Chapter 030: Jing Shu’s Pet, Number 1

Speaking of this matter, Jing Shu was a bit troubled. The mother sheep in her Rubik’s Cube space had given birth to seven lambs. Jing Shu kept one male and two females in the villa, while the space housed four lambs.

What gave her a headache were the black pigs. As far as Jing Shu knew, pigs usually give birth to 5–8 piglets, but her black pig in the Rubik’s Cube space had given birth to 12! She kept two at the villa, and there were still 10 piglets in the space…

The villa couldn’t sustain too many livestock. It might not be noticeable now, but once the cows, sheep, and pigs grew up, this place wouldn’t be suitable anymore. Besides, after the apocalypse, it would be hard enough to feed people, let alone livestock.

Although she had a room full of feeders and wouldn’t worry about food in the early stages, during the first year of high temperatures after the apocalypse, they could use air conditioning to cool down. Jing Shu was also starting to store water now. In a few months, when water shortages became severe and people were dying of thirst, who would care about animals? The livestock at the villa could survive for a year, but with the subsequent natural disasters, it would be difficult to keep them.

So, keeping another 10 pigs in space was a burden on the Rubik’s Cube space. Jing Shu decided to use some pigs and supplies to repay debts in half a year to lighten the load. Frankly speaking, half a year later, a pig could be exchanged for a small BMW.

Anyway, as long as someone lent Jing Shu money, she would repay them in the future, at least ensuring they could live well during the apocalypse. Those who could lend her so much money now were considered trustworthy in Jing Shu’s book.

Now that all kinds of cured meats, smoked meats, and braised meats have been finished, Jing Shu’s Rubik’s Cube space no longer accelerated production. During this period, in order to speed up reproduction and growth, the spiritual spring produced by space each day was completely consumed. The apocalypse would last a long time; Jing Shu needed to use the spiritual spring sparingly.

For the poultry, Jing Shu uniformly added the No. 5 spiritual spring (1 drop + 2000 ml water) to their food. After more than a month of experimentation, this dilution had the effects of strengthening the body, improving meat quality, and increasing yield. The animals grew only slightly faster than ordinary poultry but ate the same amount, reducing their reproduction speed and lessening the burden on the Rubik’s Cube space.

By the way, when she first started experimenting with the spiritual spring, she left one rooster without it. Less than half a month later, it was pecked to death by some other chicken. Jing Shu thought it was despised by the hen numbered 1.

Hen Number 1, like Jing Shu, consumed the No. 3 spiritual spring. She was the only exception. Now, Jing Shu would take her for a morning run up the mountain every day, like walking a dog, to handle waste disposal.

Number 1 did not disappoint Jing Shu. Flapping her brown wings like a fiery bird, she closely followed behind Jing Shu. When Jing Shu stopped, she would rub her head against Jing Shu’s leg, acting cute.

What??

“Other people have pets like Tibetan mastiffs or German Shepherds in the apocalypse—capable of fighting enemies, being adorable, and giving them face when taken out. Mine is an old hen… ummm.” Jing Shu had an indescribable feeling.

The only comfort was that Number 1 weighed 15 kilograms (about 30 pounds) and looked exceptionally mighty. A few days ago, during a morning run, she pecked a small snake on the mountain and presented it to Jing Shu as if asking for praise and hugs. Jing Shu rewarded her with a sip of diluted spiritual spring water, believing it was necessary to cultivate the habit of turning in good items from a young age.

Jing Shu planned to train Number 1 like a dog, issuing simple commands like sit and attack, hoping she could manage.

Regarding the Rubik’s Cube space, Jing Shu felt like she was playing a strategy game. Figuring out how to maximize its efficiency within limited resources was quite challenging.

For example, the black fields in the space had high yields but limited land. Deciding how much and what to plant to ensure enough for her family, feed the poultry well, and also take care of various fish, shrimp, and crabs was complex. Too much spiritual spring intake would waste food, and the poultry would reproduce faster, causing the space’s fields to fall behind. Too little intake would be ineffective…

Currently, Jing Shu’s Rubik’s Cube space is a bit unbalanced. She had focused on planting fruits, so feeding the lambs and piglets became a problem. Fortunately, there was a milk-producing cow.

On the day they made spicy beef jerky, the live stream’s popularity broke 500,000. Everyone was attracted by the bold act of slaughtering a cow on-site. Jing Shu’s family taught netizens how to cook various parts of the cow.

They made hand-beaten beef balls from the neck meat, froze them for freshness—great for hot pot or meatball soup. The beef back was the most tender and was made into top-grade steaks. Jing Shu cooked them all and stored them in her space, enjoying them alone as midnight snacks.

They sliced the tenderloin thinly for the beef hot pot, and that evening, her family enjoyed a beef hot pot meal. The rump was used for barbecue; shoulder meat and big bones were boiled into broth and frozen. When eating, they could scoop a big spoonful to cook noodles, topped with beef and sprinkled with green onions—making a delicious beef noodle dish. The brisket was made into beef brisket and frozen, offering various ways to eat it.

The shank meat was slow-cooked over low heat, then braised, sliced for cold dishes with sauce drizzled over—its tender and chewy texture lingered in the mouth…

The beef offal was processed like the lamb offal and frozen. The beef tripe and other parts that couldn’t be stored were used in the family’s hot pot dinner. It was foreseeable that the meals in the coming days would all involve beef.

Fortunately, since Grandma Jing arrived, she truly saved Jing Shu’s stomach. As Jing Shu’s appetite increased to double portions of each meal, the family initially couldn’t accept it. Later, unknowingly, their appetites grew as well, and nothing more was said. Could they only attribute it to the exhaustion of working hard all day?

The brisket and remaining meat were all made into spicy beef jerky, packed into 2-liter sealed jars—170 jars in total. A regular cow weighs about a thousand jin (approximately 500 kg), but Jing Shu’s cow appeared average in size yet was the strongest the butcher had ever seen. When the butcher requested the cowhide as payment, he was refused; Jing Shu had big plans for the cowhide.

Although today’s popularity is exceptionally high, Jing Shu was also bombarded with tens of thousands of rotten eggs, as countless netizens were drooling with envy. Plus, with recent national news focusing on the dangers and measures of the Dark Days, netizens wanted to stock up on more food. As a result, Jing Shu made so many delicious items but only sold spicy beef jerky.

Jing Shu set a limit of thirty portions, which were quickly snapped up. Her father enthusiastically went to mail them. One wonders if, half a year later, when food becomes scarce, he would regret not selling more today.

Currently, the dairy cows in the villa produce 50 kilograms of milk daily, even higher than the best dairy cows in America. In China, a dairy cow produces about 20 kilograms of milk a day. It could be said that the poultry nourished by the spiritual spring were exceptional!

Jing Shu took out the leftover milk from the past few days and began making yogurt cheese (milk tofu).

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Author’s Note:

Charge ahead! We’re now in 12th place!