Disaster Apocalypse: Farming, Family, and My Hidden Secret Space-Chapter 217. Sadness is contagious

Seeing that everyone seemed to understand, Hua Chengtian finally breathed a sigh of relief and directed the villagers to carefully return to the cave with the family members.

It makes sense that suddenly seeing such a shocking scene is difficult for anyone to bear, plus sadness can be contagious, so of course, it’s a collective breakdown.

Besides getting rained on, Hua Chengtian thought it was also good for everyone to vent their emotions.

Releasing negative emotions is better than letting them accumulate until they become unbearable and lead to a breakdown.

Fortunately, people were sad, but not entirely irrational, otherwise it would really be worrying.

Heaven knows how worried he was earlier that everyone, in their excessive sorrow, might accidentally slip down the mountain. After all, these are rocky mountains, and falling is no joke.

After the village chief’s comforting words, everyone felt much better. Upon entering the cave, they hurriedly returned to their respective tents to change clothes and brew ginger soup.

Even those whose daughters married into other villages or who had relatives outside of the village couldn’t help but worry, but worrying was useless; they could only pray in their hearts that their loved ones would survive this disaster.

After changing clothes and wiping down with hot water, and drinking hot ginger soup, everyone felt much more spirited. Thinking back to their emotional outbursts earlier, they couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.

They didn’t know how they were so bold at the time, crying and yelling loudly on the slippery mountain rocks in that heavy rain, not fearing slipping down or attracting wild animals. In hindsight, they regretted it, and many gratefully looked toward the village chief who had roused them.

They were genuinely very grateful and deeply thankful; the scene at the foot of the mountain had been too shocking. Thinking about the consequences if they hadn’t listened to the village chief made everyone shudder.

All this is thanks to the village chief. Because they have such a foresighted leader who planned in advance and chose such a good place, everyone could have such a peaceful rainfall-sheltering life in the rain, and cry to express their sorrow. Otherwise, they’d probably be scrambling for survival in the rain.

"Village chief..."

Immediately, many people looked at the village chief with guilt, for the village chief had indeed spent much effort for their sake.

"Alright, don’t overthink it," Hua Chengtian understood everyone’s sentiments and waved his hand, "Even though the flood has submerged our homes, as long as we’re safe and sound, we fear nothing. Let’s sort out our emotions and do what we need to; living well is the most important thing. But remember, we’re on a mountain. Though this mountain is quite barren and wild animals may not be many, it doesn’t mean there’s none. Whenever you go out, make sure a few people go together, with weapons in hand. Although we’re not deep in the mountains, caution is paramount."

"And especially something like the commotion earlier, it must not happen again. It was only covered up by the rain’s noise, or else it would have attracted the big creatures from the deep mountains. Also, though I hope this assumption doesn’t exist, we have to consider it in advance. We have enough food, but who knows when the flood will recede? Even if it does, this season’s crops will undoubtedly fail, and more importantly, the weather has been so abnormal for the past two years. I’m afraid of what might happen in the future, so everyone should plan their meals wisely, saving wherever possible."

Hua Chengtian knew that everyone had been through enough shock today, but he still had to remind them; otherwise, he would always feel uneasy.

You can’t just openly say that there are many disasters to come and that if they don’t save food, they might starve to death.

Even if he said it out loud, no one might believe him. They might think he, as the village chief, had become hysterical from the shock.

Moreover, humans are social creatures. If, in the face of disaster, one only cares about his own survival, and everyone else around is gone, leaving only themselves, Hua Chengtian wondered if he could keep going.

Everyone deeply agreed with the village chief’s words, and after going through all these events, they knew that listening to the village chief was never wrong.

"We all listen to the village chief," someone in the crowd shouted, and soon more voices joined in agreement.

With a village chief of such insight and vision, everyone surely tightly followed.

"Okay, as long as everyone understands. And, sharing a cave, there are bound to be some bumps and bruises. I hope we can be more forgiving."

"Don’t worry, village chief, we understand. Old Zhao’s wife, Li Gouzi’s mother, and Liu Laolai, what do you say?" Aunt Lin in the crowd called out, looking at Old Zhao’s wife and Li Gouzi’s mother, who were also in the crowd.

You can’t blame her for naming names; these people liked to stir up trouble and take advantage.

Old Zhao’s wife unhappily rolled her eyes at Aunt Lin, but she didn’t dare to provoke her and nodded obediently under everyone’s gaze.

This flood had truly scared her. To be alive and well was already a great happiness, leaving her with no appetite for trouble.

Previously, she’d taken advantage of others out of necessity, not mischief. Now, with the village chief’s leadership, they had earned quite a bit of silver, and lacked nothing, not even herbal medicine or salt. With nothing to do, why trouble herself?

Li Gouzi’s mother immediately nodded too; everyone lived in the cave with just tents made of tarps separating them. Her words might be sharp, but she had only one son, Li Gouzi. She couldn’t afford trouble; otherwise, there’d be nowhere to hide.

Liu Laolai’s family nodded fervently. They were disliked because they were poor. Now, with enough food and supplies, they had no desire to be disliked. Besides, the massive flood had been survivable only because they were part of Hua Village. Without it, they wouldn’t know how to survive, not to mention avoiding trouble; they wanted only to find a way for everyone not to dislike them, closely following the village chief.

Seeing this, Hua Chengtian felt truly at ease and said, "Good, then I won’t say much. You all tidy up now."

Making his way to the cave exit, he paused again, looking at Hua Qiang and the others, "It’s best to make a door for the cave entrance or use a big stone to block it. It’ll be safer at night."

"Thanks for the reminder, village chief. We understand. We’ll go out and cut some wood to make a wooden door later."

It was already part of the plan: to go out and cut down a few sturdy trees, the branches to use as firewood, and the trunks for a door. But the flood at the mountain base shocked them so much they forgot everything, left only with sorrow and grief.

They thought they’d rest for a bit before gathering a few people to go out together.

"Mm, as long as you have it in mind. Come to Little Mountain Cave if anything happens."

"Okay, village chief."

Once their father left, Hua Chengtian and the others didn’t linger either, patting Hua Qiang and the others on the shoulder for comfort, then left with their sons and daughters.

Upon returning to their own cave, Hua Chengtian couldn’t help but sigh.

The home they lived in for decades was gone, leaving a void in his heart.

"Old man, are you alright?" Hua Chengtian’s wife, doing needlework with her daughter-in-law, looked worried as he sighed upon returning.

The family knew everything was submerged below the mountains. They’d wanted to go along too, but their son and the old man stopped them.

Even though she and her daughter-in-law were anxious in the cave, seeing the old man returned, she understood everything.

Hua Chengtian shook his head, "I’m fine, just feeling a bit out of sorts. Oh, the village and home we had... have disappeared."

The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆novelkiss