Chapter 253: The Reason for the Formation of the Edible Chestnut Forest

Chapter 253: Chapter 253: The Reason for the Formation of the Edible Chestnut Forest

After topdressing the fertilizer, the fields needed a thorough watering. For the farmland, Sheep Leader used the sheep-powered waterwheel to draw water, while for the terraced fields, Xiaqing and Sheep Leader had to carry water up themselves.

After the water-bike was set up, before Hu Zifeng’s team had even arrived, Sheep Leader was already eagerly pedaling away.

Since she hadn’t spread the fertilizer yet, Xiaqing hadn’t opened the irrigation channels to the fields. The water Sheep Leader pumped with the bike simply flowed down another channel and back into the reservoir. Despite doing useless work, Sheep Leader was having a great time, his eyes squinting in delight.

Xiaqing rubbed his head, then quickly went to fertilize the Yellow Light Mung Bean Field. After the third Harmful Rain, the seedlings in the fields had thinned out considerably, so fertilizing was very fast.

But this kind of speed was something no farmer ever wanted.

Xiaqing opened the channel to the Yellow Light Mung Bean Field, directing the water Sheep Leader was pumping. Then, she slipped Sheep Leader a piece of compressed rations and praised him in a soft voice, "Good job, Leader. You’re the best. Without you pedaling the waterwheel, all the crops in our fields would die of thirst."

Having received a treat and praise from Xiaqing, Sheep Leader’s confidence soared. He pedaled so fast it looked like the pedals might spark. Sick Wolf crouched by the waterwheel, watching Sheep Leader intently, as if he were studying the process.

When Guan Tong, Da Jiang, and Little Jiang arrived and saw this scene, they were at a loss for words.

Sick Wolf noticed their arrival, stood up, turned, and shot them the same ferocious look as the broken leg wolf.

This was the first time Xiaqing had seen such distinct wildness in Wolf Dog Second.

Xiaqing raised a hand in greeting to Guan Tong and the others, then spoke softly to Wolf Dog Second. "Second, I need to leave the territory for a bit. Guan Tong and his friends are here to help guard it. We have meat at home, so we need a strong wolf to watch over it before I can feel safe leaving to work. Come home with me, Second, okay? Leader has to pedal the waterwheel to water the fields, so you need to watch the house."

Sick Wolf dropped his ferocious expression and followed her home. Xiaqing had assigned clear roles to her two helpers within the territory.

After this last bout of diarrhea, Sick Wolf’s condition had clearly improved. He was eating more and walking faster than before. This was perhaps why he dared to show his fierce side to the humans "intruding" on the Third Territory.

Xiaqing asked cheerfully, "Second, were you there for the big fight against the Wind and Cloud Team last year? What kind of abilities did you evolve?"

Of course, Sick Wolf couldn’t answer Xiaqing’s questions directly. He just followed her home at a steady pace.

In the sheep pen that Xiaqing had cleaned, the Broken Waist Wolf was fussing with the plaster on its back.

Its concern over the missing patch of fur was far greater than Xiaqing had expected. She offered some gentle reassurance, "Broken Waist, stop licking it. Once the plaster has done its job and your injury is healed, the fur will grow back. You’ll look majestic this winter, I’m sure of it. You’ll definitely impress the Queen."

The Broken Waist Wolf stopped licking its fur and looked calmly at Xiaqing.

Xiaqing grinned. "I’m going to the Evolution Forest to dig up a sapling. Broken Waist and Second, you two watch the house. Don’t let any creature other than you, me, and Sheep Leader in, got it?"

After giving her instructions, Xiaqing took her tools and returned to the edge of the farmland. She successfully hired Guan Tong and the other two by paying them with edible vegetables from the farm’s greenhouse, tasking them with spreading fertilizer, weeding, and keeping an eye on the water level.

It wasn’t just the animals; Xiaqing had the humans in her territory sorted out just as clearly.

Traveling light and knowing the way, Xiaqing quickly reached the chestnut forest and applied the Insect Repellent Potion.

When the Evolved Bees saw a human had returned, their buzzing intensified, but no High Level Evolved Bees led an attack on Xiaqing.

