Chapter 92

In the three minutes Zhao Xiaomei was away, a number of customers had already gathered in the chilled meat section. These were early risers out shopping for groceries. Seeing the price tags next to the chicken breasts, then looking at the meat itself, they all came to the same conclusion Zhao Xiaomei had earlier: the price tag must be wrong.

“These chicken breasts look pretty fresh, not spoiled or anything,” one customer said, using tongs to examine the meat. Chicken breast used to go for sixteen yuan per jin—there was no way it could be this cheap now.

“There are plastic bags on the shelf,” Zhao Xiaomei said as she returned from the office, reattaching the correct price tags.

The customers were stunned. “Sixteen-fifty?”

“Longqing chicken breast, sixteen-fifty. The ones next to it are even cheaper.”

“Fifteen-fifty per jin?”

“That’s right.”

…

Instinctively, the customers didn’t believe it. But reflexively, they still reached for plastic bags.

“Don’t worry, it’s all fresh from this morning,” Zhao Xiaomei reassured them.

“Why’s it so cheap?”

“Government-regulated pricing.”

Zhao Xiaomei had just spoken with the chilled goods manager. These prices were subsidized by the state. By mid-November, meat prices were expected to drop even further.

The customers had been hesitant, but once they heard it was government-controlled, they didn’t hesitate a second longer and began stuffing chicken breasts into their bags.

“No need to rush, chicken breast will be even cheaper next week,” Zhao Xiaomei quickly reminded them.

But the customers didn’t care. Within half an hour, the shelves were completely cleared.

Staring at the empty shelves, Zhao Xiaomei was suddenly reminded of the rice panic two years ago. Back then, people were scrambling for rice because there was none to be found. But now… moving forward, there would only be more and more meat and poultry.

“Changed the sign?”

“Same one as before, just rehung it.”

While the Joy Market was packed with people, over on Kunshan’s barbecue street, Wang Feipeng was swapping out the sign for his restaurant, changing “Lantian Sichuan Cuisine” back to “Lantian Barbecue.”

Wang Feipeng was forty-seven this year and had been running his barbecue joint in Kunshan for twenty years. When meat supplies were tight, he’d temporarily switched to vegetarian Sichuan dishes. Now that the country was restoring normal meat production, he’d watched the news and gone straight to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce to update his business license. Compared to stir-frying Sichuan dishes, he much preferred skewering meat.

At 11:20 a.m., just as Wang Feipeng finished rehanging his sign, a young man pulled up on a little red scooter.

“Boss Wang?”

“Manager Liu.”

The man was Liu Peifeng, a business manager from Tuantuan.com. Lantian Barbecue had been listed on Tuantuan for two years, but due to the economic downturn, they’d ended the partnership at the end of last year.

After a brief chat, Liu Peifeng pulled a flyer from his bag. “This is Tuantuan’s new partnership plan for this year.”

Wang Feipeng waved it off. “You know how the economy’s been these past two years. I don’t have the funds to invest in the barbecue shop like before.”

With the economy tight, Tuantuan took a 10% commission, and after delivery fees, barbecue shops were losing money.

“Just take a look,” Liu Peifeng said.

Wang Feipeng opened the flyer. It read: “Tuantuan Gourmet Joy Stores—Now Recruiting!” According to the flyer, Joy Store merchants would pay no deposit, no entry fees, and commissions as low as 3%.

“So generous?” Wang Feipeng was stunned. Tuantuan was notorious for squeezing vendors dry—this was the first time he’d seen them offer such favorable terms.

“The economy’s tanked,” Liu Peifeng sighed.

Tuantuan.com was one of Longxia’s largest food delivery platforms. At its peak, it had five million riders and three hundred million active users. Tuantuan’s goal had always been to dominate the market. But since the food crisis began, merchant sign-ups dropped, orders fell, riders quit… Tuantuan’s market value plummeted from two trillion to three hundred billion.

