Chapter 309: The Second Oil Press

Chapter 309: Chapter 309: The Second Oil Press

Xiaqing brushed the dirt off her clothes and instructed the Sheep Leader, "I’m going to the High Slope to pick some vegetables. You and Second stay here; there are people over there."

When Tang Huai saw Xiaqing finally arrive, he was practically bursting with anger. "Xiaqing, you’ve gone too far!"

Xiaqing had no time to figure out what was going on in the worm-digger’s head. She asked expressionlessly, "What is it?"

Shaking out his sore feet, Tang Huai asked smugly, "An oil press. Want it?"

’An oil press? I already have one, but the more the merrier.’ "How do we trade?"

Tang Huai put on a buddy-buddy expression. "This small, household oil press I got? It cost me 2,900 points from Hui Er Base. I’ll trade it to you for four Green Light chicken eggs. After all the trouble I went through, I’m only making 100 points. I’m being generous, right?"

The region where Hui Er Base was located was rich in mineral resources. Before the Natural Disaster, it was home to the main production plants of one of Hua Country’s top two home appliance companies. After recovering from the Natural Disaster, Hui Er Base’s appliance manufacturing capabilities were still top-notch in Hua Country. The refrigerator and the large constant temperature and pressure system installed in the basement, which Xiaqing had traded for with Zhang San, were all produced by Hui Er Base.

Xiaqing nodded. "Alright, but I need to save up enough eggs for my trade with No. 9 Territory first. Then I can trade with you."

"No problem. Because of some brain-dead administrator’s terrible idea at our base, household oil presses are currently banned from sale, so just don’t tell anyone." Having completed his initial task, Tang Huai took a step closer and continued to suck up to Xiaqing.

Tang Huai leaned in closer again, his expression so earnest it was as if he wanted to write the word "sincere" on a piece of paper and paste it directly onto Xiaqing’s forehead just so she would feel his sincerity.

"Scarcity creates value. In this whole area, only you and Brother San have edible eggs right now. That’s why the breeding eggs are so valuable and fetch such a high price. If you can seize this golden opportunity this fall and next spring, your territory’s fence could go from thorns to iron mesh."

’All this flattery for no reason means he’s up to no good. This guy is definitely hiding something.’ Xiaqing asked expressionlessly, "Does your family sell iron mesh?"

’Damn it, is Xiaqing even a woman? I’m laying it on this thick, and she still can’t feel my sincerity?’

Tang Huai didn’t want to continue flattering her. As he left, he warned Xiaqing in an extremely low voice, "The people who came to hunt the wolves are still in my territory. Be careful."

Xiaqing had watched Tang Zhengsu’s helicopter take off, so she already knew that not everyone from the Su Feng Team, who had come with the Jiang Bear Squad, had left the territories.

After watching Tang Huai stroll east along the Northern Isolation Zone, Xiaqing nodded and started walking down the slope. She opened the surveillance app on her phone, using the cameras to watch the Northern Isolation Zone. She had realized Tang Huai’s attentiveness was an act; only his final sentence was genuine. So, Xiaqing wanted to use her cameras to find the person watching the show.

Thirty seconds after Tang Huai passed, two people in camouflage Protective Suits crossed the camera’s view. One of them stopped at the northern edge of her territory and peered inside.

Xiaqing immediately took a screenshot and zoomed in on the person’s face.

The twenty-thousand-point camera was worth every point. Although the person was wearing a Protective Mask, Xiaqing recognized them by the greedy eyes visible behind it.

It was Qian Lin, the Level 4 Strength Evolver from the Su Feng Team. A couple of days ago, Xiaqing had heard his voice while eavesdropping on Tang Zhengsu south of her territory.

’What was the Su Feng Team’s purpose in leaving Qian Lin behind? Or rather, what was Tang Huai warning me to be careful of?’

Xiaqing spent about twenty minutes weeding the terraced fields on the High Slope before she received a text from Ji Li.

