Wang QiQi suggested, “I recommend everyone try to get an early seat. Take the 9 AM dedicated bus to Love Home Supermarket to queue. The big city supermarkets have had scalpers lining up since the morning, charging 500 yuan per spot, which means many people still can’t get in after closing time.”
Wang Da Zhao 1 replied, “Then I’ll queue tomorrow morning. My wife is pregnant and wants some vegetables and fruits. If anyone has connections to scalpers, please let me know. Thanks!”
Wang QiQi responded, “Now only rural areas can get some, but it’s still expensive. I’ll give you the phone number. Rough prices are: apples 500 yuan/kg, mushrooms 200 yuan/kg, potatoes 300 yuan/kg, cabbage 500 yuan/kg, winter melon 400 yuan/kg, pumpkin 500 yuan/kg, carrots 600 yuan/kg. Buy now while you can, it’s likely to rise.”
Grateful, Wang Da Zhao reposted the sale of his car to the group, selling his small BMW for five thousand yuan.
However, he was scolded by high-end car sellers in Building 5: “Don’t embarrass yourself with that crappy BMW here. My Range Rover won’t sell for 10,000, and a Maserati only gets sold for 20,000. But since the cars are with the manufacturer, you have to find a carrier yourself. After the Dark Days end, the prices won’t be this favorable anymore! If no one buys it, I’ll ask again in a while.”
Wang Cui Hua sent a voice message, “Whoever buys a car now is a fool; cars without fuel can’t get home anyway.”
Jing Shu noticed that Wang Cui Hua was the conversation ender in the chat. Once she chimed in, the chat basically died.
“Dad, look at the cabbage, apples, and pumpkins are all the same price now, all up to 500 yuan per kg,” Jing Shu told Jing Grandma, who was cooking dinner.
“Hurry up and call your eldest aunt and tell her not to sell the apples anymore. If they are priced so high, it means they are really gone.”
“Okay. You remember how you thought the cabbage was too expensive at 10 yuan back then.”
Jing Grandma regretted patting her thigh. “I thought 20 yuan for a pumpkin was too expensive and didn’t buy it. Now I suddenly crave pumpkin cakes.”
So when Jing Shu brought over four or five big pumpkins, Jing Grandma’s happy eyes couldn’t be hidden. Jing Shu explained, “In the past two months, I collected a lot of vegetables and seeds. Let me know if you want anything else, Grandma.”
“Aww, my good granddaughter!”
—
Jing Shu calculated the time; recently, rural areas had been requisitioned for supplies, like Aunt Jing Pan’s apples, and now the vegetables being sold are mostly those collected at the beginning of the apocalypse and stored in cellars. It’s uncertain if those eyeing profits will regret not having vegetables when there are none left to eat.
Cabbages, pumpkins, carrots, etc., can be stored in cold storage for half a year without issues, but this is essentially the last batch of diverse vegetables.
After this batch is sold out, only single varieties of vegetables will remain.
These remaining vegetables are either grown in government-maintained heated greenhouses with partial energy use, or in makeshift greenhouses built by urban and rural natives with insulation, air conditioning for cooling, and canal water irrigation; or they are the resilient ones that have sprouted more. However, compared to the population of millions, their yield is almost negligible.
In another month, cabbage might cost 1000 yuan per kg.
Without sunlight, drought, and high temperatures killing 90% of the vegetables, only a few types of mushrooms, chives, garlic, crown daisy, and spinach remain, which don’t require sunlight and can be grown by controlling temperature and moisture.
Wucheng’s various district governments are experimenting in heated greenhouses on how to mass-produce these vegetables, but so far the results are not good, mainly due to high costs and low yields.
Meanwhile, Jing Shu’s mother has been appointed as the ‘Deputy Director’ of the Dark Days Agricultural Research and Development Department, sharing the position with former leader Yu Cai Ni. Both are managing the research work in one of the 13 districts of Wucheng.
In short, Jing Mom has climbed three levels to become ‘Deputy Director’, while Yu Cai Ni has been promoted by one level, both becoming ‘Deputy Directors’, forcing them to compete with each other.
Jing Mom efficiently peeled the grape skin and ate it, somewhat frustrated, saying, “They made me and Yu Cai Ni participate in a competition. Within a month, whoever has better performance gets to be permanent, and after the 13 districts are evaluated, they will determine where to build the artificial sun in Wucheng.”
At this moment, Jing Grandpa, Jing Dad, Aunt Jing Lai, and Cousin Wu You Ai are sitting neatly at the dining table waiting for dinner.
Hearing Jing Mom’s words, Jing Grandpa asked in surprise, “Can we still create an artificial sun? Like the real sun, hanging in the sky emitting sunlight? Wow, that’s a big task. So does it mean, whether the Dark Days end or not, it’s the same?”
Jing Mom was at a loss to explain.
Jing Shu, who had been bombarded with news in her previous life, explains, “Grandpa, it’s not like you think. If the sun is a high-temperature, high-pressure molten furnace that continuously undergoes nuclear fusion to produce light energy, the artificial sun is a superconducting tokamak capable of generating large-scale nuclear fusion reactions under high-temperature conditions, similar to the sun. It’s not hanging in the sky; it’s placed in water to produce nuclear fusion, thereby providing a continuous and inexhaustible clean energy source.”
Jing Mom nodded appreciatively, “Ah, right, that’s about it. So next month, they’re likely to stop all other energy supplies to prioritize the artificial sun.”
“Dad, does this mean stopping electricity, gas, and oil being related to the artificial sun? How can the artificial sun provide energy if it’s not hanging in the sky?” Jing Grandpa was still confused.
As a knowledge-deficient person reborn, Jing Shu finally managed to show off her limited knowledge. In 2018, Hua Xia’s artificial sun first achieved 100 million degrees of operation, costing hundreds of millions per second, consuming countless energy resources. But it’s still a step away from controlled nuclear fusion.”
“The artificial sun generates energy from nuclear fusion in seawater, which can be used for indoor artificial photosynthesis to grow crops. It can also solve freshwater shortages by using seawater and electrolyze water to produce fuel for cars.”
Jing Grandpa, Jing Dad, and Aunt Jing Lai all looked like “I don’t quite understand, but it sounds impressive.” Jing Shu sighed and stopped explaining.
However, the mischievous Wu You Ai pointed at the food on the table and said, “Your family’s fish don’t look biologically normal, and these bean sprouts—no matter how mutated they are, they shouldn’t be sprouting more. I have to call the professor and ask…”
Jing Shu, exasperated, stuffed a pumpkin cake into Wu You Ai’s mouth, “Quick, eat your meal. Let the professor know you still have fish to eat while he doesn’t. Think about the consequences!”
“Your family’s pumpkins are also weird…”
That evening, the news broadcaster indeed mentioned the artificial sun and its benefits after its successful implementation, painting an optimistic picture to keep everyone calm and avoid disturbances during the apocalypse. In this life, the artificial sun project was indeed being carried out.
—
Author’s Note:
Over the past few days, I resumed two updates at 12 PM and 7 PM. I still owe four more updates, remembering them, and when a client recommends, I will continue… Thanks to Rain God58 and Yan Weier Duck for their generous support. Mwah! O(∩_∩)O
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