The sight before them was incredible. It didn't look like a supermarket display at all, but rather a professional warehouse stacked to the rafters with goods. Every kind of staple imaginable was there, packed neatly into heavy boxes and reinforced bags. The faint, dusty scent of dry grain and the sharp, clean smell of packaged oil filled the small space.
"See that? Satisfied now?"
Click.
The lights went off, plunging the room into darkness. Jing Shu pulled Grandma Jing out of the room, the cool basement air following them, and slammed the heavy lock shut. As soon as the door clicked into place, she reached into her consciousness and swiftly moved the entire physical stock of rice and flour back into the safety of the Cube Space.
Grandma Jing smacked her lips, still savoring the mental image of the mountain of food. "I wasn't done looking yet. I didn't even get to count how many bags of food we have got left. Why are you in such a rush, girl?"
Jing Shu could only let out a quiet sigh. If Grandma Jing saw too much and committed the exact numbers to memory, it would be impossible to bluff her next time the stores needed adjusting.
Grandma Jing whispered excitedly, her eyes wide even in the dim hallway light. "There were dozens, maybe hundreds of sacks of rice and flour in there, stacked like a mountain. How did you even buy so much, my dear granddaughter?"
Jing Shu pouted slightly. In truth, they had already consumed more than half of that specific stock without the family even realizing it, and it had only been three years. It looked as though she would have to start growing rice within the Cube Space soon. However, she was still holding back because she lacked high-quality seeds. She missed the fragrant Wuchang rice from the northeast, the crimson royal rice from Yutian, and the delicate tribute rice from Zhefeng. Jing Shu maintained very high standards when it came to her meals, and she wasn't willing to settle for inferior grains yet.
Perhaps she should pressure the contact who had promised her the specialty seeds. It had been half a year already—she wondered if something had happened to them. She would be damned if those precious seeds got buried in a mudslide somewhere. Maybe she should go out and investigate the delay herself.
"The suppliers said you needed to buy at least a few hundred sacks to qualify for the wholesale price," she explained, leaning against the basement wall. "So I just went for it and hid them down here. It cost me a fortune, and I didn't dare tell Mom. Grandma, please don't let it slip."
Grandma Jing nodded like a pecking chicken, her anxiety finally replaced by a deep sense of security. "Rice will grow bugs if it sits too long. You better take good care of it."
"Got it. I'm going to dig the canal now." Jing Shu pulled on her heavy rubber boots, hoisted a customized iron shovel she had commissioned for its weight and durability, and headed out to the yard.
Life at the Jing household returned to its usual rhythm. They ate when they were hungry, drank when they were thirsty, and worked until they were ready to drop. But the atmosphere wasn't quite the same as before. Mudslides weren't as frequent or as immediately deadly as earthquakes, but they possessed a relentless, grinding quality. Once they started, they didn't stop. The flow was slow, sticky, and thick like glue. Anything caught in its path was effectively erased.
Since no one else in the Jing family had been reborn, they remained on edge, constantly fearing that the earth would rise up to swallow the villa. Every evening after the final meal, they would open the back gate to inspect the hillside. The villa's exterior walls were already buried under several dozen centimeters of mud, but the diverted stream around the family's front grave markers kept their immediate living area clear. That sight was enough to ease their minds for the time being.
Still, the disaster had caused massive damage and made every aspect of daily life harder. Jing An's livestock farm had only just begun to recover from the previous catastrophe, only to be ruined again. Housing the animals in cramped, temporary quarters and finding new sources of feed was a constant struggle.
Su Lanzhi's Agricultural Department wasn't faring any better. Their options had dwindled until they had no choice but to rely entirely on hydroponics and specialized growth catalysts for vegetables. Even the artificial sun zones had begun to flood with mud. Since they couldn't stop the encroachment, the staff was working overtime to harvest as much as possible before the crops were submerged. Su Lanzhi had already been working for seven days straight without returning home.
