The news reported that in two years, during public holidays, tickets for tourist spots, special shuttle buses, and tolls would all be free.
Grandpa Jing was planning to take a plane to climb Mount Hua, while Jing's Dad said he wanted to take a train to see the sea.
Grandpa Jing scolded Jing An for living a "twilight life" at such a young age. Jing An replied that when you are old, don't seek thrills. Just go somewhere safe and calm.
"I absolutely refuse to let you go to such dangerous places."
"I still refuse to let you go somewhere so boring. What's so interesting about the sea? Haven't you stared at the home water tank for decades?"
Jing Shu covered her face with her hand. These arguments, about things that had not happened and, after the apocalypse, would almost certainly never happen, were so serious. Why did they insist on debating? Neither could persuade the other. Couldn't they just go their separate ways?
One news report described a couple who fantasized about winning five million yuan, then fought violently and threatened divorce over "unequal distribution of the money." Jing Shu had not believed it before, but now she did.
This was probably just a clash of values, and a winner must emerge.
Although Jing An ended up "hammered by his father and scolded by his wife," he still insisted on his principle: "You may restrict my body, but not my heart."
Jing An was stubborn at heart, like Grandpa Jing, but only Su Lanzhi could control him, just as Grandma Jing could handle Grandpa Jing. Some things could only be checked by equal force.
Ah, phew, more public displays of affection.
During these days with her grandparents, Jing's Dad and Grandpa Jing held nightly debate competitions. Even though Jing's Dad always lost, he managed to irritate the old man plenty.
Finally, on November 21, after Jing Shu spent several busy days preparing everything, she moved her grandparents to the villa, far away from Jing's Dad, and began her live-streamed cooking plan.
In reality, Jing Shu had been incredibly busy. She had to gather the final raw materials, monitor the Sun Yinrui incident as it unfolded, and keep an eye on her little aunt, who kept coming to freeload meals.
Su Lanzhi was clearly disappointed in Su Meimei, dealing with her coldly and indifferently. Since there had been no tragic death of the eldest uncle's family, Su Lanzhi could not resolve her anger.
Jing Shu didn't know what Su Meimei's purpose was. The two-bedroom apartment was already cramped, and Su Meimei came to join in, eat, and ask questions. Perhaps she was trying to spy on Sun Yinrui? But there might be another intention.
Every day Su Meimei cried and complained. She had transferred the little BMW in her name, which she had never driven, only for Zhang Zhongyong to take it. A few days later, Zhang Zhongyong returned in his Audi. So where did the little BMW go? Zhang Zhongyong said a friend borrowed it for a few days. Su Meimei didn't believe him.
"It must have been given to some seductive fox spirit," Su Meimei said. Yet she still clung to hope and desperately wanted to uncover the truth. She planned to hire a private investigator to track Zhang Zhongyong.
"Sister, my own sister, I am so wronged! The money I saved to buy my car was taken by that bastard to please some other fox spirit! Help me! Let's catch him cheating and beat him senseless!"
Su Lanzhi naturally refused. Su Meimei, angry at her sister for not helping, argued with Su Lanzhi again. Jing Shu and Jing An took turns helping Su Lanzhi. Su Meimei stormed off, furious at Jing Shu's family for not helping in her time of need.
"Lao Sun had been right. This family had changed!"
Sun Yinrui turned gray overnight, suddenly looking eight or nine years older. He hated the marketers, wondering why they did not just expose everything at once to give him a clean slate.
Those people were ruthless. Each time they revealed small scandals like chicken poops, then at the crucial moment, they would tease: "To be continued next time!" The public was left impatiently waiting, watching nightly to see what the villain had done.
The worst part was Sun Yinrui still didn't know how much evidence they had on him. Just a few days ago, he denied ever owing anyone money, only to be slapped in the face with proof. The bribery evidence struck him hard in the chest.
Yesterday he did a PR stunt denying he sold customer information, today someone who had bought customer information exposed him again.
The police registered the case, investigating him for intimidation, embezzlement, and illegal gun possession. Two officers followed him 24/7 to prevent him from fleeing with funds.
Sun Yinrui could not curse, could not hit that unlucky kid, could not hide assets. He could only smile while driving the officers, continue working, and ignore the judgmental glances around him. Otherwise, the police could act anytime.
Sun Yinrui felt as anxious as a student awaiting exam results or a patient awaiting a cancer diagnosis. One piece of proof after another fell. He just wanted a clean, final blow, not this ongoing torment.
In comparison, Jing Shu was living fully.
First, she completed the final upgrades to the fortress villa. In an 8-square-meter, 3-meter-deep pond, she planted lotus roots that bloomed with flowers, released mature Chinese mitten crabs, crayfish, eels, loaches, black fish, catfish, grouper, oysters, scallops, and abalone.
Jing Shu reserved 2 cubic meters of fish fry as a precaution.
She had worried that mixing black fish and catfish would eat the other fish, but it was unnecessary. After one drop of Spirit Spring daily, the fish became energetic as if on adrenaline. Even crucian carp fought with bass, following the law of the jungle.
The fry were large, healthy, and grew quickly, producing a new batch every 20 days in the space.
In the cultivated fields to the left, she planted potatoes, Chinese yams, onions, garlic, sugarcane, and sweet potatoes grown in the Cube Space. These seeds were gifts from the seed shop owner and fully matured in less than a month. She left some empty ground for Grandpa Jing to plant more.
In the villa's front yard, she kept seven chickens, two ducks, three rabbits, and twenty quails. After several days of breeding, the rabbits increased to around forty, quails to over 200, chickens to more than sixty, and ducks to forty.
Pregnant sows and ewes were left alone for now. Once all the vegetables were pickled, Jing Shu planned to process the chickens, ducks, quails, rabbits, cows, sheep, and pigs into preserved foods like dried beef, spicy rabbit cubes, stuffed duck, and braised chicken, keeping only a portion for breeding, and rotate batches as needed.
The greenhouse was prepared for fruit cultivation, ensuring fresh fruit during the apocalypse. Once the vegetables were done, she would transplant fruit plants there.
The vegetable space, recently cleared, was filled again. She had harvested three batches, storing them in 60-liter containers, ready to make pickles immediately.
Jing Shu also bought 4 tons of high-density, long-burning coal, spending 5,000 yuan to fill the two-story coal storage. Wu City province was a major coal-producing area in China, cheap and high quality. A rural boiler needed only half a ton for the entire winter. Considering the apocalypse could bring several cold years, and cooking required coal, she bought extra.