"Dad, you finally have some free time to rest. Don't rush to focus on work. Help me for a month at home instead. I really can't keep up. During this time, you can also think carefully about what you want to do in the future, right?"
Jing Shu decided to first stabilize her father. With the apocalypse approaching, anything done now would be for show. It was better to wait until after the apocalypse to serve the country from within the system. Not only would that be a secure position, but the internal perks were better, and he would always get the news a step ahead.
"All right. I'll help my daughter first. My daughter's business is taking off. How could I ignore it?" The daily income of over ten thousand yuan thrilled Jing An. What excited him most was that his daughter was more capable than him.
Thus, Jing An's daily duties included driving Su Lanzhi to her government office thirty kilometers away in the energy vehicle, acting as after-sales support for Jing Shu's livestream buyers, sending parcels, and sometimes helping Grandpa Jing fix things, only to argue with him due to their different worldviews.
Time passed quickly. In December, Wu City had still not seen snow, with weather as warm as spring.
Global temperatures were rising, expected to be nine degrees Celsius higher than average. Guangdong and Fujian hovered around 30℃, Hainan approached 40℃, and northwest Wu City was at 21℃.
CCTV spent the mornings cracking down on celebrities, confiscating their assets, the afternoons on charity reports, and the evenings reporting international unrest while praising China's prosperity. They also promoted carbon reduction and less driving to curb global warming.
The agricultural channel reported ways to rescue crops, since some had sprouted in winter and would not bear fruit in spring or summer.
The science channel boasted daily about causes and effects, but Jing Shu, a graduate of a third-tier arts college, did not understand these complex issues.
She did know, however, that after the sun disappeared due to stellar collisions, the Earth would heat up dramatically, and ecosystems would collapse. The four seasons would vanish, repeated disasters would claim countless lives, and with the sun gone, humanity would enter a true apocalypse. People called it the end times.
Cherish the last few days before the apocalypse arrives!
After pickling vegetables that filled fifty large jars, vacuum-packing chicken and quail eggs, and salting duck eggs, Jing Shu spent the day slaughtering sixty rabbits, leaving only five in the Cube Space for breeding.
Jing An slaughtered the rabbits, but skinning fell to Grandpa Jing. The skins were hung on the third-floor terrace to dry and had many uses. Jing Shu diced the meat, and Grandma Jing fried it until golden and dry.
The bloodier task of skinning remained out of sight.
Early that morning, Grandpa Jing placed the rabbits in front of the camera to educate viewers. His morning routine now included showing off ingredients, in addition to singing opera and sitting in the massage chair. Showing off made him happy, just like posting pictures on social media.
The rabbits drank diluted Spirit Spring water and became fat, plump, and ridiculously cute.
Viewers thought the livestream had a new style.
"Today, My Sister Jing isn't sending pickles to relatives. Are we giving live rabbits instead?"
"These bunnies are so cute! How much for one?"
Immediately after, Jing Shu changed the livestream title:
For just 1,998 yuan, you'll be ecstatic beyond breath.
The adorable rabbits were swiftly diced into cubes, quickly turned golden, then stir-fried with chili, Sichuan pepper, ginger, and scallions. The bright red chili paired with golden rabbit cubes, drizzled with fragrant oil and sprinkled with sesame, created a mouthwatering spicy rabbit dish.
One moment viewers lamented, "Bunnies are so cute, how can we eat them?" The next, they shouted, "I'll take a portion!"
"My Sister Jing sources the freshest ingredients online, bar none!"
The spicy rabbit cubes were packed in two-liter sealed containers, vacuumed, and refrigerated to last six months without losing flavor. Rabbits that drank Spirit Spring could easily last a year.
Sixty fat rabbits filled 125 sealed jars, and Jing Shu sold twenty.
The next morning, Grandpa Jing presented fifty plump, adorable ducks to the camera, quacking loudly. They soon became smoked, marinated ducks, first smoked, then braised. When the skin turned golden, the meat tender and fragrant, the flavorful ducks were ready.
On the third day, Grandpa Jing showcased seventy chickens, later processed into dried, marinated, and vacuum-braised varieties.
The fourth day saw over three hundred quails transformed into braised, fried, roasted, and air-dried dishes.
On the fifth day, when Grandpa Jing brought in two large black pigs, viewers marveled. His vanity was satisfied, and professional butchers were hired. Due to the pigs' size, processing took two days.
Dishes like stir-fried kidneys, spicy blood cubes, and pan-fried pork belly with lettuce were eaten immediately. After Jing Shu had given the family Spirit Spring number 4 (1 drop in 1,000 ml water), everyone's appetite improved dramatically. Her own use of number 3 for strengthening effects made her eat even more.
Big bones were boiled, cooled, and frozen for broth or meat jelly.
Braised pork ribs, braised pork heads, ears, tongues, hearts, stomachs, lungs, intestines, and marinated tails, trotters, and shanks were vacuum-packed and refrigerated. Eight legs were smoked into ham, ready to slice and enjoy anytime.
Oh, right, Sun Yinrui's court judgment came through.
His wife wanted a divorce before the judgment to claim all assets, but the court rejected it. All money and property in Sun Yinrui and Yang Yunyun's accounts were confiscated.
Although the new government policies had only recently applied to public institutions, the court ruled firmly against private companies like Sun Yinrui's. Even appealing to the Supreme Court would yield the same result.
Hadn't CCTV been catching corrupt celebrities and tax evaders daily?
Sun Yinrui was stripped of political rights, recorded, and sentenced to five months in prison. Yang Yunyun and Sun Zijian were also stripped of political rights, recorded, and sentenced to one month of reform. Xiao Cao was judged equally guilty.
Under the new national policy, one person's crime affected the entire family. The scariest part was having it recorded officially. In the apocalypse, these people would only receive the worst food from the government, which ensured they stayed alive, stayed manageable, and provided labor.