Because of the flash flood, the once flat yard is now piled with sand, branches and stones, and the muddy water up to knee-deep is a complete mess.

Xiaoman and his grandfather were braving the rain, using hoes to dig sand and drain the water.

Upon seeing Jiang Zhi arrive, the grandfather and grandson stopped fighting.

Uncle Xiaoman wiped the mud off his face and asked, "It was windy yesterday, how's your house?"

Jiang Zhi looked around the courtyard and, not seeing Xiaoman's grandmother, quickly said, "My house is alright, except a corner was knocked over and some rainwater got in. Uncle Changgeng, Qiaoyun is about to give birth, and I would like to ask Auntie to come and help."

"Oh dear, there's no need to ask for such a big matter. You can just shout from the cliff."

Grandma Xiaoman, Grandma Xiaoman, old woman, go and see! Don't let the children be scared! Grandpa Xiaoman dropped his hoe and waded through the mud and water into the house.

Jiang Zhi followed and looked at the mud and water in the courtyard and the house, feeling more and more distressed.

At this moment, Grandma Xiaoman was busy moving things inside. When she heard that Qiaoyun had given birth at this critical moment, she immediately became anxious: "Oh God, do you want people to live or die?!"

She dropped what she was doing: "Errui's mother, I'm going with you right now! These things are all soaked in water anyway, so it doesn't matter. People are the most important thing."

Jiang Zhi felt a surge of warmth in her heart: "Da Zhu and the others..."

The flash flood came down from the mountain and flowed directly through the house. Xiaoman's house had a sturdy roof, but the cliff face on the side facing the mountain turned into a waterfall.

Nini and Dazhu sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), which was soaked in water and looked like it was about to collapse.

"It's alright, Xiaoman and her grandpa are here. Old man, don't worry about what's outside, come and clean the foot of the kang!" Xiaoman's grandma hurriedly looked for her sewing box, preparing to take out the scissors inside.

On the kang (a heated brick bed), Nini tightly hugged a bamboo tube containing powdered bee pupae.

All she knew was that this was her father's medicine, and that if she took a spoonful every day, he could play with her.

Xu Dazhu lay back against the quilt, gripping the edge of the kang with one hand and protecting Nini with the other. He looked up at Jiang Zhi and said, "Auntie, it's alright for us. It's Er Rui's wife who's in a hurry."

He felt he had some strength left, and if the kang (a heated brick bed) collapsed, he could still protect his daughter.

Jiang Zhi thought... these people are all good people, so why is it so hard for good people to live such a difficult life!

When she and Xiaoman's grandmother waded back to the cliff through the flash flood, Errui was anxiously looking out from under the eaves.

He felt that his mother had been gone for a very long time, and asked in a panic, "Mother, why haven't you come back for so long?"

Jiang Zhi knew he was panicked and scared.

I'm scared of this situation myself, and I only feel at ease when Grandma Xiaoman is by my side.

Although Xu Errui is about to become a father, he is only nineteen years old and in some ways still has the mind of a child.

The presence of Xiaoman Milk was like a stabilizing force, instantly calming both generations down.

The water in the pot was boiled, and the scissors were also boiled. Qiaoyun ate two poached eggs and started having regular contractions, but it seemed that it would be a while before she could give birth.

Time was of the essence, so Jiang Zhi told Xu Errui to go down the cliff to help Xiaoman first.

We need to immediately block the flash flood on the road to prevent it from rushing straight towards the cliff behind the house.

Xu Errui was also in a panic. When he heard that Xiaoman's house was flooded, he quickly grabbed his hoe and went down the cliff.

Amid the torrential rain, both families began their respective rescue and relief efforts, their hearts filled with concern for Qiaoyun, who was giving birth.

Time passed little by little.

Xiaoman and Xu Errui moved stones and finally stopped the flood that had engulfed the road, and the waterfall that had been cascading down the cliffside into the house below was no longer flowing down.

On the cliff, Qiaoyun gradually began to cry out in pain.

With production imminent, under Xiaoman's guidance, Jiangzhi caught the big red rooster from the henhouse, put it upside down in a basket in the corner of the door, and placed a knife on the basket.

As for what this is doing?

Grandma Xiaoman said there are many evil spirits in the mountains, and the rooster is there to keep them away and ensure peace.

