Chapter 009: Spirit Spring Dilution Experiment

Jing Shu took another bite of rice before returning to her bedroom to retrieve the contract for her aunt to review. In her mind, she was already considering what to say if her deception was uncovered.

Who would have thought that professionals like lawyers also have occupational habits!

Her aunt didn’t check the company’s name but directly looked up the company’s credit code, which is equivalent to an identification number.

“The company and the contract are all fine,” her aunt said.

“That’s good. I plan to gather the 800,000 yuan deposit first,” Jing’s father and Jing Shu both breathed a sigh of relief. The atmosphere then became awkwardly silent.

Uncle Su Yiyang glanced at Zhang Zhongyong, who was drinking, and Su Mei Mei, who was eating. “We have some spare money; we’re not in a hurry to get it back. We’ll lend you 30…”

Aunt Wang Fang shot a glance at her husband, and Uncle quickly corrected himself, “We’ll lend you 20…”

“Ahem.” Wang Fang coughed twice.

Uncle’s face turned red, and he hurriedly said, “We’ll lend you 100,000 yuan. No rush to repay; take a few years to get back on your feet.” Saying this, he nudged Wang Fang, “Transfer the money to Lanzhi via WeChat.”

“Just transfer it directly to Jing Shu. Big Brother and Sister-in-law, you can repay us in a few days when the money comes through. We’re just helping you out temporarily,” Jing’s mother felt a bit uncomfortable, sensing that her sister-in-law was acting as if they wouldn’t repay the money.

At this point, Aunt Wang Fang was placed by Jing Shu in the category of “people who can lend a hand in times of need.”

Jing’s father then turned his gaze toward his younger sister.

The main event was finally here! Jing Shu was a bit excited. She accepted the transferred money and observed her aunt, who was pretending to be oblivious.

Whether she could plant a thorn in her mother’s heart depended on this moment. She hoped her aunt wouldn’t disappoint her.

“Little sister, Zhongyong, what do you think?” Uncle Su Yiyang felt the need to break the awkward silence.

Zhang Zhongyong paused with a piece of fried fish halfway to his mouth, smiled, and said, “Mei Mei, it’s your family’s matter; you decide.” Then he put the fish into his mouth.

Su Mei Mei silently cursed Zhang Zhongyong a hundred times in her heart and began to complain about how they recently bought a house and were poor, how their child’s art school tuition was expensive, and so on—all to say they didn’t have money at the moment.

Jing’s mother remembered how her younger sister had come to Wucheng without a job or a boyfriend and lived with them for four or five years. Despite being poor, she never uttered a word about it. Later, they even helped her find a job, and she moved out only after marrying Zhang Zhongyong, who worked in a government office.

“Ugh.”

Zhang Zhongyong spat out the overly salty fried fish. Thinking about his little mistress who not only could fry fish but also drained him every time, he felt parched and remembered she liked the small BMW…

“Big Sister, we’re a bit tight on money lately and are considering buying another car. How about selling us your small BMW?” Zhang Zhongyong suddenly interjected.

Having just sold their left cheek, their right cheek was now being slapped by Zhang Zhongyong. Su Mei Mei’s complaints were in vain, but thinking that Zhang Zhongyong already had an Audi, this small BMW must be for herself?

Su Mei Mei had always envied Su Lanzhi for having a small BMW. Now, was it going to change owners?

“Well, we’re not planning to sell it for now,” Jing’s father was reluctant. “Although the car is three years old, it’s only been driven over 8,000 kilometers; it’s practically new. Besides, you know Lanzhi—no matter how long she uses something, she keeps it like new, maintaining it carefully.”

“You’ll have to sell it eventually. Why not let family benefit? Sis, sell the car to us at a discount. I’ve never owned a car in my life!” Su Mei Mei was so happy she could fly.

