Chapter 1636: Harvesting the Oil Sunflowers in the Valley

"Ah—hahahaha!!!"

Hearing Zhao Ze vividly describe how Huang Wanmao of Bai Yi University Hospital was rendered speechless by Xia Qing, Tang Huai in the car behind laughed like he was having a seizure.

As a result, the flashy off-road vehicle he was driving swayed left and right along with him. Xia Qing floored it and shot forward a good stretch to avoid being rear-ended by this guy.

Lord Huo Lei in the passenger seat of the second car grabbed the steering wheel to steady it, and only then did Yu Shou, gripping the handrail in the back seat, dare to catch his breath. "Brother Huai, how about letting Uncle Huo drive?"

"No need, I'll drive, don't worry." Tang Huai wiped away the tears from laughing, driving and cursing at the same time. "Last winter when I went to Bai Yi Safe Zone to settle accounts with Tang Lu, Huang Wanmao was surrounded by a bunch of scholars and school guards—what a damn big front he put on! If it weren't for Brother Huo and the others being capable, and Sister He arriving in time, I'd definitely still be locked up in Bai Yi Safe Zone by this guy surnamed Huang right now. And he still dares to come cause trouble on our turf? If I don't kill him, it's only out of respect for Sister Qing and Third Brother!"

Yuan Yan in the front car pressed the button. "Brother Huai, Sister Qing says you don't need to give her face."

Because the vehicles hadn't yet left the communication range of the territory's walkie-talkies, Zhang San, who was eating breakfast in Territory Seven, also pressed the walkie-talkie button. "You don't need to give me face either."

Everyone...

Tang Huai's disciple, Lord Seventeen Wen Nengjie, immediately came online. "This kind of trash really shouldn't be alive wasting food, but our alliance still isn't a match for Bai Yi Base right now. We have to prioritize the big picture. Killing him is out of the question—I'll stand on the roadside and curse him a few times to vent everyone's anger."

Lord Fifteen Tan Qi also came online. "Sister Li, has the person come out yet?"

"Not yet, probably still packing up." Hearing Zhu Li, standing near the south gate of Territory Six, was watching the drama up close.

Tan Junjie came online, seriously reminding them, "Tan Qi, after breakfast take your sister to school, through the south gate."

"Copy that!" Tan Qi answered crisply, shouldered her backpack, and went to find Little Eleven to go to school together.

South gate or north gate, as long as the two of them were fast enough, they could eat the freshest melon on the spot. Because their school was right inside Ninth Center!

"Uncle, I'm off to school!" Hearing Tan Qi's sister shouting, Little Eleven finished the last sip of green-light cornmeal porridge, wiped her little mouth, jumped up, and ran out with her small backpack on her back.

Ye Yang, sitting in a wheelchair, reminded her worriedly, "Wear your protective mask properly so the wind doesn't choke you, walk along the roadside, and don't let any cars hit you."

"Okay—"

Sensing her uncle's excessive worry, Little Eleven—with scrape marks on her forehead and the tip of her nose—dutifully drew out her reply, putting on her protective mask as she ran.

The two little ones still had to attend Yan Long's special training every evening after school, and their little faces also bore injuries, though not as serious as Xia Qing's.

To avoid revealing anything, Little Eleven had taken a potion Zhang San prepared for her that suppressed the activity of her recovery factor, so the injuries on her face healed at the same rate as an ordinary person's.

Ye Yang, watching through the window as Little Eleven ran out the gate following Tan Qi, didn't dare show too much worry or tension on his face, even within the territory.

After Hidden Valley of Mountain Fifty was exposed, Ye Yang's heart had been on edge. The valley was exposed—how long could Zhang Ten and Eleven stay hidden? How many more days could this child go to school?

Eleven was only a six-year-old child with no ability to protect herself. Ye Yang didn't dare imagine what consequences would follow if her identity and abilities were exposed.

Before Huang Wanmao moved out of Ninth Center, Xia Qing's off-road vehicle had driven out of walkie-talkie range and stopped in the parking lot at the foot of Mountain Fifty.

