Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 564 Collection Notice

After making these modifications, she stood under the eaves and looked around, but something still felt off.

There is an open passageway between the two greenhouses in the yard. When it rains, people have to walk through that open area to get from the house to the greenhouses, and they will get wet.

If future rains carry unknown substances, she will be exposing herself to risks every time she enters or leaves the greenhouse. What's the difference between that and not making any changes at all?

She pondered for a moment, then turned and walked to the corner of the yard, where she carried out all the unused bamboo poles and the remaining cement mortar.

Along the path from the back door of the house to the greenhouse, between the two greenhouses, and from the greenhouse to the gate, she used bamboo poles to build a framework, and connected bamboo strips to form an arch at the top.

Then cover it with plastic film, and seal the joints tightly with cement mortar.

A long, narrow, enclosed corridor gradually took shape, winding from the doorway to the first shed, then from the first shed to the second shed, and finally back to the tool shed by the courtyard wall, forming a complete indoor circulation route.

The covered walkway was very narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time, and was no more than a meter wide.

The materials used are solid, with a pole every half meter along the bamboo frame, and the top is tightly bound with hemp rope, covered with two layers of plastic film.

All the seams were sealed with cement mortar, and a cement strip was poured along the bottom of the plastic film to firmly fix it in place.

Now, no matter what rain or wind it rains outside, or what water seeps into the ground, her yard is as solid as a rock.

A week later, the aftereffects of that rain began to show.

At first, everyone held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that once the open-field vegetables and fruits withered and died, they would recover after a few days as long as the land was tilled and replanted.

A week passed, but the replanted seeds did not sprout at all, and even the surface of the deeply tilled soil was covered with a layer of grayish-white hard crust.

Some people tried to pull up the dead plants in their yards by the roots to check them, and found that the roots were all black and rotten, the main root broke easily when touched, and dark sap seeped out from the broken ends, emitting an indescribable pungent smell.

The forum was filled with cries of despair.

Someone posted that they had planted corn, wheat, and soybeans outside the city, and after three months of hard work tending to them, just as they were about to sprout ears, a rainstorm destroyed them all.

In the attached photo, corn stalks taller than a person lay crookedly on the ground, their leaves scorched and curled, and the once plump corn cobs were shriveled and crumbled into powder when squeezed by hand.

The hundreds of replies below were all saying things like "My family is the same," "It's the same over there," and "This whole area outside the city is ruined."

Even worse off are the residents who initially chose the outer city plots.

When the first and second batches of people moved in, many chose the outer city because of its large area.

At that time, the policy was that only farming was allowed outside the city, but building houses was not. Everyone thought that the land was great, and the grain grown would be enough for the whole family to eat. They believed that they could be self-sufficient and live a stable life.

Who would have thought that after a rain, the vast fields outside the city would all turn into barren land, where even weeds could not grow?

They have several hundred square meters of land, but they can't grow crops or build houses. Every day, they have to walk several miles from outside the city to buy vegetables and rice.

I was so proud when I chose China University of Geosciences because of the name "China University of Geosciences," but now I regret it so much.

Someone posted: "I have 600 square meters of land outside the city! I used to laugh at people who chose the land inside the city for being stupid. What can you do with 400 square meters?"

Now I understand, even if you can't farm inside the city, you can still build houses, but my fields outside the city are now just a whole patch of dead land!

This post was pushed to the top of the homepage and became incredibly popular.

In the comments below, those who chose the outer city were kicking themselves for being blind, while those who chose the inner city were secretly relieved but dared not say much, because saying "the inner city is better" at this time would be like rubbing salt into someone's wound.

Someone down there came up with a terrible idea: although the land outside the city could no longer be used for growing anything, it could be rented out to people who needed a place to build temporary sheds, so at least they could collect some rent.

This suggestion was immediately rejected. The whole city is a wasteland, who would want to rent your dead land?

On the eighth day, the management committee of Satellite City No. 5 finally issued an official announcement.

The notice was written in a sincere tone, first calming the residents and expressing deep sorrow for the crop damage caused by the rainfall, stating that relevant departments were urgently seeking solutions.

Experts from all sides are already studying soil remediation plans. Please be patient and do not panic.

The latter half of the announcement revealed a new policy: residents who own land outside the city are allowed to use half of the land for building houses on the original site, while the other half will remain for agricultural use, pending further evaluation.

The moment this policy was announced, the forum exploded.

"Allowing me to build on half of the original site? Me, build a house outside the city? There aren't even any decent roads outside the city. Who would live in the house I build there?"

"I live outside the city and it takes me forty minutes to walk into the city to buy groceries every day. Now you want me to move to the outside of the city? Does that mean I'll have to walk eighty minutes round trip every day?"

"What's the point? For better air quality? For more land? Nothing can grow here anymore. If I build a house and it stands alone in the middle of a dead land, am I supposed to be a gravedigger?"

"I'm speechless. When we were choosing the outer city, they only allowed farming, not building houses. Now that we can't farm, they're allowing us to build houses. So the policy changes with the situation, and we're just expendable resources to test the policy?"

Amidst the chorus of criticism, Xu Xiaoyan lay on her bed, reading the announcement and comments over and over again, unable to tell whether she felt relieved or sad.

Fortunately, she chose a plot of land in the city, which was enough for her to settle down and support herself; the sad ones are the residents in the outer city, who just made a different choice and now have to face this dilemma.

A message appeared on her phone screen. She thought it was a new post from the forum, but when she opened it, it turned out to be an official notification.

The title reads "Utility Payment Reminder for Satellite City No. 5," and the text is brief and direct:

"Dear Ms. Xu, your electricity bill for this month has been incurred, totaling 7.6 yuan. Please complete the payment through the platform within three days. Otherwise, the power supply service will be suspended."

Her gaze lingered on the number for two seconds, then she exited the text message, opened her account, and the balance clearly showed: 0.90 yuan.

Xu Xiaoyan stared at the number for a long time, then suddenly couldn't help but laugh, followed by a long sigh.

When I bought the cement and sand, I thought that since there was food and drink in the yard, I wouldn't need to spend any more money in the short term. I figured it wouldn't be too late to set up a stall at the farmers' market and make money once the situation stabilized.

But she forgot that electricity costs money, and water costs money too.