Li Qinglin felt a little excited. The progress bar was about to be completed. Which old cadre could withstand such a test?
He walked around the yard, caught some mosquitoes and spiders, and fed them all to the bell-toad.
It’s a pity that in the past half month, Li Qinglin had almost eradicated all mosquitoes in the yard, and now he had to work very hard to find one or two.
Moreover, these common mosquitoes seem to contain lower nutrients, causing the growth of bell toads to be far inferior to that of cricket eggs.
After all, the female crickets that Wang Zhai favored were all extraordinary. They were all large and plump, brave and good at fighting, and there were some of the best insects such as "Silver General" and "Horn King".
"If this is the case with insect eggs, what about eating a whole female cricket?" Thinking of this, Li Qinglin became a little distracted.
But Li Qinglin could still pluck cricket eggs and take away a few of them.
But he dared not touch the three crickets laying eggs.
Li Qinglin could still tell the difference between one meal being full and another.
"But it seems that there is still a chance..."
Li Qinglin seemed to have thought of something, his eyes flickered.
…
Li Qinglin's group of tenants who raised autumn insects not only had to keep an eye on the insects at night.
In the morning, I have to go to the kitchen to prepare food for the autumn insects, such as tender yellow bean sprouts and bright red carrots. Except for the lack of meat, these autumn insects taste better than humans.
Finally, I had to go to the insect breeder Master Ma to "report on my work" and check the birthing conditions of the female crickets and the temperature and humidity in the house one by one.
Master Ma is indeed a capable person. He can often tell what's wrong with the autumn insects' food with just one glance, whether the temperature is too high or too low, and whether more ice cream should be added.
Before, there were tenants who wanted to worship Master Ma as their godfather and see him off to the end of his life.
After all, the skill of raising insects is a stable job. If you learn it, you can not only have enough food and clothing, but also have access to the rich and powerful. It's a pity that Master Ma kept his insect raising skills very secret, and only revealed the details of taking care of the female crickets to lay eggs.
I don't want to say any extra words.
In the afternoon, if the external affairs manager gave instructions, he had to help out, chop wood, fetch water, clean the yard, and even lead the master's horses.
In this way, Li Qinglin had no time to relax until it got dark.
Kitchen.
Smoke rose from the chimney.
The hot oil is boiling in the kitchen, the aroma of stir-frying wafts out, and all kinds of fish are flying in the pot.
Of course, Li Qinglin and others who were tenants could not enjoy these meals.
Outside the kitchen, Li Qinglin, Donkey Face and others set up a square table and wolfed down their food.
A big pot of boiled tofu, a pile of soybeans, a handful of green vegetables, and brown rice to fill you up.
Brown rice also contains a lot of bran, gluten, husks, etc., and it has no taste at all.
In addition, in front of each person, there was a small cup filled with a thin layer of semi-solidified lard.
Li Qinglin picked up the tip of the chopsticks, dipped it in the lard, put it to the tip of his tongue and licked it.
The aroma of the oil instantly filled the entire mouth, and before I could taste it, it had already gone down my stomach along with the saliva.
Looking at the small bowl again, where is the lard? After all, it is a physical job, if there is no oil in the food, even a body of iron cannot bear it.
Therefore, the master showed special favor to these tenants and servants, and gave them a fixed amount of lard with every meal.
The people below also call it "oil-sucking rat".
"Brother Lin, after the eggs are delivered in two days, it will be almost time for the family visit. Can we go home together?"
Donkey Face broke off a piece of willow branch, peeled off the skin, and spoke while picking his teeth.
Donkey Face and Li Qinglin are half-fellow villagers. Donkey Face is a month older than Li Qinglin. They both moved to the shantytown in the outer city of Fengxian County. Their homes are only a few streets apart.
In fact, all the tenants present were peasants from the shanty towns, and they had lived in the outer city for generations.
"Oh? So soon, it's already vacation time?" Li Qinglin had no memory of visiting relatives at all, so he pretended to be surprised.
"That's right!"
Another sturdy young man took over the conversation and said, "For the past three months, I have been very nervous. I was afraid of my ancestors dying!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone felt the same way.
"By the way, brothers..."
Seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, Donkey Face suddenly spoke in a more serious tone,
"When you return home from visiting relatives, you'd better keep your clothes clean and don't bring any unnecessary things with you. It can be fatal."
"That's right."
"Donkey Face is right. This is no joke. Brothers, be careful."
After a conversation, Li Qinglin finally understood.
Out of the "kindness of the great grandfathers", these tenants were allowed to go home to visit their families for three days every three months, and their wages would be settled at the same time.
If you meet a kind master, he will give you some cakes, candies and seasonal clothes.
When leaving the mansion, all tenants had to clean their clothes and submit to inspection, mainly to see if anyone was bold enough to bring in anything they shouldn't have!
