"Now I announce that both participants have passed the assessment. From today onward, the two of you are both Vice Presidents!"
President Tie's voice trembled with excitement, tears streaking down his old face as he stood before the gathered crowd. He had lost—forced into stepping aside by the shifting political currents of the Association. That damned Zhou Bapi had given him two choices: either step down and announce it himself, or let Zhou Bapi declare the results and endure a far more public humiliation.
Back then, during their private confrontation, Zhou Bapi had sneered, his features twisting with arrogance. "I am already giving you face here. Handle it yourself."
What else could President Tie do? He was utterly desperate, trapped in a corner with no escape.
Amid cheers and a thunderous round of applause that echoed off the high walls of the hall, the two were officially crowned with the title of Vice President of the Medicinal Herb Association. After completing the cumbersome paperwork, their pens scratching against the heavy sheets, and entering their data into the central database, their identities were now part of the national record.
This also included transferring many administrative permissions. After the announcement, Jing Shu and Wang Daxian were taken to handle formalities in the quiet back offices, while others went to collect seeds. From this moment, the Medicinal Herb Association will launch a sixty-day sprint.
Jing Shu had Wang Danai distribute the seeds to the eager workers. "Plant them first. If problems come up later, you can come to me."
The seeds weren't free. Each one cost five contribution points, so people could only take as many as they could afford with their current balances. Seeds obtained from the Association couldn't circulate outside the tall iron gates. Every seed was recorded and had to be planted within a registered Medicinal Herb Association plot.
Contribution points were the Association's internal currency, a digital lifeblood. Every plant cultivated—along with its seeds—was calculated for its value, ranging from one to ten contribution points. The more one grew, the greater the value, and the more points earned.
Contribution points could be used to purchase seeds. Unsoaked seeds cost around five to ten points, while soaked ones cost only one to five points. Jing Shu didn't inflate the price; she followed Association rules to the letter. It was already a humane system compared to the cutthroat markets in the rest of the city.
As Jiao Jiao once explained, the logic was straightforward. "If you take the Association's seeds, everything you grow belongs to the Association, seeds included. But once your harvest is approved as medicinal, you will be rewarded with contribution points."
Each year, the staff evaluations were based on accumulated contribution points. Those with the most could be promoted to full employees, a goal that many lived for.
Non-employees could only use their points to buy soaked seeds, fertilizer, and the like. Full employees, however, could purchase nearly extinct seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, even private plots of farmland, as well as other essential tools and resources.
Most importantly, full employees could exchange points for Association-certified medicinal herbs.
Vice Presidents enjoyed even broader rights. Beyond the above, they could redeem points for daily necessities and special privileges. When Jing Shu opened her permissions on her handheld device, she discovered in the Association's mobile app that she could trade points for cars, fuel, household electricity, and a long list of other goods. Unfortunately, because her points were too low, many options didn't even display, hidden behind greyed-out icons.
Of course, all of this had monthly quotas. Jing Shu finally understood why the higher-ups couldn't afford to appoint too many Vice Presidents—the cost of supporting even one was enormous.
Before, she had been only an executor, like a gamer following preset rules, unable to alter the system. But now, as Vice President, her permissions had shifted. She was no longer a mere player; she was a game administrator, able to adjust rules and oversee the digital ledger.
She was like a GM, overseeing the Medicinal Herb Association's "players," guiding them to cultivate more herbs and fixing any bugs that appeared in the supply chain.
The responsibility was weighty indeed.
But from this day forward, she had entered the true circle of power. Even if her position was somewhat honorary, her identity had fundamentally changed. After fingerprinting and data registration, the national database now recognized her as "Vice President Jing Shu of Wu City's Medicinal Herb Association," with higher clearance to view others' detailed information.
In terms of rank, she now stood one level above Li Yuetian, two above Niu Mou, and three above Su Lanzhi. It was like being an honorary prince—hollow, lacking real authority, not even comparable to her mother's actual power. But the title was glorious.
This was exactly what Jing Shu liked: a high-ranking, leisurely, well-paid position. Perfect for her!
She had no desire to be like her parents, rushing around every day in the cold rain. She was too used to her own freedom to accept such constraints.
Wang Daxian moved into President Tie's cultivation lab, while Jing Shu was assigned a new lab of her own. That meant another plot of land for her to use. Standing in what was now her private office, she couldn't help feeling emotional. Though a bit shabby, the scent of old paper and fresh soil lingering in the air, the space made her heart bloom with quiet joy. To rise this high in the apocalypse—she would never have imagined it.
"Good day, President Jing!"
"Thank you for the seeds, President Jing!"
"President Jing!"
The voices of the staff rang out as she walked the corridors.
"President Jing, after evaluating and submitting these tobacco racks, you earned 20,200 contribution points. Plus, from this afternoon's seed distribution, another 17,000 points were deposited into your account," Wang Danai reported with a wink, his face split by a wide grin.
"Not bad. Looks like you have got potential, Danai. Work hard, I have got my eye on you."
They both burst into laughter, the sound light, until Wang Daxian ambled over with an air of immortality, swinging a box in his hand.
"President Jing, I brought you a twenty-year ginseng," he said, with Wang Xiaoxian following timidly behind him. The little girl kept her head down, her shoes scuffing against the tile, occasionally sneaking glances at Jing Shu with a pout, her face full of embarrassment as she remembered her previous defeat.
Jing Shu arched a brow. "Well, well. You don't come here without a reason."
Wang Daxian chuckled, the sound dry. "I will be blunt. I knew about today's result in advance. Once I heard you planted tobacco, I was certain you would become Vice President. Now, I have taken a liking to your astragalus. It hasn't been submitted yet, has it? How about a trade?"
"That's a big loss for you," Jing Shu said, eyeing the twenty-year ginseng. It was larger than anything from her Cube Space, though admittedly less plump.
"Not a loss, not at all. Truth be told, I want your astragalus to use for seed stock. Only your astragalus is worthy."
There was always a deeper layer in Wang Daxian's smile, though she didn't bother to pry. Since he wanted to trade, so be it. She also needed his ginseng to pave a legitimate path for her own future stock.
Wang Daxian left happily with the astragalus. When Zhou Bapi found out, he slapped his thigh in anger, the sound sharp in the quiet office. "That old fox! Always snatching my peaches!"
Fortune was strange. If you were unlucky, disaster never stopped. But if luck turned, it was endless. Jing Shu didn't know how many piles of dog shit she must have stepped in to get this lucky. Just a few days later, Chu Zhuohua informed her that her RV had been modified.
And that wasn't the real surprise—the surprise came from Su Xiangnan, and it was directly related to the RV!