Chapter 119: Auntie or Sister

When they drew closer, Xia Qing noticed that today's inspection team led by Tan Junjie had one extra person.

It was a small one, also wearing camouflage protective gear, trailing at the end of the line, carrying two wooden sticks standing in for assault rifles. Judging by age, this should be Tan Junjie's daughter Tan Qi. When Tan Junjie was trading edible vegetables and Chinese toon buds with Xia Qing, he had mentioned that his daughter attended elementary school in the safe zone.

She should be in school — how did she end up at the territory? Xia Qing recalled that it was mid-July now, summer break, right? Do schools still have summer breaks these days? When Xia Qing was in the safe zone, she really hadn't heard that schools still had summer breaks.

Tan Junjie spotted Xia Qing, stopped, and asked, "Did you block the entrance to the old quarantine belt at Territory Three?"

Xia Qing explained, "Mm. Someone just accidentally wandered into my territory from the old quarantine belt. I figured it was safer to block it."

Tan Junjie immediately asked, "What kind of person?"

Xia Qing described, "A young woman in camouflage protective gear, about 1.6 meters tall. She said she was the lord of Territory Eight, going along the quarantine belt to chop firewood. Because she was wearing a protective mask, I could only see that her face was white and her eyes were black. She passed through just over ten minutes ago."

Tan Junjie looked back at the team's olfactory evolver Yuan Rui. Yuan Rui shook his head, "Because of the protective gear, no obvious scent was left."

Tan Junjie explained to Xia Qing, "Based on the height and gender you described, it should be the lord of Territory Eight. We'll chase after her to confirm, then get back to you."

Xia Qing nodded, "Thanks for your trouble."

Tan Junjie beckoned his daughter over, "Qiqi, this is the lord of Territory Three, Auntie Xia. A lot of the vegetables you eat were grown by her."

Auntie? Xia Qing raised an eyebrow.

Tan Qi was wearing a protective mask, so Xia Qing could only see that she had a pair of eyes very similar to her father's. The little girl gave Xia Qing a crisp standard military salute and greeted her brightly, "Hello, Sister Xia. The vegetables Sister grows are very delicious. Thank you, Sister, for being willing to sell vegetables to my dad."

Oh my, this little girl is far more eloquent than her father.

Xia Qing beamed, pulled two small bags of roasted snake jerky from her protective suit pocket and handed them over, "This is jerky Sister roasted. The flavor's alright, but it's made from snake meat. Does Qiqi dare to eat it?"

Tan Qi glanced at her father, who gave a slight nod, then took off her gloves and accepted the jerky, "I dare. My dad often catches snakes for me to eat too. Thank you, Sister."

Xia Qing had heard from Chen Cheng of Beard Feng's squad that Tan Junjie's wife was also a soldier. Qiqi was born in the second year of the Calamity, and her mother passed away in the third year. In the seventh year of the Calamity, Tan Junjie finally found his mother and his brother's family and brought them to Hui-Three Base. Then, Tan Junjie sent his daughter to school in the safe zone to live with her grandmother.

In the Calamity years, with scarce clothing and food and dangers everywhere, the fact that Tan Junjie could raise his daughter safely and teach her so well raised Xia Qing's respect for him another notch.

After watching them leave the Territory Three base quarantine belt, Xia Qing pretended to head down the mountain, but actually kept an appropriate distance from the inspection team — within the range of her hearing coverage.

The talkative Su Ming, sure enough, muttered in a low voice, "The lord of Territory Eight actually stepped out of her territory. Rare, truly rare."

Cao Xianyun found it strange, "When we went to clear the evolved rats, there were still plenty of trees in her territory. How could she be out of firewood?"

Hu Zi answered quietly, "Probably can't bear to cut them. A few days ago she asked the captain over the walkie-talkie what tobacco leaves look like. I'm guessing she heard on the lord channel that magpies like to use tobacco strands to build nests, and she wanted to find some tobacco strands to make a bird's nest."

"Really don't know how she's managed to survive alone all this time…"

"Among the three female lords from Territories One through Ten, apart from Sister Qing, those other two are more mysterious than the next."

To chase after the firewood-chopping lord of Territory Eight, Tan Junjie's squad moved fast. Xia Qing only caught these few lines before they walked out of earshot, but it was still plenty of information.

Even the inspection team finds the lord of Territory Eight mysterious — this one really does keep a low profile. What did she come out for today?

Xia Qing returned to the spring cave, stuffed the bucket already filled with spring water into her back basket, covered it with fresh grass, then hung the basket on Old Goat and headed down the mountain.

