Chapter 88: Zhang San’s Fan

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Zhang San’s Fan

Zhang San was in a good mood, so he became generous with the trade. "You don’t need to buy the Special Level Nutrient Liquid. I’ll give you 30 grams of additive medicine. When you grow your spinach again, just juice it. Add 1 gram of the medicine to 15 milliliters of spinach juice, and the effect will be better than the Special Level Nutrient Liquid sold publicly in the Safe Zone."

"Thank you, Brother San." ’Zhang San really is a good person. Even if he’s petty and holds grudges, I’m officially a fan,’ Xiaqing decided.

’Maybe he’s really ugly? Wrong! In a fan’s eyes, no idol is ugly. That’s called having character!’

’Maybe he’s bald? My idol paid such a high price researching medicine to save humanity. His head is practically a holy halo. The balder, the holier. The balder he is, the more it proves I picked the right person to be a fan of!’

"Do you know what the best medicine I have here is?" Zhang San said cheerfully, divulging his own secret. "It’s Yi Liquid. I can’t say the Yi Liquid you get from me is the best in Hua Country, but it’s definitely the best in Hui City Base, with the fewest side effects. For other people, a small bag costs at least fifty thousand points, and that’s if I’m in a good mood. If you want some, you can have it for forty-five thousand. What do you say?"

’What do I say? Of course it’s a great deal.’ But Xiaqing, the new fan who had just traded four hundred spinach seeds to Zhang San, hadn’t completely lost her mind.

She poked her head out of the fandom rabbit hole. "Brother San, I really don’t have that many spinach seeds. Can I cover the difference with the equipment used to make Special Level Nutrient Liquid and the reagent bags to store it?"

Xiaqing turning down even the Yi Liquid meant she really didn’t have many spinach seeds left. Zhang San sounded rather disappointed. "You don’t need the nutrient liquid production equipment. A juicer will be enough for you. Special Level Nutrient Liquid is very high-energy. It’s best not to consume more than one vial a day, otherwise it’s not good for you. In thirty minutes, I’ll send someone to the Northern Isolation Zone of your territory to pick up the spinach seeds. Grab a couple of cucumbers for me while you’re at it. I’ll make some cucumber and scrambled eggs tonight."

Special Level Nutrient Liquid was something for rapidly replenishing stamina at critical moments; you couldn’t eat it like a meal. As a new fan, Xiaqing at least had that much common sense. "Okay, Brother San. My tomatoes are ripe, so I’ll send a couple of those over for you too. You can make another side dish."

"Good," Zhang San agreed pleasantly, then added, "Don’t trade anything native to your territory with Li Si. Your Brother San can’t stand the sight of her."

You could tell just how much Zhang San disliked Li Si from the change in the trading location.

Previously, when Xiaqing traded with Zhang San, he had always sent his people through the passage between No. 9 Territory and Territory No. 4 to trade at the road sign at the southern end of the Third Territory. Now that Li Si had moved into No. 9 Territory, Zhang San changed the meeting point to the North Isolation Zone of No.3 Territory. He didn’t even want to use the passage that ran alongside Li Si’s land anymore.

As a fan, Xiaqing agreed without the slightest hesitation. "Okay."

After getting the Yi Element Detector, Xiaqing tested the Yi Element content of all edible plants and animals in her territory. Only the spinach exceeded the normal range.

Over the past few days, using the excuse that her own vegetables had been damaged and she didn’t have enough to eat, she had traded with Territories Four, Five, and Six for cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes, and green beans. They were all Yellow Light, of course. Her tests confirmed that the Yellow Light Vegetables they grew had basically the same content of Qiang and Yi Elements as her own.

So, apart from spinach, Xiaqing could safely trade edible vegetables with other Lords.

However, after several months of exchanges, every territory now possessed the vegetable varieties publicly offered by the others, so the demand for further trades was low.

Therefore, only Shi Zhong and Li Si, who had just joined the group chat, were likely to request a trade.

After Luo Pei mentioned that Li Si had been with the Fiery Fire Team and was also an expert in cultivation, Xiaqing had, out of caution, already decided not to trade anything with her except for Yellow Light Pumpkins. So, agreeing to Zhang San’s request wasn’t difficult for her in the slightest.

After hanging up the call, Xiaqing went to get the spinach seeds. Her mood was wonderful as she counted them out one by one. She finally understood how Fire Phoenix, which occupied an entire mountaintop, could support a team of several hundred people.

If you traded the spring water and the plants cultivated with it, which had High Yi Element content, you could easily earn tens of thousands of points!

’If you’re not short on points, how could you fail to build up a team?’

