Chapter 875: Does Daigua's Recovery

As long as the climate is suitable, the crops in the fields keep growing nonstop, and insects and microorganisms reproduce in waves.

Because chemical synthetic pesticides cannot be used in farming after the catastrophe—otherwise they would cause a sharp spike in the probability of crop devolution—only milder plant- and microbe-based agents can be used against pests and diseases. The advantage of these agents is that they don't pollute the soil, water, or other natural environments, but their pest-killing effect isn't as immediate as that of chemical synthetic pesticides.

Another point is that the wildly overgrown weeds and devolution grass in the fields also can't be treated with chemical synthetic herbicides. So farmers after the catastrophe are even busier than farmers before it.

After sowing wheat and mung beans, Xia Qing immediately set to work clearing the weeds from the half-acre plot in Greenhouse 11 that had lain idle for nearly a month after the overwintering rapeseed was harvested, then fertilized and watered it, preparing to transplant rice seedlings.

The five jin of Green Light hybrid rice WD-6 and four and a half jin of Green Light rice J-2 she had raised seedlings for in the planting greenhouse back in early May would be ready for transplanting in a few more days.

The fertilizing was naturally her job, and the water-drawing and irrigation work, Wolf Lao Er unreservedly took upon himself.

The weather had been hot lately, and although she had sheared Sheep Lao Da, Xia Qing still couldn't bear to let it pedal the water-drawing bicycle under the blazing sun. So she added a canopy to the water-drawing bicycle and then installed a blower on it as well.

This way, Sheep Lao Da could pedal the bicycle to draw water and enjoy the breeze in the shade cast by the canopy.

Wolf Lao Er, Territory No. 3 Employee No. 001 Little Feimao, and the sickly Does Daigua monkey—some lying, some crouching, some sprawled out—were lounging in the shade of the canopy, catching the cool breeze.

Xia Qing, wearing a light, breathable, pale-purple new-model protective suit, walked out of the greenhouse, her large self-woven conical hat on her head, and came to the shade of the canopy carrying a shovel. She took off her hat, pulled out Mao Jin to wipe her face and sweat-dampened short hair, and sighed comfortably, "Lao Da, you're really amazing—it's so nice and cool here!"

Sheep Lao Da, pedaling the bicycle and drawing water in the breeze, glanced sideways at Xia Qing, its meaning perfectly clear: That's all you have to say?

Xia Qing immediately lavished praise without stint, "Without Lao Da pedaling the bicycle, I, Lao Er, Little Feimao, and Does Daigua would all have died of the heat! Lao Da is the best, Lao Da is the pillar of our territory, an evolved sheep standing at the top of the Blue Star pyramid, the pride of all evolved sheep on Blue Star…"

After a torrent of wild praise, Xia Qing took a few gulps of pollution-free water in the whooshing breeze laden with moisture, then took a handful of finger-length lettuce leaves from the small basket she was carrying and held them to the pillar's mouth, "Lao Da, the lettuce leaves are ready to eat—want to try one?"

Sheep Lao Da immediately took the lettuce leaf in its mouth and ate it. From its expression, Xia Qing could tell lettuce suited its taste just fine. "Glad you like it—whenever you want some, I'll go pick it for you. Don't go picking it yourself, Lao Da. If you bite the roots off, we won't be able to eat any more lettuce."

Xia Qing looked down and saw four lettuce leaves left in the basket, so she divided them among the other three animals—fair and square, one leaf each. The last remaining leaf, she stuffed to the hardworking Sheep Lao Da as well.

Little Feimao was the fastest, grabbing the big leaf in front of it and starting to munch. Does Daigua, pulled up by Xia Qing, slowly picked up its leaf, slowly brought it to its mouth, and slowly chewed with a blank expression. Fortunately, none of the three lords of Territory No. 3 were hot-tempered, or else with its dawdling pace, it wouldn't know how many beatings it would get in a day.

Wolf Lao Er, who didn't like eating vegetable leaves, saw everyone else eating, rolled the leaf up with its tongue, and swallowed it in one go.

Xia Qing patted Wolf Lao Er on the head and sat beside it to enjoy the breeze.

