Chapter 25 Floods

Two years passed in a flash, and it was time to observe mourning after the Chinese New Year. Su Fengzhang had already started preparing for the exam, but the small class at the door had not stopped yet.

"Melon, winter melon, watermelon, pumpkin." Su Fengzhang wrote the word melon on the wall.

The children below read the Chinese character for "melon" in unison, but one of them asked mischievously, "Sir, why is there no northern melon?"

Su Fengzhang laughed when he heard it. "Of course there are northern melons, but they are not grown in Yuexi Village. In the area further north of the capital, there is a kind of pumpkin that looks like zucchini, and the locals also call it northern melon."

After hearing this, the children became curious about how to make the pumpkin grow like zucchini.

Su Fengzhang quickly changed the subject: "Speaking of watermelon, I remember an interesting story."

"There was once a scholar who was good at writing poetry. One day, a guest came to his home, and it was raining lightly outside the window."

"The guest wanted to test him, so he gave him the first line: 'Frozen rain sprinkles the window, two dots in the east, three dots in the west.' The word 'frozen' can be split into two dots in the east, and the word 'sprinkle' can be split into three dots in the west. It's quite clever."

The scholar thought for a moment, then brought out a large watermelon from inside the house and cut it in half, cutting one half seven times and the other eight times. He then said to his guests, "Please give me some advice. I've figured out the second half of my couplet."

"Guess what the second line is?"

The children below were confused, and even Su Lanzhang and Su Huihui, who were the fastest learners, had confusion in their eyes.

Su Fengzhang coughed. This was embarrassing. He almost forgot that he was teaching an introductory class and could not listen to such profound and interesting stories.

Fortunately, there were still some people who supported the story. The village chief happened to be listening in one day and shouted, "Erlang, your story is interesting, but we are all unsophisticated people and cannot come up with it. Why not just tell it directly?"

Su Fengzhang hurried down the stairs: "This person said: cut the melon and divide the guests, seven cuts on the top and eight cuts on the bottom. The word "cut" is exactly seven, and the word "divide" is eight."

"Hey, isn't that right?" said the village chief with a smile.

Some people slapped their thighs and shouted, "Oh, why can't I think of it? I have learned every word of this character before."

"Su Daniu, if you can figure it out, then you'd be a great poet."

Someone else suddenly had an idea and shouted, "Look, reading is different. Others can compose a poem just by eating a watermelon, but we can only make a sound when we eat a watermelon."

"Haha, I've remembered. Cut the watermelon for the guests. Seven cuts on the top and eight cuts on the bottom, right? Next time I eat watermelon in the summer, I must recite a poem before eating it. That way I look presentable."

Su Fengzhang smiled and shouted, "Okay, today's calligraphy learning is over, and the class is over. Let's go home early."

Before he finished speaking, the village chief stood up and shouted, "Everyone, wait a moment. I have something to say while everyone in the village is here."

"You should have heard about the flood in Qingzhou a few days ago. Although our Yuexi Village is upstream, we should be prepared for the worst. Please store all the food and belongings at home."

The village chief was talking about the Qingzhou dike burst a few days ago, causing floods in three places near Qingzhou Prefecture.

It rains a lot in the south, but this year's floods came too late, which has both good and bad consequences.

The advantage is that most of the rice has been harvested at this time, but the disadvantage is that the weather has become extremely cold. Although there are fewer plagues due to floods, the number of people who have frozen to death has increased exponentially.

Hushan County is originally located at a slightly higher elevation, and Yuexi Village is one of the highest-ranking villages in Hushan County, so there has been no impact for the time being.

Su Wenzhong hadn't slept well for several days because of this, and continued, "Okay, let's all go back."

People left one by one. Su Fengzhang walked over and asked, "Uncle, is the flood in Qingzhou Prefecture really that serious?"

Su Wenzhong sighed and said, "Who would have thought that it would be October and there would still be a flood?"

"Your cousin brought back news that the Qingzhou government office was flooded, and all the nearby farmland was submerged. No one knows how many people died. The New Year is almost here, so who knows..."

At that time, transportation was inconvenient and everyone heard the news through hearsay, but they still had a vague idea of ​​how powerful it was.

"Will it have an impact on us?" Su Fengzhang couldn't help but worry.

Su Wenzhong said, "It shouldn't be that bad. Our Yuexi is located at a high altitude."

Who would have thought that less than a day after he said this, the water level of Yuexi River, which runs around their village, began to rise.

In fact, the water level of Yuexi has been rising since the beginning of autumn, but the biggest trouble it brought to the villagers was that the large bluestones used for washing clothes were flooded, and there was not much impact on other things.

But overnight, the water in Yuexi River overflowed, and the low-lying farmland became paddy fields.

The Su family's small class had to be suspended because there was a low-lying area on the land in front of their door, which was now flooded.

Su Wenzhong was worried and had to check the water level seventeen or eighteen times a day. Even the villagers who had not taken it seriously became anxious and looked sad.

Su Zhao was also frightened and hurriedly packed her things.

Su Fengzhang frowned and asked, "Mom, our Yuexi Village is located at such a high altitude, could there be a flood?"

