Chapter 344: First Lord Council

Chapter 344: Chapter 344: First Lord Council

After trying various food storage methods like digging cellars and finding them ineffective, the Lords had to face a frustrating reality: there was no way to store vegetables in their territories, unless they were dried.

Originally, grains with hard husks like wheat, mung beans, and corn could be sealed and stored within a territory for three to four months. But now, with invaders raiding for food and killing people, the Lords no longer dared to keep their grain in territories that lacked sturdy walls.

If invaders broke through the patrol team’s defenses and entered a territory, an ordinary Lord would be facing certain death. Even if the invaders were severely punished afterward, so what? The Lord would already be dead.

So, it seemed the safest option was to trade all their food away or store it in the Safe Zone.

"I think so too," Qi Fu replied. Seemingly unwilling to discuss the issue further, he turned to Tan Junjie. "Captain Tan, can we move between territories tomorrow? I need to use the corn thresher from No. 6 Territory, and I also need to go to the Tenth Territory to borrow a large iron hammer for repairing farm tools."

Tan Junjie responded, "You can, but don’t stay out for too long. And don’t go beyond the buffer zone of the territories into the Evolution Forest."

"Understood. Thanks, Captain Tan."

Listening to Qi Fu, Xiaqing knew what he was scheming.

Sure enough, Qi Fu called her soon after. "Xiaqing, I’m thinking of getting Aunt Zhao, Old Kuang, and Brother Shi together tomorrow. The five of us can put our heads together about how to store our food for the next few days and how to get through the winter. What do you think?"

Xiaqing agreed. "I’ve been thinking about that too. We’re on the same page. Where should we meet tomorrow?"

It was chaotic outside, so the more people who remained in this cluster of territories, the safer it would be. As for No. 1, No. 2, No. 8, No. 7, and No. 9 territories, they were in a completely different league. There was no point in trying to plan with them.

Seeing that Xiaqing agreed, Qi Fu breathed a huge sigh of relief. "How about my place tomorrow at two in the afternoon? It’s not a long walk for anyone. If the discussion goes well, our five territories can form an alliance. There’s strength in numbers."

Two in the afternoon was the hottest part of the day, making it unsuitable for farm work but perfect for a meeting.

After accepting the invitation, Xiaqing went outside to check on the three wolves. Since the Head Wolf’s arrival, Sheep Leader and Sick Wolf had started sleeping with it in the sheep pen, leaving the tatami mat in the living room empty.

When she stepped outside and saw four pairs of eyes glowing in the pitch-black sheep pen, a sense of security washed over her. ’With these wolves and the sheep keeping watch, I can finally get a good night’s sleep.’

After checking the Head Wolf’s condition and reminding it not to run off, Xiaqing examined the Sick Wolf’s leg. She then fitted the Sheep Leader with Night Vision Goggles. "I need to catch up on sleep tonight. Queen and Broken Leg Sister need to get some proper rest too. Leader, Second, I’m leaving the territory to you two for the night. If anything happens, come upstairs and get me. And whatever you do, don’t make any noise."

The Head Wolf watched Xiaqing intently with its brilliant gold eyes, which had regained some of their former spirit, as if trying to understand her meaning.

No matter how intelligent Evolutionary Animals were, they couldn’t fully understand human language, just as Xiaqing couldn’t grasp the specific meaning behind their howls and bleats.

But after spending a long time with them, the Evolutionary Animals could understand human movements, emotions, and simple phrases. So, using a combination of words and gestures, Xiaqing explained the current situation to the group. Once she was sure they understood, she went back inside to sleep.

The Broken Leg Sister still stared at Xiaqing, fierce and wary. But with the Head Wolf and the Sick Wolf to keep her in line, it didn’t matter whether she understood or not. She couldn’t cause any trouble anyway.

Having survived a heart-stopping day, Xiaqing put away the corn, went back inside, and collapsed onto her bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

The next morning at five o’clock, before the chickens even began to crow, the food-delivery wolves arrived. Broken Waist Wolf and a Black Wolf appeared on the security monitor, a large python dangling from their jaws.

Xiaqing’s eyes immediately lit up.

Knowing Broken Waist Wolf’s intelligence, the python it brought had to be at least a Yellow Light. A python weighing over three hundred pounds would be enough to feed the three wolves in her territory for ten days, and she could get a few meals out of it as well.

When Xiaqing went downstairs to inspect it, she was even more delighted. This wasn’t just any Yellow Light Python—it was a skin-hardened Yellow Light Python!

’That clever mind of the handsome Broken Waist Wolf is truly the product of evolution,’ Xiaqing thought. ’He knew exactly what I needed.’

Xiaqing used a knife to carefully skin the tough python, keeping the hide in one piece. She also removed the Snake Gallbladder, which the wolves wouldn’t eat. She placed the other organs in one basin and, after chopping the snake meat into several large chunks, put them in another basin and set it before the Head Wolf.

"Your Majesty may pick your favorite parts."

The Head Wolf was the alpha. Only after she had eaten her fill could the Broken Leg Sister eat. The Sick Wolf, however, only ate cooked food and wouldn’t touch anything raw.

Once the two injured wolves had eaten their fill, Xiaqing asked, "Broken Waist, I’m going to store the rest of this meat, all right? I’ll keep it in the cellar. It’s enough to feed the three of them for ten days, so you don’t need to bring any more food for a while. It’s too dangerous right now."

Afraid the Broken Waist Wolf wouldn’t understand, Xiaqing led it into the house and let it watch as she stored the meat. "Meat stored this way won’t spoil," she explained. "You don’t need to bring any more food."

The Broken Waist Wolf stared at the refrigerator, seemingly lost in thought.

Of course, there was no way to stuff three hundred pounds of meat into the refrigerator’s freezer, but Xiaqing had long ago figured out how to solve the problem of storing large quantities of fresh meat.

For the meat that wouldn’t fit in the freezer, she would first cut it into small pieces, freeze them solid, then take them out and pack them—ice and all—into large insulated flasks. These flasks were then stored in the underground vegetable cellar.

The principle behind these insulated flasks was the same as a typical thermos used for hot water, except their capacity was twenty times larger. Xiaqing had traded for these flasks with No. 7 Territory specifically to store food that wouldn’t fit in the freezer but still required cold storage.

She had traded for two of them. One flask could hold about forty pounds of meat, meaning eighty pounds for both. After filling the freezer and the insulated flasks, she would seal and freeze the rest of the meat, then pack it into a styrofoam cooler to be kept in the vegetable cellar.

Xiaqing had tested this method. As long as the cooler wasn’t damaged and she changed the ice packs inside it once a day, the meat wouldn’t spoil for half a month.

So now, Xiaqing’s two underground food cellars could store not only grain and vegetables, but also fresh meat, which gave her a profound sense of security.

In the unpredictable Disaster Years, food and water were life itself. As a Lord who could store food and had a source of clean water, Xiaqing’s ability to mitigate risk was far greater than that of an ordinary person.

Thus, when the Lords met at Territory No. 5 at two that afternoon, Xiaqing was the least anxious of the five. It was just that she had a habit of keeping a stony expression, so no one could guess her true state of mind.

Qi Fu and his wife had prepared thoroughly for the meeting, setting out hot water and food on the table. To Xiaqing’s surprise, there was even fresh, hot popcorn and roasted sunflower seeds.

Qi Fu invited everyone to take a seat. "It’s nothing fancy, just some things made from the grain we grew ourselves."

Kuang Qingwei popped a couple of kernels into his mouth, his eyes widening. "Brother Qi, is this really made from our own corn?"