Chapter 173: Five Birds with One Stone, Hidden Achievements

Jing Shu couldn’t find the right words to describe it, but there were definitely people more extravagant than those with mobile villas. Take, for example, the wealthiest man in Xishan, Qian Duo Duo .

"We were only placed here because we didn’t have any connections. You know the government worker neighborhood, right? It’s got tens of thousands of people. Yesterday, they were sent directly to Qian Duo Duo ’s place. I can’t imagine how massive his property must be."

Some people had mobile villas, but the richest man, Qian Duo Duo , had entire mountains. When disaster struck, he simply housed tens of thousands of people.

Qian Duo Duo : "Believe it or not, even I don’t know how big my place is now."

As they passed Cave 5, Jing Shu’s uncle waved to her mother, and her aunt, with only a quick glance, said, “This cave looks decent.”

But when they passed Cave 6, it was so packed that people could barely move. Bodies were practically stacked on top of each other, and the ground was a mess of dirt and jumping red worms. Jing Shu’s aunt commented on how Jing Shu had geared herself up so thoroughly...

Jing Shu’s aunt had initially looked down on her, but when they arrived at Cave 7, she was dumbfounded. It was even smaller than Cave 6 and couldn’t possibly accommodate the 300 people they brought. It was so cramped that even standing was difficult.

“How are we supposed to sleep in this?” someone complained.

“Exactly! We should just head back to Xishan. It’s high up, so it won’t flood.”

“Let’s at least hold out for a couple of days until the floodwaters recede,” someone else suggested.

The crowd was buzzing with complaints, and Jing Shu took the opportunity to excuse herself.

Jing Shu’s aunt was skilled in persuasion—having once worked in multi-level marketing—and had great authority. It didn’t take long for her to organize the group. She sent ten people to find places to crash elsewhere and had fifty people rotate in shifts, ensuring there was enough room for everyone.

When Jing Shu returned to her now-clean shelter, she removed her raincoat and let the The Fat Chicken peck the red worms off of it before sitting down to enjoy a warm cup of ginger tea.

“Did your uncle manage to settle all those people? I know your aunt well. She’ll definitely come over later to ask us to take in a few people. Handle this wrong, and we’ll end up offending both sides. Your uncle is going to be stuck in the middle,” Jing Shu’s mother said as she sliced some bread. She couldn’t help but wonder why Jing Shu had suddenly baked several large loaves.

“If she wants to move people over, that’s fine. As long as they contribute, our neighbors won’t mind. But if Aunt wants to stay with us, how do you plan to handle it?” Jing Shu asked.

“Well, we’re family, so of course, they can stay. We’ve got seven single-person tents, so your father and I can share one. That’ll free up a spot for Su Long. We can also make room on the boat. But if they only know how to take without giving anything in return, I won’t stand for it. Let’s see what your aunt has to say,” Jing Shu’s mother replied, still bitter about being hurt by Su Mei Mei’s behavior.

Jing Shu was impressed by her mother’s growth. She gave her mother a thumbs-up.

Her mother’s prediction proved correct—her aunt did come over. This time, however, she didn’t come empty-handed. She brought a small turtle, about the size of a palm.

“Look, Su Long caught this old turtle the day before yesterday. We couldn’t keep it alive, and it died this morning, but it’s still fresh. We were going to make soup with it, but we don’t have a fire. So, I thought I’d bring it over for you,” she said.

Jing Shu turned to look. “That’s not an old turtle—it’s a regular turtle. Making soup would be a waste. It’s better used to make medicinal wine.”

Jing Shu hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise. A turtle in this day and age? It seemed like she should visit the place where Su Long caught it to see if there were more. Turtles had significant medicinal value, especially when used with snakes to brew wine. That would be perfect for the challenges of the second year of the apocalypse.

Now, if only she could find a snake... Wait, weren’t there two snakes in Cave 4? Maybe she should go get them to make turtle-snake wine.

Jing Shu had been too busy preparing essentials for survival since her rebirth. She hadn’t had time to gather animals like turtles or snakes, nor did she have space to keep them. Now that she could finally afford to keep more animals, she regretted not collecting them earlier.

Unfortunately, since the turtle was already dead, she could only preserve it in her space. Otherwise, she would have bred it for future use.

Jing Shu’s aunt forced a smile. “Who knows what it is? Anyway, since you have the fire and pots, you can cook it however you like. Jing Shu, Auntie has a favor to ask. Could Su Long stay with you? Just him—your uncle and I don’t need anything.”

...

Wang Fang successfully moved fifty people into Cave 5, easing the crowding in Cave 7. The number of people in Jing Shu’s cave was still manageable.

Of course, the fifty people didn’t get to stay for free—they agreed to contribute labor.

“The plaza area where they set up the villas has a lot of loose bricks. Each person will need to gather at least a hundred. There are also plenty of stones and deadwood from the mountains that need to be collected.”

“If it keeps raining like this, the cave will get cold and damp at night. If the rain continues, there’ll be standing water in the cave. We need to raise the sleeping areas off the ground and burn firewood to keep warm. Heating stones and placing them around the cave will help maintain a comfortable temperature.”

Jing Shu smiled and patted Wu Youai on the shoulder. “That’s as much as I can do for you.”

Wu Youai was impressed by Jing Shu. She had been a little worried about the fifty newcomers, concerned that they might cause trouble with the original group. But Jing Shu’s few words had not only smoothed things over but also boosted her reputation. This was what they called “killing three birds with one stone.”

Jing Shu had the new arrivals do the heavy lifting, while the locals worked on raising the floor with bricks and arranging small stones in a circular pattern to create makeshift fire pits. This simple design mimicked the heat distribution of underfloor heating, keeping the cave dry and comfortably warm.

Jing Shu had her reasons for this. By making everyone happy, there would be no conflict when they saw her family using their heaters and drinking hot soup. Plus, by keeping the cave warm and dry, she was making her own life more comfortable.

Sometimes, helping others also helped herself.

“I think this is what you’d call ‘five birds with one stone,’ hiding my accomplishments in plain sight. There’s nothing better than directing others to achieve my goals while I relax and enjoy my meal,” Jing Shu thought to herself.

While Jing Shu’s family enjoyed their luxurious lunch, the others were too busy preparing for the night ahead to notice.

Little did Jing Shu know that her actions had already saved her from a major problem.

Zhou Da Fu and Zhou Da Sheng passed through Cave 5 several times, scouting the area. They had everything planned.

“When the fifty people charge in and sit down, refusing to leave, I’ll sneak in and release the snakes. Then you scream, ‘Help! There are snakes!’ My guys will call Zhou Da Heng, and he’ll come running...”