Baijiazhuang Village, Zhulin Township, Nanning Prefecture

The torrential rain showed no signs of stopping.

The sky seemed to have been torn open, and rain poured down, pattering against our bodies and the backs of our horses.

Bai Manshan wiped his face, brushed the raindrops from his eyes, and continued riding his horse toward the village.

In the distance, a fierce wind whipped up dark clouds, making the entire sky gloomy and dark. The mountains appeared indistinct and unclear in the rain.

The dirt road beneath the horse's hooves was submerged up to the calves by the floodwaters. The rice seedlings in the fields on both sides of the road were completely submerged, and the corn stalks in the fields were blown down by the strong wind. Bai Manshan had no time to feel sorry for the situation; his eyes were fixed on the village ahead.

Here he has 800 acres of fertile land, countless plots of land, and more than 200 servants. This is the Bai family's greatest hidden asset.

He would hand it over to Qian'er from now on, and he couldn't let it get into any trouble.

Baijiazhuang was bustling with activity at that moment.

"Head of the village, the boss said a few days ago that if there is a heavy rain, everyone in the village should immediately evacuate to Fish Back Mountain across the way!" Xu Qing looked directly at Head of the village and said sternly.

Sun Zhuangtou stood under the eaves, looking at the crowd of people in the courtyard, his eyes gloomy.

Of course he remembered what his employer had said.

But these two hundred-plus people, from more than ten households, could walk and take some of the grain with them, but they didn't care about their farm tools, houses, or belongings.

These people can leave whenever they want. He's the head of the estate, so the owner won't blame him for the losses, but he might leave a bad impression on the owner.

"Wait a little longer. The owner is just worried that the dike at Ma Duck Lake won't be able to hold back the flood. What if it does?"

While speaking to the people in the courtyard, I was also speaking to myself.

The men who usually supported Sun Zhuangtou immediately shouted, "That's right! The boss lives far away, so we should listen to him!"

"We're all leaving now, are we just going to leave these belongings behind? Can we take a few things with us to Fish Back Mountain?"

"You don't want to live in your own homes, but instead want to stay in thatched huts, treehouses, and caves on Fish Back Mountain?"

"You're all capable, but have you considered your families? In this torrential rain, will they be able to manage on the mountain?"

The noisy crowd fell silent for a moment.

There's no place like home; who would want to move?

Seeing that everyone's resolve was wavering, Xu Qing shouted in a loud voice, "The boss said we'll come back when the rain stops."

If the reservoir dam is intact, we won't lose any of our belongings. But if the dam breaks down, it will save the lives of our entire family!

Can't you tell which is more important and which is less important?

When it came to matters of life and death, the people in the courtyard felt that they still couldn't take the risk.

Sun Zhuangtou squinted at Xu Qing, his dissatisfaction evident in his heart: "Don't always talk about being the boss."

The landlord is far away in the southern capital; here, I, Sun Zhuangtou, call the shots! I said we won't move now; we'll talk about it tomorrow.”

Xu Qing remained unmoved, staring intently at Sun Zhuangtou: "No, I only listen to my master!"

We just returned from Ma Duck Lake. The floodwaters are almost at the dam. The rain shows no signs of letting up; we won't last until tomorrow. We have to move tonight, right now!

The crowd responded with continuous cheers.

"I said we won't move tonight, we'll talk about it tomorrow!" Sun Zhuangtou said, his face dark, enunciating each word clearly: "Anyone who goes against me will be in for a world of trouble once the flood recedes!"

The noise subsided, and silence descended.

Apart from the sound of rain, no one made a sound.

Sun Zhuangtou, pleased with his prestige, glanced around smugly, then suddenly his pupils widened.

There was one more person in the crowd in the courtyard!

The person who came a few days ago, who earnestly gave him instructions and whom he had strongly promised!