"This amber silk is the finest I have ever seen. The texture, the smoothness; if you used it for a quilt, it would be incredibly warm."
Zijin spoke while her fingers brushed the golden threads, her eyes fixed on the shimmering quality of the material. With silkworms fed on vegetables grown with Spirit Spring water, the quality couldn't be anything but excellent; the fibers were stronger and more lustrous than any natural silk from before the apocalypse.
She dipped the cocoons into the plastic basin of clean water, the surface rippling as the shells sank. She split them with the sharp edge of her nails and pulled out the pupae, which were dark and slick. She stretched the empty cocoon over her hand, removed the black molted skin that clung to the inside like a thin shadow, and layered several pieces together. Then she peeled them off and tugged them into small, square silk patches, the fibers yielding with a soft, tearing sound. Her movements were fluid and practiced, and in less than half an hour (30 minutes) she had stripped all the cocoons clean.
When Grandma Jing and Grandpa Jing heard that Jing Shu had invited an expert, they thudded over to the canopy to watch. Seeing Zijin's skillful hands at work, they raised their thumbs in approval, their eyes following the rapid motion of her fingers. Just a few days ago, they had tried the process themselves and discovered it took them several minutes just to peel one single cocoon. At their slow pace, they would never finish even a single step of the production in an entire day.
It happened that Grandpa Jing had already crafted a bow-shaped bamboo tool for stretching the silk, its surface sanded smooth. Zijin quickly set to work, hooking the small silk patches onto the ends of the tool and pulling them open until the fibers stretched into a fine, translucent square.
"A quilt needs at least six layers spread evenly. That way it's soft and snug against the body. For face masks, three layers will do," Zijin explained, her voice steady as she worked. She removed three layers from the rack, forming golden, damp bundles of silk. Once boiled in the pot of steaming water, they shimmered under the faint light of the canopy, radiant and beautiful.
Zijin wrung out the water, the liquid dripping into the soil below, and shaped them into masks, making a total of fifty distinct units. At Jing Shu's suggestion, she even used the cutout scraps from the sections meant for the eyes, nose, and mouth to make small silk pads for dressing wounds.
"To make masks, just soak the raw silk in the prepared mixture. For quilts, hang them in a cool, ventilated place until they're completely dry. Then you will have your raw material."
But the weather outside was too damp, the air thick with moisture. They wouldn't dry easily on their own. Jing Shu decided she would have to use the electric fans and the ventilation system inside the villa to speed the process.
Following an online formula she had saved, Jing Shu added honey and other medicinal ingredients in measured proportions to a glass bowl. The masks were done. She took a small scrap of the treated silk and stuck it onto Zijin's right cheek for testing. Ten minutes later, she peeled it off to find that patch of skin was visibly smoother and fairer than the surrounding area. The result was remarkable.
Finally, Jing Shu sealed each mask in individual transparent pouches, the plastic crinkling as she worked. The golden silk gleamed inside the film, looking like molten metal under the electric light. She never would have imagined, in this second chance at the apocalypse, that she would be running a business selling face masks.
Zijin watched the process nervously, her hands knotted in her lap. Before trying, she had doubted whether this idea was realistic. In the apocalypse, everyone worried about food and water, not cosmetics. Who would hire a craftswoman like her for such a niche task? But when Jing Shu handed her the top-grade amber silk and had her actually produce the masks, she realized this woman truly needed her skill.
Expectation mingled with unease in Zijin's expression. These past few months had been hard for her. When the residents of the family compound relocated to Banana Community, everyone squeezed together in the crowded buildings. She became an outcast, living alone with no relatives working in the compound to support her. Naturally, she was excluded from the better resources. After the apocalypse struck, with no steady income, she could only scavenge for scraps, relying on the meager earnings from collecting red nematodes in the mud to survive. She had tried many ways to improve her situation, but none had worked until now.
Jing Shu, however, was in good spirits. In her mind, she was already planning to exchange these silk masks for compressed natural gas. She needed plenty of fuel, since next year she would be running the boilers and the floor heating daily to combat the cold. As someone reborn, she now demanded a higher quality of life for her family. It was no longer enough to simply fill her stomach.
"Your craftsmanship passes the test," Jing Shu said with a smile. "My grandmother will soon have a large batch of cocoons ready to spin. I'm planning to produce more raw materials for you to handle."
Rebirth was truly a strange thing. Meeting people from her previous life all over again, reintroducing herself to them, and rebuilding bonds from zero; yet everything had shifted in this new timeline. In this life, she and Zijin were heading toward a completely different story. Jing Shu had no idea what kind of relationship they might develop as the years passed.
Even so, she didn't grant her benefactor from the previous life entry into the villa. Trust couldn't be tested too early with excessive benefits. If she entrusted Zijin too soon and showered her with welfare, what if that bred greed, or what if it nurtured the darker side of her nature? Even Jing Shu couldn't control her own desires. In her past life, she only wished to eat her fill. In this life, thanks to the Cube Space, she no longer accepted just enough. With ability came ambition.
It was fine to treat someone well, but never to give them the very best from the start. If you did, everything afterward would only seem worse by comparison, and they might think you were treating them poorly. But if you improved their conditions step by step, every little increase in comfort would feel like a great kindness. Just like the Cube Space itself. Each upgrade and each new level brought immense satisfaction and renewed motivation. From once longing only for a full belly, to now harboring ambitions even wolves couldn't satisfy; step by step, she had grown bolder. Now she was raising silkworms and making face masks. Who knew what she would build next?
"Me? Can I really stay?" Zijin's eyes brightened, revealing her little tiger teeth in a delighted smile for the first time.
"Barely acceptable," Jing Shu teased, though her tone remained firm. "From today on, Miss Zijin, we're in an employment relationship. Tomorrow morning, you will officially report to work. And as your boss, I will tell you your duties and your benefits."
Jing Shu extended her hand, shaking Zijin's for the first time. She felt the sensation of the delicate fingers against her own; Zijin's hand was small, soft, and cold.
"Yes, boss!" Zijin slipped easily into her role, her posture straightening.
"You must keep yourself clean and tidy every day. No red nematodes are allowed on your person. Your workplace will be under the canopy outside the villa. I will add a small, dry room for you there. Your hours start once the temperature rises in the morning, and end when it drops in the evening. You will handle the cocoons with my grandmother and do clothing repairs for the family. Every afternoon, you will accompany my grandmother to Building No. 25 across the street to clean. In truth, I need you to keep an eye on her so she doesn't mess around with Lin Yi again.
So besides your daily pay of four virtual coins, you will also get meals from the Ai Jia canteen. That's extra, because my aunt is the director there, and there are always leftovers to be had."
Jing Shu knew Zijin's miserly habits, how she never spent her virtual coins on proper meals to save every cent. So she had arranged this herself, making sure her third aunt would bring back food every day, even paying for the extra portions out of her own pocket.
"Now, to make sure you can work cleanly and efficiently, I need to see where you live. We will fix whatever can be improved in your living situation."
"Yes, boss," Zijin replied.