Chapter 22
Wu Xiu's cries startled everyone.
Everyone rushed inside, and as soon as they entered, they saw Wu Xiu holding Jiang Jun and crying.
"What's wrong? Is it Ah Jun and the others—" Grandma Jiang's words stopped abruptly. When she saw her eldest grandson, whose eyes were clear, sitting up, her eyes widened. "Ah, Ah Jun, you're awake!?"
At this moment, Jiang Jun had stubble and a grayish complexion, but he looked very energetic.
The old lady's tears fell instantly, and she sobbed uncontrollably.
Grandpa Jiang, who was following behind her, also had tears in his eyes.
Jiang Jun looked at her family members in front of her, her eyes filled with tears, but a smile appeared on her face. "Grandpa, Grandma, I'm sorry to have worried you."
Grandma Jiang stopped crying and smiled. She held her eldest grandson's hand and looked him up and down, saying repeatedly, "It's good that you're awake, it's good that you're awake."
Grandpa Jiang touched his reddened eyes. "You brat, you're finally awake."
Just then, a small figure rushed in from outside, threw himself into Jiang Jun's arms, and hugged him tightly.
"Daddy, Daddy—Waaaaah, you're finally awake!! Sisi missed you so much!!"
"Sisi..."
Looking at the thin, small Jiang Si, Jiang Jun felt a pang of pain in his heart. He picked her up and looked at the child's tear-filled eyes with remorse: "It's Daddy's fault..."
Jiang Sui stood aside, staring blankly at the scene before her, as if afraid it was all a dream.
Wu Xiu patted his head, and Jiang Sui called out cautiously:
"dad--"
That insecure look deeply pierced Jiang Jun's heart.
He reached out his hand to Jiang Sui, "Sui Sui, come to Daddy."
Jiang Sui took a few steps, and after touching Jiang Jun's warm hand, she pursed her lips tightly, tears welling up in her eyes. She sniffled for a long time, but finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears, "Auntie didn't lie to me! She really cured you!"
Jiang Jun was stunned and didn't react for a moment. He looked at the two elders helplessly.
Grandpa Jiang nodded and briefly explained to him how Jiang Zhi had saved him and his son with a special item. Then he said, "You have to thank A-Zhi for the reason you were able to regain consciousness this time."
Jiang Jun had been in a daze for too long and was unaware that they had reunited with the third branch of the family. Upon hearing this, he was stunned for a moment before he reacted: "Where's Azhi? And Dashu? Are they alright? Were they not bullied?"
Ye Qingyun, who had been wiping away tears, couldn't help but laugh when she heard this, "You siblings still have such a good relationship."
Jiang Jun then noticed Ye Qingyun and his wife standing in the back row and hurriedly called out, "Third Uncle, Third Aunt."
Jiang Shan smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, Azhi and the others are all doing well. Now that you're all better, you can all get into mischief together like when you were kids."
Jiang Jun smiled, not feeling embarrassed at all: "Third Uncle, that was all when I was a child."
Seeing that Jiang Jun was awake, Grandma Jiang felt much relieved. "Jun, how are you feeling now? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Jiang Jun shook his head, "I feel that my current state is the best I've been in the past few years, except... everything else is fine."
Everyone present understood what it meant.
Jiang Jun injured his leg back then and had to have it amputated to save his life. Even though he has recovered now, his leg can never grow back.
The crowd's excitement faltered, and the atmosphere suddenly became much heavier.
Seeing this, Jiang Jun quickly said seriously, "I'm already very grateful to be alive. I still have my hands, and I won't let myself starve to death in the future, so don't worry."
Grandpa Jiang suppressed his melancholy and nodded with satisfaction, "Good child, it's good that you think this way."
He glanced at Jiang Hai beside him and continued, "I just don't know when your father will be able to—"
Before Grandpa Jiang could finish speaking, Jiang Hai, who was lying to the side, slowly opened his eyes.
"Ahai?!"
Everyone immediately turned to look.
She immediately met Jiang Hai's blank gaze.
"Big Brother/Grandpa/Ahai!"
Exclamations of surprise and delight rang out from the crowd at the same time.
Jiang Hai had been unconscious for too long, and the current situation left him somewhat bewildered.
"What are you doing...?"
Wu Xiu was so excited that she couldn't control herself and tears kept flowing down her face. She was the happiest person, but at this moment, she couldn't say a word.
"Ah Hai..." she murmured, wanting to go over and see her husband.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I lifted my foot, everything went black and I fainted.
In an instant, chaos erupted inside the tent.
