The further north you go, the more remote the area becomes. Abandoned towns are covered in vegetation and treated as playgrounds by animals, where thrilling fights and parkour sessions take place from time to time.
"If the human population remained at this level, it would be a return to nature."
"Only by maintaining a certain quantity can a delicate balance be guaranteed."
"Women have awakened to this point that it's difficult to turn them into mere breeding machines."
"That's true. The current problem for humanity is how to stimulate reproduction. One or two births are fine, but seven or eight like before is unlikely."
"Besides, even if there is a population explosion, it will be time for us to return to dust and ashes. Why are you bothering about what happens after we die?"
“That makes sense. We should get a camera sometime and record all of this, preserve it properly, and leave it to future generations.”
After another day, I finally caught a glimpse of my hometown.
Occasionally, a few neat rows of seedlings can be seen in the weed-covered fields, and the sounds of cooking fires can be seen in a few homes in the village.
Yan Shi lived in the upper part of the township and was the head of a nearby village. In addition, the road was newly built before the apocalypse, so it was better preserved than the small village.
"Looks like we won't starve to death. If it were just the two of us, I'd be really afraid we wouldn't have anything to eat."
After all, the rice, flour, and cooking oil they had were from before the apocalypse, and most of them were either infested with insects or expired, so there wasn't much to eat. Therefore, they loaded as much food and fast food as possible into their vehicle, and even brought a generator.
The glass door of Yan Shi's small supermarket was smashed open, and the inside was ransacked. Many goods were taken away. The upstairs was okay; they probably didn't want the things that her family had kept for many years.
Yan Shi was already mentally prepared. She cursed the guy who stole her things in her heart while rolling up her sleeves and starting to clean up.
"My little darling, you should put your things there. If you get tetanus again, I won't be able to save you." Zhuang Zhao was almost scared to death when she saw Yan Shi breaking the broken glass on the door frame with her bare hands. She didn't dare to shout at her, because if she frightened her again, she would be more likely to get hurt.
I know what I'm doing.
"What's the use of having a plan in your mind if you can't even do it properly? It's like your mind can do the work." Zhuang Zhao put on rubber gloves and shooed Yan Shi aside.
"Go find a cool place to stay."
"I can lend a hand too..."
"No need. Don't do any heavy work in my sight, or I'll start to question the meaning of my existence."
"My husband is so good!" Yan Shicong exclaimed. He rummaged through the car for some food, sat on a box with his legs crossed, and watched Zhuang Zhao remove the glass from the door.
Her original wish was to find someone who wouldn't make her do any work, and unexpectedly, it actually came true.
"Zhuang Zhao, when you get old, I will definitely take good care of you and not go square dancing with other old men." Yan Shi originally wanted to say something more sentimental, but the words were too cheesy to say, so he changed to a more humorous way of putting it.
"Sister, we're getting old. Who knows who will be unable to move first? After all, I'm young. I don't smoke or drink, and I eat a balanced diet. As long as I keep exercising, I can hold you and do squats until I die."
"Ha, men don't live as long as women. Look at those people dancing in the square, how many of them are old men?"
"You'll know who takes care of whom when you get older." Zhuang Zhao knew Yan Shide's stubbornness; once she got going, she wouldn't stop. He didn't want to upset her over such a small matter.
"Then let's wait and see."
After filling his own stomach, Yan Shi didn't forget to feed Zhuang Zhao. After Zhuang Zhao finished cleaning up the glass, Yan Shi put on gloves and cleaned up the glass as well. The dust that had accumulated for two or three years couldn't be cleaned up in a short time.
"Is she Miss Yang's daughter?"
"Okay, I'll come back and tidy up."
Where are your parents?
"He has passed away."
"Ah, that's how it is. I'm all alone in my family now."
"By the way, do we have someone in charge here now?"
"No, it's all just whatever comes to mind."
"Alright, Auntie, you go ahead and get busy. I still have some things to tidy up."
"Keep busy, keep busy. Is that your boyfriend? He's a nice young man."
"Yes, my husband, we're married."
"That's good, that's good."
After seeing her aunt off, Yan Shi breathed a sigh of relief; small talk was too difficult for her.
"How can you live in the countryside with your personality?" Zhuang Zhao's lips couldn't help but curve into a smile. He loved hearing her introduce him to others with that particularly affectionate "my husband."
A strong sense of security washed over me, and I felt wonderful.
"As long as the cat stays inside, that's fine. Besides, we only know a few people." Yan Shi had already come up with a plan.
After turning off the power, the house was still lit. I boiled water to make instant noodles, ate, and then got back to work. By the time the sun went down, I had only managed to get the job done.
"I'm exhausted. This isn't the rural life I wanted," Yan Shi wailed.
"Okay, okay, we can finish cleaning up tomorrow, but we don't know where to buy this glass for now."
"Let's use cardboard to block it. We can put it up before September, otherwise it will be really cold."
Unfortunately, all the cardboard boxes in the house had been taken away. Yan Shi looked at the quilt cover she liked, hesitated for a while, and decided to just make do with it for a few days. Anyway, it wasn't cold, but she was afraid that mice would come in.
Why are these people even taking cardboard boxes?
Thankfully, the upstairs area was cleaned first, otherwise I would have had to sleep in the ashes tonight.
The two snuggled together, listening to the chirping of insects outside the window and the swaying shadows of the trees, feeling exceptionally at ease.
"When I was a child, I was once frightened by the shadows of trees. When I lived in the old house, I don't know if it was the shadows of trees or the angle, but I could see a white dress fluttering in the corner of the room, as if it was hanging there."
“Back then, my family had a computer. My sister and I would sit in front of the computer every day watching anime. We watched all sorts of scary anime, and the more we thought about it, the scarier it became. So we covered our heads. We thought we would be too scared to sleep, but we fell asleep in no time.”
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