Countdown: Humanity's struggle to survive against yesterday

Chapter 105 Passed Down to Ancestors

Sun Pangzi from the village also got into trouble.

He deserved it; he cheated on his wife, and she was so angry that she had her family beat him up.

But even if they deserved it, it's still embarrassing for people from other villages to come and attack them.

"agree!"

Sun Tao, also known as Fatty Sun in the village, used to be in the sand business before the Great Regression. He was a big, strong man with considerable wealth.

Upon hearing this, he immediately stood up and was the first to agree.

"I can contribute my family's dump truck and bulldozer; this self-defense force must be established."

Several women in the crowd chuckled to themselves upon hearing this, but then, realizing that no one could guarantee their own safety, they quickly voiced their support.

"We support its establishment!"

"It must be done!" shouted several of the village's young men.

This young man has been causing quite a bit of trouble in other villages lately. He has seen that the surrounding villages are indeed sticking together, except for Sanmiao Village.

"Other villages have already banded together, but our village is just lazing around. We must unite too."

"That makes sense! This is indeed a long-term consideration..." Several older people exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

Going back another fifty years, they were only in their early twenties. These elderly people know best what the security situation was like and what the means of production were like back then.

Even without these reasons, if we go back fifty or sixty years, people would have had to band together and form a habit in order to have something to eat.

Several of the village's most senior elders spoke up, and everyone quickly expressed their support. In the end, a preliminary plan was decided on the spot: each household would send one male member to form a self-defense force.

Sun Lingmin, Sun Chengwu, Sun Tao, and others immediately signed up to participate.

After that matter was resolved, Sun Zhen spoke again: "The second matter is a matter of great importance concerning all of humanity..."

Sun Zhen paused here, lit a cigarette, and kept everyone in suspense.

The plump aunt laughed loudly, "Secretary Sun, stop keeping me in suspense! Is there some kind of mission from above?"

At this point, the plump woman continued in a loud voice, "Should we continue holding emotional farewell ceremonies, or should we continue to promote the 'Memory Assistance Association'?"

Sun Chengqiao's father, Sun Desheng, was sitting next to Sun Dahai. He had just been resurrected before the Great Regression of the World due to the reversal of time.

Sun Desheng was 97 years old, making him one of the few centenarians in the village. His face was full of wrinkles, and his hair was completely white. He died peacefully in his sleep.

Having just been resurrected, before they could even figure out what was going on, a world war broke out.

This new situation made him very uneasy, and only in the last few days, as things calmed down in the outside world, did he slowly start to appear in the village.

Hearing what the plump aunt said, he became curious and turned to look at Sun Dahai, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

"Xiao Hai, what did Shuwen's wife say? I didn't understand!"

Sun Dahai was taken aback when he heard this, and then he realized what was going on.

Sun Desheng is an older generation of school teachers in the village. He has only one son, Sun Chengqiao, who is doing well and works in the county education bureau. Usually, his son and grandson live in the county town most of the time.

Several months have passed since the old man was resurrected, and Sun Chengqiao's family has not returned more than three times.

The old man has always lived a secluded life, so it's normal that he was unaware of several of the previously popular events.

Over there, the villagers were chatting and joking with each other when Sun Dahai quietly told Sun Desheng about what had happened some time ago.

"Teacher Sun, it's like this..."

Jiang Hua, who was listening nearby, looked at this person who was of the same generation as his grandfather, but did not interrupt, only sighed.

He thought to himself, "If I wait a few more years, more and more elderly people in the village will come back to life! When I'm 20 years younger, Grandpa will probably come back to life too!"

Sun Zhen patiently waited until everyone had finished joking before slowly saying, "The activities you've just discussed, in principle, the government won't force you to participate, but I think it's still good to participate as much as possible. After all, it's a way to relieve stress, and it is indeed an effective way for humanity to retreat and survive."

"Isn't there still Jiangning?" A boy of about fifteen or sixteen suddenly asked loudly from the crowd.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was Sun Tao's son, Sun Shijie.

The Sun family lineage in the village is ranked according to the sequence "Nine Masters Wen Feng De, Accompanying Cheng Wan Shi Kai".

This kid is considered a local bully among the younger generation in the village. His father is Sun Tao, and he grew up in a wealthy family. He is spoiled rotten and has caused a lot of trouble lately.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Sun Shijie wasn't intimidated and continued, "The TV said that Jiangning has a method to store data on human history and civilization. As long as it exists, humanity will not perish. What's the point of the 'Yesterday Survival Plan'? It's just a waste of time."

Sun Zhen smiled faintly after hearing this, not angry that a junior had interrupted him.

Instead, he glanced at Jiang Hua first before sighing, "The older generation all know that you can't put all your eggs in one basket; it's wisdom passed down from our ancestors. Jiang Ning is only one person; how can he take care of everything? We also need to find a way ourselves."

Sun Shijie was unconvinced and wanted to say something more, but then he heard Sun Tao say, "Come back, you have no manners. We're having a meeting right now, what do you know as a kid? Do you think the earth is only as big as our Yicheng or Sanmiao Village? Ants eat their nests and still get the big pieces. Small places like ours have to save themselves if they want to preserve their own heritage."

Sun Zhen nodded upon hearing this, inwardly praising, "As expected of someone in business, he has a great sense of the big picture and a quick mind. He grasped the situation in just a few words."

The others remained expressionless upon hearing this, their expressions a mixture of amusement and sarcasm.

This topic had been discussed several times in the villagers' spare time. As Sun Tao said, even ants can pick up the big pieces of food while gnawing on their nests. Compared to Sanmiao Village, Jiangning has too many things to do.

Jiangning may return to the village one day, but certainly not now.

Now, although each person on the "Yesterday's Survival Forum" has 1GB of upload permissions, it's simply not enough, as everyone has things they want to save.

So what can be done is still to pass it on by word of mouth.

This isn't to say that things passed down by word of mouth are that important, but rather that losing them is very painful.

In Sun Lingmin's words, "In the past, people carried on the family line and placed all their hopes on the next generation. Now, we are repaying our ancestors. If one day the Great Regression of the World ends, whoever leaves the most for their ancestors will be the most powerful family."

Although these were boastful remarks made at a dinner table, the words may be crude, but the principle is sound; it is indeed true.

Recently, many villagers have been secretly learning some skills in order to pass them on to their elders.

When Sun Shijie heard his father's reprimand and saw Sun Tao's stern gaze, he was startled and quickly stopped trying to show off, retreating into the crowd.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Sun Zhen immediately understood their thoughts. It turned out they were just talking, but actually they still agreed with the "Yesterday's Survival" plan.

"Yesterday's survival plan proceeded as before, with each family taking the lead. It didn't matter if we chatted about trivial matters every day, as this kind of behavior is beneficial to the unity of our village."

"Agreed!"

"support!"

Everyone responded enthusiastically.

Once the noise stopped, the plump woman said again, "Old Party Secretary, tell me the second thing!"

Then everyone remembered there was a second thing, and they all looked at Sun Zhen.

Sun Zhen didn't keep us in suspense this time: "The second thing is very simple: it's about taking turns on duty while we sleep!"