Chapter 328: Is This Something a Proper Wolf Would Do?

Xia Qing opened the surveillance app on her phone, took one look, and immediately set down the bundle of bean pods. "Boss, Wolf Lao Er, the Queen and Broken-Waist are here!"

With that, Xia Qing ran out first, heading toward the northern buffer forest.

The lead wolf and Broken-Waist, who had stopped under a green lantern tree, looked toward the direction the footsteps were coming from.

Fine rain clung to the two wolves' thick fur like tiny pearls gleaming with light. Broken-Waist was still wearing its protective suit, walking down from the mountain; the Queen's body had bits of grass and mud stuck to it, yet Broken-Waist's protective suit was spotlessly clean—no one knew how it managed that.

Gazing at the lead wolf's gold eyes, Xia Qing seemed to see a Yishi beckoning to her. She cheerfully greeted the two wolves, "Welcome back, my lord the Queen. Broken-Waist, you look incredibly handsome in that protective suit."

It's been so long—has the fur on your back grown back yet?

After the pleasantries, Xia Qing called for the wolves and one sheep to head home with her.

When they reached the camera on the east side, Xia Qing noticed Broken-Waist staring thoughtfully at the camera and sternly warned it not to cause trouble. "Broken-Waist, the camera on the pole cost me a fortune. If you damage it, I swear I'll shave every single hair off your body."

Broken-Waist, who had been staring at the camera, looked away and followed the lead wolf into the village without turning back.

Xia Qing was still uneasy and wanted to contact Yang Jin immediately to exchange for the stealth coating as soon as possible, so she could paint the cameras and reduce their conspicuousness.

She patted Sheep Boss, who was rubbing against her under the shared umbrella, and discussed with it, "These five cameras were traded for every single fish in our reservoir. Boss, tell your wolf friends not to touch our cameras."

Sheep Boss squinted and kept walking; who knew if it understood.

When the person and sheep got home, three wolves were standing under the eaves shaking raindrops from their fur. The little swallows were hiding in a newly built row of mud nests under the eaves, only their little heads peeking out to look down secretly.

Sheep Boss, who hadn't been rained on, walked over, rinsed its hooves in the water basin placed under the eaves, then rubbed the water off on some dry hay nearby, and stood still with squinted eyes, head raised.

Xia Qing understood at once—it was waiting to be praised. "Boss washed its hooves? Let me see if they're clean?"

Sheep Boss lifted one front hoof.

"So clean! Honestly cleaner than if I'd scrubbed them with a brush. Boss, how did you manage to wash all the mud off your hooves so fast? You're so smart—having a companion like you makes me so proud!"

Sheep Boss was satisfied, pushed the door open with its hoof, and went inside first.

The sick wolf rinsed its shoeless paws in the water basin, lifted them up, found there was still mud on them, and turned to look at Xia Qing.

"Wolf Lao Er's paws have fur and nail crevices, so they're hard to wash clean. This afternoon I'll make a wooden basin with a bristle brush on the bottom, and then Wolf Lao Er can wash its own paws clean." Xia Qing helped the sick wolf wash all four paws clean, changed the water, and let the lead wolf and Broken-Waist wash their paws clean too, praising each one in turn.

All that praise left Xia Qing parched; the first thing she did after going inside was drink water, then beckoned to her companion. "Boss, come here, I'll brush your fur."

Boss loved being brushed and trotted over at once. After Xia Qing finished brushing Sheep Boss's fur, she naturally brushed the sick wolf waiting nearby, then the Queen, and finally Broken-Waist, who was wearing the protective suit.

Goal achieved!

When Xia Qing took the protective suit off Broken-Waist, she felt a hard round stone in the suit's side pocket and immediately beamed. "Broken-Waist, the fur on your back has grown back. In another month you won't be able to tell at all."

After Xia Qing finished brushing its fur, Broken-Waist took a walnut-sized Yishi out of the protective suit's pocket in its mouth and placed it in front of Xia Qing.