Fortunately, Jing Shu's Red Nematode Factory was in better shape. She had invested a significant amount of money into its defenses recently. With the massive rocks she had purchased from Qian Duoduo, the flow of the mudslide had been diverted just enough to keep the processing lines running.
However, the mudslides had destroyed vast tracts of remaining farmland, hitting the general food supply with a devastating blow. Those with working lights and heating could still manage a few indoor crops, but as the mudwater rose through the soil from below, most of those plants died from root rot or contamination. In short, there was even less food to go around for the survivors.
It was no wonder people were so jealous of Qian Duoduo's Xingfu Shiyuan. The entire community was constructed from heavy stone, similar to the fortress-like design of his main base, so the mudslide couldn't penetrate the buildings. Everyone who saw the dry, sturdy structures was green with envy.
The situation in Ningshan City was reaching a breaking point as well. In just ten days, the population had been forced to evacuate to the final two resettlement zones. Dozens of trucks ran back and forth every day, hauling whatever precious supplies they could salvage. If this pattern continued, they would be forced to abandon Ningshan City entirely.
But where would everyone go? Wu City was the only logical choice. It had been a metropolis of over a million people before the apocalypse, and even after three years of hardship, hundreds of thousands had survived. If that many people flooded into the city at once, the government's burden would skyrocket. Hundreds of thousands of hungry mouths couldn't simply be ignored.
Jing Shu, however, didn't truly care about the administrative logistics. In her past life, she had been too occupied with her own starvation to think about such things. This time, it wasn't her problem to solve. What she was truly curious about was the timeline. In her previous life, the Tyrant had seized power not long after this period. But in this timeline, she had saved the current leader's life. She wondered how things would play out. Would the Tyrant still emerge? And if he didn't, would Qian Duoduo still end up being squeezed dry of his resources?
Honestly, even she felt a bit of an urge to take a piece of Qian Duoduo's wealth now. Xingfu Shiyuan had become a rare paradise in the middle of a wasteland.
Food quality across Wu City dropped once again. They didn't even make it to the Lantern Festival before the government switched the rations from pure insect patties to ones blended with dirt. The taste was terrible. Regular worm patties were tough but remained edible if you added enough salt. However, when you mixed in the soil, it felt like chewing on dry firewood.
At least these dirt-worm patties were cheap, costing only 0.5 virtual coins each. If they were any more expensive, it would've been a crime against the starving public. Jing Shu's Red Nematode Factory continued to produce pure meat versions, of course. She had to keep the quality up because she owed the government a significant amount of money and was paying it back monthly in high-grade patties.
Thankfully, the peak of the tension didn't last long. Even Grandpa Jing eventually relaxed his guard. Then, almost overnight, the "dirt digger" profession exploded in popularity, all thanks to a news feature that aired during the seven o'clock broadcast.
"Are red nematodes gone? Only because we ate them all. Are mudslides scary? Not at all. In fact, they will be China's main food source for the next year. The more they flow, the fuller our bellies!"
The announcer's voice was enthusiastic as a new guest was introduced. "Now, please welcome Mr. Liu, who made millions by digging dirt and baking patties, to teach us how to become real dirt diggers! Let's learn how to eat soil—and how to eat it healthily!"
Mr. Liu, a man with a weathered face and an easy smile, addressed the camera. "When the mudslide hit, I saw the business opportunity right away. I had spent ten years in Africa, so I know exactly how to make delicious dirt patties. I contracted a mountain hollow, hired workers to dig, and partnered with the landfills and the government. I faced a ton of challenges, but I never gave up."
The entire show was bizarre. Every time someone watched the segment, they came away thinking they could totally get rich doing the same thing. By the next day, when Grandpa Jing went to check the mudslide again, he couldn't help feeling like he was staring at a river of gold. Even Jing Shu frowned thoughtfully and wondered, "Should I… start a dirt patty factory too?"