Chapter 57: Certificate of Mountain Land Use Rights

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Certificate of Mountain Land Use Rights

She went to the basement to retrieve the agreement and the contract. After mulling them over, Xiaqing proposed three changes:

First, the lease term for the mountain would be changed from five years to two. After the two-year lease expired, they could renegotiate an extension if both parties were still willing. If they couldn’t reach an agreement, they could choose not to renew the lease.

Second, an additional clause: during the lease period, while the Green Dragon Team used the mountain as a training base, any resources harvested from it would belong to the Green Dragon Team. However, if they harvested Green Light food, Xiaqing would have the right to be informed and the first right of purchase.

Third, a further clarification of the leased area: the area leased to the Green Dragon Team would be all other regions of Mountain No. 49 as indicated on the land use certificate, excluding the area within one-and-a-half kilometers north of No.1 Territory, the Third Territory, and Territory No. 4. The responsibility and consequences of clearing dangerous evolved creatures from the un-leased area would be borne by Xiaqing herself.

Xiaqing’s reasoning was to ensure her own territory was not subject to surveillance or the threat of sniper rifles from the people on the mountain. Besides avoiding surveillance and threats, Xiaqing had two unspoken reasons: first, this area might be where the Pollution-free Spring Water flowed, meaning there could be potential planting zones; second, she needed an Evolution Forest to serve as her own exclusive training ground.

She was going to get stronger.

Twenty-five days later, as Xiaqing was munching on a freshly picked, tender cucumber and admiring the jujube tree’s new buds and the fuzzy green apples that were not yet the size of her thumb, she received a message from Luo Pei: The mountain had been purchased. Yang Jin wanted to come over at eight tonight to sign the contract with you. Is that okay?

’They bought it that fast?’ Xiaqing wanted to say that this was a sensitive time, right after they’d bought the mountain and were under scrutiny. ’Aren’t they afraid that a great, glittering Buddha like Yang Jin will be spotted coming to the Third Territory?’

But then, Xiaqing remembered they had dug a tunnel from No.1 Territory to the Third Territory for transporting supplies. With the cucumber still dangling from her mouth, she replied, "Yes, that’s fine. The cucumbers in my field are ready to eat. I’ll bring some for Brother Luo and Captain Yang to try tonight."

After hanging up, Xiaqing snatched up her slingshot and shattered the head of an evolved locust that was CLACKING its wings and diving straight for the peanut seedlings in her terraced planting area. The bite force of evolved locusts had also strengthened; if she ignored it, it would break through the insect netting she’d set up and get inside in just a few minutes.

After Xiaqing shot down the locust, Sheep Leader ran over faster than the birds squabbling for food and pinned the locust’s corpse under its hoof.

"Good job, Leader!" Xiaqing, still with the cucumber in her mouth, hopped down two terrace levels and walked over. She stuffed the leftover end of her cucumber into Sheep Leader’s mouth as a reward, then picked up the headless evolved locust from under its hoof and put it in the grass pouch hanging around its neck. "You get a reward for not squishing the bug into mush this time. You eat the cucumber, Leader. The locust is for feeding the fish."

Sheep Leader narrowed its eyes, crunching on the cucumber amidst the chirping of birds, and ambled slowly down the slope to feed the fish in the pond.

Xiaqing then retrieved the steel ball she had just shot, wiped it clean, and tucked it into her ammunition pouch. When she ran out of steel balls, she had to exchange points for more. Not a single one that could be recovered should be lost.

Recovering a steel ball fired at high speed would be extremely difficult and time-consuming for anyone who wasn’t a High Level Visual Evolver or an Olfactory Evolver.

A Visual Evolver’s eyes could track fast-moving objects, and an Olfactory Evolver’s nose could track various smells. Xiaqing was not only a High Level Visual Evolver, but also an Auditory Evolver who could track sounds. So for her, this task was nothing at all.

When the appointed time arrived, Xiaqing picked up five cucumbers and went, full of confidence, to sign the first and second contracts of her life.

What was it like to see the two leaders of the Hui San Base’s Green Dragon Team in the same room at the same time? Xiaqing was happy that Luo Pei could move around freely, and Yang Jin had somehow gotten even more handsome, making her instinctively want to stuff all her tasty food into his hands...

