Chapter 270: The Lord with the Largest Territory

Tang Huai started trouble with Beard Feng, "Territory One, there must be plenty of caterpillars in your 'training grounds,' right? You're not also waiting for the helicopter to spray?"

Beard Feng shot back, "Who the hell are you? Trying to meddle in our squad's business too?"

Before the two could start arguing, Zhang San spoke up weakly, "Territory Seven can handle the bugs on its own, no helicopter spraying needed."

Territory Nine immediately followed, "Territory Nine also doesn't need a helicopter to kill bugs."

"Copy that." Tan Junjie's response remained serious and calm, but Xia Qing sensed he had breathed a sigh of relief.

Territory Seven, hemmed in by mountains on two sides, had 6,700 mu of farmland plus buffer forest, making it the largest of the two hundred territories to begin with. Territory Nine had no buffer forest and covered 2,300 mu.

The two territories combined covered 9,000 mu. Since they didn't need the base's helicopter to spray, that saved two hours of spraying time, meaning the buffer forest could be sprayed two hours earlier.

Xia Qing had just happily curled up the corner of her mouth when she heard Tang Huai ask cheekily, "Xia Qing, what about you? Your territory is the biggest of all the territories—do you need the helicopter to spray?"

Xia Qing's territory was also hemmed in by mountains on two sides and had originally been the third largest of all the territories, but after merging the 1,500-mu Gao Po into Territory Three, she became the lord with the largest territory.

Although she had the largest territory, Xia Qing, the lord with the fewest people in her territory, pressed a button and answered calmly, "Yes."

"Copy that." Tan Junjie responded, "The spraying helicopter requests to refill water at Territory Three's reservoir. Does the Lord of Territory Three approve?"

Although this territory had plenty of surface water flows, only Xia Qing's territory had a reservoir. According to the Territory Law, all resources within a territory belong to the lord, so even though the helicopter was sent by the base to kill bugs, taking water from Territory Three to mix the pesticide still required the lord's approval before it could land.

Xia Qing pressed the button, "Lord of Territory Three, Xia Qing, permits the helicopter to land by the reservoir and take water."

"Copy that."

After Tan Junjie's reply, Xia Qing immediately took one sheep and two wolves up to the attic, watching through the window as the helicopter landed, took on water, then took off again to continue spraying.

On the lord channel, Tang Huai started being sarcastic again, "Territory One, why did the plane spray over your territory for so long? You didn't pull some strings, did you?"

Beard Feng chuckled, "Can't compare to you, the professional bug-digger. We're out here farming—we busted our backs opening up a thousand mu of farmland. Of course our spraying time is long."

Unexpectedly, Tang Huai didn't bicker with Beard Feng and actually turned his spear on Xia Qing again, "Xia Qing, how much land did you open? Why has that helicopter been circling over your territory for almost an hour?"

Xia Qing didn't want to bother with Tang Huai, but his repeated picking on her was very abnormal. Xia Qing guessed Sufeng Squad had put him up to it, so she replied coldly, "Although I didn't open much farmland, I used iron rakes to clear a few hundred mu of alligator weed roots, which also counts as opened wasteland."

Tang Huai expressed genuine surprise, "Are you so bored and full that you have nothing better to do?"

This time Xia Qing didn't need to fire back—Tang Zhengpo sternly rebuked his son, "Tang Huai!"

Inside Territory Two, Tang Huai clutched his head and wailed, "I'm done for. This time I've completely offended Xia Qing—she'll definitely never let me into her territory to see the sheep and wolves."

Inside Territory Three, Xia Qing went up to the attic to observe the helicopter that had come to her territory for water. North of the reservoir, about 150 meters up the mountain slope, lay her territory's most important resource—an unpolluted spring.

Under the pretext of protecting the ever-expanding Green Light grapevines, Xia Qing extended the low-slope greenhouse upward, bringing the spring inside the greenhouse and protecting it.

But she still had to be on guard against people stepping off the helicopter and wandering around her territory while it landed to take on water.

The two wolves and one sheep all entered the attic with her. Eldest Sheep had no interest in the helicopter and lay beside Xia Qing chewing cud. The sick wolf squatted beside the broken-back wolf, while the broken-back wolf propped itself up on its two hind paws and, copying Xia Qing's movements, used its front paws to pull aside a corner of the curtain to look outside.

Xia Qing had no choice but to close her side of the curtain and scoot over to peer outside with the broken-back wolf, to keep it from being spotted by people on the plane.

Although the plane was far away, they certainly had binoculars. Xia Qing, a Level Nine visually evolved human, watched the helicopter pump water through a thick pipe, then take off directly without anyone disembarking, and only then relaxed.

"Is everyone there? Have any thorn bugs shown up in your greenhouses?" Zhao Ze asked loudly over the walkie-talkie. The larvae of the stinging moth were abbreviated by Zhao Ze as thorn bugs—simple and clear.

Kuang Qingwei answered in a frantic rush, "I've got them here too. I'm out with people catching bugs right now."

"I've got them here too." Qi Fu answered.

Shi Du responded, "We're catching bugs too."

Tan Junjie reminded everyone, "It's spraying time now. Any lords out in the field must strictly follow protective standards—wear protective suits and protective masks."

They had thought the mass emergence of caterpillars within the territories was bad enough, but unexpectedly caterpillars had also burrowed out of the greenhouse fields. The bug disaster had escalated, and the lords were frantic with worry.

Everyone knew they shouldn't be out and about during spraying, but watching one little bug after another burrow out of the soil and climb up the seedlings they had painstakingly tended for months—which lord could not worry, which lord could stay cooped up indoors?

Busy catching bugs, Zhao Ze still remembered to look out for his good neighbor Xia Qing, "Xia Qing, can you handle it alone? I've got plenty of hands here—want me to send a couple of people over to help?"

Tang Huai immediately followed, "I can go help too."

Xia Qing pressed the button and replied politely, "No need, Brother Zhao. Things are fine on my end, I can handle it."

Tang Huai? Hah, straight ignored.

Hearing that Xia Qing could handle it, Zhao Ze exclaimed, "You're really something."

Xia Qing's exchange of soil pesticide and borer-specific pesticide with Zhang San was not done on the lord channel, so she didn't mention that her greenhouse had few bugs.

She didn't bring it up, but Zhang San spoke, "Xia Qing, how's it looking in your greenhouse?"

The moment her idol spoke, Xia Qing understood what he meant and immediately answered, "I don't have many bugs here. Thanks, Third Brother, for the borer pesticide you traded me."

The pesticide the plane was currently spraying killed thorn bugs and leafminer larvae—it couldn't kill borers.

Anything Zhang San puts out is bound to be top quality.

The moment he heard Zhang San had borer pesticide, Kuang Qingwei, who was so busy he wished he could sprout eight hands, immediately asked, "Third Brother, the Green Light chive seeds in my territory are almost ripe. Can I trade chive seeds with you for the borer pesticide?"

Although Zhang San spoke weakly, his words were very soothing to the lords' panic, "Sure, I'll have Ji Li send it over to you."

Kuang Qingwei quickly replied, "Thanks a lot, Third Brother."

Qi Fu immediately followed, "I figure after spraying, killing most of the thorn bugs would be good enough. Xia Qing, in your greenhouse, you don't even have thorn bugs?"