Chapter 1419: The Return of Yang Jin and the Clever Qiangzai

Xia Qing had assumed that after the meeting, Yang Jin would sleep at the Azure Dragon Squad's base inside the safe zone and only come to the territory the next day. She hadn't expected that after she and Wolf Lao Er finished their night run, she showered at home and had just lain down on the bed, she heard the notification chime from the North Gate of Territory Three.

Xia Qing saw the message, opened the app to check the North District surveillance, and saw Yang Jin walk under the camera on the Gao Po of the North Buffer Forest, take off his protective mask, look up at the camera, and flash a brilliant smile.

It was the first time Xia Qing had seen Yang Jin—who was over one meter ninety tall—from this angle.

The infrared camera filtered out the color, and together with the moonlight it clearly outlined the lines of Yang Jin's features and the edges of his temples. In the grim night, beneath the delicate black-and-white-gray tones, Yang Jin's smile appeared unexpectedly bright and warm.

Not sure whether it was Xia Qing or that cute little monkey watching the camera, Yang Jin waved and greeted her first, "Sister Qing, still up?"

"Just got back from the night run, about to sleep."

Xia Qing tapped the camera's talk function and replied through the rustling wind, then saw Yang Jin's eyes grow even brighter than before. The sight was so easy on the eyes that Xia Qing casually took a screenshot.

Knowing it was Xia Qing watching him, Yang Jin was in a wonderful mood. He had a lot he wanted to say to Xia Qing, but it was too late now and not suitable for chatting. So Yang Jin picked the most important thing to say, "Want steamed buns tomorrow morning?"

Making buns was too much trouble. Xia Qing replied, "There's still the minced meat sauce I traded with Territory Seven in the fridge. Let's have steamed egg custard tomorrow morning."

Yang Jin's smile grew even brighter. "Great, minced meat egg custard and fried rice tomorrow morning. Sister Qing, good night."

Since her parents passed away, no one had said those two words to her. Xia Qing was stunned for a moment before responding, "Good night."

After hanging up, Xia Qing pulled aside a corner of the bedroom window curtain and saw Yang Jin, carrying a large pack, walk out from the Gao Po, step down one by one along the snow-cleared stairs, cross the stone slab bridge, pass through the farmland area, exchange a greeting with Wolf Lao Er who was patrolling the territory, and only after being barked at a few times by Wolf Lao Er did he reach the door of the meeting room.

Then, with his back to her, the guy raised his right hand in a stylish wave before opening the door and walking in.

His flashy, chuunibyou move made Xia Qing laugh out loud. Was the Iron Rooster in such a good mood because tonight's meeting went very smoothly, or because returning to the territory made him happy?

Perhaps, both. Xia Qing closed her eyes and ran through the things she had to do tomorrow in her head, and quickly fell asleep.

With both Wolf Lao Er and Yang Jin in the territory, Xia Qing's sense of security doubled.

Early the next morning, when a squirrel stepped through the snow and climbed onto a tree ten meters from the small building, Xia Qing in the second-floor bedroom opened her eyes.

She got dressed, opened the curtain, glanced at the small kitchen chimney that hadn't started smoking yet, and then looked at the big red squirrel on the branch outside the window, wagging its tail and rubbing its little paws at her.

Compared to last winter when it was injured and had a large patch of fur shaved off its belly, this winter's big red squirrel could be called plump and sturdy, its coat exceptionally sleek and pleasing to the eye.

Xia Qing picked up the thermos on the bedside table, poured some warm water into a small basin, and slid open the window covered in frost flowers to place the basin on the windowsill. The cold air rushed in; the outdoor temperature was now below minus twenty degrees, and without hot water it would freeze quickly.

Before Xia Qing could close the window, the little red squirrel Qiangzai darted over and hopped onto the windowsill, placed the insect chrysalis it had been carrying in its mouth on the sill, and only then began to drink.

Seeing that it left the chrysalis behind when it finished drinking and left, Xia Qing confirmed that this thumb-sized, frozen-hard insect chrysalis was something Qiangzai had specifically brought over as a gift for her. This was the first time Xia Qing had received food from Qiangzai.

Qiangzai's doing this was probably because it had repeatedly seen the plucked-fur weasel and the plucked-fur youngster trading food with Xia Qing for eggs, and had been inspired.

