Chapter 541: Chapter 541

Five hundred kilograms of grain was enough for the thirty or so people in their village to eat for two months. If meat and vegetables were available, they could last for three months without any problem. Of course, all of this was thanks to Xiao Wei’s connections, so the food should be distributed by her. Whatever was left would also be Xiao Wei’s personal property. He also needed to persuade Xiao Wei to save more grain. What if one day there was no food supply from the outside?

Wen Jun saw a glint in his eye. Recently, someone in the village has been making small moves. Now that they’ve managed to get this kind of grain, it’s inevitable that some will be envious. It seems the new system needs some changes too. It’s unavoidable that some people are lazy; from now on, no work means no food!

"Okay, but be frugal with the rice and flour," Jing Shu said. "I still have channels to get some for now, but it might become dangerous after a while. Who knows, the rice and flour I can get might become less and less."

Jing Shu quickly did the calculations in her mind—this time she could bring back 200 Abdominal Foot Worms, each weighing 400 kilograms, totaling 80,000 kilograms of food. It sounded like a lot, but if calculated based on a normal intake of 0.5 kilograms per person per day, this would only be enough to sustain 100,000 people for two days.

Of course, in the apocalypse, they had to be extremely frugal. They could add more water and dirt to the food, which could extend it to five or six days. And if they were really starving, they could still go out and look for food themselves—the rotten corpse insects had recently swum ashore from the sea.

Jing Shu had never found the right words to describe the taste of rotten corpse insects. It was only recently, when they slaughtered a pig and used its gallbladder for medicine, that she found a comparison. She realized the insects tasted just like the gallbladder—fishy and bitter to the point of nausea, making it impossible to swallow. It was the kind of bitterness you couldn’t force down. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍

If the situation with the Abdominal Foot Worms stabilized, it would be best to supply over 1,000 of them each month. That would reduce the pressure on Wu City.

Jing Shu finally understood Qian Duoduo’s feeling—it was like a drop in the bucket. Forget the whole country; take Wu City, for example, with its population of several million. How much food would they need every day? Even if the government rationed strictly, it couldn’t withstand such consumption.

If it weren’t for the ample strategic material reserves accumulated before the apocalypse, they would have depleted their stores and been doomed by now. Despite the government trying various methods, food sources were just too scarce.

But humanity would ultimately overcome the apocalypse and discover new sources of food. Extinct animals and unmutated original Domestic Poultry had become more precious.

Once the business was agreed upon, Xiao Wei finally brought a few people to the depths of the insect passage, into that pool of Black Water.

The surrounding Abdominal Foot Worms all walked around this area, resisting it. Xiao Wei had said that this Black Water had made insects burst before. "I drank it too, but it had no effect on me. Perhaps the very same Black Water that had merged with my body is why I’m completely immune to it now."

Something in Jingshu’s space shrieked furiously, sensing excitement. Even Jun Bao was thrilled. "This, this is the Black Water we’ve been researching for the past few days! I didn’t expect to find such a large pool here! Xiao Wei, name your price—I want all of this Black Water!"

Jing Shu coughed lightly and gently stepped in front of Jun Bao. She dug furiously into her bulky cotton coat. In short order, she pulled out several pieces of hard cheese, a large handful of hand-torn beef jerky, and even extracted a bar of Dove chocolate from her pants pocket. Lastly, from another pocket, she took out her trump card—a thick, robust King Beef Sausage.

The sound of several gulps was heard. Xiao Wei said eagerly, "Xiao Shu, take as much of this Black Water from the ground as you want. If it’s not enough, I can have insects find more for you! I send insects out to search every day!"

Jing Shu suppressed a big laugh and elegantly handed over the food. "This will count for this time. The next time you find some, I’ll bring you more to eat... unfortunately, these are all top-notch, and this chocolate is also the last piece."

Jing Shu was a bit reluctant too. If it weren’t for the cacao trees in her space maturing, she would have been even more hesitant. The thought of having to make chocolate herself in the future made her feel a bit sad.

"Yes! I’ll keep looking for you." Xiao Wei quickly chose her side. Although Jun Bao’s offer to name her price was very tempting, Jing Shu had laid the items out right in front of her. Who knew what Jun Bao would use to trade, or when she would get to eat it? Would it be as delicious as Xiao Shu’s? Those sweets Jun Bao had earlier were also tasty... mhm, but still not as good as these. This Black Water was useless to her, just like muddy water on the ground, so she was already very satisfied with Jing Shu’s items.

Jun Bao opened his mouth somewhat weakly and said, "Xiao Wei, if you find more next time, I can trade you sachima, osmanthus cake, and candied haws..."

"We’ll talk when you actually bring them." Xiao Wei gently chewed on the hand-torn beef jerky and sighed deeply. Food was so wonderful; why did she ever consider suicide?

All his snacks had been eaten, even the last of the sweets. Next time... who knew when that would be?

"Jing Shu..." Jun Bao pitifully turned and pleaded, "Share some with me? You name the price. Such a big puddle of water, you won’t need it all, right?"

Jing Shu was conflicted. Of course, others didn’t know she used the Black Water to upgrade her space; she wasn’t willing to spare even a bit for others. But... how much should she give? Would a fingernail’s worth be enough? Jun Bao had been quite generous these past few days. Maybe two fingernails’ worth?

Jun Bao coughed and decided to release some shocking news, "Our research institute in Imperial Capital has found a method that greatly enlarges biological cells. We’re still lacking a stable gene sequence. The red liquid is part of it, but we’re missing some mutation genes. This black liquid is very similar to the red one, and Xiao Wei just mentioned it caused an insect to burst... so I guess this Black Water could possibly contain genes that cause cell enlargement. If it really works, it could be a breakthrough for apocalypse food research. If you’re willing to hand over the Black Water, I can offer you a stake in this research."

Jing Shu’s gaze gradually filled with shock. Holy shit, what shocking news had she just heard? Enlarged cell food? Wasn’t this the kind of food that only appeared in the second half of the fifth year of the apocalypse? It was even considered upscale food in the post-apocalyptic world! This was indeed a significant breakthrough for Huaxia in the apocalypse. As for the lower-end food... well. Think about it: a fish originally the size of a palm could grow as big as an elephant. After being injected with the new drug, all its cells would expand tens of thousands of times, forcibly swelling it up... Of course, the taste of this food would be indescribable. The once delicate flesh, enlarged tens of thousands of times, would be like chewing wood residue—hard to chew and difficult to swallow, but at least it would be edible.

Jing Shu looked at Jun Bao with astonishment and uncertainty, pondering his true identity. If she remembered correctly, back then, it was the tyrant who promoted this food. And indeed, it did feed some people.