With just two months left until doomsday.
The entire world seemed to have entered a standstill, a picture of peace and prosperity.
...
Yet in a small mountain village in the Southern city, hidden amidst green mountains and blue ridges.
A massive high wall encircled dozens of acres of mountainous woods and fields.
If one were to overlook the 6-meter-tall wall and the three observation towers,
From the mountains, it would still look quite like a rural tourist attraction.
But if you saw the sturdy warehouse below, spanning thousands of square meters, you'd recognize it as a formidable fortress.
The basic construction was essentially complete. In the four-acre rice paddies, golden rice bowed down the orange stalks.
Adjacent to it, the garden was a riot of colors, with a 300-year-old Big Camphor Tree that five people could barely embrace together still lush and green.
Orange trees on the mountains were laden with fruit, expected to be harvested in a month or two.
Moreover, Li Yu had planted on the mountains pomelo trees, navel oranges, pear trees, peach trees, kiwi trees, loquat trees, papaya trees, persimmon trees, and more.
Since they had just been transplanted, many of the trees hadn't yet produced any fruit.
Xin City, located in the subtropical Southern region, belongs to the evergreen broad-leaf forest bioclimatic zone.
Virtually any fruit tree and plant that could grow at this latitude had been planted.
Between the two mountains, there was a tranquil expanse of Mountain Pond, a beautiful scene indeed.
By the edge of the Mountain Pond, Li Yu had even built three small fishing boats and planted many willow trees around.
As it goes: Willow and willow drape across a fragrant year, catkins and petals charm the distant skies.
He looked forward to seeing the weeping willows next March and April, the fuzz wafting through the air.
Even in the apocalypse, Li Yu wanted to create an Eden.
On the plain side, beside the Big Camphor Tree, five villas and a row of three-story bungalows were built, on the verge of completing decoration.
The warehouse below was packed full. Li Yu had even built a small cold storage—this gadget used too much electricity, so he could only make it small.
Whenever Li Yu looked at the 5-meter high and 2000 square meter underground warehouse, he felt an inexplicable sense of security.
However, it wasn't as wonderful from Liu Jianwen and Liu Fanghua's perspective.
Liu Fanghua, although silent during construction, was always worried about this.
But when they stood on the Observation Tower atop the hill at dusk,
Overlooking the entire base from the highest point, they sincerely admired the beauty of the scene:
Seeing the beautiful garden and scientifically planned plantation of fruit trees in the mountains, which preserved aesthetics while cultivating a variety of fruits.
Seeing the livestock grazing under the fruit trees, each content in their forest homes.
Watching the old hen foraging with a brood of chicks under the trees.
Seeing the four native Chinese dogs running about the hills.
Admiring the beautiful scenery by the Mountain Pond, the wooden wharf, and the three quaint little boats.
Seeing the villas, which in their eyes were luxurious, along with a large piece of lawn and a verdant bamboo forest, with even a small pavilion built in the middle of it.
In the center of the pavilion hung two plaques, replicas of the ancient inscriptions from the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang: a tall horse expanding towards the sky, an outstanding dragon among men.
Beside it, there were two boulders, four meters high brought from the Quarry.
An atmosphere of ancient and classic elegance hit them face on.
Not to mention the hundred square meter animal farm, also built in antique style, with planned zoning.
The methane and manure treatment pools beneath made good use of the livestock's manure.
Seeing the water from the Mountain Pond slowly flowing out, forming a stream that meandered around the rice paddies, the heavy heads of rice swayed in the wind.
There was a small square of hundreds of square meters with some amusement facilities.
From 3 kilometers deep in the forest, a spring was dug out, and the water was piped underground to the side of the Bamboo Forest, forming a small and clear spring pool.
Seeing the base that took tens of millions to build, Liu Fanghua and her husband Li Hongyuan felt in an instant.
How wonderful! Perhaps this rural tourism base that their son Li Yu was making would really attract a lot of people.
