Chapter 6: Doomsday Countdown

There are 2 months left until the apocalypse.

The entire world seems to have fallen into a period of stagnation, a scene of peace and prosperity.

Yet, in a small mountain village in a southern city, hidden among the lush green hills, there stands a massive high wall surrounding dozens of acres of mountain forest and farmland.

If one ignores the 6-meter-high perimeter wall and the three watchtowers, the entire base looks quite like a rural tourist attraction from the mountain view.

But if one were to see the sturdy, several-thousand-square-meter warehouse underneath, they would realize that this is actually a fortified stronghold.

The basic construction is essentially complete. In the 4-acre rice paddy, the golden-orange rice stalks are bent low under the weight of the grain.

The garden nearby is colorful, and the 300-year-old camphor tree in the center, which requires five people to encircle, remains lush and green.

The orange trees on the mountainside are laden with fruit, which should be ready for harvest in a month or two.

In addition, Li Yu has planted pomelo, navel orange, pear, peach, kiwi, loquat, papaya, and persimmon trees on the mountain.

Because they were just transplanted, many of the trees have not yet borne fruit.

Xincheng is located in the southern subtropics, belonging to the evergreen broad-leaved forest bioclimatic zone.

Basically, any fruit tree or plant that can grow in this latitude has been planted here.

The water surface between the two mountains is calm—a beautiful mountain pond scene.

At the edge of the pond, Li Yu even built three small fishing boats, and many willow trees are planted around it.

As the saying goes: "The weeping willows and swaying branches govern the fragrant years; flying catkins and drifting blossoms charm the distant sky."

He looks forward to seeing the willows swaying and the catkins flying in the breeze next March or April.

Even in the apocalypse, Li Yu wants to create a paradise on earth.

On the plains side, next to the camphor tree, five villas and a row of three-story bungalows have been built. The renovation work is basically finished.

The warehouse below is also packed full. Li Yu even built a small cold storage unit; this thing consumes too much electricity, so he could only build a small one.

Whenever Li Yu sees the 5-meter-high, 2,000-square-meter underground warehouse, he feels an inexplicable sense of security.

But from the perspective of Li Hongyuan and Liu Fanghua, it doesn't feel quite as wonderful.

Although Liu Fanghua didn't say anything during the construction, she had been worrying about it the whole time.

However, when they stood on the watchtower at the top of the mountain in the evening, overlooking the entire base from the highest point, they felt a sincere appreciation for the beauty of the scenery

They saw the beautiful garden and the fruit trees on the mountainside, which were planted according to scientific planning, maintaining aesthetic appeal while housing a wide variety of fruit trees.

They saw livestock being raised under the fruit trees, each living peacefully in the forest.

They watched an old hen leading a group of chicks foraging under the trees.

They watched four Chinese rural dogs running all over the mountains and plains.

They saw the beautiful scenery by the mountain pond, the wooden pier that had been built, and the three antique-style small fishing boats.

They saw what they considered to be luxurious villas, a large lawn, and a lush bamboo forest, with a small pavilion built right in the middle of the bamboo grove.

In the center of the pavilion hung two plaques, replicas of the ones by the ancestor Chen Tuan at the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang: "Open to the sky like a shore-bound horse, uniquely extraordinary like a dragon among men."

Next to them were two 4-meter-tall giant boulders brought in from a quarry.

A simple and elegant atmosphere greeted them.

Furthermore, seeing the hundreds-of-square-meter farm, which also adopted an antique structure with partitioned planning, was impressive.

The biogas digester and septic tank below made good use of the manure produced by the livestock.

They saw the lake water flowing slowly from the mountain pond, forming a small stream that wound through the garden and circled the rice fields, seeing a patch of heavy rice ears swaying.

They saw a small square of over a hundred square meters, equipped with some playground facilities.

They saw a spring dug out from 3 kilometers deep in the forest, channeled through pipes buried deep underground to the side of the bamboo forest, forming a small, clear spring pool.

