Chapter 932: The Lords of Territories Twenty-Two and Twenty-Five

Hearing there were no seeds, Feng Jun immediately began washing the figs with the special disinfectant.

Wang Liang, however, grew curious about the figs. "Sister Qing, don't figs have no flowers? So how are they insect-pollinated?"

Xia Qing, who was carefully wiping her hands with disinfectant wipes and getting ready to eat the fruit, explained, "A fig's flowers are hidden inside the skin. Figs have a symbiotic relationship with an insect called the fig wasp. This insect is barely bigger than a pinhead—it can crawl through the tiny hole at the top of the fig to lay eggs and reproduce, and in the process it pollinates the fig."

Ma Jun, who was washing the fruit, was impressed. "Sister Qing, your shooting skills being that amazing is one thing, but you know this stuff too? When did you ever learn all this? You're seriously incredible!"

Given Xia Qing's age, before the Calamity she had probably just graduated middle school and couldn't possibly have been exposed to this kind of knowledge. In the years since the Calamity, everyone's been grateful just to stay alive—who had the mind for studying?

So a lot of young people are semi-illiterate, barely able to do basic arithmetic. Xia Qing clearly had a hard life too—where did she find the time to study?

Xia Qing stuffed the used disinfectant wipes into a small ziplock bag and sealed it before explaining, "I only learned all this this spring when I traded for two Yellow-Lamp fig saplings. Commercially grown fig trees have to be sprayed with pesticides regularly to keep small insects from burrowing into the fruit."

Fig wasps are so tiny they can squeeze through the mesh of insect netting. Besides fig wasps, ants and other burrowing insects in the soil also love eating figs, so Xia Qing has to spray the fig trees in her yard with pesticide every few days.

Hmm…

Wang Liang, who before the Calamity had often plucked fruit straight from the fig tree in his own yard—never sprayed with any pesticide—suddenly felt his stomach turn. "Sister Qing, the wasps are so tiny—could there already be eggs inside this fruit? Would we get poisoned eating it?"

Ma Jun kicked him. "I just tested it—the flesh is non-toxic! And so what if there are eggs? Non-toxic, low-qi-element eggs are high-protein!"

After saying that, Ma Jun handed the largest of the four fruits to Xia Qing. "Sister Qing, try it quick—absolutely non-toxic. The qi-element content is so low, there's definitely no weird taste."

"Alright." Xia Qing took the fruit, peeled back the skin and split the flesh open to explain to Wang Liang. "Insects that get inside a fig die in there. When you split it open, look carefully—if there are no little bugs, you can eat it without worry."

"Thanks, Sister Qing." Wang Liang, who before the Calamity had never once split open a fig to check before eating, silently started peeling the skin.

Ma Jun held the second-largest fruit up next to Yang Jin's head. "Boss, eat!"

Yang Jin scrunched his face in disgust and tilted his head away from Ma Jun's grubby paw. "I've got no appetite right now."

Four fruits were washed, and the boss not eating meant one extra—so of course Ma Jun handed another one to Xia Qing.

A premium Green-Lamp fruit handed right to her—Xia Qing naturally took it and tucked it into a small ziplock bag.

This fruit tasted way better than the ones from the tree at her place—Third Brother would definitely like it!

Yang Jin, catching from his peripheral vision that Xia Qing had pocketed the fruit, asked, "Are you staying in the Safe Zone tonight, or heading back to the territory?"

"Heading back. I've already contacted Captain Hu and asked him to send the helicopter to pick me up."

Even though the boss had Wolf Lao Er keeping him company and it would be fine for her to stay away one night, Xia Qing had to go back.

Because once the sun set and the moon rose, the Head Wolf and the Broken-Waist Wolf would judge by the moon's shape that today was the day for the medicinal bath.

If Xia Qing didn't go back, the Broken-Waist Wolf would definitely step into her role, open its double-door fridge, and fish out a bag of medicinal solution for the Head Wolf to soak in.

Xia Qing wasn't afraid of it soaking in its own medicine—she was afraid that, handled wrong, it would get water all over the house.

Water all over the house wouldn't be so bad—the scary part was that the Broken-Waist Wolf liked to use its brain. If it started trying to figure out how to clean up the water, Xia Qing's new clothes, new cushions, new blankets—even her hair dryer—could all be sacrificed under its big paws.

