Next to Zhou Quan's chair were two baskets. One contained some rice, flour, seasonings, twenty pre-boiled eggs, and some baked sugar pancakes.

The other one contained bowls, chopsticks, spoons, spatulas, basins, and a small iron pot.

There was also a jar, which contained a jar of water.

This is enough for a family to stay here for a few days.

Li Mai confirmed that these items were the amount that a family could bring, so there was no problem.

She looked up and met the incredulous gazes of Zhao Shi, Zhou Tao, Zhou Lei, and Zhu Zhu. She smiled helplessly and whispered:

“I have a magic bag that can shrink things and put them inside. But I’m afraid someone will find out and steal it, so I haven’t told anyone. Mom, Xiao Tao, Xiao Lei, you have to keep this a secret for me and don’t let anyone know.”

After she finished speaking, she looked at Zhou Quan, who quickly said to Zhao Shi, "Mother, I know about this, but because we need to keep it a secret, we haven't told anyone."

The group paused for a moment, then nodded in unison. So Koizumi knew. That's good.

Although it was unbelievable, they still subconsciously trusted Li Mai and Zhou Quan.

"Xiao Tao, Xiao Lei, and Zhu Zhu, you three lie down and lean on each other to rest. Your brother, your parents, and I will sit here and see how things go." Li Mai instructed the three younger children to go to sleep first.

The three little ones responded and lay down side by side on the wooden plank to sleep.

Zhao sat down on the side, pulled Li Mai to sit beside her, and asked in a low voice, "Xiaomai, have you packed up all our things? Won't they get wet in the rain? Have you packed up the chickens and rabbits too?"

Li Mai nodded, "Don't worry, Mother. I'll take them out once the water recedes. They're all there."

Upon hearing this, Zhao was immediately relieved, and a smile appeared on her face for the first time in several days. "Good, you are truly our family's lucky star. Don't worry, Mother will keep this treasure a secret for you."

Li Mai smiled and said, "Okay, I'll need you to explain to Dad when no one is around. Tell him not to worry about these things. As long as our family is safe, we won't lose anything."

Zhao nodded, gave her a reassuring look.

Turning her head, she looked at Zhou Quan again, "Xiao Quan, why don't you go lie down for a while too?"

"No need, Mother, I've been lying down a lot these past few days." Zhou Quan shook his head, looked at Li Mai sitting between himself and his mother, and smiled. With her around, even these disasters didn't seem so terrible to their family.

After putting Zhou Quan down, Old Man Zhou took a lantern and went outside to check the rain and find out about the surrounding area.

After looking around, he stood at the tent entrance and looked out. He saw that villagers were also coming up the mountain with their families, carrying large and small bags.

The first to rush over were Uncle Wangcai's family and Uncle Lincai's family.

Upon seeing Old Man Zhou, they let out a scream, "We're exhausted from running! Third Brother, was that a real landslide just now?"

Old Zhou nodded, "It should be. In all these years, no matter how heavy the rain was, we've never heard such a loud sound."

They thought it made sense. Seeing that Zhou Quan and the others were all seated in the corner, they went into the tent where Old Man Zhou was. Then, the Cai and Wang Chun families also arrived, and naturally, they came over here as well.

After entering, they greeted Zhou Quan and then took out small stools they had brought from each household to sit down.

When they saw that Zhou Quan's family still had wooden planks and mattresses to lie on, their mouths twitched. Why is it that everyone else is fleeing from disaster, but your family still has wooden planks and mattresses?

"Third Sister-in-law, did you even bring wooden planks and mattresses?" Aunt Lin asked enviously.

“Yes, Xiaomai, Xiaotao, and I carried a few planks, otherwise the ground was too wet to sit on. The children are small and can’t stand for long!” Zhao said with a sigh.

"We only had time to bring a few small stools," Aunt Wangcai said enviously, and quickly let her two children sit down and rest against her.

Of course, they also had two baskets with them, containing some food and small jars for water.

After a brief greeting, everyone fell silent again, gazing at the dark night sky and the rain outside.

The families lived not far from the back mountain and had a good relationship. These past few days, thanks to Old Man Zhou's reminder, they had prepared some things so that they could bring them out more easily and arrive faster.

After a while, several more neighboring families arrived and entered their tent. In no time, the tent was packed with about ten families.

The families who arrived later went to other tents and sat or stood next to people they knew.

After the chieftain's family arrived, they went to the last tent, which quickly filled up with people.

This period of time was roughly the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Fewer people came after that.

The clan chief, along with his son, began to count the number of people; he needed to know how many families had escaped.

"Has the Da Niu family come out yet?" the clan chief asked.

"We're out," Zhou Daniu responded from the third tent.

"Check for your brothers' families to see if they've arrived. Confirm the number of people. Has the Cai family come out?" the clan chief asked again.

“They’re out, Lin Cai’s family is out too, we’re all together,” Uncle Youcai replied.

Both of Da Niu's and his brother's families came.

The clan chief acknowledged and then asked about the family three miles away.

Old Man Zhou responded with a sound of agreement.

The clan chief and his sons continued asking from house to house.

"Has the Three Paths family emerged yet?" the clan leader asked.

Zhou Santu is Zhou Xiaohu's father.

No one answered.

"What about Zhou Erleng's family?" the clan chief asked again.

Still, no one answered.

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