*
When Jiang Zhi and her three companions were about to reach the city gate, they deliberately split up to enter the city in order to avoid being followed.
After Jiang Wen and Xu Na carried a burlap sack into the city, Jiang Shu and his sister slowly followed the line of people entering the city to go back.
Upon entering the base, Jiang Zhi checked the time; it was exactly 5:50 PM.
As Jiang Shu pushed the cart, he said, "I wonder if my uncles have woken up yet."
Jiang Zhi didn't speak.
She wasn't sure when they would wake up.
Both of them were more severely affected by the radiation toxins than Liu Xu, who had spent an entire night on it.
Jiang Zhi was unsure about the situation of Jiang Hai and his son.
The siblings soon met up with Jiang Wen and his wife at the entrance of the self-built housing area.
When I got home, I saw the whole family gathered in the main room from afar.
Jiang Zhi's heart skipped a beat.
Could something have happened?
Before they could think any further, Ye Qingyun called out to them happily, "Azhi, you're back!? Come in quickly, your uncle and elder brother are awake."
Jiang Zhi's tense shoulders gradually relaxed.
Jiang Shu was overjoyed and, forgetting about the cart in his hand, dropped his luggage and ran inside as fast as he could.
Jiang Wen and his wife exchanged a glance behind them, both seeing joy in each other's eyes.
The two quickly put down the snakeskin bags they were carrying and ran inside.
Upon entering the tent, one sees a large family gathered around Jiang Hai and his son, looking very happy.
Jiang Shu shouted excitedly, "Uncle, brother! You're finally awake!!!"
Jiang Hai still didn't look well. He was thin, with sunken cheeks and prominent cheekbones. His entire facial contours appeared particularly sharp due to his emaciation.
But the person's spirits are still good.
"Big Tree, Ah Zhi, you're back."
Jiang Zhi looked at Jiang Hai in front of her, and her eyes involuntarily reddened.
In her memory, her uncle was always a tough soldier who no one could defeat, but seeing him like this now made Jiang Zhi's nose tingle with tears.
Although she knew that this was due to her uncle's inability to eat normally for a long time, and that his condition would gradually improve once he could eat normally again, Jiangzhi still felt sad.
Looking into her uncle's loving gaze, the emotions she had been holding back suddenly broke down.
"Uncle..."
"Why are you crying? Is Ah Zhi unhappy because Uncle is awake?"
Jiang Zhi shook her head, "Uncle is too thin now, he doesn't look good."
Jiang Hai burst into laughter.
"You little rascal, come here quickly, let your uncle take a look at you."
Before the cataclysm, Jiang Hai was a retired soldier. He was an upright and honest man, but he was especially good to children.
In the past, when the siblings quarreled, they always liked to ask him to judge the matter.
Regardless of whether it's right or wrong, as long as Jiang Zhi acts cute, Jiang Hai will always show favoritism.
In a sense, Jiang Hai can be considered a second father to the two siblings.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu immediately became jealous and said, "Uncle, why are you still so biased? Can't you see I'm here too?"
As he spoke, he complained to Jiang Jun, "Big brother, if you're going to be this biased, I'm going to make a scene."
Jiang Jun smiled and said, "You're not as likable as Azhi, so isn't it natural that I like Azhi more?"
Jiang Jun's words made everyone laugh.
Jiang Hai also said with a smile, "Come over here, let your uncle take a good look at you all."
Jiang Zhi walked over and squatted down next to Jiang Hai.
Jiang Hai patted her head and said, "Our Azhi has grown up and is prettier than before. Your uncle almost didn't recognize her."
Jiang Zhi looked at his skin, which lacked elasticity and luster, and pursed her lips.
Jiang Hai noticed her gaze and smiled, "Azhi, your uncle wants to thank you for giving me such precious medicinal powder—"
“Uncle!” Jiang Zhi interrupted, “If you say that again, I’ll get angry.”
Seeing her serious expression, Jiang Hai immediately gave in: "Alright, alright, I won't say anything more. I'll teach you military boxing in a few days when I'm feeling better."
Seeing Jiang Hai's complete cowardice, the whole family couldn't help but smile.
Jiang Hai turned to look at the others, "I've been a burden to you all these past few days, especially Dad and Mom..."
Grandma Jiang waved her hand, "Alright, alright, it's good that you're awake. Why say so much? You all know what's going on. If you're really worried about being a burden to us, then get well soon and help with some of the work."
Jiang Hai wasn't one to say sentimental things, but he was touched by the caring looks from his family.
