Su Jin only bought flower seeds to try out a new trick she had not been able to test before she died in the previous life.
In her past life, she had stumbled across a mutated rafflesia flower. After she obtained a seed from it, however, she just happened to stumble across a small tide of zombies. Many of her teammates died to those zombies, and in her desperation she made the rafflesia seed grow. The flower that bloomed from it somehow managed to gobble up three zombies in one bite!
Eventually, she used the rafflesia to get herself out of danger. It was unfortunate that the rafflesia was later outnumbered and destroyed.
After that, she had planned to get her hands on a few more seeds to experiment with. However, she was captured by Chen Xiarong before she could.
If she could make seeds grow and use them as her weapons, that would be an insane ability.
However, the owner of the flower seeds shop said that they did not carry rafflesia seeds, and she suggested that Su Jin try to buy them online. Although Su Jin was disappointed, she still bought a few pitcher plants and Venus flytraps, plus some rose seeds on the side.
Lu Hao had no idea why Su Jin wanted these things, but he helped her carry the plants nonetheless.
On the way back, Su Jin threw some of the seeds, fruit tree saplings, and potted plants into the dimension. Since they had gone out to buy seeds, they had to return with some, right?
Besides, on Lin Cheng and Huang Yunxiang's side, the latter had already surveyed some houses that could work as their warehouses. She was just waiting for Lin Cheng to come back and make the final decision with her. It was no that Huang Yunxiang could not make the decision herself, but she was used to deciding things together with Lin Cheng when it came to family matters. The couple enjoyed their discussions in that vein.
"Where are you now, Lin Cheng? I'm here waiting for you." Huang Yunxiang was getting a little anxious because she wanted to go shopping too. She finally had a reason to spend money without a worry in the world, and she did not want to miss out.
"Hello! Aren't you my brother's sister-in-law, Sis Huang? Why are you standing here? Are you waiting for someone?"
Huang Yunxiang was flabbergasted. Why was Su Xiangmei here? She secretly rolled her eyes, feeling a strong urge to just ignore her.
"Hey, Sis Huang, I'm talking to you. Why are you here?" Su Xiangmei thought Huang Yunxiang had not heard her, so she asked again patiently. Of everyone in Li Tianhui's family, Huang Yunxiang was the person Su Xiangmei hated the second most. Huang Yunxiang had married here from another province, yet the Lin family gave her such a huge wedding gift. They gave her 99 thousand bucks! That was quite a lot for this area. Su Xiangmei could only wish that she had met someone as nice as Lin Cheng.
"Oh, so it's you. I'm just waiting for my husband." So Su Xiangmei wanted to chat, did she? Huang Yunxiang would oblige her, then. Two could play at that game.
As soon as Su Xiangmei heard that Lin Cheng was on his way, she suddenly did not want to leave.
"Why are you and Brother Lin coming here? Oh, and have you asked Su Jin about that matter? Do you know who Lu Hao's mistress is yet? Sheesh, if you really manage to catch that adulteress, why, I'd wanna teach her a lesson too! It's so infuriating."
Huang Yunxiang had no idea how Su Xiangmei could say that with a straight face. She had been someone else's mistress once before too.
Just then, Huang Yunxiang saw Lin Cheng and Lin Xiuyuan approaching from a distance. Her impatient expression instantly turned to delight.
"Honey, sonny, I'm here!" Huang Yunxiang interrupted Su Xiangmei and waved at them.
"Sorry, Sis Su, but my husband and my son are back. We have other business to attend to, so I'll see you later." Huang Yunxiang was eager to leave.
"Hey, hey, what's with the rush? I'm not busy right now, so I could just go with you." Su Xiangmei saw the tall Lin Cheng walking toward them and was adamant to stay. She was wearing a new dress today, too.
Huang Yunxiang could not be bothered with her, so she made a beeline to Lin Cheng to talk to him.
Lin Xiuyuan had spotted Su Xiangmei from a mile away. That aunt-in-law of his was such a pain. He was determined to give her a snide comment or three in payment for making him embarrass himself in front of Lu Hao.
"Yo, isn't that Aunt Su? Do you have too much time to kill again today?" Lin Xiuyuan never minced his words.
"What are you saying, boy? What's wrong with me walking past here?" Su Xiangmei did not give in.
Lin Cheng saw how Su Xiangmei was arguing with their son and turned to Huang Yunxiang with a frown. "Why is she here? She's so annoying."
"I don't know either. She just spotted it and came around, then she wouldn't leave." Huang Yunxiang was frustrated too. If she had known this would happen, she would not have stood in such an obvious spot.
"Brother Lin, look at your wife! She should teach your son better. He's so rude to adults." Su Xiangmei knew she could not beat Lin Xiuyuan in an argument, so she turned around and acted pitiful in front of Lin Cheng, even throwing in an insult to Huang Yunxiang while she was at it.
