Chapter 597: Territory Alliance Provisional Member

"No rush on that," Wen Nengjie said politely. "If Brother Qing is short on cash, we can settle up after the vegetables are harvested."

Qi Fu asked, "Xia Qing, does the burned area on Mountain Fifty need protection?"

Xia Qing understood what Qi Fu meant. "Brother Zhao, Brother Yue, you there?"

Zhao Ze came online immediately. "Clearing snow here, sis, go ahead."

Yue Haiying replied crisply, "Here."

"Brother Zhao, Brother Yue, in an hour, which of you has time to go with Brother Qi and me to Mountain Fifty to check the situation there?"

After both replied that they were free, Xia Qing's phone rang.

Seeing Xia Qing rushing over with a big broom, Tang Huai, who was standing outside the north gate in snow that came up past his ankles, widened his eyes.

No way! She really swept this road herself, and Crazy Hu didn't lift a finger?!

Xia Qing asked, "Here to bring me abalone? What do you want in exchange?"

Tang Huai cursed Hu Zifeng inwardly for being no good, but grinned on his face. "Open the door first, let me in and we'll talk details."

For Tang Huai's safety, Xia Qing stayed where she was. "Old Goat's in a pretty foul mood right now. If you come in, it'll definitely headbutt you."

Not might—definitely will.

Tang Huai was genuinely baffled. "I haven't done anything to provoke it, and I even brought it a comb. Why would it headbutt me?"

"Because someone set off firecrackers this morning and woke Old Goat up, so it's in a terrible temper now." If it were Hu Zifeng's squad coming over, Old Goat would at most squint and look, but hearing Tang Huai's voice in the territory, it would definitely get angry.

Xia Qing didn't explain in such detail because she didn't want more people to know that Old Goat was actually quite clever. Letting everyone think Old Goat was a foul-tempered red-light crazy ram was the safest thing for it.

Hearing this reason, Tang Huai, who had set off the firecrackers that morning, no longer wanted to enter Territory Three.

He listened carefully, confirmed no one was around, then approached the wire fence wall, lowered his voice, and told Xia Qing with animated excitement, "Did Crazy Hu tell you? In the early hours today, Tang Zhengsu committed suicide out of guilt, and Tang Rui ran."

Tang Rui actually ran? Xia Qing was surprised. "I only heard Brother Feng mention Tang Zhengsu's suicide. Why did Tang Rui run? Is he mixed up in the territory invasion case too?"

"Scared Yang Jin would kill him, of course. If it were me, I'd run too." Tang Huai went on, "When Tang Zhengsu tried to escape last night, he took over thirty of Sufeng's core fighters with him. Most were caught or killed, only a few got away. Tang Rui also grabbed money and assets and fled with a group of people. Sufeng's been gutted by those two, it's definitely going to drop out of the top ten on the combat power rankings!"

The more Tang Huai spoke, the more excited he got. "Our family has officially left Sufeng. We won't have to take their crap anymore."

No more taking their crap? Xia Qing asked, "Can Tang Zhengrong be taken down this time too?"

Tang Huai answered with absolute certainty, "Without those Sufeng lackeys, he's nothing! From now on, our family will just run the restaurant properly and farm properly. There's no conflict between us anymore. Stop watching me like I'm a thief. How about we be friends?"

Xia Qing answered just as crisply, "Ever since you left Territory Two, we've already been friends."

Tang Huai's eyes lit up. "Then I'll come with you guys to work on Mountain Fifty later, and after that we'll take Wolf Lao Er hunting together?"

Xia Qing...

This guy really...

"Working together on Mountain Fifty is fine, but hunting is out. Wolf Lao Er is an evolved wolf. Once it recovers, it has to return to its pack. It doesn't like getting close to any humans besides me. I've been really busy lately, no time for hunting."

Tang Huai was stunned. "Wolf Lao Er is leaving too?"

Xia Qing nodded. "Its intestines damaged by the parasites are healing. Once it can eat raw meat again, it'll be time to go."

Tang Huai felt for Xia Qing's loss. "You have to let it go? Once it's gone, won't all the money and effort you've put in for a whole year be wasted, with nothing to show for it?"

Wasted, huh.

Xia Qing countered, "It wants to leave, so of course we have to let it go. What else can we do, lock it in a cage?"

Tang Huai paused for a few seconds, then sighed. "You're right. Locked in a cage, it'd definitely call the wolf pack and wipe out your territory. And if you muzzled it to keep it quiet, it might starve itself to death."

Since the catastrophe began and wildlife protection laws became void, such things had happened countless times. Tang Huai had personally seen wolves starve to death and leopards brutally killed.

After saying that, Tang Huai comforted Xia Qing. "Don't worry, it's so familiar with you, it might even come back to stay a few days when it misses you. I'll go grab my gear. Where should we meet later?"

When Yue Haiying, Qi Fu, and Shi Du arrived at the meeting point and saw Tang Huai standing with Xia Qing and Zhao Ze, along with his two bodyguards behind him, everyone was stunned.

Xia Qing had already texted the group on her phone about Tang Huai joining today's mission. So everyone's surprise now was just for show.

Xia Qing also explained with a perfectly straight face, "Today we need to take samples from the danger zone and clear snow. The workload is huge, so I called Tang Huai in too."

They were all familiar faces who'd hung out in a group chat for a year. As they chatted while heading to Mountain Fifty, Zhao Ze asked Tang Huai, "Brother Huai, when is Tang Dong returning to the territory?"

Tang Huai replied, "After the Calamity Rain, probably. The restaurant's busy right now, my dad can't get away."

After the Calamity Rain? Xia Qing figured it'd be good enough if Tang Zhengpo came back by mid-March.

Qi Fu also asked Tang Huai, "I ordered twenty green-light crab fry from Tang Dong last year. Brother Huai, next time you contact Tang Dong, help me ask when he can deliver them so I can prepare the crab pool in advance."

All members of the Territory Alliance understood that Qi Fu's "prepare" meant not just digging a pond within the territory, but also preparing a spot in a hidden valley so the crabs could safely survive the Calamity Rain period.

Not just Qi Fu—Xia Qing and Kuang Qingwei had also ordered green-light crab fry from Territory Twelve.

Tang Huai knew about this. "Sure, I'll ask him when I get back today."

Zhao Ze quickly added, "Brother Huai, I want twenty too. Can I still order?"

Shi Du followed right after, "Brother Huai, I want twenty too."

Yue Haiying spoke up too, "I'll take fifty."

This much authority, Tang Huai still had. "Sure, all at the discount price."

When the lords ordered crab fry last year, Tang Zhengpo quoted 50 credits each, with discounts for bulk orders. The three lords each ordered twenty, and Tang Zhengpo gave a discount of 2.5 credits per crab.

After quoting the price, Tang Huai offered a friendly reminder, "After the crab fry are delivered, they'll go through two Calamity Rains during the raising period. If you don't have a standardized greenhouse to drive out the Calamity elements, even if you raise them successfully, by the time the crabs are ready, the green lights will definitely turn yellow or red. Yellow-light crabs fetch half the price of green-light ones, and red-light ones can only be used as fertilizer and feed. Raise them half a year and you won't even recoup your costs."