Chapter 29: The New Lord of Plot One

Although 60% was still far from the pre-apocalypse seed germination rate of over 97%, this number already made Xia Qing ecstatic.

But very quickly, Xia Qing, tempered by ten years of post-apocalypse hardship, regained her composure.

Not counting the spring on her own territory, there were four other publicly known uncontaminated springs within the Hui-Three Base range. Such a simple method as soaking seeds in spring water to raise germination rates would surely have been discovered long ago.

The reason it hadn't been announced was probably that the spring water yield was too small to be of much use, or possibly because crops soaked in spring water didn't perform particularly well against the later blight rains.

As a new farmer who couldn't even be called half-baked, she still needed to keep a low profile and stay calm. Xia Qing took a deep breath but couldn't suppress the upward curl of her lips, and trotted lightly back home to check on her little potatoes.

For some reason, the potatoes she had left to stand according to the broadcast's instructions still hadn't sprouted eyes, making Xia Qing want to soak them in spring water overnight to make them sprout faster so she could get them planted right away.

That evening, Xia Qing opened the lords' private chat channel, wanting to hear about their seed germination rates, but instead heard a familiar voice join the private channel.

"I am the new lord of Plot One, Luo Pei. Please guide me, everyone."

Xia Qing sat up with a start. Luo Pei?!

"Thud!"

Startled, Xia Qing gripped the sheep too hard while shearing, and got kicked off the tatami by the old ram's two hooves. Now she wasn't just startled—her thigh hurt too. Not bothering to settle scores with the old ram, Xia Qing immediately pressed the walkie-talkie button. "Captain Luo, this is the lord of Plot Three, Strength Evolver Xia Qing. I've gone on many missions with your squad before."

Hearing Xia Qing address Luo Pei as "Captain," the lords of Plots Four, Five, and Six also came back to their senses from their shock and introduced themselves one after another, offering greetings.

Just now they had been thinking it must be someone with the same name. They would never have guessed that Luo Pei, the third-ranked powerhouse of the Azure Dragon Squad, a Level Ten Visual Evolver and sharpshooter, had actually come here to farm!

Luo Pei's calm voice sounded again. "Hello, the three of you. Xia Qing, it's been a long time. My vision is damaged, and I'm no longer the captain of the Azure Dragon Squad. Just call me by my name from now on."

Luo Pei was thirty-four, nine years older than Xia Qing, so calling him by name wouldn't do. Xia Qing switched to "Brother Luo," and Kuang Qingwei and the other two followed suit, calling him "Brother" as well.

In this day and age, strength was what commanded respect. Regardless of whether they were older or younger than Luo Pei, even if Xia Qing had called him "Uncle Luo," they would have followed suit without hesitation.

Zhang San spoke up unhurriedly. "I'm Zhang San, Plot Seven."

"Tang Huai, Plot Two." Tang Huai was the last to speak.

Luo Pei's voice carried a smile. "Pleased to meet you all. Has everyone planted their seeds? Have they sprouted? Is there anything in particular to watch out for?"

Xia Qing picked up that Luo Pei didn't want attention on himself, so she immediately pressed the button and described her experience in detail. "Plot Three is fully planted, and the seeds have already sprouted, with a germination rate of around 40%. Watch out for birds and rats. In my experience, spraying a one-to-nine dilution of Odor Evolver camphor-tree leaf juice in water works best for keeping birds away without harming the seedlings. For rats, you need to search them out and wipe them out completely."

With Luo Pei's arrival, Xia Qing spoke in one go what would normally have taken her a whole week to say, and the other lords gained a profound appreciation of her respect for Luo Pei.

Qi Fu of Plot Five also spoke up. "My germination rate is about the same as Xia Qing's. If we can keep these sprouts alive, this year's harvest is in the bag."

"There's likely another blight rain in two months. We have to get through that before we can talk about harvest." Zhao Ze's voice sounded a little troubled, followed by Kuang Qingwei's various complaints, with Luo Pei chiming in from time to time.

