Chapter 250: The Vice-Chairman Position is Now Certain

Jing Shu was invited onto the stage by Zhou the Skinflint. "It’s essentially a mutated virus from the red worms that infected the *Huang Qi*. Once the infection is cleared, the *Huang Qi* will naturally recover."

Although Jing Shu made it sound simple, it wasn’t something that could be easily solved by others. Each pesticide is the result of countless calculations and experiments.

"Oh, that explains why the red worm eggs looked so different. They seemed almost rotten."

"Yeah, and they’re so resilient, even in this state. These eggs are incredibly tough."

In the midst of the chatter, Jing Shu finally understood what had been happening over the past two days.

Tacheng’s team had been waiting idly for results, confident in their impending victory. On the first day, nothing happened, further assuring them that they had won. But to their shock, when they returned the next morning, the dying *Tian Qi* was not only still alive but thriving. The randomly grafted *Chong Lou* had even sprouted.

How was that even possible? Was this some kind of joke?

When Cheng Qingzi received the news, his beady eyes widened to the size of saucers. After reviewing the surveillance footage, he fell silent. He realized that no one had touched the herbs since that day, meaning the so-called genius from Wu City, Jing Shu, had indeed cured the herbs.

Regardless of the method, the outcome was undeniable.

"Hurry, we need to figure out how to treat that *Huang Qi*!" Cheng Qingzi’s voice trembled.

Meanwhile, the onlookers from Wu City ate their breakfasts, watching Tacheng’s team scramble around like ants on a hot pan.

Tacheng had initially assumed it was a simple red worm issue, but after trying every method they knew, nothing worked.

The group had spent the entire day experimenting to no avail.

For Zhou the Skinflint, this day had been extraordinary. He had just returned from a long journey when Chairman Tie gleefully told him, "You’re done for! You’re in big trouble now! The newbie you recruited is going to take the fall for this. Our supply from Wu City will be cut in half, and it’s all her fault."

Only then did Zhou learn what had transpired. Just as he was about to confront Chairman Tie, someone informed him that Jing Shu had secured three points for Wu City, tying the score with Tacheng!

Surprise after surprise kept coming...

Now, Tacheng couldn’t even solve the issue with Jing Shu’s *Huang Qi*.

"Old Cheng, you’ve been at this for a whole day, and you’re already two hours past the deadline. If you don’t present another challenge, it’s time to admit defeat," Zhou the Skinflint taunted, flashing his yellow teeth.

Cheng Qingzi gritted his teeth. "It’s true, we’ve been outmatched this time. Wu City’s genius is indeed worthy of her reputation. We’ve lost. But I have one request—can we take that *Huang Qi* for further research? We’d like to figure out how to treat it and perhaps exchange knowledge later."

Jing Shu was more than happy to oblige. If they could make progress on this, it might help prevent the virus outbreak in six months.

"Sure," she agreed.

...

Wu City’s team had won. Not only had Jing Shu single-handedly earned three points and restored Wu City’s honor by tying with Tacheng, but she had also presented a difficult challenge that led to Tacheng’s defeat, securing the association’s resource supply.

Chairman Tie’s face was a sight to behold, as his corpulent body was drenched in cold sweat. Due to his promise, Jing Shu had met the requirements to be promoted to vice-chairman by solving three major problems.

This mess was his to clean up.

It was like a manager promising to sell a $1,000 item for just $10. The boss wouldn’t let the manager back out, so the manager would have to bear the loss himself.

The competition was over, and Wu City’s team had triumphed. The entire Medicinal Herb Association was buzzing with excitement—except for Chairman Tie, who was sweating profusely.

Zhou the Skinflint wandered through Jing Shu’s experimental field, admiring the thriving herbs. Grinning, he said, "You did an excellent job this time. Once you’ve cultivated five herbs ready for medicinal use, I’ll submit a report to recommend you for the vice-chairman position."

"I’ve raised a batch of leeches. Does drying them count as medicinal material?"

"Of course, it does!" Zhou the Skinflint replied, delighted. "But you’ll need to register them quickly, before anyone else does."

"I heard from Wang Danai that the vice-chairman position in Wu City was already unofficially reserved for someone from the medicinal family," Jing Shu raised an eyebrow, recalling how Zhou had originally promised her someone else’s position. This old fox was as sly as they come.

Zhou coughed a few times. "Don’t worry about the details. As long as you become vice-chairman, isn’t that what matters? Rest assured, your position is secure this time. Chairman Tie might even have to step down. After all, he did make those promises."

Zhou the Skinflint’s mood brightened even further. "You really are my lucky star, Jing Shu."

Jing Shu didn’t care about being anyone’s lucky star. She only cared about securing the vice-chairman position as soon as possible. Once that was done, she’d have a lot more leverage in Wu City, at least enough to prevent being pushed around.

The Wu City Medicinal Herb Association was undergoing unprecedented changes, integrating personnel from Tacheng and Lanshi to form a new herbal cultivation center for the province.

After the competition, Jing Shu didn’t return to the association. Instead, she focused on raising silkworms, leeches, and snakes, while keeping an eye on the two red worm feed factories.

In her spatial storage, the silkworms grew rapidly. As long as they had vegetable leaves to eat, they kept eating, defecating, and growing.

It took about a month for the silkworms to grow from their first stage to their fifth, reaching about 7 centimeters in length before entering the pupal stage, which lasted about fifteen days, followed by a moth stage of three to five days.

With the help of the spirit spring, Jing Shu could breed a new batch of silkworms every month. After four rounds, she would meet all her needs. She also planned to stockpile as much silk as possible. In temperatures as low as -70°C, even ten silk quilts might not be enough. Although she had prepared over a dozen quilts before the apocalypse, they were consumables, and she wasn’t sure they would last ten years...

Raising silkworms was easy, but harvesting the silk was difficult. The cocoons had to be boiled before the silk could be unraveled, and then the silk had to go through the production process. Luckily, with her spatial storage, Jing Shu had some advantages. She was willing to put in the hard work to ensure a better future.

Oh, and after months of preparation, Jing Shu had finally gathered all the ingredients to brew the legendary turtle-snake wine. It was said to boost energy, promote blood circulation, relax the muscles, and dispel dampness!

In this season of endless rain, Jing Shu could feel the growing dampness in the air—let alone Li Yutian, who suffered from rheumatism.