Chapter 365: Installing a Door

Chapter 365: Chapter 365: Installing a Door

The shape was right, but the feel and weight were off. What Broken Waist Wolf had brought over wasn’t a Yi Stone, but three walnuts.

The green husks of the walnuts were already wrinkled, meaning they weren’t freshly picked. They were likely from the Green Light Mountain Walnut tree on Mountain No. 60—fruits that had been hidden by leaves, which was why Xiaqing hadn’t discovered them.

’Walnuts were nice, but they were a far cry from a Yi Stone...’

Xiaqing quickly adjusted her attitude and thanked the wolf with a smile. "Broken Waist, thank you for the gift."

’Three walnuts could only be a gift. They were nowhere near enough for a trade.’

Seeing that Xiaqing had accepted the walnuts, Broken Waist Wolf walked over to the wooden door resting under the eaves, placed a paw on it, and turned to look at her.

Xiaqing looked at the intelligent-looking wolf through her Night Vision Goggles and asked, "Broken Waist, are you planning to take the door back? You can. But how would you carry it yourself? Also, do you really think a wooden door would look good on Mountain No. 60?"

When Xiaqing didn’t come over, Broken Waist Wolf trotted forward, circled her once, and then returned to place its paw on the wooden door.

Xiaqing was stunned. She pointed at her own nose, then at the wooden door. "You want me... to carry the door over for you?"

Broken Waist Wolf grinned at Xiaqing, revealing the tips of its two fangs in a smile.

’Oh, for heaven’s sake...’

’This wolf expects me to haul a door over three meters wide across sixty li of mountains and ridges for home delivery, all for three measly walnuts. Its calculations are even shrewder than that Iron Rooster, Yang Jin!’

Xiaqing shook her head firmly. "I’m not going. It’s too far. If you want the door moved, have the giant wolf come and carry it."

Broken Waist Wolf’s smile vanished, and it appeared deep in thought. The sated Head Wolf, having cleaned the blood from the fur around its mouth, also fixed its flashy golden eyes on Xiaqing. Broken Leg Sister dragged herself out of the sheep pen on her two hind legs, the sound of her tearing at prey enough to make one’s scalp crawl.

Xiaqing stated her position firmly once again. "I’m not delivering this door. I need to repair my territory’s walls, and I’m starting at dawn. I don’t have time."

Broken Waist Wolf seemed to have figured something out. It turned, walked a few steps away, then stopped to look back at Xiaqing.

Xiaqing understood the gesture—it wanted her to follow. "Where are we going? I have to start work at dawn. I really don’t have time."

Broken Waist Wolf walked a few more steps forward and looked back again.

Xiaqing remained standing still. Sheep Leader, growing impatient, came forward and nudged her in the waist, urging her to follow Broken Waist Wolf.

Sheep Leader communicated far more smoothly with the Wolf Group than Xiaqing did. Choosing to trust her companion, Xiaqing followed Broken Waist Wolf out of her territory and into the valley.

Only when Broken Waist Wolf stopped at the entrance of an abandoned cave and pressed its large paw against the rock did Xiaqing finally understand its intention. "You want to install the traded door on this cave?"

Seeing that Xiaqing had finally understood, Broken Waist Wolf grinned, revealing the cute tips of its fangs in an adorable smile.

The size and shape of the cave entrance were indeed similar to the front security door of Xiaqing’s house. So, Broken Waist Wolf had never planned on hauling the door back to Mountain No. 60; it had meant to install it here all along.

Although she didn’t understand why it wanted a door here, Xiaqing nodded decisively. "Okay, I’ll go get the door. I’ll have it installed for you before dawn."

Xiaqing was a person of action; she never put off until the next hour what could be done immediately. She returned home, packed her tool bag, hoisted the wooden door onto her shoulder, and headed out.

Head Wolf followed behind Xiaqing. Broken Waist Wolf carried Broken Leg Sister on its back and trailed after Head Wolf, while Sick Wolf and Sheep Leader brought up the rear.

In the North Buffer Forest, Hu Zifeng stared at this bizarre procession, completely dumbfounded. He finally understood what the Wolf Group had traded with Xiaqing last time.

