Chapter 87: My Cat Had Kittens

Chapter 87: Chapter 87: My Cat Had Kittens

’Li Si?’

’That name...’

’Could the new Lord of No. 9 Territory be Zhang San’s long-lost sister?’

Soon, Li Si’s reply confirmed everyone’s suspicions.

"Brother San, we’re neighbors now."

Zhang San’s voice was languid. The Lords who had been dealing with him for months could tell he wasn’t particularly thrilled. "No. 9 Territory and Territory Land No. 7 are separated by the Tenth and No. 6 Territories. We aren’t neighbors. What are you doing here?"

Li Si’s voice was cool. "To farm."

Everyone...

Well, that was a perfectly valid answer. After all, what were territories for if not farming?

Another hearty male voice spoke up on the channel. "Hello, everyone. I’m Shi Zhong from the Tenth Territory. I just picked up this walkie-talkie from Captain Tan today. I hope we can all help each other out from now on."

’Shi Zhong?’

Xiaqing, who was clearing Injurious Grass, paused. There weren’t many people with the surname Shi in Hui San Base, and coincidentally, she knew one of them: a Level 4 Strength Evolved Person named Shi Du.

Before Xiaqing could press the button, Kuang Qingwei jumped in. "Hey, Fourth Sister. I’m Kuang Qingwei from No. 6 Territory. Brother Shi, you finally got a walkie-talkie! It’ll be much easier for us to communicate now."

Li Si remained silent. Shi Zhong replied in his hearty voice, "Yeah. I’m sure I’ll be bothering you for help when I’m short on things, Brother Wei."

The Tenth Territory bordered Territories No. 9, No. 5, and No. 6. From the sound of it, Shi Zhong had traded supplies with Kuang Qingwei before.

After Qi Fu and Zhao Ze introduced themselves, Xiaqing followed suit. "Fourth Sister, Brother Shi, this is Xiaqing from the Third Territory."

Just as Xiaqing finished speaking, a voice she knew very well came over the walkie-talkie. "Sister Qing, it’s Shi Du! My parents and I got a territory over a month ago. I didn’t expect us to be so close."

’Sure enough, there really are very few people with the surname Shi in Hui San Base.’

Xiaqing pressed the button on her walkie-talkie, her voice softening considerably. "Yeah, long time no see."

Like Xiaqing, Shi Du often worked as a non-roster logistics member, leaving the Safe Zone with combat teams to earn points and supplement his family’s income. They frequently ran into each other and eventually became acquainted.

Shi Du asked excitedly, "Brother Luo, can I apply to join the cleanup mission on Mountain No. 49?"

Luo Pei’s voice was gentle. "Of course, you can."

Zhao Ze asked curiously, "Captain Tan, did every territory from one to ten get issued a walkie-talkie? What about No. 8 Territory?"

Before anyone from No. 8 Territory could speak, Tang Huai corrected Zhao Ze with a chilly tone. "It seems you’re not just bad at planning your territory, your memory is terrible too. I provided my own walkie-talkie for the Second Territory."

Zhao Ze...

Everyone...

Tan Junjie’s calm, serious voice cut in. "To facilitate the exchange of cultivation experience, the management department has equipped each Lord with a walkie-talkie. This is the communication channel for the Lords of territories one through ten. If a dangerous situation arises within your territory, your first course of action is still to contact the Danger Investigation Team on frequency 438500."

In other words, the Lord of No. 8 Territory had also received a walkie-talkie. So after Tan Junjie finished speaking, everyone stayed quiet, waiting for Lord No. 8 to introduce themself.

But they waited... and no one spoke. They waited some more... and still no one spoke.

Kuang Qingwei couldn’t take it anymore. "Jeez, the suspense is killing me! To our brother or sister in No. 8 Territory, are you on?"

Still, no one responded. It seemed they weren’t on the channel, so the group stopped waiting and went back to their idle chatter.

Shi Zhong, Qi Fu, Kuang Qingwei, and Zhao Ze were the most talkative. Tang Huai would occasionally interject with a sharp remark, which Hu Zifeng would then follow with a taunt directed at him. After listening for a while, Xiaqing found it boring and turned off her walkie-talkie to focus on pulling weeds.

