Since Su Lanzhi's promotion, her workplace had changed. She now worked at the Planting Industry R&D Management Department, located between the old city center and the current villa district. Compared to her old commute, the new place was much closer, only 14 kilometers away.
Even so, Jing Shu dared not drive too fast. In Wu City, only the city center was cleared daily by bulldozers, while other areas had soil piled so high that cars could only follow the deep tracks left behind by heavy trucks.
At 4:40 a.m., the temperature was 3°C. Jing Shu turned the car heater up as she drove, listening to the 949 radio station. Since petroleum was no longer sold to civilians, most logistics companies had ceased operations. Energy cars had become outrageously expensive and were now called "luxury cars."
Gasoline vehicles, meanwhile, had fallen to rock-bottom prices. Major manufacturers had stopped producing them altogether and shifted to energy cars. Yet due to shortages of raw materials, their production remained scarce.
In the passenger seat, Su Lanzhi cracked open apricot pits, neatly tucking the kernels into a small bag as snacks for work. "I really don't know how our apricot tree produces so many fruits. I eat them every day, and I still can't finish them."
Jing Shu rolled her eyes. To ensure her mother could enjoy apricots daily, Jing Shu had been secretly watering the tree with diluted Spirit Spring. There was a saying: "When life feels easy, it's only because someone else is carrying the weight for you."
This was absolutely true. In her previous life, Jing Shu lived comfortably only because her parents bore the burdens. In this life, it was her turn. But she had learned her lesson too: she would never again raise an ungrateful white-eyed wolf.
They arrived right on time at Su Lanzhi's workplace. At the entrance, iron gates and several security guards in bulletproof vests wielding electric batons checked their identities before letting them through.
Rows of costly, newly built thermostatic greenhouses stretched ahead. Bright lights shone through the windows, illuminating the busy figures inside. As Jing Shu parked, a government shuttle bus pulled in, dropping off the last batch of staff.
Among them, Yu Caini stumbled out with messy, bird's nest hair. Half a year ago, Yu Caini had been radiant, sharp, and commanding in her professional OL outfits. Now she looked disheveled, her clothes wrinkled, and her whole demeanor was one of defeat.
Fixing her hair and clothes, Yu Caini suddenly spotted Su Lanzhi and Jing Shu. Hatred instantly flashed in her eyes. She strutted over arrogantly, saying:
"Find a time to handle the property transfer. That apartment is yours again, just return my money."
Damn it. Who would have thought that the apartment she had thought was a bargain would lose most of its value in just half a year? The 1.4 million yuan flat was now worth less than 300,000, and no one would buy it.
That bastard Clerk Liu had sworn the city center's housing market would never collapse—unless it was the end of the world. Well, wasn't it exactly that now?
Every time the price dropped, Yu Caini cursed Su Lanzhi bitterly. "If only I'd used that money to buy an energy car instead. Damn Su Lanzhi, it's all her fault. Otherwise, I'd be driving to work every day instead of crammed into this shuttle like livestock."
Su Lanzhi tugged at Jing Shu, who was carrying a box, and turned away. Jing Shu looked back with a grin. "Congratulations! The housing market really did crash. That's what it means when evil meets its own punishment."
Before she could say more, Su Lanzhi covered Jing Shu's mouth and quickened her pace.
Yu Caini snorted at their retreating figures. "You can hide for now, but not forever, Su Lanzhi. In this upcoming competition, you'll lose for sure. I'll crush you completely so you'll never rise again. In politics, those without connections will always remain at the bottom. Hmph."
Dragged into the research building, Jing Shu could still hear her mother muttering irritably: "Why bother with her? We already got such a huge bargain, so just let her whine. I don't even want to live in that little apartment anymore, and we've already spent all the money. Let her report all she wants."
The Planting Industry R&D Management Department was divided into different sections. The best resources went to the Director, who oversaw newly built research greenhouses with eight hours of guaranteed electricity and sixteen hours of stable temperature daily. Each Deputy Director was in charge of one experimental site for crops under the Earth's Dark Days. Their results in the coming days would determine who advanced in rank.
And the contrast could not have been clearer.
Yu Caini's research facility had rows of shelves filled with lettuce, spinach, and other crops under artificial light running 24 hours a day. She had more than a dozen researchers working for her, ample supplies of special nutrient solutions, advanced instruments, and even professors personally visiting to guide the work. Her daily tasks were to check progress, offer encouragement, and, conveniently, take home fresh vegetables to enjoy.
By contrast, Su Lanzhi's research site was a mere warehouse converted in haste. It was cramped, lit by only a few lamps, and the vegetables on the racks were withered and malnourished. She had only three experienced farmers assisting her, and no instruments or advanced equipment at all.
It was heaven and earth. No wonder Su Lanzhi had been sighing every evening at home. "What can I do? I told them it was homegrown, so they gave me only this. Yu Caini has her uncle, a professor at the institute, assigning her resources and even supplying catalysts."
No wonder she had felt hopeless. Against such blatant unfairness, there was nowhere to complain. People without connections like Su Lanzhi could only be trampled as stepping stones for others to rise.
"You rest here for a bit. I'll spread the soil over the racks."
Su Lanzhi laid out the soil she had brought from the villa over the vegetable beds. She could not understand why vegetables grew so well at home but struggled here. Until Jing Shu suggested it might be the soil, she hadn't considered it. Of course, this soil was mixed with Spirit Spring water and earth from the Cube Space.
Because of the Earth's Dark Days, the focus of research was on crops that required little sunlight, such as garlic, spinach, crown daisy, lettuce, and mushrooms. These were exactly what filled the racks.
Su Lanzhi worked tirelessly alongside the three farmers. Meanwhile, Jing Shu, hungry and bored, sat alone on the steps, crunching charcoal-roasted cashews.
Suddenly, she felt a pair of small eyes fixed on her, making her freeze mid-bite.
"What are you eating?"
It was a dirty little boy with a runny nose, about five or six years old, with tiny, sharp eyes.
Jing Shu shook her head and stopped chewing under the dim light.
The chubby boy just stood there, patiently staring at her bulging cheeks. When Jing Shu got up to walk away, he followed, his eyes full of silent pleading. Without saying a word, those bright little eyes conveyed ten different ways of begging for food.