In the Years When I Was a Father-Chapter 175: The Cool Dad in the Apocalypse (5)

When Qi Lei returned to the classroom, a few close friends spotted the thermal food container in his hand and eagerly crowded around, excitedly asking what was inside.
Qi Lei casually placed it on the desk and said indifferently, “Seems like chicken soup.”
Upon hearing that, everyone wanted a sip to warm themselves up. Qi Lei wasn’t quite sure what to do with it anyway.
“You guys go ahead and share it.”
“Brother Lei, you’re not having any?”
“I just ate.”
With that, no one stood on ceremony. They grabbed a few spoons and quickly divided it up until it was all gone.
Zhao Xiaofei, who had joined the fun, glanced at Qi Lei who was resting his head on the desk and asked curiously, “What’s wrong? Not feeling well?”
“I’m fine. Didn’t sleep well last night because of all the noise.”
“Oh.”
Zhao Xiaofei had only gotten to know Qi Lei in middle school, so he didn’t know about the things Qi Lei had gone through in fifth and sixth grade. He only knew that Qi Lei had a father who didn’t care much about him and a stepmother, and instinctively assumed it was one of those “bad stepmother, neglectful father” kind of situations, so he didn’t dare ask further.
Although he was curious about who brought the chicken soup, Zhao Xiaofei had enough sense to realize his friend wasn’t in the mood to answer right now.
At noon, Qi Sheng did indeed bring some stewed lamb. Qi Lei handed him the cleaned thermos but, as usual, didn’t take the newly delivered one.
“I just had lunch. You can take it back.”
“It’s fine. This thermos keeps food warm pretty well. You’re still growing, so if you get hungry later, just eat it.”
Qi Sheng firmly pushed the thermos into Qi Lei’s hands again. Noticing he didn’t look too well, he naturally reached out to touch Qi Lei’s forehead.
Qi Lei didn’t react in time and was caught off guard. He quickly pulled away, and for a brief moment, there was an awkward silence. Qi Sheng returned to his usual tone and said, “The weather’s been fluctuating a lot lately. Take care of your health. Don’t forget to eat the lamb—it’s nourishing.”
Qi Lei wanted to return the thermos again, but Qi Sheng had already gotten into his car.
“Take care of yourself these next couple of days. I’ll bring chicken soup tomorrow morning.”
Though Qi Sheng didn’t know exactly how much the kid was actually eating, he still came by every day on time with some kind of nutritious food.
Qi Lei’s attitude hadn’t changed much, but Qi Sheng didn’t seem to be in a hurry either.
As the weather turned colder, people assumed things were finally going back to normal—after all, it was November, and cold weather was expected. The talk of the apocalypse seemed like a false alarm. But then in January, a series of major earthquakes in the south shocked the country and reminded everyone how unstable the world had become.
The epicenters were all in unpopulated areas, but nearby households were still affected—some older buildings even collapsed.
Those earthquakes caused over twenty casualties. Aside from prayers and blessings, netizens suddenly remembered a once-popular post.
[Damn, is this guy a time traveler or reincarnated? Most of what they wrote actually came true!]
[This is nuts—everything was predicted so accurately!]
[We’ve got a real-life time traveler here. OP, please come out and guide us on how to survive the future!]
…
Comments flooded in with admiration. The internet was abuzz, until some more rational or skeptical people stepped in to challenge the hype.
[Can you stop exaggerating? The post just listed a bunch of things that could happen. Are you blind? You only noticed the ones that happened to be right. Tons of it was nonsense that never came true!]
[Exactly. These days anyone can get online. You’ve been reading too many web novels. Why not say a cultivator descended into the mortal world? Obviously it was just some expert with solid analytical skills listing possible outcomes. No need to hype it up so much.]
[Earthquakes are pretty common in the south anyway. It’s not that rare…]
…
When Qi Sheng first made the post, he had deliberately mixed truth with fiction to obscure things and confuse readers. So most rational netizens, after analyzing it carefully, concluded it was probably just the work of a well-informed expert making educated guesses. Only a small, more playful group insisted that a cultivator or time traveler was behind it.
