Chapter 246: A Bountiful Harvest

Chapter 246: Chapter 246: A Bountiful Harvest

BANG.

Xiaqing shot down the High Level Evolutionary Bee that was flying toward the back of Qi Fu’s head. She handed him her pole pruners. "Brother Qi, use these. I have another pair. You cut the high and distant branches, and I’ll cut the ones nearby."

"Okay." Qi Fu wasted no words. He took Xiaqing’s pruners and got back to work. As soon as he started, he noticed that her pole pruners were heavier and much sharper than his own, which allowed him to work faster.

Xiaqing pulled the second pair of pruners from her backpack and continued cutting.

Many hands make light work.

Soon, they had finished cutting the Chestnuts from the four Green Light trees. Xiaqing assigned the next task. "Brother Qi and I will bag the Chestnuts. The rest of you, go harvest the Yellow Light ones."

The Green Light Chestnuts cut from the four trees, burrs and branches included, filled six large bags, each weighing at least one hundred and fifty jin. Xiaqing gave the order, "Guan Tong and I will transport a load back. Brother Qi, you team up with Peng Jian and keep harvesting."

Peng Jian asked, "Should I escort you back?"

"No need. The Insect Repellent Potion on us is still effective." Xiaqing and Guan Tong quickly tied three large bags of Chestnuts each, hoisted them onto their backs, and started up the slope.

As Qi Fu and Peng Jian went to cut the burrs of the Yellow Light Chestnuts, he glanced up and was stunned to see Xiaqing and Guan Tong running so fast, each carrying over four hundred jin of supplies.

Xiaqing and Guan Tong carried the Chestnuts back to the Third Territory and handed them over to Da Jiang and Liangzi, who were on guard duty. Seeing so many Green Light Chestnuts, Da Jiang and Liangzi’s jaws nearly dropped to the floor.

Time was tight, so after dropping off the supplies, Xiaqing and Guan Tong immediately rushed back.

When they returned to the chestnut forest, the team had already filled seven more bags. This time, Xiaqing and Shi Du were the ones to transport them back.

Qi Fu was astonished to see that this time, Xiaqing wasn’t carrying three bags, but four!

Xiaqing was making round trips to transport the harvest for two reasons. First, she was the strongest of the team’s four Strength Evolvers. Second, the noise made by the Evolved Bees in the chestnut forest was extremely disruptive to her, so she couldn’t stay there for long. Transporting the Chestnuts gave her a chance to avoid the bees’ sonic attacks.

When Xiaqing and Shi Du returned to the chestnut forest, Hu Zifeng advised her, "Xiaqing, you’ve already made two trips. Take a break; we have enough time. Shi Du, come work with us."

"Alright, I’ll rest for a bit." After two consecutive trips, Xiaqing was indeed a little tired. She didn’t climb any trees this time. Instead, she took a bag and started picking up fallen burrs and Chestnuts from the ground.

Seeing Xiaqing still working even while supposedly resting, Qi Fu gained a new appreciation for the labor intensity of missions. He had worked in a construction crew for nearly a decade and had always thought his endurance and stamina were excellent. But compared to Xiaqing today, he realized he was still a long way off.

’When I get back, I have to ask Xiaqing how she trains. I need to train too. Otherwise, what right do I have to be on a team with them?’

Once all the Chestnuts were bagged, the entire team headed back. Hu Zifeng and Peng Jian were in charge of security, while the four Strength Evolvers handled the transport.

As they climbed the mountain slope, Peng Jian cheerfully reminded Xiaqing, "Sister Qing, your Evolved squirrel is over there on a nearby tree, and it’s furious."

Xiaqing, who was carrying over five hundred jin of supplies, looked back and saw the Red Squirrel with its fur all puffed up. It was jumping up and down on a fir tree next to the chestnut forest, likely cursing up a storm.

"The squirrel was scavenging for as long as we were fighting the bees. Its haul today is more than what it gathered in the last half a month combined." Xiaqing hitched the massive pack on her back higher. "Let’s go. Time to shell some Chestnuts!"

