Chapter 346: Hierarch of the Territory Alliance

Chapter 346: Chapter 346: Hierarch of the Territory Alliance

The more the group talked, the more they felt that spending the winter in their territories was better than in the Safe Zone.

And so, the conversation circled back to the problem of how to preserve their grain.

Kuang Qingwei shared his plan. "No.1 Territory must have food storage warehouses. We should discuss it with Captain Luo and store our grain and vegetables in No.1 Territory. We’ll pay him whatever the Safe Zone warehouses charge in points. It’s fine even if he charges a bit more."

Mrs. Zhao agreed. "That’s right. We’re close to No.1 Territory, and Brother Luo’s character is well-known. I’d feel much more at ease with our food in his hands. The potatoes I stored in the Safe Zone’s warehouse were swapped out. The ones Captain Zhong brought back last time weren’t just smaller, their Harmful Element content was a notch higher—almost Red Light!"

Kuang Qingwei sighed. "It’s the underlings who are the real trouble. It must have been the people managing the food. Many of them bought their positions for a high price. They’d be panicking at the loss if they didn’t make those points back."

At this point, all four of them looked at Xiaqing.

Among them, Xiaqing had the best relationship with No.1 Territory. In fact, she also had the best relationship with Territory No. 7.

Today’s meeting had achieved its purpose, and it was time to wrap things up. Xiaqing spoke up, "I’ll mention it to Captain Hu first and see what he says. I don’t expect it to be a problem."

Hearing this, Mrs. Zhao, Shi Zhong, and Kuang Qingwei were all delighted.

Qi Fu followed up, "Xiaqing promised to trade me a small household oil press. Once I get the machine, just let me know if any of you want to press oil. But let’s keep this between us. No one can breathe a word of it to outsiders."

Shi Zhong and the other two were overjoyed. With an oil press, they could use sunflower seeds to make their own cooking oil. Once they traded for rapeseed from the Territory Management Department and planted it, another half a year of hard work might mean they would no longer be short on oil!

Kuang Qingwei’s shrewd little eyes darted between Qi Fu and Xiaqing. With an exaggerated expression, he exclaimed, "Brother Qi, why would she trade an oil press to *you*? Spill it! What other treasures are you hiding in your territory?"

"Take a look outside for yourselves. My land is barren. What could I possibly have besides grass?" Qi Fu said with a laugh, revealing the truth.

"Xiaqing and I used to work on the same construction team. We’ve known each other for a long time and know what kind of people we are. Not long after we started farming, we formed an alliance to discuss things together and help each other out when we got busy. But I’m ashamed to say, my wife and I combined aren’t as capable as Xiaqing. She’s the one who’s always been helping us."

Qi Fu was being too modest, so Xiaqing returned the humble sentiment. "If I didn’t consult Brother Qi so often, I wouldn’t be able to grow my crops well either."

Only then did everyone realize that Third Territory and Territory No.5 had formed an alliance. This finally explained many things that had seemed odd over the past six months.

No wonder Xiaqing had given Qi Fu medicine to save him when he was injured and infected with a superbug. No wonder Xiaqing had come to help when an emergency occurred in Territory No.5 during the Harmful Rain. And no wonder Xiaqing had teamed up with Qi Fu for missions in the Evolution Forest...

Opportunities like this were rare. Shi Zhong seized the chance to join them as an ally. "Xiaqing, we’ve known each other for a long time. You even go on missions with Shi Du often. Little Qi, we’ve known each other for half a year too, and you’ve seen the character of my family of three. It’s one thing when we didn’t know, but now that we do, you have to count our Tenth Territory in on this alliance."

Kuang Qingwei and Mrs. Zhao were also extremely eager. The benefits of an alliance were obvious; only a fool wouldn’t be enthusiastic.

And so, it was a natural development. Territories No. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10 formed a Territory Alliance. During the Disaster Years, teaming up with capable people was the only way to guarantee safety.

The Alliance Hierarch was, naturally, the most capable among them: Xiaqing.

After the Alliance was formed, all five Lords were very happy. Humans are social creatures who need to communicate and cooperate with their own kind. The Lords had known each other for over half a year, establishing a certain foundation of trust, and they shared common goals and interests. Forming an alliance was beneficial for everyone.

Xiaqing was a good shot and had great strength. Kuang Qingwei, the Second-hand Dealer, had a wide network, was well-informed, and had channels for procuring supplies. Qi Fu and Shi Zhong were experienced farmers, and Shi Zhong was also good with his hands, able to build and improve farm tools. Although Zhao Ze of Territory No. 4 didn’t have many strengths, his mother was savvy and they both seemed like decent people you could get along with.

