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墨書 Inktalez
Jin Yu was clearly doing it on purpose. The next day when she went to get the cup, she had another chance. However, when she arrived the following morning, the person handing her the cup was an Old Man. Jin Yu's expression darkened; it seemed he didn't want to give her a chance. But that was fine; she wasn't someone who would easily give up. As soon as she turned around and returned home, she was pulled into the kitchen by Li Zhi.
Ever since Zhang Liang died, Zhang Zhong had increasingly relied on Zhang Yaoming and his group. With rumors about Tian Guifang spreading more and more, Zhang Zhong could no longer sit idly by and took the initiative to approach Zhang Yaoming.
As soon as he entered, he saw them sneaking around as if they were hiding something. "What are you guys up to?" Zhang Zhong thought they were all in this together now, having even committed murder, so there shouldn't be any secrets.
Zhang Yaoming smiled and patted Zhang Zhong on the shoulder, saying, "It's nothing, Zhong Ge. I've recently heard of a way to make money; I just don't know if you're willing to get involved."
"What is it?" Zhang Zhong leaned in closer...
When Li Tao and Yin Le arrived, the Li Family was having dinner. Naturally, they joined this happy family. Yin Le had come over quite a few times and sometimes brought canned goods with him; he certainly didn't have Li Tao's super thick skin.
"How's your investigation into Tian Guifang going?" Li Yan asked as he served some chicken to the little one. Today, Yu Tian had slaughtered an old hen, and after cooking it for a long time, it tasted very tender and delicious.
Li Tao felt that things had not been going well for him lately; it was really frustrating. He thought it should have been easy to set up a Safe Zone, but there were so many issues. "She doesn't have any problems, but the man she's with does."
"Oh?" Zhou Miao looked at Li Tao intentionally, waiting for him to continue.
"That Zhang Zhong has been hanging out with Zhang Yaoming and those guys. They seem so carefree and relaxed while secretly running a brothel." He sighed repeatedly while leaning closer to Yin Le. "Some people can't even touch their wives when they're right in front of them, while others have thousands of beauties in their harem and don't sleep in the same place for a month..."
Yin Le blushed and instinctively leaned closer to Yu Tian on his other side. People without shame are invincible; even if he was slow-witted, he couldn't pretend to be an idiot. Yu Tian still felt sympathy for him; looking at Yin Le reminded him of his own past, and he instinctively shot Zhou Miao a glare.
What a tragedy! This is a classic case of being caught in the crossfire without any involvement! Zhou Miao has had enough and drags the old man into the mess. Before he even opens his mouth, the old man finishes his meal, gets up, and takes the dog for a walk, all in one breath.
This is what they call an old fox! Right? Right?
"Are you planning to let it go?" Li Yan doesn't think things will be that simple.
"The District Chief's meaning is quite clear; we’ll just have to wait and see." The District Chief's intentions are not so straightforward. One should not underestimate the power of women; throughout history, much information has been exchanged in such back-and-forth interactions. Whether you are wealthy or a high-ranking official, news can be extracted from anywhere. And having such an intelligence network in the hands of a few unstable elements is concerning for anyone.
"By the way, you’d better remind the women in your village; their appetites have grown recently. Not only have they recruited the original team members, but they’ve also set their sights on respectable housewives." Zhang Zhong is merely a puppet; Zhang Yaoming is the real leader of the organization. Li Tao's subordinates are certainly not idle; after a month of surveillance and control, they have gathered most of the necessary information.
Zhang Yaoming indeed has some skills; he managed to return with those few individuals and establish a solid foundation in the village. If it weren't for his specific inquiries, he would just appear to be a polite young man on the surface.
Recently, he has been involved with that so-called shaman named Ma Ying, creating something called the Savior Cult. It seems that without television, watching puppet shows isn't too bad either.
Perhaps Heavenly Father feels that life lacks excitement, so he cleverly sent down a general to this ravaged land.
Early in the morning, villagers came knocking on doors. Zhang Jianguo, panting heavily, urged everyone to hurry to the fields before running off to another house. When the Li family arrived at their fields, they felt as if their days were truly numbered. Just days ago, they noticed some pests in their crops; now, the sky was filled with locusts. If someone walked into that field, they would collide with locusts.
"What... what is going on?" Yu Tian was seeing such a massive swarm of locusts for the first time. The entire sky was grayish, and the sound of locust wings flapping was terrifying.
Some elderly people were already crying; life seemed unbearable. They had barely planted anything to begin with; what could possibly remain after this locust invasion? Everyone stood there in shock while children joyfully jumped around with plastic bags trying to catch locusts. In contrast, city kids hid in their parents' arms, staring fearfully at the dark cloud above.
Suddenly someone shouted, "Catch the locusts!" and everyone sprang into action like clockwork, frantically diving into the fields. This land is not just about food; it represents their lives and futures.
The problem is that with bare hands, even using all your strength, you can't catch many. "Use fire, burn them!" Zhang Sanye struck the ground hard with his cane, lamenting the misfortune. In his childhood, he often went hungry, and now in his old age, he had to endure such days.
Everyone recalled that locusts were afraid of fire. Soon, torches were lit all over the fields, and everyone was careful not to harm the crops. Perhaps it was indeed the effect of the torches; the locusts were temporarily under control, but the problem remained unresolved. The entire morning was filled with fire and sun, and a few people even got sunburned.
By afternoon, under the blazing sun, for some unknown reason, many locusts died from the heat. This could be considered a small blessing amidst misfortune.
However, there were no pesticides available. Li Jingfeng could only lead a large group of villagers each night to catch locusts. The captured locusts were not wasted; they were stir-fried in a pot, and those with better conditions at home added a little oil, making it a rare snack. At first, many people were hesitant to eat them since they were insects and worried about potential issues. Moreover, insects looked disgusting, which created some psychological barriers to eating them.
Later, seeing others eat without any problems encouraged them to try as well. The main reason was the lack of food at home made them willing to eat anything. Surprisingly, the taste was not as unpalatable as they had imagined; it even resembled chicken. The outside was crispy while the inside was tender and juicy. In times of meat scarcity, locusts surprisingly became a precious delicacy. Some men even poured out some of their long-stored liquor to enjoy with fried locusts, creating a unique experience.
Li Xiaoming joined the group in sweeping through the fields for locusts, usually catching them in his own family's land. Initially, children were reluctant to eat them and gave away their catches to others. Eventually, it was Li Yi who brought over some fried locusts for them to try. Others fared better; their two Tibetan Mastiffs quickly became "iron fans" among the locust enthusiasts. Every morning they would bark insistently for their owners to take them out. They realized for the first time that their proud four legs couldn't compare to human hands—was this the legendary gap? Was this the legendary helplessness?
It was unclear whether it was due to sheer numbers or the locusts' inability to withstand the sunlight. Although the crops suffered damage, the number of locusts was clearly under control. Eventually, there were more people catching locusts than there were locusts themselves, especially children who engaged in small-scale battles over them. Yu Tian watched nearby with a pang in his heart; these were treasures in their parents' eyes. In earlier times, let alone eating locusts, these innocent children probably didn't even know what locusts were.
The locust army was ultimately eradicated by the starving masses day after day of fierce resistance, and the crops in the fields began to grow healthily again. Looking at the crooked wheat and corn stalks resembling osteoporosis sufferers, everyone breathed a sigh of relief; soon they would be able to harvest.
Li Yan hadn't gone out with Li Ming for a long time. That evening, Li Xiaoming specifically brought a bag of fried locusts for the children outside. This was something he had painstakingly snatched away from the dogs; the difficulty and hardship involved could fill a basin with tears.
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