The economic crisis was a bucket of cold water. Tuantuan had come to a clear realization: only when merchants and customers had money in their pockets could the platform survive. This wasn’t just a discount—it was a battle for survival.

Lantian met all the criteria for a Joy Store. After asking a few more questions, Wang Feipeng decisively signed up.

At 2 p.m., Liu Peifeng rode off on his little red scooter. After a quick cleanup, Wang Feipeng opened the Tuantuan platform. Shengjing Roast Duck, Tiger Sichuan Eatery, Jinjin Duck Neck… these were all restaurants near Lantian Barbecue. He used to see them as competitors, but now, seeing them all return gave him a rare sense of comfort.

“Longxia Agriculture: Longxia to strengthen meat market regulation and implement multiple measures to stabilize meat prices.”

“Long Xia News: Twelve national meat companies ramping up production, meat supply nationwide stabilizing.”

“Long Xia Daily: Pork prices in Jinghe, Luohai and other regions have dropped to 45 yuan. The state will further increase market regulation.”

…

Like a key unlocking a door, the surge in forage feed led to a sharp drop in pork prices nationwide within the week, following the earlier declines in chicken and duck.

…

At 9 a.m. on November 5th, Xu Fengfeng rode her e-bike to the farmers’ market. She was a teacher at Golden Sun Kindergarten, earning 2,200 yuan a month. Her husband worked for Longfeng Courier. With two kids and a 3,000 yuan mortgage, life was far from easy.

Now that pork prices had dropped, and with the family having gone two months without meat, she had one simple goal for this market trip: buy some meat to satisfy their cravings.

After circling the market, she stopped at a relatively quiet pork stall. “How much is the pork?”

“Pig head meat is forty-five, pork belly forty-nine, tenderloin fifty-five.”

She looked around and asked, “How much for ribs?”

“Fifty-five.” The shop owner saw she looked like a serious buyer and flipped through the cuts on the board. “These are fresh from the farm—top quality!”

Xu Fengfeng hesitated, then bought two jin of ribs.

She had the day off from the kindergarten and got home by 10 a.m. She skillfully chopped scallions and started cooking the ribs. By noon, her husband and kids walked in. One was in first grade, the other in third, both attending the nearby elementary school.

“Smells like ribs! So good!” the kids shouted as they rushed into the kitchen.

She gave each of them a small piece. “Try it—see if it’s tender enough?”

“It’s tender!” The kids didn’t really know what “tender” meant, but they wolfed it down anyway. It had been so long since they’d had meat.

“Go wash your hands and get ready to eat,” Xu Fengfeng instructed.

The kids ran off excitedly to the bathroom. Her husband, having changed his shoes, came over. “Braised ribs?”

“And I made tomato scrambled eggs too.”

They chatted briefly, then the rice cooker beeped. Xu Fengfeng told her husband to serve the rice. It was Longfeng brand rice they’d just bought last month—fragrant, soft, and sticky. Her husband scooped out four bowls without hesitation.

Five minutes later, the family of four sat down at the table.

“Can we eat the meat now?” the younger son asked, dipping his finger into the sauce at the edge of the dish, eyes sparkling.

“Yes, you can.”

As soon as Xu Fengfeng gave the go-ahead, the kids dove in with joy. Lunch cost 160 yuan, which had made her hesitate at first, but seeing how happy the kids were made her heart melt.

“You should eat too,” she said to her husband.

“I am,” he replied, though he was mostly picking at the bones with the least meat. Xu Fengfeng wanted to say something, but then noticed she was doing the same.

Regardless of how much meat there was, the family was finally eating meat again.

Two jin of ribs wasn’t a small amount, but once cooked, it didn’t yield many pieces. Before long, the entire dish was gone.

“I finished everything! Didn’t waste a bite!” the younger son declared proudly, pointing to his empty bowl and a neat pile of bones. Not a single grain of rice remained, and the ribs had been gnawed clean.

