Chapter 614: Chapter 614

My goodness, these maggots were certainly not for breeding purposes but were sold in large quantities.

Jing Shu hadn’t expected that, compared to the various feed insects that were troublesome to cultivate and required meticulous care, what proved most popular from this breeder’s stock was actually a large batch of high-quality maggots.

As soon as these maggots were available, they were preordered by the hundreds of pounds. It turned out that these wealthy people preferred to buy the finished product directly. Breeding feed insects was more expensive, more troublesome, and harder to care for. Buying maggots directly for feeding each time was more convenient.

Therefore, although the various live feed insects were a bit more expensive, no one competed with Jing Shu for them, so she unhesitatingly bought them all up.

Every single type, without missing any. It was quite domineering.

Among them, Jing Shu planned to meticulously breed the insect types with the highest protein content, such as mealworms (bread worms), mole crickets, Firewood Worms, earthworms, Fengnian Worms, and white ants.

The Blood Worm was the least troublesome for Jing Shu. It was an excellent natural bait for fish, highly nutritious and globally recognized as the best live feed for tropical fish. She just needed to place them in her space and sprinkle some Spiritual Spring on them, and they became the best live food for various types of fish. Their reproduction rate was fast, nearly as outstanding as the red earthworm, and they didn’t take up much space—a single large cluster contained a great many.

After Jing Shu had swept up all the live insects, various voices were heard speculating about this powerful figure.

"I was just wondering if this person would compete with us for Domestic Poultry, since the sale of Domestic Poultry at the trade fair has been getting sparser. Now, with the year being so bad, it feels like a Curse—Domestic Poultry breeding rates are plummeting, driving their values up, yet she didn’t make a move."

"Instead, she swept through various feed insects. Maybe she already has plenty of Domestic Poultry at home."

"I already have seven or eight at home. Who would complain about having too many?"

"Otherwise, why would she buy so many insects?"

"I guess she wants to be like the breeding specialists and use these as breeding stock. I heard she’s from out of town, so it’s not really our business."

When boxes filled with soil and various insects were delivered, even the normally expressionless Tang Tuo looked at Jing Shu with a peculiar gaze.

Can you imagine spending hundreds of thousands just to buy so many insects? he probably wondered, even though these insects were indeed very valuable.

Normally, people might only spend a few Virtual Coins. Even those with stable jobs, earning only a thousand or so Virtual Coins a month, found their entire monthly income was worth more than just a few of these insects here.

This, perhaps, was the power of capital. After all, 99% of wealth is held by 1% of the population. Sometimes what seems extravagant is just their everyday norm; these people truly aren’t showing off their wealth.

The lives of the wealthy are just that simple and unpretentious.

It was this episode that directly led Jing Shu to buy a whole set of freeze-drying equipment at auction for three million. She had suddenly realized that now, with the feed insects, if she cultivated them well and intensively over the year, she could then transform them into freeze-dried meat or powder that retained nutrients, had a long shelf life, and took up minimal space. This way, she wouldn’t need to carry as much feed during the great migration next year. These compressed freeze-dried meats would occupy less space and be more portable, just like Black Fungus—a little would go a long way.

Combined with other freeze-dried vegetables, foods, and dried fruits, compressing the space meant she could carry more items.

Jing Shu quickly spent all ten million Trading Coins. She almost forgot she was also there to sell goods. However, as time went on, demand indeed decreased, and the accumulation of goods increased. Yet, the eighth-floor exchange always purchased at the market price.

The market price offered by the exchange for these accumulated goods, which could fluctuate daily based on overall demand, was naturally lower than what sellers might have hoped to get. Some sellers were willing to sell cheaply, while others were not, resulting in the cancellation of the transaction. However, a 0.1% booth fee still had to be paid.

No matter what, the eighth-floor exchange never lost out.

As Jing Shu yawned, those around her seemed to become more spirited. Those familiar with the situation knew that it was time to bring out the premium goods from the bottom of the box.

In the past, Director Wang would always ask the owner to come up and speak when goods were sold, but this time, after adjusting his tie, he excitedly took the stage himself and announced,

"What we will auction now are ten jars of one-kilogram honey each and one jar of one-kilogram Royal Jelly! This is premium, pure honey. After professional assessment, the quality is absolutely top-notch, and it tastes better than any I have ever sold! Moreover, it will never expire, supports a second inspection after purchase, and we will also apply a traceability code. Bidding starts now and ends in two minutes!"

Jing Shu was surprised. Fatty Wang had given her goods an extra minute! This meant more time for bidding and thus a potentially higher selling price. The source of this content ɪs 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝓷𝓮𝓽

The demand list showed many buyers for honey. The price of pure honey had surged, and it was sold by the gram. Sugar prices were already high, as sugar refinement was much more troublesome than salt production. Furthermore, beekeeping was more challenging than farming. This combination of factors made honey rarer and more nutritious than Domestic Poultry, granting it a higher status in the apocalypse.

"So this is it, today’s special surprise! Lao Liu insisted on dragging me here for this."

"I’ve been checking daily and haven’t seen any. Old Wang’s honey output is so limited each year, it’s always pre-ordered."

"This was brought by someone from out of town."

Soon, the figures on the eleven virtual booths began to skyrocket. The price of Royal Jelly, a truly rare find, soared even higher. Even Fatty Wang was surprised; the usually composed, smiling gentlemen were now furiously tapping on their screens. They wished they had more hands and lamented that their tapping speed wasn’t fast enough.

However, after one and a half minutes, the pace of the increase slowed. No matter how good something is, once it exceeds its inherent price or people no longer see it as worthwhile, preferring to exchange their money for other food instead, the bidding naturally stalls.

As it approached the two-minute mark, there were occasional small increases, but it was clear the bidding had reached saturation.

"This is the highest price I’ve ever seen honey sell for," Tang Tuo commented.

The eleven jars sold for a third more than the anticipated price. One jar of Royal Jelly and five jars of honey were bought by a single tycoon, who spent millions of Trading Coins without batting an eye for this small amount of honey—clearly, someone not short on funds.

Fatty Wang rubbed his hands together. See? Good things always fetch a good price, he thought with satisfaction. "And now," he announced, "today’s special surprise is about to be unveiled!"

"Hmm? Wasn’t the honey just now the surprise?"

After all, in terms of single-item value, honey’s value today was indeed high. Domestic Poultry was expensive but not as rare as honey; moreover, honey was a consumable.