Chapter 245 - 243: Hometown Small Town

Words : 1735 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

"Why are there so many mountains around here?" Sitting in the front passenger seat, Zeng Liu tightly gripped the armrest beside her, feeling the jolting and tilting of the car, nervously asking Chen Xin. It was understandable for Zeng Liu to be nervous, as they were currently driving on a slope where the entire car was tilted at least 15°, feeling as if it were about to slide down at any moment. Chen Xin, however, showed no signs of nervousness. He had utmost confidence in his car’s grip and lateral stability; even on a 30° slope, the car wouldn’t slide, let alone just 15°. Nonetheless, he answered Zeng Liu’s question, explaining to her: "Because this area is part of the eastern extension of the Dabie Mountains. The main peak of the Dabie Mountains is around here, so it’s normal to have many mountains. Otherwise, the revolutionary base of Hubei-Henan-Anhui during those years wouldn’t have been established here, and the Liu-Deng army wouldn’t have advanced into the Dabie Mountains during the Liberation War." "Is this also part of the Dabie Mountains?" Of course, Zeng Liu knew the name Dabie Mountains. In fact, the county town she used to live in was also within the Dabie Mountains area. She just didn’t expect that even after leaving Hubei Province, it was still within the Dabie Mountains range. "What’s so strange about that? The Dabie Mountains cover three provinces: Hubei, Henan, and Anhui, extending from Wuhan in the west to Nanjing in the east. It’s a vast mountain range, not just a single mountain!" As an online writer, Chen Xin wouldn’t simplify the Dabie Mountains to just one mountain like most people would. "I know that, but—ah!" Zeng Liu was trying to say something, but the car suddenly jolted, swallowing all the words she was about to say. The shaking car returned to level ground—it turned out that the jolt was because they had passed the slope and re-entered a smooth section of the road. Interrupted like that, Zeng Liu didn’t continue the topic about the Dabie Mountains but instead asked Chen Xin, "Mr. Chen Xin, is your hometown in the mountains? Is the place we’re going to also in the mountains?" "It’s me, not we. I will drop you all off at the next refuge." Chen Xin reaffirmed that point, then explained, "Strictly speaking, my hometown is in the outlier ranges of the Dabie Mountains. However, you’re correct; the place I’m heading to is indeed in the mountains." Hearing this, Zeng Liu bit her lip, pondering something. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "So, do we continue heading east?" "Yes, continue eastward. After passing through this county, we’ll finally enter the region where my hometown Shu State is located." Chen Xin said as he adjusted the map on the console, explaining the upcoming journey to Zeng Liu, "We’re currently in Yuxi County. I’ll pass through the county town, and if there’s a refuge there, I’ll drop you all off there. After that, I’ll continue east, following the provincial road to Shu State." Looking at the map Chen Xin brought up, and the route marked with red lines on the map, Zeng Liu suddenly had a thought and asked Chen Xin, "Mr. Chen Xin, what if the population of Yuxi County has also migrated like the county towns we passed before?" "Then I’ll take you to Shu State." Chen Xin glanced at Zeng Liu, unsure of her thoughts, but still provided a definite answer. Having received Chen Xin’s answer, Zeng Liu just nodded, saying nothing more. ———————————————————— Things indeed seemed to be heading in a less favorable direction. In the county town of Yuxi County, Chen Xin still could not find an operational official refuge. This cast a shadow over Zeng Liu and the others’ hearts, and they became increasingly pessimistic about their future. Chen Xin, however, didn’t think it was a big deal. Yuxi County, like the previous two counties in Hubei Province that Chen Xin passed through, was located in mountainous terrain. Besides highways, there were no other modes of transportation connecting it. In the current global context, relocating the population wasn’t impossible or unusual. As for his hometown Shu State, Chen Xin wasn’t too worried about a population migration because Shu State had a railway. As long as railway transport wasn’t interrupted and supplies could continuously flow in, the refuges in that region could continue operating without needing to consider population migration. After all, while population migration can ensure the survival of the majority in an area, it also puts immense pressure on the areas being migrated to. So, unless absolutely necessary, a country wouldn’t easily move an entire population out of a region. Thus, despite Zeng Liu and the others being quite anxious and constantly worrying about their future, Chen Xin didn’t pay much attention to these matters. All he was thinking about now was finishing the last leg of the journey quickly to reach his hometown and pick up his parents. Therefore, Chen Xin didn’t linger in the now nearly deserted Yuxi County and instead drove straight through the town, heading towards his hometown. In Chen Xin’s memory, the