Chapter 248: Chapter 248
So once the wine was ready, Li Yuetian couldn’t wait to come and get it, leaving Jing Shu no choice but to explain that she would deliver it early in the morning.
A sip of Turtle Snake Wine was bitter and spicy with the bitterness of traditional medicine, making her throat feel like it was on fire, her whole body burning hot. If one were to drink it at -70 degrees, it would definitely be great for warming up. It’s just that Jing Shu found the taste hard to accept.
Mr. Jing, however, smacked his lips with pleasure, thoroughly enjoying it, and in the end, he even shouted loudly, "What a wonderful wine!"
There was only one turtle, found by Su Long, Jing Shu’s uncle’s son. Jing Shu hadn’t seen any turtles on her last trip to West Mountain, so she would have to find another opportunity to look for some old turtles or something similar.
Therefore, the Turtle Snake Wine was for Jing Shu’s household to drink, while the other brews were all ordinary snake wine.
The snake was gutted and directly added to the liquor, then mixed with an appropriate proportion of traditional herbs. In this manner, Jing Shu brewed 10 bottles, each containing 1L and stored in glass containers, which almost used up the liquor reserve at Jingshu’s house.
Jing Shu couldn’t help but think of brewing more wine, considering the grapes in her space had already ripened several times. She planned to find time to make red wine, white wine, and rice wine all at once; compared to liquor, if she could have a glass of red wine daily, that would also be very nice.
When the day’s temperature finally climbed to 34 degrees, Jing Shu put on a sealed raincoat after a hearty breakfast, took the wine, and headed to the large shopping mall next to the Banana District to deliver the wine to Li Yuetian.
The temperatures in Wu City had begun to drop slowly, and in a few more months, they would fall to around a dozen degrees. At that time, the rainwater during the day would be so cold it made people shiver. Despite the government issuing free plastic raincoats, no one wanted to step out anymore.
It was like now, with Jing Shu walking in the torrential hot spring rain while others also donned plastic raincoats, moving slowly through the rain. At places where the road was flooded, you’d usually find old women squatting and scooping red earthworms to exchange for a pitiful few work points.
Anyone venturing out at this time was heading to the canteen to get food. Most people took their meals home to eat with their families, as many didn’t want to go out. Otherwise, they would wear nothing but a raincoat.
The continuous downpour meant clothing and bedding were moist. Some people struggled to dry their clothes at home for a week and didn’t want them to get wet again. Sleeping in such cold weather at night would be an ordeal.
Being experienced, Jing Shu understood. People would wear just a plastic raincoat to go to work or fetch food during the day, including the old ladies scooping red earthworms nearby... However, without Jing Shu’s vision, it wouldn’t be easy to tell if they were men or women, now that everyone was bald.
On the first floor of the large mall were three big canteens. One of these, the Ai Jia canteen, was managed by Jinglai. It featured ’Salted Five-Grain Worm,’ ’Fried Mushroom Worm Eggs,’ and ’delicious but a little expensive’ dishes, attracting a group of middle-income consumers from among the poor.
The Patriotic Restaurant, on the other hand, attracted many customers with its reputation for ample, affordable portions.
At this moment, the Patriotic Restaurant was crowded and noisy with something, followed by heart-wrenching screams and the curiosity of many onlookers. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ N()velFire.net
Jing Shu didn’t bother and went straight to the second floor, to Li Yuetian’s office. Every day had its share of injustices, and she couldn’t take care of them all.
"Get a few people to hold her down, and you, shave her hair off directly! I refuse to believe this evil," a voice commanded.
"No! Don’t! I won’t eat it again, I’ll never come back, let me go! No!" came the protests.
Just as Jing Shu was about to move on, she paused, turned her head, and with the wine in hand, dashed toward the Patriotic Restaurant.
It must be her! Jing Shu’s heart was a bit chaotic. With the rain pouring for months, the only one who insisted on not cutting her hair and still eating communal meals was her!
Jing Shu had alerted Third Aunt last month that if a woman with exceptionally long hair who refused to trim it came to eat at the canteen, she must inform her and make her stay. However, there had been no news from Third Aunt, who was certain that the woman had not eaten there. As for the other two canteens, she had no information.
At the same time, Jing Shu had sought out Wang Qiqi, who had successfully risen to become the distribution director for the Banana District. She asked him to search for anyone with the name ’Zijin,’ although the people he found were not her.
The person she certainly met in the Ai Jia canteen in her previous life, she just couldn’t find anymore in this one.
However, there was also the possibility of a data error due to the 100,000 people in Banana District. Just when Jing Shu had given up hope, she didn’t expect to hear her voice today.
Jing Shu patted her head. The meals at Third Aunt’s canteen were delicious but a little expensive, while those at the Patriotic Restaurant were cheaper. Given how frugal she appeared, she really might go to the Patriotic Restaurant to eat.
Furthermore, due to her rebirth, a series of butterfly effects had occurred. Third Aunt became the director of the Ai Jia canteen and introduced the signature dish ’Fried Mushroom Worm Eggs.’ This raised the prices at the Ai Jia canteen, and consequently, the girl with ’long hair down to her waist’ stopped going to the Ai Family Supermarket.
Jing Shu’s hands trembled slightly as she carried the wine, quickening her pace. Encased in her fully enclosed raincoat, she looked like a domineering CEO, charging into the crowd. "Make way, move aside!"
Jing Shu’s strength was frightening. She pushed two groups of people aside. Those who initially wanted to argue saw her getup in the dim light, the item she was carrying, and immediately fell silent.
Now, only big shots one wouldn’t dare provoke could afford such raincoats and carry wine; most people cleared a path for Jing Shu.
This was the reality of the apocalypse.
At this time, the woman in her memory, whose boyfriend once said, "I will marry you when your hair grows long," had finally let it grow out only to hear the devastating news of her boyfriend’s death during the rescue efforts in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. She never cut her hair again since then...
She always said, "I keep my long hair thinking he will return one day to marry me. That’s the drive and the thought that keeps me alive."
This was also the woman Jing Shu once despised for not cutting her hair, which led to Jing Shu being infested with red earthworms. But it was this woman who, living a frugal life, saved a little food every day, and later provided it to Jing Shu’s family when they were close to starvation.
Afterwards, she even took Jing Shu to scavenge carcasses for food, migrating through arduous journeys, and miraculously surviving together through the toughest times. Unfortunately, this woman didn’t live to see the end.
Before she died, she said:
"I feel like he’s right beside me, watching over me."
"You’re the only one who believes he’s right beside me."
"So that’s why you agreed to save us back then?"
Actually, at the time, Jing Shu was just humoring her. She had never expected what happened afterward, nor had she ever imagined that in the apocalypse, a few affirming sentences could result in life-saving food.
No matter how you put it, for that act of kindness alone, Jing Shu had to make sure that this woman named Zijin would live well in this life.
"Stop right there!" Seeing the security guard about to shave off Zijin’s long hair with clippers, Jing Shu rushed over and snatched the clippers away.