Fortunately, her grandparents could not read, so they were unharmed. If they could read, could they withstand such a barrage of insults from the outside world? Jing Shu's fists were already itching.
Being scolded by tens of thousands of people, how many could endure it?
Jing Shu had returned from the apocalypse covered in wounds and scars. She was not melodramatic, but she lived by one principle:
Take life or death lightly, challenge anyone who disagrees!
If someone bullied her and she thought to wait until the apocalypse to deal with them, that was not her style. Jing Shu preferred to see the hatred in their eyes immediately, even as they had no choice but to kneel and beg for mercy.
Watching the drama in shows like Story of Yanxi Palace, where characters died every episode, was satisfying for a while. But Jing Shu liked to keep track of enemies who had survived the apocalypse, digging them up every few chapters and rubbing salt into old wounds.
The best approach now was not to hire trolls to fight Zhu Zhengqi's trolls in the livestream. That would waste money and accomplish nothing. Jing Shu's livestream was just a front, a way to store food. She did not want to become inexplicably famous.
"Hello? Heng Jin? Check someone's history for me. His name is Zhu Zhengqi. I'll send the phone number on WeChat. Good, good. I follow Sun Yinrui's updates every day. You're doing great. The final blow should be ready soon, right?"
"What? He claims to have found the woman who accused him, and that woman is willing to testify about being bribed? Haha, I'm curious where Sun Yinrui found a fake."
"Don't worry, I'll testify in the end. At this stage, whether it stays secret or not is irrelevant."
After hanging up, Jing Shu thought for a while. Could it be that Sun Yinrui had boasted not only to his son but also to other women? Could it be Su Meimei? That would expose their relationship. This was the final hammer. Once Jing Shu landed it, Sun Yinrui would be finished.
Sun Yinrui's wife would make his life unbearable.
Indeed, Sun Yinrui's wife was domineering and controlling. Sun Yinrui relied on her—his logistics company belonged to his wife's family, which allowed him to manage Wu City's logistics. Even if Sun Yinrui were exposed before, the company would still back him, unwilling to abandon him.
But if his wife found out he was seeing someone else, her tactics would be so terrifying that even Sun Yinrui ten years after the apocalypse would not dare to live openly. One could imagine the extent of her methods.
Perhaps because of his wife's strong personality and tendencies, Sun Yinrui sought out the ugly but cunningly gentle Su Meimei.
It was worth noting that in this era of beauty filters, Su Meimei was the only person who still looked naturally pretty even after adding special effects.
For the next few days, Jing Shu continued busy with various pickling tasks.
Among them, pickled mustard was the simplest but required salt to dehydrate the vegetables, repeatedly draining and salting the water. That was how it got its name.
Pickled mustard occupied thirteen large jars, the largest quantity among all Jing Shu's pickles. It was not the tastiest, but in the apocalypse, it was inconspicuous, long-lasting, and hardy.
She also made five jars of sweet garlic, which needed salt dehydration, sauce preparation, and daily turning before sealing.
Next came pickled radish, sauced cucumbers, celtuce, bamboo shoots, and pickled long beans, all dehydrated with salt and then marinated in sauce following proper procedures.
In contrast, various quick-pickled vegetables were much simpler. Leftover carrots, long beans, cabbage, celtuce, and cucumbers were cut into pieces, divided into jars, covered with water and seasonings, and ready to eat in two or three days. Their taste differed from traditional pickles.
Sweet-and-sour radish was slightly more complicated, requiring slow simmering for four to five hours to extract flavorful juice.
The simplest was pickled garlic stalks: just cut and soak in vinegar. Take out whenever you wanted, put in whenever you wanted.
The recent pickling used so much salt that Jing Shu had to order another 500 jin (≈250 kg) of sodium-free salt.
It was worth mentioning that in the past few days, Jing Shu had sold ten portions of sweet garlic, over ten portions of sauced cucumbers, and dozens of sweet-and-sour radish portions, each priced at 998 yuan. Jing Shu felt helpless.
Perhaps her sarcasm that day had an effect. The next day, her original 50,000 viewers skyrocketed to over 100,000. She went from being a little-known streamer to one of the top ten most popular, dominating the comment, egg-throwing, and fastest-rising charts.
Jing Shu wanted to turn off the livestream to relax, but Grandpa Jing discovered it and scolded her, asking why she never turned it off.
The trolls were ecstatic, attracting countless onlookers curious to see why a streamer had over a hundred thousand virtual eggs thrown at her in a day. But most trolls were pre-programmed bots, spouting crude insults repeatedly. Observers quickly understood what was happening.
Some onlookers argued:
"Who did this streamer offend to get roasted so badly?"
"A rich second-generation who remains aloof? She doesn't care. Didn't she hire trolls to fight back?"
"Checking old videos, her ingredients are really good, and she handles them cleanly. I believe she's making them for relatives and herself, not as they claimed."
"Honestly, there's nothing to insult. She's just pickling vegetables."
"Wow, she got pushed down so fast! Everyone, charge! Beat the trolls!"
A spontaneous wave of support emerged. Observers shared her livestream across forums and Tieba, and it even trended slightly on Weibo. More people joined the fight against the trolls.
Just as trolls were being overwhelmed, another wave of 100,000 bots surged in, placing Jing Shu in the top three. As the numbers grew, a few wealthy viewers were attracted, and the topic shifted.
"This is premium produce. The price is high, but deservedly so."
"She didn't even ask you to buy it. She said it's for relatives and herself. Classic rich kid."
"I love Grandma. She seems to know how to pickle everything. I've learned a lot."
"I like Grandpa. He's a carpenter, skilled at everything, and likes to brag."
"The streamer seems invisible. Why is she always washing vegetables?"
"She has this cold goddess vibe. Jing Shu doesn't talk much, but she's best at washing vegetables."
"Unbelievable. One portion is 2 liters. The containers are so nice, must be expensive. Clean, hygienic, no additives, great ingredients. I wouldn't dare eat outside even if pregnant. Quality is everything. I'll try a portion first!"
One person tipped first, then many followed. During the troll-versus-citizen battle, wealthy viewers began buying various pickles.
Within days, some rich viewers regularly dominated the livestream with gifts, defending Jing Shu and proving via unboxing videos how delicious her pickles were. Others, curious, bought portions too. The situation became unstoppable.