Xiaqing took the spinach seeds with her, picking some cucumbers and tomatoes as she passed the hillside planting area. They were Green Light, of course. When trading with Zhang San, one could only use Green Light vegetables, so naturally, any gifts also had to be Green Light.

In all the time she had been in her territory, the only time Zhang San had ever traded for Yellow Light food was with Second Territory. The food from that trade had spoiled, and as a result, Zhang San had blacklisted them.

’I will absolutely not end up on my idol’s blacklist.’

After exchanging the goods in the Northern Isolation Zone with the person Zhang San had sent, Xiaqing hauled a large box home. Inside, besides the juicer, was a printed document that smelled of fresh ink and a small bag of Green Light Spinach Seeds.

The first page of the document bore large, handwritten words: *Spinach Cultivation Guide*. Below it was another note: "Circulation Prohibited."

A printed label was stuck to the bag of spinach seeds: "Spinach Seeds. Yi Element: 0.025%. Harmful Element: 0.4%."

Xiaqing understood Zhang San’s intentions. He gave her the cultivation guide because he wanted her to grow her spinach properly. He gave her a bag of ordinary Green Light Spinach Seeds to have, just in case.

As for who this "just in case" was referring to, it was of course Li Si, the person Zhang San couldn’t stand.

’Zhang San really was a model idol; he wouldn’t make things difficult for his fans.’ Xiaqing once again dug her fandom rabbit hole a little deeper and happily settled in.

After her meal, Xiaqing opened the Guide and read it from beginning to end.

Among the many cultivation conditions listed in the guide, four were the most critical. First, a cultivation soil with an elemental composition ratio accurate to two decimal places. Second, a fully-automated vegetable shed with controls for temperature, humidity, and atmospheric molecular content. Third, biogas slurry for soaking seeds and fertilizing—Xiaqing had no idea what that even was. And fourth, an instrument to constantly monitor changes in soil nutrients, ensuring the spinach could be supplemented with the most needed fertilizer at the most opportune time.

Only by strictly following these cultivation conditions could the spinach’s Yi Element content be slowly increased generation by generation. Moreover, any small mistake in the entire cultivation process would lead to a decrease in the Yi Element content.

Never mind that Xiaqing lacked the conditions to increase the Yi Element content—even if she had them, she wouldn’t do it.

Because if she really tried to grow spinach using these techniques, she wouldn’t be able to keep up even if she could split into a dozen versions of herself. She was better off just using her spinach seeds to trade with her idol for Yi Liquid. That was a much more reliable plan.

Still, the cultivation techniques in the Guide were quite valuable and worth referencing.

For instance, to improve the quality of Green Light Spinach, one must use composted manure from Green Light animals to supplement its nitrogen, with chicken manure being optimal. Second, one should use ash from burned, egg-free Green Light plant matter to supplement its potassium. Third, the irrigation water should be pollution-free water, or, failing that, distilled water.

Pollution-free Spring Water? She had that. Her Green Light chickens were already incubating. By the time the spinach seeds came out of dormancy and were ready to be planted, she would have Green Light Chicken manure. And once the crops were harvested, she would have Green Light plant ash.

The spring water was the most abundant resource, followed by Green Light plant ash. What she lacked most was Green Light animal manure, because ten small chickens couldn’t produce that much waste.

And so, Xiaqing’s gaze fell upon Sheep Leader, who was lying down and chewing its cud. Although Sheep Leader had lost control and gone on a rampage during the first Harmful Rain of the year, meaning its internal Harmful Element levels were likely high, she still ought to test it.

She hadn’t tested it before because measuring an animal’s Harmful Element content required a blood sample. Sheep Leader had a bad temper, and Xiaqing worried that hurting it while drawing blood would provoke it into tearing the house apart. Besides, even if the tests showed Sheep Leader was edible, she wouldn’t have the heart to eat it, so it had seemed unnecessary.

Now, it was necessary.

That evening, Xiaqing decided to give Sheep Leader a bath and take some blood at the same time.

Under Xiaqing’s coaxing, Sheep Leader had long since learned how to turn on the shower, rinse itself off, and shake the water from its coat. Xiaqing’s only job was to wait until it was finished and then apply a scent-masking spray.

So, when Sheep Leader went to take a bath that day, Xiaqing said with great sincerity, "Boss, how about I give you your bath tonight? I want to check you for parasites. You know, things like ticks or botfly larvae."

Sheep Leader had dealt with parasites before and had often heard Xiaqing rambling on about such pests, so it knew they were bad news. It paused, turning its head to squint at Xiaqing, as if to signal her to hurry up and get on with the bath.