He nodded. "Okay, I'll listen to Mom."
Jiang Hai looked at his wife one last time and said, "Ah Xiu, you've had a hard time these past few days."
Wu Xiu had fainted from excitement, but now that she had calmed down, she couldn't help but cry again upon hearing this.
She sobbed and cried, saying, "What's so hard about it? As long as you wake up, I'm not afraid of any hardship or fatigue."
Jiang Hai patted her back, his eyes slowly reddening.
"...I'm sorry to have troubled you."
Yuan Ying smiled and said, "It's good that you're awake. They say that those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune. Sister-in-law, don't cry anymore. Your good days are yet to come!"
Jiang He smiled and nodded, "That makes sense."
Grandpa Jiang then spoke up, "Ah Hai, don't feel guilty. Once you're better, you have to help Ah He pay off his debts."
Although Jiang He and his wife initially incurred debt because they wanted to increase their family income, and it wasn't directly related to Jiang Hai and his son, there were still some reasons behind it.
Furthermore, when the eldest son's family was in its most difficult time, they relied entirely on the support of Jiang He's family. Therefore, Old Master Jiang also has to share the debts of the second son's family.
Upon hearing this, Jiang He quickly said, "Dad, we don't need to—"
Grandma Jiang glared at him and said, "Shut up!"
Jiang He immediately fell silent.
In this regard, Grandma Jiang supports her husband.
It's natural for brothers to help each other, but after marriage, they should also consider the wife's feelings. If the second wife is made to unconditionally support the first wife's family, it might not be a big deal in the short term, but over time, even the closest relatives will have disagreements.
Wu Xiu nodded repeatedly, "That's for sure."
Then Wu Xiu told Jiang Hai and his son about the debts that Jiang He and his wife owed.
After hearing this, Jiang Hai was speechless for a long time. "We've dragged you into this."
Jiang He waved his hands repeatedly, "Big brother, please don't say that. If it weren't for you and sister-in-law, my son Wen wouldn't have been able to go to university."
Jiang He only knows some handicrafts. Although he used to take some orders in the village, it was only enough to support his own family. It was far from enough to send his children to university.
After retiring from the army, Jiang Hai became the village party secretary. He usually led the villagers to sell the village's tangerines. It can be said that at that time, Jiang Hai was the only one in the Jiang family who could make money. Jiang Wen was able to go to university, which was also inseparable from the support of Jiang Hai and his wife.
Jiang Hai wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Grandpa Jiang waving his hand, "We'll talk about this later. Ah Hai, you're still weak, you should rest first. And Ah Jun..."
Just now, Grandpa Jiang took their pulses. Although Jiang Hai has regained consciousness, his body has not fully recovered.
Jiang Jun said, "Sir, I'm much better now."
Grandpa Jiang recalled Jiang Jun's strong pulse, which was almost normal, and nodded. "Then talk to your mother. She's been the hardest working person in the family this past year." After saying that, Grandpa Jiang said to the others, "Everyone else, please go out first. Ah Hai needs to rest."
Upon hearing this, everyone filed out of the room.
As Grandpa Jiang walked to the end, he asked Jiang Wen, "Wen, did your trip go smoothly today?"
In his view, Jiang Wen, as the older brother, should take care of others.
Before Jiang Wen could answer, Jiang Shu said happily, "It's not just smooth sailing, you can't even guess how much we've gained today."
Jiang Wen smiled and nodded, "Yes, thanks to A-Zhi, otherwise we would probably still be facing a loss today."
Jiang Shan looked at Jiang Zhi, "Are you alright?"
Jiang Zhi shook her head.
Jiang Shu was already hurriedly carrying several bags containing cotton aphids into the tent tunnel.
Curious, the others followed.
Jiang Shu was quite cautious this time; after everyone had gathered together, he even lowered the tent flap.
Ye Qingyun was annoyed by his spineless appearance. "You brat, with your sneaky behavior, it's hard for others not to suspect you."
Jiang Shu grinned, "I'd rather be suspected than let others see it."
As he spoke, he opened several snakeskin bags and Oxford cloth bags together, and everyone was startled to see the densely packed, still wriggling cotton aphids inside.
Jiang Si, in particular, was so frightened that she ran into Grandma Jiang's arms.
Jiang Shu: "Don't be afraid, this is all meat!"
Upon hearing the word "meat," the fear in everyone's hearts dissipated somewhat.
Grandma Jiang leaned closer to examine it carefully, but couldn't figure it out: "What is this thing?"
