Socially Anxious Girl Starts Hoarding Before the Apocalypse

After the spring planting and seedling season ended, summer soon arrived with the noisy chirping of cicadas and frogs. Various insects were also abundant, and children could easily get bitten, leaving bumps on their skin.

During the summer when they wore less clothing, An An might scratch herself, causing the bumps to become increasingly red and inflamed. Although Wen Qian did her best to apply ointment, marks were still inevitable.

After fumigating the room with mugwort, Wen Qian opened the windows to allow airflow. Mosquito netting was nailed to the windows, and a mosquito net was hung over the bed. As soon as An An finished bathing, she was placed inside the mosquito net.

It took Wen Qian some effort to prevent An An from tugging at the mosquito net, but giving her a toy or doll was usually enough to divert her attention. Since they lived in the forest, although the sun was intense during the day in summer, the nights were still quite cool. Wen Qian dressed An An in long sleeves and pants.

At night, if An An kicked off her blanket because she felt hot, Wen Qian would unconsciously cover her again in her sleep, as if it had become a conditioned reflex.

Whenever Wen Qian went out to do chores during the day, she would definitely bring An An along, either carrying her on her back or strapped to her chest, ensuring that the child remained within her line of sight.

If they were in the fields, it was more manageable. Wen Qian could sprinkle insect repellent powder, lay down a mat, and set up a small enclosure with fencing, allowing her to work with relative ease.

However, if they were in other places, Wen Qian could not simply leave An An unattended.

By noon, Wen Qian would return home. At this time, the sleepy An An, wearing a hat, would typically nap along with Wen Qian.

An An drank milk and ate supplementary food, while Wen Qian ate her meals. Occasionally, when their eyes met, Wen Qian could see An An's intense curiosity about her food. However, since An An was too young to eat solid foods, Wen Qian would at most offer her a couple of grains of rice to taste.

Sometimes, Ni Sha would bring her child to visit and chat with Wen Qian. An An was fond of Ni Sha's older child, perhaps due to the lack of playmates. Ni Sha's child also didn't mind spending time with An An.

The fewer people children interacted with, the more likely they were to become shy around strangers. By allowing the children from both families to interact frequently, they became accustomed to seeing other people and felt less apprehensive.

The two children from the Big Jin family also visited often. An An didn't protest when they held her, although she cried initially but grew accustomed to them later.

Children typically learn to speak before walking. An An could call for her "grandmother" but needed support when walking, though she wasn't eager to walk since she hadn't turned one year old yet, so Wen Qian wasn't too concerned.

In the wilderness, insects were abundant, and at night, even more insects were drawn to the lights. As a result, Wen Qian would extinguish the lights early, allowing them to sleep in the darkness.

Sometimes, when An An woke up, she would sit nearby playing with her fingers and toes, without disturbing Wen Qian's sleep. If Wen Qian woke up and looked at her, An An would flash an adorable smile.

Children's eyes always seemed bright, but as they grew older, their eyes lost that brilliance. Wen Qian didn't know why, perhaps because of prolonged use.

When it was time for vaccinations, Wen Qian would take An An to the village, where a doctor would visit.

After being carried for a long journey by the adults, Wen Qian needed to take a break since An An couldn't be left unattended, so she had to carry or hold her the entire time.

At her young age, An An couldn't sit obediently on a bicycle or tricycle.

An An was curious about everything, even showing no fear when approached by the doctor in a white coat, allowing herself to be given two injections without any precautions.

After the shots, Wen Qian helped apply pressure while An An furrowed her brow, pouted, and started crying, causing the surrounding adults to laugh.

After a few cries, Wen Qian diverted An An's attention by pointing out various things in the market, and the child soon stopped crying.

Bringing a child out was indeed physically demanding. However, it seemed Wen Qian hadn't initially planned to have a baby stroller in her space.

Once An An fell asleep, Wen Qian would lay a mat in the tricycle and place her on it, then ride the tricycle, which alleviated her fatigue.

The small path leading home didn't allow for cycling, so Wen Qian had to carry or hold An An again, but the proximity to home made it less tiring.

In the market, Wen Qian also purchased some common children's medications, storing them in her space without worrying about expiration dates.

Since this place was far from the village, and even in the village, doctors weren't available every day, considering that An An might fall ill, Wen Qian prepared medications.

It was only at this point that she realized, when she initially adopted An An for single parenting, that if An An had grown up in an orphanage, she would have had access to a nearby hospital.

Wen Qian couldn't help but admit that An An could have received better medical care.

Because she couldn't provide better conditions, Wen Qian felt guilty.

This thought crossed her mind when she was buying the medications.

Unable to find a reason to console herself, she could only set it aside and move on to other tasks.

Whenever Wen Qian couldn't figure something out or resolve an issue, she would set it aside and do something else.

If dwelling on one matter caused her to neglect other tasks, with no progress made during that time, it wouldn't be beneficial.

The answer wouldn't present itself just because she lingered or overthought the problem. She could only go and do other things, or rather, continue living her life and stockpiling resources, as she couldn't afford to waste time.

After returning home, Wen Qian would take out the items from her space and put them away, then eat and take an afternoon nap with An An.

The midday heat was intense, so even after waking up, Wen Qian wouldn't go out until the sunlight became weaker. During this time, she would accompany An An, teaching her to walk or talk.

In the afternoon, Wen Qian would attend to her scheduled tasks as usual. There was a pile of unprocessed vegetables in her space, so she would place An An's seat in the courtyard and work on processing the vegetables nearby.

During this time, she would burn mugwort, leaving no written records.

An An would play with her rattle, occasionally calling out "grandma." Sometimes Wen Qian would respond, and other times she was too preoccupied to do so.

An An rarely cried, as most of the time they both did their own things without disturbing each other, yet remained within each other's line of sight.

An An seldom cried, but the first time she experienced a summer thunderstorm, she was startled by a loud clap of thunder and began trembling, crying even while in Wen Qian's arms.

Eventually, Wen Qian's lullaby and gentle patting soothed her.

As An An grew older day by day, Wen Qian still hadn't found the answer, so she continued with her routines.

Sometimes she wondered, since she couldn't provide better conditions, which was a fact, perhaps An An's perspective was also needed, not just her own assessment.

It's just that the child is too young now, and she can't talk to herself yet, so it might be too early to know the answer at this moment.

These thoughts were only pondered silently by herself, and she hadn't shared them with anyone else. Knowing the answer wasn't urgent, so Wen Qian completely set it aside for the time being.