Chapter 1438: The Fleeing Broken-Waist Wolf

The stubborn ram in Territory Three isn't very strong in combat, but when it throws its head back and lets out a bleat, it can summon no fewer than ten evolved wolves!

If this group of evolved wolves—which soaked in a medicinal bath last night—attacks together, even Yang Jin, the top close-combat fighter among the three humans, would have no choice but to run.

Between being butted by a ram and being bitten by a pack of wolves, Yang Jin decisively chose the former. He slowed down to let the evolved ram catch up and bump his protective suit, then, mimicking Xia Qing, let out an exaggerated shriek, rolled on the ground, nimbly darted forward a dozen meters, and scrambled up a big tree.

The dislodged rime frost landed on Ram Boss, making it even angrier. It accelerated forward, its target—the tree Yang Jin was climbing.

Xia Qing immediately shouted, "Captain Yang, hold it back! The ones tied with red rope are green-light trees—you can't knock them down!"

If Ram Boss knocks down this green-light five-pointed maple, next spring when it wants to eat maple leaves it won't find a big tree, and it'll definitely throw another tantrum.

Yang Jin immediately jumped down from the tree, rushed forward, and gripped Ram Boss's spiral horn. Following the force of its charge to deflect the momentum, he dodged the hind hoof it kicked at him, then flung the two- to three-hundred-jin evolved fat ram sideways into a snowdrift. After that, Yang Jin pretended to slip, cried out in surprise, and tumbled into the snowdrift along with it.

After Ram Boss stood up from the snowdrift, it pawed the ground and charged at Yang Jin again.

Seeing that Ram Boss and Yang Jin were having a great time, Xia Qing relaxed, brushed the snow off her protective suit, and headed back.

Before she even entered the village, the walkie-talkie Xia Qing was wearing crackled with Tang Huai's inquiry, "Sister Qing, is Ram Boss out of fresh grass again?"

Xia Qing pressed the walkie-talkie button, reinforcing Ram Boss's hot-tempered, greedy-eater persona: "It has some, but not the variety it likes."

The allies who were cooking or patrolling their territories……

Zhao Ze, who had been on edge all night without sleep, nearly burst into tears at the sound of his good neighbor's voice. He immediately came online: "Sister Qing, what variety of grass does Ram Boss like? Will it eat green-light alfalfa?"

Xia Qing answered calmly, "It's not that precious. A good beating will fix it."

Everyone……

Tang Huai reminded her, "The heavy snow period just ended, Sister Qing. Go easy on it—don't beat it into losing control."

Mother Shi also chimed in to advise, "Right, a ram that can till the land for a handful of grass—losing control would be a huge loss. I still have a few bundles of green-light rice straw here—shall I have Shi Du send them over to you?"

The green-light crop straw everyone has isn't meant for burning—it's used to compost high-quality fertilizer to cultivate premium X-2. Xia Qing pressed the walkie-talkie button: "I still have corn straw here, enough for it to eat."

After Xia Qing finished speaking, she walked into the newly built kitchen, whose exterior was very simple and whose interior was equally simple. She saw Zhang Shi using a small pot to prepare patient meals, and Ye Yiyi, holding the little lamb, sitting on a small wooden block by the stove, staring intently at the small flames inside the stove. Steam rose from the big pot, releasing the fragrance of corn porridge and sweet potato porridge.

Xia Qing took off her protective mask and greeted the two of them, "Sister Shi, Yiyi, morning."

The newly built kitchen and bathroom had thick, solid walls. Construction squad leader Xia Qing had used adobe bricks inside the room to build a heated wall connected to the stove. After lighting the firewood in the stove, the flames and high-temperature smoke traveled through the flue inside the heated wall, and the massive heat was absorbed and stored by the adobe walls, then radiated outward continuously and evenly. So, taking off the protective mask inside the kitchen felt warm, and speaking didn't produce visible breath.

Little Yiyi still didn't react. Zhang Shi smiled and greeted Xia Qing, then pointed to two food bowls on the stone countertop of the cabinet: "Fourth Brother and the Earless Wolf's nutritional meals are ready—let them cool a bit and they can eat. Ergua's will be ready soon too."

