Chapter 30: Finally Down to 718 Pounds

Chen Yong appeared rather dejected. Had he known Shi Yuebai was this generous, he would not have made those sarcastic remarks while they were inside the Shi family’s tarp shelter earlier.

Shi Yuebai did not care about Chen Yong’s internal struggle. In fact, she had not given his snide comments a second thought.

The second sister-in-law, Shi, remained worried that Chen Yong’s words might have wounded Shi Yuebai’s pride. However, as the sky grew dark, Shi Yuebai was busy with her own affairs. After checking Shi Yaoyao’s schoolwork, she urged Nong Yasi to hurry and wash Mother Shi’s body.

Although Nong Yasi felt a pang of heartache over the water usage, she followed Shi Yuebai’s instructions, stripping Mother Shi down and pressing her to sit in the washbasin. Once submerged, Mother Shi became uncharacteristically quiet. She even spoke a few coherent sentences to Nong Yasi:

"Trim my nails, too."

"My skin has been terribly dry lately; use some high-quality essential oil on me."

Nong Yasi bowed her head and replied, "Yes, yes, of course."

"Have I purchased a membership card here?" Mother Shi asked, closing her eyes and resting against the rim of the basin.

Nong Yasi looked toward Shi Yuebai in a panic, unsure how to answer.

Shi Yuebai said, "Mom, you haven't. You’re currently enjoying the trial package, so a quick wash is enough."

A look of clear dissatisfaction crossed Mother Shi’s face, but realizing she was only on a trial, she knew better than to ask for more.

The second sister-in-law smiled as she fumbled to find a set of clean clothes for Mother Shi. By the time Mother Shi climbed out of the basin, the water looked as black as ink. Shi Yuebai poured the dirty water onto the small patch of potato sprouts as usual.

"Let’s all get some sleep early tonight; we’ll divide our tasks tomorrow."

They could not abandon the plan to build a path to the public restroom. However, since Yi Zhe was going to take them scavenging the next day, the Shi family had to split into two groups. Shi Yuebai intended to have the stronger, more capable members—the second sister-in-law and Nong Yasi—stay at the tarp shelter to continue moving stones and look after the mentally unstable Mother Shi. She herself would take Shi Yaoyao and the infant, Shi Xiangrui, out to scavenge.

Mother Shi leaned in and asked with a look of doting affection, "And what about Mommy? What is Mommy going to do?"

Her tone was as if she were speaking to a child in kindergarten, her eyes filled with indulgence as she waited for her precious daughter to assign her a task.

When Shi Yuebai was young, Mother Shi had never missed a single school-related event, whether it was kindergarten, elementary, or middle school. She was always the most enthusiastic participant. For any parent-child activities at school, Mother Shi was the most cooperative parent Shi Yuebai could have asked for.

As these scenes flashed through Shi Yuebai’s memory, her heart ached slightly. The original owner had truly been a child raised in a jar of honey.

"Mom, your task for today is to move stones."

"If you do a good job, I’ll get you a membership card."

Mother Shi clapped her hands happily, her clean face beaming with a gentle smile. "Oh, wonderful! Yuebai has given Mommy a task; I promise to finish it well."

The next day, before dawn, Shi Yuebai opened her eyes while sitting on her flatbed cart. She was infuriated to discover that even without eating or drinking, the pervasive radiation of the wasteland had caused her to gain weight overnight. In a single night, the fat on her body had ballooned by tens of pounds.

"Damn it! I refuse to believe that I, the Great Witch, cannot best the heavens!"

Gritting her teeth and enduring the sharp pain in her body, Shi Yuebai forcibly infused four pounds of fat energy into everyone in the Shi family—except for the infant, Shi Xiangrui. Excess fat energy was of no benefit to anyone, and four pounds a day was the limit for an adult; the infant could handle at most two or three ounces.

While the others were still asleep, Shi Yuebai used the Water Gathering Spell to fill every basin, bottle, and jar she could find. Finally, she poured a massive amount of spiritual energy into the enhanced dizziness array on the ground. She did not stop until wisps of white mist rose from the floor and the energy became almost tangible. By this point, Shi Yuebai’s weight had finally dropped to 718 pounds.

They say there is infinite joy in battling men, and infinite joy in battling the heavens. Shi Yuebai simply did not believe that she, a Great Witch of the Witch Tribe, would truly be fated to die of obesity in this wasteland.

A sliver of light pierced the thick clouds and landed on the enhanced dizziness array in front of her. The small patch of potato sprouts behind Shi Yuebai grew by a millimeter, visible to the naked eye. It was not overtly obvious, but the leaves of the sprouts had become much fresher and more vibrant.

Soon after, the women and children of the Shi family began to wake up. Shi Yuebai addressed the sleepy-eyed group:

"From today on, you will brush your teeth and wash your faces every day!"

"Look, the water has been drawn for you."

She gestured toward the two dozen basins placed under the bridge pier. The empty space they had cleared of stones the previous day was now filled with basins, bottles, and jars—all brimming with clean, radiation-free water.

Nong Yasi stood up in shock. She had harbored a faint suspicion, but now she was certain: Shi Yuebai was definitely a water-element ability user! Her heart hammered against her chest. She had only wanted to survive, but she had accidentally latched onto a powerful benefactor. It was like buying a lottery ticket on a whim and discovering she had won billions. She had to hold onto Shi Yuebai for dear life.

"Yuebai, don’t worry, we will definitely work hard today," Nong Yasi vowed, clenching her fists. For the sake of this clean water, she would move more stones than she had the day before.

Shi Yuebai nodded, then added, "Don’t overexert yourselves. Dr. Nong, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. It’s easy to survive with me; all I require is simple loyalty."

The women and children washed their hands and faces with the clean water and wiped their necks. They used the box of toothbrushes Shi Yuebai had scavenged to brush their teeth, albeit without toothpaste.

Just then, Yi Zhe’s voice rang out from outside the tarp: "Yuebai, are you ready? I’m here to take you scavenging."

"Coming!"

Shi Yuebai had Shi Yaoyao put on a large backpack containing two bottles of disinfectant. She wrapped the infant, Shi Xiangrui, in a baby sling across her front. Seated on her flatbed cart, she moved out of the tarp.

Yi Zhe and Chen Yong, standing outside the dizziness array, stared in shock at Shi Yuebai, Shi Yaoyao, and Shi Xiangrui.

Yi Zhe furrowed his brow. "Just the three of you?"

Not a single person among them had any real mobility...