Chapter 508: Chapter 508

The end? This is merely a prelude to the storm, the real hardships are still to come. In my past life, I, too, naively thought it was about to end. Everyone thought it was ending. Everyone believed that the darkness had lasted too long, that what thrives must decline. It had been declining for so long already—a whole three years. It should be ending.

Jing Shu revealed an imperceptible, somewhat ironic smile. Although I don’t want to crush their faith in life, if they truly think this way, then I also have to bring these lost sheep back on track. Whether the apocalypse ends or not, we still need to make the most of our lives.

Mr. Jing nodded vigorously. "I think so. Although food is getting scarcer, the documents from above are encouraging us. New directives have been issued, strengthening the raising of domestic poultry and even allocating a batch of feed. These past years, people could hardly feed themselves, let alone raise poultry. It seems the authorities are determined."

Mrs. Jing also agreed, her face full of hope. "The weather is getting colder, and it’s becoming harder to plant vegetables and cereals. The pressure on the Ministry of Agriculture is mounting. However, the authorities have issued new plans, requiring us to plant as much as possible when disasters aren’t striking. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍

"In the last few months, they’ve even used the Artificial Sun. The first batch of corn, potatoes, and soybeans is about to be harvested. Although food is still tight, I believe as long as no more natural disasters occur, we can slowly recover."

Third Aunt wiped her hands and sat down. She took a few sips of milk tea, warmed her hands, and then spoke with a troubled frown, "The allocation of food to the canteens from above is dwindling. But thankfully, in Wu City, we still have Insect Cakes, so fewer people are starving to death. It’s worse in other places. However, for the past few months, no additional problems have arisen, and everyone is holding their breath, waiting for the dawn. That’s why there are more and more rumors."

Grandpa Jing saw everyone hoping for a swift end to the apocalypse, even believing it was truly coming to an end. He couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head. He lit up a roll-up cigarette again and then turned to ask Jing Shu and Wu You’ai, "What do you two think?"

Wu You’ai was joyfully chewing on fish balls. Upon hearing this, he said indifferently, "I think it’s unlikely. Everyone shouldn’t get their hopes up too early."

Grandpa Jing turned his gaze to Jing Shu. The quality of life our family enjoys in the apocalypse is all thanks to Jing Shu. My granddaughter’s words are always insightful.

Jing Shu shook her head. "My cousin is right. As long as the sun doesn’t shine, the apocalypse isn’t over, and we can’t let our guard down. Instead, we must prepare for all eventualities. The reason our family is doing well now is because we prepared early.

"As for what’s said on TV, it’s true that morale boosters are needed now to give people hope to keep living, but that can’t be taken as the truth.

"In my view, things are going to get worse. Think about it, the various after-effects caused by the lack of sunlight are numerous, and for all we know, there might be a blizzard coming.

"So, Mom, you need to be cautious in the coming period. Don’t overextend yourself, or you might not be able to pull back if trouble arises."

Mrs. Jing nodded, her hands clasped in worry. "Regardless, let’s pray for a bountiful harvest this time, to store some grain for Wu City, so we all can catch our breath."

I can’t be too prophetic. I can only hint this much. As for Mom’s situation, we’ll have to take it one step at a time.

Grandpa Jing finally nodded in satisfaction; his granddaughter’s words had struck a chord with him. He pointed at Mr. Jing and began his usual biting commentary, "You’re a grown man and still don’t see things as clearly as a child."

He then sighed and said, "The reason for this family meeting today is to give everyone a heads-up. The new year is almost upon us. Although there haven’t been any major problems these past few months, Jing Shu is right. To us old farmers, this feels like the prelude to a blizzard. We have to start preparing."

Mr. Jing frowned. "Dad, we’ve finally had a few peaceful months, and indeed, nobody wishes for another disaster... But have you discovered something?"

Grandpa Jing shook the ash from his roll-up cigarette and pointed at the courtyard. "Our crops are yielding less! Haven’t you noticed we’ve been eating fewer vegetables from it recently?"

Everyone looked at Grandpa Jing in unison, while Grandma Jing shook her head, muttering, "What a calamity."

Grandpa Jing went on, "In recent years, you’ve all been busy with work. The tomatoes, chili peppers, apple trees in the courtyard, and the bok choy and spinach on the third-floor balcony were all tended by me and your grandma. We took great care of them, never letting them lack water even during the driest times. We didn’t skimp on fertilizer even during the floods two years ago, and we’d turn on the grow lights for four hours every day. So, our vegetable plots were incredibly thriving, and the yields were fantastic.

"But lately, the yield has started to decline severely. It took this old man quite a few days to find the reason."

Jing Shu rubbed her chin, thinking. I’ve been consistently applying Spiritual Spring water to the courtyard plants. To avoid attracting attention, I’ve used very little, just enough to maintain pre-apocalypse levels of productivity. That shouldn’t have led to a decline in yield.

Then she saw Grandpa Jing stand up and bring a lump of soil from the courtyard.

Mr. Jing scratched his head awkwardly. "Dad, what’s going on? Just tell us. The rest of us don’t farm, so we don’t understand this stuff. Is there a problem with the soil?"

Grandpa Jing nodded gravely. "If your grandma and I hadn’t been digging holes to save seeds, we would never have discovered this kind of sediment infiltrating the soil in the courtyard. If it were ordinary sediment, at most it would affect the harvest. But this stuff—I don’t know what’s in it—is very sticky and greatly impairs crop growth. I’ve looked around in other places. Naturally, there’s no such sediment where there’s concrete, but it has appeared in places like the mountains. At a glance, it looks similar to ordinary soil, but it’s not."

Grandma Jing cried out in distress, "Why has our good soil turned into this kind of sediment? Fortunately, the soil on the third-floor balcony doesn’t have it. I was wondering if it could be seeping up from underground. I don’t know if it’s only our land that’s affected or if everyone’s is. I’ve asked around quietly. But firstly, not many people grow vegetables these days. Secondly, due to the weather and other factors, yields have been poor anyway, so it’s hard to tell if only our harvest is affected."

Since few people were gardening, hardly anyone was concerned about potential soil problems.

Jing Shu furrowed her brow. In my previous life, I was at the very bottom of society, so I never grew vegetables nor did I care that sediment had increased in our yard’s soil. Without electricity for grow lights and with freezing temperatures, it was impossible to grow anything anyway. So, I hadn’t realized that sediment, possibly from an underground eruption and altered by things like magma and various chemical processes, could seep up from the ground and affect crops.

It seems I overlooked this. My plans will need adjusting.

"We can’t ignore this matter; our family’s livelihood depends on it... Oh," Grandpa Jing turned to Mrs. Jing. "You grow many different kinds of things; have you noticed this sediment?"

Mrs. Jing frowned and shook her head. "To maximize resources, we usually employ soilless cultivation and space-saving vertical farming. However, we have planted some cold-resistant species around the Artificial Sun. It seems I’ll have to go and take a look tomorrow. If it’s really affecting them, we’ll need to find a solution quickly."