Chapter 46 Rain

"Girl Yue, what are you still doing here? Go home! It's going to rain!" Several women hurried to the village with baskets on their backs. Seeing Gu Jiayue still on the mountain, they hurriedly shouted to remind her, fearing that this girl from the city would not be able to read the weather and end up getting drenched in the rain.

"Oh, okay. We'll be back soon." Gu Jiayue took the time to reply.

During this period, Gu Jiayue got along well with the villagers, especially when she was planting rice. She was not afraid of hardship and worked diligently. The villagers saw this and gave her a thumbs up, praising her for her ability to endure hardships.

When you meet her in the village on weekdays, she will greet everyone with a smile. If someone asks her about something they don’t understand, she will try her best to tell everyone what she knows.

So most people in the village still like this girl, and some kind-hearted people even plan to find a husband for her.

As if to prove what the old ladies said, a loud thunder exploded in the sky without any warning, making people's ears numb.

A huge dark cloud was floating rapidly from a distance, and it looked like it was about to rain.

Summer rain is so changeable. It was sunny just now, but now there is a cool breeze.

"Huzi, hurry!" The master and servant hurriedly worked together to cover the wood. But before they could finish covering it, big raindrops began to fall.

A few ladies walked a few steps and found that Gu Jiayue had not caught up. They turned around and saw her struggling to carry the thatch onto the wood.

Without any verbal communication, the ladies put down their backpacks and came back to help.

There's no way around it. The villagers are just so simple. They may quarrel over trivial matters on weekdays, but once someone encounters difficulties, they will lend a helping hand without hesitation.

When everyone works together, things will naturally get done faster.

But even so, it's not faster than God.

As the ladies loaded their backpacks, the rain suddenly intensified. By the time Hu Zi drove the carriage over, it was already pouring down.

"Auntie, please get on the carriage quickly!" Gu Jiayue hurriedly called out to the aunties who came to help.

Aunt Zhang and the others had never ridden in such an exquisite carriage in their lives. They usually traveled on foot, and when they had urgent matters, they would ride in Old Man Wang's ox cart, which cost two cents per trip.

Now they were covered in mud. If they got on the carriage, wouldn't it make it dirty? They declined awkwardly, saying, "Goodbye, please go quickly. We are dirty and it would be bad if we dirty your carriage."

Gu Jiayue looked at the sky where the rain was pouring down, and said anxiously in her heart, "What are you talking about, Auntie? Carriages are for people to ride in. Hurry up and get in. Judging from the rain, it's not going to stop for a while."

As she spoke, she reached out to pull the old lady.

Several of the ladies were still hesitant.

Hu Zi saw this and quickly jumped off the carriage. He took the baskets from the ladies' backs and placed them on the back of the carriage where the goods were stored. He said, "Auntie, please get on the carriage quickly. It would be bad if you get sick after getting caught in the rain. You will have to spend money to treat the disease."

Seeing that Gu Jiayue and Hu Zi were sincere and didn't seem to be being polite, the ladies stopped refusing and climbed into the car swiftly, saying gratefully, "Gu girl, we are so grateful to you today."

We are all from the countryside and are not that pampered. Many times, in order to seize the farming season, we have to work in the fields even when it rains.

But no one wants to get wet in the rain, and it is someone else's kindness. If you don't appreciate it, it would seem strange.

"Look at what Auntie said. This is just a side trip. If you don't get in the car, will I not go home? Besides, if you hadn't helped me just now, I would have been soaked to the skin."

Gu Jiayue's words made the women laugh out loud, and the wrinkles on their faces smoothed out. "It's still more comfortable to ride in a carriage. Every time I ride in Old Man Wang's ox cart into the city, my bones are almost broken."

Gu Jiayue felt the same way. Thinking of the road from the city to the village, she couldn't help but frown. She secretly resolved to repair that road when she had the chance. After all, "If you want to get rich, you must build roads first."

"A horse-drawn carriage is indeed more comfortable than an ox-drawn cart. Hu Zi has been driving the carriage to the city to do some work lately. If any of you are going into the city, you can ask Hu Zi in advance. If the time is right, we can go together."

After hearing this, the ladies all looked delighted. One of them even asked excitedly, "Gu girl, are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious! If there's something urgent or important, just let me know and I can ask Hu Zi to accompany you."

After spending some time with them, Gu Jiayue discovered that most of the villagers were simple and kind, with no one being particularly difficult to deal with. On weekdays, everyone would greet her warmly. Many would even invite her to their homes for dinner.

Although there may be some gossip behind people's backs, no one will say anything unpleasant to their faces.

Gu Jiayue was very satisfied with this kind of atmosphere. After all, she wanted to develop education in the village. These villagers would be her "clients" in the future, so she had to treat them well.