Grandma Jiang had spent most of her life working in the fields, so she shouldn't have been unaware of what it was, but the most distinctive feature, its wings, had been clipped off by the group.
Nowadays, cotton aphids look almost identical to silkworms, except for their color.
Jiang Wen smiled and grabbed a handful of cotton aphids. "Grandma, these are sugarcane cotton aphids."
Grandpa Jiang was somewhat surprised when he heard this.
He frowned: "These are cotton aphids? How did they mutate like this?"
Grandma Jiang and Jiang He and the others also squatted down to look.
Based on the mouthparts and shape, it is indeed recognizable as a cotton aphid.
Yuan Ying, who was examining the cotton aphids in her hand, couldn't help but ask, "Awen, are all these bags of yours infested with cotton aphids?"
Jiang Wen nodded.
Yuan Ying gasped.
"Where did you find so many cotton aphids?"
Jiang Wen then recounted what had happened that day, omitting, of course, the part about catching the carp.
The four of them tacitly kept the incident at the riverbank a secret from each other.
After Jiang Wen finished explaining, the way he looked at Jiang Zhi immediately changed.
You should know that today's harvest is equivalent to what an average person collects in a whole year.
Grandpa Jiang was somewhat incredulous: "So, these bags are full of cotton aphids with moderate toxins?"
Jiang Wen nodded.
Everyone clicked their tongues in amazement.
Moderate toxicity...
This is all meat...
These bags look like they weigh a hundred or two hundred pounds.
Let alone meat, even plant-based foods would be hard for an average person to find in a single day.
Jiang Shan frowned: "When you came back, there weren't any problems, were there?"
Even if outsiders can't see these things, their bulging appearance is enough to make people envious.
This time, it was Jiang Shu who answered: "I did encounter a bit of an accident on the way back, but I happened to run into the patrol team..."
Jiang Shu recounted his encounter with Chen Li.
Upon hearing this, Jiang He couldn't help but sigh: "You guys really know how to do things. We've gone out to collect before, but if we had a good harvest, we'd easily be pressured to reveal our collection points. They're numerous and powerful; if you don't tell them, they'll follow you home."
Jiang Shan and Ye Qingyun exchanged a glance, both of them looking somewhat fearful.
It seems we need to be more careful about this collection process.
They were lucky today. If they hadn't met Chen Li, these kids probably wouldn't have had such a smooth day.
Jiang Shan's brows relaxed slightly. "Chen Li has helped us a lot. We should pay him a visit another day to express our gratitude."
The ginger tree never fails to respond.
In his view, if one can live a more comfortable life by relying on connections, then why not?
Grandma Jiang said, "It's all thanks to Azhi's skill; otherwise, how could she have caught so many cotton aphids?"
Yuan Ying laughed from the side, "Yes, Ah Zhi is indeed a student from a prestigious university; she's very bright."
These words made Jiang Zhi blush for a moment.
She has a cheat code, so she feels a little guilty for being praised like that.
Besides... this thing has nothing to do with college students...
"It's just good luck. Without my second brother and sister-in-law, we wouldn't have been able to get so much."
Although the children had greeted them and they knew they had a good haul today, Ye Qingyun was still quite shocked when he saw the several bulging snakeskin bags.
Three whole bags, weighing two or three hundred pounds each.
If only I could eat it...
Thinking of this, Ye Qingyun quickly asked, "Are these things called cotton aphids edible?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone was stunned.
That's right.
That's the key point: make sure it's not poisonous, otherwise you can only look at it and not eat it.
Grandma Jiang said, "These cotton aphids used to be a type of pest, but they weren't poisonous. They would just suck away the nutrients from the sugarcane. Now they've mutated, and we don't know if they'll mutate into some strange poison."
Jiang Zhi said, "It shouldn't be poisonous. If it were, we would have been in trouble in the sugarcane field long ago."
Most importantly, these cotton aphids did not appear as red alert points on her terrain dashboard.
Jiang Shu knew this too, and he waved his hand, "What's the big deal? We can just roast a few later and eat them. I'll be the first to try them!"
Ye Qingyun slapped him across the face, "Eat, eat, all you think about is eating! All of this will be distributed equally!"
When Jiang Shu heard this, he felt like the sky was falling.
So after working so hard all day, they can't even have a hot skewer of grilled meat?
"Mom! Are you planning to sell all this meat?!"
He quickly looked at the two elders.
Grandma Jiang immediately stated her position, "Don't look at me, I'll listen to your mother."
Jiang Shu then looked at Yuan Ying.
Yuan Ying quickly distanced herself, saying, "My mother and I have the same idea."
