Chapter 408: The Red Squirrel Is Injured

Inside Territory Two, Xu Pin grabbed Tang Heng, who was about to lunge for the walkie-talkie. Tang Huai was still coughing his lungs out; the blood on his leg had soaked through the bandage and was beginning to spread across the floor — clearly the wound had torn open again.

Tang Zhengsu's face darkened terrifyingly as he walked step by step toward Tang Huai.

Tang Heng, pinned down by Xu Pin, roared, "Tang Zhengsu, if anything happens to my brother, I'll make your whole family pay with their lives."

Just as Tang Zhengsu was about to turn around, Tang Huai burst out laughing.

"Heh, heh—cough, cough—heh—pah!"

Tang Huai struggled to sit up, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and looked at Tang Zhengsu with contempt through bloodshot eyes. His voice was hoarse: "Tang Lao Er, you might've evolved but you're still a coward, a gutless loser. Come on, if you've got the guts, kill Young Master here. If you've got the guts, kick me like this!"

"Brother…" Tang Heng was frantic with worry, afraid that if Tang Huai kept provoking him, Tang Zhengsu would really kill him.

"Come on, cough cough—if you've got the guts, you cough—" Tang Huai coughed on, refusing to let Tang Zhengsu hurt his younger brother.

The moment Tang Zhengsu took another step toward Tang Huai, the walkie-talkie crackled with the voice of Zhou Zhaoping, board secretary of the Original Chonglian Group: "Chairman Tang, can Territory Eight trade for your purple sweet potatoes?"

Tang Zhengpo replied mildly, "My purple sweet potatoes aren't many, but if Brother Zhou wants to trade, of course you may — though at most only three jin."

Zhou Zhaoping smiled, "Many thanks. I have half a Green Lantern evolved ginseng here — take it to nourish young Chairman Tang's blood."

Tang Zhengsu stopped, his face dark and grim.

"Heh—cough, cough, cough…" Tang Huai laughed between coughs, mocking Tang Zhengsu as a gutless loser.

Yang Jin spoke up too: "Chairman Tang, can Territory One trade Green Lantern angelica for your purple sweet potatoes?"

Tang Zhengpo remained mild, his voice unhurried: "You may, but at most also only three jin."

Yang Jin replied, "Many thanks."

Li Si came online too: "Territory Twelve, what's the stability and hostile evolution rate of your Green Lantern purple sweet potatoes?"

"For open-field cultivation, calculating based on this year's second hostile rain's concentration and duration, the aggressive hostile evolution rate is 35%," Tang Zhengpo answered.

Hearing this probability, the trading impulses of all the ordinary lords were dampened.

Li Si proposed a trade: "Territory Nine can trade three jin of sweet potatoes for two vials of special blood-restorative from the Blaze Squad."

"Agreed." Tang Zhengpo, holding the walkie-talkie, gazed at Tang Zhengsu standing by the window. His voice remained unhurried, as if he couldn't hear his eldest son's coughing, nor see the killing intent on Tang Zhengsu's face.

"Third Brother, Brother Zhou, Captain Yang, Fourth Sister — thank you all for lending a hand when Tang Huai was injured. This kindness I, Tang Zhengpo, will engrave in my heart, and I will repay it in the future."

Xia Qing, shouldering a bundle of zigzag steel frames, turned her head slightly. Liangzi, the level-six auditory evolver of the Hu Zifeng Squad, spoke up: "Did you hear that? While Tang Zhengpo was talking, someone on the walkie-talkie was coughing — sounds injured."

"Our ears aren't nearly as good as yours." Chen Cheng greeted Xia Qing warmly: "Sister Qing, the sweet potatoes are done."

"Good."

Xia Qing set the zigzag steel frames on the ground, dusted the dirt off her protective suit, and called everyone over to eat a piece of roasted sweet potato before getting back to work.

Liangzi and Chen Zheng each took a piece of steaming, fragrant roasted sweet potato, and Liangzi continued: "Tang Zhengpo chose this moment to bring out the Green Lantern purple sweet potatoes — there must be a reason."

