"One pigeon egg for a pound of Cherry Tomatoes? That's highway robbery!" Qin Haonan exclaimed.
"These pigeon eggs can all be hatched!" the other person replied, stressing the high value of his eggs.
Qin Haonan shook his head. "Even if all these eggs hatch, raising them requires a lot of grain. Besides, we're not short on meat right now. There are plenty of fish in the water. Fresh fruits and vegetables are the rare commodity. With Cherry Tomatoes, at least we don't have to worry about scurvy!"
Qin Haonan's words made the other person pause.
From Qin Haonan's voice, it was clear he wasn't very old. The man hadn't expected someone who sounded so young to be able to cut straight to the heart of the matter.
Just a few days ago, he might have been able to hold out for a better price. But now, with fish so abundant, his pigeon eggs didn't have much of an advantage.
More importantly, he seemed to actually be showing symptoms of scurvy.
"I have other ways of getting vitamins, so I'm not worried about scurvy. Your Cherry Tomatoes aren't a necessity for me," the survivor could only bluff.
"It looks like we can't come to an agreement. Let's just forget it, then. Maybe we can work together some other time!" Qin Haonan immediately began to turn his boat around.
"Wait!" Seeing that Qin Haonan was really about to leave, the survivor hurriedly called out to stop him.
"Yes? Is there something else?" A smile touched the corner of Qin Haonan's mouth. 'It feels great to have the upper hand!'
"I can go a little lower. One pigeon egg for 0.8 pounds of Cherry Tomatoes. That's already a huge bargain!" the survivor offered, taking the initiative to lower his price.
Qin Haonan shook his head. "Half a pound. If you agree, I'll take all the pigeon eggs you have. If not, we'll cooperate some other time!"
The other party hesitated for a moment, still not ready to give up. "A little more!"
"Then forget it. Maybe next time!" Qin Haonan continued to turn his boat, preparing to leave.
"Fine! Half a pound it is, I agree!" The man gave up struggling.
Only then did Qin Haonan stop his speedboat and ask, "How many pigeon eggs do you have?"
"Twenty-six in total!"
"Half a pound each, that's thirteen pounds total. I'll throw in an extra half-pound as a bonus," Qin Haonan calculated quickly, then asked, "Any problem with that?"
"No problem, let's make the trade!" the other party said, somewhat excitedly.
Qin Haonan placed the Cherry Tomatoes onto an inflatable raft and pushed it toward the other person.
The survivor lifted the rainproof cover and saw a large basket full of Cherry Tomatoes, his mouth practically watering. He quickly poured the tomatoes onto a piece of clothing nearby, then carefully placed the twenty-six pigeon eggs into the basket and replaced the cover.
Seeing the man had finished, Qin Haonan pulled back the rope. Looking at the small pigeon eggs, he was just as careful in moving them into the cabin.
"Will we have a chance to trade again in the future?" the other person suddenly asked.
"Of course, as long as you have something our base needs!" Qin Haonan was momentarily startled, then replied.
"I mean, will you want more pigeon eggs in the future?" the man pressed.
"That's hard to say. It will depend on the situation," Qin Haonan said vaguely.
"I understand. Thank you!"
Qin Haonan started the speedboat and headed back toward the base. He had been out and about all day, and it was now nighttime. With the driving wind and rain, it was unlikely anyone was tailing him.
「Three hours later.」
Qin Haonan returned to the outskirts of the Peach Blossom Base. Looking at the Banyan Forest, which had clearly grown another size larger, he felt an immense sense of security.
Following a reserved channel, Qin Haonan entered the Banyan Forest.
Although it was already past eleven at night, Ren Yuanyang and the others were still waiting for him.
"Boss, you guys are still waiting for me this late? I'm so touched I could cry!" Qin Haonan rubbed his eyes dramatically.
"Hmph, don't flatter yourself. We were waiting for the things you brought back!" Ren Yuanyang rolled his eyes. "We saved you dinner. Hurry up and eat so you can get to bed!"
"Boss, that's so heartbreaking to hear!" Qin Haonan replied with a grin.
"Hurry up. We have to be up early to work tomorrow!" Ren Yuanyang pushed him onto another speedboat.
Meanwhile, Lu Jiamei and the others moved all the supplies into a shipping container.
"Don't touch any of this stuff yet. Wait until I've processed it," Ren Yuanyang said, walking back over to give the order.
Everyone nodded. Hua Lingfang quickly asked, "What about the pigeon eggs?"
If they were to be incubated, it was best to do it as soon as possible. They couldn't wait.
"The pigeon eggs need to be set up by you first," Ren Yuanyang replied.
Hearing this, Hua Lingfang immediately placed some dried rice straw he had prepared into a wicker basket, which was also woven from aerial roots.
He placed the pigeon eggs into the basket one by one, holding them up to the light to inspect them as he did.
Then he placed the basket near a Dripping Lotus, using the heat generated by its Flame-shaped Inflorescence for incubation.
"Sir, these are all fertilized eggs. If all goes well, they should hatch into squabs in sixteen or seventeen days!" Hua Lingfang said excitedly.
"That's great! This way we can raise our own flock of pigeons!" Lu Jiamei was very happy. The variety of plants and animals at the base was growing richer and richer!
Unexpectedly, Hua Lingfang just shook his head slightly. "Hatching the squabs is only the first step. The real challenge we face is how to raise them to adulthood."
Lu Jiamei was taken aback. "But we have plenty of grain. Raising a few pigeons shouldn't be a problem!"
"For the first week after hatching, squabs can only eat crop milk. Crop milk is a protein-rich liquid secreted by the mother pigeon. We don't have a mother pigeon, and we don't have any artificial crop milk. Our only option is to try and formulate a substitute ourselves using egg yolks and other things. As for how effective that will be... I can't make any guarantees," Hua Lingfang explained with a wry smile.
Lu Jiamei had a sudden realization. "Then we really should have bought a pair of pigeons!"
"So you're saying it's not even certain how many of these pigeons will survive?" Xin Wan asked, a little unsure.
Hua Lingfang nodded slightly. "That is correct."
Hearing this, everyone frowned. Ren Yuanyang spoke up with a smile, "Don't worry about it, everyone. As long as we do our best, that's what matters."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Alright, everyone go get some rest. Don't wake me for morning practice tomorrow. I'll probably wake up around eight," Ren Yuanyang announced.
"Okay!" Lu Jiamei and the others replied, then left the shipping container.
Ren Yuanyang wasn't worried at all about the incubation of the pigeon eggs or raising them later. He could use his system to reinforce them. The reinforced eggs would have a much higher hatching rate, and the squabs' survival ability would be greatly increased.
Squabs needed crop milk simply because their digestive and immune systems were not strong enough right after birth, requiring them to get large amounts of nutrients and antibodies from it.
Since the system reinforced the squabs' survival ability, it would naturally strengthen these two aspects. Combined with the food Hua Lingfang prepared, the squabs would have a 100% survival rate.
However, he still needed to reinforce another rabbit today, so the pigeon eggs would have to wait.
With Ren Yuanyang's current Mental Energy, reinforcing a rabbit was still quite draining. He would have to fall into a deep sleep for eight hours afterward.
He returned to his room, found a comfortable position on his bed, and placed one hand on the unreinforced rabbit in its cage.
'This fluffy feeling... it's hard to let go,' Ren Yuanyang muttered to himself. 'Time to begin the reinforcement!'

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