Chapter 187: Warning

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: Warning

Zhang Yong put on an air of familiarity, acting as if Xiaqing would surely let him into her territory. Tang Huai leaned against the road sign for the Second Territory with his arms crossed, waiting to watch the show.

Onlookers from Territories Four, Five, and No. 6 were also constantly peeking out from their Wild Grass Walls; some even had half their bodies sticking out.

Xiaqing didn’t refuse Zhang Yong entry. With her left hand, she effortlessly lifted the largest box. "I drove here. My vehicle is just behind the grass wall. Sister Juan, want to come into my territory for a bit?"

"I came here specifically to see you. Where else would I go?" Xu Juan breathed a silent sigh of relief, picked up two boxes with a smile, and followed Xiaqing.

After passing through the dense Wild Grass Wall, which was taller than a person, and seeing the micro-tiller parked by the path, Xu Juan exclaimed in amazement, "Not bad, Xiaqing! It’s only been half a year, and you already have farm machinery."

Zhang Yong loaded the supplies into the trailer and climbed in after them. "You built this trailer yourself, didn’t you?"

"Yes. Sister Juan, you can sit next to me." Xiaqing had already removed Sheep Leader’s designated seat, making the perfect spot for Xu Juan.

It was a good thing the "weak" Sheep Leader couldn’t see this. Otherwise, he would have thrown a tantrum and picked a fight with Xiaqing for sure.

As the micro-tiller chugged back toward the house, Xu Juan used the opportunity to look around. Noticing that Zhang Yong was sitting with his back to them, she immediately turned to face forward and used her finger to repeatedly trace two words on Xiaqing’s back:

Be careful.

After she finished, Xu Juan raised a hand to brace her chest, which was bouncing from the micro-tiller’s jolts. Out of the corner of her eye, Xiaqing saw that Xu Juan’s index and middle fingers were pressed together, pointing to the area below her neck.

Xiaqing understood. Xu Juan was signaling that the Su Feng Team had fitted her with a camera or listening device around her neck. She nudged Xu Juan with her elbow to show she understood.

After Xiaqing drove the tiller back into her yard, Xu Juan hopped off and looked around. "This yard of yours is nice! So spacious. Where’s the latrine? I’ve been jostled around in the back for ages, I’m about to burst."

’Besides being spacious, it has no other merits.’ Xiaqing opened the security door and led Xu Juan inside. "It’s the room in the back, on the right."

After Xu Juan went to the bathroom, Xiaqing went back outside to help Zhang Yong unload the cargo. She saw him standing with his back to her. Taped to his Protective Suit was a piece of cardboard torn from a packing crate. A few words had been scratched onto it with a screw:

We have cameras on our collars.

The Su Feng Team was known for being tyrannical and domineering. Once they were approached, Xu Juan and Zhang Yong had no choice but to comply. Otherwise, the two of them could forget about ever making a living in Hui San Base again.

Every man for himself.

Even if they had come without warning her, Xiaqing wouldn’t have done anything to them. But the fact that they had taken a risk to warn her was a gesture she would not forget.

She took the piece of cardboard, tucked it under the micro-tiller’s seat cushion, and then heard Zhang Yong ask, "Where do you want to install the solar panels?"

Xiaqing already had two solar panels on the slanted roof of her house, but she planned to install these six new ones where the old ones used to be. "On the roof of the warehouse to the east."

Zhang Yong looked up, observing the concrete-frame building whose windows Xiaqing had boarded up with wooden planks and iron sheets. "Can the roof of this building handle the weight?"

Xiaqing gave a simple answer. "It can. I replaced the corroded rebar, poured a new layer of concrete, and then added a layer of bricks on top with cement."

"Good." Zhang Yong picked up the welding equipment and toolbox. "How do we get up?"

"The stairs."

Xiaqing opened the warehouse door. Lifting the bundled solar panels with her left hand, she led the way. Zhang Yong followed, carrying the welding gun, voltage regulator, and other tools. Xu Juan, now out of the bathroom, hoisted some iron pipes onto her shoulder and tagged along.

The warehouse was huge, and the contents were neatly organized. But aside from scrap salvaged from ruins and piles of hay, there was nothing of value.

Xu Juan asked, "Why do you have so much hay?"

"I’m raising a sheep."

Xu Juan’s interest was piqued. "Green Light or Yellow Light?"

"Red Light," Xiaqing, who was walking ahead, replied. "A Strength Evolver. It can carry things."

The three of them went up the concrete stairs. The frame building had two stories, but a stairwell exit had been built onto the roof, suggesting the original owner had intended to use the rooftop space.

A pity the house was never finished before the Natural Disasters began.

"You did a beautiful job with this. It’s perfectly leveled, too. Water definitely won’t pool here when it rains." After complimenting Xiaqing’s roof work, Zhang Yong deftly began assembling the solar panels.

Meanwhile, Xu Juan strolled around the rooftop, taking in the view and chatting idly with Xiaqing. "Xiaqing, where’s your sheep?"

Xiaqing, busy assembling the iron frame, answered without looking up, "It’s sick, in the pen."

"You mean that small, single-room hut in your yard? I smelled something foul coming from it when I passed by."

"There’s also a Sick Wolf in the pen," Xiaqing replied.

Both Xu Juan and Zhang Yong jumped in surprise. "You’re keeping a wolf, too? You have it penned up with the sheep? Aren’t you afraid it’ll eat your sheep?"

"I found it on a mission," Xiaqing explained. "It’s so sick it can barely move."

Hearing it was a Sick Wolf, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Yong quickly assembled the solar panels and mounted them on the iron frame. He then installed the battery and the voltage regulator inside the stairwell, connecting everything with wires sheathed in iron pipes for protection.

After testing the equipment and confirming it was working, Zhang Yong asked, "How do you want to run the wiring? I can finish it for you before I go."

Xiaqing knew how to do all that herself, so she didn’t need Zhang Yong’s help. After they went back downstairs, she invited them both inside her house.

Seeing that Xiaqing still dared to invite them in even after their warnings, Xu Juan and Zhang Yong figured it meant two things: the tamed beast Su Feng was looking for wasn’t on her territory, and she wasn’t afraid of them looking around. They both relaxed and quickly followed her inside.

The main reason was that the yard stank. It was no place for a conversation.

Xiaqing boiled a kettle of filtered water, steeped some tea, and served it. She also brought out a small dish of dried fruit.

Xu Juan remarked with a sigh, "You’re living well for yourself. You even have tea."

"I traded for the tea with another territory," Xiaqing explained. "The fruit is wild, from the Buffer Forest."

When Xiaqing took off her gloves, Xu Juan saw the bandage on her right hand and immediately asked, "You’re hurt? No wonder you weren’t using your right hand earlier."

"The webbing of my thumb tore when the Evolutionary Birds attacked. I can’t put any force on it." Xiaqing had deliberately let them see the wound, just as she had deliberately revealed the wolf.

She was doing this to make it clear to the people from the Second Territory that she had been injured on the day the Pangolin went missing, making it impossible for her to have captured it. There was no Pangolin on her territory; the reason she would rather refuse twenty kilograms of grain than let Su Feng’s people search was because she had a wolf and a sheep.

After finishing his tea, Zhang Yong stood up. "I’ll let you two chat. I have to go to the Second Territory to install the rest of the equipment."

After seeing Zhang Yong out of the Third Territory, Xu Juan threw an arm around Xiaqing’s neck with a mischievous grin. "Alright, quick! Bring out all your good snacks!"

Xiaqing’s voice softened. "I have cucumbers, tomatoes, and green beans in the garden. What would you like for lunch, Sister Juan?"

Xu Juan’s eyes lit up. "We can’t stay for lunch. We have to head back as soon as the unloading is done. But can I see your vegetable garden?"

Xiaqing led Xu Juan toward the greenhouse south of the reservoir. As they passed a small hut by the edge of the fields, three members of Hu Zifeng’s team who were resting inside came out and greeted them.

Everyone had been scraping by at the same base for ten years. Even if they’d never spoken, they all recognized each other.

After they passed the hut, Xu Juan asked Xiaqing in a low voice, "Members of Hu Zifeng’s team?"

"Yes. I hired them to help guard my territory."

Xu Juan nudged Xiaqing’s shoulder playfully. "Doing well for yourself! You can even afford to hire people from Azure Dragon!"

"I’m paying them with vegetables from my garden," Xiaqing explained.

Looking at the rows of crops in Xiaqing’s greenhouses, Xu Juan said nothing, but she was deeply impressed. Even for a Strength Evolver, growing this much food and vegetables had to take an immense amount of time and effort.