Chapter 249: Chapter 249

"What are you doing? Who is this person? Why should I stop?" Zhao Shupi was startled by the sudden appearance of a fiercely imposing woman. He saw her pull open her raincoat, revealing a transparent hood, cascading jet-black hair, and a beautiful face.

Zhao Shupi had no time to be dazzled by her appearance before he shockingly discovered that this woman possessed terrifying strength. She not only snatched away the clippers but also directly wrested the long-haired person from several security guards’ grasp.

The security guards were shoved aside, and the scene briefly descended into chaos.

"Are you going to stop or not?" Jing Shu pulled the terrified Zijin behind her, forcing the security guards back, before asking indifferently.

Though Zijin was twenty-seven years old, she still looked like a girl of fifteen or sixteen, with baby-fat cheeks and a cute, small mouth. If it weren’t for the messy hair crawling with red earthworms, she would have been quite pretty.

Zhao Shupi swallowed hard. "I’m Zhao Shupi, the director of the Patriotic Restaurant, and also the residential allocator for the Banana District. Who are you? You’re deliberately disturbing the order of the restaurant and obstructing law enforcement officers! The police are right upstairs. Do you want to get shot?"

He scrutinized Jing Shu carefully. She didn’t seem to be from a wealthy family. Upon hearing his identity, she merely frowned. Her family must have had some influence before the apocalypse, Zhao Shupi mused, squinting as his mind raced.

Zhao Shupi? Jing Shu recalled. Wasn’t this the guy who competed with Wang Qiqi for the allocator position? He went all out distributing flour paste and even set up a lottery platform to attract votes. Unfortunately for him, he still lost to Wang Qiqi and ended up massively in debt.

To think this man has now become the director of the Patriotic Restaurant! It seems he’s quite wealthy, casually throwing tens of thousands of Virtual Coins for a government position, only to be conned by Wang Qiqi and me working together.

There were even more onlookers now, most of them eating while murmuring amongst themselves.

"They should’ve shaved that crazy woman’s hair off a long time ago."

"Exactly, or just kicked her out of the restaurant. Why did this meddler show up? What does she want?"

"Who knows, maybe she’s had a sudden attack of compassion."

Jing Shu casually handed the clippers back to Zhao Shupi. "I mean no harm. It’s just that this friend of mine doesn’t want her head shaved. Don’t force people against their will. The law doesn’t mandate head shaving. I’ll take her away now, and she definitely won’t appear in your restaurant to disturb others’ meals again."

Zhao Shupi’s beady eyes sized up Jing Shu, his mouth curling into an inscrutable smile.

"Hold on! Who said you could go? This person has repeatedly come to the restaurant with a head full of red earthworms, not only seriously disrupting other diners but also causing irreparable damage to my restaurant’s reputation. Therefore, we must shave her head clean to prevent her from negatively impacting other restaurants as well."

Zhao Shupi wanted to see if this young woman would use her connections or reveal her identity. If he knew it was Jing Shu who had snatched away the allocator position he’d almost secured, one could only imagine his reaction.

"I won’t shave my head, I’d rather die! I won’t eat, just let me go back!" Zijin clung to Jing Shu’s hand, her voice filled with horror yet tinged with forced composure.

"Alright, alright, no one will make you shave your head."

Jing Shu couldn’t be bothered to argue further with Zhao Shupi, who clearly had ulterior motives. She directly called Li Yuetian. "Captain Li, the director of your Patriotic Restaurant is detaining me. Why don’t you come down to the restaurant and take a look?"

Captain Li? Li... Zhao Shupi’s smile gradually froze. Could it be Li Yuetian, the leader of the Second Team? No way! His mind blanked, unsure how to react. He had merely been curious about this woman, wanting to probe her identity and see if there was a chance for... *something*. How had he ended up provoking such a formidable figure? Have I kicked an iron plate this time?

In her past life, after the apocalypse, Jing Shu had been so malnourished she was skin and bones; no one had been interested in her. In this life, the Spiritual Spring was subtly changing her, enhancing both her temperament and appearance, making her more striking. Jing Shu, sensing the difference in how she was being treated today, immediately became warier.

"A misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding. We were just considering the well-being of the people. As long as it doesn’t disturb their mealtime, whether she gets a haircut or not is unimportant... Alright, disperse, disperse. There’s nothing to see!" Zhao Shupi personally saw off Li Yuetian and the woman who had yet to reveal her name. He then dispersed the onlookers, his heart feeling as heavy as a sky full of smog.

He was becoming more and more curious about that woman’s identity!

The onlookers in the restaurant dispersed, and Li Yuetian took Jing Shu to the office on the second floor. He couldn’t wait to take a small sip of the snake wine Jing Shu had given him. A grimace that was a mix of enjoyment and pain appeared on his face as he savored it for a long while before finally shouting, "Excellent liquor!"

"This wine is stronger than the ones before the apocalypse. That snake wasn’t given to you in vain. But how did the snake in the wine get smaller?" Li Yuetian asked, shaking the glass bottle with the snake inside.

"Not long after I brought those two snakes back, they laid eggs. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken three months to prepare this wine for you," Jing Shu said, glancing at Zijin, who was standing silently in the corner with her head bowed. She’s just like she was in my previous life, Jing Shu thought. A person without curiosity, indifferent to everything except for an unusual determination to survive.

"Well, that’s great! From now on, just make more snake wine, and I’ll trade goods with you for it. This damned weather! God knows I’ve been wearing damp trousers and clothes for a month, making my old rheumatism flare up terribly." Li Yuetian walked with a limp, which greatly affected his image.

"Alright, let’s do that then. I have something else to attend to, so I’ll head back first." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel✶fire.net

Jing Shu bid farewell to Li Yuetian. As she and Zijin walked toward the staircase, Zijin stopped, looking at Jing Shu with some confusion.

"Thank you so much for helping me today. My name is Zijin, Zijin from ’Qingqing Zijin.’ I live with the families of the Second Team’s garrison. I’m just not sure if you have any other matters to attend to?"

Shouldn’t we be going our separate ways now? Besides, everyone else avoids me like the plague. But this person... she seems so used to me. Isn’t she disgusted by the red earthworms in my hair at all?

Jing Shu sorted through her memories of Zijin, then asked, "You actually live with the families of military personnel?" No wonder Wang Qiqi’s distribution list didn’t include her!

Zijin offered a serene smile. "I’m a subsidized dependent of a service member who sacrificed their life in the line of duty. I’ve been living in the military family compound for over a decade. After the flood happened, I moved here with them." Although they hadn’t been married, she and her partner had long regarded each other as their one and only.

Jing Shu had a look of sudden understanding. So that’s how it was.

"By the way, I need someone skilled in handicrafts, weaving, and manually processing raw silk to make silk comforters. I made some inquiries and heard that there’s a woman with long hair who knows how to do this, so I wondered if it might be you."