Chapter 465: Chapter 465

These gifts had either been transported across the ocean from the United States or collected by Jing Shu in her space. For her closest family members, Jing Shu always chose the best to give.

However, as the chief contributor this time, fat chicken naturally had to be the first to be rewarded. Its favorite Fried Chicken Legs arrived by the basketful. Not only that, Jing Shu also rewarded it with a whole drop of Spiritual Spring. Clutching a chicken leg in its beak and having swallowed the drop of Spiritual Spring, it strutted off to show off to Number 3.

"Mom, you’ve always wanted luxury items. Here’s a Hermes bag, Chanel perfume, and Estee Lauder cosmetics... Oh, and if Youai and Third Aunt like them, they can take some too."

Wu You’ai adjusted her glasses and shook her head. "Neither Mom nor I like these things."

Mrs. Jing examined them and adored them, much like a child who finally gets a longed-for toy they couldn’t afford. She sighed, "The quality isn’t even that great. Why do so many people like them? This is the same bag Yu Caini carried before the apocalypse. Oh, and this fragrance is a bit overpowering..."

Things she couldn’t afford before were now easily accessible. Jing Shu felt that truly possessing them was just so-so; people indeed chase what they can never obtain. Yet, the joy of the wealthy was something she couldn’t have imagined before. This feeling of doing as one wished—Jing Shu had become addicted to it. Thus, she craved even more power and possessions.

"Dad, here’s the Rolex watch you always wanted. I casually got you a dozen or so; you can rotate them. Oh, and these are various red wines and whiskies from the United States. You and Grandpa can decide how to best store them."

"Alright, my girl really gets me."

"Grandpa, these are luxury cigarettes from the United States. Try them and see how different they are from ours. Oh, and this is a whole piece of crocodile skin. See if you can make something suitable with it."

Mr. Jing examined it for a while. "Such a large piece of crocodile skin! Let’s just make leather gun holsters and quivers for each of us."

Wu You’ai received a pair of live king crabs, which were very valuable for her research. Third Aunt received a lot of fabric brought back from the United States, as she liked to make her own clothes. Moreover, Jing Shu had also contacted Zijin, who would be returning in a couple of days. Jing Shu also had a batch of cowhides and sheepskins and wanted them to hurry and make several more sets of gloves, socks, and leather shoes for everyone. After all, the harsh winter of the fifth year was rapidly approaching.

The temperature in Wu City was already below zero, so cold it was unbearable. Making more quilted cotton clothes and fur-lined coats was perfectly timed.

For her Uncle’s family, she brought household goods and various meats from the United States. Their house had just collapsed in the earthquake, so they needed many things for resettlement. At the same time, Jing Shu was also considering where her Uncle’s family would live next.

Jing Shu finally looked towards Grandma Jing, who was looking at her expectantly. Then, as if performing a magic trick, she produced a candlestick. "Grandma," she said, "this is an ever-burning candlestick for you. It’s powered by a chip and magnets, so theoretically, it will never go out. This way, you won’t keep saying it’s a waste of electricity and refuse to turn on the lights anymore."

Grandma Jing took it, astonished, and examined it from all angles. The brightness was soft and just right. "This is truly magical! Good, very good! I’ll put it by my bedside. Grandma needs this."

"Oh, Grandma, you might be quite busy from now on. Look, I brought back lobsters, sea urchins, and king crabs from the United States; they all need to be raised in the pond. There’s also longan, large hams, tuna, foie gras, and caviar that I put in the large refrigerator the day before yesterday. I also brought plenty of olive oil, peanut oil, and rapeseed oil. When you cook, use more oil; don’t just wipe the pan with a piece of pork rind and call that oiling it."

This elicited a burst of laughter from the whole family. Grandma Jing’s thriftiness was legendary, especially since the apocalypse. But hearing about so many supplies, her eyes crinkled with so much joy they nearly disappeared. What’s most comforting during a famine? It’s when, after days of anxiously watching the food in the storehouse dwindle bit by bit, your heart burning with worry, especially when fat chicken isn’t around, Jing Shu returns and completely refills everything. That fills people with an immense sense of security. This was Grandma Jing’s greatest happiness. She would even scatter a few extra handfuls of feed for the chickens now.

Yesterday, Jing Shu had brought back an astonishing amount of food from Li Yuetian, surprising the entire family. Today, Jing Shu told them a second batch of supplies was on its way. At this point, the family wondered if Jing Shu had gone robbing abroad. Or were resources in the United States truly so plentiful that you could just pick them up off the ground, like in Dubai where luxury cars supposedly littered the streets, unwanted?

"Oh, Grandpa, these are coffee tree saplings I brought back from the United States. Could you please transplant them?"

"You child, why didn’t you bring these out yesterday? Let me quickly check if they’re still alive."

In just two days, Mr. Jing had already built a shed in the backyard, connecting it to the boiler room’s underfloor heating. It was specifically for breeding Jing Shu’s lion-head geese. When the family learned that these two precious birds were rented for breeding, they couldn’t have been more attentive.

However, they hadn’t been fed for two days. Jing Shu said it was to break these two pampered geese of their habits. After all, in the Imperial Capital, they were coddled like pandas, not only constantly fighting but also being picky eaters. Most annoyingly, they wouldn’t even deign to look at you properly.

But fat chicken was well-trained. It frequently dangled juicy chicken legs in front of the two geese, eating with relish until its beak was oily, and it wasn’t long before the blockheaded geese capitulated. Thus, they received the same treatment as the other chickens and ducks at Jing Shu’s house: ordinary feed, vegetable roots containing Spiritual Spring, and leftover bone broth from the family’s meals—nothing was to be wasted, they ate whatever was available.

After Jing Shu added the Spiritual Spring from Number 8, she left them to it. Fat chicken, with its sheepdog-like instincts, had an obsessive dedication to managing the domestic poultry. It loved being the ’class monitor,’ showing off and bossing others around, exactly like Jing Shu herself ten years ago. Regardless, the task of breeding the lion-head geese proceeded smoothly. Now, it was just a matter of waiting for the ’silly geese’ to lay eggs and hatch goslings.

The next day, Zhou Bapi called, asking when Jing Shu would return to work at the Medicine Association. He also mentioned that Jin Tianci’s treatment was very effective. After a full day of diarrhea, he had expelled a lot of toxins. Although he looked haggard, his complexion had improved, and his various indicators were much stronger. He would be back to normal after another week of rest.

Only then did Jing Shu feel relieved. "I need to extend my leave for a while. I don’t have time to go to the Medicine Association recently. Just call me if there’s a competition."

Jun Jia didn’t dare to neglect the factory matters. Jing Shu received a notification that in five days, she could go to take over the factory and handle the various procedures. During this grace period, Jing Shu didn’t waste time. Instead, she repeatedly conducted experiments with seaweed, rotten corpse insects, and red earthworms.

Jing Shu had succeeded in the first step: with the help of the rotten corpse insects, she could indeed propagate seaweed in large quantities and quickly. It was currently unknown how many propagation cycles this original liquid could sustain. However, the second step was somewhat difficult. When the seaweed (to be used as feed) and the red earthworms were placed together, the red earthworms’ reproduction rate was not as fast as the seaweed’s.