Chapter 341: Harvest

Chapter 341: Chapter 341: Harvest

After seeing Chang Li and Hu Zifeng off from the Third Territory, Xiaqing returned home. She gently carried the Head Wolf from the living room table to the sheep pen and placed him on a dry, comfortable straw mat. She even groomed his fur to make him as comfortable as possible.

An injured hero deserved such treatment. ℯℯ𝘭.

Once the Head Wolf closed his eyes to rest, Xiaqing carefully examined the new wolf with the broken leg beside him.

The more she looked, the more she felt a sense of déja vu.

The wolf’s appearance, its injury, and even its fiercely wild eyes were all strikingly similar to the original Broken Leg Wolf when he had first arrived in her territory for treatment three months ago.

However, the original Broken Leg Wolf was a male, and this one was a female, so her frame was slightly smaller than his.

No matter how fierce the she-wolf’s gaze, it couldn’t scare Xiaqing. She wasn’t the same person she had been three months ago.

Xiaqing asked cheerfully, "Was the wolf who carried you here your brother or your dad?"

The she-wolf with the injured hind leg stared at Xiaqing with fierce, wary eyes. The anesthetic hadn’t worn off yet, so she couldn’t roar, swipe her claws, or bare her fangs.

"I’m guessing he’s your brother. Given how unreliable that Broken Leg Wolf is, I doubt any she-wolf would fall for him."

After speculating about the two wolves’ relationship, Xiaqing went back inside to clean the living room. Then, she fetched the constantly shivering rabbit from its cage in the tool shed and placed the entire cage inside the chicken coop.

If she didn’t find some companions for the timid rabbit, Xiaqing worried the wolves would eventually scare it to death.

The Green Light Chickens in the coop had also been frightened into silence by the Wolf Group yesterday morning, but they were back to eating and drinking normally now.

However, the hens laid one less egg today than yesterday, and Xiaqing mentally blamed the Broken Waist Wolf for it. Not that she needed the Broken Waist Wolf to compensate her directly; the value of the pigeon-egg-sized Yi Stone he had traded for the Protective Suit was more than enough to cover her loss.

After placing the rabbit cage in the chicken coop, Xiaqing decided not to rush the trade for the Dog Protective Clothing. Instead, she took the corn out of the underground storage room and spread it out to dry on a sunny patch of concrete under the eaves.

Drying the corn under the eaves with a net over it was safer than drying it on the roof. The Little Swallows nesting there were very territorial, and the area where the corn was drying fell within their domain. They would drive away any other birds that approached.

So, while the swallows guarded their own territory, they would also be guarding Xiaqing’s corn.

After instructing Sheep Leader and Sick Wolf to watch over the two anesthetized wolves and the corn, Xiaqing was about to head out to the fields when she heard a BEEP BEEP from her phone.

She checked her phone and saw the freeloading Red Squirrel perched on the ruins of a nearby house, staring longingly at the corn she had set out to dry.

Xiaqing didn’t have a moment to rest, let alone deal with a freeloader squirrel. The Green Rice in her field was ripe and had to be harvested and threshed this afternoon.

It wasn’t an exhausting task, as Xiaqing only had 97 Green Rice plants. Her Yellow Light rice had been planted later and wasn’t ripe yet.

Though she only had 97 plants, each seedling had tillered, producing three to six stalks. Each tiller formed an ear of rice, and each ear could grow dozens of grains. Every single grain was a treasure.

Zhang San had traded these Green Rice seedlings to Xiaqing. They were the same variety as the forty jin of Yellow Light rice seeds he traded her later—a double-cropping rice.

Double-cropping rice meant it could be planted in both spring and autumn, allowing for two harvests a year.

’So, if I store the harvest from these 97 plants properly and use all of it for seedlings next year, assuming there are no Natural Disasters, I could harvest around 900 pounds of Green Rice by next June. And with a second crop after that, by this time next year...’

