The black bugs outnumbered the white grains of rice.

It was clear that the food was no longer edible.

The other photos Old Li had sent were of opened food supplies—not just rice but also flour, millet, and other grains—all infested with bugs.

A large amount was spread out on the ground.

[High-End Fruit Dealer]: Old Wang, do you want some fruit?

[Chicken King]: How rotten is it?

[High-End Fruit Dealer]: (Photo)

[High-End Fruit Dealer]: The price is negotiable, just come take it away. It’s full of bugs!

[High-End Fruit Dealer]: The temperature was so high yesterday, and the power went out. All my fruit has rotted. The loss is huge!

Ji He clicked on the fruit photos. It was even more horrifying than the grains—fat white maggots crawled all over, and countless flies buzzed around. There were at least dozens of crates.

[Spring Blossoms (Has Vegetables)]: Stop competing with me over who has it worse! No matter how bad things are for you, Old Wang and I have it worse. Look at my vegetable field—it’s completely ruined! Everything is dead!

[Spring Blossoms (Has Vegetables)]: (Photo) (Photo) (Photo)

[Spring Blossoms (Has Vegetables)]: Rapeseed greens—300 per jin, lettuce—300 per jin. Contact me if you need any. Limited supply—first come, first served!

Ji He opened the images, her frown deepening. The pictures showed a vegetable field, but all the greens were dead—many dried out and shriveled on the ground. Forget people eating them, even livestock might refuse.

[Grain Seller Old Li]: Old Sun, you’re too greedy! A handful of small greens that used to cost 2 yuan, and you’ve marked it up this much?! Be careful, I might report you!

[Spring Blossoms (Has Vegetables)]: Report me all you want, it’s still the same price! I had to burn diesel to power air conditioning just to grow these greens. The cost is insanely high. Don’t say I didn’t warn you—if you don’t buy today, the price will be even higher tomorrow!

[Grain Seller Old Li]: I’d rather eat meat! Old Wang, give me a live chicken!

[Chicken King]: I don’t want your money. Trade me grain for chicken meat.

[Grain Seller Old Li]: My grain lasts much longer than your chickens. If you don’t sell them soon, they’ll all die, and you’ll be left with nothing but losses!

[Chicken King]: You shouldn’t be so smug. Didn’t the government call you in for a talk this morning?

At those words, the chat fell silent for the rest of the day.

Ji He frowned. The government?

Had they noticed something was wrong and decided to intervene?

[Electronics Specialist]: I have air conditioners, electric fans, and generators. Contact me if you need any!

[Chicken King]: Give me another generator.

[Electronics Specialist]: DM me.

[Little Prince of Vegetables]: Get me one too! It’s too hot—my seeds aren’t sprouting!

[Huihui Socks]: The supermarkets are going crazy! A single bottle of mineral water is selling for 20 yuan, and no one is stopping it?! There’s no grain for sale, even instant noodles are all gone! Does anyone have rice? I’ll trade socks for it!

[Fuqiang Steamed Buns]: Damn it! Even the pharmacies are limiting purchases! I wanted to buy heatstroke medicine, but I went to several stores and couldn’t find any. My old mother can’t take this heat—if I don’t get medicine soon, she’ll have to be hospitalized!

[Pineapple with Honey]: Stop arguing. The large supermarket at my door has already been taken over by the government—they’re currently transporting supplies out.

He attached several photos.

Ji He clicked to view them. Sure enough.

A not-so-small supermarket had a large truck parked in front of it, with many armed SWAT officers standing guard.

It seemed like the government was moving quickly, gathering all supplies.

Just then, a news alert popped up on Ji He’s phone.

A flour factory had exploded!

She clicked to watch the footage. The images weren’t very clear, but she could still recognize the factory’s sign.

When it rains, it pours.

This explosion wasn’t just about casualties—another massive loss of grain.

[Little Prince of Vegetables]: Damn! My water and gas just got shut off. Does anyone know what’s going on?

[Spring Blossoms (Has Vegetables)]: That scared me—I just ran to check, luckily mine is still working.

[Jasmine]: It’s so hot. Maybe a pipeline issue? We’ll have to wait for the government to send someone to fix it.

[Little Prince of Vegetables]: How long will that take? My newly planted crops will die without water!

[Little He Sheep Offal]: The flour factory explosion just happened. Did you see the news? Stock up on water and food while you can.

[Little Prince of Vegetables]: Damn!

[Fuqiang Steamed Buns]: Damn!

[Chicken King]: Damn!

[High-End Fruit Dealer]: Damn! @Grain Seller Old Li, bro, help me out—I need to buy some grain ASAP.

Suddenly, the group chat exploded. Even the lurkers started tagging Old Li.

[Grain Seller Old Li]: Hey, we’ve all known each other for years, right? Don’t say I lack loyalty—I’ll sell at the same price as before. If you want grain, come to my house after dark to pick it up. But let me be clear—this is only for today. Tomorrow, all my grain will be handed over to the government. After that, don’t come looking for me.

After sending this message, Old Li disappeared. No matter how much the group pinged him, he didn’t respond.

Ji He knew—the government was stepping in.

Never underestimate a nation’s power. Compared to the vast machinery of the state, an individual’s strength was insignificant. At times like this, there was no choice but to comply.

Ji He set down her phone, finished her meal quickly, and got up to start cooking.

Besides finishing the dishes from earlier, she needed to make some dough-based food.

Steamed buns, dumplings, wontons.

Dough-based foods had a mild smell, contained both meat and vegetables, and were convenient to eat.

She poured a large basin of flour, added yeast, kneaded it thoroughly, and set it aside to rise—then thought better of it and stored it in her planting space.

Better safe than sorry. If she got unlucky, even a short wait might make it infested with bugs.

These bugs were multiplying at an alarming rate. Until the government announced the cause, it was better to be cautious.

Once the dough was set, Ji He took out a large batch of red beans and soaked them. She should have started soaking them yesterday, but she had forgotten.

No matter—it just meant the red bean paste buns would be made tomorrow instead.

After storing the beans in her planting space, Ji He began soaking wood ear mushrooms.

She planned to make three types of stuffed buns: cabbage pork, shiitake pork, and zucchini vegetarian.

Ji He regretted not stockpiling more vegetables.

Back then, she had only bought 30 jin of each kind, just in case. Even after restocking, it wasn’t much.

After these past few days, most of it was nearly gone.

Her fields were all planted with grain, meaning she couldn’t grow vegetables anytime soon. If she ran out, she’d have nothing left.

As she chopped meat and diced vegetables, her mind raced.

Finally, she decided—she would pull up the pasture grass under the fruit trees.