A new religion was born overseas, apparently originating from an extreme environmental group. They did not allow humans to create anything beyond the level of other animals.
Airplanes should not exist, they believed, since if humans were not born with wings, it meant they were not meant to fly.
Drinking milk was prohibited because it was meant for a cow's calf.
They believed that everything in the present was the will of God, and God was punishing humans for destroying the environment - every person was guilty.
Therefore, people should accept the current state of affairs and go with nature, without further developing technology.
They even forbade the development of new seeds, considering it a violation of natural laws. People should use ancient seeds instead.
If the crops from those seeds did not yield enough food for the current population, it meant there were too many people, and balance needed to be restored.
Yes, this organization really believed that.
Everyone was struggling to survive, so who would think they were the ones destined to die?
This organization believed humans should not create anything, and everything should follow the natural course of development.
This mindset, however, gained many followers, and overseas research institutes and scientists received threats to their lives.
This organization appeared unintelligent, yet had immense destructive power.
Hard-earned research efforts and equipment were destroyed by people.
They smashed machines beyond repair, rejecting their use and believing humans should live more primitively - that the world should not have had an industrial revolution.
In truth, those who spoke such words did not wear animal skins like primitives, but rather clothes made by the machines born of the industrial revolution.
Wen Qian remembered the organizations that had previously prevented people from putting out forest fires, believing the fires were part of nature's laws that should not be excessively hindered.
Even if the fires reached people's homes or harmed wildlife, they could not artificially stop nature's renewal.
Of course, if their own homes caught fire, they would still call the fire department.
Although this organization grew larger, their goal seemed to be for everyone else to die except themselves.
Some joined out of belief, some out of herd mentality, and others realized joining would spare them from being the target of destruction.
Wen Qian was a bit worried about the future.
She was not concerned about anyone destroying the seed research institute - the people here saw food as paramount, and would be happy to cultivate better seeds.
But many would dislike sciences that appeared "useless" before a volcanic eruption.
For instance, some could not understand why so much money was spent launching rockets and satellites, or going into outer space and to other planets.
Others did not grasp the significance of quantum, animal, and archaeological research, believing they had no meaning.
They thought these people should spend their money, time, and effort on more meaningful areas with tangible benefits, like having enough to eat.
After the volcanic eruption, although many related studies had stopped, people did concentrate manpower and resources on the most urgent matters.
Yet some research incomprehensible to ordinary people was still ongoing, seemingly endless. Thus, many were unsatisfied, questioning what was necessary besides seeds at such a time.
They did not believe the northwest wind could synthesize starch, even though experiments had already done so. They thought large-scale production had zero possibility, just a nice-sounding but impractical plan.
There was also controlled nuclear fusion - many only associated nuclear with radiation and pollution, so they opposed related research.
Current news indicated no progress, but also no stoppage.
Wen Qian also had many things she did not understand, but she would not arrogantly dismiss them as useless without understanding, because even with detailed explanations, she might not comprehend.
Some people were different - the entire world revolved around them. Characters they did not recognize were not real characters; camels they had never seen were just swollen horses.
Such people existed at all times. All normal people could do was not argue with them and keep their distance.
Wen Qian had a sense of foreboding, which was later confirmed.
Originally, by May the temperature should have risen slightly, but May passed without leaving winter behind.
Other places experienced the same - as if spring would never come.
Since spring came so late, Wen Qian did not plan to grow much grain, instead continuing to plant vegetables and potatoes. Leafy greens had a short harvest time, and potatoes were safer in the ground.
Indeed, that year had no summer at all, and even spring and autumn were exceptionally short.
The slightly warmer months were concentrated from June to September, totaling just over three months of slightly higher temperatures, while the rest was winter - the truly dreadful part.
During this period, Wen Qian also encountered a massive hailstorm; had she not taken shelter promptly, her head would have been cracked open.
House roofs were smashed, and some crops were completely destroyed.
Wearing a helmet, Wen Qian did not know whether to first collect her tattered vegetable leaves or repair her house's roof.
After covering the roof with a large tarpaulin or two, she went to the fields to gather her ruined greens.
This did not only happen to her - many places experienced prolonged winters, already long enough originally.
Similar areas also faced hailstorms and frost disasters, with severe human and crop losses.
Some wondered if the entire Earth might gradually turn into an ice ball, devoid of life.
Since effort was futile, what was the point of trying? Thus, some felt they might as well not waste effort.
Rather than toiling for years only to starve or freeze to death, they might as well die now. The panic was perhaps even more intense than during the volcanic eruption.
Yet people could receive less information this time, unable to hear more positive news or be properly reassured.
Those repeated words of encouragement had lost their effect.
Previously, they could at least hope for a meager harvest, but now if spring and autumn gradually disappeared, what could they grow or eat?
Was there nothing left to cultivate besides mushrooms?
Wen Qian carefully collected her vegetable leaves amidst hailstones the size of eggs and fists, eventually gathering the hailstones too - might as well keep the ice for later.
That year, Wen Qian had no crop yield. She had not planted much to begin with, and although the potato vines were damaged, potentially affecting the yield, she let them continue growing.
The leafy greens were damaged but harvested promptly, so they could still be eaten.
However, for the time being, Wen Qian did not plan to grow anything besides greens.
The world did not improve the following year, nor did Wen Qian's wish come true.
Winter also came earlier than usual, forcing her to stay home sooner.
In the fourth year after the volcanic eruption, the situation further deteriorated.
The news Wen Qian could receive also became shorter, broadcast three times a week instead of twice a day.
Wen Qian wondered if not receiving any radio news would signal the complete collapse of human society.
