Xiaqing applied medicine to her wound, put on her clothes, then her Protective Suit. She donned a new Protective Mask and carried the rainproof cloth over to cover the scaffolding on the eastern building.
The roof of the small building she lived in was tightly covered with synthetic resin tiles designed to resist acid rain, and the windows were sealed just as tight, so it didn’t need any rainproof cloth.
After covering the scaffolding, Xiaqing started on the sheep pen.
Although the sheep pen’s roof also used the resin tiles Xiaqing had scavenged, the walls were built from a mixture of mud, grass, and earth. They hadn’t fully dried yet and wouldn’t withstand a heavy downpour.
The sheep pen, of course, was for the Sheep Leader.
Even though Xiaqing had been busy cleaning up the village for the past two days, she hadn’t forgotten to cut purple-leaf grass and feed the Sheep Leader Asparagus Chrysanthemum shoots. This morning, Xiaqing had even taken it to watch the army’s brutal clearing of the Evolution Forest, just so it would understand how terrifying humans were and wouldn’t recklessly jump out to headbutt people for fun.
Perhaps it had been frightened. After returning, the Sheep Leader deigned to descend the mountain and wander around the village. It seemed to have given up on returning to its old lair and was planning to find a place in the village to shelter from the Harmful Rain.
’In this territory, what place could be more suitable than my home?’
On the last day before the Harmful Rain, Xiaqing first went to the reservoir to fetch two large tanks of wastewater, then went to collect spring water.
She could already feel the moisture in the wind steadily increasing. It might rain tonight, so she had to get all her supplies ready before it started.
After placing the water buckets inside the cave, Xiaqing picked up her newly woven large back basket and asked the Sheep Leader, "I’m going to cut some purple-leaf grass. Are you coming? ...No? I’m leaving, then."
Xiaqing crossed the Buffer Forest alone, entered the quarantine zone, and eyed the sturdy wire fence of the breeding center with envy before putting on her Protective Mask and entering her new territory.
This territory had already been cleared by the Danger Investigation Team, so the risk factor was lower, but Xiaqing had a wound on her face and didn’t dare take any chances.
She found the densest patch of purple-leaf grass and had just swung her sickle a few times when she heard the sounds of human activity. Soon, she heard Su Ming’s voice.
"Sister Xiaqing." Su Ming ran over in the lead, followed by the members of Team Six. Although they were all wearing Protective Masks and she could only see their eyes, Xiaqing could tell that Captain Tan wasn’t with them today. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sister Xiaqing, you’re cutting Perilla," Su Ming said, trying to make small talk.
’This is Perilla?’ Xiaqing paused in the middle of putting the grass into her basket before replying, "Mhm. You all have been working hard these past few days."
"It’s no trouble, it’s our duty." Su Ming walked over quickly. "Sister Xiaqing, you’re cutting so much. How are you planning to eat it?"
Um...
The color of the leaves was truly strange. Xiaqing had been too busy recently to figure out how to eat it, so for now, she was only cutting it to feed her sheep.
Cao Xianyun could see that Xiaqing didn’t recognize the plant. He stepped in front of his clueless teammate and explained to her, "Although it doesn’t look like it, this is indeed a type of Evolved Perilla. When heated or blanched, it turns bright green. It’s highly nutritious and is the main ingredient in our base’s Number Three nutrient liquid."
After the Natural Disaster and biological evolution, food became scarce. Disgustingly unpalatable compressed rations and nutrient liquid became the two main ways for humans to fill their stomachs.
"Right! Blanch it and serve it cold. It’s delicious," Su Ming added, peeking out from behind Cao Xianyun.
Xiaqing heard the longing in Su Ming’s voice. She pulled out a large handful of Evolved Perilla from her basket, tied it with a vine, and handed it over. "Take this back and add it to your meal. This isn’t a gift. I want to trade it for any surplus supplies you have."
Su Ming was about to refuse, but Cao Xianyun reached out and took it. "Alright. If you need anything in the future, Sister Qing, just give us a call."
