Chapter 271: Rosemary and Mint

Xia Qing answered Qi Fu's questions in detail. "I exchanged soil insecticide with Third Brother earlier and started using it at the end of July, so hardly any thornworms showed up in the greenhouse. A few days ago I spotted borers, so I exchanged a specialized insecticide with Third Brother."

Beard Feng also answered, "We exchanged soil insecticide for Territory One too, but since we haven't started farming yet, we haven't used it. There are plenty of thornworms and leafminer larvae in the fields. Once we're done dealing with this pest plague and planting wheat, we'll definitely use it."

At this, besides Qi Fu and the others, even Xin Yu, who had never taken part in inter-lord resource exchanges, put forward a request. "Third Brother, can Territory Eight exchange your specialized soil insecticide and borer insecticide with you?"

Zhang San immediately grew interested. "What are you offering in exchange?"

Xin Yu stated her supplies. "Green-light mint or green-light rosemary, both with a killing-element content below three parts per thousand. Would that work?"

Zhang San readily agreed. After the two settled the trade terms, Zhang San gave his usual reminder. "For the soil insecticide, let's first see how this spraying works out, then look at the dosage. You can go ahead and spray the borer insecticide—I'll have Ji Li deliver it to you."

Li Si immediately followed up. "Territory Eight, did you bring your green-light mint and rosemary with you, or were they already in the territory?"

Xin Yu flatly refused. "My green-light supplies are limited. I've already traded for the insecticide I need. No more exchanges."

Everyone...

Tang Huai clapped and laughed heartily in his territory. "Brilliant! Xin Yu is even more ruthless than Xia Qing! How interesting, so very interesting!"

Shi Du, who was busy catching insects, asked for guidance. "Is rosemary an herb or a vegetable?"

Xin Yu didn't answer, and Tang Huai was too busy gloating to respond. Kuang Qingwei's wife Zhu Li answered Shi Du's question for him. "Rosemary is a kind of spice. It can be used to make air fresheners and perfume, and it can also be used as a seasoning."

Xia Qing, who was calming her companions, was mulling over what to trade her captured evolved eagle to Xin Yu for. She didn't need a nice-to-have seasoning like rosemary—green-light garlic and green-light mint were still her top choices.

After the helicopter-sized rotors had roared for three hours, Xia Qing clearly felt Sheep Boss's tense muscles relax. He perked up and went downstairs, heading out of the house.

Xia Qing immediately fitted him with a protective mask and protective suit. "It smells terrible outside. Go fast and come back fast."

After Sheep Boss went out to relieve himself, he quickly ran back. Then Broken-Waist Wolf stood by the door, indicating he wanted to go out too. Xia Qing immediately took out the protective suit she'd traded with Tang Huai. "Broken-Waist, try this set on—how is it?"

Seeing Broken-Waist Wolf didn't object, Xia Qing immediately dressed him in the protective suit, even putting shoes on him.

Clothes make the man, and a protective suit makes the wolf. Once he was wearing this outfit, Broken-Waist Wolf—with a large patch of fur missing from his back—instantly looked majestic and dashing no matter how you looked at him.

Xia Qing couldn't resist pulling out her phone and snapping a few shots. After confirming there was no helicopter roar within a three-kilometer radius, she quickly took Broken-Waist Wolf to the wolf toilet.

After returning to the house, Xia Qing also put a protective suit on the sick wolf and took it out along the base of the wall for a trip.

Once her companions had adapted to the helicopter roar, Xia Qing no longer needed to stay in the house. She adjusted the walkie-talkies inside both wolves' masks and solemnly warned her fully geared-up companions. "I'm going to patrol the territory. None of you are to go out. If the humans on the aircraft spot you, all of you must return to the depths of the Evolution Forest. You can't stay in my territory."

"Baa." Sheep Boss was the first to respond. He was a coward, just like Xia Qing.

Fully geared-up Broken-Waist Wolf was the second to respond. "Woo."

Because Broken-Waist Wolf was wearing a protective mask, the response wasn't loud, but Xia Qing's nonsense ears heard it perfectly. She was overjoyed. "Broken-Waist, I'm leaving the house to you. I'm going to patrol the territory. If anything comes up, call me at a volume like this—I can hear it."

"Woo." Broken-Waist Wolf responded again, in great spirits. Clearly his good mood had to do with the protective suit. He was endlessly entertained twisting around to check the suit on his back, his eyes shining with delight.

Xia Qing, fully geared up, went out to patrol the territory. Perhaps because the helicopter had drawn water from her territory, after spraying the cultivated farmland, it began spraying the uncultivated flatland starting from her territory.

By now, within her territory, aside from two uninhabited abandoned villages and the buffer forest, everything had been sprayed with insecticide once and was damp everywhere.

Xia Qing observed the caterpillars carefully and found that about twenty percent of the Mao Mao worms had fallen straight to the ground and died on the spot. Sixty percent had curled into little fuzzy balls, motionless but not yet dead. Twenty percent were still nibbling leaves, but their feeding speed had noticeably slowed.

Xia Qing pressed the button and reported the situation.

Li Si responded, "If the curled-up motionless fuzzy balls can recover, the pest plague still can't be avoided. It's best to spray a high-concentration dose of insecticide again as soon as possible."

Zhao Ze asked, "The chemicals are limited. I don't think we can spray a second round. Third Brother, do you think the curled-up worms can be killed?"

Zhang San, still listless, said, "We have to test first to find out. Kuang Qingwei, should I send someone to Territory Six to take samples?"

Territory Six was answered by Zhu Li—Kuang Qingwei was probably busy exterminating pests. "Of course. Thanks for the trouble, Third Brother."

In the lord channel, Xin Yu's inquiry rang out. "Xia Qing, can we trade now?"

Was Xin Yu worried the eagle would die in Territory Three? Xia Qing pressed the button. "We can."

Xin Yu asked again, "Captain Tan and the others are busy. Can I come trade under the Territory Three signpost?"

"Sure." Xin Yu hadn't said what supplies she wanted to trade with, and Xia Qing figured she didn't want to reveal it on the lord channel, so she agreed crisply.

"Thanks. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Tang Huai, who loved a spectacle, was more eager than anyone. He quickly appeared under the Territory Two signpost, his gaze burning as he stared at the western passage. When he finally saw Xin Yu's figure appear, Tang Huai waved his arm in greeting. "Xin Yu, over here."

Xia Qing, who had been waiting inside the tall grass wall, paused for a moment. When she couldn't hear Xin Yu respond to Tang Huai, she made her way through the tall grass wall and appeared at the signpost.

Xin Yu was wearing a protective suit and carrying the same large machete she'd had with her last time when she'd gone to chop wood and accidentally wandered into Territory Three. This time, however, Xin Yu's protective mask had been swapped for a single-sided see-through one.

People in the safe zone who wore this kind of mask generally had severe facial or eye damage and didn't want others to see their faces. So, in everyone's eyes, this kind of protective mask was a marker for people with facial disfigurements. Normal people didn't wear them because they got in the way of eye contact.

Last time Xia Qing had seen Xin Yu, her eye-area skin and eyes had been perfectly fine. Had she been injured? Or was she deliberately dressed like this because she didn't want to be seen?

A helicopter roared past at low altitude, the tall grass wall tumbling in the wash of its prop wash. The two female lords stood quietly, waiting until the helicopter had landed inside Territory Three to draw water before they began discussing the trade.