Did she just say his son was rude and uncultured? Was she indirectly insulting him as a father as well?
"How my son behaves has nothing to do with you." Lin Cheng's expression turned stormy.
"Wait, Mom, Dad! I bet you didn't know this, but our school recently punished a few misbehaving students who acted like thugs. One of them was called Luo Hui, and he was even made a public example and nearly expelled. See, his parents didn't teach him well, did they? He was scolded in front of all the teachers and students in school! Isn't that embarrassing? Tsk-tsk."
Luo Hui was none other than Su Xiangmei's son with her ex.
Su Xiangmei was so furious that she gnashed her teeth, but she held her temper in. This Lin Xiuyuan was truly a thorn in her side.
"That's enough, sonny, don't just stand there. We have business to attend to." Huang Yunxiang emphasized the word 'business', hinting at Su Xiangmei that this was important to them and that she should just skive off to do her own thing.
Su Xiangmei still wanted to go with them, but she knew how mean Lin Xiuyuan's words could be now so she could only pretend that she had something else to do. After that, she left.
"Finally, she's gone." Huang Yunxiang sighed.
"Mom, how could you just let her leave like that? I haven't paid her back for what she did to Su Jin yet." Lin Xiuyuan had a ton more insults he wanted to use.
"Enough, enough. We should go check out the houses first. That's more important." Lin Cheng was anxious too. It was almost noon, and he did not want to go back without anything to show for it.
At the same time, Lin Tianzhen and her husband Mao Zhihang were still walking around the grain and oil wholesale market. They had brought their seven-seater along, and every seat aside from the driver and passengers seats were stacked full of rice and flour.
The owner of the store saw that they could not squeeze anything else in, so he said that he could deliver the goods for them free of charge if their place was nearby.
"That's great! In that case, give us another hundred bags of this northeastern rice!" Mao Zhihang said generously.
"Zhihang, what if we buy too much and can't finish it all? Will it spoil?" Lin Tianzhen was slightly worried, so she pulled her husband aside and whispered to him.
Mao Zhihang said confidently, "Nonsense! Don't you remember what Lil Jin said? Food will become the most important commodity of all! If we can't finish this all, we can give it to other people in exchange for other things!"
Oh yeah, why did she not think of that? In that case, the two of them bought things with even more abandon.
After they bought all the rice, they went on to the flour, then the cooking oil. After that, they followed Su Jin's suggestion and bought many boxes of sausages, hams, and canned meats from the wholesaler, finally topping up with a ton of packed biscuits and instant noodles.
Once they were done with their purchases, they received a call from Lin Cheng saying that he and Huang Yunxiang had decided on their warehouses. They could bring their goods over at any time now. Hence, Mao Zhihang told the many shop owners to send the goods to the warehouse address.
Finally, there were Su Jin's parents. Lin Tianhui had always liked hoarding things, especially when there were discounts online. She ended up collecting so many daily necessities that Su Xiangzhe had to clear out Su Jin's previous room and 'forbid' his wife from buying any more.
Lin Tianhui knew that they had run out of space too, so she had no choice but to stop.
Now, however, she could hoard as much as she liked!
Su Xiangzhe looked at Lin Tianhui as she flew around the supermarket like a busy little bee, taking things from this shelf and then running over to clear that shelf.
Sigh, he might as well let her run wild. At least this time he did not have to worry that she would buy too much.
Su Jin and the others did not go home either, heading straight to the warehouse address Lin Cheng gave them instead. Thanks to the new address, Lu Hao embarrassingly got lost again. After all, he only knew the main roads in the city and sometimes he would even get those wrong. The address Lin Cheng sent them was a little street he had never heard of before.
"Let me take the wheel then, hottie," Su Jin said, teasing him. She found the way he got lost utterly adorable, especially when he frowned in frustration like a Golden Retriever chasing its tail…
"Don't worry, Lil Hao. It's not the end of the world if you can't tell the way. I used to get lost a lot too when I was young and the city was constantly changing," Lin Xiuying consoled him. Well, she honestly thought it was fine for him to be terrible at directions. All a man needed to know was the way home.
Lu Hao's frustrations melted away when he heard Grandma's gentle comforting words. Yes, he still had Su Jin, Grandma, and the rest of his family behind him.
"That's right, honey. You're not a GPS, so you can leave the directions to us. There are plenty of heads between us, after all," Su Jin said as she drove. She even rubbed Lu Hao's head with her right hand. Heh, he really was like a Goldie…
Lu Hao, "..."
When the three of them arrived at the warehouse, Su Jin's youngest aunt and parents were not there yet, so Huang Yunxiang led Su Jin and Grandma to look around their temporary warehouses.
