Chapter 346: The Leader of the Territory Alliance

The more they chatted, the more they felt that wintering in the territories was better than in the Safe Zone.

So the topic circled back to how to store the grain.

Kuang Qingwei laid out his plan. "Territory One definitely has food storage warehouses. Let's talk it over with Captain Luo and store our grain and vegetables in Territory One. Whatever points the Safe Zone warehouse charges for storing food, we'll pay him the same. He can charge a bit extra, too."

Zhao's mother agreed. "Right, we're close to Territory One, and Captain Luo's character speaks for itself. Leaving the food in his hands puts my mind at ease. The potatoes I had stored in the Safe Zone warehouse got swapped out. The potatoes Captain Zhong brought back last time weren't just small—the harmful element content was way higher, almost in the red zone!"

Kuang Qingwei sighed. "Little devils are hard to deal with. It was definitely whoever manages the food. A lot of people bought their jobs for big money. If they don't earn those points back, they're definitely going to feel the loss."

At this point, all four of them looked at Xia Qing.

Among them, the one with the best relationship with Territory One was Xia Qing. Not just Territory One—the one with the best relationship with Territory Seven was also her.

Today's meeting had already met its goals, and it was time to wrap up. Xia Qing spoke. "I'll bring it up with Captain Hu first and see what he says. I don't expect it'll be a problem."

Hearing this, Zhao's mother, Shi Zhong, and Kuang Qingwei were all delighted.

Qi Fu followed up. "Xia Qing agreed to trade me a small household oil press. Once the machine arrives, just let me know if anyone wants to press oil. But this stays between us—nobody can let it leak outside."

Shi Zhong and the other two were overjoyed. With an oil press, they could press oil from sunflower seeds. Once they traded for rapeseed from the Territory Management Department and planted it, if they worked hard for another half year, they might not lack oil to eat!

Kuang Qingwei's shrewd little eyes darted between Qi Fu and Xia Qing. With an exaggerated look, he shouted, "Brother Qi, why did the girl trade you the oil press? Spill it—what good stuff are you hiding in your territory?"

"Look outside for yourselves. My field is bare as bare can be. Besides grass, what else could there be?" Qi Fu said with a smile, telling the truth.

"Xia Qing and I both used to work on construction crews. We knew each other long ago, and we both know what kind of people we are. Not long after we came out to farm, we formed an alliance. We discuss things together and help each other out when one of us can't handle it. But I have to say, I'm ashamed—the two of us combined still aren't as capable as Xia Qing. It's always her helping us."

Qi Fu's words were far too modest, and Xia Qing returned the modesty. "If I hadn't often asked Brother Qi for advice, I wouldn't have been able to grow crops well either."

Only then did everyone realize that Territory Three and Territory Five had formed an alliance. Many of the odd things that had happened over the past half year finally had answers.

No wonder Xia Qing brought out medicine to save Qi Fu when he was injured and infected with the super bacteria; no wonder Xia Qing came to support Territory Five when an emergency arose during the harmful rain; no wonder Xia Qing teamed up with Qi Fu to take missions in the Evolution Forest…

Opportunities like today were rare. Shi Zhong vied to join and become their ally. "Xia Qing, we've known each other a long time too. You often go on missions with Shi Du. Little Qi, we've known each other for half a year now. You've seen what kind of people our family of three are. It didn't matter before, but now that you know, when forming an alliance, Territory Ten has to get a share."

Kuang Qingwei and Zhao's mother were equally eager. The benefits after forming an alliance were obvious—anyone who wasn't eager would be a fool.

So it followed naturally that Territories Three, Four, Five, Six, and Ten formed a territory alliance. In a year of natural disasters, teaming up with capable people was the only way to guarantee safety.

The alliance leader, as a matter of course, was the most capable Xia Qing.

After the alliance was formed, all five lords were very happy. Humans are social animals who need to communicate and cooperate with their own kind. The lords had spent over half a year together and had a certain foundation of trust, along with shared goals and interests. Forming an alliance benefited everyone.

Xia Qing was a good shot and strong; the middleman Kuang Qingwei had wide connections, was well-informed, and had channels for procuring supplies; Qi Fu and Shi Zhong had rich farming experience, and Shi Zhong was handy—he could manufacture and improve farm tools; Zhao Ze of Territory Four didn't have any particular strengths, but his mother knew how to get things done and seemed like someone worth dealing with.

