In the following days, the weather remained unchanged, and the rain continued, especially at night when the rain was heavy, though it would sometimes stop for a while during the day.

However, this kind of weather has already affected the villagers' autumn harvest progress, and people are starting to worry.

Especially for families struggling financially, who rely entirely on these crops for their livelihood, if it rains for a few more days, all the crops will be ruined.

By July 13th, Old Man Zhou could no longer sit still, and a melancholy expression appeared on his face.

The rain stopped around noon, and Old Man Zhou wanted to go to the fields to check on things, but Zhao stopped him.

"You can't go. It's been raining for days. What if the floodwaters come down from the mountains after you go to the fields?"

Most of their farmland is at the foot of the mountain. The worst thing for such farmland is continuous rain. In this kind of weather, the water in the mountain ditches will accumulate and form flash floods that rush down the mountain.

Just as Old Man Zhou was about to speak, Li Mai came over and also told him not to go to the fields in the mountains.

Old Man Zhou had no choice but to give up.

Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't raining, Zhao and Zhou Tao quickly went to make lunch.

At this moment, Wangcai, Uncle Lin, and a few others came to find Old Man Zhou and asked what to do about the rain that wouldn't stop.

Old Zhou shook his head. He didn't know either; half of his crops hadn't been harvested yet.

"How about we go and discuss this with the clan chief?" Uncle Wangcai suggested.

Old Man Zhou nodded, and the group went to discuss it with the clan chief, but they were driven back by a heavy rain on the way.

Old Zhou got soaked and had to change his clothes first. He stood under the eaves, gazing at the rain and sighing.

His house is relatively sturdy, but if it rains for a few more days, it will start to leak.

There are many other families in the village whose houses are not as good as theirs, and I heard that quite a few of them have leaky roofs. But there's nothing they can do about this continuous rain. No one is having an easy time, and they can only try to get through this ordeal on their own.

After lunch, Old Man Zhou went to check on the grain shed and came back saying that it had started to leak.

Li Mai also went out to take a look. The rice and flour in the large jar were covered with lids and some things were placed on top to protect them from the rain, so they could be stored in the grain room. But she was afraid that the grain seeds in the burlap sacks on the shelf would get wet, so she asked Old Man Zhou to move those burlap sacks of grain into her and Zhou Quan's room.

Feeling embarrassed, Old Man Zhou had no choice but to help carry the half-bag himself.

The family needs to eat over there in the main house, and if the rain is too heavy, they also need to cook inside the main house, so that area is definitely not suitable for storing anything.

As for the little rabbit, Li Mai had already put it in a basket and placed it on the ground inside their house.

Rabbits are afraid of dampness and rain, so a few days ago she put several little rabbits in a basket and moved them indoors. Zhuzhu's daily entertainment indoors has become feeding and playing with the little rabbits.

On the fifteenth of July, the rain intensified, and several houses were washed away. Fortunately, the people escaped quickly and were not injured, but the cries of these families still alerted the neighbors.

Someone braved the heavy rain to inform the clan chief.

The clan chief had no choice but to brave the heavy rain and take his two sons to help these families find a place in the village with spare houses to stay.

Despite it being a major holiday, the heavy rain ruined everyone's mood, leaving them all looking worried.

On the Ghost Festival, people are traditionally required to slaughter sheep to offer sacrifices to their ancestors and bury their dead. However, due to the heavy rain, no one was able to visit their ancestral graves to offer sacrifices or bury their dead this year.

The men in the village couldn't sit still any longer and gathered at the clan chief's house to discuss what to do!

“Chieftain, if this rain continues, I’m afraid our village will suffer too. I remember my grandfather telling me when I was a child that decades ago, there was a month of continuous rain, and as a result, the mountains flooded and half the village was submerged.” Old Man Zhou was the most worried.

"What are you afraid of? Your ancestors are protecting you. Even if your house collapses, you'll still have money to buy a house in town." Zhou Erleng's father glanced at Old Man Zhou indifferently.

His words were sarcastic and tinged with bitterness.

The clan chief glanced at him indifferently, but said nothing.

"That's right, Zhou Sanli, I think you're cursing our village to be flooded, aren't you?" Zhou Ermao's father also chimed in sarcastically.

"Bullshit! I already said it was something my grandfather told me about that happened in our village. I'm telling you this to warn you that when the flood comes, it won't just flood our family!" Old Zhou was so angry at these two sarcastic people that he stood up and pointed at them, cursing them.

"Alright, stop arguing. Sanli is right. Everyone should be careful tonight. This rain is a natural disaster, and no one can control it. I know everyone is having a hard time, so it's right to be careful."

"None of us can stop the rain, so it's good to make plans in advance. Starting today, as soon as the rain stops, the men should come to me, and we'll quickly go up the mountain to find a place to pitch tents and move people to higher ground first."

"Also, whoever has more empty rooms should store as much firewood as possible. Otherwise, if the firewood gets wet, we won't be able to start a fire and will just starve to death." After hearing what Old Man Zhou said, the clan chief also remembered the words of his ancestors and began to urge people to make plans as soon as possible.

Several people listened, nodded, and said they would go back and prepare.

However, some people disagreed, saying that they had lived there for decades and had never encountered a flood in the mountains. They wondered how a flood could have occurred when the rain had only been falling for less than half a month.

The clan chief was also annoyed. After instructing people to prepare for the flood in the next few days, he sent everyone home, as he had no better way to help them.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!