Chapter 125: Surgery Fee: One Hundred and Fifty Thousand

After Team Medic Wang helped Xia Qing lift the wolf with the injured spine onto the wooden board, a clinking sound came from the northern buffer forest.

Xia Qing hadn't expected Ji Li to arrive so quickly. She immediately pointed at the injured wolf on the board and explained to the alpha wolf on the ruins, "It's seriously injured and needs to be treated somewhere else."

This time the alpha wolf didn't stare toward the direction of the sound, only fixed its gaze on Luo Pei, and showed no reaction to Xia Qing's words.

This wolf could tell who the strongest was; the weak Xia Qing was ignored by it.

Ji Li appeared in Xia Qing's courtyard within just a few seconds. He first greeted Luo Pei, then asked Xia Qing, "This is the wolf on the board?"

Xia Qing nodded. "Yes, I've already given it a soothing capsule. Sorry to trouble you, Brother Ji."

"Aoo—"

Ji Li was bending down about to lift the board when the alpha wolf on the ruins suddenly let out a low threatening growl. At the same time, two other wolves appeared on the east and west sides of Xia Qing's courtyard, striking battle stances.

Ji Li paused and looked at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing hadn't expected the alpha wolf to make a move either, but things had already reached this point—there was no room left for the alpha wolf's feelings. She stepped forward. "I'll carry the wolf, Brother Ji just lead the way for me up front."

After saying that, Xia Qing directly and steadily lifted the thick wooden board. Good lord, this wolf was even heavier than Boss Sheep—well over two hundred jin.

Seeing that the wolf pack hadn't attacked while she held the board, Xia Qing said to Luo Pei, "Brother Luo, I'll trouble you here. Boss, I'm heading out for a bit. I'll bring you something good to eat later. Watch the house and look after your friends."

"Baa—" Hearing about good food, Boss Sheep was very happy.

Ji Li led the way up front, Xia Qing carried the injured wolf on the board in the middle, and Wei Chengdong brought up the rear. They left Territory Three, with the alpha wolf following behind as well.

The three people and two wolves quickly made their way along the northern isolation belt to the northern buffer forest of Territory Seven. Ji Li told Wei Chengdong to head back; he took Xia Qing in alone. Xia Qing didn't have time to check whether the alpha wolf had followed them in either. After thanking Wei Chengdong, she carried the board and followed Ji Li into Territory Seven.

Last time, Xia Qing had only stood for a while in the northern buffer forest of Territory Seven, and from afar had spotted quite a few standardized greenhouses set up on the cultivated land below the buffer forest.

This time, following Ji Li through the buffer forest and greenhouses, stepping onto the hardened road and into the building, she arrived at the door of an extremely modern operating room—and her eyes weren't enough to take it all in.

"What are you standing there stupidly for? Get the wolf onto the operating table." Zhang San's voice carried displeasure.

"Okay." Just as Xia Qing was about to carry the wolf in, two people in snow-white surgical gowns came over, took the wolf's waist and back from the board, and lifted it up steadily.

The wolf, which had been calm all along, suddenly opened its eyes and stared at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing sensed its unease. Just as she soothed Boss Sheep, she raised her hand and stroked its head, comforting it in a gentle voice, "Don't be afraid. Once Third Brother fixes your wound, we'll go back and eat something good."

Zhang San, already in his surgical gown, gave a cold snort. "Eat sheep?"

Xia Qing……

"Don't get in the way here. Wait outside."

"Yes."

After the operating room door closed, Xia Qing, waiting outside, sent messages to Luo Pei and Wei Chengdong, telling them to go back and rest with peace of mind, and also asked Hu Zifeng to help guard her territory.

Ji Li brought over a chair and quietly comforted Xia Qing. "No need to be this nervous."

Xia Qing nodded. "Brother Ji, go on with your work. I'll just wait here and won't wander off."

