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

Early in the morning, before the sky had even lightened, after greeting grandpa and grandma and having some food, Hua Jin teased a few of the big ones, who gave him reluctant looks as he left the valley.

Meanwhile, after almost a night of traveling, Liu Gouzi appeared at the crossroads outside Hua Village, pushing a cart that had become significantly lighter.

Throughout this scorching journey, even the three little ones sitting in the cart looked as if they had been pulled out of water, drenched in sweat.

The bamboo tube holding their water had long been emptied, despite having stopped several times to boil more along the way. It was their routine of late, taking breaks to boil water to rest their feet, otherwise, they couldn't endure the journey.

"Gouzi, if I'm not mistaken, Hua Village should be just ahead, right?" Big Liu exhaled in relief, staring at the three-way junction, particularly at one road surrounded by forest with an irregular boulder beside it.

The benefactor mentioned that there's a boulder at Hua Village's entrance, this should be the spot.

Gouzi nodded repeatedly, excitement shining in his eyes despite how utterly exhausted he was.

"Brother Liu... Are we finally here?" Hua'er found it hard to believe that after ten days of traveling, they really had persevered and made it, feeling as though it was a dream. Her emotions overwhelmed her, causing her eyes to redden.

"Barring any surprises, we should be here," Big Liu replied, slightly louder than usual due to his own excitement.

"But... I can't see anything!" Grassroot voiced his worries.

"Didn't they say Hua Village is at the foot of the mountain? It must be up there, we just need to climb up," Gouzi remained confident.

The mountain range was clearly visible behind the trail, stretching endlessly; more numerous, larger, taller than any they had seen along the way. Gouzi had a strong premonition that this was indeed Hua Village, especially since ahead was a river and there weren't any more roads.

"Gouzi's right, let's muster more strength and take a look up there," Big Liu nodded in agreement.

During this time of day, they could only proceed upwards. Even if they didn't find Hua Village above, Big Liu didn't plan to leave for now.

Having endured so much hardship without proper rest, they needed to take a few good days off. After all, they had already arrived here, so there was no hurry; eventually, they'd find their way.

"Let's go," Big Liu said, pulling the wooden cart forcefully while Gouzi, Grassroot, Hua'er, and Wan'er pushed from behind. Even the three littlest ones got off the cart to walk on their own.

The road leading to Hua Village, unlike the main road's flatness, ascends increasingly. The children, seeing their struggling older siblings, wisely climbed down to follow behind sometimes using their negligible strength to help push upwards.

Inside Hua Village, the exhausted Qin Shu family also stopped their work to head home.

The old folks had been busy all night, watering the fields repeatedly and then raising the wall's height again. Even though they thought it was already high enough, evidently it hadn't reached Hua Jin's desired height; nonetheless, there wasn't urgency as they could take their time.

They had no choice but to take it slow since working outside was impossible under such high daytime temperatures.

The first thing upon returning home was washing up and gulping down a bowl of water to reinvigorate themselves.

After a moment, Li took hold of even more wilted vegetables than the previous day, preparing them, and the pot simmered with brown rice porridge. Soon, yesterday's leftover wild vegetable cakes would be soaked in, and a dish of stir-fried greens, already considered pretty good fare, would be served.

"Dear, shall we pull out all the vegetable plants in the garden tonight?" Li showcased the already slightly yellowing vegetable in her hand, fearing if left longer they'd really turn into dry grass.

Her heart ached terribly, but there was no alternative. Nightly watering was futile against the rapid evaporation under such intense heat.

"As you say, we'll pull them all out tonight," Qin Dagen nodded.

Despite some regret, it was better than letting them dry and wither.

The extra stir-fried vegetable dish, with its slightly salty flavor, encouraged Qin Shu and his brothers, who've had no appetite lately, to consume half a bowl more of porridge.

After finishing an early breakfast, the family, as usual, prepared to rest. Just as they headed towards the cellar, a weak voice called out.

The Qin family, including Qin Shu, thought they had misheard and paid it no mind, continuing towards the cellar steps.

But as they descended, the door was knocked on, prompting Qin Shu, at the rear, to halt and squint his eyes, turning back and going upstairs.

Though Hua Village's gate wasn't installed, it was tightly blocked from the inside, keeping ordinary people out.

"Shu..." Li called out worryingly to her son as he went forward. Qin Dagen also followed up, directing to the children below, "Stay down there, don't come out, we'll check it out."

"Be careful..." Li said nervously, watching as her husband closed the cellar door.

Outside the courtyard, Hua'er knocked while calling out again, "Is anyone here? Anyone?"

Anxious for her siblings waiting outside the village, Hua'er raised her voice, now tinged significantly with youthful innocence.

Because of this, the two household members inside slightly relaxed their tense nervousness, it was a child's voice, yet they remained alert.

"Is anyone here?" Hua'er continued to shout. Only two intact houses remained in the village, situated behind this one. The frontmost house had its door securely fastened from outside with ropes, clearly indicating no inhabitants.

This house was different, showing visible signs of activity at the doorway. Most importantly, its door was carved from inside; although Hua'er felt scared, thinking about her siblings outside and knowing this might be the benefactor big brother's village Hua Village, a sudden surge of courage compelled her to try.

They had exerted so much effort to reach from the mountain's foot, they couldn't leave without doing anything.

Besides, it had taken considerable strength to clear enough debris for her to squeeze through a small gap.

The older brothers couldn't squeeze in while the younger siblings were too little, making her the most suited.

Upon entering, seeing the village's desolateness and ruin, Hua'er felt a chill down her spine, thinking that perhaps they had searched the wrong place, but wondered if maybe not.

Upon hearing footsteps from the courtyard, Hua'er couldn't help feeling excited.

"Who?" Qin Dagen called from inside the gate, unable to see who was it through the crack.

With his shout, a thin, petite figure gradually moved to directly in front of the gate.

"Hello... Is this Hua Village?" Hua'er shivered upon hearing the rough voice from the other side, but thinking of her siblings, she gathered courage and approached the gate.

"Who are you?" Qin Dagen didn't answer directly. Even though the sight in front suggested it was a child, in these times, one couldn't assume children were harmless; the safest often proved the most dangerous, as bait incidents in the mountains were common.

"Hello, sir... I'm called... Hua'er..."

The name 'Hua' made the father's and son's eyes flash.

"... We've come to find the benefactor big brother. He lived in Hua Village... and said we're welcome to find him..."

Inside the gate, instead of opening it immediately, Hua'er breathed a sigh of relief; even her words flowed more smoothly than before.