Wang Qiqi took the recommendations from Jing Shu and the others and began his uphill climb from salted fish to contender. Jing Shu felt Wang Qiqi's chances were slim since he lacked resources, but at a critical moment, she could step in.
After all, it was far better to have someone trustworthy as Distribution Director. Future migrations and disaster evacuations would all run through that office. If Wang Qiqi really became Director, their placement in the future would be much better.
With that in mind, investing in Wang Qiqi wasn't a bad idea. Among the things Wang Qiqi brought over, only the steel cutter was useful to her right now. She handed everything else to Grandpa Jing in one go.
Jing Shu planned to use her free time over the next few days to cut the steel she had traded from Su Mali into defensive weapons.
Then, what she hurled wouldn't be rocks, but giant steel bolts. Just imagining the scene was thrilling.
In the old group chat, Wu You'ai posted an announcement: "@Everyone, the government starts salvage operations tomorrow. Anyone can sign up. Transport is free, but renting a life jacket costs 1 virtual coin. The waters around Wu City are full of useful items that can be exchanged for virtual coins. If you want in, hurry. Life jackets are limited. This is a way to earn coins. You won't lose out."
"What, we still have to pay? If someone's good at swimming, can they just go in directly?"
[Wu You'ai]: "Yes, but life and death are your own responsibility. If you have swim rings at home, those work too."
[Young Madam With a Baby]: "I'll rent a swim ring for 0.5 coins. Anyone want it?"
[Wu You'ai]: "Also, the big data sheet has been updated with exchange prices for salvaged materials and other rewards. Use that price list to decide what to pull up. Don't drag in trash and try to exchange it, or you'll be a joke."
…
That night, Jing Shu moved whatever she didn't need from the Rubik's Cube Space into the basement, buried all the giant rocks behind the hill, and stacked the steel in the villa's backyard. She cleared nearly half the space, hoping tomorrow would bring a good haul.
At 4 a.m. on January 8, Su Lanzhi dragged Jing Shu out of bed for work. They took the amphibious shark submarine. Since her deal with Chen Nan had turned into trading for all the RV refit materials, the luxury car was gone, and they didn't dare take the family's energy car. Thankfully, she had arranged for Wu You'ai's mentor to come by tomorrow.
Great. Another day with only a few hours of sleep.
"Dearest mom, dearest mom, dearest mom," Jing Shu chanted silently, flooring the accelerator as they drove out from Banana Community. The underground garage was crammed with people. From now on, it wasn't a viable exit.
Jing Shu munched a stuffed flatbread loaded with lettuce, grilled sausage, chicken strips, fish fillet, beef sauce, and a duck egg, washing it down with milk. Breakfast had to be quick and dirty.
Floodwaters in the Development Zone had receded somewhat. Where you couldn't see utility poles before, you could at least see them now. But there was no sign of the water dropping in the urban districts, dashing any hopes most people had of going home.
After settling people, the Wu City government launched full salvage operations and encouraged residents to help retrieve supplies from downtown.
Starting today, everyone was busy. Disasters strike fast, rebuilding drags on.
The Planting Industry R&D Management Department was the same as before, except that once they irrigated with rainwater, every vegetable was covered in eggs. Some people were removing them by hand, which barely helped.
As soon as Jing Shu arrived, she got to work clearing the bugs.
She kept sorting out old nematodes from the rainwater, soaking them in salt water, then releasing them into the fields. It took most of the day to clean every bed. By the end, her head was spinning. She felt half delirious, the way you do after playing too much with a Rubik's cube.
It made her think something was off with the Rubik's Cube Space lately. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it seemed to have started after that automatic reset. Either way, once it upgraded, the secret should reveal itself. The more she thought about it, the more impatient she became. Pity technology wouldn't allow it yet.
Seeing the exhaustion on her daughter's face, Su Lanzhi's heart ached. She swore she wouldn't let her do this again. Let someone else handle it.
It was lucky she came. Anyone else would need ten days to half a month, and by then the vegetables would be ruined.
"Alright, Mom, these are nearly mature. Don't water them again, or there'll be more eggs. By the next batch, there should be an official solution.
This method is a pain. If we have to do it after every irrigation, how much time will that waste?"
This wasn't the result Jing Shu wanted anyway. She wanted everyone thinking about how to grow at scale with low costs. When the time came, her mother could filter irrigation water the old-fashioned way and raise a clean crop, pushing her career to the next level.
Give it two days. The timing should be ripe.
"Hey, where are you rushing off to without eating?"
"I'm going out to look around."
"In this darkness, with floodwater everywhere, where are you going to look around?"
…
The rain hammered down over Wu City. The government had sent a swarm of salvage boats into the city center to pull up everything they could. If Jing Shu didn't go make a haul now, how could she face the Rubik's Cube Space?
Give it a few more days and anything valuable would be gone.
Before the flood, these places were strictly guarded. Now, with the waters up, everything was ownerless. Ahem.
The tallest buildings in central Wu City were still submerged, not even their spires showing. Helicopters thumped overhead, sweeping spotlights across the water.
On the surface, hundreds of salvage boats bobbed, crewed by newly hired salvage workers. They were all strong swimmers who had passed strict tests and were equipped with decent gear.
Some boats had advanced computer-controlled hooks. Others were more basic, relying on divers to grab items before hoisting. The most traditional carried nothing at all, just ropes tied by hand and pulled up by the crew.
In the apocalypse, labor was cheap. Grain would be distributed to the people anyway, so the government chose to give it to those who could produce value.
So here, most of the work depended on divers plunging in and hauling out whatever they could find. What used to be worthless could be useful after the world ended.