Some of the gifts had been shipped all the way from America, while others came straight from Jing Shu's Cube Space. For her closest family, she made sure every present was carefully chosen.
Of course, the first one to be rewarded had to be the biggest contributor this time, Xiao Dou. Its favorite treat, fried chicken legs, came by the basket, and on top of that, she even gave it a full drop of Spirit Spring water. The hen clutched a chicken leg in her beak, gulped down the Spirit Spring, and strutted off proudly to show off to Yi Hou.
"Mom, here, these are the luxury items you've always wanted. A Hermès bag, Chanel perfume, and some Estée Lauder makeup. Oh, and if You'ai or aunt like any of these, let them take some too."
Wu You'ai adjusted her glasses and shook her head. "Mom and I don't like those things."
Su Lanzhi, on the other hand, was thrilled. She looked them over from every angle, her eyes shining like a kid who'd finally grown up and could buy the toy she'd always wanted. "Huh, the quality isn't that great. Why do so many people like it? Oh, wait, wasn't this the same bag Yu Caini used before the apocalypse? Damn, that perfume's kinda strong too."
Things she couldn't afford before were now within reach, yet owning them didn't feel all that special. Jing Shu realized people always crave what they can't have, but the joy of the rich really was something else. That intoxicating sense of freedom made her addicted to power and possession, and she could feel herself wanting more.
"Dad, this is that Rolex you've always wanted. I grabbed more than a dozen, so you can switch them up whenever you like. And here, these are red wines and whiskies from America. You and Grandpa should stash them away."
"Perfect. My girl really knows her old man."
"Grandpa, these are American luxury cigarettes. Try them, see how they compare to ours. Oh, and here's a whole crocodile hide. Maybe you can make something nice out of it?"
Grandpa Jing studied it carefully. "That's a big one. Why don't I make leather gun holsters and quivers for all of us?"
For Wu You'ai, Jing Shu gave a pair of live king crabs since they'd be perfect for her research. For her Paternal Third Aunt, she brought back piles of fabric from America because she loved making her own clothes. Jing Shu had also gotten in touch with Zijin, who'd be coming back soon. She planned to have them make more sets of gloves, socks, and leather shoes for everyone. The fifth-year winter was right around the corner, and they'd need all the warmth they could get.
Right now, temperatures in Wu City were already below zero, the kind of cold that bit into your bones. Extra cotton coats and fur jackets couldn't hurt.
For her Maternal Eldest Uncle's family, she'd prepared daily supplies and meat from America since their house had just collapsed in the earthquake. They had a lot to replace, and she was already thinking about where they could stay next.
Then Jing Shu looked toward Grandma Jing, who was staring at her expectantly. With a little flourish, she pulled out a candlestick. "Grandma, this is an eternal candle. It's powered by a chip and magnetic energy, so theoretically it'll never go out. That way you won't have to worry about wasting electricity anymore."
Grandma Jing examined it from every angle, her eyes lighting up. The glow was soft and warm, just right. "Well, I'll be damned, that's amazing. Good, very good. I'll keep it by my bed, I really needed this."
"Oh, right, Grandma, you'll probably have your hands full soon. Look here, I brought back lobsters, sea urchins, and king crabs from America. You'll have to raise them in the pond. There's also longan meat, ham, tuna, foie gras, and caviar that I already stored in the big freezer yesterday. And there's olive oil, peanut oil, and rapeseed oil too. So when you cook, use more oil, okay? Stop wiping the pot with pork skin and calling it seasoning."
The whole family burst out laughing. Grandma Jing's frugality was legendary, especially after the apocalypse. But hearing about all these supplies made her eyes crinkle into slits from smiling. During famine, what's the most comforting thing? Seeing the food stores fill up again, grain stacked neatly instead of dwindling away.
When Xiao Dou wasn't around to peck and squawk, Grandma Jing had been restless. But when Jing Shu came back and refilled everything in one go, that sense of security warmed her heart. It was her greatest happiness. Even when feeding the poultry, she'd sprinkle a few extra handfuls now.
Yesterday, Jing Shu had brought home so many supplies from Li Yuetian that everyone was still in shock. And today, when she said a second batch was on the way, her whole family started to wonder—had she turned to robbery overseas? Was America really that rich and wasteful, like Dubai where luxury cars just sat abandoned on the streets?
"Oh, right, Grandpa, I also brought back some coffee saplings from America. Could you help transplant them?"
"You should've taken them out yesterday! Let's check if they're still alive."
In just two days, Grandpa Jing had already built a new shed in the backyard, connected it to the boiler room's floor heating, and turned it into a breeding area for the Lion Head geese. Once everyone learned the pair had been rented out specifically for breeding, they became extra careful.
But those two spoiled geese hadn't been fed yet. Jing Shu said she wanted to "toughen them up" first, since back in the capital, they'd been pampered like pandas—always fighting, picky with food, and never looking anyone in the eye.
Thankfully, Xiao Dou was an experienced trainer. She'd strut around eating chicken legs in front of the geese, grease dripping from her beak. It didn't take long for the dumb geese to surrender. From then on, they got the same treatment as all the other poultry—plain feed, Spirit Spring-soaked vegetable roots, and leftover broth from the family table. Nothing went to waste.
After adding some No. 8 Spirit Spring, Jing Shu stopped worrying about it. Xiao Dou, with her bossy "sheepdog" personality, took poultry management seriously. She loved showing off, acting like the squad leader—exactly like Jing Shu ten years ago. Still, the Lion Head goose breeding plan was going smoothly. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the dumb goose to start laying eggs.
The next day, Zhou Bapi called, asking when she'd return to work at the Medicinal Herb Association. He also mentioned that Jin Tianci's condition had improved. After a full day of diarrhea, he'd flushed out a lot of toxins. Though weak, he finally had some color in his face, and his vitals were much stronger. With another week of rest, he'd be fine.
Hearing that, Jing Shu finally relaxed. "I'll need to take some more time off. I've got too much going on right now. Call me if there's a competition or something, but I can't go back just yet."
Jun Jia wasn't slacking off at the factory either. Jing Shu received word that in five days, she could officially take over and handle the paperwork. During this buffer time, she didn't waste a second, repeating experiment after experiment on algae, carrion scavengers, and red nematodes.
The first stage went smoothly. Using carrion scavengers, she managed to make the algae reproduce rapidly. As for how many times the base solution could replicate, that was still unknown. But the second step was proving difficult. When she mixed the algae feed with red nematodes, the nematodes didn't reproduce nearly as fast as the algae.