Each patient's condition is different, and so are their dietary requirements.

Old Four, who had his tooth pulled, had a breakfast strictly prepared according to the post-operative care requirements prescribed by Zhang San—green-light chicken paste with various added nutritional elements. The Earless Old Wolf's diet was provided by the experienced Xia Qing to Zhang Shi; this morning it was boiled green-light chicken cubes and eggs. Ergua's diet was prescribed by Zhang Song. Zhang Song, who had gone to Red-1 to attend a meeting, wished every second that he could fly back to personally prepare food for the cute little monkey.

The big pot was boiling green-light sweet potato and corn gruel porridge, and the steamer held green-light eggs and steamed buns—these were Zhang Shi and Yiyi's food. After finishing the patient meals, Zhang Shi would stir-fry a dish of Yiyi's favorite vinegar-cabbage, and that would be a nutritious green-light breakfast. The quality of food and drink she and Yiyi had within Territory Three absolutely surpassed that of over ninety percent of humanity during the Calamity years, so Zhang Shi's work enthusiasm was in no way lower than Daigua's.

After Ergua's patient meal was ready and cooling in the kitchen, Xia Qing picked up the food box and took Zhang Shi to the house ruins to deliver the patient meals.

Old Four, who had his tooth pulled, still had sharp claws. The Earless Wolf receiving treatment was having its combat strength restored. Until Zhang Shi won the trust of the two old wolves, Xia Qing had to deliver meals and make rounds with her to ensure her safety.

Xia Qing looked up and called softly, "Old Four, breakfast is ready."

Old Four poked its head out from the wild grass. Its lower lip, lacking the support of the lower tusk, had become loose and saggy—it was heartbreaking to look at. Xia Qing, who wasn't wearing her protective mask, looked up with a smile and asked, "Old Four, shall we bring your breakfast up to you now?"

Zhang Shi also wasn't wearing her protective mask. She looked up sincerely at the first patient she had taken on since starting her job.

The old wolf on the ruins gave a solemn look at the wolves on Xia Qing's roof, in her yard, and at her window, then looked at Zhang Shi behind Xia Qing. It gave a solemn nod before withdrawing back into the wild grass.

Xia Qing and Zhang Shi climbed up to the ruins, lifted the grass curtain and went in. After turning on the light, Xia Qing greeted the thin, weak old wolf lying on the inner side: "Earless, how are you feeling today? Is your stomach feeling better?"

The old wolf, whose eyes were the same color as Old Four's, watched Xia Qing warily, as if it couldn't understand human language. Xia Qing took off her gloves, touched the old wolf's ears and ribs, and after confirming its temperature and heart rate were normal, asked, "Old Four, can you open your mouth and let Sister Shi take a look? She needs to decide what medicine to give you based on your condition."

Zhang Shi added, "Open your mouth as wide as Fourth Brother's."

Although reluctant, Old Four slowly opened its mouth.

After finishing the examination, Zhang Shi left the wolf den to write up the rounds record and prepare medicine. Only then did Xia Qing spread out a rainproof cloth at the den entrance, set out the food for the two wolves, then took unpolluted spring water from her backpack and poured it into the water basin. After instructing which basin was for the old wolf, she exited the den.

The old wolf had its pride—it certainly didn't want Xia Qing to see how it ate now. So Xia Qing didn't look, and would come back to collect the basins after they finished eating.

The reason the unpolluted spring water was poured out only after Zhang Shi left was that Xia Qing hadn't told Zhang Shi about the unpolluted spring within the territory. What Zhang Shi and Yiyi currently drank and cooked with was still filtered hot spring water from Mountain Fifty. Apart from a slightly lower YI-element content, the filtered quality of that spring water was no different from the spring water within Xia Qing's territory in terms of other elements.

Coming out of the wolf den, Xia Qing saw that the northern wolf pack had already gathered in her yard, ready to set out. She immediately rushed down and stopped the Broken-Waist Wolf: "Broken-Waist, don't leave yet!"