Chapter 449: Chapter 449

"Our West Mountain Red Worm’s largest supplier is Wang Fang. She’s so arrogant! Wu City relies solely on our West Mountain for its red earthworm supply now. I heard she’s the one providing them. Other canteens are on self-service today; they’re probably just eating dung beetle rice. I also heard this Wang Fang has some connections with the livestock farms and even supplies them with some feed."

"I really regret acting like a fool last year, frantically gathering red earthworms at 200 pounds per Virtual Coin. I only made a few hundred Virtual Coins and got so proud, scoffing that red earthworms were overflowing like a plague and that only fools would collect such worthless stuff. Look at us now—we’ve literally eaten them into extinction. You can’t even find a living one anymore."

"It’s hard to imagine what we’ll eat after we run out of red earthworms. The price of rice has gone up again; it’s 3 Virtual Coins a bowl now."

This woman was none other than Wang Fang, Jing Shu’s Aunt, who had clamored to sell off their red earthworms last year to break even, only to be stopped by Jing Shu!

Wang Fang, hearing the comments behind her, smirked proudly. Everyone fawns over me now, whether they’re from the canteen or the livestock farms. They even bribe me! The livestock people occasionally give me a few eggs, just begging me to supply Red Worm Feed. It’s all thanks to Jing Shu’s foresight. Last year, she gathered hundreds of thousands of Virtual Coins’ worth of red earthworms and turned them into cooked Insect Cakes. Now, there’s no need for any further processing. I just transport a batch over every day, and the Government settles the price on the spot. It’s incredibly satisfying! Watching my Virtual Coin balance increase daily gives me an unprecedented sense of security. Once I have enough Virtual Coins, I’ll use my connection with Mr. Jing. I’ll ask him to help me buy a couple of licensed, egg-laying hens from the livestock farm. I don’t expect them to hatch chicks later; I just want to eat a couple of eggs every day.

"Another half a year of selling, and I could get a loan to rent a pig," Wang Fang mused, shaking her head. "But I’ll need to pull some strings to get in line. Mr. Jing’s family... they’re really something else."

Nowadays, if private individuals wanted to buy chickens, they had to go to the livestock farm. There, they needed to file a report, obtain a license, and get an ID for each chicken. If they could prove assets over 10,000 Virtual Coins, they could get a two-year, interest-free loan to buy chickens.

Most importantly, chickens bought from the livestock farm could not be slaughtered or starved. If a chicken died, its owner would be fined, and each one had to undergo an annual inspection. They had even introduced various insurance policies for chickens, like accident insurance, to ensure their safety and well-being.

Nowadays, owning a chicken was like driving a BMW or Mercedes before the apocalypse—stylish and practical. Keeping a duck was like having a pre-apocalypse sports car—expensive to maintain and not very economical. And raising a pig? That was like being a big spender on oyster sauce before the apocalypse—enjoyable, but the cost was just as significant.

Keeping cows, however, was a different matter entirely. That was for people who didn’t care about money. They generally had nannies and bodyguards to provide full-time care for their cattle. It was just like those who owned a Rolls-Royce before the apocalypse—they never drove themselves; they always had a chauffeur.

The hot topic of conversation was no longer about which tycoon had a villa with dozens of luxury cars. Instead, it had shifted to who owned chickens, ducks, and cows. Even those who could afford to raise pigs—those big "oyster sauce" spenders—were considered the real tycoons now.

Seeing Wang Fang return, looking triumphant, Uncle frowned.

"You went to the West Mountain canteen again?" Uncle asked. "Didn’t you say you were just going to sell a few hundred Virtual Coins’ worth to cover living expenses?"

"Yes, I did. I signed another three-month contract with them to sell red worm cakes at a fair price every day," Wang Fang said, combing the hair she had painstakingly grown out. "The West Mountain canteen was really decisive; their offer is much higher than what the livestock farm pays."

