Chapter 1957: The Beaten Red Da Mao

After returning from the southern wolf pack's territory to the northern Sector One territory, Xia Qing first went to Territory Seven to turn in her mission, told her idol about Zhang Shi's plan to purchase equipment, then went back to her own territory to busy herself in the farmlands.

The grain-substitute vegetables she had sown eight days ago had all sprouted. Because Xia Qing had scattered enough seeds, the seedlings came up very evenly and densely, so she didn't need to fill in the gaps, but she had to hoe the weeds as soon as possible.

"Qing-jie's done?" Seeing Xia Qing coming over with a hoe, Dajiang, who was hoeing weeds, greeted her cheerfully.

Xia Qing responded, opened the bag in her hand, and gave Dajiang and Xiaojiang half a red-fleshed dragon fruit. "You two take a break."

"Thanks, Qing-jie."

The Beard Feng squad worked for wages in Territory Three and didn't need Xia Qing to provide them food, but Xia Qing always shared some of the high-quality food she brought back from Territory Seven with them. The Beard Feng squad never declined either, accepting it every time, and then they would bring over the bugs they caught while patrolling Mountain 49 to feed the chickens and fish.

Wolf Lao Er, who liked catching bugs, wasn't in Territory Three. Xia Qing and the three little monkeys were all very busy, and Sheep Boss didn't like doing this, so the Beard Feng squad voluntarily took on this task.

Xiaojiang reported on the situation in the territory: "Qing-jie, a little past nine this morning, the little yellow ox got bitten by an evolved bug and got a bit irritable. Brother Dagua checked it and applied some medicine—we don't know exactly what medicine. At 11 a. m., Handsome Giant Wolf came over for a bath, and when it left, it got into some kind of conflict with Hong Da Mao for no clear reason and gave it a swipe of its claws. Bai Yan the raven and its underlings didn't come over to drive away bugs this morning. Tang Huai asked in the group chat what the tamed ravens in Territory Eight were busy doing, but Seeing Xin Yu didn't come online to respond. Dagua and the others are working in Shed 2 right now."

"Alright, I'll go take a look." Xia Qing, carrying the delicious food she'd brought back from Territory Seven, continued north.

She had just crossed the stone-slab bridge over the stream when a male fox covered in red fur came running over, whimpering as it circled her.

Xia Qing asked, "Da Mao, did Handsome Giant Wolf hit you?"

"Ying ying…"

"Why did it hit you?"

"Ying ying…"

Xia Qing stopped asking, fished a piece of freeze-dried treat from her pocket, and handed it over. "I hope you and Hong Er Mao's litter produces a cub with a higher brain-region evolution level."

Although Handsome Giant Wolf kept a cold face every day and loved to fight, it didn't hit just anyone. Hong Da Mao must have done something wrong and provoked it, which is why it lashed out with its claws.

Hong Da Mao couldn't explain clearly, and Handsome Giant Wolf certainly wouldn't say, but Xia Qing knew who she should ask about this.

She entered Shed 2, praised the companions who had been working hard and guarding the territory, and distributed the food she'd brought back to them. The wild boar Guapi, who was responsible for grazing by the field, also got a share.

Then Xia Qing asked the smartest one among this group of animals, "Does Daigua, why did Handsome Giant Wolf hit Hong Da Mao?"

Does Daigua, who was gnawing on a dragon fruit peel, lifted one of its hind legs and pointed toward the edge of the shed.

Xia Qing understood. "Hong Da Mao peed on the path by the shed to mark its territory?"

Does Daigua nodded its little snow-white head. "Yi."

"Then it really did deserve a beating. That path belongs to me."

Peeing on the path or beside the big trees and large rocks along the path was a way of marking territory. Hong Da Mao was expanding its territory and actually wanted to mark the path Xia Qing used every day as its own—it really did deserve a thrashing. If only Xia Qing's sense of smell were sharper, she would have given Hong Da Mao a slap too.

Why didn't Sheep Boss have an opinion? Because herbivores had a different concept of territory than carnivores, and it treated Hong Da Mao as a little brother. As long as Hong Da Mao didn't go pee under Sheep Boss's big stump tree or in the forage shed, it wouldn't have any objections.

Xia Qing continued asking, "Does Daigua, what bug bit the little yellow ox? What medicine did you use on it?"

Does Daigua immediately snatched its phone back from Does Ergua's paws and showed Xia Qing the photos it had taken.

Xia Qing understood. "An evolved gadfly bit the little yellow ox?! Who killed this gadfly?"

"Yi." The blue-faced little monkey guarding Guapi spoke up.

"Good, the blue-faced one killed it. The blue-faced one is just as awesome as Does Daigua—you can get a delicious big steamed bun at noon today!" After getting clear answers about Hong Da Mao and the little yellow ox, Xia Qing walked up a stretch to the spinach terraced fields to hoe weeds and loosen the soil.

The weeding, irrigation, fertilizing, and soil testing in the high-quality crop breeding areas of Shed 1 and Shed 2 in Territory Three were all handled by Xia Qing.

This batch of spinach seedlings in the field, which had just sprouted two true leaves, was the X-3 spinach that Xia Qing had spent two years and six successive plantings carefully cultivating, with a Yi element content above 7.5?.

Spring, March through June, was the most suitable season for X-3 spinach growth. Based on the planting experience of the previous two years, when this batch of spinach went to seed, it was very likely to produce an optimizable seed with a Yi element content above 9?.

If her character and luck exploded, there was even a chance of producing seeds with a Yi element content above 10?, letting Xia Qing complete ahead of schedule the goal her idol had set for her: raising the spinach's Yi element content to 10? within three years.

Therefore, Xia Qing used Gao Yi-element organic fertilizer for this batch of spinach, irrigated it with unpolluted spring water, and mixed Yi-stone granules into the soil of the premium experimental plot. The fertilizer, Yi-stone granules, and soil were all proportioned according to the optimal ratios Xia Qing had worked out, and irrigation was strictly controlled by a drip system.

Every single spinach seedling in these two terraced fields was Xia Qing's treasure. Xia Qing had not only built fences around these two terraced fields with powerful thorns, but had also installed cameras.

Without Xia Qing's permission, all animals and humans—including Sheep Boss—entering these two terraced fields would face severe punishment.

Sheep Boss, having finished the delicious food, walked over and lay down on the path by the field, watching its little brother as it chewed its cud leisurely.

Xia Qing chatted with it as she worked. When it was nearly dark, Xia Qing took Sheep Boss to pick some pea shoots and Chinese toon buds, then sent Sheep Boss and the two gua back home first, while she took the blue-faced little monkey and the little boar Guapi to Sector Three of Mountain 49 to milk wild sows.

After returning to the territory, Xia Qing was about to eat when she heard her phone beep once, then a second time, then a third.

Just from the warning frequency, Xia Qing knew without looking at her phone that it was some black-hearted boss wolf who loved playing with the door.

This fellow—she was the one who had called it over.

Broken-Waist Wolf, carrying two bamboo rats on its back, had played with the door to its heart's content, then stopped by Shed 1 on the way to check on the sprouting of Xia Qing's high-quality crops. After coming out of Shed 1, it paused at the edge of the path to sniff, and slowly bared its sharp fangs.

Then this fellow detoured to give Hong Da Mao a beating before entering Shed 2 to check on the crops' growth.

After entering Xia Qing's courtyard, it first touched noses with the plucking-yellow weasel, then went to the sheep shed to poke around and examine the skin where the pungent medicine had been applied on the little yellow ox, which didn't dare move a muscle. Finally, it rinsed its paws clean in the water basin under the eaves, went inside, and flashed its cute little white fang tips at Xia Qing.