67: Mutant varieties

"You even have a company?"

Zhang Liang was truly astonished this time.

Ye Tian chuckled and didn't boast any further.

He wrote down the things he needed to prepare in a notebook.

The two returned to the front yard.

The yard was quiet.

Old Man Lu was hunched over the stone table, holding a magnifying glass.

He was completely still.

While continuously muttering to himself.

"This, how is this possible? Impossible!"

"Old Man, what are you doing?"

Old Man Lu didn't notice them until they walked closer, so Ye Tian couldn't help but ask.

"Little Ye, you came just in time. There's something wrong with your Cockroaches!"

"What's wrong?"

"They eat too much, and the strength of their mouthparts is absurd. They actually ate the chicken bones you threw in. It's incredible. Even adult Cockroaches don't have mouthparts strong enough to swallow whole bones, unless the bones are artificially crushed."

"Uh, this..."

Ye Tian and Zhang Liang exchanged glances, genuinely unsure how to explain.

However, although Old Man Lu asked, it seemed he didn't expect Ye Tian or Zhang Liang to be able to explain it.

He shook his head to himself, then said, "If I'm not mistaken, your Cockroaches have been hatched for some time. It's just that for some unknown reason, they grew slowly, but their mouthpart strength has already matured. Yes, that must be it! Little Ye, how long have this batch of Cockroaches been hatched? Has it been ten days?"

"Ten days?"

Ye Tian blinked, then looked at Zhang Liang.

Zhang Liang froze for a moment, then replied hesitantly.

"Old Man, are you sure you're asking about ten days, and not ten hours?"

"What nonsense are you talking about, ten hours? Am I that confused, Old Man?"

Old Man Lu said testily.

"But, counting the smaller Cockroaches, they can only be counted by hours. As for the batch that's the size of peanuts, they've been hatched for about a day or more."

Zhang Liang explained helplessly.

"How is that possible!"

Old Man Lu's face was full of disbelief.

Ye Tian gave an awkward smile: "Old Man, we really aren't joking with you. The reason I said I wanted to raise this particular species is precisely because my Cockroaches are indeed gifted when it comes to eating."

"More than just gifted, it's absolutely shocking. I've studied insects my entire life, and I've never seen a larva whose food intake can exceed three times its own body volume.

I didn't pay attention to how many chicken bones you threw in just now, but the egg yolk feed I used to feed them was measured according to their quantity, and I fed them three times in total. Judging from the current situation, they can still eat. If the largest Cockroaches you mentioned have only been hatched for one day, then this completely exceeds my comprehension."

"Well, Old Man, this isn't a bad thing, is it?"

"It's certainly not a bad thing, it's a great thing, but this... it's not scientific!"

Old Man Lu said, his face full of distress.

Ye Tian clicked his tongue but dared not say more.

Should he tell him that all these Small Cockroaches were descendants of Gu worms?

How much trouble would that bring him in the future?

Thinking this, Ye Tian couldn't help but look toward Zhang Liang.

The latter also seemed to have realized something, shaking his head gently at Ye Tian and keeping silent.

"Um, Little Ye, you said before that these Cockroaches were cultivated by you. How did you cultivate them?"

Seeing that the two hadn't spoken for a while, Old Man Lu, who was completely bewildered, couldn't help but ask.

"Uh, Old Man, I don't know either. I just remember buying a lot of insecticides and things on the market to experiment with, trying to see which kind had the best killing effect. Who knew that after a round of experiments, a few Cockroaches not only didn't die but were full of vitality. Then they laid some oothecae, and these Small Cockroaches hatched."

Ye Tian rolled his eyes, mixing a bit of his actual experience with fabricated details.

"Something like that happened?"

Old Man Lu looked surprised, stroked his beard, thought for a long time, and then spoke hesitantly.

"Could it be that prolonged exposure to chemicals caused resistance, leading to mutation?"

"I don't know about that. All I know is that these Small Cockroaches were especially good at eating right after they hatched, not picky about meat or vegetables. That's why, combined with the information we found about Cockroaches processing kitchen waste, we thought of large-scale farming."

After weaving the story, Ye Tian managed to bring it back around. It sounded quite plausible.

Old Man Lu nodded seriously.

"So, Little Ye, the fact that you were able to cultivate these Cockroaches was entirely due to luck."

"Haha, Old Man, I'm not you. Even if I wanted to rely on skill, I don't have it."

"Alright then, you two go handle your business. Leave these Small Cockroaches to me. Who knows, this thing might genuinely create a miracle and completely rewrite the destiny of Cockroaches in human life."

Having said that, Old Man Lu stopped talking, carried the fish tank, and walked toward the inner room.

Ye Tian and Zhang Liang exchanged glances and both smiled.

"Brother Tian, just letting him research them like that, won't there be any problems?"

Zhang Liang said with a slight worry.

"What problems could there be? It's better for these little things to be in the Old Man's hands. From what I've seen, the Old Man's background is definitely not simple; he might be a scientist or a biologist. After he researches them, our Small Cockroaches will have been 'gilded.' It will be more convincing to talk about them later. After all, a biologist discovering an extraordinary species is perfectly reasonable, right?"

Ye Tian chuckled.

Zhang Liang's eyes darted around, and he nodded repeatedly: "You're right, that's exactly the case. But Brother Tian, don't ever brag about being a 'Witch Gu Successor' again in the future, lest you attract unnecessary trouble!"

After laughing, Zhang Liang lowered his voice and said solemnly.

"Liang Zi, what are you talking about? What Witch Gu Successor? What is that?"

"It's better if you don't know."

Zhang Liang laughed heartily and put his arm around Ye Tian's shoulder.

"Come on, Brother Tian, take me to see your 'company'."

"Alright!"

Ye Tian nodded.

The two quickly got onto the electric scooter.

They rode all the way to Nanlu Residential Area.

From a distance, Ye Tian saw two workers standing on a tripod outside his shop, changing the storefront sign.

The large characters for Tianxia Housekeeping were written in a vigorous, flowing style, looking very imposing.

"Brother Tian, this is the company you mentioned?"

Looking at the newly finished sign, Zhang Liang's eyes lit up.

He stood at the entrance of the shop, looking around in all directions, his face full of pleasant surprise.

"Hmm, how is it? Acceptable?"

"More than acceptable! I originally thought you were just bragging to me, but who knew this place was actually legitimate? Look at this sign, and this panoramic glass wall. Plus the illuminated wall inside, the style is maximized!"

Excitedly rubbing his hands, Zhang Liang darted in and out of the shop, his praise endless.

Ye Tian, meanwhile, smiled as he examined the newly replaced sign.

He felt a little excited inside as well.

His first shop in life was now officially on the right track.