At first, Jing Shu thought the man was an old acquaintance. After all, he greeted her so warmly that she reflexively answered back. But then she realized—she didn't know him at all.
Zhou Bapi beamed as he welcomed Jing Shu in. His old, wrinkled face crinkled further with his smile, and his gaze swept over her as though he were mining for hidden treasure.
If Su Mali hadn't been there, Jing Shu would've already planted a punch on him.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My surname is Zhou. You can just call me Pharmacist Zhou…"
Su Mali burst out laughing. "Pharmacist? He's that miser Zhou Bapi, the one who didn't believe you could grow astragalus in a pot. He even said if you did, he'd livestream himself eating shit!"
"Nonsense! My name is Zhou Bàqì, Zhou Bàqì! Don't you dare call me Zhou Bapi again!" Zhou Bapi desperately tried to salvage his dignity. First impressions mattered, especially with this girl. Why did Su Mali always have to bring up the worst things?
Jing Shu's eyes lit with recognition. So it was him. She had wondered why she hadn't seen him at today's gathering. Zhou Bàqì? Or Zhou Bapi?
Determined not to lose face, Zhou Bapi made a grand introduction. "Girl, your astragalus is impressive. I am the vice president of the Chinese Medicinal Herb Association, Wu City branch—Zhou Bàqì."
He thought that title would awe her. After all, associations sounded prestigious.
Su Mali bent over with laughter. "If seven people and three vice presidents make an 'association,' then I have nothing more to say."
She had transformed into the little prince of sabotage.
Jing Shu: "???"
This felt like a scam. In her previous life, the Medicinal Herb Association had been a powerful institution. How come this one only had seven members? Wu City had plenty of renowned herbs.
Was this one of those legends—gather seven people to summon dragon balls?
Catching Jing Shu's suspicious look, Zhou Bapi coughed. "Cough, cough. What Su Mali said is the official roster, just seven people. But plenty more want to get in and can't. Jing Shu, I came today to ask: was this astragalus and honeysuckle really grown by you after the apocalypse?"
Jing Shu nodded. "Yes."
Zhou Bapi's hands trembled with excitement. He rubbed them together. "Excellent, excellent. Jing Shu, would you be interested in joining our Medicinal Herb Association?"
Jing Shu had originally planned to enter the association. She didn't know much about traditional medicine, but she knew how to farm. Still, Su Mali's words made the association sound weak.
Seeing her hesitation, Zhou Bapi grew anxious. "Don't worry. The moment you join, you'll be a full member. We have hundreds of unofficial members beneath us. The government plans to unify the regional associations and expand, integrating other cities too."
"So what's the daily work like? Any strict requirements?" Jing Shu had never held a formal job in her life. The apocalypse had struck before she had the chance.
"Freedom. It's very free. As long as you can keep a few herbs alive each month, you're fine. You can even grow them at home. The benefits are far better than most civil service posts.
For us at the leadership level, we handle technical issues. For example, if someone's herbs get pests or other problems, we step in. At your level, as long as you don't kill them, that's enough. The apocalypse makes herb cultivation extremely difficult.
The old farming models are gone, replaced by inefficient, scattered individual growing. But that can't be helped. Conditions now are too unpredictable."
Zhou Bapi sighed. "Thankfully, Wu City still has some reserve stockpiles. But they're for saving lives. If we run out, survival rates will drop below even ancient times."
True. Colds and fevers had to be endured by willpower. If you survived, you lived. If not, you died. Chronic conditions like heart disease or hypertension, without medication, left everything to fate.
Zhou Bapi's wrinkled face spread into another smile. "Tell you what, tomorrow I'll take you to see the Medicinal Herb Association. Look around before you decide."
Jing Shu snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. "Alright."
If there was nothing unusual, joining might be good. At least her mother could proudly tell others: "My daughter is an official member of the Medicinal Herb Association."
"Great, then it's settled. Tonight, I'll stay over at Mali's place."
Despite Su Mali's endless persuasion to stay for dinner, Jing Shu only left behind her potted plants and went home.
Zhou Bapi declared he would sleep with the two herbs by his side and take them to the association in the morning to study further.
Jing Shu wasn't worried about exposing the Spirit Spring. After all, when Qian Duoduo had tested it with ice cream for his foolish son, nothing had been detected even after long analysis. She doubted Zhou Bapi would uncover anything.
And indeed, the Spirit Spring only boosted vitality and functionality in living organisms. Unless someone directly tested the water itself, she had nothing to fear.
When she returned to the villa, it was mealtime. She devoured dinner while Grandma Jing worriedly asked about the afternoon's events. Wu You'ai clutched her reclaimed phone, reading manga, and gave half-hearted answers.
Thankfully, her family didn't follow Douyin and had no idea of the online storm.
"It's fine, Mom. It's over now. Look, they're both safe. A reporter even interviewed me this afternoon," Jing An added, unable to resist. He was the so-called "enthusiastic citizen Mr. Jing," and it sounded pretty impressive.
"Look at the news—Africa's flooded! So many dead!"
Everyone turned to the screen.
"It's awful. Africa's elevation is so high, yet even the savannah is underwater! Those poor people, many were trapped in underground shelters and couldn't even get out," Su Lanzhi said softly.
"Last year's extreme heat drove people to dig tunnels more than ten meters deep. It was comfortable to live underground. Even China's Hainan wanted to follow that model, but our leaders forced relocation instead. Truly farsighted," Jing An said.
"How many will die? It's tragic," Grandpa Jing sighed.
Japan had been swallowed by rising sea levels. Except for Mount Fuji, everything else was submerged. The floodwaters were so vast, not a trace of the people remained. Whole cities had disappeared.
Over a dozen other islands were gone too, wiped off the map.
China's Taiwan Island was higher, but even half of it was underwater. There were casualties, but not severe.
Yet nothing compared to Africa. Because of its elevation, it wasn't fully submerged. Instead, water poured in and drowned countless people.
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周扒皮 (Zhōu Bāpí): This is a cultural reference to a famously exploitative landlord from the novel The Rent Collection Courtyard. It's used as a nickname meaning "miser".
周霸气 (Zhōu Bàqì): His real name, which sounds almost identical to "Zhou Bapi" (扒皮 vs. 霸气). It means "Zhou Domineering/Awe-Inspiring Aura." The translation keeps the pinyin "Zhou Bàqì" to maintain the crucial pun and explain why the mispronunciation is so embarrassing for him.