Disaster Apocalypse: Farming, Family, and My Hidden Secret Space-Chapter 253. Saving People

The men had strong fire, especially those who were physically strong and practiced martial arts, and it truly wasn’t that cold when two people were squeezed together.

Even so, old man Hua was still not at ease and asked his grandson to add new charcoal to the basin, taking it out to burn thoroughly before bringing it in.

These big men, even when staying with their master in their own cave, had never indulged in using charcoal so luxuriously—at most, lighting a fire—once again felt the goodwill of the Hua family.

Especially when lying in the warm bed, there was a moment they truly didn’t want to leave.

This night was the most comfortable sleep they’d had in recent days, not waking up frozen due to cold in the middle of the night.

Luo Song also slept extremely soundly, one of the few times he slept till dawn.

Then they recuperated for a day at Grandpa Hua’s place, taking back wild boar stuffed buns that Grandma Hua and Auntie specially steamed for them.

This time out was the longest; Luo Song was worried his grandfather might be concerned.

The person most upset about Luo Song’s departure was not Brother Hua, but Hua Yunsi, who had already grown into a young boy known as Xiaosi.

When Brother Luo Song left, grandma and mother no longer racked their brains to make delicious food, though the family usually didn’t eat poorly.

Xiaosi’s reluctant gaze made Brother Hua unable to resist serving a slap.

"Enough, get over it; when father leaves home you don’t seem as reluctant as this."

Xiaosi: "How is that the same? When father comes home, there aren’t as many good things to eat!"

"You glutton," Brother Hua was too lazy to bother with his silly brother, slapped him again, and went off to find Grandpa.

On the other side, the valley had undergone a complete transformation; not only had the land been tilled, but more than ten wooden houses were simultaneously being constructed near the lake, all using high-quality timber.

Their luck was quite good; they discovered a patch of camphor forest on a mountain—the lightly fragrant camphorwood served as excellent insect repellent—collecting these timbers was exhausting for Hua Chengtian and the others, but with many hands, they managed to slowly bring them back to the valley.

Though the valley space was sizable, housing nearly two hundred families occupied a large area, so every effort was made to save space.

Each wooden house consisted of three main rooms, two side rooms, and added a woodshed and kitchen, effectively half the size of the old family houses. Nonetheless, it was enough to live in, even allowing for a front yard.

Building wooden houses with such effort was indeed preparation for extreme heat; though the valley’s temperature was suitable, once the heat rose, it would be affected. While caves were good, they weren’t suitable for long-term dwelling, particularly in extreme heat.

It might not get very hot, but it would certainly be stuffy.

So when Hua Chengtian proposed the wooden house idea, it was almost unanimously agreed upon without much consideration. In cold times they used caves, but as the temperature rose, people preferred houses.

Because these houses were for their own residence, everybody worked very attentively, especially not neglecting house foundations for the sake of convenience; each was deeply laid to safely build two layers of wooden floors on top.

Indeed, a few families had such thoughts, but for the added section, they would have to pay extra to have the villagers help fell and transport the wood.

Hua Chengtian was one of them, mainly thinking that two layers on the bottom would certainly be cooler—the most important thing was having more space so they wouldn’t have to live crammed in anymore.

This stay was longer than previous times, almost two months; through hundreds of men’s unremitting efforts, all the wooden houses in the village were completed.

The inside of the wooden houses was made entirely of timber; the outside was covered with grass mixed with sticky red clay, forming a thick layer, and then filled with crushed stones. Though labor-intensive, it wouldn’t fear rainwater erosion and no need to worry about soil instability.

Then, leaving a team for watch, Hua Chengtian led the folks back.

This time, not surprisingly, the entire Hua Village would move over again.

Unsure if it was an illusion, the temperature difference in the valley wasn’t much, so Hua Chengtian didn’t feel it significantly, but upon stepping out sensed a change in temperature—it seemed to be shifting, though still very cold, no longer bone-piercing, and eyes could open a bit wider.

This also made their speed faster; the group rapidly traversed the mountains, completely ignoring the wild chickens and rabbits along the way.

After being away from home for so long, everyone wanted to return quickly.

"Help... help... is there... anyone... help..."

Walking along, Hua Qiang suddenly stopped, tilted his ear and looked at Hua Chengtian.

"Brother Chengtian, listen, isn’t that a voice?"

"Help..."

The voice was faint, easily missed if not listened to carefully.

It’s Hua Qiang’s sharp ears that heard it, which makes this person rather lucky.

Having encountered it, ignoring it was not an option, more so out of curiosity.

Having found someone, after being isolated on the mountain for so long, this was a chance to learn about the outside situation...

Without much thought, Hua Chengtian selected a few skilled individuals with weapons to follow him toward the source of the voice.

The others stayed behind, a chance to catch their breaths after such a long journey. frёewebnoѵēl.com

"Help..." The voice persisted, though intermittently weak.

Walking nearly ten zhang toward the southeast, after passing through dense shrubs, a shadow appeared before them.

It was a miserable-looking person, bloodied from head to toe, even on the face—had it not been for the low temperature causing the blood to clot quickly, he would have been beyond saving.

The person had clearly lapsed into a semi-conscious state, but a strong will to live made him keep shouting for help, which indeed saved him.

"Brother Chengtian," both Hua Qiang and Meng Cai looked at Hua Chengtian.

The person appeared very pitiful, but without Hua Chengtian’s word, they had no plans to do anything.

Being a do-gooder was for peaceful times, which did not suit the current era.

Over time, everyone naturally regarded Hua Chengtian as the leader, unconsciously brainwashed by him—if the village chief spoke versus Hua Chengtian, the latter would certainly have more influence.

"Go and see," Hua Chengtian nodded, also feeling the person lying in the shrubs seemed a bit familiar, but bloodied face made it hard to discern.

It’s said one’s luck can be good—despite the thick blood smell, no beast was attracted.

A group of ten soon arrived by the man, by then fully unconscious; Meng Cai felt for a pulse.

"Brother Chengtian, there’s still breath."

Hua Chengtian also crouched down, felt a pulse himself, and upon closer examination, the familiarity increased, sparking suspicion he might know the person. Quickly, he took out a cloth from his pouch, poured warm water from his flask, and wiped the blood from the man’s face.

Upon wiping, Hua Chengtian’s eyes widened.

This was indeed Sun Lao Si—youngest son of Grandma Sun Da Nian’s family who always taken care of his wife!

"Quickly, help me lift him up."

"Brother Chengtian, you know him?"

"Yes, he’s the son of your sister-in-law’s mother’s family, don’t dawdle, hurry."

Quickly, they lifted the person from the snow-covered shrubs into a sitting position.

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