Chapter 92: One Hundred Ways to Cook Mushrooms

If it weren't for these people radiating joyous expressions and being helpless middle-aged and elderly individuals, with guards stationed a hundred meters away and police on duty, Jing Shu would have already whipped out her big club.

Uncle Su Yiyang gave Jing’s father a bear hug, “You actually brought a pig, and it's a black pig?”

A group of clean-dressed older men eagerly watched Jing’s father. They clearly didn’t resemble the gang of beggars outside who wielded sticks and utensils.

Aunt-in-law, wrapped in a black coat and shivering from the cold, still energetically praised Jing Shu:

“Ayya, you’ve gotten even more beautiful over the months we haven’t seen each other. You’re really doing well now, don’t forget your auntie...”

See, people always shine when they demonstrate their value.

Jing Shu and her father, in front of everyone, unloaded the black pig from the car roof. A group of old men, their eyes dark and shiny as they realized it was a robust pig, each patted the pig as if it were their own son.

“Good butt! It must be chewy and elastic when cooked.”

“Good face! I’ll keep the pig head meat for myself, the old man!”

“Let’s make some cold pig ears, and I still have a couple of liang of small liquor...”

“Wife, to help with breastfeeding, I’ll take the pig trotters. Who else has soybeans for me to get some?”

This was a group of people who hadn’t eaten meat for half a year and could still modestly divide the meat. In a few more years with so many troubles, they’d probably just start devouring it.

Uncle-in-law’s brother, Wang Gang, excitedly rubbed his hands, “Everyone, don’t worry, everyone gets their share. Let’s do it as we discussed before! Old Wang, go slaughter the pig first!”

The black pig was taken away by two men. The way everyone looked at Jing’s father now made it seem like he was the next pig to be slaughtered.

“Old Jing, you’ve kept us in the dark, huh? I heard from your brother-in-law that you’re raising several pigs. How about exchanging another one for us?

Don’t worry, we won’t shortchange you. Whatever you want, just say it, and we can help you get it. These are our common fathers and in-laws...”

Wang Gang started introducing each old man. With each introduction, the old men would excitedly shake hands with Jing’s father, displaying utmost friendliness, humility, and courtesy. The lower-level officials couldn’t even qualify to introduce themselves and could only watch hungrily, swallowing their saliva.

Jing’s father, facing so many glowing eyes, didn’t know what to say. He knew pigs were scarce but didn’t expect the leaders of Wucheng couldn’t get fresh pork. It had become that scarce?

Jing Shu stroked her chin. In reality, the state had reserves of meat. Previously, Wucheng had requisitioned seafood frozen products from the farmers' markets and turned slaughterhouse meat into cooked food.

However, they were hesitant to release them now. After all, state data experts didn’t dare disclose that the next few years would yield little to nothing, fearing it would cause even greater unrest.

Only the true elites could enjoy these reserves. The mid to high-level and retired officials had influence but were stuck in between, making them quite awkward. However, their influence shouldn’t be underestimated—they could handle matters across various industries.

For example, among them were people from livestock farming.

Wang Gang laughed heartily, “Look at how scared you are. This pig was also traded with your brother-in-law. Your brother-in-law is a smart man.” Wang Gang hinted at something. Seeing that Jing’s father, this wooden lump, didn’t react, he sighed in frustration:

“Old Jing, you raise pigs so well. Go to the livestock farm; it’s a great position. Not only do you get meals, but you also receive eggs. It’s as popular as the Agriculture Department. Don’t you know? Wucheng used to have hundreds of thousands of pigs, now only less than a thousand remain. Over a million live chickens are now only tens of thousands. They’re all kept in climate-controlled rooms with numbering as treasures.”

Seeing that Jing’s father still didn’t react much, Wang Gang pulled out his trump card: “They also implement diversified distribution farming. You can take a few chickens home to raise and then submit eggs to receive rewards. There’s a lot of operational space here.

You can also place your own poultry in the climate-controlled rooms or even bring your pigs for breeding. When your pig gets pregnant and gives birth, submitting them will earn you great rewards... I heard higher-ups are introducing new salary methods. In the future, you can exchange them for gasoline and other unavailable items.”

Jing’s father’s eyes finally lit up.

Jing Shu’s eyes also sparkled. Her father’s new job was something she had dreamt of in her past life. After all, being close to the water and the building’s edge, having eggs, chickens, and pork would make survival much easier.

“Uncle, let’s exchange another black pig for our family.”

……

Jing Shu didn’t expect her black pig to be exchanged for 1 ton of diesel and 5 tons of water, as well as a stepping stone for her father to enter the livestock farm. Those old men were so wicked and wealthy.

Of course, this was during a period when resources were still relatively abundant five months into the apocalypse, and these individuals also held some power.

Five tons of water wasn’t bottled mineral water, but muddy water from reservoirs, which didn’t need filtering. It was directly placed in the courtyard to feed livestock and irrigate the vegetable fields, easing the water shortage. It was rare to secure so much water, knowing that major reservoirs were already controlled.

Jing Shu still had a few pigs in her space. If there was demand, she could exchange them; if not, she could find a day to slaughter them for cooked food. Most of the pork had already been consumed.

The next day, Jing’s father started his new job. Seeing the family’s work getting on track, although their previous jobs were inconspicuous before the apocalypse, they were absolutely sought after afterward. Their value would gradually manifest. Jing Shu was very satisfied. No matter how much she helped, her parents still needed to stand on their own. Having a foundation was essential for better survival in the apocalypse; otherwise, they would just be slaughtered fat sheep.

In the following days, Jing Shu focused her time on practicing the Rubik's Cube. After more than half a year of practice, she had reached a plateau with no progress for several days.

Jing Shu decided to train harder, determined to break through and enter the 6x6x6 Rubik's Cube space as soon as possible because the existing 125 cubic meters was running out of space.

Wang Dazhao still had no news. The She Tian group said they intended to rob the wealthy Qian Duo Duo ’s supplies, but it was likely a diversion. They seemed to have a new target and were conspiring about something.

The people of Wucheng, after eating various fried and moldy mushroom dishes and increasingly scarce rice porridge for over ten days, finally protested. Moreover, the previous criminals had regrouped and targeted families with remaining grain.

Peace had been restored for a few days, but Wucheng was chaotic again. It had developed to the point where entire neighborhoods would go from house to house to rob, even high-end residential areas still stocked with plenty of grain.

After all, in an era with low criminal costs, stealing food was better than eating pig feed.

Those who couldn’t steal had no choice but to continue going to the supermarket daily to collect free food.

Wang Qiqi: “@Everyone, latest announcement: Tomorrow, the government will cancel free food distribution. If you want to eat, you need to exchange seasoning. Without seasoning, you can trade clothes or fabrics for food!”

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Author's Note:

Thanks to *zw7774*, *GuaiGuai Lü* for the generous rewards! 🥰