The exact ratio of those five portions still depended on how well the factory performed over the coming months. If the production went up, she would store more of the harvest away. If it dropped, she would store less to ensure immediate needs were met first.
According to Jing Shu's careful calculations, the factory's current output could at least meet the bare minimum consumption of a few hundred thousand people every day. By "bare minimum," she meant a thin soup made mostly of water with only a little bug paste added for substance—the kind that took ten minutes of slow chewing per bite just to trick your stomach into feeling a deceptive sense of fullness.
If they actually wanted to eat until they were satisfied, though, the daily yield could barely feed fewer than a hundred thousand people. That came to around ten tons of red nematodes harvested from the breeding vats in a single day.
Sure, that was still a long way from feeding millions of hungry mouths, but everything needed time to grow and stabilize, right?
To anyone else, it might look like she was running a losing business—borrowing heavy loans, investing rare materials, and giving away her profits left and right—but she had already done the math. Once the factory reached full maturity, it could bring in at least fifty thousand virtual coins a day. That was without even counting the stockpiled food reserves, which might not make extra money but could always be traded with the higher-ups for something valuable when the famine hit.
Once everything entered a stable loop, she wouldn't even need to lift a finger to manage the details. The fifty thousand would just roll into her account every single day. That's one and a half million virtual coins a month! Before long, she would not only recover her initial investment but start making real profit. At that point, those virtual coins would just be long strings of numbers on a screen to her!
"Man, I really want to know what it feels like to be filthy rich." She was practically drooling at the thought, already daydreaming about what she could buy with all that accumulated wealth.
Wait, no. That wasn't the real reason she was doing this. She just didn't want Xingfu Shiyuan to be seized by the government a year later and drag her into the resulting mess too. As long as Qian Duoduo stayed alive, he would always be the one standing in front of them, shielding them from trouble. But if he died, everything would come crashing down on them like a house of cards. She wasn't trying to make a fortune—she was trying to keep Shiyuan from repeating its tragic history.
Still, how the hell did things end up like this, where she was running a factory for profit in the middle of the apocalypse?
"Well, guess I will just have to accept it," she sighed, feeling oddly cheerful about the prospect. Without wasting a second, she rushed straight to Jin Tianci's residence.
First, she wanted to check on the progress of his injuries. As it turned out, he was recovering well. All the heavy medical equipment had been removed from the room, and he looked much more energetic than before, though he still needed someone to support him while walking. That was expected, really. In her previous life, he hadn't died this early; he had lasted another year. But after that? Would he still need this special medicine to stay alive in this harsh world?
The second reason for her visit was, of course, to play the "poor me" card. That, she knew, required a specific technique. You couldn't just complain for the sake of complaining; you had to do your homework first and know exactly what you wanted from the other person.
She sighed dramatically, letting her shoulders slump. "I'm broke, and I didn't realize starting a factory would be this hard. I was young and naive and threw in everything I had, only to find out I can't even keep it running now. But I promised to feed two thousand people! I'm helping reduce Wu City's burden, you know."
Jin Tianci chuckled, looking amused at her performance. He could tell perfectly well she was here with a motive, but he couldn't bring himself to be annoyed by her persistence.
"Alright, just say it. What do you need? Whatever problem you have got, tell me, and I will sort it out. You have already got your own rules and systems in place, ranked your workers into tiers, and even used a points system like your own factory. I heard a lot of people have been working their butts off lately. You definitely have a next move planned, don't you? So just spit it out—what do you have your eye on this time?"
Jing Shu smiled coolly. "To tell the truth, everything is ready except for one thing. You remember all that scrap metal left behind by the previous owner, right? Those massive industrial machines are useless to me, and they're taking up valuable space. I want to melt them down and remake them into the equipment I actually need. I have thought about it long and hard. Since I can't move those big machines out anyway, why not set up my own furnace and make my own equipment?"
Jin Tianci froze, then burst out laughing at the audacity. "You really think big, don't you? You know the country started collecting scrap metal and iron weapons in the first year of the apocalypse, right? They're using it all to build the artificial sun project, and it's at a critical stage right now. Besides, smelting equipment is all registered and tracked. You can't just 'get one' because you feel like it. But I can probably have Jun Jia borrow an industrial-frequency induction furnace for you. You will need high-voltage power, though, and some skilled workers to mold the molten iron safely."
Jing Shu immediately said, "Power is no problem. I will feed and house the workers, and I will even give them bonuses for their hard work."
He nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Most of those workers get a day or two off anyway. If you're in a hurry, I will call in extra hands. We will get it done in two days without delaying anyone."
"The sooner, the better," she said, grinning.
With that, the factory equipment issue was settled. She didn't even need anything fancy—just some workstations, conveyor belts, breeding rooms, and basic processing gear. The old craftsmen could handle all that easily. What mattered was building a streamlined workflow to boost efficiency across the floor.
"Anything else?" Jin Tianci asked when he noticed she was zoning out.
She nodded. "Yeah. I have recently bred a large batch of Sulfuric Acid Ants. You can extract sulfuric acid from them. It's pretty useful; it can be used as fertilizer, feed, or even for industrial stuff. I have already reserved a section of the factory for it, but without the right equipment, I don't dare start production yet."
"How much can you produce?" he asked, looking intrigued by the possibility.
"Not much for now, but once things stabilize, a few hundred kilograms a day won't be a problem." In truth, the old Sulfuric Acid Ant Queen had been nearing death, but after being nourished by her Spirit Spring, it was like the creature's meridians had been unblocked. Its egg production had multiplied several times over, and it was still rising steadily. The ants might be tiny, but the diluted acid from their bodies could yield quite a lot over time.
Jin Tianci's eyes lit up. Before the apocalypse, sulfuric acid plants were everywhere, often overproducing for the market. But now? They were gone. While sulfuric acid didn't seem essential at first glance, it was actually used in tons of manufacturing processes. The problem was, it was insanely corrosive and dangerous. A small whiff could wreck your lungs, and getting it on your skin was even worse.
"Alright, here is the deal," he said. "We will provide the technology and manpower, and you supply the Sulfuric Acid Ants. We will go into partnership together. A thirty-seventy split—you take seven."
"Deal!" she agreed instantly.
With that settled, Jing Shu still didn't leave her seat.
"You have got more?" he asked, half-laughing at her.
"Yeah, actually... I'm really out of money. I wanted to borrow a bit from you to keep things going."
She coughed lightly, her voice catching in her throat. She did have plenty of materials she could trade or flip for profit—including some top-grade stuff she had brought back from the US—but virtual coins were just numbers on a screen. They didn't give her the same security as having tangible resources in her hands. And besides, those supplies still had their uses.