Jiang Shu was in despair and looked at Jiang Shan and Jiang He.
Jiang He was a little embarrassed. "Our Jiang family has always had a rule that whatever is cooked and eaten at home must be decided by the head chef."
Jiang Wen and Xu Na chimed in, "Big Tree, things are tough at home right now. The important thing is to sell the property and build a new house first."
Jiang Shan felt even more innocent, "Your mother is in charge of our family."
With a mournful face, Jiang Shu looked at Jiang Zhi with his last glimmer of hope, "A-Zhi..."
Seeing him like this, Ye Qingyun was both annoyed and amused. "I haven't even said anything yet, but looking at you like this, anyone who doesn't know better would think I'm abusing you."
Everyone agreed to listen to her, but Ye Qingyun couldn't take it for granted.
She used to be a head nurse, so managing a family wasn't difficult for her, but managing the relationships between several families was something she had to handle well.
Otherwise, conflicts may easily arise between the different households in the long run.
"Dad, Mom, Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, this is my plan. We don't have many points left, and the house needs to be built quickly, otherwise the tent won't last long. We also have Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law's debts. If we can sell these cotton aphids for a good price this time, I plan to pay off the points we owe together."
Jiang He quickly said, "Qingyun, how can we let you repay our own debts?"
Ye Qingyun laughed and said, "I didn't pay it back for you; it was Awen and the others who helped."
"Without Awen and Nana, Dashu and Azhi wouldn't have been able to find so many of these things today."
Jiang Wen was a little embarrassed, "Third Aunt, we just benefited from Da Shu and A Zhi's influence, we didn't do anything..."
Grandpa Jiang said, "Qingyun, we agreed before that you would be in charge of this family, and we have no objection to whatever you do."
Yuan Ying: "Our family feels the same way."
Ye Qingyun smiled but didn't say anything more.
In this world, strength lies in numbers. Only when the whole family works together as one can we survive.
Grandma Jiang couldn't bear to see Jiang Shu's dejected expression. "Qingyun, you can arrange these things. But giving some to the children shouldn't be a problem..."
Ye Qingyun said with a smile, "Mom, there's so much, we definitely have to try it all."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu immediately perked up and rushed over, exclaiming, "Mom, you really are my mom! I knew Mom was the best to me!!"
Ye Qingyun pretended to be disgusted and pushed him away, "Alright, alright, move aside, we still have to deal with these cotton aphids, otherwise we won't get a good price."
He then hurriedly went to Ma Yanhong's house to borrow a scale.
Ma Yanhong happened to be at home.
He took out a steelyard balance and asked curiously, "Miss Ye, did you find any good stuff at your place today?"
She still fondly remembers the fish ball soup that Jiang Shu brought her that day.
She couldn't even remember the last time she had eaten fish.
Although his son was in the base's vanguard, he could only eat meat from land on a regular basis.
I've heard that even mutants rarely get to eat the mutated creatures in this river.
I don't know where the Jiang family got it from.
Ye Qingyun: "Sigh, there's nothing good here. It's just wild vegetable stalks that the kids picked up randomly. I just wanted to weigh them to see if I could sell some to the base store. With so many more people in the family, I was thinking of exchanging more points to buy some staple food."
The base store doesn't only sell items; it also recycles items.
Ma Yanhong had no idea that the other party only had wild vegetables in their hands; she had seen so many bags of things today.
Her eyes darted around, and she said, "Oh, Ye, you'll lose money if you sell to the base store! They're offering the lowest prices there."
Ye Qingyun paused, then laughed and said, "Sister Ma, from what you're saying, does that mean there are other places where it can be sold?"
“You’ve come to the right person,” Ma Yanhong said enthusiastically. “Many of our self-built housing area has its own shops. Selling to them will earn more points than selling to the base.”
Ye Qingyun frowned: "How come I've never seen him before?"
Ma Yanhong waved her hand, her voice becoming a few decibels: "Of course, they're all the kind that's done secretly. The kind that's done openly and honestly, you have to pay taxes. Like that house seven or eight meters ahead of us, they buy grain."
Hearing this useful information, Ye Qingyun was overjoyed: "This is important news, Sister Ma, I don't know how to thank you enough."
"Don't mention it. We're neighbors, so we should help each other out, right? If you want to go, I can take you. You might not know the rules since you're new here. These kinds of shops usually don't easily accept items from new customers, you know, they're afraid of entrapment."
Ye Qingyun could immediately guess what she was thinking just by looking at her expression.
I guess she wanted me to owe her a favor, and also wanted to see what good things they had found that day.