After Ji Li left, Xia Qing sat on the chair, quietly listening to Zhang San inside the operating room calling out the names of the surgical instruments one by one. Zhang San's voice was cold yet confident, very effective at soothing the anxiety of this "patient's family member."

Before the catastrophe, Zhang San must have been a very outstanding doctor. She just didn't know whether his temper back then was as bad as it was now.

Xia Qing smiled, glanced at the surveillance camera not far away, leaned her head against the wall, and closed her eyes to rest.

On one of the screens in the monitoring room was a close-up of Xia Qing's Guan Yu face. The person behind the screen smiled. "This little girl is young, but she keeps her composure well, and she knows her limits."

"Wait till you see her fighting the evolved sheep and you'll know—she's got a terrible temper." Ji Li instructed his night-shift companion, "I'm going to shower and disinfect. Contact me anytime if anything comes up."

His muscular companion rolled his eyes. "What are you fussing around for at this hour?"

"He smells like wolf on him. Afraid his princess will catch a whiff and go ballistic." Before Ji Li could answer, Yan Long walked in.

The moment the cat princess was mentioned, Ji Li's smile changed completely. The two people in the room couldn't stand watching and chased him out together.

After driving Ji Li away, the square-faced man sitting in front of the screen pointed at the dagger Xia Qing was wearing. "This set of knives was made by my dad. He wouldn't even give them to me when I asked—turns out they were prepared for this little girl."

Yan Long quietly stared at Xia Qing's calm face on the screen and gave her an evaluation. "She's a good seedling."

Huo Zhun leaned back in his chair and laughed. "Too bad she's only a strength evolver. Still, she's very clear-headed—she knows what her ability is suited for. Among the lords nearby, apart from Qi Fu, her fields should be the best grown."

Xia Qing had thought she'd have to wait a long time, but to her surprise, not long after dawn, the surgery was over, and Ji Li quickly appeared by her side.

After Zhang San opened the operating room door, he gestured for Xia Qing to follow him. Entering a side room filled with bottles and jars, Zhang San took off his surgical gown and asked, "Where's the grass?"

Xia Qing neatly tucked away her surprise and pulled the four stalks of grass the alpha wolf had brought her from her pocket.

Zhang San examined them and snorted. "Just these few?"

Xia Qing was very quick on the uptake. "Just these few. Third Brother, how much do you think is short?"

Although Zhang San's tone carried disdain, his movements placing the grass on the tray were very careful—it was obvious he was quite satisfied with these stalks of grass.

The figure he spoke aloud showed he was quite satisfied too. "One hundred and fifty thousand."

One... one hundred and fifty thousand?

Xia Qing swallowed to steady herself. "Third Brother, I don't have enough points. Can I pay with supplies?"

"You can." Zhang San's tone improved.

Xia Qing proposed the most convenient and quickest way to settle the debt. "Once the three hundred spinach seeds pass their dormancy period, I'll plant them all according to the Cultivation Guide you gave me. Whatever spinach leaves and spinach seeds come out, I'll give you half. Would that work?"

Standing in front of an entire shelf of glass bottles of various sizes, fiddling with the liquids inside, Zhang San didn't turn around, but his voice became much gentler. "Your spinach seeds come out of dormancy on July 23rd. Given the current climate, your cultivation conditions, and your ability, out of three hundred spinach seeds planted, you'd be doing well if eighty plants grew big enough to set seed. Spinach is dioecious—counting fifty female plants out of those eighty, half the seeds would come to roughly two thousand. Just give me two thousand green-light spinach seeds. The spinach leaves, pinch off as you see fit—don't hurt the seedlings."

"Okay." Xia Qing agreed immediately. "The extra is compensation for waking you up in the middle of the night to help."

Based on the price at which Xia Qing had last traded green-light spinach seeds with Zhang San for green-light chicks, one spinach seed worked out to one hundred points. Two thousand spinach seeds came to two hundred thousand points—fifty thousand more than the price Zhang San had quoted.

And the spinach leaves? What's a few leaves for an idol—how would you even count that in points?