As for royal jelly, such a precious thing, naturally every morning the family would dig out a small spoonful, mix it with warm water, and each person would drink a cup. It was good for beauty, nourishing the lungs, and full of health benefits. In a world without sunlight, it could also replenish various vitamins and nutrients.
The black pigs, sheep, and calves in the Cube Space had grown noticeably larger after being regularly fed. Compared with the month-long growth cycle from before, this saved a lot of grain and Spirit Spring. They still matured faster than ordinary pigs and sheep though, and Jing Shu estimated they would be fully grown in just half a year.
Jing Shu had also raised more quail, planning to roast quail and quail eggs in bulk later and store them in the space as late-night snacks. Her appetite had grown even bigger recently.
Jing Shu only kept a few chickens, ducks, and rabbits, but even diluted Spirit Spring worked wonders. Aside from the more than 20 eggs laid daily by Number 1, Jing Shu could still collect over 20 more chicken eggs, 7 or 8 duck eggs, and more than 100 quail eggs. This was far more productive than free-range poultry outside the villa.
The eggs accumulated these days allowed Jing Shu and Jing An to successfully make a large batch of preserved eggs. It also gave Jing Shu a reason to buy a lot of lime to prepare for other uses.
On January 18th, the community suddenly had a power outage. The entire Wu City had been running at overload for over ten days. Not only did it have to provide electricity for households at night, but it also supplied air conditioning, lights, and streetlamps for companies and enterprises during the day. At last, the grid could no longer bear the load.
The main problem was round-the-clock air conditioning. According to statistics, the nationwide electricity consumption was five times higher than usual. Normally, people were reluctant to turn on air conditioners, especially since some areas charged double rates for usage exceeding household limits. But in the past half month, no one held back. The result was a total shortage of electricity.
Wu City adopted emergency measures, distributing diesel so that community and businesses could generate power themselves.
[Wang Qiqi No. 13]:"@everyone, our community hasn't gotten a generator yet. If you can't stand the heat, come down to the underground garage and sit in your cars with the air conditioning on while waiting for power. My car can still fit two more people."
The temperature in Wu City was still as high as 49℃. Half of Jing Shu's community residents were office workers or small business owners who had already closed up shop and stayed home. After less than half an hour without electricity, the houses were like steamers.
People at this time could not stand heat or drink muddy water, but later on, did they not survive anyway? Pretentious, Jing Shu thought irresponsibly as she lounged in her air-conditioned villa set to a constant 26℃, eating Häagen-Dazs ice cream.
Some residents went back to their parents' homes or relatives' places, while others sat in their cars with the AC on waiting for power to return. During this time, Wang Qiqi even pulled more than a dozen new members into the group. The community could house over ten thousand people, but at present, only a little more than a hundred lived there. No wonder restaurants did not dare open nearby.
But in less than a year, this place would become one of the hottest new districts of Wu City, drawing in countless homeless people. Every basement and underground parking spot would be divided into a living space for one family.
In Jing Shu's previous life, her family had exchanged their prime villa during the fifth year for grain and ended up living in basements and cage houses. Later, they migrated multiple times due to various disasters. That period was a nightmare Jing Shu never wanted to recall again.
That day, Jing An brought three packs of mushrooms, two trays of garlic sprouts, some eggs, cabbage, and Spirit Spring-diluted turtle jelly to Grandma Jing and Grandpa Jing.
It was said that buying vegetables in the city had become extremely difficult. Even a wilted cabbage now cost 50 yuan. Other leafy greens and out-of-season vegetables were unavailable. Only mushrooms, chives, and bean sprouts—indoor crops that did not require sunlight—were still sold.
Prices at the dried goods and seafood markets had multiplied too. Since they were even more expensive than vegetables, few people bought them, hoping instead to wait out Earth's Dark Days.
Grandma Jing still had to stay in the city a few more days to line up for medicine, but she and Grandpa Jing were in good spirits.
To avoid problems, purchase limits were imposed everywhere. And medicines now had a six-month backlog. So Grandma Jing quickly went with Third Aunt Jing Lai every day to buy what she could.
Cooling pills, vitamins, Huoxiang Zhengqi water—all had been sold out. Even though Jing Shu reassured her that she had stocked plenty, Grandma Jing insisted on buying more before she could rest easy.
Grandma Jing lacked a sense of security. Having lived through famine, she hoarded everything. Though she had favored boys over girls in the past and was stingy about food and clothing, always bargaining when buying vegetables, she truly treated Jing Shu well. Since childhood, she had always given Jing Shu the best things. In her previous life, Jing Shu had not had the chance to fulfill her filial duty. In this life, she intended to make it up. Whatever Grandma Jing wanted to do, Jing Shu would let her.
At 7 p.m., the family sat in front of the television, eating dinner: three steamed bass, a bowl of steamed egg with caviar, a big pot of curry potato beef stew over rice, and tomato egg soup.
No matter how much food they made, Jing Shu always finished every scrap, leaving no trace of oil. After ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned to eat with nothing wasted.
"You only learned the bad habit of cleaning your plate from your father," Su Lanzhi said, tapping Jing Shu with her finger. "With your appetite and table manners, who would dare to marry you in the future?"
Jing An lay on the couch with an innocent look. "Yes, yes, all the bad habits she learned from me, all the good ones she inherited from you."
"Of course. Just look at my daughter's solar power and water filtration system. Others have no power and eat cold instant noodles for dinner. We're here with air conditioning and a lavish feast."
"You used to call her a spendthrift though," Jing An muttered under his breath.
The entire Wu City was still without power, relying either on backup lines or generators. In the south, with its larger population and insufficient electricity supply, diesel generators were already in use.
Jing Shu knew that soon they would face the awkward situation of having cars but no fuel. Gasoline was a vital resource with more important uses, so private car supplies would be halted.
The same was true for natural gas and other energy. Once this busy period passed, Jing Shu would start cooking food in advance to save coal.
When night fell completely, the temperature in Wu City dropped to 4℃. Residents returned home, only to find in horror that even muddy water was gone.
[Zhang Bingbing No. 4]: "@everyone, I don't have a drop of water left. Can someone spare a couple bottles of mineral water? Thank you."
No one replied.
After a while, Zhang Bingbing messaged again: "I'll pay a high price for two bottles of mineral water!"
Still, no one responded.
Finally, Zhang Bingbing exploded: "What kind of neighbors are you, letting others die without helping? This afternoon, a few aunties even carpooled with me and said if I had any difficulties to call in the group. I burned through all my fuel running the car AC. Now I'm out of gas, stuck at home with no water, and no one's willing to help even if I pay extra for two bottles?"