Huh? Hey!
Su Ming’s eyes widened and he was about to say something, but he was pulled away by Hu Zi and Cao Xianyun.
"I’m telling you, Old Cao, you..."
"Shut up!"
They walked quite a distance away. Thinking Xiaqing could no longer hear them, Su Ming furiously took off his Protective Mask. "Old Cao, you just took it without even asking Sister Qing what she wants to trade for? What if we don’t have it?"
Cao Xianyun shot the fool a look. "Do you want to eat it or not?"
"I do!"
Another team member, Hu Zi, spoke up. "Xiaqing ignores the Asparagus Chrysanthemum that makes the detection light turn black-green, and instead comes all the way out here to cut Perilla. What do you guys think the quality of this Perilla is like?"
Su Ming punched Hu Zi on the shoulder. "It’s definitely even better than the Asparagus Chrysanthemum! Our Hu Zi’s growing up, starting to use his brain!"
"Get lost!" Hu Zi, the Strength Evolutionary Warrior, grabbed Su Ming’s arm and flung him away.
Walking at the very back, Cao Xianyun heard the commotion from a distance. He turned and saw Xiaqing emerge from the woods with a full basket on her back and two large bundles of Evolved Perilla in her hands. He asked in a low voice, "Did it ever occur to you guys that she was just cutting grass to feed her sheep?"
Hu Zi...
The others...
Su Ming said, "I wonder if Sister Xiaqing needs another sheep. I’m available."
"I’m available too."
"Me too..."
Pretending she hadn’t heard a thing, Xiaqing passed through the quarantine zone and returned to the cave. She reached out to pat her sheep’s head, but the creature tactlessly leaped up, ready to use its horns for a fight.
Xiaqing let out a disdainful "Tch." "If you don’t start listening, I’ll kick you out. There’s a long line of others who want to be my sheep."
The Sheep Leader narrowed its eyes. Seeing that Xiaqing was no longer provoking it, it finally walked forward to eat the grass.
Xiaqing placed the empty water buckets from her backpack inside, took out the full drinking water buckets, tightened their lids, and loaded them into her pack. Then she went back to cut several more large bundles of Perilla.
A three-day supply for the sheep and a three-day supply for herself—she had to cut and bring it all back before the rain started.
When Xiaqing returned again, she swapped in three more drinking water buckets, then, carrying them on her back and in her hands, she started for home.
The Evolutionary Sheep glanced at her and went back to munching on the Perilla. After Xiaqing returned, she took out a full water bucket and used it to block the cave entrance. Then, she shouldered her backpack, picked up the last four large bundles of grass, and left.
The Sheep Leader, which was busy eating, was not having it. It stomped its feet and charged. Without looking back, Xiaqing dodged to the side and kept walking, luring the Sheep Leader all the way home.
Xiaqing placed a bundle of grass on the bamboo rack in the sheep pen. "It’s about to rain. If you don’t want to get soaked, just stay put and don’t go out."
With that, Xiaqing paid no mind to whether the Sheep Leader entered the pen or not and headed back to her building with the water buckets on her back.
The Sheep Leader stood in the yard, squinting its eyes for a long while before finally succumbing to the fragrant scent of the grass and walking into the pen.
Standing in her first-floor living room, Xiaqing smiled triumphantly. She cut a piece of rainproof cloth and went to the west yard to build a small greenhouse for the ginger and garlic she had planted.
Although the hillside where she had dug up the ginger and garlic now belonged to her, who knew if there was any edible ginger or garlic left there? Even if there was, who knew if a downpour would cause them to undergo Qiang Evolution and become inedible?
Therefore, Xiaqing had to protect the dozen or so seedlings she had transplanted.
If a heavy rain with a high concentration of Harmful Elements were to fall, it would be a severe challenge for all life on Blue Star. If the seedlings were destroyed, there was nothing to be done about it, because she had already done everything she could.
Not long after Xiaqing finished tending to her vegetable garden and returned to the first-floor living room, she heard the distant rumble of thunder.
The sound made her anxious.