Still, Qi Sheng’s post became something of a survival guide in case of an apocalyptic future. At the very least, quite a few people began discussing with their families the idea of stocking supplies or renovating old homes.
The post went viral online, and relevant government departments even attempted to trace its origin. But when even the top cybersecurity experts in the national security bureau couldn’t find the poster, government officials realized this person was not ordinary.
They quickly grasped Qi Sheng’s intent—regardless of the truth, they began actively guiding the public to follow the post’s advice in order to avoid potential disasters.
With the social atmosphere shifting, even though mass panic hadn’t broken out, the school year for elementary and middle school students was adjusted to end early—coinciding with the university break schedule.
Qi Sheng once again advised his brother-in-law to use his savings to renovate their family’s old house. This time, he didn’t have to work too hard—Tian Yong went back home to discuss it with his parents and wife on his own.
With the school break starting early, Qi Sheng and Tian Yue now had some free time. The new house in their hometown had already been built and was now in the renovation phase. Qi Sheng held a simple family meeting.
“I’m going back to the hometown tomorrow to check on the renovation progress. Do you want to come with me, or stay here for now?”
Because the new house in the hometown was still under construction, the elderly couple was currently staying at Qi Sheng’s second uncle’s place. A couple of years ago, Qi Sheng’s second uncle had built a new house for his youngest son’s marriage, so there were still many empty rooms. However, Qi Sheng was worried that Tian Yue might not feel comfortable staying there, so he wanted to ask for her opinion.
Tian Yue only went back to her in-laws’ hometown during holidays. Because of Qi Lei, she didn’t spend much time with her parents-in-law, let alone the relatives of Qi Sheng. When she heard they’d be temporarily staying at the younger cousin’s house, she felt a bit uncomfortable.
“I’ll go to my brother’s place for a few days. They haven’t decided yet whether to go back to the countryside and rebuild the house or keep observing the situation.”
Qi Sheng frowned upon hearing this. “Still not decided? If they delay much longer, worse things might happen.”
Tian Yue remained skeptical. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration, isn’t it? It’s just a few more earthquakes in the south. Even though it was unusually hot for a while, the weather’s been fairly normal these past two months.”
“Yeah, it seems normal, but online everyone’s saying we should rebuild homes back in the countryside. Even that mysterious expert is advising the same.”
The couple discussed this topic for a long while. Meanwhile, at Tian Yong’s home, the whole family was still arguing about whether or not to go back and rebuild a house.
It was almost funny — aside from the third-generation family member Tian Mingwei, who strongly supported going back to rebuild, his grandparents and parents were all against it.
Mainly, they had grown used to living in the city and really liked the convenience and cleanliness of urban life. Going back to the countryside would make even getting medical care more difficult.
Tian Mingwei said, “Ugh, what are you hesitating for? We can use some of the money to build a small villa in our hometown — that’d be great! We’d never be able to live in a villa here in the city. And we could enjoy a leisurely rural lifestyle — sounds so relaxing!”
Tian Yong rolled his eyes at him. “What do you know? Spending hundreds of thousands on a house only to rarely live in it would be a waste. We’d be better off saving the money to buy a bigger place here.”
Tian Mingwei’s mother agreed. “Your dad’s right. We haven’t been back in years. Life would be inconvenient there. I don’t want to go back.”
The grandmother also agreed. She had made several close friends here, and spent her days dancing in the square, playing mahjong, and shopping. Life was leisurely and convenient, and she didn’t want to leave.
Only the grandfather felt a bit nostalgic for their hometown, but with his wife around, he had no say in the matter.
When Tian Yue brought her son Qi Hang over, it was just Tian Mingwei arguing alone against the other three. Even though he was just a university student, he was the only grandson in the Tian family, and he held his ground against his parents and grandmother. In fact, the grandmother and his mother were starting to waver about giving in to his wishes.
