Chapter 1286: Pressure and Deals

After Daigua came out, the surgical-style entry door automatically closed, cutting off the stare between the expressionless Xia Qing and the aggrieved Broken-Waist Wolf.

Xia Qing praised the little monkey standing outside the door looking at her, "Daigua, you're amazing. The towel is washed very clean. Hang it on the clothesline over there."

"Ah."

Daigua happily called out, hung up its little towel, then ran back inside to wash its clothes. Although the house had a washing machine and plenty of electricity, Daigua liked scrubbing clothes with its little paws, because getting dirty clothes clean gave it a great sense of accomplishment.

Before the entry door automatically closed again, Xia Qing spoke, "Broken-Waist, come out, we need to talk."

Half a minute later, Broken-Waist Wolf finally came out, squatted aggrievedly beside Xia Qing, every single wolf hair radiating displeasure. Xia Qing asked, "Broken-Waist really likes that crystal stone?"

Broken-Waist Wolf immediately grinned, revealing its little sharp fangs.

Xia Qing smiled back at it, and in a gentle voice began explaining, "Look, this is the rice I grew in the North Buffer Forest terraces. Seedlings raised in June, transplanted in July, then grown for four months, harvested just a few days ago…"

Not knowing why Xia Qing was telling it all this, Broken-Waist Wolf closed its mouth and lay beside her, quietly listening.

"…These 250 jin of premium rice seeds harvested, all planted next spring, can fill twelve greenhouses."

Xia Qing plucked two grains from a rice ear and dropped them into the basket, then fed the rice stalk to Sheep Boss beside her, grabbed another handful of stalks with ears still attached, and continued searching for hidden grains. "Broken-Waist, humans need to eat wheat, corn, rice—these grains—to survive better. To obtain these grains, humans need to bury seeds in the soil, then use quality fertilizer, irrigate regularly, weed, check the soil daily, and prevent pests and diseases."

"Besides all that, to harvest quality grain, humans must protect the fields during Calamity Rain and Calamity Snow, and not let Calamity Elements destroy the seedlings that sprout…"

"…There are two ways to protect crops from Calamity Element damage and quality loss: one is to build standardized greenhouses, the other is to use Yi Stones. Broken-Waist, do you know how many Yi Stones twelve greenhouses need? Sixty-three mid-grade Yi Stones the size of pigeon eggs."

Broken-Waist Wolf, watching Little Feimao busy on the walnut mountain pile, turned its amber eyes toward Xia Qing.

"Twelve greenhouses need sixty-three Yi Stones. I don't have that many Yi Stones, so I only protect seven greenhouses." After gesturing the number, Xia Qing turned her gaze back to the rice ears, hands busy, mouth still going. "So, I need Yi Stones, because I can't build standardized greenhouses like Territory Seven in my own territory."

Xia Qing looked at Broken-Waist Wolf, expression serious. "Because if I build standardized greenhouses, I'd have to keep at least six humans in my territory long-term, which would expose the secret that my territory has uncontaminated spring water. Then a lot, a lot of humans would come to seize my territory and spring water, and I'd be in great danger."

"Broken-Waist, you don't want other animals and humans to know that Mountain Fifty-Five has uncontaminated spring water, right?"

Broken-Waist Wolf nodded solemnly.

"Then Broken-Waist, you protect the uncontaminated spring water and Yi Stones in the wolf pack's territory, don't let humans know, or they'll come to take them." Xia Qing continued, "Actually, I'm already in great danger right now. There are humans offering 500,000 points to have me killed, and others offering 1,000,000 points to capture me alive."

These two pieces of information—the former appeared on the black market, the latter on the dark web.

Xia Qing handed another handful of rice stalks to Sheep Boss, stared blankly at the stalks in her hand, and said in a low, slow voice, "In a couple of days, a human named Zhang Han will enter my territory. She's been sent by another base to investigate me."

"Actually, my bounty isn't that high, so it probably won't attract top-tier bounty hunters. Yang Jin also said that anyone who isn't hunted or on the dark web doesn't count as an evolved powerhouse during the Calamity Years, but I really don't want to be that kind of powerhouse. I just want to quietly farm my fields."

Little Feimao found a particularly tasty walnut, hugged it with its little paws, hopped over to Xia Qing, and stuffed it into her pocket; Daigua had finished washing its little shirt again, took it out to hang on the clothesline, and stood beside it waiting for Xia Qing's praise.

Boss munched contentedly on the green-light rice seedlings; Wolf Lao Er, sensing Xia Qing's emotions through her tone, turned its head and watched her together with Broken-Waist Wolf.

"Broken-Waist, I need Yi Stones to grow more quality grain and stockpile it against the Calamity Years. I also need Yi Stones to protect my companions, the green-light chickens, green-light bugs, green-light fish, and little yellow cattle during Calamity Rain and Calamity Snow. And I need Yi Stones even more to protect the food I've harvested. I also need a lot of points to attend training camps, practice sniping, and trade for survival supplies, and a whole lot of points to trade with Third Brother for quality potions and gear. So, I want to trade that stone in the house to other humans in exchange for more points."

In the years since her father was killed, Xia Qing had pressed all her emotions to the bottom of her heart, living in silent strength.

After entering the territory, she gradually began to talk more, but even in front of her trusted allies Zhang San and Xin Yu, Xia Qing only showed her strong side. The pressure hidden inside her heart, she had never told anyone.

She couldn't say why, but just now, seeing Broken-Waist Wolf looking at her so pitifully, Xia Qing suddenly felt the urge to unburden herself.

After saying all that, she felt much lighter. "Broken-Waist, you're a very important companion and ally of mine. A lot of my precious supplies and food were obtained through trades with you and Her Majesty. Since you really like that crystal stone, but you're not willing to pay nine Yi Stones for it. Then I'll cut that stone in half, give you one piece, and trade the other piece to other humans for points. Is that okay?"

A complete crystal pillar split into two sections loses collector value, and the price drops by over a million. This deal earns over a million less, and Xia Qing's heart aches, but Broken-Waist Wolf's appearance just now makes her heart ache even more.

Because Broken-Waist Wolf knew that pretty stone was what the little monkey used to trade for phones and power banks, and remembered that it had traded two phones for just one Use Yishi.

So in its view, it could trade that pretty stone for two Yi Stones, and later it even raised its offer to three Yi Stones, but Xia Qing still refused to trade it, insisting on nine. This made it very unhappy, very aggrieved.

It wasn't Yang Jin's biological brother—just an evolved wolf that had just begun learning human knowledge, smart yet stubborn. It couldn't fully understand human trading rules, let alone the fierce, brutal competition between humans.

If a single stone chilled Broken-Waist Wolf's heart and damaged Xia Qing's alliance with the northern wolf pack, the loss would far outweigh the gain.

Besides, this time it couldn't all be blamed on Broken-Waist Wolf—it was Xia Qing, this second-hand dealer, whose business wasn't skilled enough, letting the buyer know her purchase price.

After Xia Qing briefly explained again, Broken-Waist Wolf understood that it could trade three Yi Stones for the pretty stone, and finally grinned at Xia Qing, showing its snow-white, adorable little sharp fangs.