Disaster Apocalypse: Farming, Family, and My Hidden Secret Space

Even though the silver hairpin wasn't new, it was clearly carefully cleaned, and the style was somewhat old-fashioned—it was probably really tough to give it away, definitely heart-wrenching.

"Mother…" Hua Jin held the silver hairpin and looked at her mother.

"Put it away," Mrs. Qi said.

Over the years, all the gifts she had sent back to her family in terms of silver coins were worth more than several silver hairpins.

"Yes, yes," hearing her mother say that, Hua Jin had no burden and put it away.

Although the silver hairpin wasn't heavy, it was quite good, especially since it came from her stingy grandmother—she had to take it.

Just thinking about her grandmother's pained expression, Hua Jin felt satisfied. Who told her to treat her mother poorly, always thinking of extracting value from her daughter?

The gifts from her uncles were slightly less valuable, with all three families coming together to give a piece of barely sufficient fabric.

Hua Jin put all of these into the vanity box her father made for her, then couldn't help but yawn.

"She's tired. Okay, okay, let Jin'er rest. Let's leave," said the old lady Hua with heartache as she noticed, and told her two daughters and daughters-in-law, standing up.

Not to mention the child, they were all a bit exhausted from getting up so early.

Mrs. Qi nodded, touched her daughter's head, "Rest well, your mother, and your aunts are leaving."

"Yes, yes," Hua Jin was indeed tired and hadn't even taken a nap all day.

Once her grandmother, mother, and aunts left, Hua Jin immediately went to her space to bathe.

If it hadn't been her coming-of-age ceremony today, wearing cumbersome clothes all day, she would have long wanted to take them off. The fabric was light and breathable, but unbearable in the hot temperature—all those layers made her sweaty and uncomfortable.

After taking a good bath, she heavily flung herself onto the bed in her space.

The next day, the feast from yesterday was still being talked about in the valley with much relish, and mentioning it made mouths water.

People were greatly impressed by the village chief's son and grandson.

In this situation, bringing back so much meat, only the village chief's son could manage it.

The oil from yesterday was enough to meet everyone's nutritional needs for a month, and they all ate to their fill in satisfaction.

The valley had returned to its peaceful state, and everyone was wholeheartedly attending to the land, pouring almost all their energy into it. The rest was focused on storing as much food as they could.

While the valley was quiet and harmonious, an epidemic was silently spreading swiftly across the continent.

Not everyone was able to make the right judgment immediately. They didn't know to clean the well water first, to avoid drinking contaminated water, even less to repeatedly boil it.

Moreover, under the burning sun, corpses were not immediately dealt with, rapidly decomposing and attracting many flies and rodents, which served as perfect vectors for viruses.

By the time people realized something was wrong, many had started showing symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and vomiting.

In the Ancient Yan Country, due to the government's distribution of herbs everywhere, while they too suffered significant loss, they eventually managed to control the situation. Plus, they released the prescription for the antidote, and many people were striving to rescue themselves, with those showing mild symptoms largely surviving.

Yet, many more closed their eyes forever, giving another heavy blow to the already battered continent; the population dwindled further.

Despite the severe loss, the court was not entirely inactive. Although delayed, the government eventually distributed seeds and herbs to the people everywhere, and seeds were sown as soon as possible.

So even though the epidemic claimed many lives, it left the survivors with more living space, and the lands that had been sown offered everybody endless hope.

Therefore, although the Ancient Yan Country was in chaos, it was not as frenzied as initially.

In comparison, other countries were resorting to all means for survival, so much that it could be said they were living primitively.

Especially the always barbaric Nanwu Country and Beicang Country, which were almost entirely engaged in slaughter for survival, and this slaughter continued, even eyeing the rich Ancient Yan Country, preparing in secret.

Shanggu Town should be the most controlled area in Lingyun State, with a good magistrate. Thanks to his concern and the people's self-discipline, post-disaster, they handled the corpses in the entire town promptly, and the well water was cleaned and sterilized. Because of proper precautions, the native residents of Shanggu Town were less likely to catch the plague.

Certainly, complete prevention wasn't possible, and most infections were due to receiving foreign relatives who came to seek refuge, mostly causing the transmission.

These groups were gathered into villages by the county magistrate; though somewhat cruel, it was the best measure for the majority's safety.

Of course, this wasn't to say they were entirely abandoned. The government sent the distributed herbs and suppressive prescriptions to each state and county, survival depending on individual perseverance and fate.

"Father, Mother…" In Qin Village, the Qin Shu family barely left their courtyard unless necessary.

"What is it?" Qin Dagen exchanged a glance with his wife, looking at their eldest son Qin Shu, feeling his expression was overly grave as if something was about to happen.

"Father, Mother, I think the plague has reached our village as well?"

"What did you say?" Mrs. Li jumped up in shock, unable to believe, and turned to her husband, "Their father…"

The news from their son threw Mrs. Li into a panic, as the plague was a serious matter that could be life-threatening if infected.

"Son, is this true?" Qin Dagen was also deeply shocked, so much that he forgot to calm his wife.

The last disaster left less than twenty households in the village. After receiving seeds and repaying the grain debt with labor, the villagers didn't step out of the village or fields, focusing on their safety.

Although the village was isolated, with the closest village miles away and almost nobody wandering about, even more insular, where families guarded their possessions and fields day and night, you could say Qin Village was almost cut off from the world; how could someone be infected?

Qin Dagen furrowed his brows, feeling uneasy.

Though the government distributed a small quantity of herbs to each village and assigned people to teach them herb recognition and gave herbal prescriptions, herbs were scarce, and picking was challenging. Truly curing the plague wasn't as simple, especially since their bodies hadn't fully recovered from the past year's strain.

The three children of the Qin family could visibly sense the parents' panic and unease. Qin Lu and Qin Ming snuggled closely to their mother, trying to give her strength while also drawing strength from her.

Qin Shu nodded seriously; he also wished this discovery was false. But when he saw Zhang Gou Dan's father wrapping himself tightly and stealthily burying a human-shaped object behind their house this morning, coupled with his occasional coughs, Qin Shu was mostly sure.