Before, there was a groom who had evil intentions and stole the agate beads from his master's house and hid them on the dry road.
As a result, the truth was exposed and he was beaten to death on the spot! He was wrapped in a mat and thrown back home without even any compensation!
When Li Qinglin heard this, he felt a strong sense of urgency.
How could a man like him who could live without a heart stand up to a clean clothes inspection? If he was found to be heartless but still alive and kicking, he would definitely be regarded as a monster!
He is free from all worries...
The Freedom Furnace... Heart Toad...
Li Qinglin thought of his clone that was about to be refined to perfection. He had a hunch that the heart toad that could not be activated would inevitably undergo a qualitative change after the refining progress bar was filled.
But fortunately, now that we know this news, we naturally have a way to deal with it.
Thinking of this, Li Qinglin looked at the donkey face seriously.
Donkey Face was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously touched his face: "What's wrong, Brother Lin, is there something wrong with my face?"
"Um, nothing much. I just think that you will be rich and powerful in the future." Li Qinglin chuckled.
It would have been fine if they were just chatting about the arrest warrant this morning, but now they are also revealing matters as serious as visiting relatives and cleaning clothes inspections, which are matters of life and death.
For Li Qinglin, this kind of common sense that other tenants regard as normal is the most important! Donkey Face not only has a lot to say, but also very important.
This person is good and easy to get along with!
After the meal, everyone gradually dispersed with tired looks on their faces.
"Hey? Brother Lin, where are you going?"
Donkey Face was a little surprised to see Li Qinglin walking towards the small two-story attic in the middle courtyard with his back to the outer courtyard.
Although that place was not where the master lived, it contained many of the core buildings of the royal residence: a martial arts field, a study, a lotus viewing pavilion... and even a palace doctor.
The royal residence covered hundreds of acres, with nearly a thousand servants, masters, guests, and hired teachers, making it like a small vassal state.
Li Qinglin guessed that with such a large scale, the Wang family must also support a violent organization similar to a private army, otherwise it would not be enough to maintain stability.
"Oh, I'll go get some cool powder from the court doctor and send it to Xiao Liu. Fortunately, the guard holding the cane showed mercy, otherwise this kid would be disabled."
Li Qinglin did not hide it and replied directly.
Donkey Face suddenly understood after hearing this.
He thought for a moment, lifted up a corner of his clothes, took out the sack containing the money, and peeled off the layers of the folded old coarse cloth. He took out a copper coin that was round on the outside and square on the inside, with "Jiang Ze Tong Bao" engraved on the front.
As he stroked the copper coin, a look of pain appeared on his face. After hesitating for a moment, he took out another coin.
Li Qinglin laughed and nodded when he heard this: "Okay, okay, I will definitely praise you for your kindness in front of Xiao Liu, and I won't let you be a good person in vain.
At this point, Li Qinglin asked, "Why, you're not going?"
"hey-hey……"
Donkey Face had a silly smile on his face and was about to speak when he saw a woman in her twenties walking out from the back kitchen.
The woman had a plump figure, round hips, broad shoulders, and a pair of long legs. However, she had an ordinary appearance and a yellowish complexion, with some spots on her face from being burned by fireworks for a long time.
Li Qinglin had some impression of this woman. She seemed to be a cook in the kitchen, named Hong Cuicui.
Hong Cuicui felt a little shy when she saw Li Qinglin, but she couldn't hide the moist and charming look on her face.
Seeing this, Li Qinglin understood everything. He slapped his forehead and said two words in a cold voice, "Goodbye!"
…
Holding two pills of medicine powder, Li Qinglin rushed out of the pharmacy as if fleeing.
This work is organized and uploaded by Liujiu Book Bar~~
It was as if there was some ferocious beast behind him, biting his wallet tightly. Even though he ran back to the outer courtyard in one breath, he still felt a lingering fear.
The price of Qingliangsan has actually increased! It was only two cents on weekdays, but now it has increased by half. The monthly salary for these tenants is only ten cents!
"As expected, no matter which world you live in, poor people can't afford to get sick..."
Feeling emotional in his heart and figuring out the direction, Li Qinglin walked quickly through the corridors and alleys and pushed open the door of a large bunk bed.
The yard of the insect-raising tenant is used to raise autumn insects.
These tenants have no right to enjoy the yard alone. They are just living there temporarily thanks to the bugs.
Xiao Liu was beaten half to death and was naturally thrown back to the big bunk bed, where other people took over his job.
In the large bunk bed, the air was filled with the sour smell of fermentation.
Li Qinglin glanced and saw a figure lying on the bed in the corner, with occasional painful groans like in a dream .
Li Qinglin sighed and slowly walked over.
Perhaps hearing footsteps, Xiao Liu forced himself to open his cloudy eyes, and with great effort, he vaguely recognized Li Qinglin.
