As expected, a torrential downpour began outside that night.

The rain came quickly and heavily, making a "pitter-patter" sound as it hit the roof.

Lin Xue got up once in the evening. She had drunk too much porridge, so her stomach was full of water, which made her prone to getting up at night.

"Honey, it's still raining outside!"

Liu Qing glanced at the torrential rain outside, but with too many people sleeping inside, it wasn't convenient to relieve himself there.

"Third brother's wife, go to that corner and let third brother cover you with his clothes."

"I put a broken basin there so I could use it to get up at night."

The men are alright; they can even stand at the door and spit out.

This was tough on the women, as they didn't have the ability to urinate standing up.

Grandma Sun was very thoughtful; she had already anticipated that her daughters-in-law would get up at night.

After all, given Grandma Sun's age, it's normal for her to get up two or three times a night.

Although I felt a little ashamed, everyone seemed to be asleep.

Lin Xue listened to Grandma Sun's advice and had Liu Qing shield her, quickly resolving the problem.

After relieving herself, she went back to bed to sleep.

Liu Qing ran to the door to take a look at the scenery in the distance, and then poured out the fertilizer.

Upon closer inspection, it was all dark and obscured, making it impossible to discern any difference.

The rain was really heavy and torrential, without even a flash of lightning.

Seeing that nothing was amiss, Liu Qing covered the door with an oilcloth and went back to sleep.

The next morning, when everyone got up, the heavy rain had stopped.

However, the sky remained overcast, as if the rain might return at any moment.

After getting up, the villagers started to get busy, organizing the grain they had collected the previous evening.

If there's no sun, just burn more fires to roast the grain. Anyway, these crops won't last long. Once they're ready, each household can get a share, and we won't have to worry about them spoiling if we eat them early.

Lin Xue, on the other hand, was confined to the house and, out of boredom, could only tidy up the herbs that she and her second sister-in-law had picked the night before.

After breakfast, Zhou helped to cook a large pot of medicinal soup, and everyone in the family drank a bowl.

Even their own old ox was forced to eat a huge bowl of soup, and the bitter old ox shook its head.

"Liu Qing, what are you feeding the cow? Look how disgusted it is."

A passing villager happened to see this scene and came over to ask him about it.

"This is medicine my wife brewed to prevent illness. Our family has all drunk it, but we were worried that the cow might get sick, so we gave it a bowl too."

"Oh my, your wife is something else!"

"However, the weather has cooled down considerably after this rain, so we should take precautions!"

"Do you still have any medicine to prevent illness? I'll trade you some grain for it!"

This villager was perceptive; seeing that Old Liu's family was taking medicine to prevent illness, he followed suit and started asking for medicinal herbs as well.

"Yes, these medicinal herbs can be found in the nearby mountains. I'll give you some so you can compare them and look for more nearby."

Liu Qing didn't think much of it. Anyway, his wife had collected a lot of medicinal herbs, so he took one of each and gave it to the villager.

After receiving the sample, the villager didn't just look after his own family; instead, he went to see the village chief.

He told the village chief what he had seen, and the matter attracted the attention of the village.

Finally, after the old village chief confirmed the medicinal herbs with Lin Xue, he sent people to collect them, and every household was asked to brew some medicine to prevent illness.

When I woke up this morning, several young children and elderly people had a slight cough, but after taking the medicine, they felt much better and their discomfort quickly subsided.

Although no one said it aloud, they all secretly held a grudge against the Liu family.

I was thinking that I should help Lao Liu's family more in the future. It's such a blessing to have such a person as a neighbor.

Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't raining, the village chief organized another group of people to collect all the remaining grain from the mountain.

Rain doesn't matter; they can be dried directly indoors and then distributed to each household.

This is all grain; although it looks like a lot, not much will actually be distributed to each family.

The villagers are incredibly meticulous when it comes to grain; even if it's wet, they have ways to dry it themselves.

The Liu family also received some grain, which was quickly cooked into millet rice at Lin Xue's request.

Although the weather was gloomy in the morning, at least it didn't rain.

But as everyone finished lunch, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

The rain lasted for three days.

The rain was intermittent, sometimes heavy and sometimes light, but it never stopped.

The villagers no longer lacked drinking water, but they began to lack firewood.

Those who had straw raincoats would put them on and go into the forest to cut down trees.

Even households without straw raincoats had no choice but to send out strong laborers to collect firewood.

Fortunately, Lin Xue had some medicine to prevent colds, so although everyone got caught in the rain, no one caught a serious cold.

As for the mild symptoms, the villagers didn't take them seriously at all, and instead took advantage of these few days to rest and recuperate.

The village chief is already discussing with the clan whether they can go back.

After all, God had already arranged for a torrential rain. With the nourishment of this rain, the water in the streams had overflowed, and the crops in the fields were able to grow again.

They fled their hometown because of drought, but now that there is no shortage of water here, everyone's longing for their hometown has become even stronger.

This trip took almost a month in total, and I'm not too far from my hometown.

The village chief quickly made a decision: they would go back once the rain stopped.

Although the place they live in now is suitable for survival, it is not their home after all. If the original owner returns, they will still have to return the place to them.

Moreover, they took it upon themselves to accept other people's grain; if a fight breaks out, there's no guarantee that there won't be casualties.

The old village chief's greatest wish was to bring all the villagers out and back safe and sound.

Three days later, at dawn, a ray of sunlight finally appeared in the sky.

The villagers excitedly began packing their things, planning to return to Qingshan Village.

When they were fleeing famine, everyone looked worried and sad, but now that they were talking about going home, smiles appeared on their faces.

In just one morning, the villagers had prepared everything, and everyone drove their livestock and pulled their carts back home.

But after only two days, I heard another piece of bad news.

I heard that barbarians attacked their old homeland.

The villagers who remained in their original places, as well as the displaced people who were slow to flee the famine, all died under the barbarians' swords.

Now everyone hesitated again, wondering whether to go back or continue their escape.

This time, it can't be called fleeing famine; it's more like fleeing from disaster.

The village chief convened the clan elders again to discuss the matter, and they finally decided to return to the stone house where they had previously lived.

After the barbarians leave, they will try to return to their hometown.

Unfortunately, ideals are often grand, but reality is often harsh.

When they turned back, hoping to find a habitable place again, they discovered that the road leading there had been blocked by a mudslide, making it impossible for them to pass.