At the time, Jing Shu saw that Zhou Bapi had already thought of using salt water, but he was still two steps short. The wait had been frustrating, the minutes stretching out while the gastrodia sat vulnerable, but in the end, it was she who solved the problem, her hands steady as she adjusted the solution.
Still, the results were pleasing, the healthy tubers gleaming under the light. Jing Shu clapped her hands, the sharp sound cutting through the air, and said, "So that counts as resolving the gastrodia crisis, right? This batch of gastrodia is under my responsibility now?"
Zhou Bapi gave her a thumbs-up, his finger raised high. "Exactly. I'll record this in your file right away. Also, you can choose five assistants to help you with daily work."
Jing Shu waved her hand grandly, her sleeve brushing the air, and picked the chubby-cheeked girl. "Wang… Dainai, was it? Then I'll trouble you all to keep helping."
"That's only right." The girl smiled, dimples appearing on her cheeks, deep and round against her soft skin.
Jing Shu secretly glanced at the girl's well-developed breasts and fell into thought, her gaze lingering for a moment on the curve beneath the work shirt. Could it be that names determined appearance? People always envied what they didn't have. Right then, Jing Shu decided: she would plant one square meter of papaya, eat one papaya a day. Whether or not it made her fuller up top didn't matter, the important part was that papaya tasted good, its sweet flesh juicy on the tongue.
"Impressive, she solved the issue that's been troubling President Zhou the moment she arrived."
"Just look at her bearing, you can tell she's not ordinary. Didn't you notice how polite President Zhou was with her? He's a kind man, but when have you ever seen him treat someone like that?"
Hearing this, Xiao Xiao, who had been itching to argue, suddenly lost her voice. She covered her face, her palms pressing against her cheeks, turned, and ran, her footsteps quick on the ground. "We'll just have to wait for President Tie to come back and see what kind of background this woman has."
The storm finally passed, the tension easing from the air. Jing Shu returned to her test fields to plant astragalus, her fingers working the soil as she pressed the seeds in. She wasn't the least bit worried about Xiao Xiao scheming against her land. The planting area for medicinal herbs was under twenty-four-hour surveillance with no blind spots, precisely for management, the cameras watching steadily from their posts.
She had barely finished planting, dirt still under her nails, when a call came, Yang Yang was back, waiting for her at the villa gate.
Good grief, they had said they'd be gone one or two months, but it had dragged on for ages, the days turning into weeks and more. Even the theft incident in America had already been over for more than two months.
Once again, Zhou Bapi hurriedly sent Jing Shu back to the villa, the car engine humming as it pulled away.
"Who would believe this girl has no backing? Even President Zhou personally escorts her."
For someone who had only joined on her first day and already commanded such respect, Jing Shu stood out. She had even broken the record of working fewer than ten days in a row, all thanks to the special treatment Zhou Bapi gave her.
…
Five bald men squatted under the villa's canopy, their heads gleaming in the sunlight, passing around a cigarette one puff at a time, the smoke curling upward. Yang Yang had his hair tightly wrapped, his boots resting on the edge of the pool as he drew water into a syringe, the plunger pulling back smoothly. "How about a bet? Whoever guesses how long Jing Shu takes to arrive, we'll inject him with some salt water."
"You're crazy! Who'd take that bet?"
Even as they joked, their laughter rough in the air, Jing Shu's car pulled up, tires crunching on the drive. Zhou Bapi rubbed his hands together, the skin rasping slightly, flashing his big yellow teeth in a wide grin. "Jing Shu, when you have time, try to save our honeysuckle crop. If you can cure it, that batch will be yours too."
Zhou Bapi had worked hard to bring her in and promised her big rewards. The reason was simple: Jing Shu could cultivate extraordinary medicinal herbs. He had a strong feeling that the future of Wu City's Medicinal Herb Association might really depend on her.
"Alright, I'll take a look when I go over next time. I can't guarantee results though," Jing Shu said modestly, her voice even.
That only made Zhou Bapi more delighted, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He could tell, if Jing Shu spoke like this, then the honeysuckle was as good as saved. She might act as if she knew nothing, but she had real skill.
Zhou Bapi immediately turned to look for Su Mali.
At the gate, a group of burly men stared at Jing Shu, their gazes direct under the canopy. She looked them over too, taking in their broad shoulders and stances. Yang Yang hadn't changed much, but the others had. One was missing an arm, the sleeve pinned up neatly, and another had a terrifying scar across his face, the mark raised and red against his skin.
"Well, young lady, looks like you've been doing well these past six months. We even heard about you snatching housing from Wang Dazhao yesterday. I guess it wasn't for nothing that Wang Dazhao risked his life to get you that thing." Yang Yang teased, his tone light.
Wang Dazhao bowed his head, his posture low. "Jing Shu, that was a lifesaving favor. This is nothing. We all just wanted to thank you for your special medicine, so we brought this for you."
Jing Shu blinked, baffled, her lashes fluttering. "What exactly is it? Something from America?"
Yang Yang waved his hand, the motion quick. Two men went to the back of a pickup truck and dragged out a heavy object, the metal scraping against the bed.
"If it weren't for your medicine," Yang Yang explained, his voice steady, "this guy without an arm and that one missing part of his face would've died from infection long ago. We wouldn't have completed our mission either. Later, we saw this thing and thought, you're the only one we know with the strength to use it properly."
With that, he opened it up, the latches clicking open.
It was a dazzling piece of equipment—an exoskeleton mecha. Just like the armored warriors from the movies, full-body metal gear, impossibly cool, the surfaces shining under the light.
Jing Shu's eyes lit up at once, wide and bright.
"This is an incomplete exoskeleton system, the latest product developed by Lockheed Martin in America. It cost eight hundred thousand, weighs seventy kilograms, and runs on hydraulic boosters with a graphite-selenium shell and tritium battery.
Whether in extreme cold or blistering heat, its sealed system provides excellent temperature control, ensuring normal performance under any conditions.
Its bulletproof capacity goes without saying, though of course it won't withstand missiles or nukes.
The left arm is fitted with a mechanical claw, immensely powerful, like an excavator.
The right arm is equipped with mounts for machine guns and heavy weapons. But since we didn't manage to steal those parts, this mecha has no weapons. You can only use it as protective armor. And… it has one drawback." Yang Yang coughed hard, the sound rough in his throat.
Jing Shu's eyes were sparkling like stars, fixed on the gleaming frame. In her previous life she'd been killed, leaving her with no sense of security. Now, whenever she saw something that could keep her alive in the apocalypse, she couldn't resist. With this, even in the extreme cold she wouldn't have to fear, the metal solid and enclosing.
Exoskeleton suits like this often appeared in science fiction. In China's first epic sci-fi movie, The Wandering Earth, characters wore similar suits, though this one had its differences, the joints thicker and the plating heavier.
"What's the drawback?"
"It needs charging. A full charge only lasts a few hours. You know, science hasn't advanced that far yet."
Jing Shu thought it over, her fingers tapping lightly against her side. It wasn't unacceptable. Worst case, she could recharge it in the Rubik's Cube Space and always keep it powered.
"No problem. I like it. Weapons or no weapons, it's great for defense. Thank you."
She felt her trump cards had grown once more. In real danger, she could put it on instantly, the straps and clamps ready. Much more reliable than throwing giant rocks.
"Good. I'll take them back for now. My grandfather's eighty-eighth birthday banquet is coming up. You and Lao Niu should come. We'll talk more then."