Ye Qingyun knew exactly what was going on, but smiled and said, "Okay, if you need anything, I'll have to trouble Sister Ma."
Without waiting for her reply, he picked up the steelyard and started walking back.
Seeing that Ye Qingyun hadn't given a definite answer, Ma Yanhong felt an intense itch in her heart, as if it were being scratched.
She tiptoed and looked in the direction of the tent for a while, but saw nothing.
When Ye Qingyun returned home, he saw Yuan Ying and the others retesting cotton aphids, sorting them out as they went.
Seeing a small bag of dead cotton aphids that she had picked out, Ye Qingyun was heartbroken. "How could so many have died?"
Jiang Shan laughed and said, "There was no other way. The kids didn't have a suitable bag, so they stuffed the bags in as much as they could, and now they're all crushed to death."
Ye Qingyun fell silent.
There's nothing we can do about it, after all.
The only thing to do is to sell everything as soon as possible.
She waved to Jiang Wen, "Wen, didn't you used to work at a secondhand store in the self-built housing area?"
"Yes, Third Aunt, what's wrong?"
"I've heard there are many unregistered shops around here?"
Jiang Wen immediately knew what Ye Qingyun wanted to ask.
He hesitated for a moment: "Third Aunt, there are indeed many, but I still suggest selling these cotton aphids to the base."
Ye Qingyun was stunned: "Why?"
"First, those small shops aren't big enough to handle all our goods. Second, if they have any ulterior motives, it will be difficult for us to find someone to take charge."
Ye Qingyun understood.
In short, the small shops that Ma Yanhong mentioned are essentially illegal businesses. They don't have business licenses, and if someone steals their goods, they have nowhere to appeal and may even be fined.
Ye Qingyun frowned: "From what you're saying, it's indeed better to sell to the base store."
However, Ye Qingyun did not want to sell all the goods to the official authorities.
This is far too high-profile.
Ye Qingyun was afraid that someone with ulterior motives would target their family.
Once or twice is fine, but if it happens frequently...
Ye Qingyun dared not gamble.
"Awen, I don't think we can just sell to the base store. Do you know anyone reliable?"
Jiang Wen thought about it for a moment. He had been working in the secondhand store for so long, so he naturally had some connections.
The image of a brother he hadn't contacted in a long time flashed through his mind. He pursed his lips and said, "Yes, but he can't eat that much."
Ye Qingyun said, "Okay, go and contact him later and ask how much he can buy."
After Yuan Ying and the others finished packing, Ye Qingyun began to weigh them.
The steelyard balance borrowed from Ma Yanhong could only weigh a maximum of 50 jin (25 catties) at a time.
Yuan Ying used to do farm work, so she can judge the quantity pretty accurately.
Ye Qingyun picked up one of the bags and hung it on the hook. The weight swayed a few times, and after Ye Qingyun moved it to the appropriate position, it reached balance.
Jiang Shu watched eagerly from the side, asking, "How much? How much?"
"Around 47 jin (23.5 catties)."
Jiang Shu swallowed hard.
With so many kilograms of food, I can't even imagine how happy I would be if I could keep it all.
Ye Qingyun weighed several bags in succession, noted the number, and then counted them again. "We have repackaged about 5 bags in total. We can find a few more people to receive the goods."
Now, when Ye Qingyun looks at these insects, he feels like he's looking at points.
"Later, Dashan will go to find Chen Li from that patrol team and ask him if he wants it."
Ye Qingyun gave instructions one by one: "Awen, go find someone you know and ask how much they can eat. Second sister-in-law, please go to the base store and ask how much these dead cotton aphids can be sold per kilogram."
Jiang Wen and Yuan Ying readily agreed.
Jiang Shu leaned closer: "Mom, what about us...?"
Ye Qingyun snorted, "Alright, you won't be shortchanged. I'll make some food for you little brats right now."
Actually, Ye Qingyun wanted to experiment first. He figured no one in the base had ever eaten this stuff before, so if he could provide the recipe, the chances of it being sold would be much higher.
Upon hearing Ye Qingyun's words, the two little children who had been helping immediately swallowed hard.
God knows that ever since they ate that meaty meal last night, they've been dreaming about it all night long.
They are so happy to have the opportunity to eat meat for their second meal so soon that they feel like they're about to faint.
Jiang Si covered her brother's mouth, "Brother, you're drooling!"
Jiang Sui also covered her mouth, "Sisi, you're bleeding too!"
The two stared at each other for a moment, then swallowed hard.