village where his relatives lived wasn’t far from Yuxi County. It used to take only half an hour to drive there, and even now, it wouldn’t take a whole day to walk. Walking along the road that was gradually becoming familiar to him, Chen Xin felt both excited and expectant. Though previously he also went long periods without seeing his parents, before the disaster he could always call or contact them in other ways. Chen Xin could always know how his parents were doing. Experiencing a total disconnect with them for more than half a year was something he had never encountered before. This made him even more eager to see his parents now, to the point that he started driving faster and faster, prompting Zeng Liu beside him to voice a reminder to slow down. After being reminded by Zeng Liu, Chen Xin slowed the car down and apologized to her: "Sorry, I got a bit too excited." "I understand, I would be very excited too if it were me." Zeng Liu said melancholically. Though she hadn’t been separated from her family, all her family members were still in that county town. Chen Xin nodded slightly and adjusted his mood before saying, "I will go see my parents first. The last information they sent me before the disaster was that they were living in the village shelter with our relatives. I hope they haven’t been relocated. Otherwise, we would have to spend another day getting to the county." "Mr. Chen Xin, don’t you want to go to the county?" Zeng Liu looked at Chen Xin, sensing a sort of reluctance towards the county on his part. "Not really. I still have to go to the county at least once, even if it’s just to drop you off there." Chen Xin didn’t explain much, simply replying with one sentence before focusing on driving again. Zeng Liu seemed pensive but didn’t say anything more, remaining silent. The road from Yuxi County to Chen Xin’s hometown wasn’t long. Although the mountain road was rugged, after three or four hours, he arrived at the closest town to the mountain village where his parents and relatives were. To Chen Xin’s surprise, despite preparing himself for the town to be deserted, there was a shelter still in operation there. Chen Xin was particularly shocked that the population in the town seemed several times larger than he remembered, and there was even more than one shelter. As Chen Xin’s vehicle entered the town, it was naturally spotted by the townspeople. They cautiously watched the distinctive tracked RVs and quickly alerted the town’s police. "Hello, comrade, where are you from?" After Chen Xin stopped the car, a policeman quickly approached and asked after Chen Xin rolled down the window. "I came from Xiang Province," Chen Xin answered the policeman’s question, proactively adding an explanation to avoid misunderstandings: "My hometown is here too, I came back to pick up my parents." "You drove all the way from Xiang Province? In current conditions, being able to drive through is quite a skill!" The policeman expressed surprise and admiration upon hearing Chen Xin was from Xiang Province. Chen Xin didn’t react much to this, just smiled. Although the journey was indeed difficult and he even sprained his arm, there was no need to detail this to the policeman. "My home is in XX village. How are things there now? I remember before the meteorite struck, my family said they built a shelter there." Chen Xin asked the policeman about his relatives’ situation, feeling tense. The policeman, not finding anything strange about Chen Xin’s inquiry, thought for a moment before answering: "XX village? Oh, the situation seems okay there. Supplies are transported from the county to the town every month, then distributed to villages weekly. Honestly, village shelters might be more comfortable than those in town since it’s really crowded here." Hearing this, Chen Xin finally felt relieved, like a weight had been lifted from his heart. His biggest fear was something happening to his home village or everyone being relocated. After feeling relieved, Chen Xin couldn’t help but focus his attention on another thing mentioned by the policeman. Curious, he asked: "Why are there so many people in town? I remember there weren’t this many people before." "You’re not mistaken. The town used to have just over 20,000 people, mostly in rural areas and villages; the town itself wasn’t crowded at all." The policeman nodded, explaining to Chen Xin with a bit of helplessness: "But previously, due to disaster prevention, the government relocated people from coastal cities inward. Anhui Province, being adjacent to Zhejiang and Su Province, took in many people from those provinces, dispersing and settling them. Even this little town now has over 50,000 people, with three shelters. We’re quite overwhelmed." Hearing this, Chen Xin couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh. Then he asked the policeman: "So can I get to XX village now?" "The road’s not passable anymore, but if you follow the river, you can reach XX village. With a vehicle like yours, it won’t be a problem." The policeman glanced at the tracks under Chen Xin’s vehicle and gave him a thumbs up.

Chapter 245 - 243: Hometown Small Town

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