Rather than warehouses, the buildings were actually just a few empty, undecorated residential houses. Thankfully, they were two floors tall, so there was plenty of space to keep things.
Lu Hao, Lin Cheng, and Lin Xiuyuan carried the sacks of seeds from the car into the warehouses.
While Lin Xiuyuan was struggling to carry the goods, he asked Su Jin who was nearby, "Su Jin, why did you buy so many seeds? Are we gonna start tilling fields next?"
Su Jin and Li Xiuying exchanged a glance and a smile. The kid guessed right. They were going to have to plant these seeds later.
"Forget all that for now. I bought them, so of course I have something planned for them. Just keep working at it, 'kay?"
Lin Xiuyuan had no choice but to go back to his grunt work.
Both Su Jin and Li Xiuying liked their new warehouses. They were only about ten minutes away from home by foot, and people seldom came here. It was private and secret enough.
The houses had a simple layout, and they were quite empty since they lay unfurnished. As Lu Hao and the others brought in the goods, Su Jin's aunt Lin Tianzhen and Mao Zhihang arrived as well. Mao Qiqi was also in their car, having simply tagged along all day.
Mao Qiqi was relieved to jump out of the car and take a deep breath of fresh air. When she saw the large, empty houses in front of her, she was beside herself with excitement.
The newcomers took a spin around the houses and then began to join in the moving operation. Lin Cheng and Mao Zhihang looked at Lu Hao, who had been carrying things from the beginning without breaking a sweat. He was moving most items fastest, too. The older men were slowly starting to feel hurt.
Lin Xiuyuan had long since collapsed in a corner to rest, yet Lu Hao looked completely unfazed.
"Brother-in-law, just how much stamina do you have? Aren't you tired at all?" Lin Xiuyuan could not help but whine.
"If you want to be like me, just wake up every morning without fail for a jog and maintain a consistent training regime for a decade." Lu Hao did not want to hurt Lin Xiuyuan's pride, but he felt as though he could lift Lin Xiuyuan with just a finger. It was impossible for Lin Xiuyuan to catch up to him within ten years.
"Lin Xiuyuan, don't waste your time being jealous. You have a long road ahead of you." Su Jin and Lin Xiuyuan had grown up trading barbs and insults, but this time she was honestly only trying to encourage him.
To her surprise, Lin Xiuyuan did not snap back at her. After all, she was speaking the truth. If Su Jin had not had her premonition this time, he might have just kicked the bucket while he was still weak and helpless.
How could he let that happen? He had not lived long enough yet, and he still had the entire family to protect. He was not going to lose to a few sacks of rice! Lost in his childish fantasies of power, Lin Xiuyuan felt his spirit burning up! Hence, he silently walked to the remaining piles of rice and carried them into the house with a huff…
Huang Yunxiang nearly burst out laughing. It seemed Su Jin's reverse psychology worked.
By then, Su Jin's parents had arrived at the door as well. Her mother Lin Tianhui happily opened the door of the small truck. She and Su Xiangzhe had not taken their own car out that day, borrowing their neighbor's truck instead.
Everyone surrounded them to see what Lin Tianhui had bought.
The back of the truck had been stuffed to the brim, with absolutely zero space left between the goods. When she opened the door, two packs of toilet paper immediately fell out…
"Mom, what did you buy?" Su Jin asked as she helped to move the things in.
"Lil Jin, I bought a ton of toilet paper and sanitary napkins. That way, we women won't have to worry about running out," Lin Tianhui said in a whisper.
True, Su Jin would admit that she forgot about that. Forget sanitary napkins, she could barely find a few squares of toilet paper in her past life. Back then, those few days a month were straight-up torture to her. If she left the base, she had to use basic strips of cloth in place of sanitary napkins, and the smell would attract a trail of zombies behind her. If she did not go out, she would not be able to complete any missions, and that meant starving for a few days.
Sigh, those were truly painful memories.
"I completely forgot about that, Mom. I'll buy some online later too." These things could not be manufactured once the apocalypse struck. Every pack they bought would end up becoming limited edition…
Lin Tianhui bought a lot of shampoos, body foam, laundry detergent and other daily necessities too. Other than that, there were cotton blankets, clothes, pajamas, sleeping bags... and even a mosquito tent?
Su Jin's mouth twitched when she remembered the palm-sized mosquitoes during the apocalypse. She decided not to tell Mom about that just yet, since it would only put a damper on her mood.
Just then, the trucks Mao Zhihang had asked for arrived too.
When Lin Xiuyuan saw the goods packed in the trucks, he could not find the words to express his anguish. After all, Su Jin had said that these supplies would be their lifeline in the future. He just had to swallow his pain and join the rest of the 'movers' once more.
As the supplies piled up in the house, Su Jin truly understood their strength in numbers. In barely half a day, they had already managed to accumulate so many things.
