“A few days ago, they just arrived. I heard they’ve been traveling for over a month and had to deal with several trains to get here. They’re your father’s cousin; you should call him uncle. Why have you never mentioned having such a relative?” Jing Dad hesitated before continuing, “He was supposed to stay at your brother’s house, but for some reason, he ended up at Su Mei Mei’s place. It seems like he came specifically for Su Mei Mei.”
Mentioning Su Mei Mei cooled the atmosphere in the living room. Jing Grandma and the rest of the grandparents had already returned to their own house, leaving behind Jing Dad, who was busy with garlic shoots, Jing Mom, tending to mushroom packages, and Jing Shu, who was making frog ropes.
Jing Shu looked up, squinting slightly. She clearly remembered that in her previous life, there were no distant relatives suddenly arriving, especially not her grandfather’s cousin coming to find Su Mei Mei. Where did this butterfly effect originate?
Jing Mom chimed in, “Years ago, my father and his cousin came here as educated youth from the countryside. They stayed for a few years, but due to connections, he was recalled while my father, not being as fortunate, stayed behind. I was just a few years old and didn’t remember much. After my parents passed away, we completely lost contact with our old home.”
Jing Shu frowned thoughtfully, “Grandpa passed away several years ago. After all these years without contact, suddenly showing up from so far away—what’s the reason? Is there some hidden secret?”
Jing Dad nodded, “Looking at your brother’s expression, something else might be going on. Since it doesn’t concern us directly, let’s not interfere.”
Jing Mom sighed, “An elder coming all this way, we still need to see him. Besides, most of our parents’ generation are gone… sigh.”
In the end, the family decided to give the elderly man a ride when he left. Mainly because Jing Mom was being sentimental, saying, “I really don’t want to go to her aunt’s place. I’ve seen through her.”
A stranger wouldn’t normally be so emotional, but Su Mei Mei was someone she grew up with. Jing Mom had always been generous to Su Mei Mei, but what happened?
Su Mei Mei not only didn’t help Jing Mom in her time of need but also schemed to take advantage of her, leaving Jing Mom heartbroken.
“Alright, we should go see him,” Jing Shu thought. She had to find out what butterfly effect had brought unexpected events into her life. She wouldn’t underestimate Su Mei Mei.
Her tasks accelerated. Jing Shu efficiently produced over a hundred frog ropes, a technique she learned from frog breeders in her previous life. The ropes were essentially knots, similar to dog leashes, adjustable to secure small to large frogs by their necks and limbs, preventing them from jumping away.
In a world plagued by rampant insects and nearly extinct frogs due to high temperatures, owning a frog was a valuable asset, not everyone could afford it. The primary purpose of keeping frogs was to eat insects, but owners needed to provide water and suitable temperatures.
To achieve this, Jing Shu stole numerous containers from a glass factory for housing frogs. Normally, frogs stay in these containers and can be tied with ropes to eat the inexplicably abundant insects around the house. Horned frogs from her magical cube could live for over a decade and consume all nearby insects, proving far more effective than discontinued floral water. Unfortunately, under the harsh survival conditions of the apocalypse, few could manage to do this successfully.
Within just a few days, the horned frogs in Jing Shu’s magical cube had already produced many tadpoles, while the three frogs outside the villa showed little to no response. Jing Shu knew that frog reproduction was challenging, happening only once a season, hence the rarity and value of frog breeders in the apocalypse.
“Tomorrow, bring your precious frogs to the unit to help with insect control. The insecticide is too scarce right now,” Jing Mom instructed.
Jing Shu agreed while observing the minor chaos in the group chat.
Wang QiQi 13 posted: “@LuxuryCarSales5, @Feng3, @WangDazhao1, @ZhuFan7, all your food has been eaten clean by corpse worms. Does anyone have anything left to trade or sell? They’re already queuing at the supermarket entrance, but it might take a few days to get in line and buy something.”
The group chat erupted with replies.
Wang QiQi 13 continued: “Now everyone is struggling to save what’s left. Even instant noodles are gone, only cornmeal and rice remain, and they’re running out fast.”
Shaona I Have a Baby 13 replied: “I can trade 5 jin of dried sweet potatoes for all the baby supplies @WangDazhao prepared.”
Everyone knew about Wang Dazhao’s pregnant wife who died after eating wax-coated vegetables sold by scalpers, leading to a miscarriage and fatal hemorrhage. Her body was forcefully burned that same day.
Wang Dazhao 1 responded: “Alright. I’ll give you ten cans of uncontaminated milk powder for your little one to drink.”
Shaona I Have a Baby 13 continued: “Thank you so much. I’ll also give you ten jin of rice! Milk powder is out of stock and impossible to buy now.”
Wang Dazhao 1: “Thanks.”
Seeing that some households still had dried sweet potatoes and other snacks, many were excited, trading half a jin of rice for sweet potatoes. The other three households had nothing worthwhile to trade, even with Wang QiQi’s mediation, none succeeded.
In the end, Wang Xuemei agreed to provide each person with 300 yuan for a bowl of white rice to be delivered to the supermarket the next day, largely due to Wang QiQi’s influence.
Previously, scalpers were selling vegetables, but they had disappeared recently. Now, even cabbage couldn’t be bought for 1,000 yuan, and special supply vegetables from leadership had diminished significantly, not to mention those selling grain at high prices were gone.
All food factories had ceased production, and supermarkets had run out of all other goods, leaving only rice and flour, sold in limited quantities and time slots daily. Everyone wanted to stockpile more grains.
Many regretted not hoarding more grains six months ago, and in this situation, no one wanted to sell their remaining supplies.
The next day, Jing Shu took her five roped horned frogs to her mother’s unit, only to realize that Yu Cai Ni’s side had used pesticides to kill insects, leaving her mother’s side pitifully lacking in supplies.
Fortunately, Jing Mom’s garlic shoots, spinach, and mushrooms were flourishing, looking vibrant and healthy.
Jing Shu released the horned frogs, which immediately became active, hopping around to hunt insects. The other three frogs remained lethargic.
“Mom, why are there so many corpse worms here?” Jing Shu asked, pointing to several piles of nearly formed corpse worms in the corner. These would soon multiply into tens of thousands of larvae.
Jing Mom replied, “They’re bullying the weak. Those areas with pesticides aren’t dared to be visited.”
As Jing Shu and her mother chatted, footsteps approached. “Director, it looks like all our vegetables have been eaten by the worms. Take a look at how well our crops are growing. We’ve experimented with several pesticide solutions.”
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Author’s Note:
Thank you to Molly Sister for the donation! 🥰 I’ve uploaded a picture of the horned frog in the character management section for those interested. Much love! O(∩_∩)O
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