CHAPTER 21: FINAL REINFORCEMENT OF THE FORTRESS

News reports indicated the country expected to implement a policy in two years: on holidays, admission to tourist attractions, shuttle buses for sightseeing, and tolls would all be free.

Mr. Jing wanted to take a plane to climb Huashan, while Mr. Jing said he would take a train to see the ocean.

Mr. Jing scolded Mr. Jing for living a twilight life while still so young. Mr. Jing argued that when one is old, one shouldn’t seek thrills but should rather go to safe places.

"I firmly disagree with you going to such dangerous places."

"I don’t agree with you going to such a boring place either. What’s so great about the sea? Haven’t you had enough of looking at the water tank at home for decades?"

Jing Shu covered her face. Why were they arguing so seriously over something that hadn’t happened yet and, with the impending apocalypse, never would? Couldn’t they each just go their own way?

There was a news story about a couple who, after fantasizing about winning 5 million, ended up fighting and divorcing over an "uneven division of the money." Jing Shu hadn’t believed such stories before, but now she did.

This is probably a clash of ideologies, always needing to determine a winner...

Although Mr. Jing’s stance ended with the brutal consequences of being beaten by his father and hit by his wife, he still held onto his belief: "You can constrain my body, but not my heart."

Deep down, Mr. Jing was as stubborn as Mr. Jing, firm in his convictions like a donkey. However, only Mrs. Jing could subdue Mr. Jing, just as Grandma Jing subdued Mr. Jing—a classic case of one thing overcoming another.

Tsk, subjected to their public displays of affection again, Jing Shu thought.

During the days Grandma Jing and Mr. Jing stayed, Mr. Jing and Mr. Jing had a debate every night. Although Mr. Jing was always beaten in argument, he still managed to infuriate the old man.

Finally, on November 21st, after several busy days of preparation, Jing Shu took Grandma Jing and Mr. Jing to the villa. She left Mr. Jing behind and began her plan to livestream cooking.

In fact, Jing Shu had been extremely busy. She had to finish collecting raw materials, monitor the unfolding Sun Yinrui incident, and fend off her aunt, Su Meimei, who came over daily to freeload meals.

Mrs. Jing was clearly disappointed with Su Meimei, always treating her with indifference. Without the tragic death of Uncle’s family, Mrs. Jing wouldn’t have that knot in her heart.

Jing Shu didn’t know Su Meimei’s purpose. The two-bedroom house was already cramped, yet Su Meimei still came to freeload meals and add to the chaos, prying into all sorts of matters. Is she trying to gather information for Sun Yinrui? But she seems to have other intentions too.

Su Meimei came over every day, weeping. She said she hadn’t driven her little BMW a single day after transferring its ownership to Mrs. Jing’s name, as Zhang Zhongyong had taken it away. But a few days later, Zhang Zhongyong was back to driving his Audi. So, where did the little BMW go? He claimed a friend had borrowed it for a few days, a story Su Meimei didn’t believe.

"He definitely gave it to some seductive vixen," Su Meimei said. Yet, she still harbored a glimmer of hope and desperately wanted to discover the truth. She planned to hire a private detective to investigate Zhang Zhongyong.

"Sis, my dear sister, I’ve been truly wronged! The car I bought with my savings has been taken by that bastard to please some other seductress! Help me, please! Come with me to catch him in the act, and when we do, we’ll beat him to a pulp!"

Mrs. Jing naturally refused. Su Meimei then argued with her again, accusing her of not caring whether her own sister lived or died. Jing Shu and Mr. Jing took turns supporting Mrs. Jing. Su Meimei eventually fled in embarrassment, slamming the door behind her. Her heart filled with even more hatred for Jing Shu’s family. When she needed help, her own family wouldn’t lift a finger! Fine, they shouldn’t blame her for being ruthless then!

Old Sun was right after all—this family really had changed!

