Chapter 30: Jing Shu’s Pet Number 1

Speaking of this matter, Jing Shu also felt a headache. The ewes in the Magic Cube Space had given birth to seven lambs. Jing Shu kept one male and two females in the villa to raise, leaving four in the Magic Cube Space. What was troubling were the black pigs. As far as Jing Shu knew, a pig usually had five to eight piglets, but the black pig in the Magic Cube Space had given birth to twelve! She kept two at the villa, leaving ten piglets in the Magic Cube Space... The villa couldn’t accommodate too many livestock. While it wasn’t evident now because they were young, once the cattle, sheep, and pigs grew up, the place would be inadequate. Besides, after the apocalypse, it was difficult enough to feed people, let alone Domestic Poultry. Even though there was a room full of feed, which solved the problem for the short term, and during the first year of the apocalypse, the heat could be managed with air conditioning, Jing Shu had now also started storing water. A few months later, the water shortage would become severe. People would be dying of thirst, so who could possibly care for animals? The animals in the villa could be kept alive for a year, but after that, with various natural disasters, it would become difficult to raise Domestic Poultry. Therefore, raising another ten pigs for consumption in the Magic Cube Space was also a burden. Jing Shu decided to trade some pigs to settle debts in half a year to lighten the load. Frankly speaking, half a year later, a pig could be traded for a small BMW. Of course, Jing Shu, who now used someone else’s 100,000 yuan to buy countless supplies, and the creditor, who in half a year’s desperate stockpiling would receive a pig, both thought it was a win-win situation. After all, if the creditor had not lent money to Jing Shu, she would have bought 100,000 yuan’s worth less of supplies. And the creditor who didn’t lend money would not get lifesaving food after the apocalypse. But in a larger sense, the creditor provided emergency help, while Jing Shu provided life-saving aid. So, if half a year later, any creditor felt at a disadvantage, Jing Shu could completely trade a pig for a few hundred thousand yuan and toss it back at the creditor to make them even. Jing Shu didn’t indulge people’s bad habits; she had a way to deal with all sorts of dissatisfaction. Now, various types of dried meat, smoked meat, and marinated meat had been completed, and Jing Shu’s Magic Cube Space was no longer inducing production. During this period, to accelerate breeding and growth, the Spiritual Spring produced by the Magic Cube Space was completely used up every day. The apocalypse was far from over, and Jing Shu had to conserve the use of the Spiritual Spring. For the Domestic Poultry, Jing Shu uniformly added Spiritual Spring solution number 5 (1 drop + 2,000 ml water) into their food. After more than a month of experimentation, this ratio proved to strengthen their bodies, improve meat quality, and increase yield. They only grew slightly faster than normal Domestic Poultry while eating the same amount, which could slow down their reproduction rate and reduce the burden on the Magic Cube Space. Right, when she first started experimenting with the Spiritual Spring, she left one rooster out, not giving it any. Less than half a month later, it was pecked to death by another chicken. Jing Shu thought it was despised by hen number 1. The hen, number 1, on the other hand, ingested the same Spiritual Spring solution number 3 as Jing Shu. It was the only exception. Now, Jing Shu would take it with her on morning runs up the mountain to handle the manure, much like walking a dog. Number 1 did not disappoint Jing Shu, flapping its brown wings and following closely behind her like a firebird. Whenever Jing Shu stopped, it would nuzzle her legs with its head, acting affectionately. What?? Other people’s apocalypse pets are Tibetan Mastiffs or German Shepherds—creatures that can kill enemies and look cute, and are really impressive when taken out. Mine is just an old hen... emmm, Jing Shu had an indescribable feeling. The only consolation was that hen number 1 had reached a weight of 30 pounds and looked quite imposing. A few days ago, during a morning run, it pecked a Little Snake by the mountain and, as if asking for a reward or a hug, brought it to Jing Shu. Jing Shu rewarded it with a diluted