In the past, locusts mainly fed on plants of the Poaceae family. For example, they did not like the smelly camphor trees. But now, this group of mutated locusts have almost no taboos on green plants. As long as they are edible, they will quickly devour them like a whirlwind.

Seeing the yellow everywhere and the land cracked by drought, everyone's heart felt like it was blocked by a thick ball of cotton.

He Zhennan put his arm around Qin Suyun's shoulders and watched everything outside the house without saying a word for a long time. All that was left was a long sigh and the choked sobs of some farmers.

These successive natural disasters have driven everyone to the brink of despair. They have no way of foreseeing their future from these disasters. They don't know when another natural disaster will strike, or when they will starve to death, drown, or die of thirst...

But life goes on and must go on.

Even if they are barely surviving and aimless, they will continue to move forward. After so long, no one will mention the idea that soldiers and those with guns have the responsibility to protect other people anymore.

No matter who it was, just surviving such a natural disaster was already a struggle, so how could anyone have the energy to care about others? Perhaps some people would have some thoughts in their minds, but who would care about them?

The scorching heat and locust plague made the roads, which were originally overgrown with shrubs and weeds and occupied by many mutated insects, become unobstructed.

He Zhennan and his companions took advantage of the locust plague to run outside to take a look.

They were not out for long and had no suitable means of transportation. They wrapped themselves from head to toe with clothes, carried water bottles and weapons, and rode bicycles along the road to explore the surrounding areas. They wanted to see what the situation was like in other places after experiencing floods and droughts.

In this hot weather with the sun shining brightly, the sun sets very late every day, so He Zhennan and his friends go out around five or six in the afternoon and come back around seven or eight in the evening.

The routes taken by the few people were radial, and they did not stay overnight outside. They went out in the afternoon and came back that night.

Since he never looked relaxed when he came back from outside every day, Qin Suyun felt it very clearly. She could clearly feel the heavy aura coming from He Zhennan.

Even without asking, Qin Suyun could imagine some of the situations outside.

The drought outside is getting more and more serious. Rivers have dried up in many parts of the country. In addition, locusts are rampant and people have nothing to eat. The temperature outside is still high, so life is naturally extremely difficult to endure.

After a week of effort, He Zhennan and his companions had explored almost all the places within a one or two hour's journey. The river near Wanxi Village had long dried up, and another slightly larger river closer to Wanxi Village was now full of silt, and there was no clean water to be found.

If the residents living nearby cannot find a well from which they can draw water, then if they still want to drink water, they will have to go to the Yunhai River, 20 kilometers away, to draw water.

Yunhai River is the largest river passing through Yunhai City. The river is 300 to 1,000 meters wide.

But after such a long period of scorching heat, the width of the Yunhai River has shrunk to less than a quarter of its original size...

Every resident who comes to the river to fetch water is worried. Everyone is worried about what to do if one day the Yunhai River can no longer hold on.

This is the result no one wants to see...

These days passed quickly. Although it seemed peaceful on the surface, the situation was actually turbulent, especially in the situation of food and water shortage. The closer to the water source, the more tense the houses and land were. Many people racked their brains for housing in those places. The places that could not be avoided during floods became the most sought-after places to live. In these places, even if it was a little hotter, as long as there was a water source, some food could be grown, so everyone fought more fiercely for them.

As for those houses far away from the river, they are not so popular. Many places have begun to become deserted, and many houses that were originally inhabited are now deserted.

Everyone rushed to the residences on both sides of the river, seeking a glimmer of hope.

Wanxi Village was too far away from the river and was not even within the consideration of those people, so it was not affected at all. However, three households in the village could not bear it any longer and followed the others to the river.

As for the others, they still relied on the two old wells in the village. These two old wells were quite good and had not dried up until the end of December, but the water level was still decreasing day by day.

Several families in the village have dug wells, but most of these wells are relatively shallow and have run out of water long ago. Only the deep well in Qin Suyun's house has no pressure at all. However, He Zhennan would carry two buckets and go out to fetch water with everyone every day, and he would honestly line up behind the others. Qin Suyun knew He Zhennan's intentions, so she didn't say much, but her heart felt a little warmer.

During these days, in addition to worrying about the water level and whether the village's well water would dry up every day, the villagers of Wanxi Village were probably most affected by the Zhou family. This Zhou family was the home of the old lady Zhou who was bitten by the wild boar.

The other family of five, except for the eight or nine-year-old grandson Zhou Wen who was an elementary school student before the disaster, the other four were university professors before the disaster, especially Grandpa Zhou, who was also a professor of biology. Although his ability was not outstanding, he had no problem growing hydroponic vegetables.

The newly released hydroponic vegetables had become a hot topic in almost every household. Almost every household that could afford it had learned to grow some. They planted these hydroponic vegetables indoors, with windows open and in diffused light. This approach satisfied the vegetables' growth needs while preventing rapid evaporation. So, while the growth wasn't particularly impressive, it was still possible to harvest a small amount. Coupled with the effects of the previous mutation, the growth rate of these hydroponic crops was far faster than normal.

These fresh green vegetables are like hope for everyone in the darkness.

The once dead Wanxi Village began to have new vitality.

Living in Wanxi Village, Pang Xiong and his friends basically don't have much to do every day.

There were no prey to be caught in the mountains, and with the scorching heat, they took a walk outside at the beginning of the month to investigate the situation outside. The rest of the time they stayed at home, growing vegetables, eating and sleeping, and occasionally exercising in the dark when they remembered.

But for Pang Xiong and his friends, such days were too comfortable and boring, and their spirits were not very good. It was even worse than the situation in the mountains during the flood.

Qin Suyun saw all of this and took advantage of the New Year's Day to ask He Zhennan to invite everyone to get together. Out of courtesy, Qin Suyun also asked He Zhennan to ask the three people from the Qiu family.

I originally thought that the three members of the Qiu family would not come to the party this time as usual, but unexpectedly, they did not refuse the invitation this time.

When Qin Suyun came out in an apron and opened the door, she was stunned for a moment, but then a smile appeared on her face. "You're here, so hurry in. I prepared some cold drinks in the room. They must have been heated up when you came. I'll bring them to you right away."

Having stayed in the dark cave for several months, both Lu Liqing and the three members of the Qiu family looked unwell. They looked paler and sicker than when they were in the mountains. However, they were in good spirits. When they saw Qin Suyun, they greeted her awkwardly, feeling quite embarrassed.

It was such a hot day that after walking outside for a few minutes, Lu Liqing and her group were already sweating profusely.

"Hehehe! I'm happy when there's something delicious. Sister-in-law, where's my boss?" Pang Xiong casually wiped the sweat off his forehead and went into the house. "Ah! It turns out that my sister-in-law's house is more comfortable! There's air conditioning and drinks here, it's so cool!"

When Qin Suyun heard the word "sister-in-law" for the first time, her cheeks felt slightly hot, but she was happy in her heart.

He Zhennan brought up two plates of iced orange juice. Seeing Pang Xiong sweating and smelling so bad, he raised his eyebrows in disgust and said, "You guy, stay away from your sister-in-law. Don't make her feel irritated by your sweat and stink!" As he said that, he took the opportunity to kick Pang Xiong in the calf.

Pang Xiong staggered after being kicked by his beloved boss, his eyes widened in grief and anger!

These days, there really is no humanity among the opposite sex! Even their eldest brother has changed! ! ! !

But it doesn’t matter…he still has Xiao Qi!

Ever since the flood, everyone has been staying in the cave every day. Pang Xiong likes to play with Xiao Qi and the others, and his massage and fur-stroking skills have been recognized by Xiao Qi and the others.

But, this time...

Pang Xiong was disappointed.

Before he even got to Xiaoqi and the others, they avoided him in disgust.

Disgust was written all over the dog's face, and Xiao Qi even put his paw on his dog's nose, making a disgusted gesture of covering his nose and frowning.

Pang Xiong: ………

It's amazing how much information can be revealed on a furry dog ​​face.

Since water is hard to get these days, it is not easy for everyone to take a bath. Even with He Zhennan bringing two buckets of water from time to time, they still cannot take a bath every day. In order to save water, Lu Liqing and Qiu's mother even cut their hair short.

In addition, men's body odor is always stronger than women's, and Pang Xiong likes to sweat. How can his body smell good?

Xiaoqi and the others have always had sensitive noses. Even the smells that humans dislike, how can they not be disliked by dogs?

Forget it! He should just go eat something! Pang Xiong gave up on himself.

The atmosphere on New Year's Day is always a little more lively than usual. Qin Suyun even heard the sound of children playing in the village, and even sporadic firecrackers. She didn't know where these people came from.

Qin Suyun and her partner prepared a sumptuous dinner. Except for those in the glass room on the third floor that could not be exposed, Qin Suyun had taken out all the delicious food she could.

Newly sprouted bean sprouts, hydroponic vegetables, freshly slaughtered fragrant pigs, and previously smoked bacon and hare...

Everyone's mouths were drooling with joy after eating.