Chapter 32: My own flesh and blood!

"Then I’ll tell him." After Zhu Zhengqi’s dad had arranged to treat them to lunch at noon, Mr. Jing took his family on a trip to the pharmaceutical wholesale center to retrieve their medical insurance card. Last month, after Jing Shu bought medicine, her explanation for it was delayed by visits from her uncle’s family and her aunt’s family. She had later mentioned this, saying the medicine was for their countryside neighbors and that she had withdrawn money from the medical insurance card because they were short of cash back then. Mr. Jing had even said he would get the medicine to their countryside neighbors as soon as possible. But due to these delays, by the time they could have sent it, Jing Shu was no longer short of cash. "In any case, deliver the medicine to all your various aunts and uncles as soon as possible. You’re such a spendthrift, buying so much of everything... it’s not like you were lacking anything! Look at all the clothes you bought during the Double Twelve sales; are you planning to eat clothes?" Mrs. Jing had been suffering from severe headaches recently. Before, when her daughter was a hopeless case, she worried. Now that her daughter was practically glued to the wall and wouldn’t budge, she still worried. She didn’t know what had gotten into her daughter, who loved buying things by the roomful, treating money as if it were nothing, never stopping until she had spent every last cent. She had thought the shopping spree was over after the Double Eleven sales. But during these few days of Double Twelve, dozens of packages arrived daily, containing all sorts of underwear, outerwear, down jackets, and thermal pants and jackets rated for -40°C, all bought up by Jing Shu. Mrs. Jing had asked Jing Shu at the time, "What’s the deal? Are you planning to take the whole family—the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled—on a trip around Russia, so you specifically bought such thick clothes?" "Well, it was buy one, get one free. A rich second-generation kid has to have a house full of nice clothes, right? Someone even said the other day that an empty closet means you’re a fake rich kid." Mrs. Jing: "..." My own, my very own, my very own! Mrs. Jing silently repeated three times in her heart, and indeed, she found her daughter much more pleasing to the eye afterward. Having spent all the money from the medical insurance card, Jing Shu was content; she had remedied another regret from her past life. Seeing there was still some time, the family went out to buy many artificial sunlight lamps. Many people were buying these lamps; the technology channel reported on them daily, encouraging citizens to grow their own crops under lights. These lamps had now increased in price by 30%. Jing Shu quietly ordered another ten sets of the UBC-designed bacterial solar panels; sure enough, their price had also risen by 20%! They had also launched a new handheld mini model and a medium-sized portable model. Jing Shu ordered twenty sets of each of these as well, costing a total of 250,000 yuan. They would be delivered tomorrow once Mrs. Jing went to work. Anything she bought now had to be hidden from Mrs. Jing. But if she bought things without letting them know, how could she explain taking them out during the apocalypse? To cover one lie, she truly had to invent thousands more. The freezers and refrigerators in the malls had already sold out. They were cheap, had large capacities, and were suitable for a few days during the Dark Day. Now, only commercial-grade refrigerators remained, and many people were rushing to buy them. Everyone was preparing to stock up on fresh vegetables, fruits, and perishable foods, as one refrigerator at home simply wasn’t enough. It had to be said, everyone’s preparations during the Initial Stage of the Apocalypse were very thorough. Unfortunately, electricity use began to be restricted in less than a month. Six months later, the daily power supply was reduced to two hours, causing many deaths from the heat. A year later, it was down to just half an hour. Sighing, Jing Shu and Mr. Jing left for the banquet, while Mrs. Jing drove the older couple to pick up bean sprouts, leek shoots, garland chrysanthemum greens, lettuce, spinach, and garlic shoots. All of these could be grown without sunlight. The government was now distributing these for free. Everyone collected their share via facial recognition to grow at home, reducing burdens and unnecessary expenses. After all, when the time came, indoor vegetables and those cultivated under lights would be costly, prices would be high, and with demand outstripping supply, vegetable prices would certainly soar. 「...」 In a dim private room filled with the smell of liquor, as Mr. Jing and Jing Shu walked in, a potbellied, bald man came up to greet them, displaying a smile uglier than a grimace. "Old Bro, Jing... Jing Shu is here! Please, have a seat!" Jing Shu had a kitchen knife ready in her storage space, prepared for anything. Zhu Zhengqi, who just over a month ago had been spirited and dashing, was now emaciated. He was hunched in a corner of the private room, drinking beer while scrolling through comments about himself on his phone. One moment he was sobbing uncontrollably, the next he was shaking his head in denial. He obsessively scrolled through the comments as if possessed. Only when he saw Mr. Jing and Jing Shu arrive did he look up, his eyes filled with hatred, and screamed, "Are you satisfied? Are you all satisfied now? Is this the outcome you wanted? Why didn’t you show your ability earlier? Why..." Instinctively, Mr. Jing shielded Jing Shu behind him. "Old Zhu, what’s going on?" "It’s just a small matter between the kids. Jing Shu, Zhu Zhengqi is here to beg you. Please be magnanimous and let him off the hook. Stop those things in Hebei. He has depression, and every time it flares up, he takes stimulants. Too much of that stuff can kill a person! Jing Shu, please save him!" "He really can’t take those comments anymore! Every day, people call him, send him messages, and leave abusive comments on his social media. He’s tried to kill himself several times because he couldn’t bear it!" Jing Shu scoffed. "He can’t handle it, so I’m supposed to? Besides, can’t he hire hundreds of thousands of internet water army members? Let him hire them to whitewash his image." Old Zhu’s mouth twitched. "No matter how many water army members he hires, it’s useless. Jing Shu, tell us, what will it take for you to forgive him?" Jing Shu snorted. "First, make him issue a public apology for everything he’s done over the years—apologize for the people he’s maligned and for hiring a water army to attack people. Second, if you’re asking for forgiveness, you need to look the part." Old Zhu yanked Zhu Zhengqi over, hitting him hard, and said through clenched teeth, "No problem. Quick, ask Jing Shu to forgive you." "Dad!" Zhu Zhengqi was extremely reluctant. "Hurry up!" Old Zhu struck Zhu Zhengqi hard again. Zhu Zhengqi gritted his teeth and looked up, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Jing Shu. After a long pause, he hoarsely squeezed out a few words, "Jing Shu, please... forgive me." "I can’t hear you," Jing Shu pouted. His expression still isn’t quite right. Sure enough, as soon as she said that, Zhu Zhengqi’s eyes seemed to flare with fire. He could no longer suppress his hateful rage and glared viciously at Jing Shu. After being struck again by his father, he finally shouted, "Jing Shu, I beg you, forgive me!" "Good. Your glare is excellent; I like it very much. By the way, remember this: do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire." Jing Shu’s lips curled up. She loved it when her enemies looked at her with such helpless resentment; it was truly a sight to behold. Jing Shu even wondered if she was some kind of villain, always doing things that villains seemed to enjoy. Needless to say, lunch didn’t happen. Mr. Jing held his tongue until after they had parted ways before finally asking what exactly had occurred and how she had bullied Zhu Zhengqi. "How did I bully him? He was clearly the one bullying me," Jing Shu blinked. "Seeing his miserable state, it doesn’t seem like it," Mr. Jing shook his head, his expression darkening. "Forget it. I don’t want to have anything to do with anyone or anything from the former company anymore."