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

"But General, if this reaches the Saint's ears, then you..." Zhao Gao's face showed a look of concern.

"It's alright, by that time, I'm afraid this General will already be long gone."

Both clearly understood what "gone" meant, and Zhao Gao's face showed a look of grief.

"Yes," Zhao Gao pursed his lips and left.

Sun Tan sat down again, his brow tightly furrowed as he pondered how to leave the Northern Tartars with a lifelong unforgettable gift before leaving.

Two hours were enough for the soldiers to recover most of their strength. The vice generals, who had already received the message in advance, gathered in Sun Tan's tent.

In the end, except for those in charge of logistics, everyone moved to prepare the final gift for the Northern Tartars.

Through the South Gate streets of Yun City, as they retreated, they set a trap every few zhang apart, each spanning the width of the entire street and not less than one zhang long. The traps were filled with sharp wooden spikes, extending to the South Gate. Once the drawbridge between the gate and the moat was destroyed, it bought them more time to leave.

As the drawbridge sank to the bottom of the river, Sun Tan gently kicked his warhorse under him, resolutely looking into the night that enveloped the lone city.

"March with all your strength," he shouted in a hoarse voice.

Heading toward Lingyun State, the nearest to Yun City, it was expected that the Tartars' next target would be Lingyun State.

Feeling the temperature significantly cooler than during the day, urged by Sun Tan's constant prodding, they quickened their pace again.

With high temperatures, they could only march more at night, as people could not walk far during the day.

At this moment, Lingyun State was unaware that within days, tens of thousands of refugees from two states would arrive.

Outside New Moon City, Da Liu and Gouzi taught the children to dry the food and store it in the cellar of their former residence, taking only as much as they would eat.

As for planting crops, they struggled with all their might, risking fainting from the heat and groped in the dark to sow, only managing to plant less than three mu before giving up.

The dizziness and lightheadedness were extremely uncomfortable, and for their health, they eventually chose to give up.

However, at the first light of dawn, Da Liu led his younger siblings wearing straw hats they wove themselves to gather as many wild vegetables as possible to dry and store.

And water... Though young, they were aware of the unusual temperatures after years of hardship, seeing a basin of water evaporate instantly when poured on the ground and the river behind the village decreasing in level day by day.

Realizing the abnormality, besides storing wild vegetables, they fetched water early every day, filling two large vats found in the cellar, the two wooden barrels they brought, and jars found in the abandoned village. The water bag left by their benefactor brother was also constantly filled, with its contents changed daily with freshly boiled water.

Past experiences taught them they must always be prepared.

If the children could see the situation, how much more so could the County Magistrate of New Moon City and the surviving citizens.

When the temperature first showed abnormalities, Lord County Magistrate promptly reminded the citizens of New Moon City, who had survived the plague.

Having already sensed something amiss and with the government's reminder, while cursing the heavens, they braved the heat to work hard for survival, trying every means to store more water.

The County Magistrate's mansion was even better prepared, holding onto a letter from an unknown benefactor, Liu the County Magistrate couldn't help but let his thoughts wander.

Though the letter's warning was obscure, the emphasis on storing water clearly showed that this heroic warrior knew something. Thus, feeling the temperature anomaly, he quickly sent people to remind the city's residents.

As the temperature rose day by day, a bad feeling grew in Lord County Magistrate's heart. Thinking of the extreme winter from last year, he found it hard to imagine extremes...

The world had gone completely mad; heaven truly didn't leave humans a path to live.

In Hua Village, the Qin Shu family spent more than half a month finally building their new home.

Made entirely of bricks and stones, having experienced the house collapse, they not only widened and thickened the walls for durability but also plastered the exterior walls with mud mixed with straw to make it less conspicuous. The wooden door was handmade, rough but strong and sturdy enough.

Of course, there was a cellar, a must-have for every home. Father and son spent several days outside searching for lime and other moisture-resistant materials.

Speaking of which, it must be mentioned that Qin Dagen once worked at a lime workshop, so he remembered where there were lime mines. Though it took some time, it was not in vain, as they brought back quite a bit of lime stone.

Recalling how to burn it, though the process was quite cumbersome, they eventually managed to produce lime, using it to waterproof the cellar.

According to Qin Dagen's usual specifications for the cellar, but as the cellar began construction, feeling the sudden and continued rise in temperature, a very uneasy feeling inexplicably arose in their hearts.

Wiping the sweat constantly dripping off his forehead, Qin Shu put down the shovel in his hand, frowning, "Dad, have you noticed, the temperature is very unusual."

How could Qin Dagen not notice? Though they were always sweaty before, it wasn't like in recent days, with sweat pouring like rain. Even continuously hydrating, they still felt very hot and thirsty, almost dizzy.

"Indeed," Qin Dagen nodded.

"Dad, I think we might have to adjust the cellar's specifications, make it bigger and wider..."

"You mean..." Qin Dagen immediately understood his son's implication, and Li Shi too paused before understanding, only Qin Lu and Qin Ming looked at their big brother, puzzled.

"That's exactly what I mean, Dad, think of last year's extreme winter, I'm worried..."

It's not just the son who worried, Qin Dagen was also uneasy. The sudden rise in temperature was very abnormal, reminding them of the sweet potatoes and other crops they had planted, causing him to feel instantly distressed.

Not knowing... whether they could still grow.

"...Let's do as you suggest, we'll build it bigger." After all, spending more effort, there is plenty of bricks and stones in Hua Village, but once everything was done, they feared there wouldn't be much Silver left in their hands.

Qin Dagen suddenly laughed silently, feeling he thought too much. In these times, Silver was practically useless; food, water, and how to survive were the real concerns.

Then, the family buried their heads in work.

Unlike the sudden heat in the outside world, the change wasn't too noticeable in the valley, as several big mountains perfectly blocked more than half of the heat waves, and with the lake in the valley, though it was hot, it remained within bearable levels, and the wooden houses were more comfortable.

At the onset of the temperature change, Hua Jin had already noticed. The thermometer left outside wasn't just an ornament. Though the change wasn't too obvious, Hua Jin knew the extreme heat had started.

Feeling the still relatively suitable temperature in the valley, here Hua Jin couldn't help but marvel at their father's foresight in finding such a good place, a perfect summer resort.

The several big mountains perfectly merged to exclude a large amount of heat, possibly even allowing the ice blocks stored in her space to be saved.