After accepting the camera and oil press Ji Li delivered, Xiaqing was about to transfer him the points, but Ji Li waved his hand. "Our Lord said no points. He wants to trade for Green Light meat."

Xiaqing understood what Zhang San meant. ’He thinks the wolves have returned to my territory, so I’ll have Green Light meat soon.’ However, Xiaqing felt it was unlikely, because this time, only one Sick Wolf had come back.

Xiaqing installed the camera on a large, hard rock five meters diagonally above the Spring Cave. From this position, it could monitor the entire low-slope terraced field. No person or animal could enter the field or approach the unpolluted spring from any angle without being captured by the camera.

Moreover, placing the camera here meant it couldn’t monitor the entrance of the Spring Cave. In other words, Xiaqing wouldn’t be caught on camera when she collected water, which gave her a great sense of security.

After installing the fifth camera, Xiaqing stuffed the oil press into her large backpack. Just as she was about to turn on her walkie-talkie to hear what the other Lords were having for lunch, she heard Mrs. Zhao’s booming scolding from the next territory: "The work isn’t done yet, what’s there to eat!"

Xiaqing raised an eyebrow. Lately, Mrs. Zhao’s shouts and curses were often heard from Territory No. 4. She spoke more often than Zhao Ze on the Lord channel. It seemed the person in charge of Territory No. 4 had changed.

You couldn’t eat in Territory No. 4 until the work was done, but Xiaqing had finished her work and was ready to eat. She turned up the volume on her walkie-talkie and heard Zhu Li from No. 6 Territory say, "I’m planning to make purslane porridge and coarse grain flatbread for lunch today."

Hearing Zhu Li’s voice, Xiaqing checked the time and headed back to the Northern Isolation Zone. It was almost time for the Danger Investigation Team’s scheduled patrol, and Xiaqing wanted to ask them to pass a message to No. 6 Territory.

Mrs. Zhao, who had just been screaming and cursing in the adjacent territory, was now speaking pleasantly on the Lord channel. "Zhu Li, is the purslane over at your place still tender?"

Zhu Li replied, "A new batch grew in the cornfield. I figured we’re about to harvest the corn in a few days anyway, so it would be a waste not to eat it. What are you having today, Auntie?"

Mrs. Zhao sighed. "The people in my territory are one lazier than the next. They haven’t even finished watering the vegetables all morning. I have no time to make lunch, so we’re just eating compressed rations."

Xiaqing, who was next to Territory No. 4, faintly heard Zhao Ze’s wail of misery.

Mother Shi from the Tenth Territory also came online. "I’ve been feeling a bit ’heaty’ these past few days, so I’m picking some sow thistle. I plan to make porridge to cool down, and maybe some pumpkin cakes. I’m so sick of steamed pumpkin."

Sow thistle is a wild vegetable with small yellow flowers. It has a bitter taste that Xiaqing disliked, but many people quite enjoyed its bitterness.

The pumpkin vines, which everyone had considered a nuisance back in August, had now entered a frenzied fruiting period, becoming the main vegetable and staple food on every territory’s dinner table. It wasn’t that people didn’t want to sell them for points, but because every territory grew pumpkins, the purchase price had dropped from 10 points per jin to 6 points. Therefore, everyone prioritized selling other vegetables and kept the pumpkins for themselves.

But just as Mother Shi said, even the most delicious pumpkin becomes tiresome if you eat too much of it. So the Lords stopped simply steaming or boiling them and started finding all sorts of creative ways to prepare pumpkin dishes.

Yuan Yan from Territory No. 5 shared a new method. "I peel and slice the pumpkin, then sun-dry it until it’s about eighty percent dry. Then I steam it for five minutes and sun-dry it again until it’s completely dry. It tastes a lot like dried sweet potato. If you process it this way, bag it, and remove the air, it’ll definitely last for two or three months."

For Lords who couldn’t build a food pantry, researching new methods for long-term food preservation was extremely important. Everyone started asking Yuan Yan for the detailed instructions, and Xiaqing also took careful notes.