Chapter 230: Chapter 230

Their main responsibility was to prohibit people from approaching and to prevent activities such as defecating, as the neighborhood was now crowded and rife with petty thieves. Jing Shu wasn’t doing this to guard against others; rather, considering it was the New Year holiday, causing someone’s death, even accidentally, would be terrible. She was also thinking of others’ safety. That’s why she hadn’t released the venomous bees, just some ordinary ones. After all, it was still necessary to be prepared for the unexpected.

This time, everyone left home as if it were a familiar journey; they were quite experienced by now. It was the apocalypse outside, after all. What if they encountered wanted bandits while driving a vehicle full of supplies? That’s why they couldn’t leave any necessary equipment behind. For instance, Jing Shu brought her several handguns, the whole family made sure to bring their crossbows, and even Jing Shu’s genuine Wolf Fang Club was taken along.

Jing Shu drove the Shark Submarine ahead to scout the path, while Mr. Jing and the others followed slowly in the energy car behind. After the floods, they had not yet traversed this route; if it was submerged, they would have to find another way. This was also why the family had left so early.

The early morning in Wu City was pitch-black, with not even the moon visible, and it was still very cold. Jing Shu certainly wasn’t going to economize by not using the air conditioning. Sitting in the submarine, she munched on nuts and drank mango and papaya-flavored milk, feeling quite content.

Outside the Shark Submarine, however, a torrential downpour raged. Many roads in Wu City were now impassable. Jing Shu hadn’t gone far before she realized the route ahead was flooded. With no choice, she said to Mr. Jing, who had WeChat location sharing on, "The national highway is impassable. Take the back roads and follow me."

Jing Shu took a detour and found that the situation on the back roads was even worse, as they were also flooded. She had initially hoped to bypass the obstacle by going over the slope on the back road, but the energy car couldn’t make it. With such heavy rain, apart from the highway, most other places were mud pits, with vehicles getting stuck as soon as they drove into them.

"Let’s keep detouring!"

Thus, a trip that should have only taken an hour turned into three. Wu County was also mostly flooded. It was only because Aunt Jing Pan’s family grew apples on the mountain that they had built their home on the mountainside and avoided the flood.

Now, most of the county’s people were crowded at the foot of the mountain.

When Jing Shu arrived in the Shark Submarine, she found the scene to be a wretched sight.

In the city, at least, people slept in basements and garages. The spaces were smaller, but they were shielded from the wind and rain. Wu County, in contrast, had rows upon rows of temporary prefabricated houses, with people sleeping on large communal bunk beds. It had rained non-stop for over a month, and each day they not only had to divert water and prevent secondary flooding. What was most critical was to bail out water from the prefabricated houses daily; otherwise, even the houses themselves would be flooded.

At the foot of the mountain, simple prefabricated houses were tightly packed, row upon row forming a vast sight. As the Shark Submarine and the energy car passed by, they attracted many onlookers.

At eight-thirty in the morning, the family finally arrived at Aunt Jing Pan’s home, which they had not visited in a long time. Aunt Jing Pan’s house had also undergone a simple renovation, with an added layer of cement to build a shed as a precaution against the torrential rain.

The door was opened by Uncle, who, surprised to see Jing Shu and her family, said joyfully, "Mom and Dad, you’ve arrived! Come in quickly, sit inside. Don’t get caught in this heavy rain."

Aunt Jing Pan’s yard was large, and just like last year, they drove both the energy car and the Shark Submarine inside.

"You haven’t had breakfast yet, right? Come on, have some hot mush."

Uncle welcomed Jing Shu and her family into the house, where they saw that the living room was already full of people. Goodness, why so many? Jing Shu took a quick glance and counted at least ten people. Some were gathered around the dining table, others sat on the sofas, all holding bowls of hot mush.

The arrival of Jing Shu’s large group attracted curious gazes from everyone present.

