Chapter 505: Chapter 505

"However, I have an additional condition," Jing Shu’s lips gradually curled upward. The original condition was simply to break even. After all, spiritual spring water is so valuable. She still hoped to leave more Seeds for the Imperial Capital, and back then, she indeed had no other needs.

Now, however, things were different...

"Additional condition?... Well, that’s fair. As long as it’s not too excessive, not costing them a fortune, the higher-ups should agree to it. But you need to handle it well."

If handled well, it would earn people’s respect; but if not, it could bring resentment.

Jing Shu raised her eyebrows, slowly asking, "The national plan for functional zoning has come out, hasn’t it? It’s about to be implemented nationwide, right?"

Tan Ke nodded, puzzled. This matter had caused quite a stir; it was the most significant news recently. But what did it have to do with what Mirror was talking about?

Before Tan Ke could even reply, Jing Shu continued, "My additional condition is simple. I want the planning and management rights to Wu City’s waste station."

That is to say, from now on, Jing Shu would have the final say over Wu City’s garbage.

"HUH???" Tan Ke continued to be puzzled, then exclaimed in surprise, "You—you want to become the waste station manager? Why?"

"COUGH, COUGH, don’t put it so bluntly. Garbage... it’s valuable, you know." Who would have thought that garbage would become a treasure in the future?

Jing Shu touched her chin, her eyes rolling. She really didn’t want to focus on the garbage of the apocalypse, but she was running out of fuel.

As the factory expanded and natural gas grew scarcer, the cost of energy trade with West Mountain would inevitably rise. When temperatures dropped to -70°C, the factory and its workers would need more fuel to survive. Favored relatives, like her Uncle and elder aunt’s family, would also need support, especially since their own natural gas and coal were extremely scarce...

There are always more solutions than difficulties.

Time flies so fast. Following the professions of "Maggot Catcher" and "Insect Catcher," the profession of "Scavenger" will sweep across the continent next—yes, scavenging for waste.

This started with garbage sorting five years ago, a practice that became popular in Modu for a while with the tagline, "What kind of trash are you?" It spread across all of Great Huaxia, and newcomers elsewhere shivered, ultimately unable to escape being asked what kind of trash they were... Just like that, many years passed.

As for garbage, this "valued commodity," people gradually gained a deeper understanding. But who would have thought that a few years later, whether garbage sorting was done well or not would determine if you ate insects or cakes?

Apocalypse Scavengers: a revered profession. They were capable of instantly identifying dry and wet waste in the dark and determining how much energy the waste could release. As the ice age approached, they continuously searched for combustible materials and picked up recyclable waste. They roamed through the darkness, searching for greasy trash, bringing back anything collected to the waste station in exchange for food—be it corpses, steel from walls, decayed planks, doors, windows, floors, or plastics. Anything but stone could mostly be salvaged...

The most recent big news was that the Government had issued a new urban-rural construction plan for the apocalypse, heralding the rise of Scavengers.

The nation had already gathered its population. In these energy-declining apocalyptic times, to reduce energy consumption and strengthen self-sufficiency by forming independent ecological chains, the decision was made to revive the nearly abandoned waste recycling stations. There was no choice, as the consumption of wood, coal, natural gas, and other resources was too great.

So, the Government decided to move the waste recycling stations into residential areas!

A portion of recyclable trash would be handed over to a higher-level waste station. The rest—unrecyclable but burnable waste—would all be incinerated as fuel for everyone to use for heating, boiling water, and cooking in large pots.

Rather than calling it a waste station, it was more like a boiler room, a large, warm house. After all, the incineration temperature exceeded 700°C.

In the increasingly cold apocalypse, living near a waste station was simply too blissful. The residual heat ensured people at least wouldn’t freeze to death.

Initially, many people didn’t want the waste stations moved to where they lived and raised doubts and objections.

But when weather cold enough to freeze people to death arrived, everyone wished they could sleep inside the garbage dump.

Unfortunately, the landfill wasn’t located in the Banana District in her previous life, so this time around, she was determined to have this "hot commodity" moved near the Banana District. Of course, to gain management control and build the dumpsite here, she had her own personal reasons. Little did anyone else know, the dumpsite would also serve as an excellent barrier against the mudslides in the fourth year. To live comfortably during those mudslides and ensure her villa remained unaffected, Jing Shu had considered every means possible.

Tan Ke was skeptical, "Are you serious?"

Jing Shu nodded. While everyone was still oblivious, and since the plans were issued from the Imperial Capital, wasn’t her request reasonable? In fact, acquiring this privilege was similar to deciding where to build schools and hospitals before the apocalypse, or determining where to demolish and where to construct new buildings.

"It’s a bit tricky. You know, everything regarding energy has already been reserved. Energy is becoming scarcer, and even garbage that can be used as fuel is becoming valuable..."

Seeing Jing Shu’s discontented look, Tan Ke hurriedly added, "But it’s easier to deal with here in Wu City. Your additional condition isn’t too much. As long as your method can restore the Seed germination rate, everything is negotiable."

Indeed. While the poor were still struggling to survive, the capitalists were already dividing up the pie. It seemed she needed to save up more garbage to cope with the upcoming ice age.

"Then I’ll wait for your good news."

Jing Shu sent Tan Ke and the overfed Xi Xi off with a beaming smile, as both parties reached another friendly agreement.

"Sister Jingzi, see you in three months!"

"Have you heard? The dumpsite will be built in the Banana District! All sorts of machines from the original landfill are already being moved here, and it’ll be operational soon."

"But the authorities have also stipulated that everyone must relieve themselves at the dumpsite now, and it has to be separate, with special pits for solid waste and pools for liquid waste. I heard they’re collecting the ’newest materials’—not sure what they’re up to. They give 0.1 Virtual Coin each time."

"Not to brag, but as long as they provide me with water, I can urinate enough to bankrupt them."

"Do you guys think they might be reprocessing our poop to make something edible...?"

"Shut up! How could that be possible? We’re not that desperate for food yet. The Government is still hiding lots of reserve grain, and now we have Insect Cake. They’re probably researching fertilizers or something..." Fresh chapters posted on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩

"By the way, do you guys know about the Scavenger profession?"

"No, tell us about it."

Jing Shu hummed a tune, swinging comfortably on the rocking chair in the warm courtyard of the villa, occasionally grabbing a piece of fried chicken from the table and chewing on it.

The rocking chair was a recent creation by Mr. Jing, and Jing Shu immediately fell in love with this elderly lifestyle.

Everyone in the family was busy with their own tasks: Grandma Jing was occupied feeding her Mutant Chickens, Mr. Jing was engrossed in his carpentry, and Jing Shu squinted her eyes, contemplating if anything had been overlooked.

"Granddaughter, let’s visit Wu County for the New Year," Grandma Jing said abruptly while feeding the chickens.