Ye Qingyun couldn't stop laughing.
These two kids are so cute.
She lovingly patted their heads; the two little ones had dry, yellow hair due to long-term malnutrition.
She teased, "So, Sui Sui and Si Si, do you want to eat meat tonight?"
Jiang Si pulled her hand back and wiped the drool that her brother had stuck on her palm behind her back, forcing herself to look away. "No, Auntie, I... I don't want to eat."
Grandma said that we shouldn't be greedy, because being greedy will make people dislike us.
Jiang Sui savored the delicious food from last night, and finally said with a heavy heart, "Auntie, I... I don't want to eat it either. I... I want to give my portion to Grandpa, is that okay?"
Ye Qingyun felt extremely distressed and pulled the two children in front of her, saying, "Silly children, there's no need for you to leave some for your grandfather. Your aunt has made plenty; everyone will get a share!"
Jiang Si's eyes lit up. "Really, Auntie? Won't you think we eat too much?"
Ye Qingyun: "You are at the age where you are growing, so it's normal for you to eat a lot. Don't overthink it."
Seeing that the two children were under a lot of pressure, Ye Qingyun continued with a smile, "Auntie will grill you skewers tonight, you can eat your fill!"
Jiang Si asked curiously, "Auntie, what are skewers?"
Before Ye Qingyun could answer, Jiang Sui immediately raised her hand: "I know, I know. When my dad and I went to the county town before, he bought some for me to eat. It was meat skewered together and grilled. It was very fragrant."
As Jiang Sui spoke, she looked at the ginger tree and asked, "Uncle, am I right?"
Jiang Shu nodded vigorously; "Yes, that's it!"
He wiped his drool as he pleaded, "Mom! My dear mom, besides grilled food, could you also make some deep-fried food?"
Even before he saw the mutated cotton aphids, images of deep-fried silkworm pupae from before the cataclysm flashed through his mind.
Deep-fried silkworm pupae have a golden and crispy exterior, while the inside remains soft and tender.
Jiang Shu had been craving this crispy on the outside and tender on the inside texture for a long time.
Ye Qingyun raised the steelyard to smash it, "You want to deep-fry me? You think you're so great?! Do you know how expensive oil is these days?! It costs 50 points per pound!! Don't you know our situation?! You wasteful wretch!!"
Currently, the only product sold at the base is rapeseed oil, which is extremely expensive and unaffordable for most ordinary people.
So even if you eat a lot of wild vegetables, your stomach will still feel empty.
As Jiang Shu dodged, he howled, "Mom, we're all going to be rich soon, can't we at least buy some oil?"
He was really fed up with boiled food.
These past two days, Ye Qingyun has been so reluctant to add salt in order to save money.
Jiang Shudu suspected that if his mother wasn't worried that they would get sick from not eating salt, she would definitely cook vegetables without salt.
"You haven't even sold anything yet, and you're already thinking about how to spend it? You brat, is this how I raised you?"
Jiang Shu looked distressed. "Well... once we sell the stuff, if we have a little extra money, can't we buy some fried food for our son?"
Ye Qingyun: "You wish! What kind of conditions do you have? You want to eat fried food?"
Jiang Shu was heartbroken.
He angrily turned to find Jiang Zhi, "Ah Zhi! Tomorrow, let's not catch any cotton aphids. Let's go find peanuts and rapeseed first—basically, let's find something that can be pressed for oil. I refuse to believe that I won't be able to enjoy oil to my heart's content in this lifetime."
Jiang Zhi mercilessly rebuked him: "Forget about it. Even if you find these things, Mom will definitely exchange them for staple food."
Ye Qingyun is a traditional woman at heart. She doesn't feel at ease if she doesn't keep some food at home.
Despite their huge harvest today, these cotton aphids are probably cheaper than meat; they'd be lucky to get 80 points per pound.
After adding and subtracting, they had 170 jin of live cotton aphids and 90 jin of dead ones.
Selling them all would only net you around 20,000 points.
It looks like a lot, but when you add it all up, it's not enough to build a house.
Clay, bricks, and tiles... these are all essential materials.
Yesterday, Jiang He told them that if they wanted the house to be sturdy and durable, it would be best to use the mucus of the mutated white jade snail.
This viscous substance, when mixed with clay, enhances the toughness and strength of mud bricks.
In their self-built housing area No. 1, some people used this slime to build houses, but there has been no damage to them at all.
I heard that this kind of slime was also used in the walls of their base.
However, this material is expensive and most people cannot afford it.
Ye Qingyun thought that now that he had money, there was no reason not to buy something good.
