Xia Qing applied medicine to her wound, put on her clothes and protective suit, donned a new protective mask, and carried a tarpaulin to cover the eastern shed.
The roof of her small house was completely covered with acid-rain-resistant synthetic resin tiles, and the windows were also sealed shut, so there was no need for a tarpaulin.
After finishing the shed, Xia Qing began building the sheep pen.
Although the roof of the sheep pen also used resin tiles that Xia Qing had collected, the pen itself was built with mud, straw, and mortar, and it wasn't completely dry yet, so it couldn't withstand the heavy rain.
The sheep pen, of course, was for the eldest sheep.
These past two days, although Xia Qing was busy cleaning up the village, she hadn't forgotten to gather purple-leaf grass and feed the eldest sheep with ailanthus buds. This morning, Xia Qing even took it to witness the brutal scene of the army clearing the evolutionary forest, so that it would know the terror of humans and not recklessly jump out to butt people.
Perhaps frightened, the eldest sheep returned and sauntered down the mountain, circled the village, seemingly abandoning its return to its lair and intending to find shelter from the rain.
Where in this territory was there a better place than her home?
On the last day before the rain, Xia Qing first went to the reservoir to fetch two large tanks of wastewater, then went to collect spring water.
She could already feel the increasing moisture in the wind; it might rain tonight. She had to prepare all the necessary supplies before the rain.
After putting the buckets in the cave, Xia Qing, carrying her newly woven large basket, asked the eldest sheep, "I'm going to gather purple-leaf grass, are you coming?... Not coming? I'm leaving."
Xia Qing walked alone through the buffer forest, entered the isolation zone, and glanced longingly at the sturdy barbed wire fence of the breeding center before putting on her protective mask and entering her new territory.
This territory had already been cleared by the danger assessment team, reducing the risk, but Xia Qing had a wound on her face and dared not take the risk.
Having just cut a few scythes in the densest patch of purple perilla, Xia Qing heard human activity, and soon she heard Su Ming's voice calling.
"Sister Xia Qing." Su Ming led the way, followed by six team members. Although they were all wearing protective masks, revealing only their eyes, Xia Qing could tell that Team Leader Tan wasn't there today, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sister Xia Qing, cutting perilla?" Su Ming continued, trying to make conversation.
This is perilla? Xia Qing paused in her work of filling her basket with grass before replying, "Yes, thank you all for your hard work these past few days."
"It's nothing, it's what I do." Su Ming quickly walked over. "Sister Xia Qing, what are you planning to do with all this?"
Hmm…
The color of the leaves was really strange. Xia Qing had been too busy lately to think about how to cook it, so for now she was only cutting it to feed the sheep.
Cao Xianyun noticed Xia Qing didn't recognize the herb and stepped in front of his clueless teammate to explain, "Although it doesn't look like it, this is indeed a type of evolved perilla. It turns bright green when heated and blanched, and it's very nutritious, a major component of our base's No. 3 nutrient solution."
After the evolution of the natural disaster creatures, food became scarce. Compressed rations and nutrient solutions, so unpalatable they were almost nauseating, became the two main ways humans survived.
"Yes, blanched and served cold, it's delicious!" Su Ming peeked out from behind Cao Xianyun.
Xia Qing sensed Su Ming's longing and plucked a large handful of evolved perilla from her basket, tied it with vines, and handed it to him. "Take this back and add it to your dishes. This isn't a gift; I want to exchange it for your surplus supplies."
Su Ming was about to refuse when Cao Xianyun reached out and took it. "Okay. If you need anything in the future, Sister Qing, just let us brothers know."
Huh? Huh!
Su Ming's eyes widened as he was about to say something when Hu Zi and Cao Xianyun pulled him away.
"I'm Lao Cao, you…"
"Shut up!"
They walked quite a distance, thinking Xia Qing couldn't hear them anymore, before Su Ming angrily removed his protective mask. "Lao Cao, you didn't even ask Sister Qing what she wanted in exchange before accepting it? What if we don't have any?"
Cao Xianyun rolled his eyes at this idiot. "Want some?"
"Yes!"
Another team member, Hu Zi, spoke up. "Xia Qing ignored the black-green toon sprouts under the testing lights and came to cut perilla. What do you think of the quality of this perilla?"
Su Ming punched Hu Zi hard. "It's definitely better than toon sprouts! Our Hu Zi has really made something of himself, he's gotten smarter!"
"Get lost!" The power-evolved warrior Hu Zi grabbed Su Ming's arm and threw him away.
Hearing the commotion in the distance, Cao Xianyun, who was walking at the back, turned around and saw Xia Qing emerging from the woods carrying a basket on her back and two large bundles of perilla. He whispered, "Didn't you guys think she was here to cut grass to feed the sheep?"
Tiger…
The others…
Su Ming: "I wonder if Sister Xia Qing needs any more sheep. I can."
"Me too."
"Me too…"
Pretending not to hear anything, Xia Qing crossed the safety barrier and returned to the cave, reaching out to pet her sheep's head. The sheep, oblivious to her tact, jumped up and raised its horns, wanting to fight.
Xia Qing scoffed, "If you don't behave, I'll kick you out. There are plenty of sheep who want to be my sheep."
The eldest sheep squinted, seeing that Xia Qing wasn't provoking her anymore, and then went to graze.
Xia Qing put the empty water bucket in her backpack, took out the full drinking bottle, tightened the lid, put it back in her backpack, and went back to cut several more bundles of perilla.
She needed three days' worth of grass for the sheep, so she had to cut it before the rain.
When Xia Qing returned, she had three water buckets with her, which she then carried home on her back.
The evolved sheep glanced at her, then continued munching on perilla leaves. Xia Qing returned, took out the full water buckets, blocked the entrance to the hole, then slung her backpack over her shoulder and carried the last four large bundles of grass.
The eldest sheep, who was grazing, protested, jumping up and down. Xia Qing didn't turn back, dodged it, and continued walking, bringing the eldest sheep home.
Xia Qing placed a bundle of grass on the bamboo frame of the sheep pen. "It's going to rain soon. If you don't want to get wet, stay put and don't go out."
After saying that, Xia Qing didn't care whether the eldest sheep went into the pen or not, and carried the water buckets back to the apartment building.
The eldest sheep stood in the yard, squinting for a long time, finally succumbing to the scent of grass and going into the sheep pen.
Standing in the first-floor living room, Xia Qing smiled triumphantly. She cut a piece of tarpaulin and went to the west courtyard to build a small greenhouse for the ginger and garlic she had planted.
Although the hillside where she had dug up the ginger and garlic now belonged to her, who knew if there was any edible ginger and garlic left? Even if there was, who knew if a rainstorm would kill them and render them unusable?
Therefore, Xia Qing had to protect the dozen or so seedlings she had transplanted.
If a heavy rain with a high concentration of harmful elements were to occur, it would be a severe challenge for all life on Earth. There was nothing she could do if the seedlings were destroyed, because she had done everything she could.
Shortly after Xia Qing finished tending the vegetable garden and returned to the first-floor living room, she heard a distant rumble of thunder.
This sound irritated her.