I Am Cultivating in the Apocalypse

Chapter 714: Before the Migration Rumors

The pungent stench made people want to vomit on first smell, and to make matters worse, it mingled with the aroma of food, leading people to question if there was something wrong with their noses. To compensate the people of Banana District for enduring this torture for half a month, and for the resentful gaze of Wang Qiqi after her promotion to director, Jing Shu offered a huge 40% discount on Insect Cake and synthetic meat for Banana District residents.

Of course, each person could buy a maximum of ten. Even so, Banana District was as happy as if celebrating the New Year. It was important to understand that in the apocalypse, food had never been discounted before. For a time, every household rushed to use face recognition to buy Insect Cake. Those with money bought synthetic meat. Any excess was frozen, to be rehydrated in the hot water room for another meal when hunger struck. Many people tasted synthetic meat for the first time, only then feeling as if, after so many years in the apocalypse, they were truly eating real meat for the first time!

"It tastes like meat!"

"So this is what meat tastes like..."

But back to the subject, the afternoon tea set was a special treat Jing Shu made for herself, without worrying about numerous restrictions. She took time to prepare it in her special space, learning various curing methods to create a variety of fried, breadcrumb-coated meat snacks. A platter of such snacks was essential for the occasion, right? Onion rings, squid rings, New Orleans-style grilled wings, Spicy Bones, Pan-fried fish, Chicken Nuggets, Spicy Salted Crispy Meat, Fried Chicken Legs, and so on.

She also followed recipes to make some Guang-style dim sum and tea snacks, such as tiger skin chicken feet and Shrimp Dumplings.

Jing Shu had already prepared various cakes and sweet treats. As for tea-time beverages, she prepared a variety of coffees, black tea, green tea, milk tea, and even homemade health drinks like Lotus Root Starch and Red Bean and Millet Milk.

Even the ingredients were packed neatly in boxes. Transparent containers, filled to the brim, took up several cubic meters. They contained freshly made meat floss, raisins, dried fruits, cereals, her self-made pearls, taro balls, Coconut, crushed Oreo, and more.

Jing Shu especially missed the Oreo Swirl Ice Cream, Oreo milk cap, and cookies from before the apocalypse, so creating these Oreos herself was a genuine struggle. The recipe was learned from an encyclopedia. First, cocoa beans—the main ingredient—were planted. After fermentation, cleaning, high-temperature roasting, separation of nibs and shells, and pressing, the cocoa beans were finally processed into cocoa powder.

The refined Butter and Coconut Oil were extracted from coconuts she had planted, and the vanilla essence was derived from vanilla bean pods. Other ingredients were either already available or simply omitted. After several baking failures, she finally managed to create a flavor that was approximately the same as before the apocalypse.

It was then that Jing Shu lamented the convenience of pre-apocalypse life, where even a simple ingredient was the result of countless food combinations and transformations. Consequently, Jing Shu cherished food even more, valuing these various foods that had gone extinct after the apocalypse. With life reverting to a primitive state, she was fortunate not to lack raw materials, enabling her to concoct so many advanced food products.

The variety of ingredients Jing Shu possessed was so extensive that she could have opened a café or milk tea shop without issue. These ingredients could be added to milk tea, Lotus Root Starch, or other liquid foods, and were especially good as snacks or meal supplements.

But Jing Shu also knew that further food processing was out of the question; she had already reached her limit. Making purely natural food was still feasible. As items purchased before the apocalypse were gradually used up, most families began to make their own substitutes. For instance, for chicken essence, the Jing Family had learned from the internet to mash dried chicken breast, dried mushrooms, and dried shrimp to create a replacement.

Finding alternatives was fine; the real fear concerned ingredients without any substitutes. When the time comes to use them, one would realize surviving in this apocalypse is truly inconvenient!

After Jing Shu had thoroughly prepared all sorts of ingredients at home, Wu City finally began to slowly release snippets of news.

"I’m telling you, but don’t you tell anyone else. I have relatives working in the Township Government. They said Wu City is planning a relocation!"

"What?? Migration? Where to? Why do we need to migrate?"

"Haven’t you noticed it’s getting colder and the snow keeps getting heavier? Of course, we’d move south. Anyway, you should still prepare—quietly stock up on more food and gather more things to keep warm."

"I have a friend who knows someone at the Township Government. I heard there’s going to be a migration..."

"I also have a friend in the Township Government. I’ve heard about this, but I’m not leaving. There’s no transportation now; train lines have long been disrupted, and how many people can planes carry? Cars can’t move in such heavy snow either. How are we supposed to go? On foot? We’d die on the way!"

"I’m not leaving either. We’re all going to die sooner or later; I don’t want to die exhausted."

"Leizi’s whole family are official workers. I heard there will be transportation for the migration. What about us non-official workers? What do we do?"

Rumors spread like wildfire, typically starting with the phrase: "Don’t tell anyone else." Paradoxically, this very line made the rumors spread even faster, causing undercurrents of anxiety throughout Wu City and leaving many people on edge.

More people were considering their own immediate interests, wondering what to do next for themselves and their families.

Jing Shu knew Jun Bao was conducting market research. The news the Township Government truly wants to suppress, no one can find out. What one can know is only what those above want one to know. Throughout history, public opinion has always been crucial—whoever can control it, controls the hearts of the people. And Jun Bao, it seems, is just such a person; he can guide public opinion.

The news was finally out. Jing Shu had already alerted her Uncle and her elder aunt’s family to prepare early, so they weren’t overly surprised. However, they were very worried, wondering what to do next. Indeed, if it weren’t absolutely necessary, who would willingly leave the land that sheltered them from wind and rain?

Meanwhile, turmoil erupted in various institutions, as this concerned the "iron rice bowls" of the official workers. If there was a migration, what would become of them and their jobs?

Take Jing Shu, for example, the currently idle vice-chair. She was ordered to return to work to first observe the situation, then handle appeasement efforts, persuasion, and all other preparatory tasks for the migration.

The strategy was to divide and conquer, handling individuals one by one. For a monumental task like migration, directives naturally came from the top: the upper echelons assigned tasks, and lower levels distributed them. If you could complete your task, you stayed on; if not, someone else replaced you. If you were willing to go, that was ideal; if not, you were fired. Each unit first had to secure the interests of a portion of its people before discussing the greater collective interest. In essence, the goal was to silently make those in agreement even more committed, and to compel dissenters to acquiesce for the sake of their own interests.

As for the truly stubborn ones... Heh. Such individuals were perfect examples, meant to serve as a warning to others.

In fact, workers in region-specific jobs, like those at the Power Bureau, were quite anxious. If a migration occurred, their jobs would become redundant. What would happen to their salaries then? During the migration, their treatment would certainly not match that of other departments. For example, food processing personnel were always in demand, regardless of location, so they had no need to worry.