Chapter 878: What Are You Carrying in Your Hand?

After finishing her work, Xia Qing hurried to the greenhouse and, together with the employees of the Planting Department of the Ninth Planting Center, followed Zhang Tao to learn how to test water quality and the fertilizer-water requirements of the rice and corn they were about to plant.

Zhang Tao's research field was the promotion and planting of crops. Within Zhang San's research team, she was the most accomplished person in this field. When Yuan Yan and Shi Mu went to Territory Seven this spring to learn planting techniques, they studied with the research group led by Zhang Tao.

This research field was the key link in transforming experimental results into crop seeds that could be promoted for planting.

Specifically, Zhang Tao was responsible for taking the high-quality seeds screened and bred by the breeding personnel and planting them on a large scale of several to several dozen mu. During the planting process, she measured important indicators such as the germination rate of this batch of seeds, the stability of the two elements qiang and yi, and the ratio of qiang evolution—especially aggressive qiang evolution. If all these indicators met the standards, this batch of seeds could be promoted externally.

The research on the promotion and planting of high-quality crops was an important responsibility of the Ninth Planting Center. In other words, besides producing food, the Ninth Planting Center also undertook certain planting research tasks. This was an important reason why Hui Three Base Leader had agreed to Zhang San's various requests and opened a green channel for the Ninth Planting Center.

To improve her own planting skills, Xia Qing tried not to miss any opportunity to learn from Zhang Tao. When she encountered something she didn't understand, she would ask carefully and quickly jot down the important points in her small notebook.

Blending into the crowd, earnestly asking questions and taking notes, Xia Qing didn't look like a leader at all. But Zheng Chen noticed that the employees in the greenhouse kept looking at her with eyes that were both awed and grateful.

Everyone working here were disabled veterans or military family members who couldn't be properly placed within the base's safe zone. These people had found it very difficult to secure such a stable job. Zheng Chen could understand their gratitude toward Xia Qing, and as a soldier, Zheng Chen was also grateful to Xia Qing for that reason.

The placement of retired disabled soldiers was a difficult problem at every base. Hui Three's approach was well worth promoting and learning from.

Zheng Chen was also very clear about why the employees here revered Xia Qing. On one hand, it was because Xia Qing was a powerful Evolver; on the other, it was because of Xia Qing's work style.

Advanced Evolver Xia Qing was an outstanding sniper, a true and worthy strong person.

When difficult problems that the various departments of the Planting Center couldn't solve were brought before Xia Qing, she handled them cleanly and decisively.

She never beat around the bush when handling problems—she only seized the key points.

If the problem was that some department in the safe zone wasn't cooperating with the Ninth Center's work, and Yan Yue wasn't qualified to negotiate with them, Xia Qing would step forward to talk. If the problem was within the Ninth Center itself, whoever was responsible would be held accountable—those who should be fined would be fined, those who should be transferred would be transferred, and those who should be fired would be fired.

The Ninth Center had been operating for less than two months, and Xia Qing had already fired eight employees, along with their families, and driven them out of the Ninth Center.

Her attitude was very clear: the Ninth Center was neither a hospital nor a sanatorium. Anyone who disobeyed management or freeloaded could get lost.

Not leaving? Thrown out directly.

Once thrown out, there's only a dead end? Then go die.

It was precisely Xia Qing's tough work style that made the people of the Ninth Center both fear and respect her. In years of natural disaster, excessive kindness and forbearance only harmed others and oneself; a strong person who acted with thunderous efficiency could lead everyone to survive.

Xia Qing was the kind of strong person people wanted to follow.

At this moment, this strong person was earnestly taking notes. In her jet-black, curly short hair, two thin red hairs were mixed in.

Those were probably red squirrel hairs. Having been stationed at Territory Seven for a month, Zheng Chen already knew that although Xia Qing's territory only had one person, there were quite a few animals. She kept chickens and red squirrels, as well as a sick white-faced langur monkey.

Watching Xia Qing's little head with the two red hairs bobbing in front of him, Zheng Chen twisted his fingers and looked away.

After Zhang Tao finished reviewing the water quality test reports for the 200 greenhouses and put forward improvement suggestions and measures for the unqualified ones, her work tasks for the day were complete. Zheng Chen drove Xia Qing's car to take Zhang Tao back to Territory Seven.

