Chapter 451: Chapter 451
This was not the time to disturb their happiness, not the time to call them to dinner, because just watching Jing Shu eat and listening to her recount her experiences from these days was their happiest moment.
Mr. Jing went to pick someone up, and Jing Shu drove the German MAN from the decrepit airport to a new gathering place: the hill behind the Banana District’s villa complex, which was the highest and flattest area around.
Not far away, a chasm had formed a few months earlier, swallowing many people. But what did that matter? Within a few days, people were going down to retrieve bodies for 0.1 Virtual Coin. The shelter Jing Shu had stayed at in the Lingshan District before she went abroad could no longer accommodate so many people, so the residents of the Banana District had moved back after half a month.
Now, this area was densely packed with makeshift dwellings; 90,000 residents of the Banana District slept here at night and went out to find work during the day. The remaining 10,000, naturally, were dead.
The RV drove down a cleared road, pairs of dark eyes staring from the shadows, their owners whispering.
"Look, it’s that car! It belongs to that villa. I heard they’re ’keeping’ a good number of BMWs and Mercedes."
"Seems like they have a fair number of Ferraris too, at least two."
"Do you guys think that cannon on top is real?"
"It’s definitely real. A few days ago, someone tried to steal something at night and got electrocuted by the surrounding net. The officials came to collect the body and warned everyone not to damage or steal other people’s property, or they’d have died for nothing."
The German MAN finally stopped behind Jing Shu’s villa. Jing Shu’s jaw dropped; she hadn’t expected her home to change so much in just a few months.
Mr. Jing (Grandfather) proudly pointed to the extra 300 square meters at the back of the villa, saying, "What do you think of this area?"
Jing Shu gave a thumbs up. "Impressive! That must have cost quite a few Virtual Coins, right? This area is even larger than our villa now. We can add a lot more things."
Mr. Jing (Grandfather) coughed and held up five fingers. "You know, there are more people living on the hill behind now; it’s different from before. It cost 50,000 Virtual Coins to permanently buy these extra 300-plus square meters, and your father and I just finished remodeling this area a few days ago."
Jing Shu couldn’t help but stare at the villa’s backyard, which had suddenly grown by over 300 square meters. She hadn’t expected Mr. Jing (Father) and Mr. Jing (Grandfather) to be so incredible, especially to have such daring! Was this still the same Mr. Jing (Father), the one who was usually so deferential to his wife? No, only Mrs. Jing could manage such a lavish expenditure!
Jing Shu glanced at Mrs. Jing, who looked as if she had everything under control, and found herself deeply agreeing.
Before the earthquake, the entrance to Jing Shu’s villa was only accessible through the main gate of the complex. The villa’s former yard wasn’t large, just over 60 square meters. Apart from the concrete path leading from the main gate, Jing Shu had meticulously planned the rest of the area, including vegetable plots, a fishpond, and a small coop for Domestic Poultry. Two trees were planted, and a nanny’s room for Zijin was added under the eaves at the front of the house. To the left of the main gate, a storage room (coal room) and a Song MAX garage (which could charge cars) were built; to the right was Su Malie’s villa complex. That was the extent of it: Jingshu’s house, Villa No. 1.
Not to mention the back of the villa—a very narrow alley, just enough space for Jing Shu to have added a boiler room, a BBQ kiln, and another small coal room.
One could say that Jing Shu had transformed the entire villa into an impregnable, airtight fortress. Supplies were crammed into the basement, living room, kitchen, and bedrooms; even Grandma Jing’s bedroom was filled with silkworms. The villa’s main drawback was that it was far too crowded.
The villa’s original backyard used to be completely enclosed, though one could see the hill behind from the second-floor window. Oh, right, the RV garage was built on the hill behind the villa. Now, after Jing Shu had been away for several months, Mr. Jing (Father) had installed a gate in the villa’s backyard.
This meant that they could not only exit through the main gate of the complex but also go directly from the newly opened gate in the villa’s backyard to the hill behind. In this third year of frequent earthquakes, whenever something seemed amiss, they could take refuge in this expansive new yard, spanning over 300 square meters.
"However, we don’t dare sleep in the villa at night," Mr. Jing (Grandfather) added. "We all sleep in the RV in the backyard on the hill. That way, if anything happens, we can just drive off."
Even if the buildings in front were to collapse, they wouldn’t reach this yard.
The gate to this new backyard was also independently secured. Opening it revealed the newly enclosed area of over 300 square meters. It was as wide as the villa and a good 20 meters long—a massive, self-contained yard! Mr. Jing (Father) and Mr. Jing (Grandfather) had built 3-meter-high mud walls all around it.
The villa itself remained a fortified structure, now with this large additional yard. The defense system for the new yard wasn’t complete yet; it only had walls for now. Just a few days ago, someone had tried to climb the wall to steal things but was electrocuted by the RV’s electric net.
BANG! The yard gate slammed shut, and the RV parked inside the spacious new yard. The crowd of onlookers that had gathered felt somewhat disappointed. Some still wanted to climb the wall to glimpse the wealthy family’s life, but unfortunately, the top was lined with electric wires—climbing it would be lethal.
"We’ll set up better defenses later, and then we’ll bring the cows, sheep, and pigs over here to raise," Grandma Jing said, feeding crab shells to the fat chicken. "We’ll keep the chickens and ducks in their enclosures in the villa’s front yard. In times like these, it’s essential to raise more chickens and ducks." Read full story at 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵
Jing Shu frowned. She had finished pouring out everything she had to say about the past few months; now it was her family’s turn. It still held true: a family’s strength couldn’t rely on one person alone; everyone in the family had to become self-reliant.
Mrs. Jing nodded in agreement. "We have plenty of red worm cakes, so it’s a good idea to raise more Domestic Poultry. These things will only become more precious, and they’ll sell very well later on."
Jing Shu gazed into the distance. It seemed her family hadn’t bought this land just to escape disasters; they also wanted to expand their breeding operations for chickens and ducks.
But... severe mudslides would occur next year. After experiencing droughts, floods, and earthquakes, the villa, due to its location at the foot of the mountain, would eventually be partially inundated by mudslides.
Especially this area at the foot of the mountain. In her previous life, during the fourth year, intense mudslides had begun everywhere. Countless tons of mud and rocks mixed with water, surging towards lower-lying areas. Initially, no one had taken it seriously. The villa, being on higher ground, had survived the constant rains and floods of the second year. During the third year of that timeline, although some muddy water had flowed down from the mountain, it had been slow and didn’t seem like much.
However, they hadn’t expected the mudslides to become more and more frequent and severe. Before long, the first floor of the villa was inundated!
Jing Shu’s family could only live in constant trepidation, terrified that the villa would be completely buried, leaving them with nowhere to live. Fortunately, only the first floor was submerged; the second floor was still habitable.
Unfortunately, a harsh winter followed, and countless people starved to death, including Jing Shu’s family, who were on the brink of starvation themselves. They had no choice but to sell the villa for a little food. Not long after, everyone began the great migration of the fifth year.
This plot of land isn’t in a good location at all. The first place to get flooded will definitely be this area by the hill behind, Jing Shu sighed internally. At the same time, she felt a genuine headache. The fourth year is almost here, and they’re still planning to massively expand the breeding operations?