CHAPTER 157: I’M ALREADY USED TO EATING MAGGOTS, NOW YOU WANT TO SWITCH ME TO RED EARTHWORMS?

"Thankfully, Jing Shu had installed this large plastic umbrella with a layer of toughened glass underneath, ensuring that no water could leak into the house."

Just as the family was sighing in relief, Grandma Jing suddenly exclaimed anxiously, "Oh dear, Jinglai went to work today! With so many insects in the rain, what should we do?"

Recalling the condition of the fat chicken, everyone’s complexion changed upon hearing that Jinglai was still at work.

At that point, everyone was afraid of the unknown insects. This was unlike a few weeks later, when they would completely understand the red earthworms and, with the worms becoming their daily food, could easily grab and eat them as snacks.

"Should I go pick him up right now?" Mr. Jing suggested.

Jing Shu quickly stopped him. "Oh, Grandma, did you forget the enclosed raincoats I prepared for Third Aunt? Scientists had been predicting heavy rain for days, so I packed a raincoat and an automatic life jacket in Third Aunt’s bag. You even asked me how many automatic life jackets I had and said you wanted to put one on all the Domestic Poultry."

As soon as enclosed raincoats were mentioned, everyone remembered.

When Jing Shu brought home this unsightly raincoat, the whole family resisted. Grandma Jing said, "It’s so hot; wearing an airtight raincoat like that could suffocate someone."

Jing Shu shrugged helplessly. "This is the only type of raincoat I could find; everything else was out of stock. Let’s just make do."

However, today when Jing Shu took it out, Grandma Jing couldn’t help but give a thumbs up. "My granddaughter is really blessed! This raincoat is perfect. It even keeps the insects out. So thoughtful."

With this kind of enclosed raincoat available, Grandma Jing also felt relieved about Jinglai.

"Hurry up and stay home. Don’t go anywhere in this weather; it’s too scary."

Jing Shu handed the raincoat to Mr. Jing. "Dad, it looks like we need to install a bulk bag by the filter to collect these insects. We’ll also need to clean it out regularly, or it will clog the water purifier."

"Ah, my daughter, you’re so meticulous. I’ll get right on it."

In the following year, although water wouldn’t be scarce, the water pipes would be full of red earthworms and their eggs. If the eggs weren’t filtered out, they would soon hatch into more red earthworms...

Therefore, Jing Shu had installed six filters that could directly filter out even microbes, producing water that met international standards for direct drinking. The downside was their short lifespan, requiring frequent replacement of the filter elements.

Fortunately, Jing Shu had foreseen this and bought enough filter elements at the time.

The 200,000 spent on this equipment finally proved its worth today.

In this lifetime, Jing Shu was determined to filter all red earthworms outside the villa, not allowing a single one to enter, no matter the method!

I had enough of these red earthworms in my previous life! Emmm...

This incident was relatively minor for Jing Shu’s family.

After all, with the PVC waterproof large umbrella covering them, even if they were entangled by red earthworms, they could still use salt to kill them. Even Jinglai, who was working outside, had an enclosed raincoat.

So, with lingering fear, everyone finished eating the mutton hotpot and got busy with their chores.

In the group chat, however, things were chaotic. Wu You’ai looked at the group messages, his head aching, while Jing Shu casually offered advice from the side.

Fatty Girl sent a voice message, crying, "What should I do? I can’t get these insects off my head! My scalp is so itchy; it feels like tens of thousands of ants are crawling on it!"

Yes, you’re not mistaken. Those are eggs that have hatched into insects, throwing a party on your head. They will settle into your scalp, completely entangle with your hair, gradually grow, and form a new batch of red earthworms.

Chouchou: "Luckily, I have short hair, so there aren’t too many insects on me. But my blanket and clothes are ruined! I only had one set, and now my blanket is full of insects! They just keep jumping around on my bed. I’m going crazy!"

Wang Qiqi: "@Wu You’ai, can you report this to the higher-ups? How should we handle this situation?"

Wu You’ai: "The higher-ups are working on a solution. Salt can quickly kill these soft-bodied insects."

Wang Cuihua sent a voice message: "But we traded all our seasonings for work points, didn’t we?"

Wu You’ai: "You might want to cut your hair with scissors then."

Fatty Girl: "We traded the kitchen knife and large scissors for work points too... Small scissors won’t cut through this!"

I have a baby: "I have an electric clipper at home, but there’s no power now..."

Luo Zhu: "Being bald would look terrible. Isn’t there any other way?"

As everyone was discussing what to do, someone sent out a distress call.

Zhang Bingbing’s husband: "Help us! The three of us got tangled up and can’t separate! And Zhang Bingbing is about to give birth!"

Wu You’ai: "Stay at home for a minute; I’ll be right there!"

Well, pregnant women get top priority. Even though Zhang Bingbing was delirious, they still had to take care of her.

Jing Shu and Wu You’ai, wearing enclosed raincoats, took the clippers and headed to Zhang Bingbing’s house.

Stepping on the slippery ground produced SQUELCH SQUELCH sounds, indicating they were treading on the bodies of red earthworms.

But there was no need to worry; red earthworms had bodies as smooth and resilient as silk, and a few stomps wouldn’t kill them.

Wu You’ai looked at his raincoat and then, rather inexplicably, said to Jing Shu, "You’re really lucky, truly favored by the heavens."

「...」

When they arrived at Zhang Bingbing’s house, the three were tangled together in a strange position, with the heavily pregnant Zhang Bingbing stuck in the middle.

Zhang Bingbing was making guttural sounds, grabbing red earthworms from her hair to eat, all while laughing with a disturbing joy.

"Beasts!" Wu You’ai cursed.

The trio couldn’t move as the red earthworms in their hair tightly bound them together.

Jing Shu used the clippers to shave Zhang Bingbing bald, then did the same for the other two, finally resolving the issue.

"Don’t throw away these red earthworms from the hair. Take them to the supermarket tomorrow to exchange for work points," Wu You’ai told Zhang Bingbing’s shameless husband as he was leaving. "The policy has been announced: they’re officially named red earthworms, and the collection has started."

"Got it. I’ll call you when Zhang Bingbing is about to give birth."

Wu You’ai cursed the pair under his breath. Once Zhang Bingbing delivers the baby, I’ll call Li Yuetian directly and have him take them away, he resolved.

"@everyone, clippers can be used for a clean shave to go bald. Anyone who needs it can come to the basement, and I’ll shave your heads for you. Also, a new policy just came down: these things are officially named red earthworms, and the supermarket is now accepting them in exchange for Virtual Coin!"

Fatty Girl: "Oh my god! If the government is collecting these insects, does that mean our future meals will be made of them?"

Luo Zhu: "The temperature has dropped recently, so the maggots aren’t very active. We’re relying on our stored supplies. I think it’s very likely our future meals will be these so-called red earthworms."

Yes, you’re very smart.

Fatty Girl: "Ugh, these insects are as thin as strands of hair; they don’t look appetizing at all. I’m already used to eating maggots—at least maggots have more meat. I don’t even know if these red earthworms taste good... But no matter what, I hate them."