Chapter 48: Does a Iron Rooster Have Feathers?

After putting the bamboo rat meat into the dehydrator, setting the time and temperature, and pressing the switch, Xia Qing hummed a little tune as she turned on the radio, listened to the evening news broadcast, and continued reading the manuals for the dehydrator and the vacuum sealer.

The news broadcast had no valuable information. The base weather forecast said no acid rain or large-scale insect swarms in the next five days, but today's base farming report was actually about how to exterminate evolved rats. Xia Qing raised an eyebrow, closed the manual, and turned on the walkie-talkie.

The one speaking now was Zhao Ze, who was asking Qi Fu for advice on accumulating farm manure.

As everyone knows, inorganic fertilizer is fertilizer made by chemical or physical methods containing one or several nutrient elements needed for crop growth, also called chemical fertilizer. Organic fertilizer refers to fertilizer made from by-product resources rich in organic matter, such as animal excrement or animal and plant remains, as the main raw material, after fermentation and decomposition.

Before the great biological evolution of Blue Star, chemical fertilizer was the main fertilizer for growing crops. But after the great biological evolution, applying chemical fertilizer that quickly replenishes various elements needed by plants actually became the main culprit causing crop mutation, and applying organic fertilizer became the only choice to promote the growth of evolved crops.

When it came to farming knowledge, Qi Fu began to talk at length, "We don't raise livestock or poultry, and with only these few people in the territory, we can't accumulate much manure. The safe zone doesn't sell organic fertilizer either. Do you know how many pigs are raised at the wild boar breeding center north of Plots Four and Five? I wonder if they sell pig manure…"

This topic was too much for the appetite. Xia Qing was glad she had eaten early today.

Xia Qing wasn't the only one affected. Qi Fu's words were interrupted by Zhang San, "Stop, don't ruin my aftertaste of a wonderful dinner."

Qi Fu immediately shut up. Kuang Qingwei asked cheerfully, "What did Third Brother eat tonight?"

Zhang San answered sincerely, "Of course the incomparably delicious green-light vegetables. If I can find more, I'd trade any amount of points for them."

Xia Qing knew Zhang San was saying this for her benefit.

It wasn't just her. Hu Zifeng, who was eating bamboo shoot stir-fried with pork, knew, and Tang Huai, who was eating fried insects, knew too. But Tang Huai couldn't admit he knew, or he'd be incriminating himself. Hu Zifeng left the choice to Xia Qing, because she was the one who first discovered that bamboo grove.

Xia Qing didn't take Zhang San's bait. Instead, she waited until the chitchat was over, then dialed Zhang San's number and introduced herself, "Third Brother, this is Xia Qing from Plot Three."

Zhang San's voice was as serious and as direct as could be, "How much green-light bamboo shoot does Sister Xia Qing still have? Name your price."

Xia Qing was equally frank, "I still have ten jin, but I'm keeping it for myself. I also have thirty jin of yellow-light bamboo shoots I can trade. Does Third Brother want them?"

"No." As expected, Zhang San refused. "If we can't trade green-light shoots, can we trade the location where you found them?"

Xia Qing stated her conditions directly, "Sure. That bamboo grove is at least a hundred mu or more. We only searched about ten mu today and already found one green-light evolved bamboo. I want to trade the location for two solar panels plus matching wiring and batteries. Deal?"

Evolved forests didn't belong to anyone, and a bamboo grove that large couldn't be hidden. Even if Xia Qing didn't tell Zhang San now, he could still deduce the general direction and range and send people into the evolved forest to find it within two days. That's why Xia Qing wanted to trade the location for something practical.

If it were anyone else, they definitely wouldn't agree, but Zhang San—who loved good food and never lacked supplies—was no ordinary person.

Xia Qing had prepared to haggle with Zhang San, but she didn't expect him to agree right away, "Of course. I'll give you a brand-new solar power setup. Where are the bamboos?"

Xia Qing described it precisely, "In the evolved forest north of Territory One. Follow the stream in the mountain gully along the border between Territory One and Territory Three, heading north for fifteen li, and you'll see it."

Zhang Sincerely thanked her, "Many thanks. Tomorrow I'll have the patrol team bring the stuff over. When my cat has kittens, I'll take photos to show you."

The next day, just as Hu Zi finished installing the solar panels for Xia Qing, Zhong Tao arrived.

Xia Qing handed over the four sealed red-light rats to him, and at market price, traded ten jin of yellow-light shoots each to Zhong Tao and Zheng Kui. With the red-light rats and the points earned from the trade, Xia Qing exchanged for some thickened vacuum food packaging bags, and converted all remaining points into rainproof cloth.

Zhong Tao couldn't help his curiosity, "What does Sister need so much rainproof cloth for?"

Xia Qing explained, "I'm planning to build a rain shelter over the vegetable garden. Otherwise, one bout of acid rain and there won't be many seedlings left."

"Sister really knows how to invest. But it's true—after all the trouble of growing these seedlings, it'd break your heart to have acid rain ruin them." Zhong Tao chatted with Xia Qing about recent news, "There's a territory in our North District not far from the safe zone. The night before last, over a month of carefully tended vegetable seedlings were all wrecked by rats. Two territories in the West District got hit too. One lord lost his seedlings, ran to the neighboring territory to steal, and got beaten to death on the spot…"

Zhong Tao drove back and forth between the safe zone and the territories, so he had a lot of information. Hearing his words, Xia Qing finally understood why last night's farming knowledge was about rat extermination.

The inner territories had discovered rats a month later than these fringe territories. Xia Qing noted this time difference and headed home carrying the packaging bags.

With sufficient power reserves and food packaging bags, Xia Qing soaked and washed all the green-light and red-light bamboo shoots with mountain spring water, then sliced and dehydrated them.

The mountain spring water used to wash the bamboo shoots couldn't be wasted either. Xia Qing carried the water up the slope to water the saplings. The apple and jujube trees were both planted by her within the Gao Po planting zone, not far from the Chinese toon trees.

A few days ago, the apple trees had begun to bud. Xia Qing held a copy of "Apple Cultivation Techniques" and carefully compared the buds on the branches, confirming that the two trees had grown a total of thirteen flower buds. In other words, she might get to eat apples this year.

But the book said that saplings just transplanted in their second year shouldn't bear fruit—let them grow for a year, then bear fruit in the third year. However, she hadn't had fresh apples in ten years and couldn't bear to cut off the flower buds.

The book was talking about apple trees before evolution. After evolution, fruit trees should have become stronger, so bearing fruit in the second year should be fine… right?

Even if she didn't let it bear fruit, couldn't she keep the flower buds for two days to look at the apple blossoms, then pinch them off?

Xia Qing's conflicted gaze moved from the apple trees to the bare jujube trees, her pretty eyebrows almost twisted into a knot.

What a headache. It's been half a month already. The two jujube trees looked exactly the same now as when they were planted—not a hint of sprouting. If the jujube trees died, could she get Yang Jin to compensate her with two more?

Does a stingy person have feathers to pluck?

After watering the trees, Xia Qing carried the bucket downhill and came near the spring. In a small terraced plot five meters below the spring, two grape cuttings and two strawberry plants were growing. The strawberries had already bloomed, and the grape cuttings had sprouted lovely little leaves. Once they grew a few more leaves, Xia Qing would bring herself to pinch off one to test the mutation element content.