’Even if I become as picky as my idol and eat nothing but Green Light Rice, I won’t starve.’

Filled with motivation, Xiaqing no longer felt tired. She cut off all the rice ears, brought them home to dry beside the corn, took a quick drink of water, and checked on the two injured wolves.

The Head Wolf and Sheep Leader were both fast asleep, even letting out soft snores. The Broken Leg Wolf’s sister was still staring wildly at Xiaqing. Sick Wolf lay beside the corn, preventing the birds in the trees and on the distant ruins from pecking at the kernels.

Xiaqing gently scratched Sick Wolf’s chin and gave him a piece of jerky. Then she stripped the grains from the rice ears, spread them to dry next to the corn, and headed to the fields to pick green bean pods.

The weather was turning cooler, causing the crops to ripen faster. Anything ready for harvest had to be brought in as soon as possible.

Xiaqing had just left the village when she saw the Red Squirrel squatting on the side of the road. It was swishing its big tail and wringing its little paws as it stared pleadingly at her.

Xiaqing scoffed. "Heh. Looking for a handout? The walnuts or the corn? I got those walnuts after sleeping only three hours since last night, treating several wolves, and running thirty kilometers. And I spent three months growing that corn. There’s none for you. If you want something to eat, go find it yourself in the Evolution Forest."

The Red Squirrel fussed around Xiaqing a few more times, but when it realized she wasn’t going to give it anything, it chittered angrily and scurried off to forage. Plenty of fruits were ripe in the Evolution Forest, so it was busy too.

As Xiaqing carried her bag and bent over to pick green bean pods, she truly appreciated the benefits of the Body Injury Healing Potion she’d gotten from Zhang San.

’If it weren’t for the two medicinal baths I took with it, there’s no way I would have recovered this quickly after all that running today. I would’ve had to lie down and rest for at least an hour after treating the wolves.’

’Now I can use this time to harvest crops instead of recovering from exhaustion,’ Xiaqing thought, feeling quite pleased with herself. After picking all the ripe green bean pods, she saw it was still early and decided to harvest the alfalfa.

Although alfalfa smelled much less foul after going to seed than it did while flowering, Xiaqing decided to be cautious and ask the others how they were harvesting theirs. Everyone had gotten their Green Light Alfalfa from Zhao Ze, so it was all the same evolved variety. Their experience would be invaluable to her.

"Aunt Zhao, are you there?"

Xiaqing directed her question to the new Lord of the neighboring territory.

Mrs. Zhao replied quickly, "I’m here. What have you been up to, Xiaqing? I haven’t heard a peep from you all morning."

’You’d never believe me if I told you. I went to the wolf den this morning and hauled back six bags of Green Light Mountain Walnuts.’

Xiaqing thought to herself, but her spoken words were calm. "I was taking advantage of the good weather and just finished picking ripe green bean pods. It looks like the alfalfa seeds are ready. Have you harvested yours yet?"

Green Light Alfalfa was the most valuable native plant in Territory No. 4, so Mrs. Zhao was certain to be paying close attention to it.

Before Mrs. Zhao could answer, Tang Huai chimed in, gloating. "You didn’t have your walkie-talkie on this morning, Xiaqing, so you wouldn’t know. The alfalfa seeds are unbelievably stinky. Zhao Ze and his people were so nauseated they couldn’t even eat lunch."

Everyone...

Xiaqing silently counted. ’One... two...’

"Tang Huai." Before Xiaqing could even get to three, Tang Huai’s father cut in. "What did I tell you?"

"Dad, I remember," Tang Huai’s tone shifted instantly. He asked in a warm, polite voice, "Aunt Zhao, I have some evolved lemons here, Yellow Light grade. If you slice them and boil them in water, they release a lemon fragrance that can absorb and get rid of bad smells. Drinking the lemon water also stimulates saliva and gastric acid secretion to increase appetite. Would you like to trade for a couple and give them a try?"