Chapter 1449: Not Enough Points? Pay with Yishi Stones!

Inside the wolf den atop the ruined houses of Territory Three, one person and one wolf sat and squatted on the dry grass, doing accounts with pen and paper.

"Seven teeth pulled, five teeth treated, the total treatment fee for twelve teeth is 730,000. This price was set by Third Brother — does Fourth Brother still remember?"

The old wolf, missing two tusks, nodded solemnly.

"Good, the 730,000 is no problem." Xia Qing used her pen to put a checkmark after "730,000" and continued, "Your nutritional paste, the medicine to strengthen your gums and the bones of your whole body, and the medicine to enhance your constitution come to 570,000 — this was also quoted by Third Brother."

The old wolf nodded solemnly once more.

"Good, so the total fee you need to pay Third Brother is 1.3 million, and this portion has already been paid by Fourth Brother." Xia Qing put a checkmark, then began to calculate the fee for the earless wolf.

"Although the earless one doesn't need surgery, its condition is similar to Wolf Lao Er's and needs at least three or four months of medicine to recuperate. Its medical fee is 150,000 — this part was also requested by Third Brother."

After examining the earless wolf, Zhang San opened his mouth and asked Xia Qing for 5.6 million points. Later he sent her a budget sheet of 5.45 million, meaning that of the 5.6 million he took, 5.45 million was research funding and only 150,000 was the earless old wolf's medical fee.

The old wolf nodded solemnly, indicating it accepted this fee.

"I've already paid this 150,000 to Third Brother on your behalf, so Fourth Brother needs to transfer 150,000 to me." After writing "150,000" in her notebook, Xia Qing continued settling accounts with the old wolf.

"While you and the earless one were receiving treatment in my territory, the trace elements and pills in your nutritional meals were provided by Third Brother, but the green-light meat, eggs, and green-light spinach were provided by me, so those also need to be paid for. My companion Zhang Shi prepares your nutritional meals and checks your bodies every day, and that also needs to be paid for... Given how long we've known each other, I won't charge you for changing the straw, disinfecting the den, and cleaning up the droppings, and I'll waive the water fee too..."

After going through the paid and free items with Fourth Brother, Xia Qing announced the total. "You need to pay me 45,600 points, plus the 150,000 points I paid Third Brother on your behalf, so in total you need to pay me 195,600 points."

Xia Qing added with a bright smile, "If Fourth Brother doesn't want to pay with points, you can also work off the debt for me."

The old wolf, who disliked work, immediately dug out its black-gold card and card reader from the straw, swiped 195,600 to Xia Qing, then looked toward its companion on the inner side and scratched two characters on the ground with its paw:

Teeth. Bones.

"Fourth Brother is amazing — you even know how to use punctuation!" Xia Qing sincerely praised the old wolf, then confirmed its meaning. "What Fourth Brother means is, the earless one also needs its teeth treated, its bones strengthened, and its constitution enhanced?"

The old wolf nodded solemnly. The earless old wolf on the inner side of the den opened its eyes and gazed quietly at Xia Qing.

"I'll check with Third Brother and see if he can still get hold of the medicine for growing new teeth." Xia Qing glanced at Fourth Brother's black-gold card, which showed a balance of, and reminded it, "Adding up all the points on Fourth Brother's cards, there's still about 840,000 left, right? These points definitely won't be enough to treat the earless one's teeth..."

Before Xia Qing could finish telling it to work off the debt, Fourth Brother scratched another character on the ground:

Stone.

Xia Qing immediately beamed. "Fourth Brother wants to use Yishi stones to pay for the earless one's tooth replacement and strengthening? No problem, of course! You rest well, I'll go find Third Brother as soon as possible and then give you an answer. The weather's nice today — when it warms up at noon, Fourth Brother can take the earless one outside for a walk. Don't stay cooped up in the den all the time; getting some sun is good for your bodies too... Does Fourth Brother need to swap the earless one for a winter insulated protective suit? Once it puts it on, it can go outside for a stroll."

After being refused by the old wolf, Xia Qing put away the point cards and account book, left the wolf den, and went home to cook for her companions.

After Xia Qing left, the old wolf dug out three more point cards from its satchel, held the card reader down with its hind paw, and skillfully gripped a point card with both front paws, sliding it into the card reader's slot. After a long struggle, it finally swiped the number on its black-gold card to, then put away the card reader and opened its phone to continue studying.

The earless old wolf on the inner side of the den walked over, lay down beside Fourth Brother, and stared quietly at the phone screen.

After her companions ate breakfast, when Xia Qing went to the meeting room by the farmland to eat her own breakfast, she noticed Yang Jin had a noticeable bruise on the back of his hand.

Yang Jin handed Xia Qing a scallion oil pancake and explained, "I sparred with Brother Luo last night and got kicked by him."

Xia Qing took the fragrant pancake. "No traitor caught last night?"

Yang Jin also picked up a pancake and said eagerly, "We sparred after catching them. Brother Luo's body has fully recovered — Sister Qing must tell Sister Yan this good news."

Xia Qing nodded. Yan Long had contacted Tan Qi a couple of days ago, saying she would take some time off soon and come to the territory for New Year. If she knew Luo Pei had recovered, she would definitely drag Luo Pei into a match. Xia Qing didn't just want to watch two Mogui Sect instructors spar — she also wanted to spar with Yan Long herself. After soaking in the medicinal bath, she could clearly feel her ability to take hits and her body's resilience had increased, and she reckoned she could exchange more moves with Yan Long.

Seeing Xia Qing's eager expression, Yang Jin suggested, "Sister Qing, how about a match between us?"

The eagerness in Xia Qing's eyes vanished instantly. Sparring with Yan Long, a non-speed-type Evolver and a strong one, she could learn useful moves; sparring with Yang Jin, a top-tier speed-type Evolver, she would learn nothing and would purely be asking for a beating. "The spinach is flowering — I need to pollinate it this morning."

Yang Jin's eyes lit up. "That 8.1 one?"

Xia Qing nodded. After all kinds of setbacks, the high-Yishi-element spinach she had carefully cultivated had finally flowered. Spinach is a dioecious, wind-pollinated plant. In the lab, precise manual pollination is required to keep out outside contamination and produce pure seeds.

That's wonderful!

Yang Jin picked up a second pancake. "Sister Qing, go ahead with your work. I'll keep clearing the snow from the spot where we're putting up the greenhouse. There's a video conference with the Huicheng Squad Alliance at ten — if Sister Qing's free by then, you can come listen to how these people argue."

Xia Qing shook her head. "Broken-Waist called and asked me to go to Mountain Fifty. It's finished checking the areas you marked out and says it has a major discovery."

Drawing on his own knowledge and years of experience finding springs, Yang Jin had mapped out the areas the hidden valley's hot-spring water system might flow through.

Xia Qing had sent Yang Jin's map to the Broken-Waist wolf, which had been checking the soil conditions in each area according to the map since the end of the Snow Slaughter Period. It had just sent Xia Qing the coordinates, along with three big grinning-emoji stickers — clearly a major discovery.

Xia Qing knew exactly why this fellow had been so keen lately. But one thing at a time — when they met this time, Xia Qing was determined to settle the score from last time.

Yang Jin was amazed at the Broken-Waist wolf's efficiency. "That fast? Sister Qing, can I come with you?"

Xia Qing was puzzled. "Aren't you supposed to attend the video conference?"

"I'll mute my mic and turn off my camera and just listen. When it's my turn to speak, I'll say a few words."

Xia Qing...

You're a brain-domain Evolver — you really can do two things at once. Impressive!