Chapter 198: Herbs

Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Herbs

Zhang San yawned languidly. "The water-based kind is for detoxifying Luo Pei, and the land-based kind is for regulating the wolves’ digestion. A single herb, root and leaves intact, is worth ten thousand points. I’m not in a hurry, so take your time looking."

’For Brother Luo and the Sick Wolf?’ Xiaqing replied with gravity, "I’ll do my best to make the Wolf Group understand the importance of these two herbs and get them to start searching as soon as possible. Brother San, do you have any samples of these herbs? Even dried ones would be fine. If the Wolf Group can get a scent, they should be able to find them much faster."

Zhang San replied weakly, "If I had any, would I be asking you to find them? I only have pictures."

Xiaqing understood. She moved on to the next deal. "Brother San, if the Wolf Group can find more than six of the herbs, could I trade the extra ones with you for the inner wall panels of my food storage room? Or, once the Wolf Group has delivered over seventy-seven pounds of Green Light meat, I could trade the meat for them."

Zhang San nodded. "Ten herbs. Or five, if they’re fresh with roots and can be planted. I don’t want Green Light Python."

’The inner wall panels cost a hundred thousand points? That’s an absurdly high price. But then again, for panels that could lower energy consumption and increase the storage room’s security, it was probably worth it.’

"Okay, thank you, Brother San. Green Light Python meat really isn’t very tasty, so I’ll just keep it for myself." Xiaqing carefully packed away the medicine vials and asked, "Could I take the inner wall panels back with me to install first?"

"You can. Talk to Ji Li about it." Since Zhang San had agreed to the exchange, he wasn’t worried about Xiaqing defaulting on her end of the bargain.

As she prepared to leave, Xiaqing saw her idol yawn, and her heart clenched. Why? Because the man in the white lab coat barely looked human anymore.

’Change his skin tone, stick a giant syringe in his hand, and he could cosplay as the zombie doctor from Plants vs. Zombies.’

’If my idol turns into a zombie, who am I supposed to trade with?’ Xiaqing mentally inventoried the food in her territory and found something she could offer. "Brother San, I went on a mission in the Evolution Forest a while back and managed to get a Green Light Water Caltrop. It’s ready to be cooked now. Would you like me to bring it over later?"

Zhang San showed little interest. "Water caltrops don’t taste good. Do you have anything else?"

Xiaqing was speechless.

’Being picky about Green Light food... No wonder her idol was so skinny. There was a reason for it.’

As she and Yan Long carried the three wolves out of the operating room, Xiaqing glanced at the standardized greenhouses in Territory Land No. 7, which were overflowing with plants. She started to suspect Zhang San was anorexic. Otherwise, how could he have gotten so emaciated when he was surrounded by so many vegetables and so much meat?

After returning to the entrance of the abandoned cave and setting down the wooden plank, Yan Long asked, "That Head Wolf with the piece of its ear missing—it’s a Brain Domain Evolver, isn’t it?"

The Head Wolf was standing atop the cave at that very moment, staring down at them. Xiaqing didn’t dare call it by a nickname like "Missing Ear," afraid it might leap down and claw her. "It’s very smart, so it probably is."

Yan Long continued, "The album Lord Zhang gave you is what humans use to train Evolved Beasts to find plants. Show it to that wolf. It will be able to understand."

Although Yan Long’s voice was calm, Xiaqing could sense the urgency behind her words. ’Perhaps the real reason Yan Long helped me carry the wolves was that she’s hoping I can help find those herbs.’

’It seems Yan Long and Luo Pei are close. They were probably comrades-in-arms at one point.’

After Yan Long left, Xiaqing lifted the old bedsheet from the wooden plank, revealing the three wolves lying side by side.

Xiaqing tugged on the two hind legs of the Broken Leg Wolf, from which the splints had been removed. "Queen," she announced to the Head Wolf, "the Broken Leg Wolf’s hind legs have fully healed."

