People in the group chat had grown mostly numb to eating bugs. Lately, maggots had become scarce, which drove the price of a single serving up to 0.3 units of virtual currency. Folks no longer went outside and grabbed fistfuls of maggots the way they used to.
Just when the government was worrying about what to feed everyone next, it not only rained, it rained red nematodes.
This downpour did not just hit Wu City. It swept the entire country. The central authorities ordered immediate research on the red nematode. In less than an hour, the samples produced a result: edible, but hard to digest.
Fine. Decision made. Name it the red nematode and push the directive through big data channels. From the discovery of the red nematode to the decision that future rations would feature it, only one hour and two minutes passed.
Fatty Niu said she hated them, but in the end, she still followed everyone down to the basement to have Wu You'ai shave her head.
"Gather your own hair and trade it for work points. You can also scoop on your own. No one knows how long this rain will last. Once the rain stops, the bugs will be gone, so hurry and trade for as many work points as you can. Oh, and these bugs do not currently bite people. They are harmless," Wu You'ai said with devilish cheer.
So after all that, these terrifying bugs did not bite. Just like maggots, ready for the taking.
Well then, even if the hair was gone, a few kilograms of red nematodes should at least fetch some work points. That made it worth it.
Cut off three thousand strands of worry, and you really have fewer worries when you step out the door.
Ah, that slick water and those red nematodes pattering against the smooth, hard-boiled egg head. Pure silkiness. Bounce, bounce, bounce, wrinkles begone. Sorry, wrong commercial.
In short, everyone in the community, young and old, ended up with hard-boiled egg heads. First they washed their bedding and clothes, then, just as Wu You'ai said, they rushed to scoop red nematodes.
Oh, those rows of glossy hard-boiled egg heads, very eye catching in the rain.
At 37°C, the storm felt like a warm shower.
"Look at the ground. What is that?"
"Work points. Dancing work points."
Everyone had learned how precious food and work points were. The moment they heard red nematodes could be traded, they went all out to scoop them.
Newly bald heads got clever. People spread bedsheets across the ground and dragged them once. The sheet came up writhing with red nematodes. Everyone copied the method.
In the second year, the first few months swarmed with red nematodes. Later, numbers dropped sharply. Being eaten too much had something to do with it. It was not like Australia, where the continent did not lose to floods, but lost to the red nematode.
Letting red nematodes breed unchecked ends in tragedy. Australia was the example.
While people in the community scooped red nematodes, Jing Shu circled the villa and checked the four giant rain collection tanks. They were already a quarter full. Clearly, those tanks would need daily scooping of red nematodes, then a drain and refill.
With just her collection tanks, the daily haul of red nematodes equaled what everyone in the community could scoop in a hard day's work.
Raise your perspective, and your methods change.
After returning to the villa, Jing Shu did not rest. She called Grandpa Jing over, and the two of them used a big boulder from the back mountain to build a small pool by the courtyard gate.
"What's this for?" Grandpa Jing asked. Even after helping, He still did not know what she had in mind.
"You will know when Third Aunt gets back," Jing Shu said, keeping it a secret.
"Oh, I told my husband not to pick me up, but he insisted. He said there are too many red nematodes and he must bring me a raincoat and umbrella. He has no special strengths, but he loves me," Wei Wei said, extending her ring finger to show off a one carat diamond.
"Your husband is very good to you," Jing Lai said as she stood at the Ai Jia supermarket entrance, directing people to wrap up their shifts.
"Look at me, bringing up your sad memories again. Anyway, let's go back together later. If you ride home alone, you will be drenched. There are so many bugs."
"It is fine. My niece Jing Shu stuffed a raincoat into my bag a few days ago," Jing Lai said, cheeks warm. This niece made her feel cherished all the way to the heart. Thoughtful beyond words.
Just then, Wei Wei's phone rang. "Hello, honey? What? You cannot make it? You want me to go back alone?"
Wei Wei's expression darkened. "Jing Lai, let's still ride back together. It is on the way. My husband has urgent business and cannot come."
"Okay," Jing Lai said.
Wei Wei assumed Jing Lai's raincoat was ordinary. When Jing Lai put on the fully sealed raincoat, envious eyes turned from every direction. Jealousy flashed stronger in Wei Wei's gaze.
"Squad Leader Jing is truly prepared."
"With that raincoat, Squad Leader Jing can go anywhere."
"It is all thanks to my family's preparations," Jing Lai said modestly. "Let's go." In her heart, pride bloomed. She had such a good family.
"Oh, okay," Wei Wei said. she wrapped her head in a towel, pulled a plastic bag over it, and rode out with Jing Lai from Ai Jia supermarket.
The raincoat looked bulky, but it kept out all rain and red nematodes. As raindrops pelted their faces and red nematodes bounced on the plastic, Wei Wei suddenly wanted a raincoat like that and a family like that. Not a man who only talked and never acted. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
When Jing Lai returned to the villa, she saw Jing Shu and Jing An filling the pool at the gate. "What are you doing?" She asked.
Jing Shu poured in more than a dozen bags of salt, then added half a pool of water. Just then, Third Aunt returned. "Auntie, step inside and take a spin," she said.
Wearing the raincoat, Jing Lai stepped into the pool, turned once, and rose. The red nematodes clinging to the raincoat immediately curled up and dropped into the brine. The raincoat was clean again.
Grandpa Jing gave Jing Shu a big thumbs up.
Red nematodes stuck to a raincoat would not shake free and were a pain to clean. This was easier. The saltwater would last a year without going to waste. Later it could be used to feed the poultry. Perfect.
That night, the national news broadcast reported heavy rain across multiple regions. Even Africa had rare torrential downpours with red nematodes.
Other countries were still researching the red nematode. Only China issued a single command: eat.
Dinner was still hot pot mutton. The temperature had dropped to just a few degrees Celsius. The whole family warmed themselves with mutton soup. Jing Shu finished the last of the broth, keeping the fine tradition of leaving no drop.
The storm outside raged on. Late that night, while Jing Shu practiced the cube in her room, the group chat could not sleep. People were in real misery.
"The bedding is all wet. I cannot sleep."
"It is so cold. We have no spare blankets or clothes."
"I miss my old blanket, the sour and stinky one."
She shook her head, kept working the cube, and sowed a new batch of fruits and vegetables inside the Cube Space. Now that the weather was not so hot, there was no need to sun dry them. She planned to grow what would be common in the second year of Earth's Dark Days.
The iconic first day of the second year passed in chaos. No one expected floods, but flooding days were close at hand.
It was time to prepare for floods.