“Brother, didn’t you tell Qi Sheng just a few days ago that you were going to rebuild in the countryside? Why are you changing your mind now?”
“I said that in the heat of the moment because of all the buzz online. But thinking it over, it’s not that serious. We only get the occasional drought or dust storm here — no need to flee to the countryside. If everyone left, would the city just stop functioning? Seems like internet folks are exaggerating. None of our neighbors are talking about going back either.”
A lot of people had grown accustomed to city life, and they still had jobs and children in school. It was impossible to just leave everything based on rumors.
Tian Yue understood her brother’s point, but still shared Qi Sheng’s suggestion.
“Qi Sheng said that even if you’re not ready to move back, you could use some money to build two or three simple rooms in the countryside. That way, even if you don’t go often, it could be a holiday retreat. And if there really is a disaster later, the old house could serve as a backup shelter.”
Tian Mingwei was thrilled to have someone backing him up. He shot a glare at his silent and timid grandpa and chimed in excitedly, “Exactly! My uncle’s totally right. How about we use 200,000 yuan to build a basic new house back home? We could even go there once in a while for some rural fun!”
After another long discussion, Tian Yong finally agreed to rebuild a house back in the hometown — largely thanks to Tian Mingwei’s persistent persuasion.
Meanwhile, Qi Sheng had already returned to the Qi family home. Looking at the newly built courtyard with its tall walls, he felt much more at ease.
The renovation worker greeted him, and Qi Sheng politely handed him a cigarette, asking, “Brother Min, based on the current progress, when do you think it’ll be done?”
“Probably another month.”
That was already incredibly fast. If Qi Dajun’s construction crew hadn’t been off work at the time, the house might not even be built yet. Qi Sheng was satisfied with the result. He chatted with Brother Min a bit about renovation details and then began touring the courtyard from front to back.
Their plot had a road-facing front and half an acre of land in the back — a huge total area. Even the front yard alone was very spacious.
To the right of the main gate was a small store for the old man. It was about 20 square meters. Qi Sheng had specially installed a rolling shutter and a security door — very secure.
Next to the store was a garage that could fit two cars, also reinforced with rolling shutters and security doors.
Past the gate was a wall divider, not yet tiled, but the tiles had already been selected — a common peacock-themed design with the phrase “Harmony in the Family Brings Prosperity.”
On the right side of the courtyard was a 40+ square meter kitchen, split into two parts. The right half was the cooking area, with a wide counter, space for modern kitchen cabinets, a sink, and a range hood. Qi Sheng had even asked the builder to construct a traditional clay stove.
The elderly lady loved cooking on a clay stove. Although she thought the kitchen setup was a bit odd, mostly she was just delighted.
The other half of the kitchen was a dining area — furniture wasn’t in yet, but the space was large.
Opposite the kitchen were two storage rooms — plenty of space for the family’s usual odds and ends.
Behind the main hall were the bedrooms and living areas. On the left were two master bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms; on the right, two secondary bedrooms and an extra bathroom in the back. A small room sat in the middle, and the rest was open living space.
At first, the old man had been confused by the number of rooms and worried about how they’d all be used. But the layout was excellent, and with all materials already purchased, he had no time to object.
Back when they started construction, the elderly couple mostly hoped they could leave the house to Qi Lei someday. But once it was completed, they were just happy to be living in such a nice place.
When Qi Lei got back, he went to visit his grandparents at his second granduncle’s house — he’d likely be staying there for a while. With the New Year approaching, more young people had returned, and the second uncle’s house was now full. Qi Sheng originally planned to ask his eldest uncle for a spare room, but it turned out the eldest cousin had brought his girlfriend home, so there was no room left.
So naturally, Qi Sheng set his sights on the bedroom his son was currently occupying.
When Qi Lei came back from visiting neighbors that night, he found an unwelcome guest in his room.
Qi Sheng: “Lei Lei, let’s share the room for a while!”
Qi Lei: …
No. Absolutely not!