It took twice as long as usual to get to the village chief's house, and along the way, you could hear people crying and wailing everywhere.

Zhao Changgeng knew which houses had collapsed, and it was normal for people to cry and waile, but why were people who were perfectly fine wailing so loudly?

Zhao Changgeng stopped and looked toward the source of the sound. After listening for a while, he turned and left, regretting that he shouldn't have been so curious.

"What's going on? A chicken died and you're crying like this?"

Why didn't you do this sooner? You should have just built a proper chicken coop.

Even if the earthquake is severe, chickens have wings; they can always fly away.

"You're so clever, putting the chicken coop under the pile of wood. It would be an insult to the earth's wrath if it didn't kill a few chickens..."

Zhao Changgeng was not a very talkative person, especially as the eldest son, he had to constantly remind himself to be serious.

Actually, he's just a chatterbox, and quite secretly passionate.

He couldn't stop complaining in his mind. Even after arriving at the village chief's house, his inner grumbling hadn't ceased.

When Zhao Changgeng entered the courtyard, Zhao Jinfeng had just returned from outside and was scraping the mud off his feet with a shovel.

Hearing the noise, he turned around and saw Zhao Changgeng, and was delighted.

"Chang Geng is here. There was a sudden earthquake last night. Is everything alright on your end?"

Zhao Jinfa asked with great concern.

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle. My family is fine. As you know, my house is made of wood with mortise and tenon joints, so it's very sturdy."

If it weren't for the news from the pigsty that several piglets had been crushed to death, I wouldn't have known that last night was actually an earthquake.

I'm not worried about my uncle, I just came over to check on him.

I heard that several houses in our village collapsed. Uncle, what are your plans for resettlement?

Zhao Changgeng was very concerned about this issue. After all, there were almost no empty houses in the village.

Zhao Jinfa let out a long sigh.

"Alas, who would have thought that our good days would suddenly turn upside down like this?"

People say there are signs before an earthquake, especially cats and dogs, which are very sensitive to these things. But I didn't see any movement from them last night.

Seven houses in the village collapsed, but fortunately the weather isn't cold now.

We can have them go to the back mountain and cut some bamboo to make a temporary tent, which should be enough to get through this.

Many families had buried their grain inside their houses, some of it even soaked in water. It's unclear whether it's still edible if they dig it up.

Zhao Jinfa was rambling on and on, and it was less that he was speaking to Zhao Changgeng and more that he was venting his emotions.

He talked on and on for about fifteen minutes, and Zhao Changgeng listened quietly. Suddenly, Zhao Jinfeng asked,

"Big brother, how's your old house? Is it habitable? If it is, let's arrange for two families to stay there for a couple of days. What do you think?"

Zhao Changgeng gave a wry smile.

"No. Uncle, don't glare at me. It's not that I'm stingy, it's just that it's really impossible. I went to the old house before I came here."

I poked it with a bamboo pole, and the wall collapsed like a flaky pastry. Now the yard is full of dirt.

It's really fortunate that my family moved, otherwise none of them would have escaped.

With all that running and bumping, he probably would have been completely smashed to pieces last night…

The village chief was venting just now, now it's Zhao Changgeng venting.

Natural disasters have always been something that people fear.

Zhao Jinfa suddenly asked,

"Big brother, you just said you only found out about the earthquake last night this morning. Didn't your family feel anything at all last night?"

Zhao Changgeng scratched his head.

"I haven't asked that yet. When I came down the mountain, my family hadn't come out yet, and the house was all in good condition."

My wife didn't know there was an earthquake last night.

Uncle, why are you asking this? No, Uncle, why don't we feel anything?

Zhao Jinfeng lowered his head and pondered for a while.

"I suspect it's related to your wooden house. The mortise and tenon structure provides some earthquake resistance, which is why you didn't feel anything."

"What do you think about those families in our village building wooden houses too?"

Zhao Changgeng was speechless, just staring at Zhao Jinfa, which made Zhao Jinfa a little flustered.

Unable to hold back, he slapped Zhao Changgeng on the head.

"Can't you speak properly, you brat? Why are you staring at me like that? As if I'm saying something stupid."

Zhao Changgeng was at a loss for words, wanting to nod but thinking to himself, "What you're saying is absolutely stupid."

I can't say what I'm thinking, or I'll get my head swollen today.

"Uncle, not to mention how much money it cost to build that wooden house, it also took a really long time."

Do those families in our village have enough money, or enough houses to live in?

If you ask me, we should just have them cut some bamboo and build a few bamboo huts. The materials are readily available and it's easy to set them up.

The ground is suspended in the air, and the roof can be properly plastered with yellow mud and straw, and then thatched (layered) with it. Living there for several years is not a problem.

"It saves us money, and it saves you a lot of trouble, doesn't it?"

Zhao Jinfa's eyes lit up after hearing this.

"I'm getting old, I didn't sleep well last night, and my mind isn't working properly today."

This is a good idea; let them build bamboo houses.

Not only does it cost no money, but it can settle them all in a single day.

What if we don't have enough food?

Upon hearing this, Zhao Changgeng finally understood why his eldest uncle had been so cheerful when he entered the courtyard—he had been waiting for him there.

"Uncle, don't worry about the food problem for now; the house is the most important thing."

Our Lingnan Prefecture is green all year round, especially now that every household has enough vegetables in their fields, and there are also plenty of wild vegetables in the mountains.

As long as you are diligent, there is no reason for you to starve.

Please don't take on everything yourself, it's too tiring for you.

My cousins ​​will be even more heartbroken to see this, Uncle, you must take good care of yourself.

Uncle, I came to ask if there is any news from the town or the county.

My parents went to the prefectural city, and I don't know what's going on there. I'm worried.

Zhao Changgeng's interruption diverted Zhao Jinfa's attention.

"We haven't received any news yet."

I really don't know what's going on their end. I'm even thinking of sending someone out to check it out.

Zhao Changgeng nodded in agreement.

"Uncle, I'm relieved that everything is alright at your home. If you have any information, please have someone go and let us know."

I'll go home and discuss it with them. I'm still worried about my parents, so I'll see if we should go to the prefectural city. Uncle, I'll be going now.

Zhao Jinfa is also quite worried about his sons, since two of them work in the county government.

After thinking about it for a while, he smiled.

"You brat, it seems you didn't waste your time reading those books; you've even learned to outsmart me now."

You think you can get away with running away? When those families are really short of food, I'll definitely come to your house to beg for alms, and see how stingy you are then."