Jing Shu picked up a few pieces of tender meat with a pair of makeshift chopsticks and handed them to Auntie Wang. "I'm sorry, but there are no bowls to spare. Just eat a little for now. It's going to be a tough few days for you with all the cooking."
Auntie Wang didn't hesitate to reach out. She took the meat with trembling fingers and started thanking Jing Shu over and over, her voice thick with a gratitude that seemed to overflow. But instead of eating the morsels, she carefully slipped the meat into her deep apron pocket, covering the spot protectively with her hand. She made sure no one was looking; she was saving every bit of it for her daughter.
After checking the flatbreads the women had made, Jing Shu shook her head. She ran a thumb over the surface of one, feeling the heavy, damp texture. "They are too big and much too thick. It feels like chewing on dry dirt when they are like this. They should be about the size of a palm and a bit thinner so they turn crisp and become easier to bite. When you eat it, it will taste just like scorched rice. Oh, and remember to pinch the edges downward like this. That way, you can stack them and carry them more easily without them crumbling."
"Got it." Auntie Wang nodded, her eyes full of admiration. She never thought someone who still managed to eat well in this apocalyptic mess could also know so much about the gritty details of survival. In just a few hours since she arrived in this hopeless place, Jing Shu had already earned everyone's respect. Auntie Wang felt sure she had picked the right person to follow—someone who had the strength to keep her alive. Before leaving the ship, she promised she would finish the task perfectly.
Wang Dan gave Jing Shu a thumbs-up, a wide grin splitting his gaunt face. "Damn, how do you even know all this?"
Jing Shu smiled faintly, her eyes reflecting the orange glow of the fire. "Guess I have just lived long enough."
"You are too young to talk like that! Haha!"
She chuckled lightly but didn't reply. The meal wasn't especially large. Normally, one pot like this wouldn't be enough for ten grown adults, but after two bowls of the rich milk tea and a piece of flatbread, everyone was feeling quite full. They kept passing the meat and vegetables around, insisting others eat first, until the pot was left with just one last piece. In the end, everyone claimed they were full, but the savory soup was scraped clean until the metal bottom shone.
Jing Shu smiled helplessly and handed the very last bit from the pot to Li Dayou. "The others still have undigested soil in their stomachs. You should eat more; there's still a lot of work waiting for you once you recover."
Li Dayou originally wanted to refuse, his face reddening, but when she mentioned the upcoming work, he hesitated. He finished the rest of the food with a grateful nod, patted his stomach, and let out a long, satisfied burp. For the first time in a long while, he actually felt that it was good to be alive.
After dinner, the atmosphere on the boat changed. Everyone looked a lot better; their strength was returning, and their faces were no longer the sickly, pale color of bone. They started counting their meager supplies and cleaning the deck, preparing to move everything the moment the rescue team arrived. Everyone was busy again. This was nothing like before, when they had just sat on the ship waiting for the end to come.
Jing Shu handed Li Dayou an important task—to watch over Xiao Dou and guard her luggage.
"Huh? This is the big job? And there's a lot of it?" Li Dayou looked confused, his eyes darting to the small pile of bags. He felt like she was just being nice to him because he was still weak from the treatment.
But Jing Shu's tone turned serious, her gaze pinning him. "That luggage is my family's entire lifeline. Everything we eat these days comes from it. What if someone with bad intentions tries to steal it while I'm in the hold? And you have seen that chicken, right? Do you have any idea how many people out there are drooling over her? What if someone tries to take her? Taking care of Xiao Dou is not easy, you know." She gave him a look that made him feel like the most trusted man in the valley.
"Alright," Li Dayou said earnestly, his chest swelling with a bit of pride. He accepted the mission and glanced toward the nesting chicken. Xiao Dou was squatting comfortably in her nest of rags, her eyes half-closed, laying eggs without a care in the world. She looked so relaxed that he immediately felt the weight of his duty. Someone might really try to mess with her. He decided he had better keep a sharp eye out.
Once Jing Shu made sure everything was fine on deck, she followed Wang Dan to check on the seeds. Inside the ship's cargo hold, a cold, biting wind blew through the seams of the metal hull. Rows of large, reinforced boxes were neatly stacked, reaching almost to the ceiling. To keep the seeds from molding or sprouting in the damp environment, Wang Dan and his group had worked hard every day to maintain the proper temperature and humidity.
Still, no matter how careful they were, there had been some inevitable losses over the months. Wang Dan was giving a report on the damage. Some seeds were fine, but others had been badly reduced by the elements. Jing Shu's heart ached as she looked at the dwindling numbers in the logbook. Thankfully, as long as a few grains were still left, she could use her Rubik's Cube Space to grow them again, breed them, and restock her supply. These were all from the American seed bank—the best of the best.
"There aren't any types that went completely extinct, right?" she asked carefully, her voice echoing in the hollow hold.
Wang Dan scratched his head, looking embarrassed as he flipped through the pages. "Well... there are three. One is wheat, one is corn."
Jing Shu exhaled in relief after checking the English labels on the empty crates. She had those already. She had collected more than a hundred varieties of corn herself—sweet corn, glutinous corn, even the famous milk corn from the northeast. Losing a few types didn't matter in the long run.
Wang Dan continued, his voice dropping an octave. "And one more, looks like a type of rice. We hit a reef in the canal and one big box got soaked through. Even after drying it out, it got moldy, so we eventually ate it to stay alive. It tasted awful, though. Probably not a good kind anyway. It was all dark, kinda like black rice."
Wang Dan's voice faltered a little as he saw her expression.
Jing Shu frowned and checked the English label on the side of the crate. Her head buzzed the moment she saw the name—it was wild rice! This was a famous variety, dark grayish-black, long and slender, known as one of the rarest and most delicious types in the world. She had always wanted to try it, to see what the fuss was about. How good could it really be?
She never thought she would jinx herself so perfectly. Now, she might never get the chance to taste it. Out of hundreds of thousands of seed types, the one she actually wanted most just happened to be the one completely wiped out. What were the odds? It felt like buying a lottery ticket and actually hitting the worst luck possible.
Her face darkened as she stared at the empty container. "Not even a single grain left?"
Wang Dan whispered, "None. All moldy."
"Alright," Jing Shu said, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Guess life needs a little regret in it. I should be grateful I still have plenty of other rice types."
Just as she was still sulking over the loss, a sudden, piercing scream echoed from outside on the deck.
"What is going on? Let's go check!" Wang Dan shouted, spinning around toward the stairs. Jing Shu followed immediately, already feeling a bad hunch rise in her chest.
The screaming got louder as they reached the upper deck. It wasn't just one person now, but several—cries for help mixed with terrified wails. The workers outside and the villagers nearby all rushed over toward the center of the boat. Some came to help, while others just wanted to see what was happening. By the time Jing Shu and Wang Dan arrived, the crowd was already thick, their bodies pressed together in the cold. Jing Shu pushed through the people, frowning as an uneasy feeling crept up her spine.
"It's the village chief and Er Ga!" someone shouted from the front.
"They didn't help with the work, so they didn't get food, right? Bet they tried to steal something!"
"Look, something is wrong in there! Why are they screaming like that?"
"Don't shove me, I can't see a thing!"
When the sailors arrived with burning torches and the light finally hit the scene, the noise died instantly. The air turned cold, and the smell of fear became palpable. People started backing away in a panic, their eyes wide.
Li Dayou spotted Jing Shu and stammered, "Y-you are here! T-this… this chicken… it, it…"