Chapter 55: Planting Coconut Trees, Making Fried Rice

Third Aunt Jing Lai helped the bruised and swollen Aunt Jing Pan through the door, while Wu You’ai dragged a suitcase and carried a few rotten apples in her arms. Mr. Jing lifted a broken cart and carried two worn-out boxes inside. "Goodness, what happened here? Elder Sister, are you alright?" Grandma Jing put down her kitchen knife and rushed over. She pulled her dirt-covered daughter to sit down, bombarding her with questions until she confirmed there were no serious injuries. "When we got there, Eldest Sister was in the hallway fighting with several women over apples. Seeing us as backup, they snatched some and scattered. They were residents of that building, but I couldn’t make out their faces clearly," Mr. Jing said regretfully. Jinglai dusted herself off in the hallway, then cleaned up with a wet towel before saying, "I called the police. They said they’d log it for now and follow up later. There are too many robberies happening now, and they don’t have the resources to deal with incidents that don’t result in casualties. They just told us to be careful when we go out." Jing Shu felt that in the initial stage of the apocalypse, all police forces were occupied with requisitioning supplies, leaving them no time for petty thieves. This probably led to the increasingly rampant robberies and murders that would surge in the next two to three months. Aunt Jing Pan, with her rural simplicity and strength from farm work, now seemed somewhat frightened. "If it had been men, I would have run long ago, but they were just women. It’s a pity I couldn’t beat them alone, and the apples scattered everywhere. I only managed to pick up two boxes. What a waste." Grandma Jing wiped the dirt off Aunt Jing Pan with a wet towel. "Rotten apples can be mashed and mixed with dough to make sweet and sour apple fritters. They’ll still be delicious, so it’s not a waste. But next time, don’t do things without telling anyone. Is everything still okay in the countryside?" "The situation in the city is worse than in our town," Aunt Jing Pan said. "At least every household there has stored a lot of grain and vegetables in their cellars, and soldiers deliver water every day. The government requisitioned apples earlier, but we kept half a cellar’s worth for ourselves—enough to last until next year. Lao Liu was too busy to leave, so I came alone. Mom, why don’t you all come and stay in the countryside for a while? Here, people even get robbed for an apple." Grandma Jing then explained the situation here. "Stay for a special meal tonight, and tomorrow Jing An will take you back. We can also go back to pack up some things to bring over. Did you deliver apples to Second Aunt? Is she doing okay?" After hesitating for a few seconds and receiving a kick from Third Aunt, Aunt Jing Pan said, "I delivered them. They’re all doing fine." Jing Shu sensed there was more to this story and pulled Wu You’ai aside. "What happened to Second Aunt?" While reading comics, Wu You’ai whispered, "They were selling tobacco and alcohol at high prices and got raided. All their goods were confiscated, and they were taken in. I also heard they bought a villa in Wu City and are quite short on cash. Who knew housing prices in Wu City would plummet? Second Aunt lost several hundred thousand." Jing Shu’s face revealed an ’aha’ moment. No wonder they had insinuated that her family should repay money before. Thankfully, she had repaid them early; otherwise, who knows how they would have maligned her family in the future. But Second Aunt and the others being taken in... She didn’t know if their case was officially recorded. If they were blacklisted, that would be terrible. In her previous life, Jing Shu had been too preoccupied with her own survival to pay attention to Second Aunt’s situation. The special meal that evening was very abundant. Mrs. Jing had worked overtime until six and was picked up by Mr. Jing. Although the results of her promotion hadn’t come out yet, her old leader had recently been taking her to the agricultural planting center for inspections. "Mom, this looks promising for you. Your leader probably wants to put you in charge of that area," Jing Shu said. She knew this position held great power. After all, wouldn’t the authority to distribute crops grown in the apocalypse be immense? Mrs. Jing was somewhat melancholic. "The thirteen districts in Wu City are competing. If the crops grow well, everyone will be happy. If they don’t, someone will have to be the scapegoat." "Don’t worry, our family has already grown such good ones." ... The special meal included spicy crayfish, braised pork knuckles, crispy fried fish cubes, sweet and sour pork loin, pork ribs lotus root soup, dry-fried potatoes, and sautéed crown daisy, filling the entire table. The staple food was Grandma Jing’s crispy apple fritters, made with apple puree and flour. Mrs. Jing poured red wine for everyone, and the family had a joyful, special meal together. Only Jing Shu didn’t feel full. After returning to her own house that night, she ate two more bowls of seafood porridge, a whole vacuum-packed spiced chicken, five tea eggs, and a large watermelon. The watermelon rinds, chicken bones, and eggshells were perfect for feeding the pigs, so nothing went to waste. Her 125-cubic-meter Magic Cube Space was down to just 2 cubic meters of unused space. The former 64-cubic-meter space had once been sufficient. But now, even the fifth-tier 125-cubic-meter Magic Cube Space couldn’t satisfy Jing Shu. It seemed she had to work harder on upgrading it, as she planned to squeeze even more things inside. Jing Shu had cleared the fifth-tier Magic Cube within two months. She had now been practicing with the sixth-tier Magic Cube for another two months but had only reached a proficient level, still quite far from upgrading. Therefore, she decided to dedicate an additional hour each day exclusively to practicing with her Magic Cube Space, hoping to advance to the next tier soon. The productivity of the twelve fields was immensely impressive. Jing Shu could not only eat fresh fruit daily but also surreptitiously replenish the household with various vegetables. She turned watermelon and oranges into juice, which could entirely replace water for the upcoming eleven months. She planted six coconut trees in six of the fields. Mindful that coconut tree roots could take up a lot of space, she started with just six. This way, she could see if there would be room to add other fruits like strawberries later—ones that wouldn’t take up dedicated field space. Jing Shu planned to harvest some coconuts in a month. She would combine them with the abundant milk to make natural coconut milk beverages, which would also help save water during this dry year. Watching the water level in the tank slowly decrease made her anxious. However, she didn’t want to lower her standard of living. Making various homemade drinks seemed like an excellent strategy. The remaining six fields were all planted with corn; she planned to make a variety of corn-derived foods. The next day, Mr. Jing took Grandma Jing, Grandpa Jing, and Third Aunt back to their countryside house to pack some things to bring over, dropping Aunt Jing Pan off in town on the way. Wu You’ai stayed in Grandma Jing’s new house reading comics, while Jing Shu was incredibly busy in her own villa. With her intake of the Spiritual Spring, Jing Shu’s strength had become increasingly formidable. She could easily knock over several adult men. However, her appetite had also grown much larger, so she needed to regularly refuel with something filling—something she could eat anytime, anywhere without drawing attention. So today, Jing Shu mainly focused on making Thai-style fried rice. She steamed it first, then fried it, one pot after another, until the rice turned golden brown and crispy. Grabbing a handful to chew, the fragrant rice mixed with various flavors was irresistible. It tasted like crispy rice crust and became more delicious with every bite! Using two pots to fry simultaneously, it took her several days and ten bags of fragrant rice to make a whole cubic meter of fried rice. These would serve as Jing Shu’s snacks for a while.