“Don’t force yourself to finish if you’re full,” Xu Fengfeng said.

“No way,” he shook his head. “Teacher says only take as much as you can eat. No wasting food.”

“It’s okay to leave a little sometimes.”

“But we should still only take what we can finish.”

“Such a good boy.” Xu Fengfeng hadn’t expected her son to be so thoughtful. She patted his head and asked, “Were the ribs tasty?”

“Super tasty!”

“Should Mommy make them for you every day?”

The boy tilted his head and thought for a moment. “No.”

“What’s wrong?” Xu Fengfeng was surprised.

He looked at the empty dish. “Ribs are too expensive.”

She turned to her older son.

He was just as sensible. “Ribs are really expensive. Zhao Feifei in my class hasn’t had meat in half a year.”

“How do you know that?”

“She wrote it in her essay.”

Xu Fengfeng knew Zhao Feifei. Her father was a janitor, and her mother was bedridden. They were the poorest family in the class.

Her heart ached. “It won’t be expensive anymore.”

Now that meat prices were under control, with a steady supply of forage and livestock, no one would have to go hungry again. No more days without meat.

…

“Waaah! I went to Little Fat Lamb yesterday and ordered three plates of lamb slices. It was soooo good!”

“The beef noodle shop downstairs reopened, and there was a huge line at lunch.”

“Our pork dumplings are on sale—this is the first time we’ve ever lowered the price.”

…

As the domestic meat market began to recover, countless residents felt as though they had come back to life. They never realized how blissful it could be just to have meat on the table.

…

On November 7th, while the residents were still basking in the joy of the meat revival, at Fengshan Plantation, Qin Yun placed both hands on the nearest winter jujube tree.

Name: Winter Jujube Tree.

Health Status: 85 points.

Health Rating: Intermediate.

…

It was a two-meter-tall winter jujube tree, its trunk slightly crooked. Its leaves were a vibrant green, and nestled among them were small, jade-like jujubes.

After Qin Yun withdrew his hands, Song Yueshan asked anxiously, “How is it?”

“Eighty-five points.”

Song Yueshan let out a long sigh of relief.

[My Plantation] was the first regional structure purchased after the system upgrade.

[My Plantation]: Outstanding cultivation requires meticulous care. (300 million points, 300 million Starlight Points)

[My Plantation] can only grow native plants of this dimension. After the plantation was purchased, the farm transplanted one hundred types of Longxia flora. Most of these were dying trees like apple, pear, and phoenix trees. After six months of careful nurturing, the survival rate reached 95%. The remaining 5% failed due to irregular transplant procedures.

Once Song Yueshan confirmed that the winter jujube tree had survived, he hung a tag labeled [0732] on it. So far, the plantation had transplanted ten thousand trees, and this was the 732nd tree to score above 85 points.

After tagging the tree, Song Yueshan turned to Qin Yun. “Thanks for your hard work.”

Over the past few months, Qin Yun had been working closely with various research teams. Now that autumn had arrived, he’d visibly tanned from all the time outdoors.

“It’s no trouble at all,” Qin Yun replied with a smile. His research abilities were limited, so being able to assess the trees was his way of contributing.

After chatting for a bit, Song Yueshan asked, “You’re heading back the day after tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’ve already reported to the team.” Qin Yun was returning to Gaojia Ridge. The reason was simple: Gao Hongwei had fallen while digging sweet potatoes in the mountains.

In his past life, Gao Hongwei had gone up the mountain to dig sweet potatoes in the year 3027. Due to the freezing weather and delayed rescue, he died not long after being hospitalized. Although the timeline had now shifted by two years, Qin Yun still feared history might repeat itself.

He worried that even after enduring two more years, Gao Hongwei might still not escape his fatal fall. He also feared that everything he’d done over the past two years would turn out to be in vain.

Now that the same event was unfolding again, he had to go back and see for himself.