But why was the warehouse stocked up with so many supplies? They couldn't understand it at all. Just these items alone, if it were to be used by their family of five, would probably last for ten lifetimes.
Li Yu's family was actually a relatively large one. Apart from his younger uncle Li Hangcheng, who had always stayed in his hometown and had recently been helping with construction at the base, his other uncles were all working away from home.
The naming tradition was passed down from Li Hongyuan's ancestors. Li Yu's Grandpa gave a four-character idiom to the four boys: promising futures.
The eldest, Li Hongyuan; the second, Li Hongda; the third, Li Hongqian; and the fourth, Li Hongcheng,
The youngest was Li Yu's aunt, Li Qingqing, the youngest in the family, only ten years older than Li Yu.
Li Yu, being the firstborn grandson of the entire family, received the affection of all his uncles during his childhood. Grandpa Li Yushi often admonished the family to unite, to be as one, for harmony brings prosperity to the family.
Under the governance philosophy of Grandpa, the family atmosphere was quite good. There were no issues like sibling rivalry.
On the side of Li Yu's maternal grandparents, his grandma had been a 'sent-down youth' to the countryside and later met grandpa. The overall family situation was a lot better than that of Li Yu's paternal grandparents.
On Li Yu's maternal grandfather's side, there was an uncle, Liu Jianwen, who had always stayed in the county as a squadron leader in the Armed Police. There was another younger uncle who did business in the Northern region, and a younger aunt who was married and lived in Beijing.
Although Li Yu's maternal grandfather's side didn't have as many members as his paternal grandfather's side, the family was not small.
Since he was young, Li Yu had grown up in the country, climbing mountains and trees, swimming in rivers, until later he went to school in the county town. He still remembered how every week his big aunt would often bring him milk, fruit, and the like.
His big aunt was gentle in nature and somewhat of a devout Buddhist in recent years, always treating Li Yu very well.
So, recently, Li Yu had been pondering over this question:
How could he get some of the relatives living away to come back?
After a long time, he could not think of a good way.
But he made up his mind; he absolutely would not reveal the fact that the apocalypse was imminent.
It would only cause unnecessary trouble.
After all, people weren't fools. If they were told to stay at the base all the time, it was definitely impossible. It's not like he could tell them the end of the world was coming soon and not to wander around.
If they haven't seen a Zombie, why would they believe it? One person might be manageable, but dozens of people would be very difficult to convince.
Although Li Yu's return home has caused quite a stir during this period, because he has repeatedly emphasized it with his parents, they haven't revealed much of what Li Yu has been doing recently. However, given human nature, relatives from outside have heard some things, but they're not sure what exactly Li Yu is doing at home.
They only knew that Li Yu had started a business at home.
There was just one more week until the National Day holiday. Relatives living away would come back to celebrate the festival and have a family reunion.
After all, some relatives might have other plans and might not be able to return home in time.
Thus, Li Yu thought of an idea, which was to use his own entrepreneurship, the Rural Tourism Park, as a reason to invite his family members to come back and visit, perhaps offer some suggestions.
It would also be during the National Day period, so the two families could gather together.
Therefore, after dinner, Li Yu talked to his parents about it at the dinner table.
Li Yu looked at his father, who was smoking after dinner, and said, "Dad, this tourism base is almost completed. During the National Day, we could invite the uncles to come over for a visit, maybe they could offer some advice."
Li Hongyuan looked at Li Yu, slowly taking a puff from his cigarette: "Okay, but when exactly will this tourism park open? Almost everything is built now, and so much money has been spent, sigh, no idea when we will break even."
Li Yu saw the worried look on his father's face and felt his father's concerns. But there was nothing he could do; having returned to the past, he had already decided that no one could be told about the apocalypse because no one would believe it, and it would only bring unnecessary trouble.
He had to keep it a secret to the end, and when the apocalypse arrived, they might feel fortunate for having built this base early.
Time flew by, and before long, the National Day holiday arrived.