It seemed the old belief that only steady practice could upgrade the Rubik's Cube Space wasn't absolute. A lucky encounter might also accelerate the process. Did bloodlust and killing count toward that growth? She didn't know yet. If it did, the Rubik's Cube Space might jump to the seventh or eighth tier in a short time.
Her strength would climb again with the upgrade. Her dream was simple. One day she wanted to stash the RV and everything else she owned straight into the Rubik's Cube Space. The more fields she had, the more vegetables she could plant for her family. The larger the space, the more poultry she could raise; she would no longer have to count every cubic meter like she did now.
Perhaps one day the Rubik's Cube Space would merge fully with reality. If she could hide inside it, she would never again fear the world ending or any accident that might befall her. Until then, she had to stay sharp for every curveball the apocalypse might throw at them.
After the attack at the gate, her control over the Rubik's Cube Space rose another notch. She felt perpetually on the verge of a breakthrough. It was a bottleneck. She was so close to the next level, yet not quite there yet.
Aside from the attempted robbery, Wei Zheng's wedding had been a success. The guests were shaken and a few were injured by the sudden flames, but they were satisfied with the wedding feast. Originally there were two cold dishes, three hot dishes, and one meat dish for each table. Adding two more meat dishes instantly raised the entire banquet's level in the eyes of the hungry guests. Many could not bear to eat much of it at the time, wanting to savor it later.
So they split the meat piece by piece and, when they left the courtyard, almost everyone carried a bag packed with food. In the apocalypse, pork was worth far more than the simple gifts they had brought for the couple.
When the crowd finally dispersed into the rainy night, the three aunts began cleaning up the chaotic mess of overturned chairs and broken glass. Eldest Uncle took the bodies of the eleven raiders to the station and brought back 330 virtual coins in bounty money (thirty coins for each head), which he handed directly to Jing Shu. The spoils were hers by right after her defense of the home.
When people heard about the bounty, their jaws dropped in surprise; not just the outsiders but even Jing Pan and Wei Zheng were stunned by the amount. Qiao Lian's mother gulped hard as she watched the exchange. Thank goodness she hadn't crossed the girl during their earlier arguments.
Jing Shu was pleased that the man had handled the matter properly. "They came to rob you. Take this to offset the losses you've suffered," she said, knowing that her aunt's family had suffered most from the property damage.
He refused the coins flatly, shaking his head.
"Fine. Then give all the spoils to Eldest Aunt for the factory's start-up and future operations. The pickup truck, the virtual coins, everything. Consider it ours collectively for the business. Just give me the knockout drugs and the smoke grenades for my own use."
"Thank you so much, Jing Shu," he said, his eyes bright with gratitude.
The haul from the bandits was decent: a pickup truck, several basic thermal imagers, sharp machetes and heavy clubs, knockout drugs that worked fast on the system, and eleven smoke grenades. She kept the drugs and the grenades for emergencies. After today, she had seen just how effective smoke grenades could be in a contained area. The raiders were only eleven people, yet with the cover of smoke they had dared to strike a large gathering.
With no weapons at hand and no way to tell friend from foe in the haze, most people wouldn't move or resist. Then they had used a few Molotovs to sow chaos and fear. If those eleven had come with only blades, there would have been no sequel to the fight. Jing An could have driven them off with a few shots from his gun.
Jing Pan's family had to learn a hard lesson from this encounter. Food was priceless now, more valuable than gold. They had beat drums and made a loud spectacle of the wedding, practically advertising to the whole county that they had slaughtered a pig and were feeding dozens of people. Unlike Su Mali, they didn't have a home full of armed servants and bodyguards. Of course that would have stirred envy among the desperate.
Hadn't Jing Shu hired four guards just to stand watch at the villa gate whenever she went out? If not for her intervention, losing the food would have been the smallest problem they faced. What if someone had died in the fire? Thankfully Qiao Lian's mother had dragged the bride into the safety of the house at the critical moment. Otherwise a happy day might have turned into a funeral for the family.
Jing Shu had planned to leave on the afternoon of the first day of the New Year, but that didn't happen as she expected. The knockout drug used by the robbers was exceptionally strong. She made the family drink tons of water to flush the chemicals out of their systems. That night they held a formal meeting to discuss their security. Lesson learned. If they had grain, they needed the strength to protect it from those who would take it. Grandpa Jing spent the evening teaching Wei Zheng how to set effective traps around the property.
At eight in the morning on the second day of the New Year, the red nematode feed factory Jing Shu had funded officially opened its doors.
The factory sat at the foot of the mountains in Wu County, nestled among rows of gray prefab shacks. It was right where the refugees lived in their temporary shelters.
It was also situated directly beside the government canteen.
At dawn, Jing Pan posted a big notice on the shed wall: 1 virtual coin for 200 jin (roughly 100 kilograms) of red nematodes, unlimited purchase.
The notice electrified passersby as the word spread. They gathered in small groups to talk about the offer. Wu County's government had only process so much material each day. On most days it bought a little over ten tons. Anyone lining up late wasted their entire day and had to come back tomorrow. The cycle bred poverty and kept families on subsistence rations that were never enough.
This change in price and policy changed everything for the residents. A family could dredge up 300 jin (about 150 kilograms) a day from the damp earth, swap them for 1 to 2 virtual coins, and at least afford a daily bowl of hot porridge. With porridge on the table for their children, who would choose to eat mushrooms full of bug eggs?
Jing An personally oversaw the harvesting of the red nematodes to prevent any fraud or contamination, while the workers began the steps of processing and split up the tasks with clear lines of authority. Production got underway with a rhythmic clatter.
As soon as the factory opened, people carried in heavy buckets of red nematodes they had collected over the past few days. Other workers moved quickly through the feed-making process, the air filling with the scent of the organic material. The place buzzed with new energy. Jing Shu nodded to herself as she watched the bustle. This was one contribution she could offer the apocalypse, at least. She was storing some grain for the future while helping her kin.
Jing Zhao's husband lived up to his sharp merchant instincts. "Eldest Sister, I can source red nematodes from elsewhere in the province and ship them to you. Count mine as 180 jin (roughly 90 kilograms) per virtual coin. Wu County's small. Even if the intake increases, it will only add a dozen tons a day. You can't process enough to meet the demand."
Jing Pan thought it over for a moment. It was true. Wu County was small. The local dredge would not yield enough for a full-scale operation. She nodded slowly. "Alright. But if we find stones or other fillers mixed in with the worms, there will not be a second deal between us."
A ton of raw red nematodes shrank to less than half its weight once it was turned into dry feed. Even so, the finished product would sell for at least ten times more than the raw material. Jing Shu didn't intend to squeeze every bit of profit from her neighbors, but she couldn't break the established rules of the market either.
There was a real problem with the scale of the business, though. The factory would produce over a dozen tons of feed a day. Storage in the middle of the rainy season was tricky. One mistake with the humidity and the feed would mold, becoming useless. Jing Shu set her sights on the government's official warehouses. She wanted to pay rent and store large volumes of the product there. Her own space couldn't hold it all. Even if it could, moving such a large quantity of material openly wasn't wise.
The government had secret depots with proper climate facilities, but she didn't know the right people to grant her access. Minister Niu Mou oversaw the Planting Industry R&D Management Department. She didn't know if the reserves fell under his remit or if he had the power to help her.
Maybe Zhou Bapi could help her with a connection. He would have some authority over the medicinal stockpiles through the Medicinal Herb Association.
She was still thinking it through when, to her surprise, the matter was settled that very afternoon.