There's a hidden compartment here too?!

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei exchanged a glance, moved to the spot where Gou's eyes indicated, crouched down, and noticed that the ground in front of them was slightly sunken.

Lu Xi'an reached out and swept the sunken ground, brushing away the dust, revealing a piece of broken wooden door panel under the ash, which had become fragile over years of cold disasters, collapsing inward.

The house was always covered in dust, causing the ash to form thick layers, making it impossible to see at a glance.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei immediately started picking up the wooden panels to clear them away — the panels were too fragile, shattering upon touch, so clearing them was somewhat tedious, picking up the fragments one by one.

They only picked up the larger pieces of wood, leaving the smaller parts and splinters aside.

Once the wood was moved, they could see something below wrapped in heavy plastic sheeting — or oilcloth — layered thickly.

No one found what was inside?!

It's truly unbelievable.

Lu Xi'an conjectured that the reason these items remained undiscovered was that the place was too rundown, making people think there was no value in searching, so after entering, people would glance around and leave without noticing the sunken pit in the ground?

This naturally blended and sunken pit is something only Gou would notice, right?

Lu Xi'an reached in to take out the contents, realizing that beneath the wooden panel lay a shallow pit.

It seemed the panel had no other use other than to store the items wrapped in plastic sheeting.

What could be inside the plastic sheeting resembling an oilcloth?

While pondering this, Lu Xi'an opened the wrapping and saw two envelopes spill out.

One envelope was addressed to: Yao County, Pingchuan City, Qiao Nian (recipient).

The other was addressed to: East Sea New District, East Sea City, Qiao Yuchun (recipient).

Being tightly wrapped in plastic sheeting, both envelopes remained preserved and undamaged despite the decades-long cold apocalypse.

Both surnamed Qiao.

Qiao Yuchun appeared to be a woman's name, but it was unclear if Qiao Nian was her brother or an elder?

Lu Xi'an suddenly recalled something and asked Yao Wei, "Previously, when we listened to the radio, wasn't the broadcast mentioning East Sea New District?"

"Yes."

With sharp memory, Yao Wei nodded as soon as Lu Xi'an asked.

Lately, they hadn't been using the radio, but previously they would occasionally turn it on to check for signals.

That radio never picked up any other signals, only containing the unchanged, repeating content from East Sea New District.

This is the National Emergency Disaster Relief Headquarters, this is the National Emergency Disaster Relief Headquarters. Attention everyone, the disaster has not ended; experts analyze it as a lasting catastrophe, unlikely to diminish soon.

The broadcast stated the National Emergency Disaster Relief Headquarters had mobilized forces to establish a temporary base around the local power and water plants in East Sea New District. Supplies remain ample, ready to accept people from all regions.

And among these letters, one envelope had the recipient address as "East Sea New District," could Qiao Yuchun be from the National Emergency Disaster Relief Headquarters?

Thinking of this, Lu Xi'an immediately opened a letter to read.

Instead of the envelope addressed to "Qiao Yuchun (recipient)," he opened the one addressed to "Qiao Nian (recipient)."

The letter addressed to "Qiao Yuchun (recipient)" was likely sent from Yao County, Pingchuan City to Qiao Yuchun, yet the sender never mailed it, perhaps due to limited conditions or certain considerations?

Lu Xi'an wanted to read it, but for now, he was eager to see the firsthand message Qiao Yuchun sent to Qiao Nian.

So, he opened "Qiao Nian (recipient)."

The envelope addressed to "Qiao Nian (recipient)" had been opened long ago, not by tearing the edges, but cautiously peeling back the flap.

Inside, there was only a single sheet of folded letter paper. Upon unfolding, the content was brief, written on a single page —

Dad:

I'm busy here; the situation is extremely complicated, with lots of work needing extra hours to complete. I can't keep begging you for forgiveness over and over; I won't explain much.

Previously, I asked you to come, but you didn't, and now coming here isn't easy.

Once construction is complete, there's likely to be a nationwide radio notification; when people start migrating to East Sea, you must find a ride, no matter the cost, it's worth it!

Don't fret over losing the land at home; register it properly, and when the disaster ends, you can reclaim it.

Is the greenhouse at home already dismantled? Is only the plastic sheeting left to be installed?

The new greenhouse's foundation needs antifreeze material, but the main challenge is the sheeting.

With the cold days ahead, it'll get even colder; ordinary sheeting isn't usable.