"Hey, Yue girl, this is it. My father-in-law is not in good health. He has been taking medicine for a long time but there is no improvement. I wanted to take him to the town to see a doctor, but the road is too difficult to walk. I was really worried that he couldn't handle the round trip in the ox cart. I just heard you say that you can borrow the cart, so I had the audacity to talk to you about it."

The person who was speaking was Aunt Zhou. Her husband's surname was Zhang and they lived at the entrance of the village.

Gu Jiayue had heard from Li's mother that Aunt Zhou's family was extremely filial. Even when her father-in-law had been ill for years, the family had always been there, doing everything they could to treat him. They were well-known in the village for their filial piety.

"That's no problem. Aunt Zhou, after you go back and discuss it with your family, come to my house to find Hu Zi and let him take you there." Gu Jiayue responded without hesitation.

"Hey, hey, hey, thank you, Yue girl." Aunt Zhou's eyes were red with excitement.

Every time I went to the county town to see my father-in-law for medical treatment, my brothers and I would carry him on door panels and walk all the way there with difficulty.

Now that her father-in-law's health is deteriorating and the weather is hot, if she continues to walk like this, she's afraid something will happen to him before she even reaches the county town. So when she heard Gu Jiayue say that just now, she didn't care whether she was being polite or not, and mustered up the courage to bring it up.

Aunt Zhou recalled that she had come to Taohua Village to beg for food. If it weren't for the cake given by her father-in-law, she would have starved to death.

Later, her father-in-law learned that she was a refugee, and took her to see the village chief to see if there was any vacant house in the village that could be rented to her.

Two years later, she and the head of the family fell in love with each other. Her father-in-law even came to ask her whether it was voluntary and whether Zhang Youwei forced her.

She said no, it was her own free will. He then went to prepare the betrothal gifts with a smile. Although it was only three taels of silver and a set of clothes, it was all the Zhang family could afford. Aunt Zhou saw it and kept it in mind.

How could she watch such a great benefactor suffer?

Aunt Zhou saw the basket at her feet and stuffed it into Gu Jiayue's arms without thinking: "It's not a valuable thing, just take it, girl."

"No, no, no, Auntie, please take it back and eat it yourself." Gu Jiayue quickly declined. She had already recognized that it was Houttuynia cordata, and she felt a little resistant when she thought of the smell.

"Don't be polite. This thing is not expensive, but it tastes good. It tastes great when mixed with sauerkraut or stir-fried with meat." Aunt Zhou insisted on giving it to her.

"Thank you very much, Auntie." Gu Jiayue forced a smile and took the basket of Houttuynia cordata.

The unique fishy smell instantly entered her nose, and she felt extremely helpless.

But then I thought that this was a kind gesture from the auntie, and if I didn’t accept it, the auntie might feel that she despised me.

Anyway, my family likes to eat it very much, especially Hua Chao. They even said that after the yard is repaired, they will set aside a vegetable plot in the backyard to grow Houttuynia cordata. The taste is really incomprehensible!

Hua Chao is her younger sister, so naturally she has to pamper her, but she will never let her plant Polygonum multiflorum in the backyard. Absolutely not!

Fortunately, Hu Zi drove the car quickly, and the few of them returned to the village after chatting for a while.

The ladies got off the car one by one and warmly invited Gu Jiayue to come in and sit down. Gu Jiayue declined one by one. At this moment, she just wanted to get rid of the basket of water chestnuts in her arms.

When I got home, the rain was getting heavier, and the raindrops hitting the ground splashed high with water.

Gu Jiayue ordered Hu Zi to drive the carriage directly to the yard. Her eldest cousin hurried over to help pull the horses to the shed at the back to shelter from the rain.

Seeing this, Li Juhua hurried forward and gently wiped the rain off Gu Jiayue's face with a handkerchief. She said distressedly, "You silly girl, didn't you see that the sun is gone? You don't even know to run home when it rains."

In rural areas, the minimum standard for marrying a wife is that she knows how to read the weather, knows to go home when it rains, and knows how to eat.

My daughter grew up in Kyoto and never leaves the house. She doesn't even notice weather changes. What should I do?

Li Juhua couldn't help but feel secretly worried.

Gu Jiayue didn't refute, but just smiled and replied: "Mom, I will know later."

In fact, it was not that she didn't know how to check the weather, but she was so engrossed in thinking about the design that she didn't notice the change in the weather. Hu Zi was busy covering the uncovered wood with straw at the time and didn't notice it either.

"Okay, let's not talk about her anymore. Come in." Grandma Gu called the two of them to go into the house quickly.

It’s impossible to do farm work on rainy days, but farmers are always busy.