The lords were all very interested in this question and reported the types of grains and vegetables they had received.
They then discovered that everyone had received the same six-pound amount of seeds: wheat, mung beans, cotton, and potatoes. The vegetable seeds were all in four small packets, containing pumpkin, cucumber, and eggplant, though the last one wasn't entirely the same for everyone.
Numbers two and six, like Xia Qing, had tomatoes; numbers four and five had green beans; and number seven had chili peppers.
Xia Qing wanted both green beans and chili peppers, so she pressed the walkie-talkie button and spoke, "Xia Qing in plot three, I have tomato seeds, but they've already been planted. Once they sprout, I'd like to exchange them for green beans and chili peppers, one for one."
"Damn it!" Kuang Qingwei, startled by the woman's voice, blurted out a curse and quickly apologized, "Sorry, I misspoke. When I was in the mission hall territory, I was behind Zhao Ze in line, do you remember? Because I was fourth, I missed getting double rations by one spot."
Xia Qing…
"I don't remember."
Tang Huai, who had been scolded by Miss Tang for Xia Qing getting double rations, spoke first, "I think Xia Qing's suggestion is excellent. Exchanging seeds is not as good as exchanging normal seedlings."
Qi Fu in plot five agreed, "Agreed."
Zhao Ze in plot four followed, "Agreed."
Kuang Qingwei in plot six immediately added, "Agreed, that's fairer." Zhang San, number seven, leisurely followed, "Agreed. If my people can't grow a single seedling, we can buy them with points, or exchange them for medicine."
Tang Huai immediately asked, "What medicines does Brother Zhang have?"
Zhang San leisurely replied, "External injury medicine, antidote medicine, all kinds of quality."
Tang Huai immediately agreed, "Okay, I'll exchange. How much?"
After agreeing on a price of 100 points per seedling regardless of type, Xia Qing asked, "Has anyone found any edible plants in their territory? Can we exchange them? I have evolved perilla, which doesn't contain radioactive elements, and has a 0.13% toxic element content."
After Xia Qing sent the message, Zhang San, who had been leisurely and lazy, immediately became energetic, "I'll exchange! I want it! I'll exchange it for medicine, you set the price. Is 7:30 tomorrow morning okay? The location is under the road sign in territory number three?"
Foods with a toxic element content below 0.5% are safe, and the lower the content, the better for the body. Who could refuse something with a content of just over 1%? Kuang Qingwei immediately followed up, "Xia Qing, I have a green-light elm tree. In a few days, when it grows elm seeds, how about three catties of elm seeds for one catty of perilla?"
He only mentioned the green light without mentioning the harmful element content. Even if it was tested with a basic detector, it could be a safe food or an optional food. Three catties for one catty is reasonable.
Qi Fu chimed in, "Xia, it's me, Old Qi from the Third Construction Team. I have green-light leek seedlings. Ten leek seedlings for ten perilla seedlings with roots, how about that?"
Tang Huai followed suit, "Termitomyces mushrooms, 0.2% toxic element content, one pound of mushrooms for one pound of perilla."
Before Xia Qing could speak, Zhang San chimed in again, "I want all of yours, any medicine you like!!!"
Zhao Ze added, "I want to exchange for leek seedlings and perilla seedlings, and I'll use sprouted green-light Jerusalem artichokes."
The channel was buzzing like an argument. Kuang Qingwei stepped in to manage the situation, "Let's go one by one. Xia Qing, tell me what you want to exchange for, and how?"
Xia Qing replied, "I'll exchange for everything except mushrooms, but I don't accept face-to-face exchanges. The inspection team can deliver it. The quantity will be agreed upon the night before, and the team will deliver it the first time they pass through the territory the next morning."
Tan Junjie's team was responsible for the security of territories one through ten, patrolling the area twice a day, morning and evening. Having them carry the goods was convenient and safe. The high-quality, safe food, chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms, was actually rejected. Tang Huai immediately changed her tune, "Three ounces of mutton with an elemental content of 0.8%, in exchange for one pound of perilla."
Three ounces of mutton for one pound of her perilla? Typical Tang family style.