Jing Shu was dumbfounded. She had expected her aunt not to lend money but hadn’t anticipated their shamelessness in trying to take advantage of family. The key point was that Jing Shu didn’t want to have any financial dealings with them.

If they sold the car now and it became useless during the apocalypse, her aunt would come crying, and wouldn’t Jing’s mother feel guilty and offer more compensation? They definitely couldn’t sell it to this family.

“My mom’s car isn’t for sale. If we sell this apartment and move to our villa so far away, with no taxis available, how will we get to work?” Jing Shu quickly said.

Jing’s mother hesitated; she wanted to sell the car to her younger sister at a discount.

“My dear sister, you have to pay the deposit tomorrow. Sell us the car, and we’ll pay you directly. Second-hand cars aren’t easy to sell now.”

“Aunt, why don’t you just lend us the money?” Jing Shu added fuel to the fire.

Su Mei Mei showed a moment of embarrassment. “You little rascal, you really know how to joke. We only have a little money saved for buying a car.”

Jing’s mother’s eyelids drooped. It was the first time in so many years that she had asked her younger sister for help, and this was the result.

“I’ll call Old Sun and see if he can repay the money tomorrow.”

Jing’s father really didn’t want to sell the small BMW. He got up to make the call, and soon they heard his excited voice, “Great, great. Thank you so much, Old Sun. Let’s settle it tomorrow at noon.”

The deposit issue was temporarily resolved. Her uncle’s family transferred 100,000 yuan on the spot. However, her aunt failed to buy the car and didn’t lend any money, dealing a double blow to Jing’s mother—a pleasant surprise, in a way.

Her aunt was always digging her own grave.

In their previous life, her naive parents never wanted to “trouble others” and never asked for help. So, don’t test human nature; relationships can break down after a few tests.

Tonight, Jing’s father and mother were destined to feel upset. Tomorrow, they might not only be sad but also doubt life. Thinking about it made Jing Shu a bit excited—no, quite sad.

“Ah, growth always comes with a price; only through pain can one gain insight.”

Back in her bedroom, Jing Shu first entered her space to check on the living conditions of her “food supplies.” The black pigs had eaten their feed and gone to sleep. The cows and sheep were peacefully together, occasionally changing positions. The little rabbits were hopping around in an ample space, leaving droppings everywhere.

To her surprise, the quails had laid two eggs and were still brooding. The boss had said that light could increase the quails’ egg production rate, and the Rubik’s Cube space had plenty of light since it was itself a luminous object.

The 17 chickens were a miserable sight; there was chicken poop everywhere, and the two eggs laid had been stepped on and eaten. Jing Shu needed to think of a solution.

She labeled each bottle of mineral water with a number and cut strips from a white shirt to write corresponding numbers.

First, she diluted 1 drop of Spirit Spring water in 250 grams of mineral water for the female cows, sheep, and pigs; for the male cow, sheep, and pig, she diluted 1 drop in 1 kilogram of water.

For the 15 hens, she started with dilutions of 1 drop in 100 grams and increased the amount incrementally. One rooster received Spirit Spring water; the other didn’t, as a control to observe differences and lifespan.

She also numbered the ducks, rabbits, and quails and fed them according to their numbers. Jing Shu wanted to test the effects of the same dilution of Spirit Spring water on animals of different sizes and lifespans.

After numbering them, she tied cloth strips around each animal’s neck in the space and placed the mineral water bottles in the space where the feed was. Jing Shu directly delivered the water to the cows’ stomachs.

The cows might have felt that their mouths were inexplicably pried open, and a lump of water mysteriously bypassed their throats and entered their stomachs. “You might not believe me, but the water went into my stomach on its own.”

Jing Shu operated skillfully and quickly finished feeding the diluted Spirit Spring water to all the animals. The poor rooster labeled zero received nothing.

In the space, the six plots of farmland had sprouted, with some seedlings already a few centimeters high. If she hadn’t planted them herself, Jing Shu wouldn’t have known what she had sown.