Chapter 87: My Cat Had Kittens

Li Si?

That name...

Could the new lord of Territory Nine be Zhang San's sworn sister with a different surname?

Soon, Li Si's answer confirmed everyone's guess:

"Third Brother, we're neighbors from now on."

Zhang San's voice was languid; the lords who had dealt with him for several months could all tell he wasn't in high spirits. "Territory Nine and Territory Seven are separated by Territory Ten and Territory Six, we're not neighbors. What did you come over here for?"

Li Si's voice was cool and clear, "Farming."

Everyone...

Well, a perfectly valid answer — isn't a territory meant for farming?

In the channel, another honest, simple-sounding male voice came on, "Hello everyone, I'm Shi Zhong from Territory Ten. I just got my walkie-talkie from Captain Tan today, please look after me from now on."

Shi Zhong?

Xia Qing, who was clearing away the noxious grass, paused. There weren't many people surnamed Shi in Hui-Three Base, and as luck would have it, she knew one of them: a Level Four strength evolver, Shi Du.

Before Xia Qing could press the button, Kuang Qingwei picked up the thread, "Hello Fourth Sister, I'm Kuang Qingwei from Territory Six. Brother Shi, you finally have a walkie-talkie too, it'll be much more convenient for us to communicate from now on."

Li Si didn't speak. Shi Zhong answered in his honest way, "Yes, from now on when I'm short on things here, I'll inevitably have to trouble Brother Wei."

Territory Ten borders Territories Nine, Five, and Six. From Shi Zhong's words, it seemed he had already been trading supplies with Kuang Qingwei before.

After Qi Fu and Zhao Ze introduced themselves, Xia Qing followed, "Fourth Sister, Brother Shi, I'm Xia Qing from Territory Three."

No sooner had Xia Qing finished speaking than a very familiar voice came over the walkie-talkie, "Sister Qing, it's Shi Du. My parents and I got our territory over a month ago, didn't expect we'd be this close."

Sure enough, there really were very few people surnamed Shi at Hui-Three Base.

Xia Qing pressed the walkie-talkie, her voice much softer, "Mm, long time no see."

Shi Du, like Xia Qing, often took on the role of an external logistics person, going out of the safe zone with combat squads to earn points to supplement the household. The two of them ran into each other often, and over time they got to know each other.

Shi Du said excitedly, "Brother Luo, can I also apply to join the clearing mission at Mountain Forty-Nine?"

Luo Pei's voice was gentle, "Of course you can."

Zhao Ze asked curiously, "Did Captain Tan equip every territory from One to Ten with a walkie-talkie? What about Territory Eight?"

Before the lord of Territory Eight could speak, Tang Huai cut in with a chilly correction to Zhao Ze, "Looks like not only can't you plan a territory, your memory isn't great either. The walkie-talkie for Territory Two was something I prepared myself."

Zhao Ze...

Everyone...

Tan Junjie's calm, serious voice came on, "To make it easier for everyone to share farming experience, the management department has equipped every lord with a walkie-talkie. This channel is the communication channel for lords One through Ten. If an emergency occurs within your territory, you should still first choose to contact the Hazard Investigation Team on frequency 438500."

In other words, the lord of Territory Eight had also received a walkie-talkie, so after Tan Junjie finished speaking, no one spoke up, waiting for the lord of Territory Eight to announce themselves.

But they waited and waited — no one spoke; waited some more — still no one opened their mouth.

Kuang Qingwei couldn't hold back, "Oh my god, I'm dying holding it in. Brothers and sisters of Territory Eight, you online?"

Still no one answered. Seems they weren't online. Everyone stopped waiting and went back to chatting.

Shi Zhong, Qi Fu, Kuang Qingwei, and Zhao Ze did most of the talking. Tang Huai would throw in a barb from time to time, and then Hu Zifeng would follow up with a jab at him. Xia Qing listened for a while and found it boring, so she turned off the walkie-talkie and focused on weeding.