After returning to the Third Territory carrying a bag that weighed nearly four hundred jin, Qi Fu sat on the ground panting for a long while before he could catch his breath. Seeing so many chestnut burrs waiting to be shelled, he wanted to ask his wife to come and help, but he was afraid Xiaqing would think he was trying to get a larger reward, so he kept quiet.

He didn’t say a word, but Xiaqing brought it up herself. "Brother Qi, we have too many Chestnuts. If your wife is free, could you ask her to come over and help shell for a bit?"

Qi Fu immediately stood up. "She’s free! We don’t have any urgent work over there. I’ll go get her right now and bring all our pliers over too."

The chestnut shells were sticky and couldn’t be opened by stomping on them. They had to use pliers, and Xiaqing didn’t have enough.

Shi Du, unaware that the Third Territory and Territory No. 5 had already formed an Alliance, saw that Xiaqing needed help and suggested, "Let my mom come too. She’s really quick at this kind of work."

The family of three from the Tenth Territory were good people, so Xiaqing didn’t refuse. "Are you going to take the micro-tiller over?"

Mother Shi’s leg was injured during the third Harmful Rain and still hadn’t fully healed.

"No need. I can just carry her on my back." The Tenth Territory was south of Territory No. 5 and not far from Xiaqing’s territory. As a Strength Evolver, it was easy for Shi Du to carry a person over that short distance.

Soon, Yuan Yan and Mother Shi arrived.

In the ten years since the Natural Disaster, none of them had ever seen so much food. They were all grinning from ear to ear, chatting about all the delicious dishes they could make with the Chestnuts while shelling them at a rapid pace.

Xiaqing noticed that Mother Shi was indeed a very efficient worker. From her movements, Xiaqing could tell she had considerable strength as well. It was no wonder their family of three dared to venture out and farm their own territory.

The group managed to shell all the Chestnuts just before dark. From the mission team, Hu Zifeng, Peng Jian, and Qi Fu each received three jin of Yellow Light Chestnuts. Guan Tong and Shi Du, who had each helped Xiaqing transport a load, received four jin. Of course, the Bullets used by Hu Zifeng’s team during the mission were also paid for with Chestnuts.

Liangzi, Da Jiang, Mother Shi, and Yuan Yan, who had only helped with the shelling, each received one jin as well, and they all felt they had gotten a great deal. After asking if Xiaqing needed help moving the Chestnuts into her home and being told no, they all said their goodbyes.

Shi Du carried his mother on his back, who in turn carried a heavy backpack. The mother and son happily walked out of the Third Territory, only to see Tang Huai leaning against the sign for the Second Territory. He greeted them, "Looks like you had a big haul."

"Yup," Shi Du responded cheerfully. "Brother Huai, finished dinner and out for a stroll already?"

Tang Huai was speechless.

’Dinner, my ass!’

Back in the Third Territory, after only Qi Fu and his wife were left, Qi Fu approached Xiaqing. "Little sister, I’d like to buy five Green Light Chestnuts from you to see if I can grow them."

Although these Evolutionary Chestnut Trees attracted bees, their territory had a Buffer Forest of over a thousand mu. Planting a few chestnut trees in a corner wouldn’t interfere with their farming at all.

Xiaqing asked, "Brother Qi, do you have any Green Light or Yellow Light saplings in your territory? I can trade you for the Green Light Chestnut saplings from the forest. The valley on Mountain No. 49 is close to my territory, so after discussing it with Brother Luo, I rented the area. All those trees are mine."

If Zone Three of Mountain 49 hadn’t belonged to Xiaqing, she definitely would have dug up all the saplings she could. Previously, when teams went out to gather resources, if they encountered edible plants or fruits, they would usually resort to destructive harvesting. Because the Evolution Forest wasn’t private property, anyone could enter. When people found valuable resources, they would naturally take everything they could get their hands on.

Only then did Qi Fu and his wife understand why it was Xiaqing, not Hu Zifeng, who had organized the team to gather resources on Mountain No. 49. Yuan Yan was happy for Xiaqing. "I was just thinking I should remind you to dig up a few of the smaller Green Light Chestnut Trees to bring back. This saves you the trouble!"