory Eleven, Territory Eleven—is anyone there?"

Wang Dashan's voice came over the walkie-talkie. "Someone's here. I'll bring the generator bikes to the north gate. Brother Su, just come straight over."

Su Ming replied, "Alright, fifteen minutes."

After settling the matter of the electric bicycle, Tang Huai immediately asked, "Su Ming, has our case of the aggressive weed been closed?"

If the case hadn't been closed, the patrol car damaged by Peng Lin—who had scattered the aggressive weed seeds—couldn't have been replaced with a new one.