Pulling Territory Four in had obvious benefits for Xia Qing: it was adjacent to Territory Four, and forming an alliance could boost the territory's security.

After the meeting ended, Kuang Qingwei and Shi Zhong headed south, while Xia Qing and Zhao's mother headed north, leaving Territory Five and returning to their own territories.

Territories Three and Four were adjacent, so Xia Qing and Zhao's mother walked back together. Being able to form an alliance with Xia Qing made Zhao's mother both happy and uneasy, because Territory Four had no standout supplies or skills. She worried that soon, she and her son would be kicked out of the alliance.

So Zhao's mother actively showed goodwill to Xia Qing. "A few days ago I wanted to tell you—we can't let you handle the thorn wall between our two territories all by yourself. How about this: you take the northern half, we take the southern half?"

The northern side was closer to the buffer forest, making it convenient to haul timber. Xia Qing accepted Zhao's mother's kindness. "Sure. Thank you, Auntie."

"What's there to thank? It's only right." Zhao's mother then eagerly promoted her son to Xia Qing. "Don't look at how Zhao Ze isn't great at farming—he's got some skills when it comes to engineering. He studied it in college, worked it for several years after graduation, and even became a manager, overseeing over a hundred people. After the autumn harvest, when you recruit people to work, you can have Zhao Ze come over to measure timber usage, schedule vehicles and personnel, and estimate project costs. He can do all of that."

Xia Qing was short on exactly this kind of help and gladly agreed. "Deal. When the time comes, I'll have Brother Zhao come help me out for a while. The wage is 20 points a day."

"No, no, no!" Zhao's mother quickly waved her one remaining hand. "He's going to follow you and broaden his horizons. What's there to pay him?"

Xia Qing was very firm. "Auntie, we just set the alliance agreement. Members helping each other and trading supplies must be calculated at market price. If Brother Zhao can do what you said, he deserves this wage."

At the first alliance meeting, the five lords drew up six basic agreements. The one Xia Qing just mentioned was among them.

"He's not worth 20 points a day…"

Zhao's mother murmured a reply, then suddenly broke down. "Qing, don't look at how my Aze acts silly now. He did well in school, got into a good university, and after graduating he was willing to work hard. His job was going great. Four years of working, he bought a house and found a partner. I was arranging his wedding when the disaster came…"

"In the third year of the disaster, the small base we were staying at was destroyed. On the road fleeing with the combat squad to Hui-3 Base, Aze's dad was snatched to death by an evolved eagle. I was injured too. I told Aze to leave me and flee with the squad. He refused and carried me on his back for several miles."

"We spent all our supplies just to get into Hui-3 Base. By then, all the good jobs at the base had long been taken. Aze couldn't even get into a construction crew. We could only live on the outermost edge of the Safe Zone, doing the dirtiest, most exhausting work. We took abuse and scolding without complaint, working from dawn to dusk just to earn one or two points… Qing, I don't mind telling you this and being laughed at—these past years, I've almost forgotten I'm a person too."

Almost forgetting she's a person is because she lived without any dignity, and the people around her didn't treat her as one.

Although Zhao's mother had fought her way into the territory alliance, she knew that she and her son were the weakest in it.

Xia Qing was an Evolver and a sniper; Qi Fu and his wife of Territory Five were Strength Evolvers; Shi Du of Territory Ten was also a Strength Evolver; the couple in Territory Six were ordinary people, but they had connections and channels and could get supplies.

She was a cripple, and her son was just an ordinary person who couldn't farm. After two crops in a year, their territory had the lowest grain harvest. The most valuable thing in the territory, the green-grade alfalfa, had bloomed and turned smelly and couldn't be traded for points anymore. If Lei Yu hadn't blown a lot of electrocuted fish over from Territory Three, they wouldn't have even scraped together enough points to buy the next crop's seeds and fertilizer.

Because they were weak, being bullied was normal—after all, this was a year of natural disasters where survival resources were seized by strength and ability.

She hadn't expected Xia Qing to really follow the rules set by the alliance agreement, which was why Zhao's mother was so emotionally overwhelmed.