CHAPTER 154: IT’S RAINING, AND RED EARTHWORMS ARE FALLING (PLEASE SUBSCRIBE)

"It’s raining!"

"That damn sky is finally raining!"

December 31, 2023, Sunday, 37°C. After an entire year of drought on Earth, a satisfyingly drenching rain finally poured down!

The day was as unremarkable as any other. At one o’clock in the afternoon, the weather forecast—which claimed to predict conditions fifteen days into the future—urgently announced on online platforms that severe downpours would occur everywhere the next day.

No sooner had this been announced than torrential downpours began across the country, as if perfectly synchronized.

Netizens from all over mocked the weather forecast: "This current weather is a handful, huh? Keeps professionally slapping our faces."

But Jing Shu understood it differently. In her view, the atmosphere simply couldn’t hold the water vapor accumulated across the globe over the past year any longer and had burst prematurely, like an overfilled water balloon.

That day, Mr. and Mrs. Jing had a rare day off at home, and the family happened to have gathered for a mutton hotpot.

They had slaughtered a sheep two days earlier. After processing the other parts, the mutton slices and offal were just right for the hotpot. They dipped the food in a mixture of minced garlic and bird’s eye chilies, drizzled with sesame oil and vinegar. Biting into a chewy piece of tripe, thoroughly soaked in the sauce, followed by a sip of ice-cold coconut milk, brought the utmost satisfaction to their taste buds. Truly delicious!

During the meal, Grandma Jing mentioned that the water tank on the third-floor terrace was running low. Although they supplemented their water by 30 liters daily, it was only enough for the cow. "At this rate," Grandma Jing lamented, "we’ll run out of water for the vegetables within a week."

Mr. Jing said, "Didn’t the news say there would be torrential rains and floods? They’ve been saying that for months, yet no rain had come down."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of pattering hit the PVC plastic umbrella on the roof.

"Shh..."

The family listened intently. Grandma Jing asked incredulously, "Is... is this rain?"

Jing Shu sighed. It’s come after all, she thought. Not a minute too early or late, just like in my previous life.

Grandma Jing was the first to dash out the door; this water meant whether the fields at home could be irrigated—it was that important to her.

The whole family, chopsticks still in hand, rushed outside. Jing Shu filled her bowl with meat before following at a leisurely pace. Only Wu You’ai remained unhurried, still looking at her phone while eating her hotpot.

Turning on the villa courtyard lights, Grandma Jing had already dashed to the villa’s entrance. Jing Shu called out, "Grandma, slow down! It’s dusty outside, don’t go out!"

My main worry is that Grandma will get soaked in the rain and bring back a body full of red earthworms. If those things get on her head, the consequences are unthinkable...

As soon as the courtyard door opened, the fat chicken, like a Husky cooped up indoors for too long, clucked excitedly and charged out, jumping around wildly in the rain.

A whiff of the earthy smell from the rain hitting the dry ground reached them. Jing Shu smelled that familiar stench again—the same old recipe, unchanged.

Grandma Jing stood at the courtyard entrance. Under the light, she could clearly see it was indeed raining outside. She said excitedly, "Old man, see that? It’s raining, it’s raining! Our crops are saved!"

"Yes, the famine is finally going to pass. As long as there’s no drought, we won’t have to worry about failing to grow crops," Mr. Jing was thrilled as well; most famines were caused by drought.

Jing Shu remained silent. Things are obviously not that simple, she thought.

At this time, Jing Shu’s phone also started vibrating frequently; people in several chat groups were beside themselves with excitement.

Wang Qiqi: "It’s raining! It’s pouring!"

Fatty Girl: "Oh my gosh, I’m going to take a thorough shower. Dear God, please let the rain keep falling! Compared to the drought and high temperatures, I’d rather drown in the rain than ever taste the agony of dying of thirst again!"

Luo Zhu: "Me too! I’d rather die from too much water than from thirst."

