Chapter 674: Silly Dog

Xia Qing stood up from the lush green spinach terraced fields and walked downhill to collect her 150 seeds. She wasn't particularly excited — she just wanted to see how the seeds bred at the base differed from the first-generation seeds in her territory.

Qi Fu asked, "Captain Tan, what's the Qiang-Yi two-element content of X-2? Should we plant it using the method introduced in the agricultural knowledge broadcast too?"

This was the most critical question, and the lords all held their breath and pricked up their ears to listen.

The lords had heard and discussed the quality of the High-Yi element spinach seeds countless times, but they still couldn't believe such precious seeds would be distributed for free. Everyone waited anxiously.

Tan Junjie announced precisely: "Just as the notice and broadcast introduced, the X-2 seeds distributed to the lords have a Qiang element content of about 3.9‰ and a Yi element content of about 6.0‰, with five-generation Qiang element stability and four-generation Yi element stability. The seeds are hard-won, please take good care of them and plant them with care."

Hearing this string of numbers already engraved in their hearts, many people wept, choked and could not speak.

Wen Nengjie, shouldering an iron shovel, sniffed, widened his eyes and warned, "You guys going to work in Territory Eleven, all of you stay sharp. Whoever's hands aren't clean, I'll kick them out of the territory right away, and they won't get to eat a single bite of High-Yi element spinach!"

"These are 150 X-2 spinach seeds, Sister Qing, please check them." Su Ming solemnly handed the transparent small bag containing the spinach seeds to Xia Qing, "If there's no problem, sign here."

"Okay."

Xia Qing carefully counted them one by one, confirmed the quantity was correct and there were no damaged seeds, then carefully signed her name on the seed receipt form Su Ming handed over.

Having farmed for a year, Xia Qing was already familiar with this supply-collection procedure. But today's seed receipt form wasn't printed on yellowed old paper or torn paper — it was crisp new paper, and two armed escort personnel stood beside it.

Every detail showed how much importance the base attached to this batch of seeds.

When Su Ming led people to deliver seeds to Territory Four, Tang Huai, standing under the Territory Two signpost, called out to Xia Qing, "Xia Qing, do you know why these seeds are named X-2?"

Xia Qing stopped and turned her head.

Tang Huai, who usually couldn't stand properly, now had a solemn face and stood ramrod straight. "X — new. These are second-generation seeds bred from the first-generation High-Yi element seeds our base finally managed to obtain. This is our base's new hope. Although we rank third among Hui City bases, we've never established a signature industry. Last year, the safe zone lost 91,000 people, over eighty percent of whom starved or died of illness due to lack of food or nutrition. If we can't find a direction for development, within ten years our base population will drop below a million and won't be able to function normally. This batch of High-Yi element seeds, which can produce premium nutrient solution and boost human resistance, is the hope for Hui Three's continued development and growth!"

What Tang Huai said was fact. Hui One had national-level funding support, Hui Two had mechanical processing and manufacturing led by the Zhonglian Group as its pillar industry. Hui Three had no shortage of people or land, but nothing presentable.

Last July, Hua Country developed new material technology products and selected one base from each of the five major base clusters to build a new material product factory. Hui Three fought tooth and nail, but the Hui City base quota ultimately went to Hui Four, and Hui Three got nothing.

If this batch of High-Yi element spinach seeds could be successfully promoted and planted, Hui Three base's starvation deaths would definitely be reduced by more than half, to say the least.

Calling it new hope was not an exaggeration.

However, Xia Qing said nothing. Tang Huai setting such a high tone meant he definitely had something to say. Sure enough, the guy shifted his tone and got to the point:

"You heard the broadcast too, right? To maintain the stability of X-2 seeds, you can't use too many pesticides and fungicides. Without pesticides and fungicides, the soil will definitely get pests. If the soil gets pests, the spinach won't grow well. If the seeds don't grow well, there's no hope!"

"How about I come by regularly to catch pests for you? I guarantee I'll catch them clean without damaging the roots. No points needed, just let me pet the sheep. How about it, good deal, right?"

After a few seconds of silence, Xia Qing asked the question she'd long wanted to ask, "Given your family's strength, getting a sheep for you to raise shouldn't be hard, right?"

Tang Huai kicked a small stone by his foot, "In the fifth year of the disaster, after my dog was killed and eaten by someone, I swore that until I became strong, I would never raise a pet again."

Looking back now, Tang Huai felt that the period at the end of the fifth year of the disaster was the hardest time his family had gone through.

His dad went to Hui One to discuss business and was gone for over two months, just like his cousin Tang Feng — no sign of him alive or dead, rumors everywhere that his dad was already dead. By the end of the fifth year of the disaster, his dad still hadn't returned, and his grandmother finally couldn't hold on and fell ill, her condition critical enough to require hospitalization.

Tang Huai's mother and younger brother took care of his grandmother, while Tang Huai and his older sister looked after the family business and tried every means to ask people to find their father.

Tang Zhengrong was utterly hypocritical, saying all the nice words but offering no help, and even tried to dig up his family's old secrets; Tang Zhengsu took advantage of his dad and cousin being away, and with his sister overwhelmed alone, he swallowed up their family business bit by bit, and marginalized the evolvers in the Sufeng Squad who had good relations with his family.

His sister alone couldn't be in two places at once. Tang Huai found himself unable to help, so he simply revealed his auditory evolution ability and joined Sufeng, drawing all the firepower onto himself.

When Tang Lu learned that Tang Huai was actually an evolver, she was furious and incited Tang Rui to kill Tang Huai's big dog of seven years and eat it, trying to drive Tang Huai mad.

If not for having family to consider, Tang Huai might really have gone mad.

He turned the tables, pretended to break down, led a bunch of good friends to have a big street fight with Tang Rui, and exposed all the ingratitude of Tang Zhengrong and Tang Zhengsu.

Only for the sake of his "good mayor" reputation did Tang Zhengrong approve special-effect medicine for Tang Huai's grandmother and tell Tang Zhengsu to restrain himself and not make things too ugly.

Tang Zhengsu did listen to his brother, but behind the scenes he never stopped tormenting people and humiliating Tang Huai. Tang Huai endured it all in silence. It wasn't until the spring of the sixth year of the disaster, when his dad returned from Hui One haggard and worn, smiling and asking if he hadn't been eating well lately, how he'd lost so much weight, that Tang Huai finally couldn't hold back and hugged his dad, sobbing loudly.

It wasn't until last year that he learned his dad hadn't gone to discuss business at all that trip — he'd gone to rescue his cousin Tang Feng, which was why he was so haggard.

In the blink of an eye, almost six years had passed…

Tang Huai came back to himself, raised his head to look at the stern-faced woman not far away who raised sheep and wolves, and asked with a grin, "So, deal or not?"

"It's not that I don't want to trade, it's that my sheep has a bad temper and won't let anyone touch it."

Hearing that Xia Qing hadn't refused outright, Tang Huai's eyes lit up, "Then…"

"It's been gone for eight days already."

Tang Huai stared blankly as Xia Qing locked the big gate and passed through the wild grass wall, before murmuring to himself, "Raised it for a whole year spending so much money and effort, and you really just let it go so easily? Will it eat as well and live as well back there as it did in the territory? Silly dog."