Back then, Jing Shu had spent a fortune preparing for the possibility of a mudslide. She had gone through Qian Duoduo's extensive network of connections and paid a hefty price to get those massive, rugged boulders hauled in and stacked behind the villa. She had even designed and set up proper drainage and redirection systems, ensuring every stone was positioned to withstand immense pressure. Was all that planning and effort supposed to go to waste now?
Of course not. Now that the disaster had finally struck, she remained calm and collected. She was a stark contrast to the rest of the family, who were pacing and panicking like ants on a hot pan.
"Grandma, Grandpa, don't worry," Jing Shu said, her voice steady. "Even if the mud floods other houses in the area, it won't reach ours."
Everyone turned to look at her, their expressions a mix of confusion and desperation. Grandma Jing squinted at her granddaughter, her brow furrowed. "Why? What makes you so special? You think the mud skips everyone else's house just to spare yours?"
Jing Shu coughed, her hand coming up to scratch her neck as she felt a flicker of discomfort. "Grandma, did you forget? Last year, I had that weird dream and set up a big tombstone in the backyard to ward off evil. To protect the site, I buried two rows of huge stones around it as a foundation."
Wu You'ai's eyes lit up with recognition. She was the first to grasp the implications of what Jing Shu was describing. She looked at her cousin with a newfound sense of admiration. Who else could turn a lingering superstition and a random tombstone into something so functionally brilliant?
Seeing everyone else still staring at her with blank expressions, Jing Shu let out a sigh. She reached for a pen and a piece of scrap paper from the coffee table, quickly sketching a diagram of the backyard.
"Look, this is the giant tombstone I built. When the mudslide flows down from the mountain, it hits these two rows of heavy stones arranged in a sharp triangle, right? Because of the angle, the flow splits and moves off to both sides. It will completely miss our villa and Building No. 25."
But it was even more calculated than a simple triangle. To ensure the mud would stay far away from the villa's walls, she had instructed the workers to angle the stones into a slight, outward curve. This allowed the immense pressure of the moving earth to distribute evenly across the stone faces. Knowing the middle section would take the brunt of the impact, she had reinforced that area with extra layers of granite and concrete. Later, she had even added a waterproof and defensive layer in secret, sealing the gaps between the boulders.
Wu You'ai frowned slightly as she studied the drawing. "That will work for a while, but as the mud keeps piling up on both sides, won't it eventually start flowing back toward the front of the villa?"
Jing Shu smiled, tapping the paper. "You're right, cousin. That's why we will dig deep drainage channels on both sides. Remember that building that vanished after the earthquake? The one that left a seemingly bottomless pit under it? We will redirect all the mud and water straight into that hole. That way, the sludge won't pile up anywhere near us."
She wasn't bluffing about the pit. She had actually spent quite a bit of virtual currency back then to buy the ownership rights to that specific plot of land. At the time, she had planned to hire a team to explore the depths of the hole, hoping to find some buried treasure or industrial materials. A few months later, the team had dug up plenty of rusted junk, but they hadn't found a single valuable thing. People in the district had even mocked her for wasting her money on a literal pile of garbage.
But looking at the situation now, everything had changed. Who would have thought that a useless pit would transform into a perfect business opportunity?
Wu You'ai frowned again, her memory searching for a specific detail. "Wait, I remember that property being bought by some spoiled rich kid. If we're going to redirect all the mud and junk into it, we will need their permission first. I will ask Lao Wu to look into the owner later."
Jing Shu blinked, a sheepish look crossing her face. "Huh? That spoiled rich kid you're talking about sounds like me. I think I spent a few thousand virtual coins on it." She scratched her head, trying to recall the exact transaction. Back then, that amount had just been a set of numbers to her, but now she couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh. If she had a second chance, she would definitely remember the number. After all, it had turned out to be one of her better investments.
Wu You'ai blinked in surprise, her mouth hanging open slightly. She never would have guessed that the "prodigal" Lao Wu kept complaining about was actually her own cousin. Lao Wu used to say that if they had a few more of those spoiled kids around, they could open seven or eight more jobs and feed a few more families. She suddenly felt a surge of pride that her cousin was the one being talked about in the government offices.
Jing Shu patted her shoulder, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "See? Now is our chance to make some profit. Later, help me put up a sign. If anyone else wants to redirect their mud and water there, they will have to pay me. Especially those wealthy old men in the villa district—if I don't charge at least a thousand or two, it would be an insult to their status. As for the regular folks, I will give them a discount."
"Will that really work?" Wu You'ai adjusted her glasses, her skepticism warred with a growing sense of awe. Her sister actually looked quite capable in this light. "I mean, seriously, that's brilliant."
"Of course it will work. Just do as I said."
To test whether the massive stone triangle could really block the encroaching mudslide, the whole family bundled up and hurried out of Building No. 25. They navigated the slushy paths to check the back mountain behind the villa.
There it was: a towering, inverted triangle of massive stones standing tall and solid against the mountain slope. The muddy water was already flowing down, hitting the sharp tip of the formation before splitting perfectly down the sides. Each boulder had been angled with precision to redirect the pressure, sending the thick mudslide safely away from the residential structures. The walls of the nearby villas were already stained and caked with brown sludge, but the area immediately surrounding their villa remained spotless.
Only then did the family finally begin to relax.
"Don't worry, I will start digging the water channels soon," Jing Shu reassured them. The color slowly returned to her grandparents' faces as they looked at the dry ground around them.
Grandma Jing clasped her hands together, her eyes closing as she prayed softly. "Amitabha, please bless our home. Let no mudslide bury us, and please keep our land safe."
With their own situation settled, it was now Jing Pan and Jing Zhao's turn to worry about their homes.
"Mom, we've got to head back," Jing Pan said, her voice thick with anxiety. "Ningshan City is in bad shape, and we're too close for comfort. We need to pack up and be ready to evacuate if things get worse." She was already mentally cataloging the food stores she had hidden throughout her house. Thankfully, she had followed Jing Shu's advice earlier in the year; she had butchered most of the pigs and only kept the breeding sow and the youngest piglets.
Those animals would still need to be moved, but it would be far easier than dragging along dozens of full-grown pigs. Feed, clothes, and daily essentials would all need to be packed. Just thinking about the logistics gave her a headache. She could only hope that Wu County wouldn't be completely buried by the earth.
Wei Chang's mind was already elsewhere, calculating what it would mean for his own interests if Wu County went under.
Grandpa Jing tapped the end of his pipe against his palm and looked at his daughters. "Go on and pack. If things start looking bad, say the word and move everything here. Second, you go too, but come back if the situation worsens." It was his way of giving both women a sense of reassurance.
Jing Zhao and her husband were nervous as well, though their family didn't have as many assets to lose, so they weren't in a state of full panic yet. Still, they had to go back. Even a poor home was worth a fortune in these times. Once it was buried, it was gone forever.
"Jing Shu should take you back," Grandma Jing said, though she immediately looked toward Li Zhu's family with a flicker of regret.
Li Zhu and Li Yun's eyes both lit up at the suggestion. They had heard rumors about their niece's giant RV—the luxurious "mobile mansion" that was rumored to have food, drinks, and all sorts of comforts hidden inside. This trip could be their lucky break. If they could load the vehicle up with some of their own things, wouldn't that be a massive gain for them?
But Jing Shu had just hung up a call on her phone. "Grandma, I can't take them. Someone has got to dig those water channels, and there's no time to waste. I have already asked a friend to send over a truck from the worm patty delivery route. It's not as fancy as the RV, but it will do the job."