After observing things inside her Rubik's Cube Space, Jing Shu realized leeches loved eating larvae, and they ate a lot. After the apocalypse, some species went extinct while obscure ones evolved and rose, even invading new habitats. Earth itself was left full of scars. Who knew when it would finally perish?
And what was most abundant this year? Red nematodes. The fact that red nematodes could feed over a billion people in China said everything about their numbers. No wonder those leeches had all gotten so fat.
Rubbing her chin, Jing Shu suddenly remembered the four massive catchment tanks at the villa gate, used to collect rainwater and red nematodes. Right now, Jing An went out every day to dredge drains, check filters, and haul batches of red nematodes to the canteen to sell.
It had been raining for nearly a month. The exchange rate for red nematodes had dropped from 1 virtual coin for 10 jin (5 kg) to 1 virtual coin for 200 jin (100 kg). A family of three could fish up enough in a day to trade for 1 virtual coin. At least they could swap for other food and not starve.
Jing An could trade about 3 virtual coins a day and did it with gusto. After he turned over all his official income, this was his only private stash of money. Saving a bit of secret cash was every man's dream.
Jing Shu was probably about to crush that dream.
Because she planned to raise leeches. Ordinary leeches would never consume that much, but with the nourishment of Spirit Spring and large-scale breeding, the math might work. Anything that had soaked in Spirit Spring, whether human or livestock, turned into a bottomless pit.
Even the two snakes in the space had become voracious. She wondered when those two would finally have offspring. She still wanted to make medicinal wine. It had rained for a month straight, and even the villa was feeling damp. She worried about the elders' health.
Li Yuetian had asked several times when the wine would be ready. His old cold legs were acting up again. Jing Shu even considered improving the snakes' living conditions to speed things along.
Speaking of the government's never-ending red nematode buyback, Jing Shu had to give them credit. At the start of year two of the apocalypse, when it rained nonstop for a month and crops could not be mass-grown because of insect eggs, everyone figured that even if food couldn't be grown, they could always eat red nematodes and not starve. Yet the government still bought red nematodes at a low, steady price.
First, it gave ordinary people something to do, stoking the desire to work. The government would never hand out free food for long, to avoid breeding laziness.
Second, it was precautionary. Think of last year's carrion scavengers and maggots. Their numbers were terrifying. Everyone thought they had enough to eat for a lifetime, and after only a few days of rain the world was ruled by red nematodes. The government worried the next bug might not be as edible as red nematodes. What a pity they hadn't mass-produced dried maggots back then. Those would definitely taste better than red nematodes.
Third, stockpiles saved lives. Reserves had to be expanded. No one knew how long the darkness would last. So governments everywhere received orders to process a food called "compressed red-nematode cakes."
Every day, dozens of tons of red nematodes were shipped to factories, ground by machine, cooked, and pressed into cakes. Whenever people evacuated, these cakes were standard government rations. They were convenient and cheap, and the state had indeed stored a great many during the year.
To be honest, when you are starving even feces smell fragrant, but even then these made Jing Shu gag. The fishy stench was too strong. If not chopped, you swallowed them whole with their gut contents. If chopped, the guts ruptured and squeezed out piles of filth. Calling them "compressed feces cakes" felt more accurate.
Still, those bug cakes kept the people of China going for a long time.
So Jing Shu decided to raise leeches for a year. Later she wouldn't have the conditions to do it. However many she could raise this year, she would. Afterward, she could cure them like pickled meat and trade for free labor. Ahem.
What she cared about most, though, was the blood mushrooms. She transplanted the last two blood mushrooms that only had roots left into the middle of the ten-plus blood mushrooms inside her space, then dripped in a single drop of Spirit Spring water.
She separated out three thousand from ten thousand leeches and put them in the courtyard catchment tanks. This way she didn't need to feed them, and it was convenient. She only had to check on their condition regularly and clean their waste.
Banana Community had been crammed full of people. Grandpa Jing rebuilt the fence even higher, circling the villa again. Outsiders could not see into the grounds now, so there was no worry about anyone stealing the leeches from the tanks.
"What? You brought up a bunch of leeches from the water and want to raise them? Those things are terrifying. Several people in the community were sucked dry."
"The president said to raise them? And that counts as medicine too?"
Over dinner, Jing Shu explained her plan to raise leeches. At first, Su Lanzhi objected, saying it was too dangerous. After some persuasion, she reluctantly agreed, warning Jing Shu to be careful.
"You can do what you want. We won't object. But you must protect yourself," Jing An said sternly. "If you're keeping them in the catchment tanks, I'll check them daily. If any jump out and hurt the family, that's on me."
Jing Shu nodded like a pecking chick. "We'll press a mesh over the top."
And so, she successfully put her leech-and-blood-mushroom plan into motion. Things were already on track.
Around this time, Wang Qiqi's election was entering its final stretch. Thanks to a breakout performance, he had become the top seed, a real dark horse.
Just as it was about to end, Zhao Shupi played his trump card. Anyone who voted for him could draw a prize, guaranteed 100 percent, from 0.3 to 3,000 virtual coins.
It was a platform-hosted lottery.
Which meant anyone registered under Banana Community could vote. Zhao Shupi's move roped in the former holdouts who refused cafeteria meals, the so-called middle class, and got them firmly on his side.
Everyone checked the Big Data app on their phones daily. News, auctions, all kinds of information were in there.
When many people saw the vote, they tapped it casually, then pulled the lottery. They didn't need to know who Zhao Shupi was. That didn't stop them from drawing a prize. Whether it was 0.3, 0.5, or even 1 virtual coin, money was money. It was like grabbing a red envelope. Whether you were a millionaire or an ordinary person, you would tap to try your luck.
In just two days, he was about to overtake Wang Qiqi. With only one day left, he had already done everything possible, going door to door delivering fragrant pan-fried mushroom-and-egg bug omelets. It was still useless. The market was saturated. Everyone who could vote had already voted.
Out of options, Wang Qiqi found Jing Shu. "Jing Shu, please think of a way. Otherwise everything we've done will go to waste."