Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Hardworking Fate of the Mouse

Xu Ying shook her head, maybe Yisha City still has some undisclosed athletic training bases.

She unplugged the small electric pot used for cooking noodles, opened a bottle of soda for herself, and began enjoying dinner with canned meat, soon putting the matter out of her mind.

The vulture brothers hadn’t flown over tonight, probably because they were stopping and resting along the way, so they might not arrive until tomorrow.

Before handing them over to the staff at the raptor rescue center, she had to deal with the dinner for this group of vultures.

The rescue center would reimburse the meal expenses, but where on earth was she supposed to get dead cattle and sheep?

Xu Ying scrolled through her contacts, her gaze resting on the name “Qi Xiao.” Didn’t Qi Xiao own several ranches? He would definitely have food for the vultures!

Feeling apprehensive, Xu Ying dialed Qi Xiao’s number, and he picked up very quickly.

Upon learning about Xu Ying’s “meal order” request, Qi Xiao readily agreed, saying he’d deliver the meals tomorrow.

With the food issue sorted out, Xu Ying had solved a major problem; Qi Xiao had truly been very helpful, from delivering milk formula for the fox cubs to providing food for the vultures. She must thank him properly when she has the chance.

At nine the next morning, after feeding the fox cubs, Xu Ying grabbed a small bun for breakfast and prepared to go out for her routine inspection.

It was only when she was looking for her motorcycle keys that she remembered her motorcycle was left in a desert two hundred kilometers away yesterday. It seemed she could only walk for an hour to inspect the highway pipeline.

Just as Xu Ying was contemplating this, she opened the door and found a motorcycle covered with a brand-new dust cover parked outside her door.

A small note was stuck on the rescue station’s door.

The note read: “Miss Xu, the new motorcycle ordered from abroad will take some time to arrive, so we’re sending back the old one for emergency use.”

“The old motorcycle has been thoroughly checked and all worn parts replaced.”

“Remember to have breakfast. Lift the dust cover for a surprise.”

The note was signed by Qiao Yanli’s secretary, Jiang Yun.

A new motorcycle ordered from abroad?

Xu Ying clicked her tongue, such extravagance befitted a CEO, it was really over the top.

She lifted the dust cover, and the old battle-scarred motorcycle looked brand new; even the bumper seemed to gleam brightly.

At the rear of the motorcycle was a box that resembled a food delivery thermal box.

Xu Ying opened the thermal box, and inside were milk, coffee, boxed fruit salad, fries, fried chicken… a whole box full of fresh food.

This wasn’t just breakfast; it was enough to feed her for the entire day.

After enjoying a hearty breakfast, Xu Ying rode the motorcycle to check the road pipelines.

The “renovated” motorcycle accelerated quickly with plenty of power, and Xu Ying soon arrived at the vicinity of the highway, starting her inspection of the pipelines.

On both sides of the highway were drought-resistant vegetation to protect the road from wind and sand erosion, with irrigation systems installed on either side.

The pipelines were prone to damage or malfunction due to wind erosion, high temperatures, and other factors, making regular maintenance crucial.

She had only checked a section of the road when she heard a familiar squeaking sound.

Delighted, Xu Ying looked down to find the Sand Rat Boss had scurried over to her feet.

[I’ve checked for you; the drip irrigation pipelines around this section of road are generally normal today, though two pipeline joints look a bit fragile, I’ll take you to see them later!]

After saying this, the Sand Rat Boss stood with its pink little paws on its hips, wearing an expression that said “Praise me.”

“Wow, you’re amazing, Little Rat! Thank you!”

Following the Little Desert Rat, Xu Ying checked two sections of pipe that were prone to issues and then marked them to report to the relevant maintenance people.

She took out some scallion-flavored crackers to thank the Little Desert Rat: “Thank you all! You’ve saved me a lot of work; it would have taken me one or two hours to check by myself.”

[Hehe, you humans have to bend down to inspect, but we little rats can tell if everything’s alright just by running along the pipes.

The Sand Rat Boss patted its chest: [And with our sensitive hearing and sense of smell, we can detect problems invisible to the human eye; the more rats, the more power. Each of us checks a section, done in a quarter of an hour.]

[From now on, your pipeline inspection tasks are on us little rats!]

Wow!

A rat willing to share her workload!

These were the most beautiful words from an animal that Xu Ying had ever heard!

In that instant, the image of the Little Desert Rat grew significantly more heroic in her heart.

In her company, colleagues might shirk responsibility and pass the buck, but her Little Desert Rat colleagues helped share the work, effectively and reliably, for the price of two bags of scallion-flavored crackers~

Xu Ying was really starting to love her job even more!

Her already light workload just got lighter, and Xu Ying scratched her head bashfully: “This, isn’t quite right?”

[Oh, it’s just a small task for us! This way you’ll have more time to help little animals, like us little rats.]

At this point, the Sand Rat Boss twisted its little paws, shyly fidgeting.

Xu Ying was amused by the Sand Rat Boss: “What help do you need? Just say it, you don’t have to beat around the bush.”

[We’re planning to move, but haven’t found a suitable place yet. You’ve been to a lot of places, could you help us choose a new site for our home?]

“Move?”

Xu Ying was surprised: “Didn’t you just build a new home? Why the sudden move? And I haven’t seen you around the rescue station lately either.”

The Sand Rat Boss looked around and lowered its voice: [Recently, there’s been a lot of news. It’s tight.]

Xu Ying couldn’t help laughing: “So cautious – are there really people daring enough to catch underground workers like you?”

[A formidable group of hunting tiger martens has come near our home, preying on us little rats; they can kill two or three hundred in one night, it’s terrifying!]

The Sand Rat Boss trembled as it spoke.

[So, we all escaped to the vicinity of the highway, where vehicles occasionally pass through, with fewer animals around, and the tiger martens won’t hunt here.]

Besides, over here, we can still run into the caretaker Xu Ying who comes to inspect the pipelines every day.

Tiger marten?

Xu Ying knew tiger martens were adept at hunting rats and quite ferocious, natural enemies of mice.

However, the food chain is a natural law, and as an animal rescuer, she had no right to interfere with normal animal predation. The rats, being low in the food chain, certainly had it rough.

[When it rains, it pours; disaster only seeks pitiful mice. Our new home got flooded due to underground water leakage.]

Xu Ying listened and shook her head; it was too tragic!

“Why don’t you tell me your requirements for the site, and I’ll think about where such a place might be.”

[We need a place with relatively soft soil for digging, good ventilation. The lower part of a stable dune, the shady side of a dune, or under shrubs would do~]

The Sand Rat Boss wore a hopeful expression: [I heard you humans are familiar with underground water distribution, it’d be even better if you could help us avoid the water layers~]

“That’s no problem; when we set up rescue stations, we use underground water distribution to determine the locations.”

Hey, thinking the other way around, these Little Desert Rats, digging holes everywhere, might even help humans find new underground water sources!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep