Disaster Apocalypse: Farming, Family, and My Hidden Secret Space
Chapter 294. Added a touch of liveliness

Chapter 294: 294. Added a touch of liveliness

With Hua Jin taking the lead, Xiaosi followed his sister closely, unwilling to be criticized by her again; he did whatever his sister did.

Even the old Hua joined in, putting an end to his lamenting.

The bricks in the house had cost quite a bit of Silver when they were bought originally, and they shouldn’t be wasted.

Before long, the three of them, grandfather and grandchildren, cleaned up quite a few stones and bricks from the buried mud.

Speaking of which, one couldn’t help but mention the foresight of old Hua, who had everyone bring their own hoes or shovels down the mountain.

Digging with hands alone, one could dig until their skin was rubbed raw and still find nothing.

This scene was the same for all the young men coming down the mountain; nearly everyone was digging, digging in their own family plots, not to find usable items, but to unearth their homes.

When they arrived at the village, it was already late; fearing they wouldn’t make it to town before nightfall on foot, they decided not to go today. Instead, they started clearing the village, burying things that shouldn’t be seen and preparing usable items for their future homes.

Some families had nothing left to clear; their whole home was gone. Once the mud dried, using rolling stones to compact the earth made it solid.

Unconsciously, nightfall approached, and old Hua took the lead in stopping.

At this moment, Hua Village was no longer as desolate as before, but had a touch of liveliness. The disordered roads were cleared, and the remains of both animals and humans were buried. For those with houses still intact, significant finds were unearthed after half a day’s work, mostly rotting furniture, broken bowls, and vats.

And most importantly, the well used by the villagers, which was cleaned out by old Hua with several men, though it needed another two or three rounds of cleaning before it could be used.

It was good to solve the water issue while at the foot of the mountain so villagers wouldn’t worry about finding potable water in the future.

At sunset, the exhausted people of Hua Village finally put down their tasks, laying simple ground sheets in their homes that were no longer homes, preparing to endure the night.

Food was carried down the mountain; each dealt with their own.

Once away from her brother, Hua Jin took food directly from the space.

A small plate of braised beef, stir-fried greens, her signature pickles, a small pot of porridge, and a few pancakes.

The three huddled in the hall room with only walls left, ate a quick dinner.

As usual, Xiaosi only cared about eating and never asked where the food came from, not even leaving the last bit of sauce in the plate uneaten, mopping it up with pancakes.

Full and satisfied, he lay down on the ground sheet his sister had prepared and fell asleep immediately.

After walking mountain roads all day and working for a couple of hours, Xiaosi was truly exhausted, falling asleep the moment his head touched the grass mat.

Hua Jin had intended to visit the town at night, yet she too fell asleep as soon as she touched the mat.

Old Hua, wanting to chat with his granddaughter but seeing this, also lay down, yet dared not sleep deeply, given that the door was barely blocked by a decaying wooden plank, offering no security.

At that moment, he particularly missed his dog at home, recalling the shiny fat white-tailed lightning, but when thinking about the people who survived a year and a half of flood devastation, the idea of bringing it out withdrew instantly.

With everyone else already starving and skin and bones, bringing out his well-fed, robust dog would surely provoke resentment.

He could only sleep lightly and stay alert. Fortunately, Hua Village was remote, and generally, no one else came by.

Only relatives might come, but now... the possibility was slim.

Thinking about these things, old Hua unknowingly closed his eyes as the night deepened.

Elsewhere, though it was very late, a long queue still formed at the entrance to the government office.

Sun Shangcheng and another clerk had been busy all day, one recording, the other in charge of collecting Silver Coin; government official Hu Hu led people in distributing grain, while the remaining officials and ten or so clerks maintained order throughout the day.

If they were to maintain order alone, it would be far from enough; thus, they hired fifty people who had already collected grain to temporarily maintain order at the price of two meals and one Silver Coin a day.

Though the reward wasn’t much, it was enough for people to fight over for the job eagerly.

Sun Shangcheng was the first to receive the news, securing ten spots for his Shang’an Village in the process, gaining a wave of gratitude from the village.

The other forty-five people were distributed among survivors from different village towns according to the official’s wishes, with almost every village wanting four or five, noticeably improving the order.

Qin Dagen was one of the fortunate ones; still in good spirit, he was selected, along with two other villagers, returning to work after bringing the grain back home.

The job of sowing grain was left to his wife and several kids; even his eldest son, despite being a long-time scholar, wasn’t unfamiliar with fieldwork, doing quite a bit during busy farming periods.

After all, it was just three acres of land at most, and it wouldn’t take more than two days for several of them to finish sowing.

Instead of having the whole family tied up in the field, he might as well earn two meals and a Silver Coin.

He saved half a bowl from his ration each time, mixing them with wild vegetables to scrape together a meal for the family, not to mention the Silver Coin, which was enough to feed the family for a day.

Such a great opportunity wasn’t to be missed; upon hearing, he hurried to sign up with fellow villagers and was lucky to be chosen.

No one could idle away in the entire official residence; even Liu, the county magistrate, was racking his brain on how to secure more grain, considering personally going to the county city to plead with Lord County Magistrate if necessary.

They were busy from morning till Xu hour. Except for having a little food in the morning, everyone was already famished, seeing the crowd not diminishing but seeming to grow instead, prompting Hu Hu to decisively call for a halt.

"It’s already very late, those registered can stay, those unregistered can continue tomorrow, everyone should disperse now," shouted Hu Hu.

"Officer, we’ve been waiting for half a day, please make an exception,"

No one wanted to leave empty-handed after making the journey, and seeing others chimed in.

"Yes, officer, it wasn’t easy for us to come from afar, please show some leniency."

"Please, officer, show some leniency..."

"It’s not that I’m unwilling, but it’s genuinely too late, the night roads are unsafe, it’s better to return early." With that, Hu Hu gestured for the other officials to disperse the crowd.

These words were not just perfunctory; it was indeed the thought. At this time of night, roaming alone was dangerous, while daylight was much safer, as some people hesitated to shed their veneer of civility under the bright sky.

"Everyone go back, come early tomorrow." The clerks urged.

Seeing there was no room for negotiation, even those reluctant to leave had no choice; despite the pressing desire for grain, nobody dared to offend the officials easily, much less more.