’Do proper wolves need doors?’

’Or to put it another way, is a wolf that needs a door still a wolf?’

After they entered the valley, Broken Waist Wolf placed Broken Leg Sister inside the cave. Then it lay down beside Head Wolf outside the entrance, and they both watched Xiaqing install the door.

Sheep Leader hadn’t left the Third Territory to enter this valley in a long time, and it wandered about, seemingly searching for something. Sick Wolf stayed by Xiaqing’s side, its intent to help obvious.

But obviously, there was nothing it could do to help with installing a door.

Xiaqing first used a tape measure to get the precise dimensions of the cave opening. Then, with a flurry of CLANGING and WHIRRING from her hammer and electric drill, she got the door installed. She even sealed the gaps between the door frame and the cave wall tightly with stones and planks.

Then, Xiaqing asked the client, who had been supervising from the side, to inspect the work. "Broken Waist, how does this look?"

Broken Waist Wolf came over and used its paw to work the handle, entering the cave. Head Wolf followed it in. A moment later, they opened the door and came out, grinning with clear satisfaction.

’This guy is getting way too smart.’

Xiaqing, relieved that she didn’t have to carry a door for 60 li, was also very satisfied. "This area is also my territory," she said. "As long as you don’t make loud noises, you won’t be threatened by other humans here. It’s safer for you to live here than in the Third Territory."

By the time Xiaqing left the valley with Sick Wolf and Sheep Leader, the sky had already brightened. She pulled out her phone, preparing to check up on her "good neighbor," the Red Squirrel.

The industrious little creature wasn’t in its nest; it had run out of Zone 3 again to gather food.

’Having such an overachieving neighbor greatly motivated Xiaqing, who also loved to hoard food. First stop on today’s food search: the Red Squirrel’s pantry!’

Xiaqing climbed the large tree and used her flashlight to get a closer look, discovering that the Red Squirrel’s stash had grown again. But the new food wasn’t the black-skinned peanuts she had been anticipating; it was a small handful of corn kernels.

Xiaqing climbed down and asked, "Second, did you give the Red Squirrel corn kernels?"

Sick Wolf’s eyes were perfectly clear; Xiaqing couldn’t read anything in them. She then turned to Sheep Leader, who was grazing nearby. "Leader, did you give the Red Squirrel the corn kernels?"

Sheep Leader’s ears twitched, but it pretended not to have heard.

"So neither of you gave them to it. Then where did that little guy get the corn kernels?" Xiaqing muttered as she and her two companions headed back to the territory. "It couldn’t have gone to another territory, could it? An Evolved Sea Eagle isn’t much of a threat to a Speed-evolved squirrel, but Brother San’s Cat Princess is a feline predator. What do you think the Red Squirrel’s chances of survival are if it runs into Cat Princess?"

Xiaqing didn’t know what Cat Princess’s Evolutionary Ability was, and she wouldn’t interfere in a fight between animals anyway. If the Red Squirrel entered another’s territory to find food and was caught or killed by that territory’s Guardian, it would be because of its own lack of ability and vigilance.

Xiaqing had already saved it from Xin Yu once; there wouldn’t be a second time. Not unless it managed to escape while injured and came to her for help, bringing tempting resources with it, just as the Wolf Group had.

’Clearly, the little thing wasn’t that smart.’

Back home, Xiaqing first ate breakfast. She spread the corn out to dry and had Sick Wolf stand guard on the roof. Then, she went to discuss with Lu Yuhui how to speed up the construction as much as possible.

Because at three o’clock this afternoon, the second group of refugees was scheduled to arrive.

Lu Yuhui divided the 20-person construction crew into two squads. One squad continued with yesterday’s work: surveying the terrain, marking out lines, digging foundation trenches, and pouring concrete mortar. The second squad worked on the fence frames that had been erected the day before, welding wire mesh and anti-climb spikes onto them.

Hu Zifeng dispatched four of his team members to protect the construction squads, while Xiaqing got back to tending her farmland, preparing for the autumn plowing and planting.