Chapter 1284: The Buyer of the Crystal Pillar

"Two walnut-sized mid-grade Yi Stones? Not enough. This crystal pillar I bring back to trade with humans can sell for four million points. You have to give me nine walnut-sized Yi Stones."

After half an hour of howling back and forth, the wolf pack and the bear pack finally scattered. Xia Qing drank several large gulps of water, buckled on her protective mask, hoisted the crystal pillar on her shoulder, and hid in the evolution forest within the wolf pack's territory, negotiating with Broken-Waist Wolf in a hoarse voice.

After calling Daigua the monkey to confirm the crystal pillar could be exchanged for a phone, Xia Qing immediately looked up the information on the rare mineral Yang Jin had traded to her, confirming that this perfectly formed, completely natural, flawless, pure, colorless giant crystal was museum-collection grade!

The estimated price range given in the data was three to four million. If she shipped the crystal pillar to Lanjiu's Shengyu Auction House, selling it for over four million points wouldn't be difficult.

Right now, one walnut-sized mid-grade Use Yishi trades for 420,000 points. Xia Qing's nine Yi Stones from Broken-Waist Wolf would total less than four million points. But compared to trading with Yang Jin or sending it to the auction house, Xia Qing preferred to trade with Broken-Waist Wolf.

First, large point transactions with humans would attract too much attention; she wanted to keep her cover and farm quietly. Second, what she needed most wasn't points but Yi Stones. After exchanging the crystal for points, she might not be able to trade them back for nine Yi Stones.

Because compared to crystals that only had collection value, Yi Stones that could drive away the Qiang element were the truly valuable scarce mineral. Having points didn't necessarily mean you could buy them.

Broken-Waist Wolf, crouching in front of Xia Qing, raised its left paw and wrote on the ground the price it was willing to offer:

3.

Three Yi Stones, and you want to trade away the giant crystal pillar worth four million points that I risked being swatted to death by an irritable giant bear to get? You're not the Iron Rooster's teaching mentor—you're the founding patriarch of the Iron Rooster school!

Xia Qing, dead serious, grabbed a small twig and added a stroke to that perfectly standard "3" like a printed font. "No deal. Nine walnut-sized mid-grade Yi Stones, or I'm taking this pretty big rock to the southern wolf pack's territory to trade with Fourth Brother."

My trading partners aren't limited to you, you stingy wolf with a mineral vein at home.

After thinking for a few seconds, Broken-Waist Wolf pulled out its phone, tapped the screen a few times with its big nose, and Fourth Brother's big head appeared on its screen.

Xia Qing...!!!

Before this founding patriarch standing at the pinnacle of Blue Star's Iron Rooster pyramid could even howl, Xia Qing squeezed into the frame, beaming, and asked, "Fourth Brother, is your paw better? Your companion's wound is starting to heal, right?"

Serious Fourth Brother nodded once. That move left Broken-Waist Wolf stunned.

"Good. This evening, the humans operating in your territory, apart from Squad Leader Zhang Song's team, will all withdraw. Fourth Brother can move freely in the territory."

After briefing Fourth Brother on the disaster relief situation, Xia Qing tapped the button to flip the camera and showed Fourth Brother the pretty crystal pillar hidden in the shade. "Fourth Brother, look. This rock is called crystal. It's very hard—hard enough to scratch the glass on my windows—and it can be used to make a lot of precision instruments humans use..."

The essence of closing a deal is catering to the buyer's tastes. When pushing the same rock to different buyers, the pitch naturally has to be different.

After enthusiastically introducing the crystal's uses, reseller Xia Qing named her price. "Fourth Brother gives me nine walnut-sized mid-grade Yi Stones, and I can deliver this huge chunk of crystal right to your den entrance. How about it?"

Free helicopter delivery, guaranteed intact!

Dead serious, Fourth Brother raised its paw directly and ended the call.

The moment Broken-Waist Wolf bared its little fang tips, Xia Qing said, "Since Fourth Brother doesn't want it, and Handsome Wolf Brother won't put up nine Yi Stones either, I'll just haul this pretty rock back to the safe zone and trade it to humans who like it. Handsome Wolf Brother, I'm off."

After saying that, Xia Qing wrapped the crystal pillar in a rainproof tarp, hoisted it on her shoulder, slung the bag of hickory nuts she'd traded for on her back, called Daigua, and started heading back. Noticing Broken-Waist Wolf wasn't coming over to paw at her, Xia Qing picked up the pace.

