Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Xu Xiaoyan was somewhat surprised, "How did you manage to save so many? There were eight bundles in the cave, and there are eight more here..."

The middle-aged man lowered his voice and said with a hint of pride, "Hey, I found a good place with few people, so I prepared extra."

Xu Xiaoyan's heart skipped a beat, and she lowered her voice, "I'll take all sixteen bundles. You can deliver them to my cave entrance later. I'll go back after I collect the supplies."

The middle-aged man's eyes widened in surprise. "You want it all? Can you even burn it all?"

"I have plenty of people here, they'll come in handy," Xu Xiaoyan said casually.

The uncle nodded as if suddenly realizing something, and quickly agreed, "Okay! I'll pack up my stall right away and move it for you!"

Xu Xiaoyan took out a packet of instant noodles and handed it over:

"This is the deposit. The rest will be settled when the rest of the firewood arrives. By the way, it's going to rain again soon, and it's so cold. If you sell all your firewood, will you be able to keep warm?"

The uncle smiled and waved his hand, "Don't worry, I'll hurry over there to collect firewood, it won't delay anything."

He took the instant noodles, his face beaming with joy, and thanked them repeatedly before deftly starting to bundle the firewood.

After making a deal with the uncle, Xu Xiaoyan felt a little more at ease. Without lingering, she carefully avoided the crowd and headed towards the queuing area to receive official supplies.

The line was still long and winding. She scanned the area and quickly found Wang Qingshan and Chen Yong.

The group moved forward a bit, but they were still quite a distance from the pick-up point.

"Xiao Yan, you're back? Did you get the change?" Wang Qingshan, with his sharp eyes, saw her and asked.

Xu Xiaoyan nodded and walked to their side:

"Yes, I got the replacement. I swapped it with the uncle who replaced the GG cloth before. He lives nearby and promised to deliver it directly to the cave entrance later."

"What did you use to exchange it?" Chen Yong interjected, more concerned about the actual transaction costs.

"Instant noodles," Xu Xiaoyan succinctly put it.

Chen Yong clicked his tongue, seemingly wanting to comment on whether the price was reasonable, but in the end he only said, "Firewood is indeed important; in this awful weather, we can't do without fire."

A middle-aged woman nearby sighed after hearing this, "You young people are really bold. I was so focused on getting this little bit of relief food that I didn't even think about exchanging it for something else."

Her words carried a hint of envy, revealing the passivity of most people who could only rely on the meager rations provided by the government.

Xu Xiaoyan didn't explain much, only saying, "There are still quite a few people selling firewood over there. We should be able to exchange it later. With so many people, it'll probably take a while before it's our turn, right?"

"It's still early," Wang Qingshan said, glancing at the huge crowd ahead. "It'll probably take another hour or two. You just made a trip, take a break. We'll call you when we're almost there."

Xu Xiaoyan thanked him and leaned against a relatively dry rock, seemingly resting, but her eyes were still subtly observing her surroundings.

She saw at the distribution point that the staff, dressed in simple cotton-padded clothes, were distributing "basic survival supplies" that didn't look very plentiful, with expressionless faces. The people in line had longing in their eyes, but also a kind of numb resignation to their fate.

She recalled the man's low voice saying, "I've found a great place," a place with abundant firewood and few visitors. In this situation, such information might be far more valuable than a few packets of instant noodles.

However, she put aside that thought for the time being. The most important thing right now was to safely collect the supplies and then return to the cave as soon as possible to strengthen the defenses and prepare for the upcoming heavy rain.

Time slowly passed in anxious waiting, and more than two hours later the line finally moved to the collection point.

The staff distributing supplies looked exhausted as they mechanically checked everyone's ID card or temporary identification. The atmosphere was oppressive and silent.

When it was Xu Xiaoyan's turn, she handed over her identification and took the lightly wrapped supplies package, which was wrapped in a simple waterproof cloth and felt surprisingly heavy.

She quickly moved to a spot where she could find some shelter from the rain, unbuttoned her clothes, and took a look.

The contents are clearly visible:

Two palm-sized packets of sponge bread

Two packs of the most basic braised beef noodles

A pack of mixed-flavor fruit hard candies

A small chocolate bar

Two 350ml bottles of mineral water

They could barely survive a few days without starving, but they certainly couldn't fill their stomachs, let alone provide any nutrition.

Wang Qingshan, Chen Yong, and the others also received their respective packages one after another, and no one said anything.

"Let's go, let's hurry back," Wang Qingshan said in a low voice, looking up at the increasingly gloomy sky, where the rain was still a fine drizzle.

But the air was thick with the smell of earth and a low pressure that seemed to foreshadow a storm, and everyone knew that this was just the beginning.

The group immediately turned around and hurried back along the muddy path they had come from, each of them subconsciously quickening their pace.

Rain soaked her hair and shoulders, bringing a biting chill. Xu Xiaoyan practically ran back to the slope where she was.

From afar, she could see more than a dozen bundles of dry firewood neatly stacked next to the cave entrance, tightly bound with thick hemp rope.

The middle-aged man in the brown cotton-padded coat was wrapped up tightly in his clothes, huddled under a tree to barely avoid the rain, and kept looking around anxiously.

Upon seeing Xu Xiaoyan, the uncle immediately came forward, a look of relief on his face.

"Oh, little girl, you're finally back! I've brought you all the firewood, sixteen bundles in total, not a single one missing!"

"Thank you for your hard work, brother. The rain is about to get heavier. Quick, help me carry the firewood inside!"

While thanking him, Xu Xiaoyan deftly took out the key and unlocked the lock on the cave door. The two of them worked together to quickly pass and pile the firewood outside the cave into the cave, one bundle at a time.

The cave wasn't very big to begin with, and the sixteen bundles of firewood piled up inside almost immediately took up most of the space, leaving only a narrow passage for people to turn around and walk through.

"Alright, alright, that should keep you burning for a while!" The uncle wiped the rain or sweat from his face and smiled憨厚ly.

Xu Xiaoyan breathed a sigh of relief and handed him the remaining instant noodles she had promised.

After completing the transaction, the uncle didn't linger. He pulled his cotton-padded coat tighter and hurriedly disappeared into the increasingly dense rain.

Xu Xiaoyan quickly closed the cave door, bolted it, and then put the previously removed support beams back in place.

She looked around the small space, which was crammed full of firewood, and this gave her a rare sense of confidence as she faced the impending downpour.

After an unknown amount of time, suddenly, a torrential downpour slammed into the soil and rocks above the cave, producing a dull and continuous rumbling sound. The rainwater gathered into streams and flowed down the mountainside.

Xu Xiaoyan could even hear the "whoosh" sound of the water rushing over the rock above her cave entrance.

She nervously inspected the entrance to the cave. Although it had been reinforced with GG cloth, wooden strips, and cement, rainwater still seeped in through some tiny cracks.

Dark water stains were left on the inside of the door panel, gradually gathering into a thin stream that meandered towards the low-lying area of ​​the cave.