Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Xu Xiaoyan sat in front of the bamboo shed for a while. Her knees ached so much that she almost didn't want to stand up, but thinking that the interior decoration was still not settled, she decided to persevere.

She took a deep breath, patted the dirt off her hands, and with a thought, began to take things out of her space. The first thing she took out was a roll of mulch film, followed by a large roll of plastic tape.

She placed the two items on the ground at the entrance of the bamboo shed, then bent down and crawled into the doorway connecting the bamboo shed to the recessed cave.

The cave was darker than when she first saw it, and the moonlight shone obliquely in from the entrance, casting a blurry shadow on the stone wall.

The cave walls are made of natural limestone, with a pitted and uneven surface covered with a thin layer of powder. If you rub your finger on it, you will get a layer of grayish-white ash on your finger.

She didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night, turn over, and get covered in dust, nor did she want to inhale those tiny specks of dust into her lungs when she breathed.

Therefore, the inside of the wall must be completely covered to ensure that you are not disturbed by dust when you are resting.

She first unfolded the plastic film and estimated the area of ​​the cave wall. The surface of the cave was roughly semi-circular, and the deepest part was about four meters.

The cave entrance is more than three meters wide, and the height of the cave walls gradually decreases from the entrance inwards, reaching only about 1.6 or 1.7 meters at the innermost part, where she would hit her head if she stood up straight.

She planned to lay out the innermost half first, which was where she intended to place the bed, and then work on the rest gradually.

The plastic film was quite large once it was unfolded, and it was really difficult for her to operate it by herself, but there was no other way; she could only rely on herself now.

Xu Xiaoyan first pressed one corner of the plastic film against the high part of the stone wall, then fixed it with plastic tape, and then pulled it down and spread it to the side little by little.

The surface of the rock wall is uneven, and the mulch film will bulge and wrinkle when it is applied. She tries her best to smooth it out by hand, and if there are any places that cannot be smoothed out, she applies more tape to firmly bind the mulch film to the rock wall.

Applying tape requires patience. She first presses one end of the tape against the edge of the mulch film, then uses her fingers to press forward little by little along the direction of the tape, ensuring that there are no air bubbles between the tape and the mulch film, and between the mulch film and the rock wall.

In some places, the stones protrude, and the tape would lift up the corners when applied. So she cut a small piece of tape and made a cross to firmly press down those corners.

The top of the cave was the most difficult part to work on because she had to tilt her head back and raise her arms, which made her neck and shoulders ache terribly after a while.

She moved a stool to stand on, and once she stood on it, the height was just enough to reach the top of the cave, which made her feel a little more relaxed.

The mulch gradually covered the grayish-white stone walls, making the entire cave interior slowly become cooler, while the moonlight shining through the cave entrance made the originally dark corners even brighter.

It took her almost an hour to finish covering the innermost half of the cave wall and ceiling.

She overlapped the seams of the plastic film, with at least a dozen centimeters of overlap between the two pieces, and then sealed the seams tightly with tape.

Xu Xiaoyan reached out and touched it; the surface of the plastic film was smooth and cool, without a single speck of powder sticking to her hand.

She nodded in satisfaction; at least she wouldn't have to worry about being choked by dust while sleeping tonight.

Next came the furniture. She took out a solid wood bed and a sofa from her space. Both of these items were brought from Lin Tongshi's room.

The solid wood bed frame is a natural wood color, made of pine, and has a layer of clear varnish on the surface, revealing the wood grain and clearly visible growth rings.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the bed board was not a single piece, but rather two pieces joined together, each approximately 90 centimeters wide and 2 meters long.

Xu Xiaoyan placed the bed board against the wall where the floor was covered with plastic sheeting. Because of the fire, a thick layer of ash had accumulated on the bed board.

She took out a bucket, a rag, and a bucket of clean water from her storage space.

Dampen a cloth, wring it until it's half-dry, and start wiping the solid wood bed frame. The dust on the wood surface will be removed by the cloth, revealing the wood grain and the luster of the varnish underneath.

After wiping, the bed frame emitted a faint pine scent, which made people feel very at ease.

She placed the sofa over the bamboo shed, facing the sinkhole, so that when she sat on the sofa, she could look up and see the bamboo forest in the distance.

After placing the sofa, Xu Xiaoyan wiped every surface of it with a cloth, including the cushions, backrests, armrests, base, and even the legs.

The fabric surface easily traps dust, so she patted it several times with her palm and wiped it repeatedly with a cloth until the cloth was no longer covered in gray or black residue.

Xu Xiaoyan sat on the sofa for a while before the soreness in her legs, feet, and back eased.

The evening breeze slipped in through the cracks in the bamboo wall, blowing on her sweat-dampened shirt. It felt cool and comfortable, making her reluctant to move, but her eyelids were already starting to feel heavy; it was time to sleep.

Reluctantly, she stood up from the sofa, and with a thought, took out a silk mat and pillow from her spatial storage.

She bought the ice silk cooling mat in Xuan County. It was light gray, with a smooth and delicate surface. It felt cool to the touch but not icy. When folded, it was only a thin layer, but when unfolded, it could just cover the entire bed.

The advantage of this type of mat is that it is breathable, unlike bamboo mats which leave marks all over your body after a night's sleep, and unlike straw mats which are prone to mold.

Xu Xiaoyan unfolded the mat, smoothed out the four corners, and used her palm to smooth out every wrinkle from the center outwards.

The surface of the cooling mat gleamed softly in the light reflected from the plastic film on the inner wall of the recess. It felt smooth to the touch, and when you ran your fingertips over it, you could feel a slightly cool sensation.

The pillow is the buckwheat hull pillow I brought from home. The light blue pillowcase has faded a bit from washing, and there's a small mark on the corner that I don't know when it was left.

Xu Xiaoyan couldn't help but recall the five days she had spent sleeping in the cab of the small truck. With the seat reclined, there was always a raised bump between the backrest and the cushion, pressing against her lower back, making it difficult to even turn over. She couldn't straighten her legs and could only curl them up, and her knees ached terribly when she woke up in the morning.

At that time, she thought, "I wish I could have a real bed someday."

It doesn't need to be big, just big enough for her to stretch her legs, straighten her back, and sleep peacefully.

She could finally get a good night's sleep. She leaned back, her back against the solid wood bed frame, and could feel the hardness of the wood through the cool ice silk mat.

The buckwheat pillow supported the back of her head, leaving her cervical spine suspended in the air, allowing her to relax completely from head to toe.

As Xu Xiaoyan's eyelids grew heavier and her consciousness began to blur, she finally remembered something she hadn't done: the electric fan.

She struggled to sit up, took out the battery box and electric fan from her spatial storage, and placed them at the entrance of the recess, directly facing the bed.

She pressed the switch, and with a "click," the fan blades began to spin, the humming sound steady and regular. The breeze that blew out carried a hint of coolness, sweeping across the bed and brushing against her cheeks.