Jin Tianci felt a piercing light hit his back, making every hair on his body stand up. Something's wrong... there's something strange in the air!
Making a fortune quietly, living a high-profile life in a low-profile way, having the ability to avoid trouble but not fear it, and the strength to handle anything that came her way—that had always been Jing Shu's ultimate goal in this apocalypse.
She was long past the fragile stage where she had to guard everything like it was glass. Now she had the capital to aim higher, to fight for a better environment. She had her trump cards, her foundation, and now even shared aligned interests with the government. After all, the most loyal alliances in history were always built on mutual benefit.
"Let's hope you don't crash and burn when the time comes. My manor, my employees' luxury dorms, they're all counting on you, you know!"
She wasn't wrong. By the fourth year of the apocalypse, food had become more valuable than houses. There was even a saying: "A meal can buy you a mansion." By the fifth year, food shortages had reached their absolute worst. People starved or froze to death everywhere.
Even the real estate tycoons of Wu City had started selling off their luxury villas and mobile houses just to trade for grain.
Around that same time, most poultry began dying out. By the fifth year, there were hardly any left. In the third year, middle-class families could still raise a few chickens, plant some garlic sprouts or lettuce. But by then, even official workers were no better off than the common crowd, surviving only on the government's emergency reserves.
You could imagine how miserable life had become. That was the year people started eating corpses, carrion scavengers, even digging up tree roots for food. Some even ate "Guanyin soil." Yet, that was also the year the Shiyuan estate grew even bigger, which made everyone green with envy. No wonder the Tyrant swooped in and seized it during the fifth year's famine.
But Jing Shu was nothing like Shiyuan.
First, Shiyuan could be replaced at any time, and a change of ownership wouldn't hurt much.
Her Red Nematode Processing Factory, though, was another story.
She held the most critical secret the Spirit Spring. Without her, the factory couldn't reproduce vast quantities of red nematodes. It wasn't likely anyone else could master the method, and it was even less likely they could coerce her. If things went south and she decided to fight back, the government would suffer even heavier losses.
After all, killing the goose that laid the golden eggs was stupid. She was the only hen that could lay those golden eggs. The smartest move was to just make the hen lay more eggs, to get more of the formula and breed more red nematodes.
Any smart person would treat their only golden egg-laying hen like a revered ancestor, just like how Grandma Jing treated her plump chicken, Xiao Dou.
Second, Qian Duoduo's resources were on a whole different scale. Not just Shiyuan, but oil reserves and other hidden assets too. The Tyrant wanted it all, because that much food could save hundreds of thousands of people.
Jing Shu, on the other hand, had far less. Aside from the factory, her assets were limited to the supplies in her villa and the goods she'd imported from America. She ran a boutique route—small but elite. Her poultry were precious, her farm animals diverse, and her diet rich. She had vegetables, fruits, and over a hundred kinds of snacks, including pickled radish and dried greens.
The only issue was quantity.
How many people could all that feed? A thousand, maybe? Out of the millions in Wu City, that was nothing. When the bigger picture mattered most, little fish like her didn't count.
Third, by taking down Qian Duoduo, the Tyrant could boost his reputation. With Shiyuan and all its supplies, he could manage distribution better and save more people.
But what would he gain by seizing the Red Nematode Factory? More production? Hardly. Without the formula, they couldn't make a single patty. The factory currently produced food for hundreds of thousands daily. Take Jing Shu out of the equation, and that number would drop to zero. Keeping her in charge ensured a steady supply. Why would the government sabotage that?
Even if you took ten thousand steps back, the red nematodes existed to feed people and prevent mass starvation. In that light, no sane leader in Wu City would ever shut down the factory.
Having aligned interests with the government meant they could be good friends, standing on equal footing at the same level. This was Jing Shu's confidence. She wasn't afraid of the government causing trouble.
Qian Duoduo had once thrived under that same principle of shared interests, though every alliance eventually faced fractures. Knowing how to balance that was the key.
Jing Shu's eyes gleamed as she scribbled down a new line in her plans:
During the fourth-year famine, use red nematodes to trade for luxury manors and employee dorms.
She'd been wondering what to trade with the government, and now she had her answer. In her past life, they'd even auctioned off luxury villas back then. With Jin Tianci's influence, getting her hands on a mobile mansion shouldn't be a problem.
Her villa in Banana Community would last her safely until year five. Beyond year seven, things would get dangerous. This was her way of paving her backup plan. No rush though, as long as she could secure a good one.
The dorms, though... that was urgent.
"Now everyone can see, the boiled red nematode pulp has been dehydrated. The workers are mixing it with salt provided by our sponsor, 'Salty As Hell Salt Merchants.' I'd like to express my heartfelt thanks for their generous support!
Next, we move to the final step. The workers follow strict measurements, packing each patty at exactly 100 grams into molds labeled 'Eat Your Fill Worm Patty.' Oh, and special thanks to the craftsmen of Wu City for forging these custom iron molds for us. They've helped us make a name for ourselves and made production smoother."
Once the patties were molded, they were sent down a conveyor belt into outdoor baskets to freeze solid. In this weather, they'd keep for years without spoiling.
Everyone followed outside, where a gust of cold wind hit their faces. Workers were bustling about, making sure the steaming patties didn't stick together, then hauling the frozen ones back into storage.
"This is our red nematode storage warehouse," someone announced.
The dim light revealed a massive cold chamber, air thick with chill.
Gasps filled the air. Even Jin Tianci was taken aback.
It was immaculate.
It was magnificent.
Rows upon rows of perfectly aligned shelves filled the place. Half were metal, half were stone, each lined with countless patties, all identical in size. The best part? Every single one faced the same direction, their embossed words "Eat Well Worm Patty" staring back in perfect order. It was the kind of sight that could soothe anyone's OCD.
Each rack had ten sections, a thousand patties per section—exactly one ton per rack.
Factory Director Su grinned proudly. "This masterpiece was organized by one of our employees, Gu Yiyi, who's a bit of a neat freak and insists on perfect symmetry for everything. He'll be managing this warehouse from now on. See that guy over there with the middle-parted hair and matching plastic pocket covers? That's him. I'll go call him over."