Chapter 452: Chapter 452

It was better to make a fortune quietly and live like an Emperor at home; there was no need to venture into breeding for profit. That would be like shooting the bird that sticks its neck out!

They haven’t seen the scenes from the fifth year of the apocalypse, when people’s eyes would turn green with hunger. When someone fell, they were considered ’dead’ and dragged into dark corners to be quietly eaten. Sometimes, the Government would even turn a blind eye, as the national treasury was depleted and there was simply no food left.

Back then, if Jingshu’s house still had swarms of chickens and ducks making a racket... I wasn’t afraid of people coming to rob or steal. I was more afraid of killing innocent people and then being exploited by the Government as a ’typical example.’ They might say something like, ’The Jing family, in their remorse for accidentally taking innocent lives, has d all their food and committed suicide to atone to the world...’

Of course, it was only the third year now. Mrs. Jing’s circle mostly talked about raising chickens and ducks or growing crops. Chickens raised under official license were in style, and ordinary folks envied the luxury cars of the wealthy. Things hadn’t reached the stage of green-eyed desperation yet; after all, stealing, robbing, or even snatching a licensed chicken would lead to labor reform until death.

However, it’s not absolutely impossible to raise them. We’d still need to establish some rules. It wouldn’t be for ourselves, but for the ’sustenance’ of the Government.

Jing Shu squinted. I definitely want to raise Lion-headed Geese, especially since I need some space for them. On my way back, I was thinking that while I could raise a batch of the officially declared ones in my space, I should also raise some at the villa. Now that there’s space, it would be convenient to raise these as well.

Jing Shu smiled. "Alright, since you all want to raise them, we can improve the yard first. I’m just worried about attracting those who failed to steal last year and resorted to throwing kerosene bottles, or being forcefully requisitioned by the authorities, or even directly robbed."

Grandma Jing turned pale with fright. "I’m not in a hurry. Let’s wait until your father and your grandpa fix up this yard before we talk about it." She ultimately backed out. Get full chapters from 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵

Jing Shu began to arrange the large pile of things. She placed some in the basement and some in the refrigerator. She also took a few items out from her space without telling her family, as she was holding some things back. Later, when I bring out some strange and exotic items, I can just say, ’I brought these back from the United States and left them at XX place. Didn’t you know?’

Jing Shu had a habit of recording where she put her supplies—whether in her space, the basement, or elsewhere—to make them easier to find later. However, after her trip to the United States, many of the household supplies had been consumed, and many new ones had been added, leaving everything completely disorganized.

When I have time, I’ll go to Li Yuetian’s place to get the supplies from the United States, and then I should do a rough inventory. Jing Shu was a pack rat; not only did she like to stockpile, but she also enjoyed checking her supplies from time to time to gain that fulfilling sense of abundance and security.

In a short amount of time, Jing Shu had laid out her plans for the next half-month. Once these plans were completed, she would need to quickly prepare for the fourth year, which meant solving the mudslide problem. After that, she would have to prepare for the fifth year’s migration. I’m so busy!

Uncle’s family had been brought over. Third Aunt Jing Lai dragged her exhausted body back from the cafeteria. Even her cousin Wu You’ai, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, didn’t look well; it seemed her recent workload had been heavy.

Grandma Jing had already prepared a welcoming feast at the villa. They hadn’t originally planned to invite Uncle Su Yiyang today, as it was a bit sudden. However, Jing Shu said she needed to discuss something with them, so the entire family was invited over.

Uncle chuckled. "Sis, we’ve managed to get quite a few good things recently. These are some plums we brought for you to try. They might be a bit sour due to the lack of sunlight... Oh, and this is a pack of Yuxi cigarettes for Grandpa and your husband to have a smoke now and then."

"You shouldn’t have! Just coming over is enough!" Mrs. Jing said, laughing happily, not because of the items themselves.

It was the most classic polite exchange.

"Jing Shu, I knew you’d be back around this time, so I specially prepared this for you. I hope you like it." Wu You’ai, holding a glass bottle sealed with a wooden stopper, casually tossed it over. The bottle contained a dark green liquid that looked like water from a fetid drainage ditch.

Jing Shu sniffed it and immediately frowned. "Damn! It really does smell like a drainage ditch! What is this? Drainage ditch water?"

"This is Spiral Fish Stink Algae, the latest thing my mentor and I have been researching," Wu You’ai explained. "It’s a type of algal plant, now classified under cyanobacteria. It was one of the earliest photosynthetic, oxygen-releasing organisms and played a huge role in transforming the Earth’s atmosphere from anaerobic to aerobic."

Hmm... I often found it hard to keep up with the way geniuses like her think, probably because I’m too much of a goofball. Not understanding what people were actually saying has been my biggest frustration since I was reincarnated.

Wu You’ai sighed. "That’s right. It’s exactly that layer of green stuff you see floating in drainage ditches. Before the apocalypse, lots of frogs would sit on it, and there would be plenty of tadpoles in it too."

Ah, so that’s what it is. Jing Shu now understood.

Jing Shu nodded in understanding. Indeed, this was the familiar stuff from drainage ditches. She shook the bottle. "So, what’s it used for?" This stuff was everywhere after the floods, especially that thick layer of moldy green algae on the ground. It was disgusting and stank horribly! Some places even reeked of rotting corpses.

Yet, in the ten years of the apocalypse, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this stuff have any miraculous effects.

Is Wu You’ai teasing me or testing my intelligence by giving me this?

"It can fix atmospheric molecular nitrogen into combined nitrogen to synthesize proteins. It can serve as fertilizer for rice paddies, and Spiral Fish Stink Algae can be used as feed for fish fry. It can also absorb various harmful substances, acting as a purifier."

Jing Shu understood. So, it’s fertilizer and fish feed. But the fish in my space and ponds drink water from the Spiritual Spring and will eat anything. Whether it’s algae or not, nutritious or not, it doesn’t seem that important.

Jing Shu shook the bottle. "Is this all? It seems like very little."

Wu You’ai shook her head. "My mentor and I spent half a year completely revolutionizing its structure. What you’re holding is the original liquid; it can be cultivated and expanded. We’ve changed the traditional cultivation method. You just need to pour it onto a rotting corpse or any protein source, and this green algae will multiply. Theoretically, it can reproduce infinitely quickly. Afterward, it can be used to feed fish or as fertilizer for crops like rice. However, I suggest you test it first, even though our test fish, No. 101, is still alive after being fed with it."

Jing Shu propped her chin on her hand, her eyes gradually lighting up. "Does this mean I can first use commonly found rotting corpses and insects to cultivate large amounts of this algae, and it will essentially act as a free feed converter?"

If that’s really the case, I’m going to strike it rich! This could save me so much on feed—and in this apocalypse, feed is life-saving food! Plus, it would be a perfect, lossless production chain!

"Theoretically, yes, but there are still many uncontrollable factors."