Everyone else went to inquire about sales channels, while Ye Qingyun and Grandma Jiang caught two handfuls of dead cotton aphids, estimating they weighed about three or four pounds, and washed them in a wooden basin.
Grandpa Jiang and his two children strung together the washed cotton aphids.
Jiang Shu wasn't idle either; he started boiling water in a pot and turned up half of the fire in the stove to prepare for grilling.
After the water boiled, Ye Qingyun put the cotton aphids in.
Unexpectedly, the plump cotton aphids instantly curled up, and then a golden thing emerged from its body, mixed with the steam rising from the pot, and a faint aroma of sugarcane wafted out.
Ye Qingyun quickly scooped the cotton aphids out of the pot.
Grandma Jiang was dumbfounded when she saw this. "What's going on? What is this golden stuff? It smells really good!"
Ye Qingyun touched it with her index finger and tasted it on her tongue. The sweet taste made her eyes widen. "This...this is sweet?"
Jiang Shu was shocked. "How can it be sweet?!"
He tried it too, and it really was sweet.
His first thought was—
"So, does that mean we can skip the step of adding honey when we grill the skewers later?"
Jiangzhi also came over and tried it, and immediately came to the conclusion, "It should be that the sugar in the sugarcane was absorbed by the cotton aphids. When Mom boiled it, she diluted the sugar granules in the insects' bodies."
Ye Qingyun seemed to have thought of something and suddenly became excited, "Then... can we make this candy into candy blocks?"
Jiang Zhi thought for a moment, "It's not impossible, after all, sugarcane can be made into brown sugar in the past."
Looking back now, it's no wonder the sugarcane they harvested today wasn't sweet; it turned out the cotton aphids had sucked it away.
She looked again at the water in the pot, which had turned golden, and it really did look a bit like brown sugar water.
Jiang Zhi took a cotton aphid from Ye Qingyun's hand and examined it carefully.
The cotton aphids shrank by half after being submerged in water.
If you squeeze it with your hands, a thick brown liquid will immediately come out. If you bring it to your nose and smell it, it does have a sweet smell.
"Mom, why don't you bake it?"
Ye Qingyun also wanted to know what these cotton aphids that secrete honey tasted like when roasted. If they were cloyingly sweet, they would be quite unpleasant to eat.
"Okay, I'll boil it again and see if I can extract all the sugar from these cotton aphids."
The cotton aphids returned to the steaming pot, and soon the golden liquid turned a thick brown.
The air was filled with the rich aroma of sugarcane.
Ma Yanhong, who lives next door, stood on tiptoe and kept looking this way.
But there were too many people from the Jiang family gathered around the stove, completely blocking their view, so they couldn't see anything useful at all.
"You old woman, what are you doing climbing over the wall to peek at other people every day?" Ma Yanhong's husband couldn't stand it anymore.
His son works in the vanguard team, which makes him feel superior to others. He thinks Ma Yanhong's sneaky behavior is a disgrace to him.
"Aren't you curious about what they cooked?" Ma Yanhong returned to the courtyard, her gossipy nature uncontrollable. "That family is really something. They bought land as soon as they arrived, and now they've even brought their whole family here. Judging by their lifestyle, I don't think they're any worse off than us."
Ma Yanhong's husband remained silent for a moment before saying, "I heard they sold the car."
Ma Yanhong's eyes widened. "They're a big family! It seems we'll have to deal with them properly from now on."
"Hmph! Stop with your underhanded tricks. We're doing just fine; they should be begging us."
Ma Yanhong rolled her eyes. "What do you know, you old geezer! Although our son brings us meat every week to improve our meals, it's all field mouse meat. We're tired of it. Look at Old Jiang's family, they have fish balls and river shrimp. Finding these proves they're capable. We can trade with them for some food."
Ma Yanhong's man scoffed, "What good food could they possibly find?"
Ye Qingyun had no idea what was going on with the Ma family.
Ye Qingyun boiled the two small handfuls of cotton aphids for half an hour, until the liquid in the pot became as thick as syrup, before taking the insects out.
The cotton aphids that secreted sugary juice shrank by half.
Ye Qingyun felt a pang of pain, "This reduction is too drastic."
If they sold it without knowing this, someone might have to return it.
The ginger sticks were dipped in honey, which was extremely sweet, but the aftertaste was very refreshing.
Jiang Shu picked up a bit of the juice, smacked his lips, and said, "I didn't expect the sugar juice from these cotton aphids to be so delicious. I just don't know how to preserve it."
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