Chapter 264: Exchanging Chicken Shit Vine

Chapter 264: Chapter 264: Exchanging Chicken Shit Vine

When the patrol car’s loudspeaker boomed, all the nearby territories could hear it. The Lords who needed to trade for daily supplies grabbed their pre-prepared goods and went to wait by the road signs.

When the sound of the loudspeaker reached the outskirts of the Third Territory, Xiaqing carried her things through the Wild Grass Wall and appeared by the signpost.

Tang Huai, who was already leaning against the signpost, greeted Xiaqing with overflowing enthusiasm. "Xiaqing, you’re here."

Xiaqing nodded.

Seeing that Xiaqing was willing to acknowledge him, Tang Huai grew even more enthusiastic. "What have you been busy with in your territory today? How are you planning to deal with the flocks of migratory birds? This goose is pretty big. What’s its grade? It can’t be Green Light, right? Otherwise, you’d definitely be trading it to Brother San."

Xiaqing chose the last question to answer. "Red Light."

Tang Huai took two steps forward, just about to keep chatting, when he saw Zhong Tao drive over and stop between him and Xiaqing.

Zhong Tao asked Tang Huai first, "Brother Huai, does the Second Territory need to trade for any supplies?"

Tang Huai snorted. "Got any Green Light Rice or Green Light Seasoning?"

Zhong Tao replied, "The rice is only Yellow Light. For Green Light Seasoning, we have cumin and Sichuan peppercorns."

Tang Huai’s eyes lit up. "Where’s the cumin from?"

Zhong Tao answered with a smile, "Lan Er Base. It was just delivered."

In all of Hua Country, the cumin grown at Lan Er Base was known to be the best quality. Tang Huai immediately told Zhong Tao to grab a bag; he wanted to inspect it.

While Zhong Tao went to get the cumin, Zheng Kui jumped out of the vehicle and walked over to Xiaqing.

This was the first time Xiaqing had seen Zheng Kui since the third Harmful Rain, the one where he lost his wife and his daughter, who was less than a month old. He was a great deal thinner, and his entire demeanor had changed.

Previously, though Zheng Kui had always been quiet and reserved, his eyes had been resolute. Now, a wooden numbness radiated from him, so much so that even the air around him seemed dyed a lifeless, grayish black.

People who lost hope after each Natural Disaster ended up in this state. Some would eventually muster the courage to move on, while others would remain steeped in grief until the Harmful Element destroyed their bodies and sanity, leading them to their deaths.

Zheng Kui was still on duty, which meant he was one of the former. He just needed more time to move past the pain of losing his wife and daughter.

Xiaqing had experienced such pain herself, and she knew that no words of comfort would help. She simply greeted him and handed over the Red Light Goose and the Red Light snakes she’d caught recently. "They’re all Red Light. With these two baskets of Yellow Light Vegetables, I’d like to trade for cooking oil."

After weighing everything, Zheng Kui asked in a hoarse, raspy voice, "The Red Light Animals are all live. Fifty-two pounds total, one thousand three hundred points. The price for tomatoes and cucumbers has gone up to fifteen points a pound. The other Yellow Light Vegetables are still ten points. Your vegetables come to five hundred twenty-one points. Today we have corn oil, sesame oil, and cottonseed oil. There are Red Light versions that have been processed and purified, and Yellow Light versions that are directly pressed. Which kind do you want?"

Her total came to just over 1,800 points. Enough to trade for a six-liter barrel of Yellow Light Corn oil with a little left over, but not much. Xiaqing handed over her ID card. "I’ll take six liters of Yellow Light Corn oil, two liters of Yellow Light sesame oil, and also a pound of Green Light cumin and two pounds of Green Light Sichuan peppercorns."

Zheng Kui deducted the points. When he handed the card back to Xiaqing, he passed her a small slip of paper along with it. It read: *Sun Zhe and his parents are in the back.*

Xiaqing gave a slight nod. She understood now. Sun Zhe’s deal with No. 1 Territory had gone through, and he was sending his parents there to "take refuge."

Zhong Tao, who had been speaking with Tang Huai, had been keeping an ear on the exchange between Xiaqing and Zheng Kui. As soon as he heard it was complete, he immediately went to the back of the truck with Zheng Kui to get her items.

After taking the supplies, Xiaqing handed over two bags of vegetables, each weighing three or four pounds. "My cucumbers have been growing like crazy lately. Brother Tao, Brother Kui, take these to wet your whistles."

