Chapter 014: Jing Shu’s Belief—Brazil Nuts

Although Jing Shu’s fields could grow grains, it would take several days and require processing like shelling. What she lacked most now was time. So she decided to buy a batch first; when it’s almost consumed, she’d plant some more to mix in later without drawing attention.

First, she went to Wucheng’s grain and oil wholesale center. Jing Shu purchased:

– 100 bags of 40-pound flour at 60 yuan per bag;

– 100 bags of 20-pound vacuum-packed Daohuaxiang rice at 95 yuan per bag;

– 200 bags of 10-pound vacuum-packed Thai fragrant rice at 70 yuan per bag;

– 10 bags of 20-pound assorted grains at 40 yuan per bag.

People in the north eat noodles; dishes like hand-pulled noodles, mixed noodles, and noodle pieces are essential staples. Considering that processing flour isn’t easy, Jing Shu bought more flour. Her mother wasn’t skilled at making pasta, so during the apocalypse, Jing Shu could showcase her skills, thanks to what she learned from her grandmother.

Thai fragrant rice is one of Jing Shu’s favorite types of rice. It’s aromatic and glutinous, whether eaten dry or as porridge, and its fragrance is unmistakable. Using it to make egg fried rice best brings out the original flavors of the egg and rice—the taste is amazing! *Slurp…*

She also bought:

– 100 barrels of 5-liter peanut oil at 120 yuan per barrel;

– 30 barrels of 2-liter olive oil at 180 yuan per barrel.

She needed to stock up on oil; later, she could fry more chicken legs and fish pieces to store in her space as snacks.

Jing Shu had three-meter-high shelves built in the villa’s basement, just enough to store these supplies that gave her a sense of security. She left the villa’s address, and after paying 47,300 yuan, Jing Shu went next door to the dried goods wholesale market.

The dried goods market was straightforward: no retail sales, minimum one case or box per order. Each store sold different items, but there was a wide variety of dried goods. Jing Shu visited each store, moving items into her car trip by trip, then transferring them into her Rubik’s Cube space. Before it got dark, she finally filled her car and space.

She bought five boxes each of:

– Sweet potato vermicelli;

– Longkou vermicelli;

– Five-spice cured pork belly;

– Cantonese-style sausages;

– Sichuan-style sausages;

– Yili horse sausages.

In the apocalypse, being able to eat such meat was beyond Jing Shu’s wildest dreams.

Of course, the red worms that passed through your system unchanged didn’t count.

She continued to buy two cases each of:

– White fungus;

– Black fungus;

– Nori seaweed;

– Bamboo fungus;

– Dried shiitake mushrooms;

– Dried tea tree mushrooms;

– Dried tofu skin;

– Bean curd sheets;

– Kelp;

– Preserved dried vegetables;

– Dried scallops;

– Dried shrimp;

– Dried clams;

– Dried bamboo shoots;

– Dried squid.

Jing Shu planned to buy many 60-liter storage boxes to pack the dried goods, placing them directly in the cabinets. She could take whatever she wanted to eat, and if she had to evacuate and leave the villa, she could easily pack everything into her Rubik’s Cube space.

The dried goods cost a total of 30,000 yuan, making them the most cost-effective of all the supplies. They didn’t need refrigeration, had a long shelf life, didn’t take up much space, and a little could make a meal.

For example, one pound of dried black fungus can expand to 10-15 pounds when soaked. A small handful can stir-fry a full plate of vegetables. In the apocalypse, giving some dried goods to a leader could get anything done.

Compared to dried goods, nuts and seeds were far less practical. Over time, nuts could become infested with insects or go rancid. Their shells took up space while the edible part was small. They weren’t filling, didn’t last long, and had a short shelf life.

Therefore, Jing Shu only bought 100 pounds each of:

– Dried figs;

– Macadamia nuts;

– Pecans;

– Charcoal-roasted cashews;

– Pistachios;

– Red dates stuffed with walnuts;

– Sweet chestnuts;

– Raisins;

– Almonds;

– Dried cranberries;

– Pumpkin seeds;

– Original-flavor sunflower seeds;

– Five-spice sunflower seeds;

– Caramel sunflower seeds.

She separately bought 400 pounds of Brazil nuts at 80 yuan per pound, one of her favorite snacks.

