Lin Qinghuan walked alone through the darkness, braving the wind and rain, towards the village chief's house under the dim light of her flashlight.

The wind and rain lashed against Lin Qinghuan, blurring her vision. She couldn't tell if it was her own tears or the rain. All around her, besides the howling wind, the pitter-patter of the rain, and the heavy sound of her own footsteps, she felt utterly alone, as if she were the only person in the world.

Lin Qinghuan thought about her relationship with the villagers, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips. She miraculously discovered that she actually had a saintly constitution of repaying evil with good.

Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky, with one loud crackling sound after another. Lin Qinghuan's heart jumped into her throat, and unease and fear followed one after another.

It's best not to go out during a thunderstorm. She stopped and looked around, realizing she was passing by the village committee. She was about to walk towards the village committee, planning to go to the village chief's house after the thunderstorm passed.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck Lin Qinghuan. Lin Qinghuan's face showed horror. If this lightning struck him, he would either die or be seriously injured.

Lin Qinghuan closed her eyes resignedly. Did even God not like her and want to take her life away?

I'm so unwilling to accept this!

If she dies, will Wei Xiao feel even a little bit sad?

A loud bang rang in her ears, and Lin Qinghuan subconsciously turned her head to look. She saw that the large, flat stone in front of the village committee, which had become smooth from the villagers sitting on it so often, had been split in two by lightning.

Lin Qinghuan wiped the rain off her face, relieved to have survived the ordeal. She was so close to the rock; she almost got caught in the blast and went to her death.

Lin Qinghuan stood there for a while to calm herself down before walking towards the village chief's house.

"Bang, bang, bang!" The village chief, who had been unable to sleep due to the thunder and rain, heard the urgent knocking on the door and hurriedly sat up. Could something have happened?

The village chief got out of bed, put on his shoes, grabbed a flashlight, and hurriedly left his room. He went to the main room, picked up an umbrella, and as soon as he opened the door, he was shivered by the strong wind, and raindrops splattered his body and face.

Despite his discomfort, the village chief opened his umbrella and stepped out of the main room. After only a few steps, the umbrella was blown inside out by the strong wind, and large raindrops pelted him. He had no choice but to return to the main room, put down the umbrella, grab a plastic bag to cover his head, and head towards the gate.

Damn it! It's best if the person who calls him has something urgent to do. If it's just some trivial matter, he'll definitely curse at them.

The village chief opened the gate, but there was no one there. Holy crap! That scoundrel who knocked on his door for no reason must have been the one to do it. He mustn't let him catch him, or he'd skin him alive. That heartless bastard.

The village chief wiped the rain off his face, so angry he almost suffered internal injuries.

Just as the village chief was about to close the door and go back inside, he heard a voice calling him "Uncle Village Chief" from the corner of the wall. It sounded like Lin Qinghuan was calling him.

The village chief thought he had misheard and tentatively called out, "Qinghuan, is that you?"

“It’s me, Uncle Village Chief,” Lin Qinghuan replied.

Holy crap! It really is Lin Qinghuan!

Holy crap, Lin Lao Er, in the middle of the night, with thunder and rain, actually kicked Qing Huan out of the house. Why doesn't God send a bolt of lightning to strike that bastard Lin Lao Er dead?

Lin Qinghuan walked up to the village chief and called out again, "Uncle Village Chief!"

The village chief shone his flashlight on Lin Qinghuan and saw that she was covered in mud, soaked to the bone, pale, and with no color in her lips. She looked quite pitiful, which startled him.

"Qinghuan, what brings you here? Were you kicked out by your parents? Come back inside with me first, and I'll have your aunt find you some clothes to change into. We can talk about whatever you're upset about."

The village chief cursed Lin's father a thousand times in his heart. What a beast! How could he treat his own daughter like that? Doesn't he fear retribution?

But we need to let Lin Qinghuan in first, otherwise it will be troublesome if she catches a cold and gets sick!

"Uncle Village Chief, I won't go inside. I'll just say a few words and then leave."

Lin Qinghuan declined the village chief's offer.

"What is it?"

The village chief was very curious about what urgent matter had prompted Lin Qinghuan to seek him out in the rain.

“Uncle Village Chief, it’s been raining heavily for a long time and it might continue. Eighty percent of the houses in the village have walls, and if the rainwater soaks them for too long, they will collapse. Also, the water from the mountains will flow downhill and cause floods. The river outside the village will also spread to the farmland and even flow into the village.” Lin Qinghuan expressed his opinion.

The village chief's expression changed drastically, but he still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that it probably wasn't as serious as Lin Qinghuan had described.

"Village Chief, it's always good to be prepared and take precautions. Please think it over carefully." Lin Qinghuan said, then turned and left.

She had done what she was supposed to do. As for whether the village chief would listen to her, she didn't know, after all, she was a nobody.

Lin Qinghuan braved the wind and rain to get home. She pushed the door to the main room and found it bolted from the inside. She knocked on the door a few times and shouted, "Open the door!"

Hearing Lin Qinghuan's banging and shouting, Lin Qinghuan hurriedly got out of bed to open the door for her.

Lin Qinghuan entered the main room, untied the tarpaulin, and took off her straw hat. When her father shone a flashlight on her, he found that Lin Qinghuan's clothes were dripping wet, and the ground around her feet was already wet.

"Go back inside and change your clothes. The power is out now, and it's pitch black, so it's not convenient. Otherwise, make some ginger soup and have a bowl to ward off the cold."

A faint sneer curled at the corner of Lin Qinghuan's lips. She wasn't like Lin Piaoxue and Lin Qing; she didn't have the good fortune to drink the ginger soup brewed by Lin's father and mother.

“I’m strong and healthy and fine, but it’s different for my older brothers, especially my second brother, who isn’t in good health. He got soaked in the rain tonight, so making him a bowl of ginger soup would be perfect.”

Upon hearing this, Lin's father paused for a moment, then turned and went back to his room.

Lin Qinghuan guessed that her father had probably gone to ask her mother to make ginger soup for Lin Qing.

Lin Qinghuan returned to her room, dried her hair, quickly changed into clean clothes, and then went back to bed to rest.

next day

Lin Qinghuan opened her eyes, feeling completely weak and limp, with a dry throat. She knew she had caught a cold.

Lin Qinghuan got up despite feeling unwell. Her father was cleaning the yard when he saw her get up. He looked up at her and saw that she looked terrible and listless. It was obvious that she was sick.

"Qinghuan, are you feeling unwell?"

Lin Qinghuan replied weakly, "I have a cold."

"We have some cold medicine at home, would you like to take a couple?" Mr. Lin asked.

Lin Qinghuan glanced at the basket hanging under the eaves and saw a bunch of perilla leaves. She said, "No, I'll just boil some perilla leaves in water to make tea."

Lin's father looked surprised. Perilla leaves? Can perilla leaves cure a cold?