CHAPTER 85: BLACK PIG SETTLES THE DEBT

The surroundings suddenly turned eerily silent, as all of the office workers at the Management Department were government employees with connections in their families. Moreover, Mrs. Jing usually did not come off as very assertive. However, today was an eye-opener for most of the staff.

As soon as they arrived at the Management Department, there were whispers among the employees’ small circles about today’s events. Minister Su’s daughter had shot someone with a gun, and her strength seemed boundless. Minister Su’s husband had run over a dozen robbers with his car. These robbers had been summoned by Yu Caini, and Minister Su was planning to deal with Yu Caini now, and so on.

In Wu City’s thirteen districts, it was the Development Zone’s Management Department that was responsible for supplying vegetables to all the government employees of Wu City.

Mrs. Jing’s role at the Agricultural Management Department was to provide 500 kilograms of vegetables daily for 5,000 civil servants, with another 500 kilograms for 500 leaders; particular leaders received vegetables catered to their taste.

As long as one was an official civil servant, they had access to 100 grams of fresh vegetables daily. Compared to other departments that had to grow a hundred thousand tons of moldy mushrooms to feed over a hundred thousand people, it was a stark difference between small-pot and big-pot meals.

The Management Department centralized various resources, cultivating vegetables with uninterrupted power for 12 hours, and it was about to provide the first batch of vegetables in a few days.

Mrs. Jing watched from a distance as Yu Caini mixed fertilizers, eating her almonds while the big lights shone on Yu Caini, attracting countless flying insects.

Yu Caini, wearing rain boots and a mask, still couldn’t block the pervasive foul odor. She continuously mixed manure with ash, Epsom salts, and dried grass using farming tools, ensuring the manure was thoroughly crumbled for effective evaporation. Initially, Yu Caini stomped vigorously in anger, but gradually she ran out of energy.

Soon it was lunchtime, and the Management Department provided one meal daily. Nowadays, the meals consisted of rice mixed with soil, alongside dry stir-fried lettuce. Finding meals with vegetables was rare now, so even the security guards were desperate to get inside.

"If you don’t finish this today, you won’t eat or leave work," Su Lanzi shouted from a distance.

Yu Caini angrily threw down her tools and stomped over.

Mr. Jing had just arranged a small table and stool. Jing Shu pulled out a stack of thick beef steaks from the thermal box, covered in black pepper sauce. There was also a stack of sweet and sour radish, a large bowl of crispy fried fish, and a large bowl of sautéed bean sprouts with meat. The soup was a simple spinach and shrimp soup.

"What, are you thinking of striking?" Su Lanzi frowned. The stench from Yu Caini was unbearable.

Jing Shu grabbed a steak with her chopsticks, biting off half, then shoveled some bean sprouts into her mouth and took a sip of soup. Yu Caini, who initially wanted to argue, was distracted by the sight.

In the blink of an eye, Jing Shu had eaten three steaks, half a bowl of crispy fried fish, and most of the soup.

Yu Caini, smelling the delicious aroma, swallowed continuously, especially the steaks. She recognized them—the ones with bones were T-bone steaks. There was also longan. The last two pieces of sirloin steak, kept in the refrigerator, which she hadn’t dared to eat, ended up maggot-infested and consumed by rotten corpse insects.

The last time she ate meat seemed to be two months ago, some frozen pork given to her by that dead old man.

With a loud "WAH!" Yu Caini burst into tears, swallowing her saliva while feeling extremely aggrieved. She wanted to rush up and snatch the food, but the gun in Jing Shu’s hand constantly pointed at her, deterring any such attempts.

There were sixteen steaks in total, and Jing Shu had eaten ten while Yu Caini watched the entire time, unconsciously opening her mouth as if fantasizing about eating steak. She had nearly forgotten what meat tasted like and only knew it smelled incredibly delicious.

Life must have style. When it comes to dealing with enemies, I enjoy the sight of you crying for the steak I eat—it’s beautiful.

"You can find people, and so can I, but the people I find are not so gentle. Ever heard of the Sky Covering Party? They enjoy torturing and overpowering..." Jing Shu casually threatened Yu Caini.

Jing Shu decided she wouldn’t let Yu Caini die so easily and be released from her misery. Sometimes, living is the greatest punishment.

The third robbery occurred just after Jing Shu’s family had finished eating, while Yu Caini, overwhelmed by craving, had her stomach constantly growling. Then, the outside erupted with alarm sirens and gunshots.

The two parties were not on the same level. When dozens of men and women armed with machetes rushed over, they were met with police gunfire. The battle lasted less than a minute; the attackers didn’t even make it over the gate before scattering in all directions, disappearing.

It was now certain that all the households in Wu City were out of food. Some chose to rob, while others resorted to peeling bark or eating insects. There were no wild vegetables due to the high temperatures, which were unbearable even for humans and livestock, though wild grass still survived.

That evening, after returning home, Jing Shu learned that Aunt Jing Pan and her family had been robbed. All they knew was that Aunt Jing Pan’s leg was wounded. With hospitals in the county town closed, they could only bandage it and hope it wouldn’t become inflamed in the daytime heat.

Grandma Jing packed her things, planning to check on the situation the next day. Mr. Jing couldn’t dissuade her, so he could only agree to accompany her to see Aunt Jing Pan tomorrow.

The next day, after dropping Mrs. Jing at work, Jing Shu returned with three black pigs loaded in a large box on the roof of the car, leaving the family speechless with surprise.

"Where did you get so many pigs from?"

"These black pigs were given by the guy who sold me the pigs last time. Someone robbed his place the day before yesterday, and I saved him. He gave these as a thank you. Grandma, don’t we still owe Aunt Jing Pan and Third Aunt 100,000 yuan? Money is worthless now, so let’s pay the debt with these pigs. Meat is extremely expensive now; you can’t even buy it for hundreds of thousands."

Mr. Jing scratched his head. "How do you always end up in these situations?"

Grandma Jing, holding Jing Shu’s hand with immense affection, knew exactly what she worried about. Her eldest daughter’s home had been robbed of food, and she fretted over her daughter not eating well. Jing Shu was now offering a whole pig to ease her grandmother’s worries.

"Pork is too valuable. Why not give a few bags of rice instead? You can’t buy rice outside either. Let’s keep the pork for Grandma to prepare for you." Grandma Jing’s heart was clearly biased towards Jing Shu, knowing her son’s family had no shortage of vegetables and rice.

For Jing Shu, the Thai jasmine rice in the basement was much more precious than pigs. Black pigs could produce up to ten piglets in half a year and were low-maintenance, whereas rice had to be husked after harvest, which was troublesome.

Moreover, a few months ago, Aunt Jing Pan had risked her safety to deliver three boxes of apples to everyone. Aunt Jing Pan had borrowed money from Jing Shu and had never mentioned repaying it, but Jing Shu couldn’t pretend the loan never happened. The money borrowed back then from everyone had helped them buy so many supplies and enjoy these good days. These black pigs were just surplus from their plans anyway.

In the end, Jing Shu insisted. She kept two male pigs and placed a sow in the car. The family then went to the countryside to visit the injured Jing Pan, bringing some Yunnan Baiyao and anti-inflammatory medicine.

Speeding along the way, Jing Shu, Grandma Jing, Mr. Jing, and Mr. Jing, along with the fat pig, finally arrived at Aunt Jing Pan’s house in the county town. A crowd had gathered at the closed gate, clamoring about beating the landowners and distributing grain.