Chapter 85: Who Doesn’t Want a Chicken That Lays Eggs

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Who Doesn’t Want a Chicken That Lays Eggs

After returning home, Xiaqing disinfected and removed her Protective Suit, then eagerly took out the three large, pale green bird eggs from her small bag.

The evolved White Egrets were larger now, and so were their eggs—each was as big as a goose egg from before the Natural Disasters.

One egg was enough for an entire dish!

Xiaqing first soaked the eggs to disinfect and clean them, then cracked one into a bowl. Her mouth watered at the sight of the clear white and golden yolk. She placed a small sample in the Harmful Element Detector, and the Red Light lit up.

’As expected.’

Xiaqing disinfected and tested the second egg. Still a Red Light.

The third one... thank goodness. Yellow Light. It was edible.

Xiaqing figured at least one of the two birds must be a Yellow Light bird, which meant she had another plump White Egret to add to her meat supply.

Xiaqing happily fed the Red Light egg whites to her snake and dried the yolks to save as treats for her little kitten.

Then, Xiaqing washed the Yellow Light chives she had harvested and made a plate of scrambled White Egret egg with chives. It was so delicious that she even wiped the plate clean with a flatbread and ate it.

She was still savoring the flavor in her dreams that night. The next day, while driving her micro-tiller to clear out the Injurious Grass, Xiaqing repeatedly glanced toward the White Egret nest.

’I want more...’

She turned off the micro-tiller and pulled out her walkie-talkie. "Brother Qi, are you there?"

"I’m here." Qi Fu’s voice came back quickly. "Are your injuries any better?"

"Much better. How’s your arm, Brother Qi? Do you happen to know how many clutches of eggs a White Egret lays in a year?"

Qi Fu laughed. "Just one clutch a year, four or five eggs each time. You’d better be careful if you want to eat White Egret eggs. The evolved ones are extremely fierce. Someone in my territory got pecked trying to steal their eggs. If he hadn’t been wearing a Protective Suit, it would’ve pierced right through his arm."

’Only one clutch a year, huh? Then I can’t be too greedy. I have to leave them a couple.’ Xiaqing sighed in disappointment. When she looked toward the Fir Forest again, she discovered two more birds beside the White Egret couple.

"Brother Qi, have you ever seen a bird that’s a bit smaller and chubbier than a White Egret, with a shorter neck and a sharp black beak? It’s white, except for the top of its head and its back, which are black. It also has two long, ribbon-like white feathers growing from the top of its head."

Before Qi Fu could answer, Zhao Ze jumped in. "I know! That’s the Night Egret, known as the ’knight-errant of the night’!"

’Night Egret?’ Xiaqing was silent for two seconds. "Are Night Egrets active at night?"

Zhao Ze answered immediately, "Right. Night Egrets rest during the day and are active at night. Don’t be fooled by their good looks; their calls are awful, so they were rarely used as ornamental birds in parks."

Looking again at the two Night Egrets squatting beside the White Egret’s nest with their necks pulled in, Xiaqing felt that something was off. She had just taken three eggs yesterday evening, and this morning the White Egrets had acquired two bodyguards that rested during the day and were active at night.

’Are they... guarding against me or against the snake? Have the birds of Blue Star all evolved to be this clever?’

Xiaqing averted her gaze from the four birds staring fixedly at her, said her thanks, and was about to turn off the walkie-talkie when Zhang San’s voice piped up, "Xiaqing, craving bird eggs?"

Xiaqing was speechless.

Zhang San dangled more bait. "I have an evolutionary chicken. One of them is brooding, and the chicks will hatch in mid-June. Want to trade for one?"

Xiaqing gritted her teeth and refused to take the bait. "Brother San, during that final downpour of red Harmful Rain yesterday, my spinach plants suddenly exploded. As a result, I don’t have any spinach left to trade, and I can’t trade seeds with anyone either. I’m really sorry."

Hearing Xiaqing mention "exploded," Qi Fu assumed it was a dangerous contamination and felt a silent pang of regret. Kuang Qingwei quickly seized the opportunity to ask Zhang San, "Brother San, can I use my Green Light chives to reserve a chick?"

Who wouldn’t want a hen that lays eggs?

Zhao Ze chimed in immediately, "Brother San, can I reserve one with Green Light Alfalfa?"