Jing Shu was craving them badly. Just seeing them made her unable to move on. In the apocalypse, surviving was often supported by a belief: to live until the day she could eat Brazil nuts.

She really held on! She could finally eat Brazil nuts whenever she wanted!

It was truly difficult for her to stick to her plan and not buy as many of her favorite snacks as possible.

So even though she spent 69,000 yuan, occupying 10 cubic meters of her Rubik’s Cube space and only being able to store them there in the future, Jing Shu felt it was worth it.

She remembered during the earthquake when everyone was crowded together, watching a child next to her lick each sunflower seed shell for several minutes. She couldn’t sleep all night, wondering whether the child’s sunflower seeds were original flavor or five-spice…

Not licking the bowl after meals or licking the shells when eating sunflower seeds were things only the rich could afford in the apocalypse. Jing Shu happily spat out the shells, already living the life of a wealthy person—how delightful.

“Look at the mess you’ve made with pine nut and sunflower seed shells everywhere. You’re just like your father, who flicks ash everywhere. Clean up as soon as you’re done!”

She is indeed my biological mother, confirmed.

After speaking, her mother glared at her father. He immediately tried to appease her: “You’ve worked hard; I’ll give you a massage tonight.”

“That’s more like it.”

—

When inspecting her space at night, Jing Shu was pleasantly surprised to find that the fish feed and shrimp given as gifts by the aquatic products vendor had grown into large shrimp, becoming a dominant force in the water. They reproduced rapidly, producing many small shrimp that the other fish fry couldn’t finish eating.

To curb the shrimp population explosion, Jing Shu reluctantly decided to have a shrimp feast tomorrow.

The mustard greens and yardlong beans in her fields would mature tomorrow. The other crops like red chili peppers, cabbage, white radish, cucumbers, spring bamboo shoots, and garlic had already been harvested once. She kept some for seeds and squeezed the rest into the 6 cubic meters of her Rubik’s Cube space for storage.

Jing Shu knew her space’s farmland was abnormal, but she didn’t expect it to be this abnormal. Such dense planting not only survived but grew vigorously. They were packed tightly yet didn’t deform, filling the small plot in all directions. Each one was large and plump, full of life.

Currently, Jing Shu’s 64-cubic-meter Rubik’s Cube space usage is as follows:

– 1 cubic meter of Spirit Spring;

– 6 cubic meters of farmland;

– 19 cubic meters for raising poultry;

– 8 cubic meters for fish farming;

– 1 cubic meter of mushroom kits;

– 1 cubic meter of seeds;

– 3 cubic meters of chicken, duck, and quail eggs;

– 6 cubic meters of vegetables;

– 10 cubic meters of nuts and dried fruits;

– 1 cubic meter of feed;

– 1 cubic meter for raising fish larvae and mealworms;

– 7 cubic meters of dried goods.

She squeezed the cultivated potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams that the boss had given her into the fields. She would transplant them to the villa once it was renovated.

She had stored a roomful of feed at the villa; now, she was feeding the poultry with various vegetable leaves, reducing the need for feed.

Jing Shu moved the dried goods from her space and car to the villa the next day. The rice, flour, and oil she bought had also arrived. She had the workers move them into the house, then used her space to transfer them onto the rows of shelves in the basement.

She had already arranged the seasonings in the past two days. With the grains and temporarily stored dried goods, the basement was almost full.

Seeing the villa completely covered by tempered glass, giving her a strong sense of security, Jing Shu felt a great sense of accomplishment.

The pond and water storage were dug and tiled, now undergoing waterproofing. They would be ready for the next phase in two days if they didn’t leak or seep. The boiler room at the back was still under construction, and the front yard’s animal houses hadn’t been built yet.

“Your dad had a big fight with President Wang. Someone reported that he abused his power to acquire this batch of the highest-quality tempered glass at cost price. They’ve proposed firing your dad and forcing him to repay the outstanding material costs within three days. They’re also planning to hold a board meeting at the end of the month to discuss this matter. You should be prepared,” Uncle Chen suddenly said to Jing Shu.

Jing Shu looked at the dazzling tempered glass. “Wasn’t it supposed to be unsellable? And we bought it at cost price too.”