Jing Shu understood the sigh in Grandma Jing's voice, and she understood even better how precious food was in the apocalypse. That was why Jing Shu prepared so much, because many things were truly out of print now.
After the family finished collecting water, they got into their energy car under envious stares. If not for the armed police nearby, those hungry, covetous eyes might have turned into hands grabbing at them. In times like these, people who were cleanly dressed looked glaringly out of place.
Half a year into the apocalypse, almost no one had clean clothes. People could not even drink water, much less tidy themselves.
"I do not get why people who can afford a car still compete with us for resources. We are already miserable enough, and they still fight us for water. It is because of people like you that the water allotment keeps getting smaller."
"Exactly. Look at how clean they are and they still come to get water. Giving it to them is a waste. Better give more to us."
Sitting in the comfortable, air conditioned car, Jing Shu slurped icy yogurt. Look at that, the classic pity-me-therefore-I-am-right routine. These rations were what every citizen of China should receive. Everyone had a share.
Why should pity mean handing over her own supplies? Why should her money go to someone else just because that person had less? Jing Shu managed resources and could raise more frogs for the country.
"Let's go, Dad. Ignore them."
"Right."
There would be many such people after the apocalypse, and the divide would only sharpen. Some would end up trailing behind, picking up whatever bug they could to eat. Others would create new value and substitutes in this new world.
…
This was the first Dragon Boat Festival after the apocalypse. By the time the day arrived, they had finally wrapped all the soaked sticky rice, each bundle tied into an inverted triangle and dropped into cold water to cook. One batch finished after more than an hour, was scooped out, and the next batch went in while they kept wrapping.
Careful as ever, Grandma Jing separated the different fillings with different colored strings. Red meant jujube, green meant meat. There were several colors in all.
So as not to bother the neighbors, Jing Shu turned on the range hood, but it did little. The rich fragrance of boiling zongzi drifted far and wide.
Jing Shu had gone a long time without eating zongzi and was drooling. As soon as one pot came out, she could not wait. She blew on them, dipped them in honey, and ate. In no time she had eaten more than ten.
[Fat Girl No. 25]: "Yesterday I tried more than a dozen flavors of maggots. The pepper-salt one was the best. I keep smelling zongzi though. Maybe my nose is playing tricks."
[Shizi No. 21]: "I smell zongzi too. Meat zongzi, the savory kind with chunks of lean meat. I even smell chicken leg."
[Fat Girl No. 25]: "Then we are not smelling the same thing. I am getting red jujube."
[Chou Chou No. 24]: "Strange, I smell zongzi as well. Feels like it is wafting from the villa."
Wang Qiqi jumped in to smooth things over: "Ai Jia is selling rice-wrapped zongzi now. Two work points each. If you need some, go catch maggots and exchange them."
Wang Cuihua sent a voice message: "If I have those points, I would rather buy a big bowl of white rice. Maggots are easy to catch right now. There are dozens of kilograms in the toilet under our building. I have already caught some and traded for points."
[Fat Girl No. 25]: "Sister, that is disgusting. From the latrine? People are going to eat that."
Wang Cuihua voice message: "So what. I use a shovel, dig them out, rinse with a bottle of water, and they are fine. I traded for 20 points. I am staking out other toilets too."
[Feng No. 3]: "Sister, I am begging you, stop. No wonder today's maggots tasted like shit. There are so many outside and you insist on digging in a toilet."
Wang Cuihua voice message: "You would spend forever picking outside. One shovel in the toilet gets you a whole scoop."
The zongzi discussion finally died down. Jing Shu exhaled. Thank goodness layers of dust had piled up ten centimeters thick on the tempered glass canopy, blocking the villa's light tightly. Otherwise their situation would have been exposed.
Jing Shu had to admit the government's policy was very successful. By the very next day, everyone was hunting maggots. Some even started raising them. As for how, you just dug a pit and used it as a latrine. The rest you can imagine.
Once there was a first time, there would be a second. Over time, everyone would gradually accept eating maggots.
The country's fear that the carrion scavenger would sit at the top of the food chain was solved in a surprisingly simple way. The fly outbreak was curbed too: every day, masses of people went everywhere to catch them, filling giant sacks and suppressing their growth.
The carrion scavenger bred rapidly and in huge numbers, but flies were one of the few creatures that still moved freely in the extreme heat and fed on carrion scavenger. The flies kept the carrion scavenger in check, and humans found a new food source. A new food chain took shape.
At the same time, this laid a good foundation for the next step, eating red nematode.
It was reported that in the latter half of Year 23, countless carrion scavenger in China were eaten by maggots, and hundreds of billions of maggots were eaten by people. On average, each person ate more than a hundred maggots a day.
That year, China had the world's highest survival rate at 89 percent. The United States was at 85 percent, India at 81 percent.
Several small European countries were being tormented by carrion scavenger and flies. They prepared to deploy new insecticides, but the effect was poor.
The United States prepared to concentrate its population, migrate collectively, then launch nuclear weapons at another region before migrating to its periphery. The United States had lots of grain and fewer people.
India and its African counterparts learned from China and joined the bug-eating ranks. As the great man said, the strength of the masses is immense. No need for fancy nonsense.
Russia, ever the fierce warrior nation, announced a new law: each person must eliminate one thousand bugs per day.
The news now reported daily on other countries' misery, all of which highlighted the gentler approach of the Chinese government.
In Wu City, the government's biggest worries were all solved. There was food. People would not starve. Aside from scarce water, there were no other fatal factors.
That meant it was time to free up hands and deal with the robbers and murderers from before. Wu City would set an example and take the lead in nationwide reform toward a new system.
After two months of gentle policy, there were still those who occupied territory like kings and those who kept herds of stolen pigs. The authorities began baring their fangs at criminals.
…
For the Dragon Boat Festival, Su Lanzhi invited Eldest Uncle Su Yiyang's family to the villa for an afternoon meal. Ever since the complete break with Su Meimei, Su Lanzhi recognized only one elder brother, Su Yiyang.
Jing An drove out to pick them up, but called partway: "Lanzhi, your sister-in-law says she wants to invite her brother's family too…"