Qi Fu also immediately made an offer. "Brother San, in my territory, I’ve discovered seven black nightshade plants—five Green Light and two Yellow Light. They’re sure to bear fruit in September. The berries are about the size of soybeans, grow in clusters of over a dozen, and taste quite good. We call them ’dipaozi,’ but some places call them wild grapes or ’heitian tian.’ I’ll give you all the fruit these seven plants produce, no matter the amount, in exchange for a little hen. How about it?"

Zhang San chose to trade with Qi Fu. "I’ve had black nightshade berries. I can give you one Yellow Light pullet. If the harvested berries don’t weigh at least fifteen jin, you’ll compensate me with Green Light food equal to double the missing weight. No scallions, ginger, garlic, or chives."

A well-raised pullet would start laying eggs in four months. Qi Fu was overjoyed. "Of course! Thank you, Brother San."

Tang Huai couldn’t hold back either. "Brother San, I have Yellow Light cicada larvae. They’re delicious when you fry them. Can I trade ten jin for two chicks?"

Zhang San’s reply for the Second Territory was two words: "No trade."

Tang Huai was speechless.

Hu Zifeng also spoke up. "Brother San, can I trade forty jin of dried Green Light Bamboo Shoots for two chicks?"

"No trade." It seemed Zhang San had had his fill of dried Green Light Bamboo Shoots and wasn’t interested.

After Kuang Qingwei was also decisively rejected, Zhao Ze stated his own terms. "Brother San, can I trade my Green Light Alfalfa for a pullet?"

This time, Zhang San didn’t refuse him outright. "How many jin do you have?"

Desperate for a chick, Zhao Ze revealed his entire stock. "I can harvest six jin today, and I can get a second batch in half a month."

"Thirty jin of Green Light Alfalfa for one pullet, to be paid in full this year."

Zhao Ze was overjoyed. "Deal! Thank you so much, Brother San."

After agreeing to Zhao Ze’s offer, Zhang San asked Xiaqing again, "You don’t want a chick, Xiaqing?"

A chicken that could lay eggs—how could Xiaqing possibly not want one? "Brother San, I don’t have any Green Light food worth offering right now, but I have ten Green Light sweet potato plants. Can I use the sweet potatoes I’ll harvest in November to reserve a chick?"

Zhang San disagreed. "I have sweet potatoes."

Next, Kuang Qingwei and the others began discussing a trade with Xiaqing for her sweet potatoes. Qi Fu said, "No wonder you were asking about how to plant sweet potato cuttings a while ago. How did it go? Did the cuttings survive?"

The mere mention of it made Xiaqing angry. "The Harmful Rain started right after I planted the cuttings. I only have about twenty left, and they haven’t even recovered from the transplant shock. I don’t know if they’ll make it."

Tang Huai couldn’t resist speaking up. "Xiaqing, are you offering your Green Light Sweet Potato Seedlings for trade? I’ll swap my cicada larvae for them."

Xiaqing’s reply was frigid. "You can talk to me after you’ve compensated me for my losses."

Hu Zifeng immediately chimed in, "And the losses for No. 1 Territory! You’d better hurry up and compensate me for that, too."

Tang Huai burst out cursing, "You psycho, you have the gall to ask me for compensation? The Evolutionary Weasels and Pangolins that suddenly appeared in the Second Territory last night were definitely your handiwork! You bastards nearly got me killed last night!"

Hu Zifeng sneered. "If you have proof, then bring it out. Show me the proof, and I’ll compensate you."

"So what if I don’t have proof? The Pangolins and weasels must have come down from Mountain No. 49. Just tell me, isn’t Mountain No. 49 under the control of you Green Dragon Team guys?"

"Are the weasels and pangolins you found engraved with the number forty-nine? Bring one over and let me have a look."

Xiaqing turned her micro-tiller back on, listening to the two of them bicker as she continued cutting the Injurious Grass to the machine’s CHUG-CHUG-CHUG.

’So that’s what the shootout last night was about—weasels and pangolins appearing in the Second Territory. The weasels are one thing, but pangolins are master diggers. Their frantic burrowing underground would be the perfect cover for the traces of the tunnel from the Third Territory to No. 1 Territory.’

’What a brilliant move. The Green Dragon Team is as powerful as they say; they even have Pangolins. Brother Luo should be making a public appearance in the next day or two, right?’

CHUG-CHUG-CHUG, CHUG-CHUG-CHUG.

SCRAPE—SCRAPE—SCRAPE—

"AH—!"

Tang Huai, in the middle of his heated argument with Hu Zifeng, suddenly roared, "Xiaqing, can you shut that piece of crap off and let me dig for bugs in peace for a while!"