In autumn, the golden rice fields rippled in the wind like waves rolling across the water.
In Lazhi Village, the villagers, as usual, hurried to harvest the rice while the sun was still low and the temperature had not yet risen.
"I asked around yesterday. This year's rice purchase price is quite a bit lower than last year's again."
In the fields, a dark-skinned man in his twenties complained to a fellow villager while wielding a sickle and harvesting rice.
"We barely make any money from rice. When will we ever earn enough to move into the city? I'm even thinking of growing poppies."
His companion was equally indignant, cursing this dog-eat-dog world.
"I'd rather die than grow something as harmful as poppies."
Miao Lun's face darkened, and he shot him an angry glare.
Poppies were opium poppies. His father had died from smoking opium, so he hated the stuff with every fiber of his being.
"Alright, alright, I was just saying. That stuff is only grown in the north. Nobody around here grows it."
His companion gave an awkward laugh and hurriedly explained himself.
Miao Lun's expression eased slightly, but at that moment, a strange sound suddenly drifted over.
[Great news! Great news! Jieko Company is now purchasing all kinds of poisonous insects and snakes from the general public! There is no limit on quantity. Prices are calculated by the kilogram, and payment is made on the spot. Honest dealings—no cheating young or old!]
[Great news! Great news! Jieko Company is now purchasing all kinds of poisonous insects and snakes from the general public! There is no limit on species. Prices are calculated by the kilogram, and payment is made on the spot. Honest dealings—no cheating young or old!]
A battered van drove along the muddy road beside the fields. Festive red advertisements were pasted across its body, while a loudspeaker mounted on the roof played the announcement over and over. The people working in the fields all turned to look.
"What's going on? They're buying bugs?"
Miao Lun was utterly bewildered. Where had this Jieko Company come from? It had actually come all the way here to buy bugs.
The van happened to stop in front of him. A man wearing a uniform emblazoned with the words "Jieko" climbed out and called to him, "Friend, interested in hearing more?"
"You really buy bugs? And pay for them?"
Miao Lun asked tentatively. As he spoke, he casually snatched a grasshopper from the ground and held it up. "A bug like this?"
The Jieko employee took one look and immediately laughed. "Of course. Jieko is a company run by a major Hua businessman. We're absolutely legitimate. As for the grasshopper in your hand—let me see... Hmm, a Class-D insect. Our purchase price is five Hua Currency per kilogram."
"How much? Five Hua Currency per kilogram? You pay in Hua Currency too?"
Miao Lun could hardly believe his ears. Converted into Hua Yuan, his daily wages amounted to only fifteen Hua Yuan.
Three kilograms of grasshoppers would be equivalent to a day's wages—and they paid in Hua Yuan, which was far more useful than their Zen Coins.
It was not just Miao Lun. The villagers nearby had heard those words too, and the whole scene erupted in excitement.
What kind of sucker was this? They were actually buying grasshoppers at such an outrageous price.
"Our Jieko Company is a major brand with an excellent reputation. Go ahead and catch them without worry—we absolutely won't renege on our payments. We don't just buy grasshoppers; we buy other poisonous insects and snakes too, and the prices are even higher. You can take a look."
The Jieko employee picked up stacks of flyers and handed them to the villagers, but some people could no longer hold themselves back.
Miao Lun was one of them. After confirming that this was not a scam, he immediately set down his sickle, fetched a snakeskin sack, and began searching everywhere for grasshoppers.
There were grasshoppers everywhere in the autumn fields. A casual stomp could send a whole swarm springing into the air.
Miao Lun had often caught the things for fun as a child, so now he caught them with ease.
Seeing this, the others followed suit, afraid that someone else would catch all the grasshoppers in the fields.
In the blink of an eye, the villagers who had been harvesting rice transformed into master bug catchers. Many even ran home to call over their wives, children, and parents, bringing the whole family into the effort.
As night began to fall, Miao Lun went to the Jieko employee for the third time and handed over the two kilograms of grasshoppers he had just caught.
"Ten Hua Yuan. Here you go."
With the money and goods exchanged, the Jieko employee poured all the grasshoppers into a glass box. Seeing that it was getting dark, he had no choice but to announce that he would be leaving for the time being.
"It's too late today. I'll come back tomorrow, and I'll still be buying insects. Don't be anxious."
After saying this, the Jieko employee drove away in the van, which was loaded to the brim with grasshoppers, swaying unsteadily down the road.
The villagers left behind continued discussing the matter animatedly, excitement and exhilaration written across every face.
The money they had made catching bugs that day was far more than they could earn in a day of work.
Miao Lun counted the Hua Yuan in his hand again and again. There were a full twenty-seven Hua Yuan—almost two days' income for him.
A foolish grin spread across his face as Miao Lun said excitedly, "If they come to buy every day, I'll be able to save enough money for Mother's treatment soon. And Little Sis will be able to go to school too."
His mother had been bedridden ever since she had fallen seriously ill two years ago, unable to see a doctor because they had no money.
Now, his greatest wish was to save enough to take his mother to a hospital in a major city and cure her illness.
After putting all the money away, Miao Lun returned home.
Inside the dim, cramped earthen house, his twelve-year-old sister was busy in front of the stove. Dinner consisted of nothing more than thin gruel and dried vegetables, plain enough to see through.
The moment Miao Lun entered, he eagerly told his mother and sister about everything that had happened that day.
Only after the two of them saw the Hua Yuan Miao Lun took out did they believe he was not spouting nonsense.
"Mother, I'm not going to keep talking. There's still time, so I have to hurry out and catch more insects."
After quickly finishing dinner, Miao Lun took a flashlight and went back outside to search for the poisonous insects Jieko Company wanted.
Toads, poisonous snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and the like only came out at night, making them perfect targets for nighttime hunting.
Many villagers had thought of the same thing as Miao Lun. The day's profits had excited them, teaching them that bugs were actually worth so much money.
The next day, dark circles under his eyes, Miao Lun stood at the village entrance with a group of villagers, waiting eagerly.
When the loudspeaker's blare finally rang out and the van appeared in the distance, Miao Lun and the surrounding villagers cheered and swarmed over.
The previous night's haul brought Miao Lun another twenty yuan, filling him with excitement.
Some villagers who had caught poisonous snakes were even bragging loudly, because they had sold them for more than a hundred yuan.
For the local villagers, whose livelihoods centered on farming, these earnings were far more worthwhile than growing crops.
Thus, starting that day, the villagers spent every day rushing around in search of all kinds of poisonous insects and snakes, then exchanged them for Hua Yuan from Jieko Company.
This did not happen only in Lazhi Village. The same thing occurred in more than a dozen nearby villages and towns.
For a time, Jieko Company's reputation soared throughout the surrounding area, and even Mande City heard about it.
The local villagers' impression of Jieko Company improved greatly. Several poisonous-insect purchasing stations were packed with people every day, and catching bugs became the main source of income for countless villagers.
While these villagers rejoiced over the wealth brought by catching bugs, they had no idea that they had already stepped into a carefully woven grand scheme.
As the transactions became more and more frequent, their economy was being bound—bound to Jieko, that towering tree.
As people became increasingly unable to do without Jieko, the day Jieko fell would be the day Mande City's entire economy plunged into chaos and regression. And that would also be the day Mande City was completely dominated and bound.