Disaster Apocalypse: Farming, Family, and My Hidden Secret Space-Chapter 214. Going up the mountain

Hua Fen and her sister lived in a cave not far from their younger brother, just a short walk of less than half a cup of tea’s time. They were moved beyond words at the sight of the cave, which was cleaned up, with lime scattered on the floor corners, and even wooden shelves ready for placing things.

It turned out that their little brother had planned everything for them, no wonder their parents had insisted they come over.

If it weren’t for the fact that the sky was already dark and the mountain path difficult to walk, Hua Fen and her sister would have rushed over to their little brother and cried a storm.

However, the more important task at hand was to first cover the cave entrance. Then, according to their brother’s instructions, they would install the wooden door prepared in the cave as soon as dawn broke, ensuring some safety.

Each family got busy inside their respective caves, organizing the things they brought, especially placing all the grain on the wooden shelves. To avoid drawing attention to the abundance of supplies, they decided to create a separate space for the grain with oilcloth, effectively shielding it from prying eyes.

This also inspired them to divide the cave into several sections, especially since Hua Aunt’s sons were married with children, making it more convenient and less awkward for nighttime rest.

Of course, those are stories for another time. Right now, both families were working like diligent little bees in the dim lighting of the cave.

Hua Laohan, over on his side, finally breathed a sigh of relief after settling everyone down.

He stayed at the foot of the mountain all day, watching people from the village come and go, unwilling to leave until everything was properly taken care of.

It wasn’t until the last family had packed up that he ascended the mountain, accompanied by his son, granddaughter, and son-in-law.

Even then, he felt uneasy and went to the Big Cave to help the villagers organize. Thanks to the distribution into several small caves in the vicinity, the cave housing most of the villagers from Hua Village wasn’t as crowded as expected. Each family had its own area, ample enough for pitching a tent or a wooden hut, ensuring plenty of privacy, which finally reassured Hua Laohan.

He reminded everyone to be alert when sleeping, and not to forget to cover the cave entrance, before returning to his own cave for the first time, with his son and granddaughter accompanying him the whole way.

Back in the cave, he saw his wife and daughter-in-law tidying up, while his grandsons were busy setting up the tents his son had pre-placed in the cave.

Not too many, just right: four tents, one for each grandson, and one each for him, his son, and granddaughter.

After a day spent in the rain, even though Hua Laohan’s health was decent, he could barely hold on. Urged by his wife, he quickly changed out of his wet clothes, washed with hot water, and then lay down on the makeshift bed to rest.

Hua Jin hurriedly poured a bowl of thick ginger soup for her grandpa, even though they’d had plenty throughout the day, a bit more wouldn’t hurt.

"Grandpa, you rest first, we’ll call you when it’s time to eat," Hua Jin said, unable to bear the sight of her grandpa’s tired face, as she hastily rummaged through the pile of household items, retrieving a thin quilt to half-cover him.

Hua Laohan was genuinely exhausted. After drinking the ginger soup, he nodded at his granddaughter and closed his eyes to nap.

Seeing her grandfather fall asleep in just a few breaths, Hua Jin carefully tucked in the quilt and hurried over to help her grandma with the chores.

There was so much stuff, the cave was in quite a mess. As a family member, she couldn’t just sit back and do nothing at such a time. Moreover, she had to seize the opportunity to secretly take out some often-used items from the hidden space while her brothers weren’t looking.

She left home last, bringing all the familiar household items with her into the space, even including bed cabinets from every room and even the wooden shed in the yard. If possible, she would’ve loved to bring the whole house into the space, but she could only dream about it.

Besides, everything was a mess during the move, and her brothers didn’t know exactly what was brought over, so Hua Jin felt no guilt taking things out, sticking her tongue out playfully at her grandma who winked at her.

Seeing everyone home, Qi Shi stopped her chores – except for breakfast in the morning, she was starved – and hurriedly directed the children’s father to set up a simple stove to cook some food.

Setting up a stove was child’s play for Hua Chengtian, and he was well-prepared. He simply hauled out two ready-made stoves from a corner and helped start a fire, then joined his wife in preparing dinner.

As soon as the evening meal was prepared, Hua Yunao and his brothers finished setting up the four tents inside the cave.

The tents weren’t large, enough to fit a bed made of wooden planks, with just a wooden rack left to store things, but sufficient for rest.

Starving, the three brothers rushed over to help upon hearing it was time to eat, dragging the most prominent of tables placed in the cave over to where Grandpa was.

The familiar square table gave the two brothers a start, but they didn’t overthink it, assuming it was something the others or their father had brought over.

Hua Jin was extremely hungry too. Knowing it was time to eat, she immediately stopped organizing, running over to her grandpa’s temporary bedside to call for him.

This was the simplest dinner they had eaten in days, but it was incredibly satisfying.

They gulped down thick rice porridge, stir-fried greens, a steamed sausage, and a side of pickled vegetables.

After eating, they got back to work without much ado, intending to organize everything they’d moved into the cave before sleeping.

To brighten up the place, they not only lit two oil lamps but also burned a torch.

With many hands making light work, the whole family’s joint effort had everything tidied up within an hour. Hua Chengtian even took his two sons with him to fit the door they’d prepared in advance, working in the dark.

Outside the cave, they piled stones around the surrounding rock formations to extend the space. Of course, the stones had been gathered in advance, mixed in with some deliberately collected second-rate stones to avoid suspicion.

When they got started on the work, they didn’t notice the passing time, only finally resting upon Hua’s old wife’s repeated urging.

Before resting, Hua Chengtian, still concerned, placed thorny vine branches under the rocks outside the cave, feeling reassured only after closing the cave door and returning to the tent he shared with his wife’s kids, where he immediately fell asleep.

Meanwhile, over at the Big Cave, the people from Hua Village were also busy. After filling their bellies with the simple pancakes they had prepared in advance, they busied themselves by the torch in the cave.

With so many people gathered in a large space, the noise was imaginable, but being from the same village, tolerance was easier, especially in circumstances like these when everyone showed considerable patience.

Thanks to the village chief’s foresight, every family had oilcloths at hand. The cave’s space was indeed ample, enabling each family to have a definite area. Some families who cared about privacy had even set up simple tents using oilcloths to avoid exposing everything to others.

Seeing this caught on with others who also started setting up tents.

While it was alright during the day, being exposed to others’ eyes at night was unsettling for many, and this way, they felt more secure and relaxed while resting at night.

Soon enough, simple oilcloth tents were erected all around the cave. Some families even divided their space into several rooms for convenience. Although each room wasn’t large, it was a space of their own.

All in all, despite spending a whole day moving things into the cave and being utterly disheveled, the situation wasn’t as dire as they’d imagined after tidying up. They had a safe place to rest and stay dry, and each family maintained individual spaces, without the crowded conditions they’d feared. Honestly, everyone was quite satisfied.

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