Seeing this base, which cost tens of millions to build, the couple Liu Fanghua and Li Hongyuan suddenly felt

It’s really good! Perhaps this rural tourism base their son Li Yu built will really attract a lot of people.

But they still couldn't understand why he had stockpiled so many supplies in the warehouse. If it were just for their family of five, it would probably last ten lifetimes.

Li Yu’s family is actually quite large. Aside from his youngest uncle, Li Hangcheng, who has always stayed in their hometown and has been helping with the construction at the base recently, the other uncles all work away from home.

Li Hongyuan’s naming convention is ancestral. Li Yu’s grandfather gave the four of them a four-character idiom: "Yuan Da Qian Cheng" (Great Prospects).

The eldest is Li Hongyuan, the second is Li Hongda, the third is Li Hongqian, and the fourth is Li Hongcheng.

The fifth is Li Yu’s aunt, Li Qingqing, the youngest in the family, only ten years older than Li Yu.

Li Yu is the eldest son and eldest grandson of the entire family. When he was a child, he received the love of all his uncles. His grandfather, Li Yushi, also often warned the family to be united, to pull together like a rope, and that "harmony in the family leads to prosperity in all things."

Under this family philosophy of his grandfather, the family atmosphere is quite good. There have been no issues of brothers fighting among themselves.

As for Li Yu’s maternal side, his grandmother was an educated youth who went to the countryside and later met his grandfather. The overall family situation was much better than that of his paternal grandparents.

On his maternal grandfather’s side, there is a eldest uncle, Liu Jianwen, who serves as a squadron leader in the armed police in the county. There is a younger uncle who has been doing business in the north, and a younger aunt who married far away to Beijing.

Although the maternal side of the family is not as numerous as the paternal side, the population is still quite large.

Li Yu grew up in the countryside, climbing trees on the mountains and catching fish in the rivers, until he went to the county to board at school. He still remembers his eldest aunt often sending him milk, fruit, and the like every week.

His eldest aunt has a gentle temperament and has been a devout Buddhist for many years; she has always been very kind to Li Yu.

So, recently, Li Yu has been thinking about this question

How can he get his relatives who are away to come back?

He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a good way.

However, he made up his mind: he would absolutely not reveal that the apocalypse was coming.

It would be thankless work.

After all, people aren't stupid. It would be impossible to keep them in this base forever. He couldn't just tell them the apocalypse was coming and to stop running around.

If they didn't see zombies, how would they believe him? One person might be easy to talk to, but dozens would be very difficult to handle.

Although Li Yu had made such big moves since returning home, because he had repeatedly emphasized it to his parents, they hadn't revealed much about what he was doing. But human nature being what it is, the family members away had heard rumors, though they didn't know exactly what Li Yu was doing at home.

They only knew that Li Yu had started a business at home.

There is one week left until the National Day holiday, and the family members away will be coming back for the holiday to reunite.

After all, some family members have other arrangements and might not be able to return in time.

So, Li Yu came up with an idea: to use the name of the rural tourism park he was building to get his family to come back and take a look, and maybe offer some suggestions.

It just so happens that during the National Day, the two families can get together.

So, after dinner, Li Yu chatted with his parents at the dining table.

Li Yu looked at his father, who was smoking after the meal, and said to him, "Dad, this tourism base is almost done. Why don't we have the uncles and the others come back to visit during the National Day? They can offer some suggestions then."

Li Hongyuan looked at Li Yu and slowly took a puff of his cigarette: "That works. But when exactly is your tourism park going to open? It's almost finished now, and you've spent so much money. Sigh, I don't know how long it will take to break even."

Li Yu looked at his father’s worried face and felt his concern. But there was nothing he could do. Having been reborn, he had long since decided that he couldn't tell anyone about the apocalypse, because no one would believe him, and it would only lead to unnecessary trouble.

He could only keep it a secret until the end. When the apocalypse arrives, they might be glad that he built this base so early.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the National Day holiday arrived.

(End of chapter)