Chapter 1230: The Liehuo Medicine

While Xia Qing was thinking about which fellow to hire for the best value, she listened to her allies enthusiastically discussing what to eat tonight on the lord channel. After listening for a while, she decided on her own dinner. "Sister Yan, are rice cakes easy to make?"

Yuan Yan answered, "Use a flour mill to grind the rice into powder, mix it into a soft dough and let it rest for 30 minutes, then add a little oil in the pan and spread it into a pancake. If you mix the dough with egg, it'll taste even better."

The chicks the lords had traded with Zhang San back in spring had grown up and started laying eggs, taking the quality of their meals up another notch.

Territory Five had originally paid a high price to trade Territory Seven for two green-light and three yellow-light chicks. Two of the green-light and two of the yellow-light chickens had survived until now and started laying eggs.

Every territory had originally traded for five chicks, and now they all had three or four left. Territories Eleven and Seventeen were in worse shape, with only two left, and both of Territory Seventeen's were roosters, so they had no eggs to eat.

Xia Qing pressed the walkie-talkie again. "Okay, I'll give it a try tonight too. I'll use the freshly threshed new rice from today."

Hearing that Xia Qing was eating new rice, Mother Shi came online immediately. "Qing, is it that hybrid rice? Try it and tell me how it tastes."

Tang Huai came online at once. "Sister Qing, rice cakes eaten with stir-fried celery and pork—that's the real treat. Jin isn't back today, is he? Do you have time to cook? How about I bring you a plate of green-light celery with stir-fried pork?"

And take a look at your wolves and sheep while I'm at it.

Before Xia Qing could refuse, Zhang San came online. "Xia Qing, come over. You're eating at my place tonight."

Tang Huai...

Wen Nengjie, who had been about to make his presence felt...

All the lords!!!

"Okay, Brother San, I'll tidy up and head right over."

Xia Qing briskly poured the harvested rice into the insect-proof netting under the eaves, went inside to take a shower, then made dinner for her companions. Only then did she set off for Territory Seven, carrying a basket of eggs, two jin of frozen ribs, a small jar of honey, a bag of wild fruit harvested from Mountain Twenty-Two, and the rice that had just been threshed that evening.

Going to her idol's house to mooch a meal, of course she couldn't go empty-handed!

The picky Zhang San was very interested in the green-light southern sour dates Xia Qing had brought over. After washing them, he peeled and ate one, then ate another.

Watching this, the ultimate die-hard fan confirmed that her idol liked sour food—no wonder he'd thought the tomatoes with sugar she'd made last time tasted good.

It looked like she wouldn't have much trouble trading this kind of fruit for sugar.

Xia Qing pulled a handful of southern sour date pits from her pocket. "Brother San, this fruit has really big pits. Tang Huai said that before the catastrophe, some people used to play with these pits by rolling them in their palms. Look, these pits have anywhere from four to seven 'eyes.' How many eyes do you like? I'll string you a bracelet."

Zhang San had never come into contact with this kind of knowledge. He took the pits and studied them carefully for a while before answering, "The five-eye ones look nicer."

Xia Qing's eyes lit up at once. "Brother San, great minds think alike! I also think the five-eye ones look best! I'll pick out the pits and string them up, then bring them over to you."

"No need. There are plenty of five-eye pits; the ones you brought over are enough to string one." Zhang San declined Xia Qing's kind offer and got down to business, pointing at the notebook on the table. "Take this notebook with you to Mountain Twenty-Two. Your model of electric-generating bicycle is too dangerous—it's not suitable for use in the Evolution Forest. This box contains the latest portable solar panel. Take it with you too and teach Old Wolf how to use it."

Xia Qing's eyes lit up even more. "Brother San..."

"Shut up." Zhang San, who was wiping the sour date pits with a tissue, coldly told Xia Qing to shut up before continuing to ask, "Is the power bank you traded to the Evolution Wolf one with a data cable, or a magnetic one?"

"The one with a data cable." Seeing her idol's cold expression, Xia Qing hurried to explain, "Magnetic ones charge slowly and get noticeably hot while charging."

"There are magnetic ones that charge fast and dissipate heat well, too." The reason this stingy human had the Evolution Wolf, whose toes weren't very dexterous, use a power bank with a data cable could only be one thing: it was cheaper.

Zhang San itched to crack open the skull of the bizarre human in front of him and wipe her down like he was wiping the fruit pits.

Xia Qing tried hard to salvage her image. "Brother San, actually a power bank with a data cable is more suitable. To make it easier for people with missing limbs or paralysis to use their phones, the charging boards with data cables now come with a case—you put the phone and the cable inside, close the lid, press a button, and the cable plugs in automatically."

Zhang San shot Xia Qing a look. "The plug-in box you traded to the Evolution Wolf—did you buy it from the Safe Zone?"

"... No, I made it myself. What I make is sturdier and works better than the store-bought kind. Brother San, I learned blacksmithing from Uncle Huo, the lord of Territory Eleven. My craftsmanship is really quite good."

"Your plug-in box is made of iron?"

"... No, I used hardened wood." After admitting her mistake, Xia Qing immediately changed the subject. "Brother San, for this solar charging board you're giving Old Wolf, do you charge extra?"

Charge who—you or that old wolf? Does that old wolf have points or supplies? Zhang San had a headache. "This is payment for it guarding the pool below the waterfall on Mountain Twenty-Two. No extra charge."

"Okay, thanks so much, Brother San." Xia Qing pulled ore samples and a large pack of medicine from her backpack. "Brother San, a few days ago I got a batch of supplies from Huiyi. Inside there are over 700 jin of this ore, and also a pack of medicine—it should be supplies from Liehuo. Take a look and tell me what kind of medicine this is."

When did you go to Huiyi?!

Zhang San pressed his forehead, his expression not looking good. "On the day you went to take samples, when you stayed overnight on Mountain Twenty-Two, did you cross the base boundary line and enter Huiyi?"

Xia Qing briefly explained what had happened, then beamed as she placed the medicine and the wrapped ore in front of her idol. "Brother San, I think there must be life-saving medicine in this bag—otherwise they wouldn't have stolen it out and hidden it. Take a look and see if it's something good, and how many points it's worth."

Although Zhang San was very interested in that pack of medicine, he still pointed at the ore first. "This kind of ore comes from the Ruins Continent. Don't keep it inside your living quarters."

"Understood." The Ruins Continent had been directly hit by cosmic radiation; hundreds of millions of humans and countless other creatures had died from the radiation. All items brought from there could not be used directly, and storage conditions were also very strict. So Xia Qing continued to wrap the ore in that new-material cloth and hide it far away from her home.

Zhang San stood up, took the ore and the pack of medicine, and went into the lab in the inner room. Xia Qing picked out the latest academic journal on biological evolution research from her idol's bookshelf and obediently sat by the table, flipping through it.

Half an hour later, Zhang San walked out of the lab. Seeing his expression, Xia Qing knew there was a gain. She closed the journal and waited eagerly for her idol to announce the good news.

Zhang San pressed the walkie-talkie button. "Luo Pei, are you there?"

Luo Pei came online quickly. "Here."

"Come over to my place."

The two masters were about to meet face to face, and the apprentice Xia Qing felt inexplicably guilty.