Chapter 565: Chapter 565

Jing Shu gestured dismissively. "No need to make it such a hassle; you don’t need to kill them. Watch—from now on, just say to it, ’Brace yourself against the gale,’ and that will do. This is the breeder’s command." Hmm, that was definitely Xiao Wei’s childish innocence peeking through.

Jing Shu walked up to a giant Abdominal Foot Worm and said to it, "Brace yourself against the gale."

Then, a dumbfounding scene began.

After a few seconds of disorientation, the fierce insect seemed to receive an order and actually raised its huge pincers. With several SNAPS, it cut off all its legs from the base, seemingly oblivious to pain. Then, with a few more SNAPS, it used its pincers to chop its large body into several pieces. This continued until at last, the pincers fell unwillingly to the ground, motionless.

Nerve impulses caused it to keep SNAPPING even after death, its fist-sized eyes staring coldly and indifferently at everyone, unblinking even in death, leaving behind a quiet yet eerie scene.

"Although the chunks of meat are still quite large, this makes them much easier to handle. Just have the chefs throw these chunks, shells and all, directly into the meat grinder to be minced into a paste. In the end, just add earth, flour, and salt in a 10:1:1% ratio. Oh, and don’t waste the head either—whether it’s the eyes or the brain, it’s all tasty!"

Jing Shu waved her hand, seeing that, just as Xiao Wei had said, these insects knew how to ’commit suicide.’ Not only that, but they also knew how to dismember themselves neatly. It certainly saved a lot of trouble.

Sigh, I’ve never seen such a convenient food source, Jing Shu pondered, stroking her chin. It can traverse long distances from deep within the mountains to the trading site by itself, and even process itself. If necessary, Xiao Wei can still increase production. The insects still have soil to eat now, but next year, they will only have snow. Most importantly, the cost of these insects is even lower than my red earthworms. She was completely unaware of the people behind her whose jaws had dropped in shock.

"Awesome, simply awesome!"

"This is incredible! Food that’s so self-aware."

Seeing the stupefied expressions of the chefs, Xiao Cai stamped her foot in frustration. "Aren’t you going to start documenting the test food? What are you dawdling for? Hurry up!"

Finally snapping to their senses, the chefs first weighed the pieces of the dismembered insect, then called out, "Total 428 kilograms!"

"Just one weighs that much! It’ll last a long time."

"This food source is reliable."

Even Qian Duoduo quietly let out a sigh of relief; the amount was a bit more than anticipated.

Qian Duoduo quickly had the Abdominal Foot Worm meat thrown into the grinder. He then led a group of shareholders, his gaze shifting between the busy chefs processing the Insect Meat, the docile insect army nearby, and Jing Shu, who always seemed to be munching on something. The air was thick with anticipation; they all hoped this test would pass and save the second phase of Stone Garden.

A dozen chefs worked hard, all to test how much food could be produced from one insect. Before long, the thrilling moment arrived. The chefs rolled out several rice buckets, each almost as tall as a person. Xiao Cai excitedly said:

"After our testing, one insect, once ground and mixed with soil and a small amount of flour, can yield about 800 kilograms of filling. This turns into ready-to-eat moist cakes with no loss. Based on a minimum daily consumption of 200 grams per person, it can feed 4,000 people.

"If dried and stored as cakes, there’d be about 700 kilograms left. This can then be rehydrated to make porridge, enough to keep 6,000 people from starving."

Xiao Cai personally took a freshly made patty of Insect Meat mixed with soil and handed it around for everyone to taste.

"So, that means one insect can sustain 4,000 people. We only need about 13 insects a day, combined with soil and flour, to basically sustain 50,000 people... How about trying the taste first? Although it has a strong gamey smell, it’s also a bit salty. Eaten wet, the texture is a bit poor. If made into a baked cake, it would be crispy, which I imagine would be better."

Jing Shu, smiling, had already done the math. However, she hadn’t expected Xiao Cai to be even stricter than her—only 200 grams per person per day, and that was for a cake with a large amount of soil. People definitely couldn’t get full on that. But in this era, having enough to eat is an unimaginable luxury. Being able to eat and stay alive is already good enough. In my previous life, if I could have had 200 grams of food every day, I would have woken up laughing.

According to this calculation, 390 insects a month, mixed with a large amount of soil, would be just enough to feed that many people. However, this wasn’t the only food source. A complete reward and punishment system was also necessary. It couldn’t just be Insect Meat; there also had to be the promise of rice and steamed buns to motivate them. Otherwise, why would these people, relying on basic provisions, bother working every day? How would Stone Garden operate and generate profit?

So it seemed her agreement with Xiao Wei would require producing even more insects. She needed not only to feed the 50,000 people of Stone Garden but also to store a surplus.

Some curious shareholders cautiously tasted a piece of meat as small as a fingernail and immediately retched.

"It’s disgusting, worse than pig feed!"

"Ugh! Even my chickens wouldn’t eat something this nasty!"

A strong, unpleasant smell spread. Some shareholders covered their noses, showing intense disdain for this ’worse than pig feed’ food. Jing Shu, however, stepped forward, pinched off a piece, and chewed it, savoring it carefully.

It’s salty, rich in protein, meets the body’s minimum needs—food that can keep one alive.

Even if it was unpalatable, having survived ten years of the apocalypse, she had long since cultivated the habit of not wasting a single bit of food and swallowed all of it. Jing Shu thought silently, It might not taste as good as the red worm cake, but it’s certainly better than the rotten corpse insects; those are truly hard to swallow. Being able to eat and not die of starvation is probably all I can do for you all.

Unbeknownst to her, Qian Duoduo squinted his eyes and said, "No matter how bad it tastes, it’s still food. It’s life-saving food!" Saying this, Qian Duoduo also ate a large piece and nodded continuously, instructing, "Keep the ratio . Salt is precious but essential for the body. Any less, and you wouldn’t taste anything."

Jing Shu smiled. Regardless of Qian Duoduo’s reasons for doing this, the man was genuinely capable.

"Alright, arrange to have these insects turned into pie filling right away. Half will be baked into Earth Worm Cakes, and the other half will be made into wet cakes. Prepare to accommodate a large influx of people into Stone Garden Phase Two in the next few days."

Someone then asked, "Are we starting preparations this early? Can this... really work?" Follow current novels on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩

"The earlier, the better. The government is only too eager to lessen their burden. I believe that anyone who isn’t a fool will agree to this deal. Alright, meeting adjourned. Jing Shu, let’s go. We’re heading to the government."

Once he confirmed the matters here, Qian Duoduo immediately prepared to take Jing Shu to the government to negotiate this matter personally, without a moment’s delay.