Meat with an elemental content of 0.8% is a safe food option, priced at fifty points per pound.
Safe vegetables also start at fifty points per pound, but her perilla has an elemental content below 0.2%, so it's priced at least one hundred points per pound.
Xia Qing, petting the sheep, flatly refused, "If you don't eat mutton, is there anything else?"
Tang Huai frowned at his team members, seeing them scratching their heads, and gritted his teeth, pressing the intercom button again, "A brand new level-one field protective suit, 1500 yuan in the safe zone, in exchange for 15 jin of perilla."
That's more like it. Xia Qing pressed the button, "12 jin, one jin at a time, at most once a week, more than that, it won't grow back. You give me the protective suit first."
The protective suit was definitely brought from the Tang family by Tang Huai, not his personal property. Exchanging one suit for vegetables, he could just report the loss of an extra suit later, so Xia Qing was sure he wouldn't object.
The reason for offering one jin of perilla at a time was to make them think that he didn't have much perilla in his territory, so they wouldn't covet it.
Tang Huai indeed agreed, "Deal. I'll give the protective suit to the investigation team tomorrow morning, you give me one jin tomorrow, we'll talk about it later."
After Tang Huai finished speaking, Zhang San immediately followed, "I want both meat and chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms, in exchange for medicine."
Zhang San and the sheep boss were like brothers, equally greedy. After agreeing on the time and quantities with them, Xia Qing turned off the walkie-talkie and leaned over the table to write down what she could exchange for: a set of protective clothing, one antidote, chives, Jerusalem artichokes, and elm seeds, bean sprouts, and chili seedlings, which she could obtain later.
With each item she wrote down, Xia Qing's smile widened. After finishing, she was practically grinning like an idiot; her vegetable supply had suddenly increased to five varieties.
Xia Qing didn't suggest exchanging for toon sprouts because their toxic element content was frighteningly low. If they were brought to the safe zone, it would definitely cause a sensation, and the spring in Territory Three would be exposed.
Once exposed, with her current strength, she couldn't protect the toon tree, the spring, and Boss Sheep.
The spring was manageable, but the toon tree grew on the hillside, and she had already mentioned this to Tan Junjie; it couldn't be hidden. If Tan Junjie wanted to exchange, that was fine, but he had to keep it a secret.
There was another person she could also exchange for: the person who sent her the text message about the territory. However, she would have to confirm that person's identity and purpose first. The next morning, Xia Qing dug up fifteen perilla plants with roots, then selected the largest ones that Yang Laoda hadn't bitten and harvested a pound of them. She traded five perilla plants for a sprouted Jerusalem artichoke from plot number four, ten for ten leek seedlings from plot number five, half a pound for an antidote, and half a pound for protective clothing.
From the exchange methods, it was clear that the people in plots four and five, like her, were committed to farming, exchanging seedlings for seedlings; the people in plot number six, though cunning, also had the intention to settle down there; plots two and seven were wealthy households, not lacking resources.
Plot number two belonged to the Tang family, but what was the background of Zhang San in plot number seven?
Hearing the footsteps of the inspection team in the distance, Xia Qing greeted Yang Laoda and carried the perilla plants towards the new isolation zone on the north side.
"Sister Qing!" From afar, Su Ming waved and greeted Xia Qing warmly.
As soon as Xia Qing waved her hand, Boss Sheep rushed out and stood in front of her, striking a pose that seemed unbreakable.
Xia Qing smiled and ruffled its head, whispering sweet nothings, "Boss Sheep is the best! Hearing a noise, it came out to protect me without even eating! I'm so touched, Boss Sheep is so kind!"
"Old Cao, what is Sister Qing saying to the sheep?" Xia Qing heard Su Ming ask Cao Xianyun in a low voice.
"I can't hear clearly," Cao Xianyun replied softly.
"Quiet," Tan Junjie said in a low voice, "Stop talking nonsense."
Xia Qing, still looking down, raised an eyebrow, confirming that Cao Xianyun's hearing evolution was not as advanced as hers. This matched Xia Qing's estimation—her hearing evolution was at least level four.