Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 541, Third Batch of Relocation Policies

It was a newly built standard city road, with two lanes in both directions, clear markings on the road surface, and neat sidewalks and drainage ditches on both sides.

The streetlights have been erected, and although there is no electricity yet, all the infrastructure has been laid out.

Having roads means that in the future, travel, transportation, and procurement will no longer be hampered by remote locations.

Moreover, the presence of a road also means that although her land looks desolate now.

But as long as the satellite city continues to expand outwards, her land will soon transform from the periphery to the heartland, from remote to sought-after.

She stood there for a while, confirming the directions of east, west, south, and north, and looking at the sunlight, secretly planning the layout of the future courtyard in her mind.

Which area to plant vegetables, which side to build grape trellises—these details were largely decided during the selection process.

But only when you actually stand on this land do the outlines in your mind become more real and concrete.

After surveying the land, she slowly walked back along the path she had come from. By then, it was almost completely dark.

As she approached the main urban area, she noticed that there were more pedestrians on the road than when she had come out earlier.

Groups of people passed by her in twos and threes, some carrying large bags and small bags, some dragging small suitcases, and some even carrying cardboard boxes, the contents of which were unknown.

But everyone was in a hurry, their faces showing the tension and exhaustion typical of people rushing on their way.

After walking a little further, she saw a large crowd gathered in the distance in front of the guesthouse.

There were men and women, young and old, and even young parents holding crying infants, all crowded on the steps at the entrance, as if they were queuing up to check in.

The guesthouse's gleaming glass door was closed, and you could vaguely see the receptionist talking to someone inside.

People outside craned their necks to look inside, chattering amongst themselves.

Xu Xiaoyan slowed her pace, thinking that these people were probably like her, coming to the satellite city to choose land for building houses and needing temporary accommodation.

But upon closer inspection, she realized that the group was much larger than she had imagined.

The small open space in front of the guesthouse was almost completely filled with people, and those who came later had to stand on the side of the road.

Some people were holding something in their hands, looking down at it repeatedly, as if checking some information.

She squeezed through the edge of the crowd and vaguely heard someone complaining.

"Three hundred square meters? I came all this way just for three hundred square meters? The first batch was four hundred square meters!"

"Come on, it's better than nothing."

"It's only been a few hours, but we've lost another fifty square meters. If I had known this would happen, I should have left this morning. This is just causing delays..."

Xu Xiaoyan stopped beside the crowd, her brows furrowing slightly.

Three hundred square meters? Five hundred square meters outside the city?

If she heard correctly, the second batch of policies clearly stipulated 350 square meters within the city and 550 square meters outside the city. How long has it been, and the area has already been reduced again?

She subtly moved to the side, next to a middle-aged man who was looking at his phone, and tentatively asked, "Brother, are you the third group to arrive?"

The man looked up at her, nodded, and said with a hint of helplessness in his voice:

"That's right. We missed the second batch in the afternoon, and then the third batch of relocation policies came out just before lunchtime."

"Three hundred square meters inside the city and five hundred square meters outside the city. As soon as I heard that, I rushed here. If I had been any later, the area would have shrunk again."

Xu Xiaoyan was secretly startled; two policies in half a day.

The higher-ups were acting much faster than she had imagined, almost at a cost-nothing pace, cramming people into the satellite city.

She quickly glanced at her phone; the push notification on the screen was in bold and formatted neatly, confirming it as the third batch of migration policy announcements released by the official channels.

The content is largely the same, except that the plot size has been reduced by another fifty square meters, and the time limit remains one hour.

But she noticed an additional note at the end of the announcement that she hadn't seen before, in a smaller font than the main text, as if it had been added temporarily:

"This relocation is the last large-scale population evacuation in the short term. Residents of Qing City are urged to seize this opportunity and not miss it."

As part of the last batch, Xu Xiaoyan stared at those six words several times before stepping around the edge of the crowd and standing in a slightly quieter spot.

Her mind was racing. Three batches of policies were introduced in one day, each with worse treatment than the last. Anyone would find this sense of disparity unbearable.

But it is precisely this unbearable situation that will drive those who are still observing to flock to the satellite cities.

She had to start considering what big move Qing City was planning.

Under normal circumstances, population evacuation should be carried out in batches and in a rhythmic manner.

Relocate one batch at a time, and once they are settled, move the next batch, allowing sufficient time in between for infrastructure to catch up, for supporting facilities to be built, and for social order to stabilize.

However, the satellite city's reception capacity is clearly far from saturated, and the guesthouses are packed with people.

Most of those plots of land are still vacant, with the foundations not even laid yet.

The fact that people were being driven out so intensively under such circumstances only indicates one thing: the situation in Qing City is far more urgent than anyone imagined.

Xu Xiaoyan stood by the roadside, her mind churning with all sorts of guesses, but the next second, she shook her head violently.

She's already a resident of the satellite city, so what does it matter to her what happens in Qing City? Why think so much!

The next morning, she groggily opened her eyes to find sunlight streaming through the gaps in the curtains, casting a thin, golden band of light across the ceiling.

She turned over, reached for her phone on the bedside table, turned on the screen, and saw it was 7:23 AM.

She stretched and stayed in bed for a few more minutes before going to the bathroom to wash up quickly.

The moment the cold water hit my face, the last trace of drowsiness was completely washed away.

Breakfast was cabbage and pork buns. After eating two piping hot buns, I felt warm all over.

She returned to bed contentedly, leaned against the headboard, took out her phone, and began scrolling aimlessly.

The network signal in the satellite city is pretty good. Although it occasionally lags, basic browsing and communication are guaranteed.

She browsed through local forums and communities, trying to find out if there were any new policy developments or notices worth noting.

Then, a post caught her attention.

The post's title was in bold, large font, as if venting some kind of emotion; you could feel the poster's resentment even through the screen.

"Satellite cities are such a rip-off! The money I paid for building the house only covered the frame and exterior! I had to hire someone else to do the plumbing, electrical work, and interior decoration all on my own! I've been completely ripped off!"

Xu Xiaoyan stared at the title for several seconds, hesitated for a moment with her finger hovering above the screen, and then clicked on it.