The car's air conditioning was blasting on the coldest setting, the vents whirring, yet the temperature inside the cabin was still a stifling thirty degrees, the outside heat bleeding through the glass. Jing Shu's sweat poured down her back, soaking her tank top, and of course, she was parched, her throat dry.
She had had enough of sipping water drop by drop, measuring every milliliter in her previous life. In this life, she had earned her supplies through her own foresight and effort, so why should she ration her own water now? She used to drink fruit juice every day from the space, a luxury. Jing Shu thought this to herself but said nothing aloud, just took another long swallow from her bottle.
Su Long, sitting in the back beside his mother, licked his cracked, peeling lips and stared enviously at Jing Shu's bottle, then at the spare one at her feet. His aunt was actually letting her drink like that without a word of scolding.
"Our water is all provided by Jing Shu's planning and trades. She can drink as much as she wants," Su Lanzhi said defensively as she scrolled through the management group chat on her phone, reviewing the latest grim updates from the Planting Industry R&D Management Department. They had reduced water allocations again. Even the drip irrigation for the precious vegetable crops was insufficient now, and the seedlings looked wilted under the grow lights, but there was nothing to be done.
"The other districts are using reclaimed, contaminated water to grow those moldy mushrooms in bulk. It smells like an open sewer near their facilities," Su Lanzhi added, shaking her head in distaste. Who knew if eating mushrooms grown in that water would cause long-term problems? But choice was a luxury.
Wang Fang gave an awkward, tinny laugh from the back seat. "I was just worried you might be running low on water. I forgot Jing Shu is technically employed by the management department now, through you. She's got so many frogs and pigs, and I heard from my brother she traded for a whole tanker of water. Guess you're not lacking at all." She paused, then added, fishing blatantly, "Su Long really loves frogs, though. Too bad he's never had one of his own to raise."
Su Yiyang, sitting beside her, his wife's sleeve in warning, but she slapped his hand away irritably. "What? Did I say something wrong? Jing Shu has skills. We should look up to her, learn from her." Her tone was sycophantic.
"Uncle, do you have a lot of bugs at your place?" Jing Shu asked, turning slightly in her seat. Auntie was practically holding out a begging bowl for a frog.
"Yeah, there are plenty, coming in from the cracks, but we don't have the spare water to raise frogs," Su Yiayang said quickly, honestly. "Ignore her. We don't need frogs." He was a proud man.
Although Su Lanzhi disliked Wang Fang's wheedling attitude, she felt a pang of sympathy for her quiet, decent brother. "Big Brother, a frog only needs a mouthful of water a day to survive, and they eat the bugs. I'll have Jing An send a couple over to you later. Better that than letting carrion scavengers or pests ruin whatever food stores you have left." It was a practical offer.
"Great! Su Long, hurry and thank your aunt," Wang Fang said excitedly, nudging her son.
"Thank you, Auntie," Su Long mumbled, but his eyes drifted hungrily toward the trunk where the food gifts were. "Mom, I want a marinated egg too." His voice was a whine.
"You brat. Those are gifts from your grand-uncle for Second Grand-uncle. You can't eat them," Wang Fang scolded, but without much force.
…
Even though she scolded Su Long, he still ended up getting a marinated egg after some pleading, then another, until he had devoured four in a row right there in the car, the shells dropping to the floor. He ate too quickly to savor the complex, spiced flavor, only registering that they were unbelievably good, rich and salty, unlike anything he'd had in months.
Of course, it wasn't because his grand-uncle was particularly generous. It was because Jing Shu had made them with ample spices and time, a relic of pre-collapse plenty.
In her previous life, Jing Shu had never met this second grand-uncle, nor heard any news about him. She only knew that he and her grandfather had been sent to the same rural area as educated youth, but Second Grand-uncle had used his family connections to return to the city early and advance his career, while her grandfather had stayed in Wu City, marrying locally. After her grandfather's death, the two branches of the family had simply never kept in touch, a drift of circumstance.
Su Meimei's family also lived in a civil service community, but it was far less prestigious and secure than the community of Minister Niu. It was the lowest tier of civil servant housing, with no extra power supply or dedicated guards, though at least police still patrolled the area occasionally, a thin veneer of order.
After parking in a shaded spot, Uncle carried a small, wrapped piece of pork about half a kilo, while Jing Shu brought the sealed container of marinated eggs she had made last year and a jar of pickled vegetables as they went upstairs, the stairwell hot and still.
Opening the door was Su Meimei's daughter, Zhang Hanhan, who looked surprisingly well-fed and clean, her hair neatly tied. "Uncle, pork is so hard to get now. How come you didn't bring us more?" Her tone was instantly critical.
