Chapter 147: Chestnuts

Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Chestnuts

Although the fruit’s color was a bit odd, Xiaqing recognized it by its shape.

A chestnut.

An unripe one, by the looks of it.

’Where did the Red Squirrel find chestnuts? Are they edible? What other treasures does it have in its den?’

Xiaqing narrowed her eyes and aimed her gun at the hollow in the tree again.

Seeing that Xiaqing wasn’t leaving, the squirrel crawled back into its den, threw out another half-ripe chestnut, then peeked its little head out from a branch to stare at her.

Xiaqing raised her gun, aiming at the hollow. "You ate six of my large jujubes. Two chestnuts aren’t enough."

Seeing Xiaqing raise her gun, the Red Squirrel immediately retreated into its den and went still. BANG! Xiaqing fired another shot.

The sound of rummaging soon came from the hollow again. A moment later, the Red Squirrel climbed to the opening and threw down a bundle of something.

When Xiaqing saw it, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The thing it had thrown down this time was actually the Red Light Smoke it had stolen from her. ’So it knew the tobacco was mine. It ruined it like this and still has the nerve to give it back.’

Xiaqing raised her gun, her expression murderous. "I want food."

Seeing Xiaqing still refusing to leave, the Red Squirrel ran back into its den, rummaged around for a moment, and threw something else down. Then it started hopping back and forth on the branches, CHITTERING furiously. Its calls and movements made it clear that the Speed-evolved squirrel was furious. It looked like if Xiaqing demanded anything else, it would fight her to the death.

Xiaqing stared at the last item the Red Squirrel had thrown out, speechless.

’What is this? A gold watch?’

Judging by the way the Red Squirrel was stomping about, this gold watch must have been its most prized possession.

The Red Squirrel was extremely fast; Xiaqing knew she couldn’t hit it. Continuing this standoff would just be a waste of time.

Since she had gotten some food back, Xiaqing decided to let it off the hook. "We’ll call it even this time. If you dare steal my food again, the compensation will be double."

Xiaqing lowered her gun, picked up the jujubes, chestnuts, and the gold watch, and stuffed them into her pocket before heading back to her territory. As for the tangled mess of tobacco, she didn’t even consider picking it up.

Although Zone Three of Mountain 49 was also hers, that was a human designation. The Red Squirrel had been here before her, and as long as it didn’t steal her food, Xiaqing had no objection to it staying.

The squirrel having chestnuts meant there were chestnut trees nearby, but the Green Dragon Team hadn’t discovered any edible ones. The Red Squirrel was Speed-evolved, so its range was probably quite large. Finding those trees wouldn’t be easy.

She couldn’t hear the ticking of the gold watch’s hands; it was probably long broken. In the Disaster Years, things like antiques, jade, and paintings were less valuable than a handful of Green Light vegetables. Still, the parts inside the watch might be useful.

Whoever owned such a vintage, solid gold pocket watch must have been wealthy before the Natural Disasters.

Xiaqing opened the cover of the pocket watch and found a small, round photograph on the inside. The photo showed a mother and daughter, nestled together, both beautiful and smiling radiantly.

It seemed the pocket watch’s sentimental value far outweighed its current worth. She had no idea where the Red Squirrel had found it.

Xiaqing put the pocket watch in her pocket and took out one of the fresh chestnuts. She peeled it, took a bit of the flesh to test its Harmful Element content, and was surprised to find it was Yellow Light. She could eat it!

A parade of chestnut-related delicacies flashed through Xiaqing’s memory. Delighted, she tossed the raw chestnut into her mouth.

In these terrible times, good food was one of the few things worth living for.

Once she was done with her current tasks, she would form a team and head into the Evolution Forest to look for chestnuts.

Xiaqing was just about to look for tools to repair her greenhouse, which had been damaged by the hail, when she suddenly heard the sound of a helicopter.

She immediately ran back into her yard. After first calming the two recuperating wolves, she looked up at the helicopter in the sky.

The helicopter, flying from the direction of the Safe Zone, didn’t head for Territory No. 1 or Territory No. 2, but went straight for Territory No. 7. After about twenty minutes on the ground there, it took off and headed back.

’Someone must have been injured by the hail. Did the helicopter bring them to Zhang San’s territory, or did they fetch Zhang San to go save someone?’

’Either way, it has nothing to do with me.’