This was because all the less intelligent High Level Evolved Bees had been killed, and the smart ones knew they were no match for humans, so they no longer came out to provoke her.

Xiaqing didn’t dig up a sapling right away. Instead, she first tested the air quality in the chestnut forest and found that the atmospheric Harmful Element concentration was the same as everywhere else.

This indicated there was no Yi Stone beneath the chestnut forest. The reason for the forest’s existence wasn’t Xiaqing’s first hypothesis.

Next, she tested the stream flowing through the area, the grass under the chestnut trees, and other nearby plants. She confirmed there was no leakage from a Pollution-free Spring Water source causing low-Harmful Element creatures to gather, thus ruling out her second hypothesis.

This was within Xiaqing’s expectations. Yang Jin and his men had spent days wandering the mountain; he would have certainly tested such an obvious water source.

’It wasn’t because of Yi Stone, and it wasn’t because of Pollution-free Spring Water. So what’s the reason for the low Harmful Element content in the chestnut trees here?’

The buzzing of the bees was giving Xiaqing a headache, so she decided to stop pondering for now. She took out her pole pruner and circled the four Green Light Chestnut trees, searching for any burrs she might have missed yesterday.

Half an hour later, Xiaqing had snipped more than twenty burrs from the four Green Light Chestnut trees, feeling a great sense of accomplishment. If she weren’t surrounded by thousands of buzzing bees, Xiaqing would have actually enjoyed searching for the burrs among the leaves. The task had the fun of a treasure hunt.

There were surely missed burrs on the Yellow Light trees as well, but Xiaqing didn’t plan to keep looking today. She began to inspect the chestnut saplings in the forest.

This chestnut forest had twenty-three trees that were over a year old and eight new saplings that had just sprouted this year.

Regardless of size, Xiaqing tested all eight saplings. To her surprise, they weren’t all Green Light and Yellow Light; three of them were Red Light.

Observing the Red Light chestnut saplings closely, Xiaqing understood why this forest was full of edible chestnut trees.

The leaves of the Red Light saplings hadn’t evolved to be sticky, so they were chewed to bits by insects, preventing the saplings from ever growing large. Only the Green Light and Yellow Light trees, which had evolved sticky leaves, could survive here and form a symbiotic relationship with the Evolved Bees.

Now that she understood this, Xiaqing found the chestnut trees, swarming with bees, to be adorable from every angle.

’These chestnut trees can be widely cultivated! The Chestnuts in the storeroom can be sold for a much higher price now.’

She carefully dug up the sturdiest Green Light chestnut sapling. After wrapping the root ball with straw rope to keep the soil from falling apart, Xiaqing placed the sapling in her back basket and started her journey home.

Just as she left the chestnut forest, she saw the Red Squirrel perched on a fir tree, wringing its little paws and flicking its big, fluffy tail as it stared at her. The desire in its eyes was practically overflowing.

Xiaqing couldn’t bear to part with the Green Light Chestnuts. She took out her pole pruner again, found a burr on a Yellow Light chestnut tree, and snipped it off. Prying it open, she placed the two Yellow Light Chestnuts at the base of the fir tree. "These are for you. Any other burrs left on the trees are yours too. Thank you."

After putting down the Chestnuts, Xiaqing hurried up the slope. She only breathed a sigh of relief once the swarm of bees retreated. Her head felt like it was about to explode from all the buzzing.

Less than ten minutes later, as she followed the same path back, Xiaqing saw the Red Squirrel appear on a red-leafed tree not far ahead. Its fur was a perfect match for the tree. The little creature was perched on a branch, wringing its paws and wagging its big tail, staring hopefully at Xiaqing.

’Did it already take the two Chestnuts back to its nest so quickly?’

Xiaqing was impressed.

Seeing how cute it was, Xiaqing took another two Yellow Light Chestnuts from her pocket and placed them on the ground in front of her. "It’s not easy for me to pick these Chestnuts, you know. My head is still ringing, and my clothes are a mess. These are the last two."

After Xiaqing left, the Red Squirrel quickly snatched up the Chestnuts and vanished in a flash of red light.