Chapter 548: Chapter 548

"I-I am," the middle-aged woman, her face full of wrinkles, said, somewhat nervously.

Jing Shu looked the tall, thin middle-aged woman up and down, noticed she was relatively clean among the group, and nodded inwardly before saying, "Captain Li mentioned that you have been cooking the meals recently? For the next few days, I would like to hire you as a cook. Your compensation will be two meals a day."

Aunt Wang’s sallow face broke into a smile. "Ah, I have a daughter. Can she help me out? She is very capable. Cooking for dozens of people requires a helper..."

Aunt Wang’s daughter, though seventeen or eighteen years old, looked extremely thin, almost like a dried radish. She was nervously watching Jing Shu. The source of thɪs content is 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽

Jing Shu narrowed her eyes, considered her plan for a moment, and nodded. "Okay. You can pick a few more women to help. I’ll leave all the cooking duties under your management. Before each meal, tally the number of people with Wang Dan, then come to me for the ingredients. Let’s eat earlier today. Once Wang Dan has the headcount, you can come and get the ingredients from me."

The amount each person would eat was fixed; they definitely couldn’t eat until they were full. There were only so many Compressed Biscuits. Jing Shu planned to save more than half for the boat crew and mix a small portion with mud to make mud pancakes for the villagers.

Aunt Wang was surprised. Cooking for these people wasn’t very complicated, so why would it require so many hands? Wasn’t it just a matter of rehydrating the Compressed Biscuits? However, she ultimately said nothing.

As soon as Jing Shu spoke, those who were still hesitating stopped. They no longer knelt and cried but immediately got up to register their names with Wang Dan. After all, there was real food to be had; being late meant no food. Didn’t they hear that portions were fixed and dependent on the headcount?

After all, eating anything was better than eating dirt every day, right?

Wang Dan finished counting the people and then awkwardly asked Jing Shu, "So, what should we have them do? What tasks are there? I’m not comfortable letting them care for or guard the Seeds. If they secretly ate them, we’d have nowhere to turn to cry."

Jing Shu’s lips curled up slightly. "Have them dismantle all the flammable materials from the houses in Ga Mountain Valley and collect them. We’ll need them for heating over the next few days, and for cooking and boiling water. Also, dig large mud pits in the surrounding area. Extract the finest mud from the bottom, filter it, and hand it over to Aunt Wang. She can then start making mud pancakes. Try to store enough dry rations for the journey before any rescue arrives."

"You set their workload. Pick the two who perform best to be team leaders; they will be responsible for supervising the others. If anyone shirks their duty, they get no food."

Jing Shu was planning to have these people work and stockpile food themselves. The people outside were working daily and barely eating; how could these people expect more without doing anything?

In the apocalypse, to survive, one must work for themselves. Relying on the government for relief, or expecting her, an outsider, to provide was out of the question.

Suddenly, the scattered people from the boat crews and Gashan Gou Village had a common purpose. They had work to do, and with it, they seemed to find hope and motivation for the future.

Wang Dan quickly delegated tasks. Some took their household shovels to dig mud pits. Others followed Jing Shu’s instructions, filtering the bottom layer of soil. Another group began dismantling the houses in Ga Mountain Valley, collecting beams, wooden stumps, beds—anything burnable—and bringing it all to the boat crew’s side.

The village leader and a few others watched from the sidelines, mocking, "What a bunch of fools. Doing whatever they’re told without even knowing if they’ll actually get food."

Around the dock of the large boat was a large pit filled with muddy water. This was now the only water source for everyone trapped. A temporary double-pit stove had been set up beside it.

Aunt Wang, along with her daughter and two other women from the village, approached the stove. They all looked at Jing Shu with some trepidation as they explained their recent cooking methods. Wang Dan, having finished the headcount, added,

"Our fleet and Ga Mountain Valley were transported here by shifting tectonic plates. We had already exhausted all our food. It was Aunt Wang who found everyone’s leather and tree roots, chopped them into bits, and cooked them. Then she dug up soil from the ground. Later, she ground rotten Seeds into powder and mixed it all into a gruel, so everyone could at least partially stave off their hunger."

"That was clever. At least you survived. Surviving is better than anything else," Jing Shu nodded. Leather and belts made from animal skin contain some protein and are technically edible. However, they are too tough to chew and largely indigestible.

Li Dayou was simply being foolish; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had a bloated stomach if he had eaten this way.

Aunt Wang said humbly, "During the famine in my father’s generation, we survived . Back then, at least we had grass roots and tree bark; those could be cooked and eaten."

Wang Dan then said, "Thirty-five people are working today. The filtered soil will be delivered shortly, along with the Fuel. When will we start making the dirt pancakes?"

Jing Shu then took out ten Compressed Biscuits and three eggs from her backpack and handed them over. "Let’s have a good meal this time," she said. "Boil the Compressed Biscuits into a porridge, then whisk the three eggs into it. After eating, Aunt Wang, you can lead the others in making dirt pancakes. Mix the porridge-like Compressed Biscuits with the soil, shape them into pancakes, and bake them dry over the fire to make dry rations. These pancakes will be crispy and flavorful—certainly better than eating leather."

"Alright!" Aunt Wang agreed, already feeling satisfied at the chance of eating dirt pancakes mixed with Compressed Biscuits. The girl was right; surviving was most important. She then looked at her daughter. So many children in Ga Mountain Valley were... gone. She had to keep her daughter alive. They would eat anything. As long as they were alive, there was hope; there was always a chance to see the sun again.

After arranging things there, Jing Shu and Wang Dan boarded the large ship. According to Wang Dan, the water in the Canal where they were located had suddenly dried up. The large ship was not only stranded on dry land but was also carried by the shifting tectonic plates all the way here, eventually crashing into a row of houses in Ga Mountain Valley.

This large ship had plenty of space. However, all enclosed areas were filled with Seeds, leaving only one restroom, a control room, two bedrooms, and a simple kitchen.

Jing Shu had Wang Dan scoop several buckets of water and bring them to the ship’s kitchen. There, she began filtering the water with a small filter.

Wang Dan clicked his tongue in amazement. He hadn’t expected that Jing Shu, even in the midst of the apocalypse, would carry equipment to filter water. Was she always this particular, even during the apocalypse? But then, thinking of Jing Shu’s status, he understood. Such a big shot had to be particular.

He eagerly followed behind Jing Shu, asking excitedly, "Are we also having Compressed Biscuit porridge? Are we adding whisked egg too?"

"I’m not fond of that," Jing Shu said. Before Wang Dan could even wonder what could be so unpalatable about soaked Compressed Biscuits, Jing Shu clapped her hands. "Let’s go," she announced. "Let it filter for now. We’ll start cooking once it’s done."

"To find your captain."

「Five minutes later.」

Li Dayou stared at the bowl of live worms in Jing Shu’s hand with a strange expression. He swallowed hard. "Are you really going to eat that? Will eating it cure a bloated stomach and indigestion?"