Chapter 366: Harvesting Spinach Seeds

Chapter 366: Chapter 366: Harvesting Spinach Seeds

Rest?

She had already rested from ten last night to three this morning. After downing a tube of Special Level Nutrient Liquid, Xiaqing was full of energy and didn’t need a break.

Hu Zifeng hadn’t returned to No.1 Territory either. He was helping clear the weeds around the greenhouse, waiting to lend Xiaqing a hand.

Autumn was the season when weeds grew ears and went to seed. Even tiny weeds that had just sprouted, not even as tall as a pinky finger, would quickly grow spikes and produce a string of seeds.

When these seeds fell into the soil, they would take root and sprout whenever the temperature and humidity were right, turning into a patch of weeds.

A proper farmer needed to regularly clear the weeds in and around their fields, reducing the concentration of weed seeds in the soil as much as possible. The cleaner the weeds were removed, the fewer weeds there would be to compete with the next crop for nutrients.

The land is the most honest of all; it remembers every bit of hard work a farmer puts in and repays them in kind.

Of course, that was provided you did the right things for the land. Otherwise, it would get infested with pests, breed bacteria, and leave you with nothing to harvest.

By the time Xiaqing finished clearing the weeds from the sunflower terraces, it was nine in the morning. The sun had risen high, and the sunlight had completely evaporated the dew in the fields.

Xiaqing called Hu Zifeng over, and the two of them carefully pulled a double-layered rainproof cloth over the iron frame above the vegetable terraces.

The spinach seeds were entering their mature phase. Tearing even a small piece of a spinach leaf could cause the plants to eject their seeds, so they had to be careful. Hu Zifeng had stayed behind in the Third Territory precisely to help Xiaqing protect the precious spinach on the terraces and to pack up the spinach stalks to take back to No.1 Territory as soon as they were harvested.

After covering it with the rainproof cloth, Xiaqing reached a long-handled shear under the cover and gently snipped off a spinach leaf. The spinach didn’t counterattack with its seeds, which meant the spinach seeds on the terraces weren’t mature yet. The two of them removed the rainproof cloth again, allowing the spinach to soak up the sunlight and continue growing.

Then, the two of them went to the greenhouse by the reservoir to test the second patch of High Yi Element Spinach. Unlike the spinach on the High Slope terraces, this patch was to be returned to Territory Land No. 7.

After she snipped off a small piece of a leaf, a sound like a sudden downpour erupted from under the rainproof cloth cover. This patch of spinach seeds had matured and exploded.

Xiaqing and Hu Zifeng looked at each other and smiled.

Once the pattering sound stopped, the two of them lifted the rainproof cloth cover. They first cut down the spinach stalks, which were now riddled with holes from the seeds, and shook them clean. Only then did they begin to collect the spinach seeds from the plastic ground cover, and finally, they removed the cover to dig up the spinach roots.

With the experience from the first crop, Xiaqing had taken proper precautions this time, and the vast majority of the spinach seeds were successfully collected. A total of 300 seeds had been planted in this patch. 115 plants survived to maturity, consisting of 76 female and 38 male plants, yielding 8,420 spinach seeds.

Xiaqing was very pleased with this harvest. She immediately contacted the buyer, Zhang San. "Brother San, the spinach I planted has matured. The spinach seeds and stalks have been harvested. Should I bring them over to you now?"

"I’ll have Ji Li come get them." Zhang San didn’t sound very enthusiastic. Or perhaps, Xiaqing’s spinach was no longer enough to pique his interest.

When your idol is in a bad mood, a fan knows not to bother him.

After hanging up, Xiaqing timed her trip and carried the spinach stalks and seeds to the Northern Isolation Zone for Ji Li to inspect. "2,000 spinach seeds and 116 pounds of spinach stalks. Please give them to Brother San for me, Brother Ji."

By the time spinach is ready to seed, the plants are over 60 centimeters tall, and each stalk weighs around one pound.