Overnight, Sun Yinrui’s hair turned white; he seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. He despised those muckrakers. Why couldn’t they just get it over with?! Why not expose everything all at once? That way, he could have done some damage control and whitewashed his image.

Those ruthless people! They released information about him in small, unpleasant bits, like chicken droppings. Just when it reached the most critical point, they’d end with a cliffhanger: ’To know what happens next, tune in next time!’ It left the online spectators itching with anticipation, eagerly waiting each evening to see what misdeeds this villain had committed.

The most vexing part was, he didn’t even know how much evidence they had against him! Just a few days ago, he had denied ever owing anyone money, and immediately he was slapped in the face with irrefutable proof of him bribing people, a blow that struck him hard.

Just yesterday, his PR team had managed to deny that he had sold customer information, but today, the very people who had bought the information turned around and sold him out, a slap in the face twice as hard.

The Public Security Bureau filed a case, investigating him on suspicion of making threats and intimidation, embezzlement, and illegal possession of firearms. Two police officers followed him around the clock, fearing he might abscond with the funds.

Sun Yinrui couldn’t curse, nor could he vent his frustration about that infuriating mess, or even transfer his assets. He could only smile while playing chauffeur to the two officers, continue to go to work, and pretend not to see all the finger-pointing and sneering. Otherwise, the officers behind him might draw their guns at any moment.

Sun Yinrui felt as anxious as a student waiting for final exam results, or a patient waiting for a cancer diagnosis. With each damning piece of evidence surfacing one after another, all he wanted was a swift end to the torment!

In contrast, Jing Shu’s life was much more fulfilling.

First, she performed the final, clever substitution for the fortified villa’s resources. In the 8-square-meter pond, 3 meters deep, she planted lotus roots that would bloom with lotus flowers. She also stocked it with mature Chinese mitten crabs, crayfish, eels, loaches, blackfish, catfish, grouper, oysters, scallops, and abalone.

Jing Shu reserved 2 cubic meters of various fry as a precautionary measure.

Initially, Jing Shu worried that the blackfish and catfish might prey on the other species. However, her worries were completely unnecessary. Since adding a daily drop of Spiritual Spring water, the aquatic life had become as aggressive as if injected with chicken blood. Even the crucian carp now fought with the bass daily—a true "survival of the fittest" scenario.

The young stock grew large and robust, maturing quickly; a new batch was ready every 20 days in her space.

In the tilled field to the left, she planted potatoes, yams, onions, garlic, sugarcane, and sweet potatoes that had already matured in her space in less than a month. These had been gifts from the seed store owner. She left the remaining empty patch for Mr. Jing to plant something else.

She introduced 7 chickens, 2 ducks, 3 rabbits, and 20 quails into the villa’s front yard. After just a few days of breeding in her space, the rabbit population had grown to about 40, quails to over 200, chickens to over 60, and ducks to over 40.

She kept the pregnant sow and ewe in her space for the time being. After all the vegetables were pickled, Jing Shu began processing the space-bred chickens, ducks, quails, rabbits, cattle, sheep, and pigs. She made them into delicacies like dried beef, spicy diced rabbit, Peking-style roast duck, and braised chicken, storing them carefully. She kept some livestock for breeding, processing them in batches, and would prepare more as their supplies dwindled.

She planned to cultivate fruits in the greenhouse to ensure a supply of fresh fruit during the apocalypse. After she finished planting the current round of vegetables, she would plant fruit trees in her space and then transplant some to the greenhouse.

Speaking of vegetables, her space, which she had recently cleared, was now full again. To date, she had harvested three batches, packing them into 60-liter storage boxes, ready to be taken out directly for pickling.

Jing Shu also purchased 4 tons of high-density, long-burning coal, spending 5,000 yuan to fill the entire double-level coal shed. Wu City was in one of Huaxia’s major coal-producing provinces, so coal was cheap and of good quality. In the countryside, half a ton of coal was enough to heat a boiler for an entire winter. Considering that the apocalypse might bring several very cold years and that cooking would also require coal, Jing Shu bought extra.