Socially Anxious Girl Starts Hoarding Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 217

Many years ago, starting from when Fang Ya had her child, she gradually began to feel that this environment was no longer suitable for human survival.

Later, when a major volcanic eruption triggered a volcanic winter, her husband decided to lead the whole family south.

They were among the early groups to leave at that time. Her husband, in particular, thought of the impending volcanic winter and his first reaction was to head towards warmer regions.

However, others were still waiting and watching. People around them wondered if they could weather the storm in their hometown, after all, An Province was located in the central region, unlike the north.

Especially Fang Ya's in-laws, who thought that if everyone headed south, there could be numerous dangers on the road. The current situation was relatively stable, and things might turn around.

But Fang Ya's husband, their son Chen Ming, insisted on going south. No matter how good the environment was here, he always felt that in the future world, survival rates would still be higher in warmer places.

If they didn't leave now, waiting until the environment worsened would not only make transportation inconvenient, but the massive flow of people alone could separate them.

He had seen disaster movies; crowds easily led to trouble. They needed to head south early, and he was now effectively the pillar of the family.

His parents were getting older, and even if they insisted on staying in their hometown, he didn't waver in the slightest.

He felt that their family home was here, their fields were here, and if nothing bad happened in the next two or three years, they could always come back.

If bad situations arose, this place would likely face harsh winters and drastic seasonal changes, possibly making it unsuitable for farming.

Once he made a decision, he really started planning: how to reach their destination, what to bring, how much money to prepare.

While the whole world was trying to calm people down, urging them not to panic and to work together to overcome difficulties, those with foresight and means were gathering near the equator.

It wasn't about following what ordinary people did, but about watching where those people were going. Clearly, anyone with some ability was moving south.

This made Chen Ming unable to stay peacefully in this mountain village. He didn't seek anyone's opinion or explain to anyone, but made this firm decision.

His parents had no choice but to follow him. After all, if their son really took his wife and child south, what use would it be for them to stay here? This decision directly changed the fate of their entire family. Two or three years later, when the environment worsened, many people in their area also wanted to move south, but by then the conditions had become extremely harsh.

This refers not only to the climate, soil, and vegetation, but also to the social environment.

Because of the disaster, all the evil in people was revealed. Theft became common, and in more hidden places, even murder occurred.

At first, the people here didn't show much movement, but then they discovered that people from even further north started coming this way. The once quiet mountain village became noisy.

After Fang Ya's family left, some said they had gone to stay with relatives in the south. Some envied them, others mocked them, thinking they were cowards.

Some wanted to go south like them, but couldn't because of disagreements within their large families.

Some elderly felt they should die in their hometown and let the younger generation leave on their own, but obviously most people couldn't let go.

On the contrary, some people without any ties were free to go wherever they wanted and left quite decisively.

Later, Wen Qian's hometown became increasingly populated, with locals becoming the minority.

Eventually, someone directly broke the lock on Chen Ming's house in Xiaochenwa and moved in. The same happened to Wen Qian's home, which was simply occupied.

Fang Ya and her husband went to stay with a relative of a relative. One family there had married a wife from the southernmost province, so their relatives' home often had various southern fruits.

Now they planned to go there. That relative also lived in a rural area, so Fang Ya's family went there, thinking that living in a southern rural area would be very safe.

Coincidentally, the relative's hometown was in the mountains, even more sparsely populated than Xiaochenwa, with many mountains. However, the climate was better, with a greater variety of fruits.

Fang Ya's family temporarily settled here, relying on money to buy everything. People with better conditions might have gone to better places, but Fang Ya's husband felt that staying in a less populated area was relatively safe.

Later, even in the sparsely populated areas, people gradually increased, and Fang Ya's group had to become more vigilant. Crowded places easily led to chaos.

At first, newcomers could still find places to settle, but later arrivals couldn't even find a place to stand.

It wasn't that there truly wasn't enough land, but more and more areas in the south were designated as planting zones. Any place that could grow crops was turned into farmland.

Fang Ya's family left early, so for them it was like changing to a different place to farm. They prepared warm clothing, stockpiled firewood and medicine.

When global cooling later set in, Fang Ya realized that even the southern mountains that never had winter turned cold. She wondered how people in their hometown would survive the winter.

The original planting and harvesting times were now marked by snowfall. What crops could be grown in their former home, and what food could they eat?

The situation worsened year by year. At first, there were grain reserves and efforts by the authorities to maintain stability, but later things got worse and worse.

The situation in cities was bad, let alone in rural areas.

Without food, what could one rely on to survive? Naturally, people started moving south.

Although Fang Ya's life was hard, it was far from the darkness experienced by those fleeing later.

After living in the relatively warm south for over a decade, even the children who had known only hardship since birth had grown up.

When it was confirmed that the volcanic winter had passed, they waited a few more years. After the temperature improved slightly, they returned to their hometown.

More people chose to stay here, as there were more cities in the south, but Fang Ya's husband felt it wasn't stable enough.

Modern life had disappeared, technological development had stalled, which meant that as long as the climate stabilized, they only had one path forward: farming.

In the South, the population was too dense and survival was too difficult. Initially, people had gathered there for warmth, but now that the harsh winters were gone, he wanted to take his family back to their hometown. At least there, it would be a bit easier to obtain farmland.

Over these past ten-plus years, although his parents had grown older, they longed even more for their old home, thinking that even if they died, they wanted to be buried in their hometown.

When they returned, everything would be a fresh start, as their house had deteriorated beyond recognition over the decade.

Originally, quite a few people had returned to their hometowns from the city, but after the natural disasters, when they came back here once again, everything had been abandoned.

Later, some strangers came to settle here, and everything seemed to return to its original track. However, Chen Ming's family could hardly find anyone they used to know.

Fang Ya saw Wen Qian's collapsed house. Her memories of this girl had already become blurred, but she thought that since this person had been in the city, she should have been able to survive, right?

She never received any news about this child and could only wish her safety and happiness wherever she might be.