Chapter 210: Big Brother, Want Some Fried Locusts?
"Big brother, are you asking for something again?"
Zheng Yan's eyes lit up.
The oil press they had traded earlier was exchanged for cigarettes and condoms, and the leader had traded them for a lot of food. Combined with the points they had saved earlier, they had already bought a piece of land and planned to build a villa.
Seeing Zheng Yan's success, he also wanted to work hard to earn points so he could eventually build a house and settle down.
And Meng Ci and Shen Que were their largest customers.
Meng Ci said, "No."
"But I have something to ask you."
Zheng Yan was briefly disappointed but quickly perked up.
"Big brother, if you have something to ask, go ahead. Absolutely no problem."
"After all, I'm the go-to guy at West Mountain Wild Base."
Meng Ci brought up the matter of the suspected bugs that had entered the base yesterday but hadn't been seen flying out.
"I know about this," Zheng Yan said, leaning closer to the two, afraid that others might overhear.
"Those bugs that came yesterday were actually locusts. But the officials seemed to have known about the locusts in advance and had set traps early on to catch all of them."
Zheng Yan then mentioned that some residents in the base had begun to suspect whether the officials had known about the apocalypse all along, with some even suspecting that the apocalypse had been orchestrated by the officials.
After all, from the extreme cold when officials had residents weave straw sandals and hoard snow water, to the present where they harvested crops in advance and left a patch of green land to catch locusts—all of this suggested that the officials had some foreknowledge and were acting strangely.
Meng Ci and Shen Que were not surprised to hear the suspicions about the officials knowing about the apocalypse.
But when they heard that some people thought the officials had caused the apocalypse, they couldn't help but find those theories pretty out there.
"The apocalypse is mostly about extreme weather. Do they really think the officials are capable of manipulating nature?" Meng Ci couldn't help but ask.
Zheng Yan shook his head. "Who says they aren't?"
"But those who say such things are only a minority."
"And they claim that if the leader of one country couldn't have done this, what if the leaders of all the countries on Earth had planned this disaster together?"
Meng Ci was speechless. "Did they mention why the national leaders would plan such a disaster?"
"To wipe out humanity? Or what?"
Zheng Yan shrugged. "Who knows what's going through their heads?"
"But it doesn't really affect us, and most people are just living their lives, brushing off these rumors as jokes."
Meng Ci nodded. That was indeed true.
After only a few serious words, Zheng Yan suddenly got all gossipy.
"Big brother, do you know why the officials are catching the locusts?"
Meng Ci shook his head.
And Shen Que was even less likely to know, because in his previous life, the officials were completely helpless when facing the locusts.
So when the locusts came, they could only watch helplessly as the locusts devoured the crops they had worked so hard to grow, then fled.
"They are for eating!"
Zheng Yan said as he pointed to a resident coming out of the points redemption center.
The resident was holding a bowl filled with golden fried locusts.
Hunger for meat drove him to immediately grab a locust from the bowl and pop it into his mouth as soon as he left the points redemption center.
His mouth chewed continuously, and a look of enjoyment appeared on his face.
Even though Meng Ci was far away, he could almost hear the crunch of the locusts being chewed.
"You can eat locusts?" Meng Ci asked in disbelief.
Meng Ci couldn't help but marvel at how his people would eat just about anything.
Compared to wriggling mealworms, Meng Ci found locusts easier to stomach. Once fried, they didn't look like anything he'd normally eat.
"They can be eaten!" Zheng Yan nodded firmly, then patted his stomach.
"This morning, the boss made me a bowl of fried locusts."
"You have no idea how good they taste when fried with salt, chili, and other spices."
As Zheng Yan spoke, he smacked his lips, savoring the memory.
Meng Ci, hearing this, quickly stepped back!
The fact that this guy had eaten locusts and was now standing so close was seriously creeping him out.
"Big brother, would you like to try some?" Zheng Yan asked enthusiastically.
"Don't worry, you won't have to pay. I can get you two portions."
"No need!" Meng Ci quickly refused. He could accept fried locusts, but that didn't mean he could eat them himself.
"Come on, big brother, don't be shy!"
Thinking that Meng Ci was just being polite, Zheng Yan took out a points card from his pocket.
"Don't worry, big brother, I have points!"
Meng Ci looked at the points card in Zheng Yan's hand, and then thought about the card Zheng Yan had previously mortgaged with him. He suspected that this guy might be trying to scam him with a fake card.
Seeing the look of suspicion on Meng Ci's face, Zheng Yan immediately guessed what Meng Ci was thinking.
"Big brother, the points card I mortgaged with you is indeed mine!"
"The card I'm using now is the boss's points card."
"I can use it freely because the boss specially opened permissions for me at the points redemption center."
Zheng Yan's big brother, needing to help Meng Ci obtain a mill in another city, worried that if he left for too long, Zheng Yan might go hungry because his points card was pledged as collateral.
The big brother used the points card to get permission and then handed the card to Zheng Yan.
And Zheng Yan's big brother, in search of a mill, had also set out early that morning with a few brothers on a long journey.
Meng Ci realized that the big brother trusted Zheng Yan a lot, even giving him the crucial points card.
"Big brother, the points on this card would go to waste if we don't use them."
"I'll go get two portions for you guys. Hold on a sec."
After Zheng Yan finished speaking, he quickly ran into the exchange point, not giving Meng Ci another chance to refuse.
Noticing Meng Ci didn't look too happy, Shen Que suggested, "Xiao Ci, if you don't want to eat the locusts, you can give them to Eggplant and Eagle."
Meng Ci nodded and added, "You handle getting that stuff back."
Meng Ci insisted that the locusts shouldn't contaminate the space.
"Okay!" Shen Que agreed.
The authorities had already set a trap, concealing an electrified net within the greenery. When the locusts rushed toward the plants, they turned on the electricity, and all the locusts were electrocuted.
Immediately after, the officials set up a fryer and fried all the locusts that hadn't yet recovered.
For ten points, you could get a pound of fried locusts.
Although small, the locusts had enough meat to make them popular among the residents.
Soon, Zheng Yan returned with two bowls of locusts.
"Two big brothers, eat up!"
"I didn't grab anything to hold the locusts when I went in just now, and these two bowls are mortgaged with points, so I'll have to return them later!"
Meng Ci felt a bit overwhelmed by Zheng Yan's enthusiasm.
"No need, I'm not eating this stuff." Meng Ci refused again.