The new sheeting is aerospace-grade aerogel layered, with a specially made frame. It's said to be equipped with full-spectrum LED grow lights, eliminating the need to ventilate, ensuring no heat loss, and better warmth.

The leaders here knew, Dad, that you were growing greenhouses in Pingchuan City, so they specifically asked me to write this letter to you. They will send someone to coordinate materials, and a small sample of the greenhouse covering will be sent over as well.

Dad, once you receive it, please help out and promote it with the locals and quickly spread out the new greenhouse.

Such a good thing, yet it cannot be spread out. Our leaders have been worried for a while after hearing that the promotion of the new greenhouse in Pingchuan City isn't going well.

Dad, once your greenhouse is ready, don't come home. Hiding from the disaster in the greenhouse would be better than staying at home.

Dad, both network and telephone signals are down. There's no way for me to persuade you over and over again. What I say in this letter, you must take it seriously!

...

It seems this letter indeed came from the National Emergency Disaster Command in the new district of East Sea City.

And Qiao Nian is Qiao Yuchun's father.

The small house and earthen walls before us are indeed made of different materials. That's why they are so resistant to freezing and disasters, standing firm in the severe cold for decades.

However, no greenhouse covering ended up arriving here, so the earthen walls are still just earthen walls, and the small house cannot be sealed tightly to keep warm. The common preparations and efforts of the people here and there ended up in vain.

The words written by Qiao Yuchun in the letter are earnest, especially the last sentence, which is filled with concern for her father.

But by the looks of it, the construction material for the greenhouse was never delivered. Only a small piece of the covering for display was sent—

Wrapped around the envelope was this piece.

This piece, though called small, wasn't that small—it could cover the roof of a car, hence it was wrapped so tightly around the envelope, layer upon layer.

When Lu Xi'an previously took out the package, he never expected it to contain merely two letters.

He even thought that it could contain a game console without any issue.

But such a large piece of covering is still a drop in the bucket for the entire greenhouse.

It's unknown why back then the greenhouse wasn't ultimately completed here?

With this thought in mind, Lu Xi'an opened the other letter labeled "For Qiao Yuchun".

This letter wasn't as well-protected as the other one—the envelope was somewhat crinkled, suggesting it had been folded.

Inside was just a folded piece of paper, but the paper was not stationery. It seemed ripped from a child's exercise book, with the top ragged with uneven edges, and the size was no more than a sixty-fourth of a page.

The content of this letter was much simpler than the one Qiao Yuchun sent to Qiao Nian, containing only a few words—

Yuchun:

Too late, it's useless. Experts have looked into it, saying it's too cold, the foundation can't be used, the greenhouse can't be enclosed.

There was more written afterward, but it was scribbled out with a pen, black ink ruining the paper in a mess, some places even punctured through, with long tears.

Altogether, the original content had been rendered completely unreadable.

So this letter was sealed again in an envelope, wrapped in that aerospace-grade covering, and placed in the door-side pit of the greenhouse.

Lu Xi'an once speculated what might have happened back then, like a war or if the cold disaster had intensified suddenly, trapping everyone with heavy snow and preventing Qiao Nian's letter from being sent.

But it seems that's not the case. Rather, Qiao Nian didn't want to send bad news to his daughter and make her worry, so he chose not to send the letter.

—It's important to know the letter was sent under a special arrangement, with someone escorting it all the way from East Sea City to Pingchuan City.

Perhaps not only was the delivery for Qiao Nian but also for official entities here, like local disaster command centers.

But there should have been a return. The local organizations should have sent something back, or some message to the National Emergency Disaster Command. Bringing a letter for Qiao Nian shouldn't have been difficult.

The way the letter was written shows just how complicated Qiao Nian's feelings were at the time.

Lu Xi'an could fully sense the despair of a rural farmer from that letter, which was composed on paper torn from a child's notebook.

He carefully kept the letter and picked up the piece of covering to examine it closely.

The covering felt like ordinary material, nothing special, yet it remained intact throughout the enduring cold, preserving the envelope so well, proving that it was indeed remarkable.

"Let's go."

Lu Xi'an said to Yao Wei.

The two of them turned around together and returned to the car.

The piece of covering was also put away.

The material appears to be waterproof. If enough items are collected in the future, placing it on the car roof would prevent them from getting wet.

What was once a sample, made of aerospace-grade material to allow crops to grow smoothly in endless winter, now reduced to a simple waterproof tool on a car, seems somewhat wasteful.

But isn't this how it is in this era?

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