After the private chat ended and the walkie-talkie was switched off, Xia Qing lay on her bamboo bed staring at the smoke-blackened ceiling, silent for a long while.

Her odd behavior caught the attention of the old ram, who was chewing cud. The old ram squinted at her for a while, got up, walked around the fire, and hopped onto Xia Qing's bamboo bed. Before Xia Qing could figure out what it was doing, her bamboo bed let out a piercing protest and collapsed under the old ram's weight.

The old ram quickly leapt aside. Xia Qing, hitting the floor for the second time that night, sighed and offered very sincere thanks. "Boss, thank you, old ram, for coming over to comfort me."

The squinting old ram was very pleased with Xia Qing's attitude, shook out its coat, and returned to the tatami mat to sleep. Xia Qing got up, removed the bed frame, laid the bed board directly on the ground, and then picked up the phone on the bedside table.

Because Luo Pei's vision was damaged, Xia Qing chose to call him directly. Having gone on missions with Luo Pei's squad for years, Xia Qing naturally knew how to reach him and confirmed he was using a satellite phone.

The call connected quickly. Xia Qing introduced herself and stated her purpose. "Brother Luo, this is Xia Qing. This is the cell phone number I'm using now. My territory has safe-food Evolver perilla and Chinese toon sprouts. Tomorrow morning, let me have someone from the patrol team bring some over to you?"

Luo Pei's voice carried a smile, very different from his usual stern, upright manner, as if he were a different person. "Many thanks. If good things can grow on my plot, I'll send some over for you to try. I didn't expect us to end up so close to each other outside the Safe Zone. Once I've tidied up, I'll invite you over for a visit."

Although Xia Qing often went on missions with his squad, her role was logistics and hauling, so she rarely had the chance to speak with Luo Pei, and there wasn't much to chat about. After exchanging a few polite words, Xia Qing hung up, burrowed into her bedding, and chatted idly with the old ram. "Boss, we've got a good neighbor now. I feel even more settled. But how did Captain Luo's eyes get hurt? How serious must the injury be to force him to leave the Safe Zone? How could Yang Jin and the others agree to it?"

The old ram naturally didn't answer. Xia Qing rambled until she'd had her fill, then yawned, closed her eyes, and fell asleep listening to the old ram's rhythmic cud-chewing.

Early the next morning, Xia Qing waited at the isolation belt on the north side of her new territory. After first reporting to Captain Tan that everything on the territory was normal, she handed the basket to Su Ming, the social butterfly of their squad. "Please deliver this to Plot One."

Su Ming took the basket with a grin. "Sister Qing's basket-weaving is getting better and better—you even put a lid on it now."

Xia Qing smiled. "Practice makes perfect."

After they had walked some distance, Xia Qing heard the Olfactory Evolver squad member Yuan Rui say in a low voice, "There's the smell of Chinese toon sprouts in this basket."

"Obviously, the smell's so strong, who couldn't smell it?" Su Ming's mouth watered. "Sister Qing and Brother Luo are pretty close, huh? She doesn't have a crush on Brother Luo, does she?!"

"Idiot." Cao Xianyu cursed. "Sister Qing said Plot Three was cleared by her along with a squad. Think carefully about which squad took the clearing mission for the evolved forest around here last year."

"Brother Luo's squad." Hu Zi answered for Su Ming. "Sister Qing went on missions with Brother Luo's squad, so it's perfectly normal for her to know Brother Luo."

"You bunch of pig brains!" Su Ming said, frustrated by their lack of perception. "Why can't you think it through? Out of so many squads, why did Sister Qing pick Brother Luo's? It must be because she has feelings for Brother Luo! Brother Luo is a few years older than her, sure, but isn't he good-looking? Isn't he capable? Isn't he unmarried? Isn't he—"

"Su Ming." Tan Junjie's voice was stern.

"Here."

"When we get back, fifty laps as punishment, plus two sets of basic training."

Then, Xia Qing heard Su Ming's wails of misery with great satisfaction.

(End of this chapter)