Xia Qing, who had long been waiting for this moment, beamed with joy. "What does Handsome Wolf Brother Broken-Waist want to trade the Yishi for this time?"

Before Broken-Waist could respond, the lead wolf stepped forward and stood in front of Xia Qing.

"The protective suit? Understood, my lord the Queen, please wait a moment!" Xia Qing immediately went upstairs, brought down the full set of dog protective gear, and placed it in front of the lead wolf. "Would my lord the Queen like to try it on?"

The lead wolf clearly had no such intention. It picked up the bag containing the protective suit in its mouth, returned to the tatami, and indicated the bag now belonged to it. Xia Qing had no objection whatsoever—she had been waiting for this moment for several days.

When Xia Qing reached for the Yishi, Broken-Waist blocked her with its paw.

Xia Qing was puzzled. "Isn't it a trade for the protective suit?"

Broken-Waist walked to the door, placed its large paw on the door handle, and turned to look calmly at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing assumed Broken-Waist wanted the right to come and go freely through the house, and nodded. "Sure, whenever you want to come to the territory or the house, you can come anytime."

After hearing this, Broken-Waist's paw remained on the door handle, motionless.

Xia Qing was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head. "I don't understand what you mean."

Broken-Waist paused thoughtfully for a few seconds, opened the protective door and went out, walked to the chicken coop door, and placed its paw on the handle again.

Xia Qing suddenly came up with a very strange hypothesis. "Handsome Wolf Brother Broken-Waist, do you want the door?"

Broken-Waist returned to the entryway security door, placed its paw on the handle again, and grinned, revealing two small, gleaming white fang tips.

Xia Qing, on the other hand, fell silent.

When this guy was lying down unable to move, it kept staring at the security door. So it wasn't that it wanted to come inside—it had taken a fancy to the door itself. Honestly, its taste really wasn't bad.

This was a custom-made, Class-A security-grade, thickened stainless steel security door. More than half of Xia Qing's two-story little building's grandeur and security were propped up by this door.

Is this something a normal wolf living in the Evolution Forest would do? What's the point of trading for a security door—do you even have a house?

Xia Qing couldn't bear to part with it and decided to struggle once more. "How are you and my lord the Queen going to carry off such a big door? How about I give you the chicken coop one instead?"

Broken-Waist's paw remained on the security door's handle, its attitude resolute.

Choosing between a Yishi worth over two hundred thousand and a security door wasn't difficult. Xia Qing raised a hand and rubbed her face. "... Fine, trade. Handsome Wolf Brother, come inside and rest for a bit. Wait until I make a wooden door to replace it."

Fortunately, she had worked on a construction crew for five years and could do a bit of everything; otherwise, tonight the house would have no door.

She took the carpentry tool kit from the tool room, measured the security door's dimensions, and went to the warehouse to pick out wood. Over the past half year or so, she had stored quite a few good pieces of wood; the most suitable for making a door was the hardness-evolved beech wood she had hauled back from the Evolution Forest.

Beech is a hardwood with strong impact resistance and durability, and excellent nail-holding ability. The evolved beech wood's quality had gone up two whole grades. Using evolved beech wood to make a wooden door, then painting it with waterproof, anti-corrosion, and insect-proof coating—although it couldn't compare to the current security door, it would still be much better than the doors of the sheep pen, chicken coop, and warehouse.

Logically, without carving any patterns, making two door panels should have been quick. But the evolved beech wood was too hard, and sawing the door panels took quite a bit of time. Xia Qing chatted with the three wolves and one sheep keeping her company as she sawed wood, focusing on telling Broken-Waist what had happened in the days since it left.

By the time she finished making the door, it was already evening. Just as she was preparing to remove the old door, a turn of events occurred: Handsome Wolf Brother Broken-Waist, with his excellent taste, had taken a liking to the newly made wooden door.