Chapter 613: Chapter 613

If something had been listed in the Exchange for a long time without being sold, it meant either the price was relatively high or there was currently no market demand for it.

Good things are always snapped up quickly. The importance of supplies in the current apocalypse was evident from today’s trading. In terms of sustainable resources, Domestic Poultry that consistently yield by-products command the highest prices. These were followed by consumables and luxury goods like tobacco, alcohol, and tea, and then raw materials. But clearly, none of these were essential food items. That tells you something, doesn’t it? Really makes you think.

While the trading hall was auctioning ducks, Jing Shu shifted her gaze. Her eyes landed on a picture of a machine, neither too large nor too small, followed by its brief description: a freeze-drying machine.

A freeze-drying machine? Jing Shu frowned and read on: "After use, vacuum freeze-drying can eliminate 95% to 99% of moisture, allowing the dried product to be preserved long-term without deterioration. Since drying occurs in a vacuum with very little oxygen, some easily oxidized substances are protected."

"So..." Jing Shu looked up at Tang Tuo.

Tang Tuo nodded. "It can make freeze-dried milk powder, freeze-dried meat, freeze-dried food, and more. The shelf life is long, the material’s quality doesn’t degrade or deactivate, and it can also be used for freeze-dried compression."

Clarity gradually dawned in Jing Shu’s mind. Actually, I do need this, she thought. For instance, the dairy cows at home had recently calved again, and the amount of milk they produced was... immense. Even though she drank milk tea daily and processed milk into cream, cheese, yogurt, and other by-products, Jing Shu still had a large quantity of milk stored up from the cows in her space.

I was just thinking about turning it into milk powder next time.

Items in her space could be preserved indefinitely, but things with high production output at the villa were prone to spoilage.

Despite the current abundance, there will definitely be shortages during the great migration. Fresh vegetables can be taken to West Mountain to be made into Dried Vegetables, but with freeze-drying technology, the range of what I can preserve would be much wider.

Jing Shu checked the machine’s price: a staggering three million Trading Coins. These weren’t Virtual Coins but a distinct currency set by the trading hall based on market value, usable only on the eighth floor of the trading hall.

That’s a bit expensive, Jing Shu thought, looking at the items she had recently acquired. Her initial ten million Trading Coins were already down to five million. I haven’t even bought that much; how have I spent half already? If I spend another three million on this, I won’t be able to afford much else.

I only owed the Township Government a few million Virtual Coins when I bought land for the factory back then, though there’s been inflation since...

Besides, with the current cold weather, everyone just leaves things outside to freeze solid for preservation. There isn’t much need for freeze-drying right now.

Still, this freeze-drying and compression feature is really appealing. It would save a lot of space, and the food reconstitutes with water. When the great migration happens next year, even with what my space can carry plus two-story RVs, I definitely won’t be able to bring everything... Jing Shu felt conflicted.

Tang Tuo fell silent, picked up his pen, and resumed his calculations. Finally, he added, "If I’m not mistaken, you’ll buy it. I suggest you do. It’s a complete set of equipment, and there aren’t many left. While it’s true that as temperatures drop, more people are opting to store things in this natural freezer, no one knows what the next calamity will be."

Indeed, an annual disaster seemed to have become the norm, and no one knew what the next would bring. Rumor had it that the department specializing in disaster research and preparedness was already making plans to avoid being caught off guard by another new calamity. In fact, for the recent mudslides, precautions had been in place. That was why supplies were transported from the very beginning, and the affected areas were quickly cleared.

It could be said that both the Hua Xia Town Government and its people had developed a strong ability to adapt; they were now quite adept at disaster mitigation.

However, what ultimately spurred Jing Shu to purchase the exorbitantly priced freeze-drying equipment was another catalyst entirely.

Auction categories passed swiftly, one after another, each lasting only a minute or two. This left little time for bidders to think, leading to many impulsive purchases; after all, some items, once missed, were gone for good.

The already scarce old hens and sows fetched astronomical prices, but none of this caught Jing Shu’s attention. Her own space was so overstocked with them it was almost a problem.

However, what did make Jing Shu’s eyes light up was the animal feed.

This wasn’t ordinary feed; otherwise, Jing Shu wouldn’t have given it a second glance. She had plenty of vegetable scraps, eggshells, and various bones at home, and could supplement with her own cultivated grains. The tons of feed she’d bought before the apocalypse were nearly gone, but she had no intention of paying a high price for common feed again.

No, this feed consisted of live insects.

Before the apocalypse, Jing Shu had purchased nearly every type of Domestic Poultry and a considerable amount of feed, but she had completely forgotten about various protein-rich feed insects.

Now, breeders were selling live insects—certainly not at pre-apocalypse prices. These insects were now classified alongside Domestic Poultry and even warranted protection. To keep Domestic Poultry plump and thriving despite the apocalypse’s low animal survival rates, these high-protein insects were essential, especially for encouraging hens to lay more eggs.

Consequently, these live feed insects were far more expensive than even the luxurious freeze-dried meats of the pre-apocalypse era. The shrewd sellers marketed them as breeding stock for propagation.

Looking at these plump, colorful insects writhing densely in their containers, could you imagine that a single tiny one might be worth hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of coins?

"This handful here, 100 grams, is premium-quality mealworm breeding stock," the auctioneer announced. "They’re omnivorous, highly adaptable, and incredibly nutritious. Add mealworms to the diet of any Domestic Poultry—fish, chickens, you name it—and their nutritional intake will skyrocket. Most importantly, they breed prolifically in this apocalypse. A female continuously lays 600 to 1,000 eggs until death, producing a new batch every ten days, and they mature in just a few dozen days!"

"You don’t need to buy a lot—just this much will do. Take them home, breed them carefully for a month or two, and you’ll have enough to supplement the diet of the few Domestic Poultry you keep. You don’t even need to add much; just 10% of their total feed ration is sufficient!"

Wow, even Jing Shu was listening with rapt attention.

Next, the breeding expert introduced several other types of feed insects, varying in size. There were expensive varieties favored by the Golden Nobles, as well as cheaper, low-maintenance types that bred easily.

Some even specialized in selling large quantities of high-quality maggots.

Indeed, cultivating high-quality maggots was a complex process, and their specialized feed incurred costs. However, their protein content was exceptionally high. If maggots constituted 20% of a hen’s feed, it could lay an extra egg each day. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