Xia Qing, peeling her sweet potato, nodded. She had not only heard someone coughing, but also identified the cougher as Tang Huai. She was certain because once before, when she'd run into Tang Huai, his speaking voice had exactly this hoarse timbre caused by an external wound.

Tang Zhengpo bringing out the Green Lantern purple sweet potatoes now was likely to add bargaining weight against Tang Zhengsu inside Territory Two.

The weight of that bargaining chip was no small matter.

Xiao Jiang, eating a sweet fragrant sweet potato, asked, "Why is everyone so interested in Green Lantern purple sweet potatoes with a 35% aggressive hostile evolution rate?"

The Hu Zifeng Squad all looked at Xia Qing. They were all combat personnel — though they'd taken the job of protecting Territory Three, they knew far less about agricultural cultivation than Xia Qing, the dedicated farmer.

Xia Qing, who tuned in to the farming knowledge broadcast on time every day, explained: "Purple sweet potatoes, like carrots and cabbage, are hostile-element-sensitive plants. If hostile-element-sensitive plants aren't grown in an environment that isolates hostile elements, the aggressive hostile evolution rate is around 70%. So Territory Twelve's purple sweet potatoes already count as an exceptionally strong performer among hostile-element-sensitive plants."

Dajiang took a bite of fragrant sweet potato and asked, "Are purple sweet potatoes and regular sweet potatoes that different? Why bother putting in the effort to study them?"

This question, Er Yong — whose father was a chef — could answer: "Purple sweet potatoes are very high in anthocyanins. Natural anthocyanins can balance metabolism, slow aging, and sharpen visual sensitivity. You tell me — is it worth studying?"

Hearing that purple sweet potatoes could sharpen visual sensitivity, Xia Qing, the level-nine visual evolver, grew even more interested.

After installing the steel frame, plastic film, and straw curtain of the second greenhouse, the Hu Zifeng Squad left Territory Three. Xia Qing immediately sent Yang Jin a message:

Captain Yang, when you cultivate purple sweet potato seedlings next year, could I trade 40 Green Lantern sweet potato seedlings for 10?

About half an hour later, Xia Qing finally received Yang Jin's reply:

Agreed. Tang Huai was injured by Tang Zhengsu and has been sent to Territory Seven. Xu Pin departs tomorrow morning, taking a helicopter to the lake north of Mountain Sixty.

That lake has giant pythons and hostile snakes — Xu Pin leading a team there is probably related to the hostile snakes. If Xu Pin goes, Yang Jin will certainly go too.

If they fight over there, it'll definitely disturb the wolf pack on Mountain Sixty and the bear group on Mountain Sixty-One — and there's no telling what kind of chain reaction it might set off.

Xia Qing drew a deep breath. After replying with the two words "Received," she was about to put away her phone when she saw the locator APP for the red squirrel send a notification.

The red squirrel has left Mountain Forty-Nine, Zone Three.

Xia Qing couldn't bother clearing the debris in the greenhouse anymore. She immediately rushed home, gathered enough gear, and hurried to Mountain Forty-Nine, Zone Three to wait for the red squirrel's return.

Forty minutes later, the red dot representing the red squirrel appeared on Xia Qing's phone locator. Soon, Xia Qing saw a red figure appear on a tall pine tree over twenty meters away. Its cheeks were stuffed full, and in its muddy little claws it clutched two peanuts!

After the red squirrel set the peanuts down, it darted quickly eastward again. Even with her greatly improved running speed, Xia Qing was soon left behind by the red squirrel.

Xia Qing wasn't anxious. She waited quietly at the spot where she'd lost it for over fifty minutes before the red squirrel finally came back.

This time, it came back not only with peanuts, but with injuries.

The snow-white fur on its belly had been dyed red by fresh blood. With a wound this serious, if it didn't get treatment in time, all the food it had painstakingly stockpiled in its six storage chambers would be worthless.

After the red squirrel stumbled into its tree hollow, Xia Qing tossed in an inhalational anesthetic, then quickly blocked up the entrance.

Once the anesthetic took effect, Xia Qing reached into the hollow and pulled the little fellow out to examine the wound on its belly.