Xia Qing's choice was just what Yang Jin had expected. Feeling a twinge of regret, he began distributing today's harvest. "Based on contribution, today's gathering mission counts as forty percent yours—alright?"

"Fine. Thanks, Captain Yang." Xia Qing had no objections.

They were a four-person mission squad. Yang Jin was the captain; Xia Qing was the member who spotted the supplies, led the way, and hauled them out. Her taking forty percent was perfectly reasonable.

Yang Jin went on, "We turn in a small amount of branches and fruit to the Mission Hall to claim the 5,000-point mission reward, then disinfect and de-bug the rest before dividing it up?"

Xia Qing nodded. "Alright. I'll take the branches straight with me. Captain Yang, are you planning to sell the branches or the saplings?"

On this matter, Yang Jin had been wanting to consult Xia Qing. "Figs propagate better from cuttings than from seeds?"

If that weren't the case, Xia Qing wouldn't have gone to the trouble of hauling the branches back.

"Right. Seeds are sexual reproduction—not only is pollen quality hard to control, there's also the possibility of genetic mutation. Cuttings are asexual reproduction, which guarantees the new plant is genetically identical to the mother plant—in other words, a cutting can perfectly copy all the mother plant's desirable traits."

Ma Jun, gnawing on a fruit, gave another thumbs-up. "Sister Qing, with your current knowledge, if you went to take the breeding researcher certification exam, you'd definitely pass!"

Yang Jin really wanted to kick Ma Jun off the cliff and let him run back to the Safe Zone on his own. "Is the survival rate for cuttings high?"

Xia Qing answered, "After the second qi-rain, I took cuttings from the Yellow-Lamp fig branches in my territory and struck four plants—all of them sprouted."

Yang Jin smiled. "If that's the case, selling saplings is more worthwhile than selling branches. Are you going to grow the branches you got yourself, or have the breeders in Territory One raise them for you?"

Xia Qing asked, "Is there a fee?"

Yang Jin replied, "Considering our relationship, I could charge you a bit less."

Ma Jun…

Wang Liang…

Boss, is it really appropriate to be that stingy? Sister Qing is a top-tier sniper—even if you can't pull her into the squad, you should at least give her a better deal and maintain a long-term friendly cooperative relationship with her!

Xia Qing's face was expressionless. "I'll grow them myself and sell them myself."

Yang Jin asked with a smile, "How much per sapling does Sister Qing plan to sell?"

Xia Qing gave a dry laugh. "Trade secret. No comment."

Ma Jun…

Forget Sister Qing—even I want to beat you up! Selling your looks wouldn't even work!

But the smile in Yang Jin's eyes deepened, and he seized the chance to brief Xia Qing on the situation with the Liangqing Squad.

"Liu Ke, a third-tier auditory evolver in the Liangqing Squad, submitted a resignation to Chen Deng. Chen Deng doesn't want to let him go, and the two of them are having a pretty unpleasant falling-out. Last night, Chen Deng and She Xing had a huge fight, and She Xing and Fu Xiaodan proposed taking the injured Lu Zhengchun and Wang Bo and leaving the squad."

After saying that, Yang Jin shared two more pieces of information with Xia Qing. "They'll probably move into North District One with the kids pretty soon. She Xing is the real lord of Territory Twenty-Five; Fu Xiaodan is the real lord of Territory Twenty-Two. I expect they'll come find you and use your connections to ask Third Brother to treat Lu Zhengchun and Wang Bo."

During the second qi-rain, when Xia Qing discovered that Territory Twenty-Five had hired Fang Lin, the strength evolver from the Liangqing Squad, she knew this territory was connected to the Liangqing Squad.

She asked, "Are Lu Zhengchun and Wang Bo seriously hurt?"

Yang Jin nodded. "The surface wounds and fractures are minor. The trouble is Chen Dongyang also gave them a chronic poison that's very hard to fully purge. Even if the Liangqing Squad threw every resource they had at it, they still might not be able to cure them—that's why Chen Deng and She Xing fell out."

You, Chen Deng, have always played the role of the benefactor who raised those two kids, right? Now they're poisoned—are you going to take care of it or not?

If you don't, your reputation is ruined.

If you do, you throw in everything you own and still might not cure them.

Chen Dongyang's move was truly vicious beyond measure.