Jiang Zhi didn't ask any questions. Since Grandma Xiaoman said so, she would do it. The end of science is theology, and it wouldn't interfere with the normal production process anyway.

Whether it was because Qiaoyun had worked hard all year round, was young and healthy, or something else that was hard to explain, her childbirth went very smoothly.

After only a brief period of labor pains, a baby, completely wrapped in amniotic sac, fell to the ground crying loudly.

"It's a girl!"

As the child cried loudly, the rain and wind quickly stopped, and the red sun shone on the earth again, filling the sky with rosy clouds.

Mountain streams rise and fall easily; once the rain stops, the flash floods cease, leaving only a devastated landscape to demonstrate their power.

Xu Errui held his daughter, his limbs stiff and his expression dazed. He could hardly believe that he was already a father.

But the bond of blood made him smile from ear to ear. Thinking of the rainbow after the rain, he personally named his daughter Caixia.

The child was crying and making a fuss, clearly dissatisfied with his father.

Although Jiang Zhi felt the name was a bit common, she accepted it gladly because it was her father's choice; at least the name was appropriate for the occasion.

Once the baby is born, you should take good care of yourself during your postpartum period.

Jiang Zhi put the rooster that had performed the service back into the henhouse, but then seized one of its wives and concubines and killed it.

The four hens were originally intended for Qiaoyun during her postpartum period. Now, one hen is still incubating eggs, while the other three are laying eggs every day.

Jiang Zhi was reluctant to kill the laying hen, but the mother needed to replenish her body after giving birth.

If there is no breast milk, even rice porridge is scarce, making it difficult to raise a child in this desolate wilderness.

So, the chicken was quickly gutted and turned into a pile of meat.

There's plenty of food in the mountains and forests. Inside this chicken's belly, besides a bunch of eggs of different sizes, there were also two thick, golden-yellow, palm-sized pieces of fat.

The chicken fat and offal were rendered into oil and divided between the two families. The mountain people ate a lot of rabbit meat and wild chicken, but there was not much oil in it, so the chicken fat was very precious.

The chicken was divided into several portions, salted, and then kept chilled with spring water, and was given to Qiaoyun alone.

So every day, I would stew a small amount of wild angelica, tung oil, and wild yam in chicken soup, and drink motherwort water to promote the discharge of lochia.

It's early June now, and the weather is getting hotter after the rain. The new mother can't go out to cool off, and she sweats profusely every day. Jiang Zhi boils mugwort she picked and uses it to wipe her body.

The conditions here are already harsh; we mustn't let them get infected.

After finishing a chicken, Qiaoyun couldn't bear to kill another one.

She felt that she had a better postpartum period than anyone else; even her sisters-in-law didn't each eat a whole chicken.

Moreover, those chickens are laying eggs, so if we kill the chickens, we won't have any eggs to eat.

Qiaoyun was eating well and had plenty of breast milk, so the chickens really couldn't be killed anymore. Jiangzhi then gave her the eggs every day.

Moreover, Xiaoman's grandmother also brought over her own eggs, but Jiang Zhi didn't want to accept them; these eggs were all saved up from her meager savings.

The whole family, young and old, usually rely on the eggs laid by a few chickens to supplement their nutrition.

The dried meat has no oil or fat, and neither the elderly nor the young can chew it; it can only be eaten during the Lesser Fullness of Grain (a solar term).

But Xiaoman's grandmother said that it's customary to give gifts when a baby is born, such as chickens and eggs.

But now that our own chickens are laying eggs, about four eggs a day, we can't bear to kill them.

Sigh! Sigh! It's really tough!

Jiang Zhi felt that nothing was right. The wheat was already flowering, and if Qiaoyun gave birth in another month, she would be able to eat the new wheat.

With fresh wheat, you can eat your fill even without eggs or chicken.

Actually, this is already the best-case scenario.

They survived the chaos of war, famine, flash floods, and torrential rains; everyone is still alive and well, and they even had new additions to their family.

In previous years, this would have been a joyous occasion, let alone in this year of disaster. We should at least try to have some fun.

It's true that we should be happy. Although the flash flood made a mess of the house, we didn't have much stuff to begin with. The wet herbs can be dried and reused, so the loss wasn't significant.

The real loss is to the crops.