The Plucked-Fur family moved from Mountain Fifty to the Wild Boar Valley in Section Three of Mountain Forty-Nine, becoming neighbors with Qiangzai.

Weasels are the natural enemies of squirrels. Xia Qing was afraid the red squirrel family would become food for the Plucked-Fur family, so she specifically called Wolf Lao Er and the Broken-Waist Wolf, gathered the two families for a meeting, and made the weasel family understand that the red squirrel family was Xia Qing's companion and must not be hunted.

How was the red squirrel family gathered? Little Feimao didn't need to be gathered; the big red squirrel and Qiangzai were of course cornered by Xia Qing in their tree hollow and gathered through forceful means.

From Qiangzai's behavior of bringing her the insect chrysalis, Xia Qing judged that although Qiangzai's brain-domain evolution level wasn't as high as Little Feimao's, it had still surpassed their mother's, and could be classified as a trading partner.

This also meant that the overwintering food she had lent Qiangzai some time ago could be recouped through trading with it, and she wouldn't need to reach into its nest anymore.

"Thanks to Qiangzai for the delicious insect chrysalis, I'll trade you this hickory nut for it." Xia Qing took the chrysalis and handed a hickory nut to the eagerly waiting Qiangzai. Qiangzai clamped onto the nut and scurried off in a flash.

The big red squirrel on the nearby branch immediately vigorously wagged its fluffy big tail, rapidly rubbed its little paws, and waited for Xia Qing to give it food.

Xia Qing took out two mung beans and placed them by the water basin, then added some hot water to the basin that had started to freeze. "Freeloader, this one's for you."

Xia Qing had only just closed the window when the big red squirrel hopped onto the windowsill to drink.

Through the window, Xia Qing tidied the bed while chatting with the red squirrel. "Freeloader, after you've eaten and drunk your fill, go wander around. This winter, find that male squirrel from last winter to mate with again, and have another litter of clever babies like Qiangzai and Little Feimao. Let them work for me, and you can live a comfortable life without worrying about food and drink."

The big red squirrel naturally paid no attention to Xia Qing; after a few sips of water, it took the mung beans and ran off.

After Xia Qing finished tidying the bedroom and walked out the door, she heard the sound of a toilet flushing from the first-floor bathroom. She walked down the stairs and saw Does Ergua come out of the first-floor bathroom, and immediately warmly and gently praised the timid monk-faced monkey, "Does Ergua learned to use the toilet? Great job, Does Ergua can be rewarded with three mealworms this morning."

Does Ergua stood dully at the bathroom door listening, and only when Xia Qing mentioned "mealworms" did its furry face finally show an expression befitting a brain-domain evolved being.

Hearing Xia Qing's voice, Does Daigua immediately hopped out of the bathroom holding up a clean little towel.

"Does Daigua is so diligent, finishing mopping the floor this early. Does Daigua can get six mealworms this morning!" Xia Qing warmly praised the housework-loving Does Daigua, then asked, "Besides mealworms, what else does Does Daigua want to eat?"

Does Daigua immediately grinned, "Mee."

Xia Qing nodded. "Alright, I'll make Does Daigua a serving of honey-dressed cabbage leaves too. I'm going to the greenhouse to get the mealworms now; Does Daigua tidy up the Mao Mao on the sofa."

"Eek!"

Xia Qing walked out the door, first went to the newly built kitchen, and greeted Zhang Shi, who was cooking porridge. "Sister Shi, is Ye Yiyi any better?"

For better concealment, Xia Qing had modified the kitchen's flue so the kitchen smoke could be vented out through her small building's chimney. So when Zhang Shi cooked in the kitchen, the kitchen chimney didn't emit any smoke outside, and even visual evolvers like Yang Jin couldn't detect it.

Zhang Shi replied with a smile, "Much better. She doesn't have to only eat liquid food anymore; she can chew softer foods."

Xia Qing was quite looking forward to seeing what little Ye Yiyi looked like after her cosmetic surgery. "That's good. I'm going to the greenhouse to cut some scallions to bring back; Sister Shi, stir-fry some scallions with eggs. Yang Jin will leave after eating. If Ye Yiyi can come out for activity, Sister Shi can take her out to clear the snow."

"Alright." Zhang Shi accepted Xia Qing's kind concern and asked, "When does Fourth Brother start his treatment? I'll prepare in advance."