6
November 20th.
Today is the fourth day of the lockdown. It came back again...
"Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong..."
Once it confirmed someone was inside, it became more patient and persistent.
I retreated to the living room, looking around.
There weren't many useful weapons in the house.
I remembered the toolbox I bought a few days ago might have a hammer, so I found it and held it in my hand.
I didn't know what had happened to Jack.
Nor did I understand why someone in such a state would still be involved in delivering supplies.
"You must be more careful, more perceptive..." That voice surfaced from deep within me again. "You know... they have already appeared..."
What was going on... why was I having these thoughts...
I shook my head, trying to calm down.
Since the outbreak began, these voices had been urging me to move forward.
At the same time, strange things kept happening.
So far, not only had the water supply not been restored, but even my phone signal was becoming intermittent.
And the nightmare that had plagued me for nearly two months had disappeared as if it had fulfilled its purpose.
Taking a deep breath, I suppressed the unease in my heart.
Amid the persistent ringing of the doorbell, I cautiously continued my unfinished work. In the afternoon, I went through a lot of materials.
With two hours left before sunset, I finally moved on to the last part of setting up my base—cultivating seeds.
I took the seeds out of the storage room and counted them.
I had 500g bags of spinach, arugula, lettuce, chrysanthemum greens, and pepper seeds, and 1000g bags of soybean and pea seeds. I took some seeds from each of the five vegetable bags and soaked them in warm water. It's said that this treatment increases the germination rate.
Once the seeds were soaking, I examined my two balconies:
The south balcony, with two water barrels, still had a large empty area.
I divided it in half with a pathway.
The cultivation boxes could be freely assembled to size.
I set up the water storage layer and the water separation net in order, then filled the boxes with compressed potting soil, loosened it, and mixed in fertilizer.
It took nearly six bags of potting soil before the garden took shape.
The north balcony was smaller, with a standing washing machine taking up space besides the water barrel.
So, I created a long strip of a nursery near the outside edge of the balcony.
All the seeds were first planted there. Once they passed the seedling stage and grew true leaves, they would be transplanted into the south balcony garden.
For the rainwater collection system, I bought two sets of materials, planning to install one on each balcony.
Honestly, I wasn't very confident, but I decided to give it my best shot.
Setting up both balconies took more time than I had expected, but it gave me a lot of confidence—this place was starting to feel like a survival base.
Not cozy or beautiful, but full of life. It had a kind of brutal beauty.
When I finally went back inside, the doorbell had stopped ringing.
Looking through the peephole, Jack was long gone, leaving only a bag of supplies on the doorstep.
I didn't intend to open the door to get it. I knew very well that what I needed to do now was to remain silent and observant.