Seeing Xia Qing sit down, Little Feimao, who had finished its leaf, tried to climb onto her, but Xia Qing grabbed it and put it back on the rock. "Didn't I tell you already? This protective suit of mine is light-colored—you can't climb on it!"

Stopped in its tracks, Little Feimao crouched on the rock and began grooming its scabby skin.

Having been on the job at Territory No. 3 for just over half a month, Employee No. 001 Little Feimao's food and lodging conditions had taken a qualitative leap. The shaved-off fur hadn't fully grown back yet, but it was much sturdier than before and had grown taller too.

Xia Qing stared at it for a few seconds, pulled out her phone from her pocket to count the days, and discussed with her companion, "Lao Er, after dark go to Mountain No. 55 and call my lord and the one with the broken waist over. It's time for our medicinal bath tonight."

In the blink of an eye, Does Daigua had been at Territory No. 3 for over a month, and the interval since Xia Qing took the potion after being injured by the cannon blast had also reached one month—time for another medicinal bath to repair her bodily damage.

As an employee benefit, Little Feimao could also soak for free to repair its damaged skin.

Seeing Wolf Lao Er immediately stand up to leave, Xia Qing hurriedly raised a hand and pressed it back down. "No rush—wait until the sun moves over there before you go, Lao Er. It's too hot right now."

Wolf Lao Er might not understand what Xia Qing was saying, but it understood the meaning of her gesture, and obediently lay back down on the ground to enjoy the cool breeze.

Does Daigua, who had slowly finished its lettuce leaf, sat in place staring blankly at the reservoir.

Xia Qing picked Does Daigua up and brought it over, flexing its limbs and rubbing its belly to aid digestion while asking, "Lao Da, Lao Er, do you think Does Daigua will really recover in a month?"

Although she didn't enjoy what came after, she had cared for it diligently for over a month, doing everything for it—truly putting her heart into it.

Sheep Lao Da pedaled its bicycle into the wind, in a wonderful mood; Wolf Lao Er stuck out its tongue and grinned happily.

Xia Qing continued talking to herself, "Whether it gets better or not, after the medicine is used up I'll send it to Mountain No. 55. If the wolves want to keep it, they can keep it; if they want to send it to the bears, they can send it to the bears. Lao Er, do you think when the bear sees Does Daigua looking like this, it won't come over and beat me up?"

The animals all stayed silent, but the rushing sound of flowing water was especially refreshing to hear. Xia Qing put Does Daigua down, put on her conical hat, grabbed her shovel, and headed along the irrigation ditch to Greenhouse No. 11. Lao Da had been working hard—the water in the paddy field should be almost full.

Over the lord channel, Wen Nengjie's worried voice came through, "Has anyone noticed the river water level dropped a notch today? We wouldn't be having a drought here, would we?"

"Pah pah pah! Can't you say something auspicious, damn it?" Tang Huai came online, cursing. "The water level is low because Territory No. 9 is pumping water to irrigate the 300 mu of land they've reclaimed, getting ready to transplant seedlings!"

Wen Nengjie was far away and couldn't hear the noise of the water pump, but Tang Huai, right next to Territory No. 9, had been listening to it all day!

Wen Nengjie wasn't the least bit angry at being scolded. He grinned and asked, "Knowing someone's pumping water to irrigate fields, my heart's at ease right away. Brother Huai's ears really are sharp. By the way, Brother Huai, I caught six Green Light crickets—two males, four females. Do you still want them?"

Tang Huai collects Green Light insects—live Green Light crickets go for 3 points each. So lately, when the territories are working, anyone who spots an insect grabs it and tests its quality on the spot; if it's a Green Light one, they send it to Territory No. 2 to trade for points.

Tang Huai immediately brightened up. "Sure thing, Jiezi. You've got pretty good luck, kid—bring them over to me."

"You got it! I'll head right over and learn from Brother Huai how to make feed." Hearing Tang Huai say that raising insects earned more than farming, Wen Nengjie had also gotten the idea of raising insects and had recently been learning insect-raising techniques from Tang Huai.

Although Tang Huai had no patience at all and would curse and grumble whenever Wen Nengjie couldn't understand, Wen Nengjie was still very grateful, because Tang Huai was willing to teach him how to dig for insects and raise them.