Xiaqing reined in her emotions and offered them the basket. "Captain Yang, Brother Luo."

Yang Jin accepted the basket with a calm expression. Luo Pei’s face was flushed, and he wore a smile.

’Don’t get the wrong idea.’ Luo Pei’s face was red not because he was shy or excited, but because the Qiang Synthesized Poison hadn’t fully faded. Xiaqing’s own face was always a dark red, so she was red-faced in any situation, in front of anyone.

Luo Pei looked at the fresh, dewy cucumbers in the basket. "Why did you bring so many?"

"I successfully grew nineteen cucumber plants. Once the vines grow out, each leaf can produce one cucumber. It’s just that few of them are Green Light. Only these few are ready to eat today." When Xiaqing talked about her vegetable garden, she was brimming with pride.

Seeing Xiaqing’s face, eyes, and heart filled with smiles because of her successful harvest, a smile touched Yang Jin’s eyes as well. He explained to Xiaqing why Xie Yu hadn’t come. "Xie Yu has wanted to come and thank you in person for a long time, but one of us three needs to stay behind to guard the Safe Zone, so he couldn’t make it this time either. This is a small gift he asked me to prepare for you."

If Yang Jin and Luo Pei were the divine soldiers of the Green Dragon Team, then Xie Yu was its brain. Without any one of the three, the Green Dragon Team would never have reached its current scale. Although the spring water was important, Xiaqing had never thought it would require all three leaders of the Green Dragon Team to come and sign a contract with her.

Xiaqing accepted the small gift of over ten pounds from the Green Dragon Team’s second-in-command with both hands. "Captain Xie is too kind."

Seeing that Xiaqing had accepted it, Luo Pei explained what was in the box. "There are two hundred bullets in here. You’ll need them for shooting practice."

’I need these so badly!’ This small gift was too thoughtful and too valuable. Xiaqing could no longer bring herself to say what she had originally planned—to have Yang Jin take a couple of cucumbers back to Xie Yu as a thank you gift.

’Fortunately, she had come fully prepared for tonight.’

Xiaqing took a small bucket of Pollution-free Spring Water and two packets of tea leaves from her backpack. "Captain Yang, could I trouble you to take this packet of tea and the water back for Captain Xie? Brother Luo, can you brew tea here? This tea tastes pretty good. I’d like to make some for you and Captain Yang to try."

"Of course. You and Yang Jin sit down, I’ll brew it." Luo Pei took on the task of making tea, his face full of anticipation. "It’s been so long since I’ve had tea brewed with spring water."

Once the spring water boiled, the aroma of tea quickly filled the air. It was a fragrance Yang Jin had never smelled before. He asked Xiaqing, "Did you find tea trees in your territory?"

Xiaqing shook her head. "I traded for it with another Lord. He said it was a rare, high-quality tea. I’m no tea connoisseur, I just think it smells fragrant and tastes pretty good."

’It must have been Zhang San who traded it to her. No wonder the fragrance is so pure.’ Seeing that Xiaqing was living well, Yang Jin’s expression softened a little more. "What did you trade for it? Green Light cucumbers?"

It was a public trade on the Lord channel, so Xiaqing didn’t hide anything. "Green Light cucumbers, spinach leaves, and chives."

Yang Jin gave Xiaqing a subtle reminder. "Zhang San from Land No. 7 is extremely particular about the texture of his food. The fact that he was willing to trade such good tea with you means he believes your Green Light vegetables are worth that price. Are your vegetables watered directly with the spring water?"

Xiaqing shook her head. "They are during seed soaking and the seedling stage, but after they grow bigger, I switch to regular water. Captain Yang, is there a risk in trading Green Light vegetables with other Lords?"

The smile in Yang Jin’s eyes became even more apparent. "If the Harmful Element content of all the varieties of Green Light vegetables you grow is lower than that of other Lords, then there is a risk of exposure. However, you can trade with the Green Dragon Team without worry."

’Now *this* is what you call a negotiating Iron Rooster!’

Xiaqing nodded, her face expressionless. "I understand."

Luo Pei couldn’t help but laugh. "Ah Jin, go ahead and take out the land use certificate and the two contracts."