For Xiaqing, bringing Territory No. 4 into the fold had a clear advantage: their territories were adjacent, and forming an alliance would increase her own territory’s security.

After the meeting broke up, Kuang Qingwei and Shi Zhong headed south, while Xiaqing and Mrs. Zhao headed north, leaving Territory No.5 to return to their respective territories.

The Third and Fourth Territories were neighbors, so Xiaqing and Mrs. Zhao walked back together. Mrs. Zhao was both happy and apprehensive about forming an alliance with Xiaqing. Because Territory No. 4 had no valuable resources or skills to offer, she worried that she and her son would soon be kicked out of the Alliance.

So, Mrs. Zhao proactively showed her goodwill to Xiaqing. "I’ve been meaning to tell you for a few days now, you can’t be the only one building the thorn wall between our two territories. How about this: you handle the northern half, and we’ll handle the southern half?"

The northern section was closer to the Buffer Forest, making it easier to transport lumber. Xiaqing accepted Mrs. Zhao’s kind offer. "Okay, thank you, Auntie."

"Don’t thank me, it’s what we should do." Mrs. Zhao then eagerly pitched her son to Xiaqing. "Don’t be fooled by Zhao Ze’s poor farming skills; he actually knows a thing or two about engineering. That’s what he studied in college, and he worked in the field for several years after graduating. He even made manager, overseeing a hundred people. After the autumn harvest, when you’re hiring people, you can have Zhao Ze go over to measure lumber requirements, coordinate vehicles and personnel, and estimate project costs. He can do all that."

Xiaqing was in dire need of someone with those skills and happily agreed. "Deal. I’ll have Brother Zhao come over and help out for a while. The pay is 20 points a day."

"No, no!" Mrs. Zhao quickly waved her remaining hand. "He’d be going over to learn from you. How could we accept any pay!"

Xiaqing was firm. "Auntie, we just established the Alliance agreement. Mutual assistance and exchanges of goods between members must be calculated at market rates. If Brother Zhao can do the things you mentioned, he deserves this wage."

At their first Alliance meeting, the five Lords had established six basic protocols, and the one Xiaqing had just mentioned was among them.

"He’s not worth 20 points a day..."

Mrs. Zhao mumbled a reply, then suddenly broke down. "Xiaqing, don’t mind how my Ah Ze seems a bit clueless now. He was a great student, got into a good university, and he wasn’t afraid of hard work after he graduated. He was doing so well at his job. After four years of work, he’d bought a house, he had a girlfriend... I was just starting to plan his wedding when the Natural Disasters came..."

"In the third Disaster Year, the small base we were staying at was destroyed. On the way to escape to Hui San Base with a squad, Ah Ze’s father was snatched and killed by an Evolutionary Eagle. I was injured too. I told Ah Ze to leave me and escape with the squad. He refused. He insisted on carrying me on his back for miles."

"We used up all our supplies just to get into Hui San Base. By then, all the good jobs in the base were long gone. Ah Ze couldn’t even get into a construction team. We could only live on the outskirts of the Safe Zone, doing the dirtiest, most exhausting work. We took whatever came, working hard without complaint, getting beaten and cursed at, just to earn one or two points from dawn till dusk... Xiaqing, and don’t laugh when I say this, but over these years... I’ve almost forgotten that I’m a person."

To almost forget you were a person meant you were no longer living like one, and those around you no longer treated you as one.

Although Mrs. Zhao had fought to get into the Territory Alliance, she knew that she and her son were the weakest members.

Xiaqing was an Evolver and a Sniper. Qi Fu and his wife from Territory No.5 were Strength Evolvers. Shi Du from the Tenth Territory was also a Strength Evolver. Even though the couple from No. 6 Territory were ordinary people, they had connections and channels to get supplies.

She was disabled, and her son was just an ordinary person who didn’t know how to farm. They had planted two seasons of crops in a year, yet their territory had the smallest harvest. The most valuable thing on their land, the Green Light Alfalfa, had flowered and started to stink, making it worthless for points. If it weren’t for the dead fish that had washed over from Third Territory during a thunderstorm, they wouldn’t have even scraped together enough points to buy seeds and fertilizer for the next crop.

Because they were weak, it was normal to be bullied. After all, this was a Disaster Year, a time where strength dictated everything and you had to fight for the resources to survive.

She never expected Xiaqing to actually follow the rules set out in the Alliance agreement. That was why Mrs. Zhao had such a strong emotional outburst.