On the way, Xu Yajing asked Li Zhaozhao, "Why didn't you say anything just now?"

Li Zhaozhao hesitated for a moment, then turned to Xu Yajing and asked, "If it were you, would you be willing to let your brother's parents live in the house?"

Without thinking, Xu Yajing frowned and asked, "Aren't you two on good terms?"

“It’s good, but there has to be a limit.” Li Zhaozhao shook his head: “Old Shen’s house is so full of things, there’s probably no room for my parents to live.”

"His house has two bedrooms, so it should be enough."

"How long will you make do? Ten days or half a month, or a year or two?"

Li Zhaozhao stopped and looked at Xu Yajing seriously: "We know that this is a long-term job. Are we going to leave our parents there and let Lao Shen and his wife take care of them?"

Until they can't take it anymore, they break off relations with us, kick my parents out, and all our brotherhood disappears along with them?

Xu Yajing fell silent, looked up at Li Zhaozhao, and said with tears in her eyes, "I was just thinking of letting our parents live in a better place. District D is too far away, the people are mixed, and the conditions aren't good. I was thinking that Yanming's family has a place, and our parents can help them take care of the children."

Li Zhaozhao shared the same thought, which is why he made that plan. Putting himself in their shoes, he couldn't bear the thought of strangers staying in his home for an unknown period of time.

“An'an and Nuannuan are not young anymore, and they should live separately from their parents. Let’s not talk about this anymore. We can just visit the old couple in District D from time to time.”

Although Xu Yajing was unwilling, she could only nod.

Moving my parents-in-law to Zone D would put a lot of pressure on them as their children. They're already very busy and tired with work, and now they'll have to make time to care for and spend with them.

If the elderly couple could move into Zone A, they would have to spend far less effort and wouldn't have to worry so much. Now it seems she had been oversimplifying things.

Fortunately, her husband had stockpiled some supplies; otherwise, it's hard to imagine how the couple would have taken good care of the elderly.

"Okay, that's all. Go visit when you have time, and take care of yourself if you don't. My parents are here, and I'm here for them."

Xu Yajing nodded and didn't say anything more.

July arrived in the blink of an eye, and the temperature did not change significantly, with daytime highs remaining at 28 degrees Celsius.

Although everyone has accepted this reality, there is still a sense of unease.

Taking advantage of the warmer spring and summer temperatures, the guards across Qinghua Kingdom extensively restored water, electricity, heating, and communications. Through the combined efforts of expert teams, engineers, workers, and guards, the infrastructure was finally restored to about 70-80% of its pre-apocalyptic state.

However, there are still some things we can't do. For example, only the heating pipes in Area A of the base have been upgraded to ensure centralized heating when winter comes. But Areas B, C, and D haven't even had any pipes laid, let alone any heating.

Therefore, the survivors in the base, especially the women, were treated like easy prey by the guards. They were all hoping that someone would take a liking to them, marry them into Sector A, and from then on, their lives would be on a winning streak, reaching the pinnacle of happiness.

Every time Shen Yanming went out, he was stared at so intently that his scalp tingled, and some people were so brazen that they even dared to pounce on him.

Fortunately, Lao Shen was quick-witted and managed to dodge each time. This still frightened him quite a bit, and from then on, he dared not go out without his wife.

In mid-July, Ye Wengui sent someone to summon Shen Yanming.

The couple took their two children to the agricultural area, but seeing the golden wheat ears, everyone lost their joy.

"Only half of the wheat has formed ears, and they're not very plump." Ye Wengui picked an ear of wheat and showed it to Shen Yanming. Old Shen crushed it with his fingers and found that half of it was shriveled.

"What should we do in this situation!" Ye Wengui sighed deeply, his eyes filled with hidden worry. "If things don't improve next year, we can only hold on for two more years at most."

Shen Yanming opened his mouth, but ultimately kept it closed. They all knew Li Sikai had a spatial ability, but until it was made public, everyone could only remain silent.

"Didn't they say the guards secretly planted some grain? How are they growing?" Shen Yanming asked.

Ye Wengui forced a bitter smile: "They're all corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. They've survived, but they're not growing well. There are reasons related to the soil and the temperature, which are things we can't do anything about."

"Aren't you considering building a few more greenhouses?"

"We'll still build it, but materials are scarce, so it can't be built very big. It'll be a drop in the ocean. Okay, go back now. I just wanted to vent to you, nothing more."

Shen Yanming looked up at the distant mountains and reminded them, "When you have time, take some people up the mountain to see if you can gather some ingredients. If you want to arrange a hunt, just call me."

Ye Wengui nodded: "Let's wait and see."

Although most of those responsible for planting in the agricultural area were base guards, the fact that grain production had decreased and there was almost no harvest could not be kept from the survivors.

These people originally thought that the crops they planted outside the base failed to yield a harvest because the timing was wrong. But they didn't expect that the same thing would happen in the agricultural area.

Everyone felt a deep sense of despair.

Back in the capital, General Li, listening to reports from various regions, felt that the time was almost up.

He asked Qiu Man, "Have communications been fully restored down below?"

Qiu Man nodded: "As long as there is a mobile device, a signal can be received. Even if there isn't, the guard teams in various places have stockpiled televisions, and they can see our news as long as they adjust the channel."

"Then let's make the arrangements and hold a press conference."

At the end of July, big news came from Qinghua Kingdom.

Shen Yanming took his wife, son, and daughter to the base canteen early in the morning, where they got two servings of wild vegetable and mushroom porridge and ate while waiting for the press conference to begin.

Meanwhile, the base's canteen was packed with people. Those without seats stood and crowded together, all eager to see how the Alliance would solve the food shortage problem.

At 9:00 AM sharp, General Li appeared on the screen. He first presented the facts about the problems facing Qinghua Kingdom, and then showed photos and videos of the guard teams from various regions, which moved everyone to tears.

Hearing the sobbing behind her, Bi Qiaoan felt her eyes sting with tears.

Shen Yanming took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and then on the television, General Li, who had been dejected, smiled and said, "Although the situation is very serious, our Qinghua Kingdom is a country blessed by heaven. We have not reached a dead end, and we still have hope."

Everyone looked up in disbelief, not understanding why Chief Alliance Officer Li had said that.

The couple stared intently at the screen, when they saw General Li invite Li Sikai forward.

"This man is the hope of our Qinghua Kingdom!"