Chapter 517: Chapter 517

Jing Shu hesitated for a moment, but her body reacted honestly, snatching the red packet. The bright red 0.01 Virtual Coins notification flaunted itself mercilessly. Jing Shu turned off her phone, now just wanting some peace and quiet.

She’d never snatch red packets again.

It wasn’t until Mr. Jing and Mrs. Jing each sent her a red packet with 600 Virtual Coins that 26-year-old Jing Shu felt much better. Though she was no longer young and still unmarried, in her parents’ eyes, regardless of whether she was married or not, or how old she was, she would always be their child, and they would always give her lucky money.

Mrs. Jing gave Shu’en and her Uncle’s son, Su Long, 100 Virtual Coins each. Li Yun watched with envy but said nothing; after all, he was nearly thirty, and it wouldn’t be right for him to expect lucky money anymore. He admitted he was also quite envious that Jing Shu still received lucky money at her age.

Both Jing Shu and Wu You’ai gave Shu’en a red packet with 50 Virtual Coins as lucky money. Li Yun was on the verge of tears; he only had 10 Virtual Coins in total, saved up over a long time. He could only act like an ostrich and keep quiet.

It was a rare year with so many people around, and the house was warm. The adults didn’t seem interested in sleeping, opting to observe the New Year’s vigil instead. Grandma Jing and Mr. Jing couldn’t keep up and went off to sleep.

Third Aunt and Mrs. Jing still had many chores: preparing feed for the chickens, ducks, and cattle. To save on feed, and with no vegetable roots or rotten leaves at home, they had to mix in more Insect Cake. Fortunately, the high protein content in insects meant the chickens laid more eggs.

Even with a bit of Spiritual Spring water added, they still needed to supplement nutrition with beans and grains. The troublesome part was the cold weather; they couldn’t use cold water for mixing the feed and had to use boiling water. This way, the Domestic Poultry would enjoy the food, grow well, and be more productive.

The balcony crops needed tending, the backyard pigs and cattle required checking, the milk had to be collected early, and the front yard’s mushroom farm needed care. Even Jing Shu had to make rounds every night before bed, looking after the flowers, fruits, Bees, and numerous pets, ensuring all received equal attention.

It made sense that Jingshu’s house was wealthy; there were good reasons they had plenty of meat and fish on the table every day.

A program played on the TV while the children sat on the sofa, happily drinking milk tea, eating candy, and watching the screen.

People played mahjong at the dining table and "Fight the Landlord" at the coffee table. It was a lively New Year scene, the likes of which hadn’t been seen for a very long time.

Perhaps this is the happiness found in simplicity, Jing Shu thought. If only it could go on forever.

But clearly, things wouldn’t go as smoothly as one wished.

Only a few such warm and pleasant days passed. The whole nation was still indulging in the Spring Festival revelry, unable to extricate themselves. Those who normally couldn’t get enough to eat could finally eat their fill at the buffets during these few days. How could they not be happy? The meals were better than usual. This time, two more dishes were added: one of wild greens and one of rice porridge. However, each person was limited to one bowl and had to choose one of the two.

It was like the buffets before the apocalypse, where one had to choose between abalone porridge and Dazha crab—a truly agonizing decision.

Second Uncle’s family saw they couldn’t live in a villa, nor even an ordinary residence. While fretting in secret, they also couldn’t stop themselves from overindulging in the communal cafeteria. "After these few days, we’ll think of something," they’d say.

"These city cafeterias are delicious. The Insect Cakes in the countryside aren’t made well. Look at the city ones; they have over a dozen ways to prepare them!"

"How can you compare? The city’s cakes are pure meat, while ours in the countryside are still half dirt."

Yes, the countryside cafeterias had already started adding dirt. Wu City, thanks to its Red Worm Cake Factory, supplied some Insect Cakes daily as a buffer, along with some old grain reserves from the warehouses. So, they hadn’t reached the point of eating dirt yet. But after the New Year’s celebrations, it will probably be time, Jing Shu guessed. Content orıginally comes from 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚫𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚫𝕟𝕖𝕥

The dirt wasn’t Guanyin Soil but a type known as expanding soil. This soil could alleviate hunger to some extent but was hard to digest. Short-term consumption wasn’t a major issue, but long-term use would cause one’s stomach to swell, growing larger and larger until... BOOM!

This was a type of edible soil, processed and screened multiple times, which also contained certain substances required by the human body.

If someone had told Jing Shu before the apocalypse, "This soil, you can eat it. Not only can you eat it, but you can also make it into little biscuits and dry rations," Jing Shu would have sworn it was impossible.

But now, with their backs against the wall, what couldn’t be eaten? Some people were so hungry they resorted to eating dirt. The clever and thrifty Huaxia people had ultimately learned how to eat soil from their counterparts in Africa.

Although not as dangerous as Guanyin Soil, which could kill after just a few meals, it was still seriously harmful. COUGH. But in this near-starvation situation, who could afford to care about such things?

Besides, they could still eat some soil now. By next year, there might not even be any soil left to eat.

That’s when Jing Shu thought, Is the profession of Earth Digger about to emerge too?

The work was laborious, involving digging pits several meters deep to find fine earth. This earth then had to be crushed and filtered to produce the finest quality.

Finally, it was handed over to the cafeteria. There, the canteen ladies would add some flour and salt to the soil, or perhaps some insects, constantly stirring it into a paste. Then, they would scoop out small portions, flattening them into biscuit shapes or strips to make the raw cakes.

This type of food, costing very little yet capable of sustaining many people, quickly became popular.

They often just needed to be placed near burning garbage dumps to cook, and then these Earth Worm Cake dry rations were ready.

The fourth year’s mudslides provided prime conditions for making Earth Worm Cakes, especially before the mud began to solidify. If the Earth Diggers were willing to endure hardship, they could gather enough raw materials with just their bare hands, without needing special tools, and earn a good amount of Virtual Coin.

But in the latter half of the year, when everything had completely solidified, the Earth Diggers were out of options. With the cold setting in and the ground hardening like cement, not even soil could be dug up. Once every edible thing was consumed and the severe cold weather took hold, the real test truly began.

So, being able to eat soil was, in itself, a kind of happiness.

Mud was flowing down the mountain!

More and more muddy water gushed from the surroundings!

At first, nobody paid much attention. After all, they had experienced floods and earthquakes. What was there to fear from a bit of muddy water flowing down the mountain? It wasn’t as if it were a life-threatening matter.

But soon, everyone realized something was wrong.

And indeed, reality proved them right.

If it were just an occasional mudflow in one place, it might have been ignored. But more and more areas began to spew mud. Some volcanoes even erupted with torrential mudflows, directly submerging several nearby towns and townships!

Drone footage captured how these mudslides, in just one night, surged furiously down from the mountains, devouring everything in their path. Tens of thousands of people in the affected townships were fortunate; they had received a warning. Mudslides, unlike flash floods, weren’t as swift, which gave them time to flee. The township mayor, drawing on his experience, organized everyone to escape with essential food supplies.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Jing Shu’s family was gathered in the house, eating breakfast while watching the news, when they saw the live broadcast.