Chapter 16: Apocalypse Omens

The two left, hand in hand and burping. Jing Shu gritted her teeth and exhaled angrily. Her mind was already plotting how to deal with Wang Zijian. "Kids don’t understand. It’s all because this shrimp is too delicious," Uncle Sun said, finishing off the remaining shrimp porridge without leaving a trace. Mr. Jing finally brought up the matter of repaying the money. Uncle Sun readily agreed to pay back within the next couple of days, but Mr. Jing was somewhat skeptical. They finally agreed that the money would be repaid before three in the afternoon the day after tomorrow, and only then did Mr. Jing let Uncle Sun leave. Jing Shu threw away the plates and utensils the three of them had used, determined not to let them come over again to eat and drink recklessly and even take leftovers. It seemed she must accelerate the deterioration of Mr. Jing’s relationship with them; otherwise, Uncle Sun’s family might shamelessly cling to them after the apocalypse. Speaking of Uncle Sun, Jing Shu had to admire him. To describe him in one sentence, he was tough as old boots—immune to fire and water, impervious to oil and salt, unaffected by soft or hard tactics! No matter what you said to him, he would just smile and agree, but he never followed through. Mr. Jing, whether out of concern for appearances or friendship, could only ever say, at his harshest, "Then I hope you can pay back the money sooner." Uncle Sun’s response was always, "Okay, okay, definitely," and that was the end of it. The debtor is always the boss. Mrs. Jing wasn’t picked up by Mr. Jing until late at night. After eating the meal Jing Shu had prepared, she couldn’t stop praising its taste. The three of them held a family meeting. Mrs. Jing said, "Starting tomorrow, the government and public institutions will implement a new policy of joint liability, which will be extended to state-owned and private enterprises in two months, and finally to the general public. "The new policy means that if direct relatives of us employees commit crimes or are reported for corruption, as soon as it’s discovered, we’ll also be dismissed. In serious cases, we could be charged with the same crime as the offender, unless we report it in advance." After the Initial Stage of Apocalypse, there was a period of riots and looting across the country. Huaxia then introduced a new law: if one person committed a crime, their direct relatives were also charged, and distant relatives had to undergo re-education through labor. Families that didn’t comply received no relief food, and those who reported crimes were rewarded. "There’s been a crackdown recently; there might be some big event about to happen. The ban on international grain exports has caused quite a stir," Mrs. Jing added, mentioning the recent law and order situation and other new policies. She talked about increased security checks and patrols on the streets, and the need to swipe an ID card wherever you went. Jing Shu’s heart skipped a beat. So, the nation had already started preparing? They already knew about the various consequences and social phenomena that would be caused by the collision of stars and had started implementing corresponding countermeasures. It had to be said that the new policy had nipped many people’s intentions to follow crooked paths in the bud during the Initial Stage of Apocalypse. Regrettably, no one had anticipated that the disaster would last at least ten years, nor had they foreseen the Earth beginning to experience a multitude of disasters, not just the absence of sunlight. Later, Mr. Jing brought up the matter of gathering funds. There was a buyer interested in the car, and they would get the money in the next few days. They planned to drop the price of the house a bit more to sell it off. "I’m thinking of withdrawing my shares and starting my own business," Mr. Jing dropped this bombshell without further explanation. Jing Shu understood. A man like Mr. Jing would never say, "I might be dismissed by the company." His contributions to the company were greater than anyone else’s; his feelings for it ran deeper. He was prepping Mrs. Jing and her for the possibility. She had been spending money like water these days. After purchasing grains, oils, dried fruits and nuts, air conditioning, and household appliances, she was left with only 300,000. Next, she needed to stockpile essential goods and equipment, as survival would be tough under the grim conditions of the apocalypse. They would need a large sum of money, so Mr. Jing would have to arrange for some more, even if it meant discomfort for him. 「...」 "November 9th, the Central Procuratorate cracked a massive embezzlement case amounting to 87.9 billion yuan..." "November 10th, concerned citizen Mr. Zhou reported and it was confirmed that the embezzlement of over a hundred billion yuan by the core leaders of the Welfare Lottery is true..." "November 11th, concerned citizen Mr. Liu reported a light shining from next door every night. Upon investigation, it was discovered that Secretary Zhang of Yu Province had hidden gold worth tens of billions of yuan in dozens of locations..." For several consecutive days, sensational news reports aired daily, mostly about who had embezzled how much money, all of which was confiscated, and so on. Mr. and Mrs. Jing watched the morning news every day to see who else had been caught embezzling. "This is just the beginning," Jing Shu muttered, yawning as she finished washing up. She went out for a morning run and cleaned up the Domestic Poultry feces. Recently, the community had posted notices forbidding the secret raising of large animals that would damage the environment. She wondered if they were referring to her. Let me think, this month they’re catching corrupt officials. Next month it’ll be the tax-evading celebrities’ turn, right? In another two months, it’ll be the food industry. By then, anyone who refuses to donate money or supplies will definitely be targeted by the state. Everything is proceeding exactly as it had in my previous life, but unfortunately, I didn’t notice it then. Jing Shu felt the warmth of the November sun, knowing that in a month and a half, the sunlight would be gone. Master Kong was smart indeed. During the Initial Stage of Apocalypse, he donated instant noodles and water. After three months, he announced that production would stop due to a shortage of raw materials. He gained both fame and political influence, successfully squeezing into the political arena. Every day the news is about catching embezzlement and tax evasion, reporting how much money this celebrity donated, how much food that factory donated. Some food factories were unmoved and even hoarded. Later, they were taken over by the state under some pretext and the goods were distributed to citizens with no bad records. In the first year of the apocalypse, with no grain harvest and a high-temperature epidemic, survival was possible only by executing corrupt officials, controlling various food industries, and consuming stockpiled grain. The state is actively hoarding grain, so why wouldn’t I do the same? The rules of Singles’ Day were becoming increasingly complicated, but none of this was difficult for Jing Shu. At midnight on Singles’ Day, many stores had sales—half price for the first ten minutes or the first hour. Jing Shu had already made a small batch of purchases the previous night. Today, Jing Shu mainly shopped on Tmall Supermarket, JD, and NetEase Kaola, sweeping up goods. For snacks, she bought large quantities of whatever was available, like Compressed Biscuits, chocolate, beef jerky, meat floss, and crispy noodles—foods that were filling. She stocked up on five boxes of each. She bought several boxes of milk, yogurt, and drinks, mainly for convenient consumption in emergencies. She also bought several boxes of adult milk powder and planned to buy a whole storeroom full of bottled water wholesale. Instant noodles, sausages, hotpot ingredients, and canned goods were all essentials. Jing Shu bought ten boxes of each, planning to store them on the second floor of the villa. She bought a ten-year supply of toilet paper, shampoo, shower gel, sanitary pads, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, laundry detergent, disinfectant, dishwashing liquid, and skincare cream. Jing Shu purchased fifty 60-liter storage boxes, mainly to store various dry goods and sundry items. This made it easier for her to organize them, and if she had to evacuate, she could quickly pack everything without it becoming a mess. She also wanted to buy more varieties of clothing and equipment, such as airtight space suits designed to withstand extreme cold, and other winter clothing. However, she ran out of money! Snacks had taken up most of her budget. She couldn’t bear to return any, as after the apocalypse, all of these items would cease production, and she would never taste them again. She could only wait for her next installment of funds to arrive.