Jing Shu shook her head. All those oaths I swore in the past were just foolishness, like water on the brain, she reflected. Things I’ll regret endlessly.

Wang Cuihua sent a voice message: "Everyone, hurry up and bring out your dirty clothes and dishes to wash! Who knows when this rain will stop? Anyone want to group up for a bath?"

Chouchou: "I also need to wash all my quilts and everything else washable at home. You don’t know how sour and smelly they are; they stick to you every time you use them, and you can’t get them off!"

Fatty Girl: "Right, right! Everything that can be washed should be washed! Anyway, with the high temperature now, it will dry in no time. We should also learn our lesson and collect more water."

I have a baby: "That’s right!"

As it turned out, anything washed in this rain wouldn’t dry for the next year; instead, it would grow moldy and attract insects. The items later collected by the government would prove useful.

However, for those who hadn’t bathed or washed clothes in a year, the grime on their bodies was likely thick enough to be rolled into finger-thick noodles. It was truly unbearable, and they desperately needed a wash, even if the rainwater teemed with other organisms.

The residents came downstairs in twos and threes with buckets, basins, and clothes. The current temperature was 37°C, and the rain was not yet as chillingly cold as it would become in the latter half of the year. So, this temperature was just right for bathing—not cold, but rather comfortable.

Many people gathered, chatting while they began to wash things. Chouchou even tilted her head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls of rainwater.

"Hey, why does this rainwater feel so slippery?"

"I just drank a few mouthfuls, and I can’t help but notice a strong fishy taste. It felt like something slippery slid down my throat."

"Be grateful. The water ration these days is barely enough to drink, let alone for bathing."

The weather was gloomy, so dark that you wouldn’t recognize your own father from three meters away. Because of this and the heavy rain, nobody noticed anything unusual about the rainwater.

But soon, as some people washed clothes in the rainwater and others stood in it for a long time, they all began to feel red earthworms: slipping onto their hands, flowing into their ears, sticking to their hair, entering their mouths.

The red earthworms varied in size; some were very small, less than a millimeter, while others were quite long, stretching up to twenty centimeters.

Regardless of size, they all shared a few characteristics: they were as thin as strands of hair, entirely red except for their black-tipped ends, and they liked to wriggle and jump around everywhere.

Studies of the red earthworm revealed that these characteristics stemmed from their unique biological makeup: they were either "female-female di-somas" or "male-male di-somas."

What were "female-female di-somas" and "male-male di-somas"?

It meant that if one end of a red earthworm was female, the other end was also invariably female. Similarly, if one end was male, the other was also male. They shared a single body but, in reality, possessed two separate consciousnesses.

The red earthworm perfectly exemplified the principle of "opposites attract, likes repel." Both "minds" or "ends" of a red earthworm sought out other worms to pair with—female-female types seeking male-male types, presumably—which explained their tendency to cluster.

Two consciousnesses, both of the same gender, controlling one body—the outcome was predictable. Each wanted to take the lead; one wanting to go east while the other insisted on west, neither willing to give in. This resulted in their characteristic twisting, turning, and constant hopping. This constant internal struggle was also one reason why red earthworms, despite their thinness, were so chewy, tough, and difficult to bite through.

Their muscles were incredibly developed, and their skin was resilient.

The black-tipped ends were their organs and heads, as well as where they fed. Since they shared one body, if one end died, the other couldn’t survive. Consequently, their bodies had evolved to be incredibly resilient, which was the second reason they were so difficult to bite through.

So, those bathing and washing clothes in the rain quickly realized something was wrong. Their entire bodies itched as if something was forcefully burrowing into their skin. Most importantly, everyone’s head felt extremely heavy.

Fatty Girl felt her hair, as thick as a felt mat, seemed to have become much heavier. She could hardly lift her head. When she touched her head, she felt clumps of something soft and slippery hopping vigorously on her skull...