Children really do grow quickly. In just over two months, Niu Yanben had already shot up another notch.
"Sister can't save you. Sister can only hold you down and pass your mom the belt," Jing Shu said.
The whole table burst into laughter.
Niu Yanben turned his head. "Dad, show some authority at home, will you?"
Niu Mou's face went pale. They say women in their thirties are like wolves and in their forties like tigers. The only smart thing to do now was not meet his wife's eyes.
"Ahem." Niu Mou pretended not to hear, sinking deep into the world of the opera on stage.
When the table finally settled, Niu Mou leaned close and asked Jing Shu quietly, "That pond of your mom's, you set it up?"
Jing Shu neither confirmed nor denied. Instead, she asked, "Well? Enough to move up a grade?"
Niu Mou thought for a moment. "Still a little short."
She nodded, understanding his meaning.
He lowered his voice further. "Remember Secretary Zhang from last time? The one who suddenly had a seizure at your villa and died halfway? Later he was even interviewed by reporters and given the title of dying in the line of duty. A new one was transferred in after him, but he'll be leaving soon too."
Jing Shu raised her brow. "You're getting a promotion?"
"Not sure yet. But don't worry. Before I leave, I'll make sure your mom is placed well. Of course, she'll have to push harder too. This year, the position is definitely going to someone else, but a Deputy Minister spot is possible."
Jing Shu gave a thumbs up. No wonder in her previous life, Niu Mou had risen so fast. He was a genuine one-promotion-per-year dark horse. As long as her mother kept up with him, she'd have a bright path ahead too.
This was also Niu Mou paying back the favor from the ice cream trade with Qian Duoduo. The two families had grown close over the year. Every festival, Jing Shu's family sent gifts: strawberries every month or two, sometimes eggs and milk.
In times like these, gifting ten eggs was a real show of favor. For someone at Niu Mou's level, vegetables weren't scarce, but meat and eggs definitely were. The Jing family's gifts hit right where his family needed them most.
Naturally, Niu Mou reciprocated. Every holiday, he sent electricity, which was exactly what Jing Shu's villa lacked most. With his power supply plus the ten UBC solar bacteria generators, the villa's energy consumption was basically covered, saving a full liter of fuel every day.
Electricity, natural gas, and oil still weren't open to the public.
Before long, the courtyard was packed. When the opera ended, an old man in a Tang suit strode onto the stage with surprising vigor. He picked up the microphone, and the room buzzed with energy. With a single calm hand gesture, silence fell.
"I honestly didn't want to hold this birthday feast. Costs money, takes life. But if I didn't, all the gift money I've handed out these past years would just follow me to the coffin. That'd be too much of a loss.
Lao Zhang, I gave a painting at your grandson's wedding. Lao Xie, at your wife's ninetieth birthday, I gave a jade Longevity Stone, even though it was already the apocalypse. The gifts you give me can't be worth less than those. If anyone brings something cheap tonight, don't call me your old friend.
So before we eat, let me ask. You old fogeys, and you juniors too, have you prepared my eighty-eighth birthday presents?"
The crowd roared with laughter. Camera shutters clicked, but the old man didn't care. He even grinned smugly into the lens.
"Good. Eat and drink your fill first. Then we'll get to the main event. If you didn't bring gifts, no problem. Virtual currency works just fine. Hahaha."
Jing Shu raised an eyebrow. Things weren't going the way she imagined. Or maybe this was just how practical people acted these days. Still, she admitted, when the old man said that, she nearly couldn't hold back her forty-meter long blade.
Turning her head, she saw Yang Yang sighing. He picked up a piece of carp and muttered as he ate, "This one's called Thirty-Six Scales. I plucked thirty-six scales off it and it still lived. It could have broken through, but what a pity."
"This leek, I grew it myself. See how each stalk has nine gears? That's my mark."
Jing Shu stared blankly. "..." Yang Yang really wasn't normal.
The dishes came quickly: a steamed carp, stir-fried leeks, lettuce with pork.
Staple food was longevity noodles with an egg, one bowl per person. Altogether, ten dishes. The taste was decent, though clearly catered to the elderly, everything soft and easy to chew. For Jing Shu, it was the first time seeing so many old folks together. Clearly, their families weren't ordinary.
As for the portions, she thought one person could polish off an entire plate. But for most, it was enough to be eighty percent full.
Before the apocalypse, these dishes might have been nothing special. Certainly not as lavish as Su Mali's. But now, with twenty tables set like this, it was an extravagant feast. No wonder Yang Yang grumbled that he'd soon be out of vegetables and fish, his face twisted in regret.
It didn't take Jing Shu long to realize why he was so heartbroken, and why he said the old man would be kneeling on a washboard later.
She didn't fight them for food, eating slowly, chewing twenty-eight times per bite just like Chu Zhuohua had once advised.
Soon, the meal and two more opera performances ended. The old man invited everyone to tour the courtyard while the tables were cleared.
When people returned, tea had been set on every table. A black-suited man knocked on the auctioneer's table. "Please quiet down."
The bustling scene quieted immediately. Many looked confused. Wasn't this supposed to be a birthday celebration? Wasn't it time to offer gifts?
"Alright, no need for extra words. I'm Shen Sanqiao, the auctioneer Old Master Yang invited tonight. Three knocks settle each item. What's being auctioned? The gifts you all brought for Old Master Yang. The virtual coins from the sales will all be used to buy rice from the government!
Old Master said it himself. His birthday gifts should be shared with all. He wants the entire Wu City to celebrate. The rice he purchases will be given free for ten days to anyone who hasn't eaten rice recently. Pregnant women, children, and the elderly will have priority."
Some people clearly already knew, staying calm. But more were stunned, gasping in disbelief.
Jing Shu let out a long breath. "Good thing I held back my forty-meter long blade, or I'd have mistaken a good man for a fraud."
===
Forty-meter long blade (四十米大刀)
This is a popular internet meme in Chinese culture. It originates from a comedic skit where a character boasts, "I have a forty-meter long blade, and I'm going to swing it at you!"
It's used online as a humorous exaggeration to express uncontrollable anger or the urge to lash out, but of course, no such blade exists. Here, Jing Shu is jokingly saying she almost lost her temper and "unsheathed" her imaginary forty-meter blade.