"Over? No, this is just the prelude to the storm. The real hardship hasn't even started yet."
In her past life, Jing Shu had thought the same thing. Everyone did. They all believed the apocalypse was finally ending. After three endless years of darkness, people thought the cycle had run its course. Surely, it had to be over.
She smiled faintly, her lips curving with a hint of irony. She didn't want to crush her family's hope, but if they really believed that, she had to pull them back to reality. Whether the apocalypse ended or not, they still had to live properly and prepare for the worst.
Jing An nodded hard. "I think so too. Food's getting tighter, but the government keeps encouraging us. They've issued new orders, boosted poultry breeding, and even allocated a new batch of feed. Nobody's eaten their fill for years, much less raised animals, so this means they've made up their mind."
Even Su Lanzhi looked hopeful. "It's getting colder, and crops are harder to grow. The Agriculture Department's under a lot of pressure, but we've got a new plan now. We're told to plant as much as we can while there's no disaster.
They even used the artificial sun this season. The first batch of corn, potatoes, and soybeans will be harvested soon. Food's still scarce, but as long as no new disaster hits, we'll slowly recover."
Jing Lai sat down after wiping her hands, took a few sips of milk tea, and rubbed her palms for warmth before frowning. "The food supply for the canteen's been getting smaller and smaller, but at least Wu City still has worm patties, so people aren't starving to death. Other places aren't so lucky. Still, we haven't had any new disasters lately, so everyone's holding their breath, waiting for the light to return. No wonder the rumors keep spreading."
Grandpa Jing sighed when he saw everyone's hopeful faces. Even he couldn't help but want to believe it, but deep down, he knew better. He shook his head, lit another cigarette, then turned to Jing Shu and Wu You'ai. "What do you two think?"
Wu You'ai was happily chewing on fish balls. When she heard the question, she just shrugged. "I doubt it. Everyone shouldn't get too happy too soon."
Grandpa Jing turned his gaze to Jing Shu. The family's comfort and stability all came from her. Her words carried weight.
She shook her head. "Cousin's right. As long as the sun doesn't come back, the apocalypse isn't over. We can't relax just because it looks peaceful. We have to stay cautious and plan ahead. The only reason our life's still good now is because we prepared early.
As for what the news says, it's not wrong, but that's just morale talk to keep people from losing hope. It shouldn't be taken literally. If you ask me, things are only gonna get worse. Think about all the side effects of losing sunlight. There might even be a blizzard next.
So, Mom, you need to take it easy. Don't expand too much too fast, or you'll regret it later if something happens."
Su Lanzhi nodded, clasping her hands together in worry. "Whatever happens, let's just pray for a good harvest this time. If Wu City can stock up on some grain, maybe we can all breathe a little easier."
Jing Shu couldn't reveal too much. If she sounded too prophetic, people would start asking questions. She could only nudge them in the right direction and let things unfold naturally.
Grandpa Jing finally smiled in relief. Her words hit home. He nodded, then glanced at Jing An with his usual sharp tongue. "You're a grown man and still can't see things as clearly as she does."
Then he sighed again. "Anyway, this family meeting's also to remind everyone that the new year's almost here. We've had a few quiet months, but Jing Shu's right. From an old farmer's eyes, this peace feels like the calm before a snowstorm. We need to get ready."
Jing An frowned. "Dad, we finally got a few months of peace. Nobody wants another disaster. But… did you notice something?"
Grandpa Jing flicked his cigarette ash and pointed toward the yard. "Our crops. The yield's gone down! Haven't you noticed we've been eating fewer vegetables lately?"
Everyone turned to look at him. Grandma Jing muttered under her breath, "Heavens, what a curse."
He went on, "All these years, you've all been busy with work, so your grandma and I took care of the tomatoes, peppers, apple trees, the greens on the third-floor balcony—everything. We've always been careful. Even during the worst drought, we never ran short on water. During the floods two years ago, we still kept up with fertilizing and lighting for four hours a day. The crops grew beautifully, the yield was amazing.
But lately, the output's dropped hard. Took me days to find out why."
Jing Shu rubbed her chin, thinking. She'd been watering those vegetables with Spirit Spring water on schedule, but only in small doses to avoid suspicion. The yield should've been steady, not dropping.
Then Grandpa Jing stood up and came back with a lump of soil from the yard.
Jing An scratched his head awkwardly. "Dad, what's going on? None of us understand farming. Is there something wrong with the soil?"
Grandpa Jing nodded seriously. "If your grandma and I hadn't dug up the soil to save seeds, we wouldn't have noticed. The yard's filled with this strange sandy mud. If it were normal soil, it'd only affect yield a little. But this stuff's different. It's sticky, and it's badly affecting crop growth. I checked other places too. There's none on concrete, but the hills and open land all have it. Looks normal, but it's not."
Grandma Jing clasped her hands and groaned. "Our land was fine before! How'd it turn into this sandy muck? Thank goodness the soil on the third-floor balcony's still clean. I was thinking maybe it's seeping up from underground. Not sure if it's just us or everyone, but I did ask around. Hardly anyone grows vegetables anymore, and those who do say yields are bad for all kinds of reasons. So who knows if it's the same thing."
No one really grew their own food these days, so nobody paid attention to the soil anymore.
Jing Shu frowned. In her past life, she'd been too poor and powerless at this point, had no land, no crops, no light, and temperatures were freezing. She'd never even thought about what was happening underground. Now that she did, it made sense—the mud could've come up from deep below, changed by magma or chemicals, contaminating the soil and stunting growth.
She'd overlooked this completely. Time to adjust her plans.
"This isn't something we can ignore," Grandpa Jing said gravely. "Our family's livelihood depends on this. Oh, right…" He turned to Su Lanzhi. "You're in agriculture. Have you seen this kind of sandy mud anywhere else?"
Su Lanzhi frowned and shook her head. "To maximize efficiency, we mostly use soilless and framework cultivation. But around the artificial sun, we've planted some cold-resistant crops. I'll go check tomorrow. If it's spreading there too, we'll need to find a solution fast."
It was already late when they wrapped up the meeting. Everyone sat quietly for a while, the warmth of the milk tea fading into unease.
The night outside was cold and still, like the world was holding its breath.
And Jing Shu knew deep down, this was no ending at all.
It was only the beginning of the storm.