Chapter 293: A Red Flower Planted in Cow Dung

Chapter 293: Chapter 293: A Red Flower Planted in Cow Dung

Crouching nearby to wash vegetables, Xiaqing’s ears perked up. She listened intently as Tang Huai explained the recipe, wishing she could just pull out her phone and record it.

Tang Huai glanced up and saw Xiaqing’s profile illuminated by the firelight. He froze.

Hu Zifeng, who was sharpening a stick nearby, scowled. He shoved the stick under Tang Huai’s nose and asked gruffly, "Are we using this for the eggplant slices?"

Tang Huai snapped out of it and gave Hu Zifeng a disdainful look. "Are you an idiot? This is for the fish. The vegetable skewers need to be half this thick. Xiaqing, Brother Ya, can you guys handle spicy food?"

Still washing vegetables and memorizing the recipe, Xiaqing answered without looking up, "I can."

Da Ya, having finished cleaning the fish, was drying his hands by the fire. He replied cheerfully, "As long as it’s not insanely hot, I’m good."

SPLASH—

Hearing a sound from the water, Xiaqing waited for Tang Huai to look away before turning her gaze to the reservoir. Soon, Yan Long emerged, carrying two evolved eels, each over two meters long, that had somehow survived the electrocution.

The large lights by the reservoir had been turned off. In the flickering glow of the two fires—one for steaming crabs, the other for grilling fish—Yan Long emerged from the pitch-black water. Clutching the writhing evolved eels, she looked like a lethally sharp, bloodthirsty weapon, so formidable that Xiaqing felt an urge to scream.

After handing the two eels to Da Ya, Yan Long took off her goggles and diving cap, apparently done with the water for now. Xiaqing immediately waved her over. "Sister Yan, it must be cold down there, right? Quick, come warm yourself by the fire."

’Come over here, I want to admire this sharp, beautiful High Level Evolver up close!’

"The crabs are ready!"

After Tang Huai lifted the lid, Yan Long, who was sitting beside Xiaqing, turned her attention to the steam-enveloped crabs and offered a rare compliment, "The aroma is good."

Earning the approval of a Level 9 Olfactory Evolver for his cooking, Tang Huai grinned with delight.

He grabbed a pair of scissors, snipped the crab legs and claws onto a plate, and set it on a rock they were using as a table. "After evolution, the crabs’ claws and legs have a much stronger ’cooling’ property, so you have to eat them dipped in white liquor. Sister Yan, Xiaqing, you two hang on a sec."

With that, Tang Huai deftly cut and broke off the crab’s carapace. He then cleaned out the inedible parts—the heart, gills, mouth, stomach, lungs, and intestines—before snipping the crab in half with a single cut. He handed the pieces to Xiaqing and Yan Long. "You can eat now."

Then, Tang Huai deftly prepared the second crab, cut it in half, and gave one piece to Da Ya, keeping the other for himself.

As for Hu Zifeng? Sorry, there were only two crabs, so none for him. He could chew on the claws.

Hu Zifeng shot Tang Huai a glare but didn’t argue with him.

The Green Light evolved crab roe and meat were absolutely delicious. Xiaqing was completely absorbed in eating when Tang Huai placed a few skewers of grilled vegetables in front of her and Yan Long. "Eat these with the crab. It tastes even better."

After he spoke, Tang Huai went to flip the grilling fish, a crab leg dangling from his mouth. Xiaqing suddenly felt that, away from Second Territory, he was much more likable.

Xiaqing took a bite of a green bean dusted with barbecue seasoning and felt like she had ascended. It was so good, she didn’t even want to talk.

’Tang Huai usually seems like such a goofy oaf,’ she thought. ’I never expected his cooking to be this good.’

When Tang Huai brought over the fragrant grilled fish and passed it around, he asked Xiaqing with a grin if she would grab some corn for them to roast as a main course. Xiaqing happily agreed, and with a skewer of grilled eggplant dangling from her mouth, she went to the corn shelter and returned with five cobs of Yellow Light Corn.

One for each of them, so no one had to fight over it.

Hu Zifeng snatched them before Tang Huai could. "I’ll roast them."

Tang Huai scoffed. "Do you even know how? Xiaqing worked hard to grow these. Don’t you dare burn them."

Hu Zifeng glared. "You think you can do better? Then you do it."

Tang Huai gave a dry laugh. "I’m busy. Don’t have time."

