Although 60% was far from the pre-disaster germination rate of over 97%, this figure already filled Xia Qing with elation.
But soon, Xia Qing, tempered by ten years of natural disaster, regained her composure.
Aside from the spring within her territory, there were four other publicly known, unpolluted springs within the Hui San base. Such a simple method as using spring water to soak seeds to improve germination rates must have been discovered long ago.
The reason it hadn't been publicized was probably because the spring water supply was too limited, or perhaps because crops grown using spring water didn't perform well against the later stages of rain damage.
As a novice farmer who wasn't even a half-baked expert, she needed to remain low-key and calm. Taking a deep breath, Xia Qing couldn't suppress the upturned corners of her mouth as she briskly ran home to check on her potatoes.
For some reason, the potatoes she had left to stand according to the broadcast instructions hadn't sprouted yet, making Xia Qing wish she could soak them all in spring water overnight to make them sprout quickly and then plant them immediately.
That evening, Xia Qing opened the lords' private chat channel, wanting to hear about their seed germination rates, but instead heard a familiar voice.
"I am Luo Pei, the new lord of Land One. Please give me your guidance."
Xia Qing sat up abruptly. Luo Pei?!
"Bang!"
Startled, Xia Qing's grip on the sheep was a little too tight, and the sheep tyrant kicked her off the tatami mat. Now, she was not only surprised, but her thigh also ached. Forgetting about settling scores with the sheep tyrant, Xia Qing immediately pressed the walkie-talkie button, "Captain Luo, I am Xia Qing, the power-evolved lord of Land Three. I have participated in many missions with your team before."
Hearing Xia Qing call Luo Pei "Captain," the fourth, fifth, and sixth lords snapped out of their shock and introduced themselves, offering their greetings.
Just moments ago, they were thinking it was just a coincidence of names. They never imagined that Luo Pei, the third-ranked powerhouse of the Azure Dragon Team, the ten-times vision-evolved sharpshooter, would actually be farming! Luo Pei's calm voice rang out again, "Hello, all three of you. Xia Qing, long time no see. My eyesight has deteriorated, so I'm no longer the captain of the Azure Dragon Team. From now on, just call me by my name."
Luo Pei was thirty-four, nine years older than Xia Qing, so calling him by his name wouldn't work. Xia Qing changed to calling him "Brother Luo," and Kuang Qingwei and the other two followed suit.
Now, strength reigns supreme. Regardless of their age, even if Xia Qing called him "Uncle Luo," they would still call him that without hesitation.
Zhang San slowly spoke, "I'm Zhang San, from plot number seven."
"Tang Huai, from plot number two," Tang Huai finally spoke.
Luo Pei's voice was cheerful, "Nice to meet you. Have everyone planted their seeds? Have they sprouted? Is there anything I need to pay special attention to?"
Xia Qing sensed that Luo Pei didn't want attention on him, so she immediately pressed a button and detailed her experience, "Plot three is all planted, and they've sprouted, with a germination rate of about 40%. We need to be careful to prevent birds and rats. In my experience, a 1:9 dilution of camphor tree leaf juice with water is the most effective way to repel birds without harming the seedlings. For rats, we need to search for them and then completely exterminate them."
As soon as Luo Pei arrived, Xia Qing spoke up in a week's worth of conversation, and the other lords deeply felt her respect for Luo Pei.
Qi Fu from plot five also spoke, "My germination rate is about the same as Xia Qing's. If we can keep these sprouts, this year's harvest is secure."
"I estimate there will be more heavy rain in two months. We can only talk about the harvest after we get through that," Zhao Ze's voice sounded troubled, followed by Kuang Qingwei's various complaints, with Luo Pei occasionally responding.
After ending the private chat and turning off the walkie-talkie, Xia Qing lay on her bamboo bed, staring at the smoke-blackened ceiling, speechless for a long time.
Her unusual behavior caught the attention of the ram, who was chewing its food. The ram squinted at her for a moment, then got up, walked around the fire, and jumped onto Xia Qing's bamboo bed. Before Xia Qing could figure out what it was doing, her bamboo bed let out a piercing protest, collapsing under the ram's weight.
The ram quickly jumped aside. Xia Qing, who had fallen to the ground for the second time that night, sighed and thanked him earnestly, "Boss, thank you for coming to comfort me."
The ram, still squinting, was satisfied with Xia Qing's attitude, shook its fur, and returned to the straw mat to sleep. Xia Qing got up, removed the bed frame, and laid the bed board directly on the floor. Then she picked up her phone from the bedside table.
Because Luo Pei's eyesight was impaired, Xia Qing chose to make a call directly. Having accompanied Luo Pei's team on missions for many years, Xia Qing naturally knew his contact information and confirmed that he was using a satellite phone.
The call connected quickly. Xia Qing introduced himself and explained his purpose, "Brother Luo, this is Xia Qing. This is my current phone number. I have some safe food evolved into perilla and toon sprouts in my territory. Could I have the search team bring some over to you tomorrow morning?"
Luo Pei's voice was cheerful, quite different from his usual serious and formal demeanor, as if he were a different person. "Thank you. If my land grows anything good, I'll send you some to try. I didn't expect we'd be so close after leaving the safe zone. I'll invite you over for a visit after I've packed up."
Although Xia Qing often accompanied his team on missions, he was responsible for logistics and transport, so he rarely had the chance to speak to Luo Pei and had little to talk about. After exchanging a few polite words, Xia Qing hung up the phone and snuggled into bed to chat with Boss Yang. "Boss, we have a great neighbor now, which makes me feel much more at ease. But how did Captain Luo get his eye injured? How serious must the injury be to force him to leave the safe zone? How could Yang Jin and the others agree to it?"
Boss Yang, of course, didn't answer. Xia Qing finished her rambling, yawned, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep to the rhythmic chewing sounds of Boss Yang.
The next morning, Xia Qing waited early on the isolation zone north of the new territory. After reporting to Team Leader Tan that everything was normal, she handed the basket to Su Ming, the social butterfly of their team, saying, "Please deliver this to Plot One."
Su Ming grinned as he took the basket. "Sister Qing's basket weaving is getting better and better; she even has a lid!"
Xia Qing smiled. "Practice makes perfect."
After walking a short distance, Xia Qing heard Yuan Rui, a member of the olfactory evolution team, whisper, "This basket smells of toon sprouts."
"Of course, the smell is so strong, who wouldn't smell it?" Su Ming said, his mouth watering. "Sister Qing and Brother Luo seem to get along well. She wouldn't happen to like Brother Luo, would she?!"
"Idiot," Cao Xianyun cursed. "Sister Qing said she helped her team clear Plot Three. Think carefully about last year's evolution forest around here. Which team led the clearing mission?"
"Brother Luo's team," Hu Zi answered for Su Ming. "Sister Qing went on missions with Brother Luo's team; it's normal for her to know him." "You bunch of pig-brains!" Su Ming exclaimed angrily. "Why don't you think about why Qingjie from so many teams chose Brother Luo? It must be because she's interested in him! Brother Luo may be a few years older than her, but he's good-looking, isn't he? Capable, right? Unmarried, right? No…"
"Su Ming," Tan Junjie said sternly.
"Yes."
"Go back and run fifty laps as punishment, plus two sets of basic training."
Then, Xia Qing heard Su Ming's screams of pain with satisfaction.