Zhu Zhengqi only truly understood the power of ridicule and public shaming after being severely attacked and humiliated himself.
Back in his junior year in Hebei, he had molested a female student. The incident was exposed online locally, and overnight thousands of insults and profanities rained down on him. He did not want to look, but could not resist. Seeing it made him feel abandoned by the world. Wherever he went, people pointed and whispered. Some even threw filth at him on the spot. Others just watched, enjoying the spectacle.
Zhu Zhengqi could not comprehend why a simple touch of a chest had blown up to such a serious degree. Every day, people cursed him, calling him a worthless scum who should die. He could not bear the pressure, fell into depression, and within a few days the situation escalated so badly that the school intervened and expelled him.
Returning to Wu City, he cried and begged an influential man for help. The man took 100,000 yuan, hired online trolls to craft sob stories and whitewash Zhu Zhengqi's image, calming the situation. That was when he realized the power of online trolls and joined the industry himself.
Public opinion could crush a person completely. It would not take three days to see it happen, he thought.
...
After all, it was the first day in the villa, and everything felt new. Her grandparents were energetic and busy tidying up. Jing Shu had prepared the guest bedroom on the first floor for her grandparents with fresh bedding and sheets. The 20-square-meter guest bedroom with a bathroom was more than enough for the elderly couple.
The master bedroom was 25 square meters with a bathroom and a large wardrobe. The large space was reserved for her parents, who had more clothing and miscellaneous items.
Jing Shu stayed in a large bedroom on the second floor. After the apocalypse, the second floor would serve as her main storage area. The second-floor suite included a study, storage room, walk-in closet, and bathroom.
The study was already stacked with bottled water and various drinks. The storage room held all kinds of outdoor equipment and daily necessities bought during the Double Eleven sale. The 20-square-meter walk-in closet was packed with snacks purchased during Double Eleven. There were so many that it gave her a great sense of security.
There was also a 20-square-meter walk-in closet on the first floor for storing her family's underwear, sweaters, pants, down jackets, and more. After the apocalypse, cotton and linen fabrics would no longer be produced, and past floods and earthquakes had caused huge losses. Jing Shu had no intention of scavenging old clothes again in this life.
The second floor also had an independent living room converted into a large greenhouse. Another empty bedroom was filled with bags of feed for chickens, ducks, pigs, cows, and sheep.
With preparations in place, Jing Shu no longer feared the early arrival of the apocalypse. If it did not happen, even better. Unfortunately, everything proceeded exactly according to her previous life's trajectory. She could only count down the remaining days of sunlight.
At night, following her usual routine, she added extra meals while inspecting the Cube Space. Jing Shu removed the roots from all vegetables and fed them to the chickens, cows, and sheep. Then she began planting a batch of fruit trees, planning to harvest several batches before the apocalypse for canning and drying.
Jing Shu's planting plan included: snow pears, cherries, oranges, lychee, and yellow peaches for canning; strawberries, pineapples, red dates, and grapes for drying; rock sugar apples and apricots transplanted to the yard; sugar tangerines and hawthorns for potted plants; red grapes trained in the greenhouse; persimmons for persimmon cakes; pomegranates, watermelons, and oranges for juice in Cube Space. Slurp.
You thought you could sleep in late on the second floor without Su Lanzhi's morning bombardment? Chicken crowing, news broadcasts, Grandma Jing's cooking sounds, mixed with Grandpa Jing singing opera and the vibrations of the 10,000-yuan massage chair—ah! She forgot to close the windows!
No, her ears had become sharper. Jing Shu went downstairs to see Grandpa Jing lying leisurely in the lottery-winning massage chair, occasionally howling, clearly saying: "So high, feeling like life has reached its peak."
Jing Shu: "..." Just happy, then.
The morning news still focused on catching corrupt officials. They confiscated some money but also added donation forms from major companies. Whoever donated more received praise.
Those with money donated money, those with resources donated goods. Mobile carriers competed to offer free call credits. Over the next half-month, many people were scared. The smarter ones knew what to do.
The news presented a harmonious, friendly atmosphere, but Jing Shu could sense the undercurrents. In just over twenty days, hundreds of countries would simultaneously announce the Earth would face darkness with no sunlight.
...
"Spicy cabbage can be eaten in many ways: as a side dish with rice, in hotpot, fried rice, stir-fried with meat, in tofu soup, and more.
And for pickled spicy cabbage, achieving the perfect balance of spiciness, crunch, sourness, and sweetness is an art. Cabbage contains lots of fiber, helping with digestion, weight loss, and beauty!"
Grandma Jing chuckled as she spoke. Seeing countless comments scrolling across the screen, she asked Jing Shu if many viewers liked what she was saying.
Jing Shu squinted and smiled, confirming it. Her grandparents could not read and had no idea what the comments said.
Today, Jing Shu was at the vegetable washing area, cleaning cabbage and various auxiliary ingredients such as carrots, apples, pears, green onions, and garlic. Grandpa Jing worked at the cutting station, using unique methods to ensure each cabbage looked intact and beautiful.
Grandma Jing evenly spread salt on every cabbage leaf, marinated them for half a day, and then Grandpa Jing started preparing the seasoning.
In the afternoon, the cabbage was rinsed with clean water, squeezed dry, and the seasoning was applied to each layer, filling ten large pickling jars. Some 2-liter jars were set aside to eat in a few days.
After finishing the day's livestream, Jing Shu finally had time to review the events and the comments.
Yesterday, she had no followers. Passersby came, watched, and left without a word. Today, the number of viewers suddenly rose to 50,000, staying steady throughout the day.
The Jing Shu of ten years ago would not have understood, but now, after hiring online trolls, she knew everything.
The comments were predictable:
"Crazy for money, selling for 998 yuan, never buying!"
"Eat Korean trash? Get out of China!"
"Look, a traitor worshipping foreign ways, kill her!"
"This person should die."
"Selling cheap trash for top prices? Get out of the livestream, you are not welcome!"
Jing Shu laughed angrily. These trolls knew how to tailor criticism based on content, labeling her unpatriotic. That price must be high enough to trigger it.
"Even as a troll, you need some knowledge. Kimchi originated with the Korean ethnic group. Some Chinese merchants migrated there too. How is it now Korean? It is still part of my China." Jing Shu scoffed.
Even though the livestream had no real viewers, just trolls, she was still angry. She was angry at human nature.
It was obvious who hired the trolls. Besides Zhu Zhengqi, no one else. She had not signed the contract, which would have affected Zhu Zhengqi's commission. He used this dirty method to pressure her. For 50,000 yuan, he could ruin someone's life. Was he expecting her to beg him to finalize the contract?