Wang Fang rolled her eyes. "One kitchen knife only gets you a small piece of meat at the exchange. You're lucky you got this much, silly girl. Most of the pig was traded away for diesel and water, and we only kept a little for ourselves." She defended the meager offering.
Zhang Hanhan's gaze fell on the container of dark, glossy marinated eggs in Jing Shu's hands, and her eyes lit up with greedy recognition. "Those are rare! Let me eat a few."
"They're not for you. They're for Second Grand-uncle," Jing Shu said flatly, pulling the container back a fraction.
"Grandpa, Uncle and Auntie are here, and they brought food. They won't let me eat it because it's for you!" Zhang Hanhan shouted petulantly toward the back rooms, then glared at Jing Shu, making the atmosphere in the doorway instantly awkward.
Su Yiang corrected her gently, "That's your Second Grand-uncle. You can't just call him 'Grandpa.' Show some respect."
"Second Grand-uncle, Grandpa, it's all the same. If they brought food, we should all eat it." An elderly man's voice, clear and firm, preceded him as he stepped out from a dimly lit back room.
It was Jing Shu's first time seeing him. His hair was jet-black without a trace of gray, neatly combed behind his ears. He looked to be under sixty and wore a clean, pressed dark Zhongshan suit, exuding an air of old-school refinement and careful upkeep.
The three-bedroom apartment wasn't cramped, even with the entire family now inside the living room. But the heat, despite drawn curtains, made everyone dress lightly. In the dim light, Jing Shu's sharp eyes noticed a small balcony lined with potted plants, garlic shoots and trays of cultivated mushrooms, and even a small, fat frog in a makeshift terrarium. Through an open door to another room, she glimpsed stacks of bottled water piled high against a wall, a small fortune.
Su Meimei emerged from the kitchen then, carrying a chipped plate of something blackened and shriveled. "Have some dried radish. It's all we have to offer." She placed it on the low table.
Su Long, unable to resist, grabbed a piece and tried to bite into it. It was as hard as a rock and reeked of mold and dust. He made a face.
Wang Fang discreetly took a tiny nibble and then spat the piece into her hand, coughing. "Cough, cough. What a hot and tiring trip." Her comment was a not-so-subtle hint for some hospitality.
Su Meimei pretended not to hear, busying herself with straightening the plate. Auntie grew visibly irritated. "Meimei, even if you don't have tea, at least give us some water. It's scorching."
"Oh, Sister-in-law, I'm so sorry. Water is terribly scarce lately. We don't have a drop to spare for guests. I could go to the supermarket and trade for some, but it'll take hours in line in this heat," Su Meimei said with false regret, not moving.
"Forget it," Jing Shu thought. "They had come mainly to see the old man. They would leave quickly." She watched the dynamics coldly. "That piece of pork might as well have been fed to a dog for all the gratitude shown."
Jing Shu sneered silently in the dim, hot room.
The conversation, stilted, naturally shifted to Second Grand-uncle. He was a lively, practiced talker, and in no time, with the authority of age and presumed wisdom, he was praising Su Meimei's care and hospitality, saying the family should be close and united, especially in these hard times.
"Not to criticize you, Eldest," the old man said, turning a stern gaze on Uncle, "but you handled this whole situation with Meimei very poorly." He launched into his rehearsed speech. "Meimei went through that terrible ordeal with that scoundrel Zhang Zhongyong, and you weren't there to support her as a brother should. And you, Lanzhi," he shifted his gaze to Su Lanzhi, "you're Meimei's older sister. How could you kick her when she was down? Where is your familial compassion?
You both lost your parents early, so Meimei's had it especially hard. No help at her wedding, no family backing after marriage. That's why a man like Zhang Zhongyong felt he could find a mistress and treat her poorly. I've already scolded him harshly on the phone, and he's promised to change. I even pulled some old strings to get him a promotion recently, to secure their livelihood.
Lanzhi, Meimei may have made some mistakes, been a little impulsive, but as her elder sister, you should be magnanimous, let things go. I heard about that car incident. In the end, you came out ahead, didn't you? You sold the car for over a hundred thousand yuan, but Meimei lost more than a hundred thousand in that deal. If anyone should be upset, it's Meimei, not you. Yet you profited and still act aggrieved?
Lanzhi, I hear you're working at the Planting Industry R&D Management Department now. That's a cushy, powerful place these days. I know Minister Niu personally, and his direct superior is an old classmate of mine. I also heard you got a few pigs through your daughter and shared them with family, even traded for more. A very resourceful move. But why didn't Meimei get one? Playing favorites among siblings like this makes you look terribly petty." His words were smooth, laden with guilt and veiled threat, an attempt to assert control and redistribute resources under the banner of family harmony.