The elderly couple had moved all the bedding, daily necessities, and clothing from the countryside into the new house. It seemed they were planning to stay permanently. Because of this, Jing Shu finally felt at ease. With her grandparents under her watchful eyes in this life, how could they possibly die?
Third Aunt and Wu You'ai also made a special visit to Jing Shu. Third Aunt spent several days knitting a cotton vest, knee warmers, and cotton socks for Jing Shu with wool yarn. Wu You'ai, on the other hand, carried over a cardboard box filled with more than ten silkworms.
Wu You'ai said, "Didn't you say the other day that you wanted silkworms? So I asked my professor for some experimental ones. Domesticated silkworms are gone, but these are Amber Silkworms. The silk they spin is golden and currently only cultivated in India. They can feed on many different plants. Whether they survive depends on you."
Jing Shu accepted the silkworms with delight. These days she had been so busy collecting all sorts of supplies that she had completely forgotten about silkworms. By the time she remembered, they were already impossible to find. Most had likely died from the cold unless they were kept somewhere like her villa, which was maintained at a constant temperature 24 hours a day.
Jing Shu had not expected Wu You'ai to actually find some. Even if they were not a Chinese breed, any silkworm that could produce silk was good.
Raising some silkworms now would prove useful later. In the apocalypse, cotton and linen had no new harvests. In the first few years it was fine, as people could strip clothing from abandoned houses or corpses. But later, once the government had distributed most of the existing cotton quilts and clothes, there would be no more new ones. Though Jing Shu had stockpiled plenty, one day those would still run out.
Cotton was manageable since Jing Shu could plant some in the Cube Space and weave it openly. But many things that required silk were impossible without silkworms. She did not need many, just enough to maintain a breeding line so she could expand whenever necessary.
Jing Shu understood that Third Aunt and Wu You'ai were thanking her for the medicine she had given them that day. They did not say much, but their actions spoke volumes. To Jing Shu, this was how family should behave: mutual courtesy and gratitude.
Family members had no obligation to do anything for you. It was like Su Meimei, who endlessly demanded things under the guise of being family. Helping was kindness, not helping was only natural.
Because of this, Jing Shu's fondness for Third Aunt and Wu You'ai, with whom she had not interacted much in her previous life, grew somewhat.
"Making tofu is a profound skill!" Grandpa Jing turned the small stone mill as he launched into his trademark "Jing Shanhe-style bragging." Grandpa Jing's full name was Jing Shanhe, a name both grand and imposing.
Grandma Jing stood nearby, occasionally pouring in some water, and bossed him around as if driving a donkey. Jing Shu could not help but laugh as she watched.
Over the following days, Jing Shu began the process of grinding soybeans into tofu and turning them into all sorts of delicious foods.
In the south, gypsum was used to set tofu, making it tender and smooth. In the north, brine was used, producing firmer tofu with a stronger taste and more chewiness. Since Wu City was in the north, brine was more commonly used.
She also made more than ten 2-liter containers of tofu pudding to keep for breakfast. She cooked a great deal of soy milk, filling the last 1 cubic meter of available space in her Cube Space, so it would be ready to drink anytime.
When making tofu, a layer of skin formed on top of the boiling soy milk. Once cooled, this became tofu skin. Jing Shu fried them into crispy sheets and also made yuba, storing them in the refrigerator she had cleared.
She turned some tofu into frozen tofu for hotpot, some into various flavored dried tofu, and some into fried tofu. She coated pieces in beaten egg and fried them golden until they puffed up, then sprinkled them with salt. Simple, but absolutely delicious.
Grandma Jing kept some tofu to make stinky tofu. That instantly made Jing Shu crave the famous stinky tofu from Changsha, her mouth watering at the thought.
The rest of the soybeans were roasted into five-spice crispy soybeans. Since she had no more room in the Cube Space, she stored them in a dozen 2-liter sealed jars, squeezing two jars into whatever space was left. With this, she achieved the ultimate food hoarder's dream: to always have snacks on hand whenever she wanted them.
Time slipped by, and by mid-March the weather remained unbearably hot. The Earth's Dark Days showed no signs of ending, and everyone began to realize a horrifying truth: the Dark Days might never end, and the weather might never return to normal.
Meanwhile, household grain stores were being consumed at an alarming rate because there were no vegetables or side dishes. Families survived on plain rice or noodles, which quickly depleted supplies.
Food stored in refrigerators was spoiling too, since power was not stable. Families who ate through their frozen meat quickly enough managed, but others who delayed found their food rotting.
Eating the same grain every day caused widespread frustration. Many could no longer stomach white rice. It was just like Jing Shu's previous life: rice at noon, plain noodles in the afternoon, or rice stir-fried, steamed, or boiled in different styles.
But no matter the style, the essence was unchanged. Eating the same food for a week was enough to kill appetite, let alone after more than a month. Jing Shu even swore that she would rather eat instant noodles than another bowl of plain rice.
[Wang Cuihua]:"We used to get two buckets of water every two days, but now it's only one. It's barely enough for drinking, not enough for cooking rice."
[Jing Lai No. 25]: "I went to the west side of the city to prepare cooked food. They say water will only become scarcer. The lakes in Wu City are all green now, full of rotting organisms."
Third Aunt and Wu You'ai joined a group chat on behalf of Grandma Jing to pass along information. Third Aunt had also been working on the west side making cooked food. It was hard, but she enjoyed it and made many friends.
Wang Cuihua sent another voice message: "Are they still hiring where you are? I heard at least they give you a hot meal with vegetables."
[Jing Lai No. 25]: "Not anymore. If they start again, I'll let you know."
[Wang Qiqi, No.13]: "@everyone, important notice. All supermarkets will now only open from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., just one hour. Families without reserves should queue daily to buy food. No one knows when the Dark Days will end, which means no crops can be grown until then. Also, they say natural gas might be restricted soon. If it's cut off, we won't even be able to cook."
That announcement shocked countless lurkers into speaking. People bombarded the chat, asking if it was true. Power outages and water shortages were bad enough, but if natural gas was cut, how would they even prepare meals?
[Young Master with Kids, No.13]:"This is like the end of the world. Many posts online exposed it, but they were deleted. Some claim the Dark Days will never end, and China will not be able to grow crops for years. Even with three years of stockpiles, it will run out eventually. We should hoard as much food as we can."
[Wang Dazhao, No.1]: "It's true. If I had known, I would have bought more months ago. I came to line up at 2 p.m., six hours early, and there were already many people. Next time you better come by noon. The line behind me stretched across the street. With just one hour open, who knows if we'll even get anything."