Neither of them stood on ceremony with Xiaqing. They took the vegetables and drove on, heading toward No. 1 Territory. To provide cover for Sun Zhe’s family, Xiaqing didn’t return to her territory right away. Instead, she bent over and began organizing the bartered goods in her back-basket.

Tang Huai, who should have been watching No. 1 Territory, had his attention completely fixed on Xiaqing, just as she’d expected. "You traded for so much cumin—are you planning to have roast mutton? Did you find sheep in the Evolution Forest? How about counting me in if you put a team together? My Auditory Evolution is even more powerful than Da Jiang’s."

"Haven’t found any sheep."

Seeing Xiaqing lift her back-basket to return to her territory, Tang Huai hurried forward a couple of steps to ask, "Didn’t you get a Green Light Sichuan peppercorn seedling at the farmer’s market? Why are you still trading for so many peppercorns?"

"It didn’t grow." Out of the corner of her eye, Xiaqing saw Zhong Tao’s vehicle drive directly into No. 1 Territory, and she turned to stride back to her own land.

"Miss Xia, could you please wait a moment?" Assistant Liu emerged from No. 9 Territory, walking quickly toward Xiaqing.

Tang Huai was terrified of the people from No. 9 Territory. He immediately retreated to the Second Territory and ducked into the Injurious Grass to eavesdrop. Zhou Xun, the man with Visual Evolution hiding within the Wild Grass Wall, was also drawn by the commotion and stopped watching the truck as it entered No. 1 Territory.

Xiaqing set down her back-basket and waited for Assistant Liu to approach before taking the initiative to ask, "I’ve been so swamped lately, I only just remembered when I heard you call out. Is this about the trade for the White-haired Chicken Shit Vine?"

"Yes." Assistant Liu pushed up the glasses that had slid down his nose from his hurried pace. "Is now a good time to trade?"

Xiaqing nodded. "It’s had over half a month to recover, so the Chicken Shit Vine has grown a little. I can spare a pound or two, but I haven’t had a chance to dry it yet. Is freshly cut acceptable?"

’Of course it is. No. 9 Territory wouldn’t even want it dried,’ Tang Huai thought, rolling his eyes as he flicked a small caterpillar off a blade of grass in front of him.

Assistant Liu proposed to Xiaqing, "Could we trade for the entire plant, roots included?"

Xiaqing feigned hesitation. "Assistant Liu, you might not have heard me say on the Lord channel, but my Chicken Shit Vine was battered by the hailstorm, and I lost quite a few more during the third Harmful Rain. I don’t have many plants left."

’Xiaqing not refusing outright meant a deal was possible, but the price had to be right.’ Assistant Liu put on a business-like smile and made a high offer. "The standard price for trading Green Light vegetable seedlings between territories is one hundred points per plant. If Miss Xia gives me one small seedling, I’ll pay one hundred points. Would that be acceptable?"

Xiaqing looked troubled. "There aren’t any small seedlings at this time of year. Why don’t you wait a little longer? I can dig one up and bring it over for you after the new shoots sprout next spring."

Tang Huai’s jaw dropped, and he exchanged a look with Zhou Xun. ’That Xiaqing... she’ll squeeze points out of anyone.’

Assistant Liu understood immediately. He apologized and asked with utmost politeness, "My apologies, I didn’t make myself clear just now. We don’t necessarily need a seedling; a mature plant would be fine as well. Would three hundred points for one plant be acceptable?"

Tang Huai gave a thumbs-up and flicked another small caterpillar away from his face.

Only then did Xiaqing finally nod. "Of course, that’s acceptable. Please wait a moment, Assistant Liu. I’ll go dig it up right now."

Xiaqing returned to the Third Territory and handed her back-basket to the waiting Sheep Leader. She then broke off a wooden stick, used it to dig up a medium-sized Chicken Shit Vine, and completed the transaction with Assistant Liu from No. 9 Territory—exchanging the plant with one hand while the points were transferred with the other.

Of course, the Chicken Shit Vine Xiaqing handed to Assistant Liu wasn’t native to the Third Territory. It was one she had traded for with her idol, Zhang San. When it came to screwing over Li Si, Zhang San had always been extremely enthusiastic, granting any and all requests.

Although testing had revealed no significant difference between the Chicken Shit Vine from her idol and the ones in the Third Territory in terms of their Harmful, beneficial, and trace element composition, Xiaqing had still been extremely cautious. She had planted the vine in her territory to let it acclimate for over ten days, only digging it up to hand over after No. 9 Territory requested the trade.

From this transaction, Xiaqing "tearfully" pocketed two hundred points.