Xiaqing went back into her house, grabbed her tools, and went to repair the greenhouse. She needed to replace the support frames that had collapsed from the hail, as well as the damaged insect-proof netting.

The sudden hailstorm had thrown her into a panic. Deciding it was better late than never, she started thinking about how she, by herself, could quickly install the rainproof cloth in the future.

This was a bit difficult. Xiaqing turned on her walkie-talkie, wanting to hear how Qi Fu and the others had protected their crops during the hailstorm and to get a sense of the damage in the other territories.

She had just turned on the walkie-talkie when she heard the voice of Qi Fu’s wife, Yuan Yan, begging for medicine. "Is Brother San there? My Old Qi’s head was split open by the hail! I want to trade for the best trauma medication. I’ll use points or Green Light food, any amount, I don’t care how much."

Zhang San didn’t respond. Xiaqing guessed he had probably just left his territory on that helicopter.

Kuang Qingwei answered Yuan Yan, "Yuan Yan, I have some trauma medication I brought back from the Safe Zone. Why don’t you use that on Brother Qi first?"

"We already used some, but the bleeding won’t stop." Xiaqing could hear the tremor in Yuan Yan’s voice.

Uncontrollable bleeding from the head was definitely a very serious injury. In the Disaster Years, a severe wound was a death sentence. Yuan Yan continued, her voice filled with regret, "It’s my fault. Our Protective Masks should have been replaced ages ago. I was the one who was too stingy to do it."

Since Zhang San wasn’t there, Yuan Yan turned to Luo Pei for help. "Brother Luo, are you there?"

Luo Pei wasn’t on the channel, but Chang Li, the Green Dragon Team’s doctor, spoke up. "Brother Luo isn’t here. I’m the Green Dragon Team’s Team doctor, specializing in external injuries. If you trust me, I can come over and take a look."

Yuan Yan was overwhelmed with gratitude. "I trust you! Of course, I trust you! Thank you so much, I’m sorry for the trouble."

Zhao Ze chimed in with a plea of his own. "Could I trouble you to check on the workers in Territory No. 4 as well? We have three people who were injured."

Kuang Qingwei also spoke up, "We have injured people too. We’d appreciate it if you could take a look."

Chang Li replied, "Alright. I’ll go to Territory No. 5 first, then No. 4 and No. 6. Does anyone else need help?"

"No. 9 Territory needs help. We’d be so grateful. We can pay for your visit and the medicine with supplies or points."

Hearing the voice of Assistant Liu from No. 9 Territory, Xiaqing was surprised. She had thought Little Liu was taken back to the Safe Zone with Li Si for questioning. She didn’t expect her to still be in the territory.

’Does that mean Li Si was released and came back too?’

"No. 8 Territory is also in urgent need of a doctor’s help. We’d be grateful." A voice rang out on the lord’s channel—one that everyone but Xiaqing found completely unfamiliar.

The fact that Lord No. 8, Xin Yu, was online asking for help was even more surprising to the other lords than No. 9 Territory needing medical assistance.

Tang Huai asked, "Assistant Liu, and you at No. 8, what’s your situation?"

No one paid Tang Huai any mind. Chang Li replied to those who had asked for help, "I’ll head to each of your territories in order. You don’t need to pay for the visit, just for the cost of the medicine."

After Chang Li’s reply, a chorus of thanks erupted on the channel. In the Disaster Years, an external wound could lead to infection from evolved microbes. Even a small injury could be crippling or fatal.

Chang Li’s willingness to help was life-saving. Even Tang Huai praised her, "So there are still good people in the Green Dragon Team."

Once the medical issue was settled, Kuang Qingwei asked if Tan Junjie was on the channel. "Captain Tan, my solar panels were cracked by the hail. Can the base replace a couple for me?"

Tan Junjie wasn’t there. A member of the patrol team on duty replied, "We will report the situation. We have also already requested medical assistance, but the area affected by the hailstorm is large, so aid may be delayed. As for Doctor Chang from No. 1 Territory providing medical aid to other territories, we will report her actions accordingly and apply for a points reward for her and her team."

Medical aid couldn’t get there in time, Tan Junjie was absent, Luo Pei was absent, and Zhang San had been called away...

’It seems like something major happened at the base.’ Xiaqing turned on the radio; if a major disaster had occurred, it would surely be announced on the broadcast.

The radio was just playing a song. Xiaqing set it aside and went back to figuring out how to quickly assemble and disassemble the rainproof cloth to handle future surprise weather events.