Lu Hao was surprised too. He remembered how Su Jin had worked so hard for so many days by herself only to gather a few resources in the dimension, and she had looked so pleased with herself too. Thankfully, Lu Hao was wise enough not to mention that now.
By the time the family was done moving everything inside, it was already two in the afternoon. Su Jin's grandfather had long since started asking them to go back home for lunch.
Man, it sure was nice to have Grandpa's home cooking after a long day of work, Su Jin sighed to herself.
Lin Xiuyuan was half-dead from exhaustion, and he wanted to give Su Jin a snarky comment about how she had not done anything. However, he suddenly remembered that Su Jin was the entire family's favorite child right now, so he quickly changed his mind. He still wanted to eat Grandpa's cooking too~
The family happily returned to their home base, eager to have a nice meal. However, they soon found an unwelcome guest in the living room.
"Su Xiangmei, why are you here again?" Lin Xiuyuan was feeling rather frustrated. Was she haunting them or something?
"What are you saying, boy? What's wrong with me coming to visit Su Jin?" Su Xiangmei ate sunflower seeds from the table as she spoke. When Su Xiangzhe saw the husks all over the living room, he instantly lost his temper.
"Look at you! Are you trying to tick us off?" Su Xiangzhe took the plate of sunflower seeds away without a moment's pause.
"Aw, why are you so mean to me, Brother? I'm just here to see Su Jin. S-Su Jin? Why do you look so different?" Su Xiangmei forgot all about her argument with Su Xiangzhe when she saw how Lu Hao, who stood next to Su Jin, was looking at her like she was a suspect to be interrogated.
"Aunt Xiangmei, it's because you haven't seen me for too long. You missed me so much, but you can barely even recognize me, can you? I hear you said you saw Lu Hao with another woman, huh?" Su Jin raised a brow as she looked at Su Xiangmei.
"T-That's right. I saw him trying to sell your house with another woman!" Su Xiangmei held her head up high. No matter what, she had to keep up her bravado.
"You sure have a good eye, Aunt Xiangmei! Did you see what the woman looked like?"
"I was too far away at the time, so of course I couldn't see her clearly." Su Xiangmei had only spotted them from a distance. She knew that the woman looked very beautiful, but that was the only real impression she got.
"Then let me tell you, that woman with Lu Hao was me. Sorry to disappoint you~"
"How could it be you? Weren't you on a business trip at the time?"
"I came back early. Is that so hard to believe? I'll show the date on my plane ticket, if you like. Or I could call the manager from the property agency that day to prove it to you."
Lu Hao walked over to them too, saying, "You're still my aunt, so I feel obliged to tell you that there's a crime called libel, and you can be arrested for that. I'm sure you know what libel means, right?"
His tone was respectful, but his words made Su Xiangmei tremble. She looked around and saw that she was surrounded by people glaring at her angrily, and Lin Xiuyuan was still next to her, clearly enjoying the show. All of a sudden, Su Xiangmei realized that this family was not to be messed around with. They were way too protective of their own!
"I guess my age must be catching up to me. I must have been mistaken. I'm glad you're fine, Su Jin! This is a happy ending, isn't it?" Su Xiangmei hurriedly tried to get herself out of this mess, but the others were not going to let her go so easily.
"I'm warning you, Su Xiangmei, don't keep trying to badmouth my family members. The others aren't idiots, no one believes you anymore. We don't want to see you here ever again." Lin Tianhui finally lost her temper. She was never going to invite the fox into her chicken coop again.
"Y-You guys are ganging up on me! Fine, I'll go. I'll go right now! I never wanted to come anyway." Su Xiangmei left, ranting as she went.
The tension in the living room immediately deflated. Lin Xiuyuan was so tired that he collapsed onto the couch, his eyes rolling back in his head. It felt like he had used the last of his energy just now to enjoy the show, though he had to admit that it was some pretty fine popcorn.
"You were so cool just now, Brother-in-law. Did you see how Su Xiangmei's voice turned quiet after you scared her like that? Hahahahaha!"
"I wasn't scaring her." Lu Hao reminded him that it was no empty threat. Libel was a real thing, and she could definitely get arrested for it.
"Dad, why was she in here?" Huang Yunxiang asked as she swept the floor.
"I bumped her on the way back, and she insisted on coming with me. I couldn't exactly refuse her." Lin Yunguo was upset too. His trishaw was too slow, so he could not shake Su Xiangmei when she ran behind him.
"What a coincidence, we bumped into her today when we were looking at the warehouses too. Why does she have so much free time?"
"Aunt Yunxiang, you say you saw her at the warehouses today?" Su Jin asked.
"That's right, Lil Jin, but all three of us ignored her. We told we were busy and left," Lin Cheng replied.
Su Jin nodded. It seemed like she had to keep an eye on the warehouses after this, but they should be safe for now.
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