dose of Spiritual Spring. It was quite necessary to instill in it from a young age the habit of handing over any good finds. Jing Shu planned to train Number 1 like a dog, issuing simple commands such as "sit" and "attack," hoping it could be up to the task. As for the Magic Cube Space, Jing Shu felt like she was playing a strategy game, considering how challenging it was to maximize its limited resources. Take the high-yielding but limited land of the Black Field in the Magic Cube Space, for example. Deciding how much to plant and what to plant was crucial to ensure enough food for her own consumption while also feeding the Domestic Poultry and various fish, shrimp, and crabs. Overindulging in the Spiritual Spring would waste food and accelerate the reproduction of Domestic Poultry, causing the Black Field’s production to fall behind. Conversely, using too little Spiritual Spring was ineffective... At the moment, Jing Shu’s Magic Cube Space was a bit out of balance. She had focused too much on growing fruit, which created an issue with the food supply for the little lambs and pigs. Fortunately, there was a milking cow. On the day she made spicy beef jerky, the popularity of her livestream broke through 500,000 viewers. Everyone was attracted by the boldness of slaughtering a cow on-site. Today, Jing Shu’s family taught the netizens how to enjoy every part of the cow. The neck meat was turned into hand-beaten beef Wanzi and frozen for freshness. They were splendid for hot pots or in Wanzi soup. The tenderloin, the most tender cut of meat, was turned into top-quality steaks. Jing Shu cooked them all and stored them in the Magic Cube Space for her to eat as a midnight snack. The sirloins were sliced thin for hot pot beef, and Jing Shu’s family had a beef hot pot that evening. The rump was used for barbecuing, while the shoulder meat and large bones were made into broth and frozen. When ready to eat, one could scoop out a large spoonful, cook some fine noodles, lay on some beef, sprinkle with green onions, and have a delicious bowl of beef noodles. The brisket was used for beef brisket stew and could be enjoyed in several ways when frozen. The shank meat was slowly stewed on low heat, marinated, and then thinly sliced for a cold dish with sauce, its tender and chewy texture lingering long in the mouth... The beef offal, like the tripe, was prepared the same as lamb offal and frozen. Anything that couldn’t be preserved, such as omasum, the whole family enjoyed in a hot pot that night. It was foreseeable that the meals in the following days would all be associated with beef. Fortunately, ever since Grandma Jing came, she truly saved Jing Shu’s stomach. With Jing Shu’s appetite growing and her eating double portions each time, it took a while for the family to adjust. Eventually, without realizing it, their appetites also increased, and the matter was left at that. Could it be attributed to a hard day’s work being extremely tiring? The brisket and the remaining meat were made into spicy beef jerky. Using 2-liter sealable jars, they filled 170 jars in total. An average cow weighs just over a thousand pounds, but the cows at Jingshu’s house, according to the slaughterhouse master, looked ordinary but were in fact the healthiest he had ever seen. The master wanted the cowhide as a reward but was rejected because Jing Shu was saving it for important use. Although today’s livestream was exceptionally popular, Jing Shu was bombarded with tens of thousands of rotten eggs, as countless netizens were driven to tears by their cravings. Further influenced by recent national events concerning the Dark Day’s threats and the measures taken, the netizens also planned to stock up on food. Yet Jing Shu had prepared so many delicious dishes, only to sell the spicy beef jerky? Jing Shu set a limit of thirty portions, and they were quickly snatched up. Mr. Jing joyfully went to ship the orders, unaware that half a year later, in the face of food scarcity, he might regret not selling more today. The cow at the villa now produced 50 kilograms of milk daily, a little more than even the best dairy cows in the United States. In Huaxia, a dairy cow produces about 20 kilograms of milk per day. The Domestic Poultry nourished by the Spiritual Spring were indeed outstanding! Jing Shu took out the leftover milk from the past few days and began making yogurt balls (milk tofu).