Su Ming put it well — the lord of Territory Nine and the lord of Territory Eight are each more mysterious than the other. Li Si at least still speaks honestly in the group chat, but this one from Territory Eight might listen to the other lords chat on the walkie-talkie every day, yet never makes a peep.

Although she'd only met her once and exchanged few words, Xia Qing felt the lord of Territory Eight was a taciturn, capable, tough character. Whether she liked to talk or how tough she was had nothing to do with Xia Qing. But if she dared to set her sights on Territory Three, Xia Qing would teach her that there was no limit to how fierce things could get.

After bringing the spring water home, Xia Qing used her newly bought electric kettle to boil water and brew tea, then went upstairs to check the yellow-grade corn seeds that had been soaking in spring water for nearly twenty-four hours.

The corn seeds hadn't sprouted yet, but they had swollen. Following the method taught over the broadcast, Xia Qing poured in some edible vinegar to sterilize, then carried the basin of water to the cornfield.

The cornfield was the same plot where the first crop of wheat and mung beans had been grown. After Xia Qing fertilized and tilled it, she planted the two jin of yellow-grade corn seeds Luo Pei had given her here.

The corn planted over half a month ago had already grown three leaves. Although it was yellow-grade, its color was a normal tender green — a reassuring sight.

The mung bean and wheat fields together covered just over two mu, with more than enough remaining space to plant two jin of corn seeds.

After planting the corn, of the seeds Xia Qing had traded from the safe zone, only the cabbage that had to wait until August remained. For these next two fields, Xia Qing planned to fence off the area for raising chickens.

Her seventeen green-grade chicks were already a month old — Third Brother should have Ji Li send them over by now.

Xia Qing took out her phone, just about to message Third Brother to ask about green-grade chicken-raising techniques, when she received a call from Tan Junjie. Tan Junjie said he was bringing Tan Qi over to give her some water fringe flowers.

Xia Qing hurried to the road sign at the south of her territory and saw the small tender yellow flowers in Tan Qi's little basket, recognizing them at once. Weren't these the aquatic plants growing in the shallow water along both banks of the river in her territory — great swathes of them, leaves shaped much like lotus leaves, but not even the size of a palm yet?

At first Xia Qing had thought they were evolved lotus flowers, but when she dug around she found no lotus roots growing underneath. Although testing revealed yellow-grade plants among them, the leaves were unpleasant cooked, and even Old Goat wouldn't eat them raw, so Xia Qing hadn't added them to her diet.

So this plant was called water fringe, and it was the flowers that were eaten.

Xia Qing thanked the Tan father and daughter and humbly asked how the flowers should be eaten.

Tan Qi shared the recipe brightly, "Sister cooks the rice porridge until it's done, and just before it's ready, she puts the washed petals into the porridge, adds white sugar, and it's ready to drink."

"Sounds delicious already, thank you Qiqi." Xia Qing thanked Tan Qi. Tan Junjie told her about the firewood-chopping woman, "That person really is the lord of Territory Eight, and she really did go chop firewood. Since she only got her walkie-talkie recently, she doesn't know the surrounding situation, so she didn't know your territory had expanded."

Xia Qing thanked Tan Junjie, watched the father and daughter walk hand in hand eastward for a stretch, then took the water fringe flowers and returned to her own territory.

She hadn't gone far when she heard Tang Huai in Territory Two talking quietly with his visual evolver Zhou Xun.

"Xin Yu from Territory Eight actually stepped out of her territory? Why would Tan Junjie deliver vegetables to Xia Qing?"

Tang Huai's voice was as irritating as ever, "Obviously trying to get on good terms with Xia Qing so his daughter can go play in Territory Three. Xia Qing may keep that Guan Yu face on all day, but she's a woman — she wouldn't do anything to a little girl."

Zhou Xun didn't buy it, "Can't be. That sheep in Territory Three is a strength-type evolved animal. Isn't Tan Junjie afraid his daughter will get hurt by it? Better to send her to Territory Eight."

"Idiot, Tan Junjie's daughter is a speed evolver — could that dumb sheep catch her? Come on, the sun's almost setting, hurry up and dig for cicada nymphs."

So the lord of Territory Eight was called Xin Yu — a name Xia Qing had never heard in the safe zone. Also, it was one thing for Tang Huai and the others to say she had a Guan Yu face, but they actually called her sheep stupid?

Digging for cicada nymphs? Great.

Xia Qing went home, drove out the micro-tiller, and went ratta-tat-tat, whirr-whirr-whirr weeding.

Soon, Tang Huai's irritated roar came over the lord channel, "Xia Qing, turn that piece of junk of yours off!"