Chapter 241: Rich in the Mountains, Relatives Come From Afar

After a night's rest, Jing Ma and Jing Ba, who had been drugged, felt much better. After seeing the successful operation of the red worm feed factory, the family packed up their things. They drove their energy car and the shark submarine, leaving from Aunt’s house in Wu County.

This Lunar New Year, Jing Shu’s relatives got a direct look at her family’s impressive situation in the post-apocalyptic world.

Clothing: They wore two sets of clean, dry clothes every day, which was something unimaginable in the current world. Without a dryer, such luxury would be impossible.

Food: Jing Shu’s family ate three full meals a day, always with milk and eggs for breakfast, which astonished everyone. In the apocalypse, very few households could afford such a diet. Most people only ate two meals a day, and those who could even afford watery porridge were considered well-off.

Living Conditions: They had their own luxury tent, moisture-proof mats, and down blankets—commodities that were no longer available in the world, as cotton had become a scarce resource. They even carried fuel to heat the kang stove for warmth. Their high standards for living, including being unwilling to tolerate mold or odors, made them seem very particular.

Transportation: In a world where having one functioning vehicle was considered impressive, Jing Shu’s family had two. No one knew exactly what they carried in their vehicles, but it seemed they had endless supplies of food and necessities, as well as weapons like guns, crossbows, and even a heavy wolf-tooth mace that Jing Shu wielded with ease. Her physical strength was both terrifying and awe-inspiring.

Traveling with such a vast amount of goods was like moving house, and it was clear to her relatives that Jing Shu's family was not only surviving but thriving in the post-apocalyptic world.

Most importantly, her terrifying combat prowess was something no one dared to underestimate. What might have seemed like an easy target at first glance was, in reality, a walking force of destruction—a rampaging dinosaur.

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It was the second day of the Lunar New Year, and while the rest of the country enjoyed their buffet meals, Jing Shu’s family took the remaining food, dropped off Jing Nai, Third Aunt, and Wu Youai at their villa, and then headed to Uncle’s house in the old district of Western Mountain in Wu City.

Compared to last year’s visit to Uncle’s, where things were already in poor condition, this year could only be described as catastrophic. The drainage in the old city was poor, and with constant heavy rains, the water levels had risen above the knees, despite daily efforts to control the flooding.

Trash floated on the water’s surface, accompanied by swarms of red worms squirming through the filth. In places without toilets, people simply threw their waste out the window or relieved themselves in the streets. If you weren’t careful, you could easily be splashed with filth. Drinking water had to be collected from the rain, as no one dared to drink the ground water, which was essentially contaminated with urine.

The situation in the old city had regressed to something out of medieval Europe. Just like in old France, where people threw their waste into the streets and cities reeked of filth, now, the old district of Western Mountain had become a modern version of that. The air was filled with foul smells, and Jing Shu could barely stand it. She quickly pulled out a lemon and hung it in front of her nose, feeling somewhat better.

Jing Ba had to drive slowly through the flooded streets to avoid stalling the car. In hindsight, Jing Shu wished they had just taken the shark submarine to squeeze through.

The family finally arrived at Uncle’s house, much like they had during last year’s Lantern Festival, bringing an array of seemingly ordinary food. However, unlike last year, where the reception was lukewarm, this time, Aunt, her brother, and his family all stood up to greet them at the door, their treatment of Jing Shu’s family having improved dramatically.

“Come in, come in!” Uncle Wang Gang was the first to welcome them. “Sister, brother-in-law, you’ve come a long way. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

Indeed, the saying "When you’re rich, even distant relatives come calling" seemed to ring true today.

“Oh, it must’ve been difficult to travel here. Come, have some hot chicken soup. My brother spent a fortune getting half a chicken,” Aunt Wang Fang said warmly, leading them to the sofa.

Jing Shu glanced around the house, noting that while it had clearly been cleaned, the sofa still had a strong, unpleasant smell, and there were moldy patches and worm eggs all over it. She could even see larvae crawling on the walls, where large chunks of plaster had fallen off due to water damage.

It was exactly as Jing Shu had predicted—by the second year of the apocalypse, people had resorted to eating red worms falling from the ceiling as snacks.

While they chatted, a couple of red worms dropped from the ceiling. Jing Shu, quick on her feet, dodged them and immediately pulled on a raincoat.

“Sorry about that!” Aunt Wang Fang said sheepishly. “I forgot to clean up the worms. Just bear with it, Jing Shu. It’s hard to keep up with them these days.”

Her brother, Wang Gang, laughed heartily. “Jing Shu’s just a bit delicate, but I understand. We’ll even hang up an oilcloth over the table during meals so no more worms fall in.”

Despite Aunt Wang Fang thinking it was just a few worms, she didn’t hold it against Jing Shu. After all, Jing Shu’s family was well-off, and in their home, not even a single worm could be found. Plus, the food they brought this year left Aunt Wang Fang speechless.

As the meal progressed, Aunt stopped praising her daughter, Wang Can Can, for being a 26-year-old civil servant. Instead, her praises were all directed at Jing Shu, which made Jing Ma very happy. Even though her sister-in-law had her flaws, she did know how to speak the truth.

After the meal, Wang Gang explained the origins of the chicken—they had received it from an allotment last year—and went on about how much the city’s warehouse stored and how much had been used during the holiday season.

Jing Shu took this opportunity to ask, “Uncle, I’ve got a large batch of feed that I’d like to store in the government’s warehouse. Do you have any connections that could help with that?”