Shortly after, Nining's father and mother returned with her. Upon their arrival, Jay didn't immediately discuss the important matter he had discovered with them.
He allowed them to rest briefly while eating lunch together, as it was almost lunchtime.
So, Jay decided to discuss it afterward to maintain a relaxed atmosphere. (Jay has a principle: don't joke around during meals, especially during important moments and emergencies. Of course, joking here means anything excessive and harmful to others.)
Shortly after they had lunch together, Jay asked his father and mother to sit down with him and Ameno to discuss the important matter.
As for Nining, she had already gone out to play and join her friends.
"What did you call us home for?" his father asked, puffing on a cigarette.
"That's right, Jay. Don't you know we have to prepare for replanting to welcome the new season?" his mother replied.
"Jay certainly knows what Mom and Dad are doing, but this information is probably far more important than what Mom and Dad are doing now." Jay spoke first, telling them why he had called them together.
"What is it?" his father asked quickly.
"Food is becoming scarce, and when it is available, the prices are rising drastically. Meanwhile, when Jay went to the black market to sell some of his hunted goods, he discovered that the price of 1 kg of rice had risen to 3 cents, with some even willing to pay 5 cents per kilogram. This was followed by a significant increase in prices for various other food commodities." Jay told his father and mother about the information he had obtained on the black market.
"3-5 cents per kilogram???? Are those traders crazy!!!" His mother was the first to react.
As a housewife who managed the family's finances, she naturally realized that the price Jay had quoted was unreasonable.
How could the price of rice, which was originally only 1 cent per kilogram, suddenly rise to 3 cents per kilogram, a 300% increase?
Isn't this the same as trying to strangle us ordinary people? So his mother became angry and shouted.
"How could this happen? Didn't we just collect taxes for food recently?!" His father was also shocked and in disbelief.
"Yes, that's what happened, and many people are complaining about it." Jay was also helpless in the face of this situation, as it was something beyond his control.
"Mom and Dad, I think this might have something to do with the drought and natural disasters happening in the eastern part of the country," I then said.
"Oh... is the eastern part of the country becoming increasingly out of control?" Jay's father seemed to snap out of it and asked back.
The eastern part of the country, where Jay lived, had a very hot climate and lacked much fertile land.
On the other hand, rainfall there was very low, and the only suitable crops were corn and cassava.
Moreover, because the eastern part bordered several unstable countries, this essentially affected the eastern part of their country.
"Yes, I just remembered from some gossip I heard in the village that in the neighboring province, there have been a large influx of refugees from the eastern part of our country.
And some places seem to be raising food to feed these refugees, which has ultimately caused the prices of various foods to rise drastically," his mother then seemed to remember something and told her family.
"It seems the refugees are headed to the national capital, and our region is one of the areas they pass through, so the impact must be felt.
So, the price increase is certainly very reasonable," Jay's father finally agreed that it was indeed possible.
"If our country is truly capable of handling this situation, then we don't need to worry.
But Jay has his own doubts. This seems like just the tip of the iceberg.
And the bottom of the mountain of even greater disasters seems to be waiting.
Moreover, Jay has noticed that the forest area around our village is becoming drier and the number of animals there seems to be decreasing.
Also, the water flow from the Anak Adam River on the edge of our village seems to have decreased drastically. Will it be enough to irrigate all the rice fields in our village? Jay seems to doubt this, and ultimately, crop failure is looming." Jay told my family about another major concern he has.
Because after all