Su Zhaoshi said, "It's hard to say. Anyway, when mother was young, Hushan County was flooded once. At that time, I hadn't married into Yuexi Village yet, so I don't know what it's like here."

"Mom, I'll go ask my uncle." Su Fengzhang said, and went out to find Su Wenzhong.

Su Wenzhong was still by the Yuexi River, his brows furrowed.

"Uncle, how's the water level? Is it still rising?" Su Fengzhang got straight to the point.

Su Wenzhong nodded, and the thought of smoking disappeared. "When I woke up this morning, it was a little longer than yesterday."

"This situation reminds me of the flood thirty years ago."

Thirty years ago, the flood was very serious. The land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River was directly turned into a vast ocean. Countless people were affected by the disaster at that time, and it caused turmoil in the Zhou Dynasty for a time.

Later, the imperial court put a lot of effort into building dams. Since the area around Hushan County was mountainous, there were still small floods, but fewer large floods.

"Uncle, it looks like it's going to rain. If it rains, it will only make things worse. Should we move to the mountains?" Although Yuexi Village is named after Yuexi, there is a mountain not far away. It's not very high, but it's definitely enough to avoid floods.

"Isn't this... too early?" Su Wenzhong was a little hesitant. After all, it was not easy for a villager to move away. If the water level receded by then, the villagers would inevitably complain.

Su Fengzhang said, "Uncle, nothing is more important than human life."

Su Wenzhong thought about it and finally made up his mind: "Okay, I'll call a few elders to discuss it. Let's go hide in the mountains for a few days. After a few days, the water level will go down."

"In that case, I'll go back and prepare first, and then go up the mountain with everyone later." Su Fengzhang said.

The two of them acted separately. When Su Fengzhang returned home and told Su Zhaoshi about it, she was stunned: "Is this really that serious?"

"I'm afraid it's going to rain. Once it rains, we won't be able to leave even if we want to." Su Fengzhang explained.

"What should we do with the things at home?" Aunt Bai also frowned.

"Take some valuables, enough food for us to eat for ten days, and some necessities. Put the rest in baskets, hang them up with ropes and put them on the beams." Su Fengzhang made arrangements quickly.

Su Zhaoshi was a little undecided, but in just one year, the Su family had become accustomed to listening to Su Fengzhang. Before Su Zhaoshi made up her mind, Madam Wei and Zao'er had already taken action, and Aunt Bai also came to help.

Su Fengzhang also advised: "Mom, we are just taking refuge in the mountains. If nothing happens, it will be a false alarm, which is good. If something happens, it's not a big deal. We can go down the mountain after the water level recedes. Once the door is locked, the things in the house will not be taken away."

Thinking about it this way, Su Zhaoshi felt a little better.

Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "I hope everything is fine. Let's just go up to the top and look into the distance as a family."

Su Zhaoshi couldn't help laughing and scolded him again: "What nonsense are you talking about? Climbing up high to see the distant view, Aunt Bai, you should bring an umbrella too. If it rains, we will suffer on the mountain."

"My uncle said there is a cave on the back mountain. It's not small and can be used by everyone in the village to take shelter." This was one of the reasons that forced Su Fengzhang to make this decision. If he had to go up the mountain in the open air and get wet in the rain, he would have thought about it carefully.

Su Fengzhang made arrangements, and an hour later, their family's belongings were neatly packed up. The things they wanted to take away were placed on a wheelbarrow, which could be pushed away.

However, Su Wenzhong encountered resistance. Many people felt that Yuexi Village was located at a high altitude, and even if Yuexi River flooded, they would not have to flee to the mountains. Yuexi River had flooded more than once or twice in recent years, so there was no need to be so anxious.

Someone even shouted, "Village Chief, you're being unreasonable. We still have things in our fields, and we can't take all our belongings away. We can't just leave them there and ignore them, right?"

"Yes, Yuexi Village is located at a high altitude, so the houses won't be flooded. We can just scoop out some water, and that's it. We have to go up the mountain. What will we eat, drink, and live in?"

"No one has lived in that cave for many years. Maybe there are wolves hiding in it."

"Qingzhou Prefecture is Qingzhou Prefecture, and Yuexi Village is Yuexi Village. If you want to leave, go ahead. I won't leave anyway."

Someone else suggested, "Why don't we wait and see. If the water level continues to rise and reaches the foundation, we can leave?"

In the end, Su Wenzhong, as the village chief, made it clear that he was leaving anyway, and those who were willing to leave could follow him. His house was locked, and those who were unwilling to leave could stay in the village and bear the consequences themselves.

Because of this commotion, their departure was delayed a little. Many villagers actually didn't want to leave, mainly because they couldn't leave their belongings and furniture at home, especially because they were worried that if they left, someone would break in and steal their belongings.

But Su Wenzhong had been the village chief for many years, so there were still some people. In the end, two-thirds of the families followed him and left. Most of them were from the Su family. After all, he was both the village chief and the clan leader, and his words were powerful.

Although reluctant, the group still arrived at the cave in the afternoon.

The author has something to say:

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The bloody plot is coming