’Then why are you wasting your breath?’ Hu Zifeng ignored Tang Huai, who was clearly just trying to pick a fight, and started roasting the corn.

Roasting corn was very simple. You just stick a wooden rod in it for a handle and turn it over the fire. Once the outer husk was charred, you peeled it off, roasted it a bit more to dry out the excess moisture, and it was ready to eat.

By the time everyone had finished their grilled fish and vegetables, the corn was perfectly cooked. Xiaqing hadn’t added any seasoning; one bite filled her mouth with the pure, sweet flavor of corn.

The meal was so satisfying that the five of them sat by the fire for a while after they finished, savoring the moment before packing up and heading to their respective homes.

Hu Zifeng and Tang Huai helped the pair from Territory Land No. 7 carry the freezer back. Xiaqing packed her share—eight edible fish, already frozen solid—into a bag, took them home to her own freezer for storage, then came back out to set up the sound-based traps around her territory before finally going home to sleep.

After the Wolf Group left the territory, Sheep Leader had taken on the night watch duty. Even though he had Night Vision Goggles, he was still just a sheep—a conspicuous white-wooled sheep at that. Xiaqing couldn’t place the entire burden of the watch on him, so she had started setting traps again.

Setting up these traps wasn’t a long-term solution. Fortunately, the lightning strike today that had cleared out the Third Territory’s reservoir had also earned Xiaqing over one hundred and nine thousand points. She planned to use them to upgrade her territory’s defenses.

This legitimate windfall should be enough to install cameras and a fence for the territory. Once that was done, her territory would be much safer.

Spending this huge, unexpected sum so openly had another benefit: she wouldn’t have to worry about thieves targeting her for it. Xiaqing yawned and closed her eyes to sleep.

「In Second Territory」

Lying in bed, Tang Huai was still reliving the wonderful feeling of gathering the fish and the barbecue. "The food was good, but that wasn’t the best part. It was the feeling of relaxation, like we’d gone back ten years. And also..."

Lying on the other bed in the room, Tang Heng asked, "And also what?"

"Nothing. Let’s sleep." Tang Huai faked a yawn, rolled over, and stared at the white wall.

’Also, the red toxin on Xiaqing’s skin has faded a lot. It was only up close that I realized her eyelashes are really long and her eyes are so clear. If you look closely, she’s actually quite pretty.’

’Too bad her taste in men is terrible. To think she’s into Hu Zifeng... What a waste of a beautiful flower on a pile of cow dung.’

「In Territory No. 4」

Zhao Ze and his mother were weeping in each other’s arms.

The past six months of farming had been nothing but misery for them. They suffered losses with every Natural Disaster. Zhao Ze had broken his leg and spent months recovering. A relative had been sentenced to forced labor for plotting against Xiaqing, and several of their workers had died. Their second crop in the greenhouse had yielded less than a third of its potential. After paying their workers for the autumn harvest, they couldn’t even afford seeds and fertilizer for the next planting season.

If they couldn’t afford fertilizer, the crops wouldn’t grow strong. If the crops didn’t grow strong, there would be no harvest. No harvest meant they would starve. It was an inescapable, vicious cycle.

Just when Zhao Ze was despairing, a path forward unexpectedly opened. A bolt of lightning CRACKED down on the Third Territory’s reservoir, electrocuting tons of fish. The river in Zhao Ze’s territory was connected to Xiaqing’s. The lightning that stunned the fish in the reservoir also shocked the fish in Territory No. 4’s river, causing them to float belly-up. Between those and the fish that drifted over from the Third Territory, Zhao Ze and his men worked for over an hour, scooping up five hundred and twenty-six pounds of fish, shrimp, and crabs. Even though only a little over six pounds were edible, the sheer quantity was staggering!

Zhao Ze sold them to No.1 Territory for 23 points a pound, instantly earning 12,098 points. With this, Zhao Ze not only had enough points to buy seeds and fertilizer but could also afford some cold-weather supplies to get through the winter warmly.

Zhao Ze wiped away his tears and snot. "I knew Xiaqing was capable way back when we were queuing for our territories. I was right to stick close to her. See? Our good days are finally here."

Mrs. Zhao dried her tears. "Qi Fu was right: the land rewards the diligent. You’re just too lazy. You approach farming the same way you did engineering—cutting corners and doing just enough to get by. That’s why we’re always having problems. For the next crop, I’m taking over as Lord."

Zhao Ze...