"Buzz."

Hearing her phone vibrate, Xia Qing took it out and saw that Luo Pei had sent her a message: Li Si of Territory Nine is skilled in cultivation techniques and spent three months at the Blaze Squad's planting center. Be very careful when trading with her.

Xia Qing replied with a solemn expression: Brother Luo, did she come over because she got some information?

Luo Pei: She came for Zhang San. The day after tomorrow at ten in the morning, let's meet at the north quarantine belt of Territory Three. Bring your sniper rifle.

Only then did Xia Qing feel at ease. After clearing a stretch of buffer forest, Xia Qing and Ram Boss carried the noxious grass down the slope, spread the grass out on the open ground, and went home to eat.

Just as she got home, Xia Qing received a call from Zhang San.

Zhang San's voice was brimming with joy, "Xia Qing, my cat had two kittens."

Xia Qing jumped up with delight, "Third Brother, can you send me a photo to look at first?"

Zhang San set his conditions, "No can do, the mother cat won't let anyone look. I can guarantee you a healthy evolved kitten. As the exchange condition, I want two hundred spinach seeds."

Xia Qing thought for a moment, then replied sincerely, "Third Brother, can we trade something else?"

"Don't tell me you don't have any." Zhang San's voice had returned to that languid state from the lord channel, showing he was unhappy.

You can't afford to upset anyone, let alone Third Brother. Xia Qing became even more sincere, "I do have them. Third Brother, let me be honest with you. In the noxious rain I was whipped by potato vines at least thirty times, I only took two painkillers and slept for a bit, and by the next morning I was much better. I thought it over and figured it was because I ate a big plate of spinach that night. I don't dare trade spinach anymore because I'm afraid this spinach is too unusual and will bring trouble. The reason I've survived to the tenth year of the apocalypse is caution."

After hearing Xia Qing's reasoning, Zhang San's voice returned to being kindly, "Evolved spinach already has the effects of clearing heat toxins, promoting blood circulation, and aiding the stomach and intestines. Your spinach has a Yi element content of six ten-thousandths, so the effect is much better than ordinary green-light spinach. Trading it publicly would indeed attract covetous attention, so being cautious is right. From now on, let's trade privately. You give me two hundred spinach seeds, I'll give you a kitten. If my cat's kittens were put up for trade, one would go for over twenty thousand points."

One green-light seed was worth 20 points, but Xia Qing's Yi element content was twice as high, so there was no public trading price. If she set aside the spinach leaves she'd sent Zhang San as deposits over the past two months...

Xia Qing did the math in her head. That meant for each of her green-light spinach seeds, Zhang San was offering at least 100 points per seed. That shouldn't be considered low. Because the germination rate of evolved vegetable seeds was still under fifty percent.

Zhang San was being very sincere.

Xia Qing agreed, "If Third Brother can keep it a secret for me, then we can trade."

Zhang San was pleased, his voice so kindly it could squeeze water out, "Twenty seeds for a green-light hen, ten seeds for a rooster. Do you want to trade a few to raise? I can raise the chicks for you until they're a month old, make sure they're definitely alive before sending them over."

Xia Qing's heart raced wildly, "How many can Third Brother let me have?"

Zhang San was even happier, "The clutch currently hatching has twenty-one eggs, ten of them are green-light eggs, can't tell the males from females yet, I can give them all to you. If you think that's not enough, I can hatch another brood."

Xia Qing answered immediately, "I'm only one person, ten chickens are plenty. Thank you very much, Third Brother."

Zhang San was genial and kindly, "Pay me two hundred spinach seeds at the hen price first. If roosters hatch, I'll make up the difference with supplies."

Ten eggs — surely not all of them would be hens. The price difference would definitely be over a thousand points. Xia Qing couldn't help but ask, "Third Brother, can the difference be made up with premium nutrient solution?"