When he drove the car back, Zheng Chen found Xia Qing standing outside the warehouse, listening to Planting Department Head Mao Chuntai and Warehouse Management Department Head Zhong Tao reporting on the shortage of supplies.

After confirming the types and quantities of urgently needed fertilizer, Xia Qing arranged the work: "Contact Kuang Qingwei of Territory Six, Sun Zhe of Territory Forty-Eight, and the Territory Alliance. If the quality meets the requirements and the price is reasonable, purchase immediately. Collect the crop straw within the territory and haul it back for composting…"

After she finished arranging the work and walked briskly over, Zheng Chen spoke up: "Our lord asks you to head over once you're done here."

"Alright, I'll head back to my territory and come over right away."

Seeing Xia Qing drive off in the off-road vehicle with crisp efficiency, Zheng Chen, who had originally planned to hitch a ride, could only walk back on his own.

Xia Qing returned to her territory, put Does Daigua the monkey into a cage, stuffed Little Feimao into her pocket, and grabbed a basket of vegetables before walking from the northern isolation belt to Territory Seven. Walking this way was, first, cooler here, and second, on the way back she could cheer on Sheep Boss.

Seeing her idol's face looking unwell, Xia Qing immediately offered the vegetable basket: "Third Brother, I just got some green lantern lettuce seeds, supposedly called butter lettuce. Try it, it tastes pretty good."

Zhang San glanced at the lush green lettuce and the rosy tomatoes in the basket, and the irritation on his face visibly receded a bit. "Alright."

Since her idol didn't say what he wanted her for, Xia Qing didn't ask either, and continued reporting on business: "Compared with the control field, the spinach grown in the field with added debris has a yi element content increased by 0.2 points. Take a look."

Taking the test sheet Xia Qing handed over, the irritation on Zhang San's face receded a bit more. "Did you clearly record the amount of yi-stone debris used and the area of the field?"

Xia Qing immediately answered: "I recorded it clearly, and took photos too. Look, this is the breeding record I made."

Zhang San put down the test sheet, took Xia Qing's phone to check her records, and his expression improved a bit more. "Nicely done. How has the qiang-withering grass been growing lately?"

So her idol was looking for her because he wanted qiang-withering grass leaves! Xia Qing's heart immediately settled. "The three offshoots divided in spring all survived, and the two mother plants are also growing well. It's just that the qiang-withering grass seeds haven't germinated yet."

The qiang-withering grass in Xia Qing's territory was the only one among the qiang-withering grass artificially cultivated in Hua since the natural disaster to have successfully propagated by division.

Looking at the clear pictures of qiang-withering grass and the detailed written records in Xia Qing's new phone document, Zhang San's expression could be called genial. "No rush. The weather is stuffy and hot now, which doesn't meet the germination conditions for qiang-withering grass seeds."

"Okay." Xia Qing proactively asked, "How many leaves do you need?"

Zhang San's expression visibly turned sour again. "Four leaves, to save a Bai Chi who isn't worth saving."

A Bai Chi who had to be saved, and it would cost four leaves of a scarce plant—no wonder her idol was unhappy. Xia Qing found a question that might cheer her idol up a bit: "Does he pay points?"

"Of course!"

"Third Brother, right now our leaves are few…"

"No discount needed. He's paying double the price, and I also got a set of precision equipment out of him." After saying it out loud, Zhang San felt much better.

Xia Qing was also happy. "I'll go back and cut the leaves now. Help me test this Bai Chi monkey, and while you're at it, see if this brain-domain-evolved little squirrel can soak in a recovery potion?"

Zhang San……

In the evening, Xia Qing, carrying Does Daigua the monkey in her hand, Little Feimao in her pocket, and the potion worth 30,000 points that her idol had just prescribed on her back, had only walked to the isolation belt north of Territory Four when she heard Sheep Boss and Little Flat-Top fighting.

When she walked up the slope of Territory Three, Tang Huai, who had been hiding around the west corner watching the excitement, immediately ran over. "Xia Qing, you just missed the exciting part—Little Flat-Top learned Sheep Boss's flying kick! Where did you go? What are you carrying in your hand? Let me see?"

There was nothing she couldn't let him see.

Xia Qing pulled the cloth cover of the cage up a bit. "A sick langur monkey. Don't tell anyone."

"Monkey? Where from?"

Tang Huai bent down, saw the langur monkey's big white face in the cage, and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! Haha, haha—That's amazing, this little monkey's expression is exactly the same as yours! Ha—"