"BUZZ."

Hearing her phone vibrate, Xiaqing took it out and saw a message from Luo Pei: Li Si from No. 9 Territory is an expert in cultivation techniques. She spent three months at the Fiery Fire Team’s Planting Center. Be extremely careful when trading with her.

Her expression turned grim as she replied: Brother Luo, is she here because she heard some kind of news?

Luo Pei: She’s after Zhang San. Let’s meet at the Northern Isolation Zone of the Third Territory the day after tomorrow at ten in the morning. Bring your sniper rifle.

Only then did Xiaqing feel relieved. After clearing a section of the Buffer Forest, she and Sheep Leader hauled the Injurious Grass down the slope, spread it out to dry in an open area, and went home to eat.

As soon as she got home, Xiaqing received a call from Zhang San.

Zhang San’s voice was brimming with joy. "Xiaqing, my cat had two kittens."

Xiaqing jumped up in delight. "Brother San, can you send me a picture first?"

Zhang San stated his terms. "Nope, the mother cat won’t let anyone look. I can guarantee you one healthy, evolved kitten. In exchange, I want two hundred spinach seeds."

Xiaqing took a moment to compose herself before replying sincerely, "Brother San, could we trade for something else?"

"Don’t tell me you don’t have any." Zhang San’s voice reverted to the languid tone from the Lord channel, a clear sign of his displeasure.

’I can’t afford to get on Brother San’s bad side.’ Xiaqing’s tone became even more sincere. "I have them. Brother San, I’ll be honest with you. During the Harmful Rain, I was whipped by potato vines at least thirty times. I just took two painkillers, went to sleep, and felt much better the next morning. After thinking it over, I believe it’s because I ate a big plate of spinach that night. I don’t dare trade the spinach anymore because I’m worried its unusual properties will attract trouble. I’ve survived to the tenth year of the Natural Disasters by being cautious."

After hearing Xiaqing’s explanation, Zhang San’s voice returned to its kindly tone. "Evolved spinach has always had detoxifying, circulation-boosting, and digestive benefits. Your spinach’s Yi Element content has reached 0.06%, so its effects are much better than ordinary Green Light Spinach. Trading it openly would definitely attract unwanted attention; you’re right to be cautious. From now on, we’ll trade privately. You give me two hundred spinach seeds, and I’ll give you a kitten. If I were to trade my cats, one would go for more than twenty thousand points."

One Green Light Seed costs 20 points, but since Xiaqing’s had a much higher Yi Element content, there was no established market price for it. And that was without factoring in the down payment of spinach leaves she had given Zhang San over the past two months...

Xiaqing did a quick calculation. Zhang San was offering her a price of at least 100 points per seed, which wasn’t low at all. After all, the germination rate for evolved vegetable seeds was less than fifty percent.

Zhang San’s offer was very generous.

Xiaqing agreed. "If you can keep this a secret for me, Brother San, then we have a deal."

Zhang San was delighted, his voice practically dripping with kindness. "Twenty seeds for a young Green Light hen, ten for a young rooster. Want to trade for a few to raise? I can even raise them for you until they’re a month old, to make sure they’re viable before I send them over."

Xiaqing was incredibly tempted. "How many can you trade me, Brother San?"

Zhang San grew even more pleased. "This current batch has twenty-one eggs incubating. Ten of them are Green Light eggs. I can’t tell if they’re male or female yet, but you can have them all. If that’s not enough, I can incubate another clutch."

Xiaqing immediately replied, "I’m only one person. Ten chickens is more than enough. Thank you, Brother San."

Zhang San said amiably, "Just give me two hundred spinach seeds for now, calculated at the price for hens. If any of them turn out to be roosters, I’ll make up the difference in price with other supplies."

It was unlikely that all ten eggs would hatch into hens. The price difference would surely be over a thousand points. Xiaqing couldn’t help but ask, "Brother San, for the difference... could you make it up with Special Level Nutrient Liquid?"