"Lin, Brother Lin, cough cough cough, you're here?"
Perhaps because Li Qinglin was the only person who came to visit him, he became more alert and even struggled to sit up.
"No, no, I teamed up with Donkey Face to buy some medicine. Just lie on your side and I'll apply the medicine on you."
After saying that, Li Qinglin spread out the cooling powder, kneaded the powder finely, and carefully opened Xiao Liu's injured area.
The white, blue and large bruises were shocking to see.
Xiao Liu was stunned for a moment, looked at the Qingliang Powder, then looked at Li Qinglin who was applying the medicine to him, and couldn't help sobbing softly.
After a while, Li Qinglin comforted Xiao Liu and told him to seize the time and recuperate.
Before leaving, he pretended to be nonchalant and asked, "Oh, by the way, Xiao Liu, where did you throw away the cricket that died of heat yesterday?"
Xiao Liu was stunned for a moment. The pain from the drugs made his brain feel dizzy. He didn't think much about it and subconsciously recalled carefully, "After Master Ma examined me, he reported my case to Manager Wang. Manager Wang took it and took a look..."
The words became slower and slower, Xiao Liu struggled to recall,
"Then Manager Wang held on to the cricket and refused to let go. When he left, I looked up and saw that he seemed to have... thrown it into the corridor leading out of the wing room?"
The corridor leading out of the annex? That's near the screen wall leading out of the central courtyard.
No wonder! Li Qinglin actually sneaked back afterwards, but he didn't find the cricket's body, so he had no choice but to ask Xiao Liu.
After all, today's bell toads are not very big and can only eat some small insects, but the size of this cricket is just right.
Moreover, they are carefully cared for by the insect farmers. These crickets are fat and delicious, and contain much more nutrients than other insects.
If there is an opportunity, Li Qinglin will naturally not let it go.
Now that he knew the whereabouts of the cricket's body, Li Qinglin didn't want to delay any longer. He said a few words casually and left in a hurry.
Four cents to buy the whereabouts of a cricket corpse is too expensive.
Li Qinglin still felt a little pain, but when he thought of Xiao Liu's horrific injuries and his miserable appearance sobbing, he finally sighed.
"Human life is thinner than paper and cheaper than insects!"
Walking out of the big bunk bed and through the long and narrow middle road, Li Qinglin headed towards the ear room under the dim moonlight.
At this time, most of the tenants and servants had just left their posts, and there were many people on the road, so Li Qinglin did not seem out of place among them.
After half a cup of tea, a screen like a high wall appeared in front of Li Qinglin.
Li Qinglin quickly scanned the ground, and finally found only a cricket's hind leg in the corner.
Next to it, is there a pair of shallow plum blossom footprints?
Was it...before being beaten to it by a cat?
Li Qinglin felt a little anxious, and then he heard a slight and subtle sound coming from the screen wall.
A calico cat as fat as a pig was squeezed on the flat area at the top of the screen wall, and it seemed to be holding some insect in its mouth.
Li Qinglin frowned, and immediately tiptoed to the underside of the screen wall. He counted a few times in his mind, and then suddenly jumped out, stretching his whole body to form a big Chinese character in the air.
A huge shadow instantly enveloped the calico cat.
“Meow!!”
There was a sharp meow and the fat calico cat suddenly jumped up and dropped the cricket in its mouth in fright.
Then with a whoosh, he jumped over the wall and into the middle courtyard, with layers of fat still undulating and rolling.
"Who the hell dared to scare my golden tiger? It's so cute!!"
In the middle courtyard, there was a woman's loud and vigorous voice shouting and cursing.
Under the cold moonlight, a calm and confident figure walked quickly towards the outer courtyard.
…
Refine it! Refine it vigorously! In the crack of the well wall, the bell toad swallowed the cricket in one gulp.
In the stomach, the cricket's body tissues decompose rapidly, and a large amount of nutrients and energy violently surge out.
As expected, it was the autumn insect cricket that Li Qinglin had been thinking about for a long time. Even if it was just a corpse, it contained energy that was a hundred times greater than that of ordinary mosquitoes!
The bell toad, which was originally active, suddenly became motionless, its limbs firmly attached to the slippery wall, and its eyelids slowly closed.
And in Li Qinglin's mind——
[His Avatar: Bell Toad]
Refining 93%...
Refining 94%...
Refining 99%...
A mysterious and strange force emerged from the body of the bell toad in the well, seemingly ignoring the distance of space and time, and merged into Li Qinglin's body in an instant.
Something is growing on the left side of my chest.
Swelling, itching...
[Freedom Furnace: Heart Toad (Activatable)]
Activate it or not? Li Qinglin did not hesitate.
Activate! Boom!
(End of this chapter)