The Lords had used the seeds from the first crop of vegetables to grow many more in their own territories. The increased supply caused the price of edible vegetables to drop sharply, but they were still too expensive for ordinary people.

After the Safe Zone bought the vegetables, they were processed into various food products and sold to the residents. The quality and taste of the compressed rations the residents ate now were slightly better than before.

If Xiaqing had harvested ordinary Green Light Spinach, selling it to the Safe Zone would have only earned her 3,480 points. But she had grown High Yi Element Spinach. According to the exchange agreement she made with Zhang San, these spinach stalks could be traded for 38 tubes of Special Level Nutrient Liquid, worth 72,000 points.

These tubes of Special Level Nutrient Liquid had a shelf life of two months, which was enough time for Xiaqing to build a greenhouse and grow the next crop of spinach. She was healthy and didn’t need to drink nutrient liquid every day, but the Sick Wolf was weak, and the injured wolves also needed extra nutrition.

After inspecting the goods, Ji Li asked, "Our Lord has had a very poor appetite lately. Do you have any Green Light food in your territory that our Lord hasn’t tried yet? Can we trade for it?"

Xiaqing asked with concern, "Did Brother San not like the Green Light sweet potatoes I sent over either?"

Ji Li nodded.

’My idol dislikes even the delicious Green Light sweet potatoes? What else can he eat?’ Xiaqing mentally reviewed the Green Light foods in her territory. The only three she hadn’t sent to Brother San were strawberries, tiger ginger, and Asparagus Chrysanthemum.

Strawberries and Asparagus Chrysanthemum weren’t in season, so Xiaqing made an immediate decision. "Please wait a moment, Brother Ji. I’ll go get the food."

The Green Light tiger ginger wasn’t fully mature yet, but her idol had no appetite, and as a die-hard fan, Xiaqing had to show her utmost sincerity. From the only four Green Light tiger ginger plants she had, she picked the largest one and dug it up. Then she went home, grabbed the fattest rooster, and gave them to Ji Li.

Ji Li didn’t mention that Territory Land No. 7 also had Green Light Chickens. After clarifying what Xiaqing wanted in exchange, he took the items straight back to his territory.

After giving something to her idol, she certainly couldn’t forget her teacher. Xiaqing caught the second-fattest rooster in the coop, tied it up, and handed it to Hu Zifeng. "Take this back for Brother Luo to build up his strength."

Hu Zifeng happily accepted it. "Once the refugees are settled, we’ll team up and take a trip to the nearby mountains. We’ll have Brother Luo catch a few rabbits for you to raise."

Xiaqing had been to the Evolution Forest a few times and had seen rabbits, but she couldn’t catch any alive. She wasn’t skilled enough, but Luo Pei definitely was. After all, Luo Pei was a Top Level Sharpshooter; if he aimed for a rabbit’s leg, the Bullet would never land on its head.

After Hu Zifeng returned to No.1 Territory, Xiaqing went home to prepare lunch. As she passed the chicken coop, only the Black Feathered Rooster rushed up to her with its feathers ruffled, squawking chaotically. The other chickens were acting as usual, scratching the dirt for insects or fighting amongst themselves.

Xiaqing chuckled and greeted the Black Feathered Rooster, then went to check on the Sick Wolf guarding the corn on the roof before heading inside. She took out the mung bean flour and white flour she had ground herself, mixed them, and kneaded them into a dough.

For lunch today, she was going to have mixed mung bean noodles with a sauce of diced pumpkin and meat. The pumpkin was one she had grown herself, and the diced meat was from a rabbit the Wolf Group had given her.

From July until now, the Wolf Group had brought her over twenty different kinds of prey. Although Xiaqing didn’t recognize all the animals they brought, after eating them for so long, she had come to a conclusion:

The meat of herbivores was tender and delicious, while the meat of carnivores was tougher and tasted relatively poor.

Evolved humans were still better suited to eating herbivores.

After finishing the fragrant noodles with sauce, Xiaqing was in a wonderful mood.