Seeing Xia Qing leave, Broken-Leg Wolf bounded along behind her, the head wolf yawned, closed its eyes, and went to sleep. Broken-Waist Wolf stood in place, deep in thought.

Handsome Giant Wolf and Black Wolf? Long gone.

After Xia Qing, carrying a large packaging bag, a big bundle of rainproof tarp, and the little monkey that looked just like her, climbed into the helicopter cabin, Watching Huo Zhun, who was in charge of guarding the helicopter, swallowed all his curiosity and cheerfully asked nothing.

Broken-Leg Wolf howled twice, confirmed that Xia Qing, who had entered the belly of that terrifying monster, wasn't coming back out, and turned to run. Broken-Waist Wolf boarded the helicopter and lay down motionless beside the pretty rock wrapped in the rainproof tarp.

Xia Qing glanced at it, her face perfectly calm, and ordered, "Brother Huo, return to the territory."

"Got it." Watching Huo Zhun started the helicopter and lifted off, heading back.

As the helicopter neared Mountain 55, Xia Qing, in charge of defense, hugged her sniper rifle and stared out the porthole. Even when she heard Broken-Waist Wolf start to shift position, she didn't turn to look at what it was doing.

After the helicopter landed on the helipad of Mountain 49, Xia Qing asked Watching Huo Zhun and Guan Tong, who was waiting there, to each carry five bags of hickory nuts for her. She herself carried four bags of hickory nuts and a bundle of rainproof tarp, and returned to Territory Three.

After Guan Tong and Dajiang and Xiaojiang, who had been guarding her territory, left, Xia Qing weighed out six jin of hickory nuts and handed them to Watching Huo Zhun. "Brother Huo, here's six jin of green-light hickory nuts. Sorry for the trouble on these two trips."

In mid-August, when Xia Qing had invited Watching Huo Zhun to team up and pick hickory nuts, the task she'd assigned him was piloting and guarding the helicopter, with a payment of three jin of green-light hickory nuts. Although the hickory nuts hadn't been ripe that time, the task payment still had to be settled. So the two trips together came to six jin.

"Okay..."

Watching Huo Zhun took the hickory nuts and racked his not-particularly-bright brain for a while, before recalling that after the first failed picking mission, Xia Qing had said she'd give him eight jin, and he himself had voluntarily lowered the payment to six jin.

He'd forgotten about that bit. Just the other day he'd been bragging to his brothers that he could bring back eight jin...

So Watching Huo Zhun cheerfully proposed a trade. "Sister Qing, can I exchange for a few jin of green-light hickory nuts? Di Ming is a brain-domain evolver and gets headaches all the time."

Xia Qing nodded calmly and named her price. "The outer skin of these hickory nuts is very thin. According to the prices posted at the safe zone mission hall, green-light hickory nuts with skin, fresh fruit, are 400 points per jin; peeled, dried fruit, 550 points per jin. Yellow-light hickory nuts with skin, fresh fruit, are 180 points per jin; peeled, dried fruit, 250 points per jin. The outer skin on this batch we brought back has already dried, so they weigh less. If you want them now, it's 520 points per jin for green-light, 235 points per jin for yellow-light. You can also wait a few days until I've cleaned the outer skin off, and then trade at the dried fruit price."

Watching Huo Zhun asked, "If I take two jin of green-light today, can I still trade for dried fruit later?"

Watching Huo Zhun was an important ally of hers; if he proposed a trade, Xia Qing wouldn't refuse. "Green-light, up to twenty jin can be traded; yellow-light, fifty jin. If we trade, you need to keep it secret."

"Got it, got it! Sister Qing, don't worry. Apart from my dad and my three comrades, no one else will know where the nuts came from. Brother Duan, I'm off. Call on me anytime you've got a mission." Hearing that Xia Qing wasn't raising the price at all and was willing to trade him this much, Watching Huo Zhun's fleshy face bloomed into a smile. He cheerfully carried eight jin of green-light hickory nuts back to his own territory.

After Watching Huo Zhun left, Xia Qing looked at Broken-Waist Wolf, which was standing beside the crystal pillar wrapped in rainproof tarp.

Broken-Waist Wolf immediately bared its mouth, flashing its little white, adorable fang tips at Xia Qing.