She got out carrying bags, and went up the mountain with her allies to enter Hidden Valley and get busy.

Harvest is the most joyful moment for a farmer. In early October last year, after Xia Qing harvested the peanuts in Hidden Valley, she planted 5,000 green-light oil sunflower seeds with a qiang element content of 4.2‰ in the valley.

This batch of oil sunflower seeds had a germination rate of 52%, producing 2,600 oil sunflower plants. When the soil anaerobic bacteria evolved, because the crops in the valley were protected by Yi Stones in time, their quality wasn't affected. Of the 2,600 oil sunflower plants, 2,483 successfully flowered and set seeds, and 8 cultivable optimized seeds with a qiang element content as low as 3.2‰ also appeared.

The cultivable optimized seeds naturally had to be kept for planting. As for the other green-light oil sunflower seeds, a small amount was kept for herself, the two melons, and a nest of red squirrels to eat, and some to entertain Guagu when she came to visit. The rest were all pressed for oil and stored.

Of course, if Aunt Bai, who loved good food, needed some, Xia Qing could also sell her some at market price.

At harvest time, the farmer's mood is at its best.

Tang Huai, who had come to join the fun, assisted Xia Qing and discussed this year's farming plans with her. "How many mu of oil sunflowers is Sister Qing planning to plant this spring?"

Xia Qing replied, "Oil sunflowers are somewhat heavily affected by soil anaerobic bacteria. I'll plant half a mu first. If the aggressive qiang evolution rate isn't high, I'll plant more in the second half of the year."

Once oil sunflowers undergo aggressive qiang evolution, the plant rapidly grows a flower head, then shoots out over a thousand seeds—the attack power is extremely strong.

Xia Qing didn't plan to use Yi Stones to protect the oil sunflower plants through their entire growth process, so she was only planting half a mu to test the waters.

Tang Huai proposed a trade. "Sister Qing, can I use edible-type sunflower seeds—the kind you can roast for melon-seed snacks—with a qiang element content of 6.7‰, to trade for your premium oil sunflower seeds? 150 big melon seeds for 100 oil sunflower seeds."

The qiang element content of big melon seeds was hard to control; 6.7‰ was already a very premium seed. Xia Qing nodded. "Sure. Sister Xun, just take whichever flower heads catch your eye."

After Zhang Xun moved into Hidden Valley, she helped Xia Qing tend the sunflower field. Her compensation was that once the sunflowers matured, she could buy five jin at a 10% discount.

Zhang Xun, who was helping Xia Qing with work, didn't stand on ceremony either. "I'll take 12?"

"Sure." Xia Qing agreed readily. Although after Blue Star's Great Evolution, oil sunflower seeds had grown a bit larger than before the catastrophe, 5 jin of oil sunflowers was about 12 flower heads.

Zhang Xun began selecting flower heads to place on the windowsill of her little wooden cabin. When there was no more room, she tied them with rope and hung them on the clothes-drying rack nearby, then took a few photos and sighed, "This really gives such a sense of accomplishment!"

Tang Huai suggested, "Sister Xun, why not paint a picture to commemorate it?"

The painter Zhang Xun shook her head without hesitation. "My mental state hasn't adjusted yet. Any painting I do now would be terrible to look at. I'll wait until I've recovered."

Tang Huai cheerfully suggested, "Has Sister Xun been to the top of this mountain? This is the highest peak around us. Standing on the summit and looking around, the view is excellent."

While the two were chatting, Xia Qing had already packed six large bags of sunflower heads, picked up two, and headed out. Today she wanted to bring back as many flower heads as possible to dry in the territory.

"Sister Qing, I'll help you carry them!" Tang Huai and Yu Shou spoke up at the same time.

Xia Qing shook her head. "No need, you two keep busy. They're not that heavy."

Sunflower heads really weren't that heavy, but the main reason Xia Qing didn't want others to help was that it was almost time for her appointment with the Broken-Waist Wolf—she needed to go to the car to talk with Daigua.