"Dad, Mom, you’re here!" Aunt Jing Pan was quite surprised. She looked her parents up and down, noting their healthy appearance and good spirits before she felt at ease. "Hey, third sister, little brother, sister-in-law, Jing Shu, Youai, you all came too!"

Aunt Jing Zhao was also there with her family of three, sitting on the sofa eating mush. When they saw Grandma and Grandpa Jing arrive, they quickly stood up. "Mom, take a seat."

Grandma Jing frowned. "Why are you here so early? When did you get here?"

Aunt Jing Zhao, who had been quite plump, had lost a lot of weight and now looked a bit disheveled as she said, "Well, I was thinking of coming early to see if there was anything I could help with. I arrived a couple of days ago."

Grandma Jing glared at Jing Zhao, suspecting she was here to freeload again.

Then, elder Aunt pointed to the people seated at the main table and said, "Come, let me introduce you. This is my daughter-in-law Qiao Lian, who is already more than two months pregnant."

She gestured towards Qiao Lian’s family and continued, "These are my relatives from my maternal side. My parents, along with my younger brother’s family and my youngest sister’s family, have come to spend the New Year with us and also to attend your wedding."

"Hello, Grandma. Hello, Grandpa," said Qiao Lian sweetly.

Grandma Jing happily held Qiao Lian’s hand, praising her endlessly. Qiao Lian had her head wrapped in an oilcloth, her frail body seemed delicate as if a breeze could knock her over, and her face was comely, but the large dark mole below her mouth detracted from her overall appearance.

Elder Aunt pointed to the five people next to her. "This is Qiao Lian’s parents and her three brothers. They said they came especially to take care of her, fearing she wouldn’t have a stable pregnancy."

The eldest brother was already in his twenties, while the youngest was about ten years old. It wasn’t clear who was taking care of whom.

They didn’t mention, however, when they had arrived.

Everyone greeted each other cordially enough.

Elder Aunt patted her head and said, "Look at me, I almost forgot. Come on, I’ll get you some hot mush."

Qiao Lian sipped her wheat mush quietly, as her mother whispered from the side, "See that? Another whole family here to mooch a meal. If we hadn’t come, someone else would have. It’s better to let our own relatives benefit."

Without changing her expression, Qiao Lian kicked her mother under the table. "Not even eating can shut you up."

Jing Shu quietly frowned, taking everything in. It seemed like elder Aunt’s family had quite a few freeloaders. These days, however, if anyone had some mush, that was considered great food. It was just like the potatoes Jing Shu used to grow in the Magic Cube Space in her previous life—those were precious commodities not commonly seen anymore.

Grandma Jing, seeing that there wasn’t much mush left in the basin, hurriedly said, "You eat. We ate before we came."

Uncle protested warmly, "No, no, you have to have some. You’ve come all the way from the city. Many places are flooded now, aren’t they?"

"Wei Zheng, go fetch some more side dishes for your grandparents from the root cellar. Take out the frozen pears we still have; Jing Shu likes them. They’re about all we have that Jing Shu might fancy. Your Uncle got them specially for you. And Youai, your uncle-in-law hasn’t forgotten you either. He got you the rice puffs you loved as a child." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel(ꜰ)ire.net

Qiao Lian’s mother asked quietly, "Who is Jing Shu? Why is your father-in-law so enthusiastic about her? He treats her better than his own son and mother, willing to take out anything for her. He hasn’t given us anything."

Qiao Lian shook her head. "She’s the daughter of my husband’s younger uncle’s family. I heard that it’s thanks to the pig she gave that our family is living so well now." Qiao Lian’s mother’s gaze started searching the crowd for Jing Shu.

Just then, Qiao Lian’s youngest child started clapping his hands excitedly. "Pears to eat, there are pears to eat! I want pears!"

Qiao Lian brought her chopsticks down hard on his hand, instantly leaving two red marks. "Shut up! Eat, eat, eat—that’s all you think about! Where’s your share in this? Really, you’re giving me a headache."