"Don't you just want to stay here and eat and drink? Take a closer look at the food and water we have here—are you sure you want to stay?"
Xu Zimo was puzzled when Shen Yunyun mentioned food and water. What was wrong with them? He actually took a careful look. It would've been better if he hadn't; after seeing it, he fell silent.
"So? How are the food and water?"
"They carry foul energy. If you consume them long-term, the foul energy accumulates in your body, and over time, it breeds illness. Some diseases caused by foul energy don't give you any noticeable symptoms—no pain, no itch, they don't affect eating or sleeping—but by the time the illness becomes severe, it's too late."
Wasn't he describing many types of cancer? A lot of cancers show no symptoms when they first develop. By the time you feel unwell and go to the doctor, it's usually already at a mid-to-late stage, missing the optimal window for treatment.
"Isn't that exactly foul energy?" Shen Yunyun agreed wholeheartedly.
The land was polluted, the rivers were polluted, and on top of that, there was pesticide contamination. Food either had excessive heavy metals or pesticide residues. Then there were the shady manufacturers' "tech and tricks." Eating meant consuming slow poison; not eating meant starving to death. What could be done about it?
Using such limited land to feed so many people was itself an incredible achievement. The per capita resources we could allocate simply couldn't compare to many other countries. That's why people in our country worked the hardest and competed the fiercest. If you didn't compete, you couldn't put food on the table.
The United States, with 9.37 million square kilometers, supported over 300 million people. The "Fighting Nation" (Russia), with over 17 million square kilometers, supported just over 100 million people. Our country, with 9.6 million square kilometers, had to support 1.4 billion people. It hadn't been that many years since everyone had enough to eat. Cracking down on food safety was no easy task, but Shen Yunyun believed the country would eventually step in to manage it.
So, we should have confidence in our nation. Shen Yunyun took these matters in stride. She refused to worry or drain herself over things she couldn't change. What she could change were the things within her control, like her lifestyle and eating habits. People had to learn to let themselves off the hook. Tormenting yourself was just mental exhaustion.
Shen Yunyun's thoughts were complex, and she felt understanding toward "our mother" (the country). Xu Zimo also had a lot on his mind. Even though this foul energy could cause disease in the human body, the food was just too delicious. He felt he had fallen deeply in love with this place and didn't want to go back.
Shen Yunyun wasn't in a hurry to send him away either. Having this powerful asset by her side significantly boosted her safety.
Qiao Shiyue tried repeatedly to contact Tang Yu but couldn't reach him. She realized she had been played again and was so furious she nearly dropped dead on the spot. Shen Yunyun was her nemesis. Whenever she got involved with her, life turned sour. This only strengthened her resolve to crush Shen Yunyun, or else she would threaten her very survival. She would push her down the stairs to her death. Every time she woke from that nightmare, she wished Shen Yunyun would just die already. How could there be such an annoying person in this world?
Since her own attempts were thwarted, she decided to push Lu Qi, spouting some high-sounding nonsense while actually hinting that Lu Qi should hurry up and bring trouble to Shen Yunyun. Lu Qi played along, pretending to console her: "She really doesn't know what's good for her. With such wonderful family like you, how could she bear to let go? Don't worry, I'll teach her a little lesson and make sure she returns to the Qiao family soon."