Uncle stomped his foot. "How many times have I told you? Jing Shu said it’s best to start selling the red earthworms in the second half of the year! We could even trade them with the Government for actual goods. Virtual Coins are just numbers, after all. Why won’t you listen to her advice? Besides, the situation is getting more severe. No matter how many Virtual Coins you have, they’re insubstantial. What could be worth more than having actual food in your own hands?"

Wang Fang rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, I admit Jing Shu has strategic vision. But if we sell early, we get the money early! If we sell late, they won’t be worth much. We also need to buy some chickens so our son gets daily egg nutrition. He’s so short; what will happen if he doesn’t get more nourishment? School will start after the earthquakes stop, and he needs to go to a good school. All of that requires Virtual Coins! Besides, the news says the Earth is self-adjusting and the apocalypse will end soon. If we don’t sell all these red earthworms we have now, they’ll be worthless later!"

"The apocalypse ending?" Uncle exclaimed. "Don’t listen to that nonsense those scientists are spouting!"

As the two were arguing, Su Long came running in, wrapped in his blanket and shivering. "Mom," he pleaded, "can we please not stay at the square tonight? It’s really too cold, and people are... well, farting and relieving themselves everywhere. I can’t sleep at all! The earthquakes have stopped for the past few days. It probably won’t shake tonight. Can’t we go home and sleep?"

"No way!" Uncle rubbed his nose, red from the cold. "Your Sister Jing Shu specifically told us before she left, and even your elder aunt said, it’s too dangerous to go back to sleep there. Just a few days ago, an entire building in the East District collapsed! Don’t you know how many people died?" Google seaʀᴄh 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝘯𝘦𝘵

"Long, listen to your dad," Aunt said. "Your Sister Jing Shu and your elder aunt are both farsighted. What if there’s an earthquake and all three of us get buried? My business is just starting to pick up, and I was planning to buy two little chickens for you, for their eggs. You can even pick a couple of catchy identification numbers for them. Fancy numbers are an option too; it just costs an extra 5 Virtual Coins."

"No, no! I’ve been sleeping outside for months! Look at all these bites on me, and look at the crap on my shoes! Can I at least go home and take a shower?" Su Long was determined; he planned to take a bath and then stay inside, not coming out again.

"Alright then," Aunt relented. "Go take your shower."

The family of three packed their belongings and took Su Long from the densely populated refugee square back to their old residential complex. Aunt spent 2 Virtual Coins on a kettle of hot water so Su Long could take a quick bath at home.

Sure enough, Su Long then insisted on sleeping in the house.

"Maybe just for one night?" Aunt asked Uncle tentatively.

"Absolutely not!" Uncle retorted. "Your momentary kindness, your indulgence, will be his undoing—and ours! What if something happens?"

"You’re making it sound so dire! Su Yiyang, you’ve gotten bold, haven’t you? Daring to talk back to me now! You don’t love me anymore! Men! You’re all just unreliable pigs!"

"I... Argh... Well..."

Just then, Uncle’s phone rang.

"Hello? Lanzi?" Uncle answered. "Yes, we’re home. We just gave Su Long a bath... What? Jing Shu is back from the United States? After being sick for so long, is she all better now?" Uncle gestured for Wang Fang to be quiet. As soon as Wang Fang heard it was Su Lanzi, she rushed over to listen in. The call was breaking up; the signal was poor.

"Right now? A welcome banquet for Jing Shu? But it’s so late to go to the New District now. It would be such a bother for you, and it wouldn’t be easy for us to get back tonight... What? Stay over at your place? Oh, that would be too much trouble. We’d be imposing. Besides, we have to manage the resident registration for our complex tomorrow."

Wang Fang, with her sharp ears, couldn’t hold back any longer. She snatched the phone. "Yes, yes, of course! Don’t listen to his nonsense; we have plenty of time! In that case, we’ll trouble my brother-in-law to drive over and pick us up. We’ll wait at home. Okay then... we should pack extra daily necessities if we’re staying for a few days... What? You want us to go to the street corner downstairs right now? Alright, alright, no problem."