’See? Trading those herbs and the Yi Stone with me was absolutely the right decision.’

After her demonstration, Xiaqing lifted the Broken Leg Wolf and set it aside. She then pointed to the cylindrical Protective Equipment around the waist of the wolf with the brain-domain injury, which was now half its original length. "This wolf’s injury is also improving, but it still needs medicine. We’ll go for a check-up in twenty days."

Next, Xiaqing carefully lifted the Broken Waist Wolf and set it aside too. Only then did she gently stroke the Sick Wolf’s sunken belly and its visible ribs, her voice grave. "This wolf’s digestive system is damaged. It will need medication for at least three months. Humans don’t have this medicine. Queen, you will have to find it in the Evolution Forest."

Xiaqing picked up the Sick Wolf and set it down beside the Broken Waist Wolf. Then, she took the pictures from Zhang San and a medicine vial out of her backpack, displaying them for the Wolf Group standing a short distance away. "Queen, if you find these two herbs, you can exchange them for medicine to treat the wolves."

After displaying each picture, Xiaqing placed the medicine vial by the Sick Wolf’s stomach. She then took out a box of thumbtacks she had acquired from Territory Land No. 7 and firmly pinned the pictures to the thick wooden plank.

The plank had two sides, and she pinned pictures of one plant, in all its various stages of growth, to each side. Then, Xiaqing used two large rocks to prop the plank upright inside the cave. "Queen, if you see either of these two herbs, dig them up. Make sure to get the roots."

Finding a weed near the cave entrance that was about the same height as the mature land herb, Xiaqing dug it up and showed it to the Head Wolf. "Like this, with the roots. With a brain as sharp as yours, Queen, you should be able to find them in no time, right?"

The Head Wolf glanced at the weed in Xiaqing’s hand, then went to sniff its three anesthetized packmates on the ground. The other wolves were busy roughhousing, but the wolf with the brain-domain injury stared intently at the weed in Xiaqing’s hand.

Xiaqing switched her target, showing the weed to the wolf with the brain-domain injury. "Those two herbs on the board, they need to be dug up with their roots. You can go look for them too when you’ve recovered, but be extremely careful. There are always aggressive Evolved Beasts where these herbs grow."

After she finished her explanation, Xiaqing wrapped the Sick Wolf in the old bedsheet and lifted it into her arms. "Queen, I’m taking this Sick Wolf back to my territory now. All of you, be careful while you search for the herbs."

The Sick Wolf had a weak stomach and could only eat cooked meat for now, so it couldn’t be left to recuperate in the cave.

When Xiaqing carried the Sick Wolf back to her territory, Sheep Leader came running. Xiaqing paused, pulling back the old bedsheet to reveal the Sick Wolf’s head. "I’ve brought your friend back. It can’t move right now. You stay here and protect it while I go work in the fields."

Farming was endless work. Weak seedlings needed fertilizer, pests needed to be dealt with, dry soil needed water, and after watering came weeding and tilling the soil.

Last week, Sheep Leader and Guan Tong had watered all the farmland and terraces. Now, with the exception of the tall cotton plants and the spinach patch Xiaqing carefully tended, a carpet of tiny weeds had sprung up in all the other fields and needed to be pulled immediately.

Otherwise, within a few days, the weeds would completely overwhelm the vegetable seedlings.

On the slopes of the Third Territory, there were twenty-five terraced plots, each about fifty square meters, for a total of roughly a quarter of an acre. The farmland at the foot of the mountain held five large greenhouses, covering another four-fifths of an acre.

In the six months since arriving at the territory, not counting the few small sheds scattered across the farmland or Sheep Leader’s three pastures, Xiaqing had cleared a total of just over one acre of land for cultivation.

This acreage of cleared land ranked second to last among the first ten territories—excluding No. 8 Territory, whose Lord never interacted with anyone. Last place belonged to the Second Territory, whose Lord didn’t take farming seriously and preferred to just dig for worms.