Since they hadn't made a bamboo bed, the two of them lay on the ground with dry branches and leaves. They were sleeping soundly when they suddenly felt that the blankets beneath them were damp and the cold air seeped into their bones, making them feel chilly.
Wang Ergou was still half asleep when Zhang slapped him awake. She angrily scolded, "All you do is sleep! I told you to make a wooden bed a long time ago, but you wouldn't. Now look what's happened, it's raining. Get up now, the blankets are all wet."
As he spoke, he shoved the person out of the blanket and onto the ground.
The rain mixed with the cold mud made Wang Ergou shiver as soon as it touched his body, and his mind cleared up a bit. Listening to the pattering of the rain outside, he only felt a headache coming on.
"Why did it suddenly start raining? Come on, let's not bother cleaning up anymore, let's sleep in someone else's shack for the night."
After saying that, he took out a raincoat and helped Zhang put it on before leaving the shack.
Because of the rain, the families in the shacks had lit torches and were tidying up their belongings, not paying attention to what was happening outside.
As Old Liu carried the grain from the ground to the wooden bed, he sighed, "Luckily, the rain wasn't too heavy, and only some water seeped in. If we wait until the rains get heavier and a downpour comes, this shack will be uninhabitable."
Zhao Xing'er responded and busied herself with moving things with her husband. Everyone in the shack was busy except for the little girl who was sitting blankly to the side.
As soon as Wang Ergou and his wife lifted the shed door, they hurriedly said with smiles, "Uncle Liu, Brother Liu, Sister-in-law, there's no bed board in our shed, so we can't sleep here. Can we stay here for the night? Don't worry, we'll go back home once the rain stops."
After saying this, he was about to take off his raincoat and go into the shack.
Unexpectedly, before they even entered, the little girl who had been sitting there suddenly stood up, went to the shack, and pushed people out, saying, "You, you all go away, get out of here."
Zhao Xing'er quickly stepped forward and hugged her daughter before looking at the two of them. She said in a calm tone, "There's no extra room for you in my house. Please leave. Don't scare the child."
They might have lent a hand in the past, but now...
Before Wang Ergou and his wife could say anything more, they heard Old Liu launch into a tirade of abuse: "I told you to make a bed board, but you didn't. You didn't even bring anything from the village. Now you regret it, but it's too late."
"Go away, go away! My little shack can't hold both of you. What if something gets stolen? We just lost our grain yesterday, I can't let anyone in."
After saying that, he pushed the two of them out, which made Wang Ergou curse under his breath before taking Zhang Shi to ask the others.
They asked several people in a row, and either they were told that the shack was too small and there was no space, or they were simply kicked out like Old Liu had done.
Enraged, Zhang went back to her shack and started hitting Wang Ergou, yelling, "You useless thing! Now look what's happened! We don't even have a place to sleep. How could I have been so blind to fall for you? You're so lazy you could just die!"
Having just been mistreated outside, Wang Ergou was already in a bad mood. Now, being scolded and beaten by his wife only made him more annoyed. Just as the slap was about to fall, he pushed hard, and Zhang Shi crashed into the branches used to support the shed.
With a "crack," the tree branch broke, and the shack that had been supported collapsed instantly. The rainwater that had accumulated on the shack poured onto the ground and seeped into the shack.
Seeing that half of the shack had collapsed, the two dared not do anything more. They could only squat on the other side where it hadn't collapsed, cursing each other and blaming each other for whose fault it was.
The rain outside showed no signs of stopping, and although it was light, its continued downpour was not a good sign.
Old Liu looked at the increasing amount of rainwater gathering on the roof of the shack and could only sigh helplessly, "It gets even colder up the mountain when it rains. I just hope this rain stops soon. I wonder what the situation is like down the mountain now."
Several days have passed, and there is still no news from the foot of the mountain. The village is deserted, without a trace of human presence.
While coaxing the child in her arms to sleep, Zhao Xing'er looked at the continuous rain outside and said with worry, "I wonder how the Jiang family and the Chen family are doing. Neither of them has any able-bodied men, so they definitely didn't bring any bed boards. With this rain, they can't sleep on the ground. How are they going to survive?"
She didn't have much contact with those two families in the village on weekdays, but she paid special attention to them this time when she went up the mountain. She knew that neither family had able-bodied men and that the women in both families were inevitably having a hard time.
She had intended to help them out as much as possible, but the two shacks were quite far from them, and she had been busy on the mountain these past few days and hadn't had a chance to check on them. She only started to worry when it started raining today.
Old Liu couldn't help but worry when he thought about the situation of those two families. After hesitating for a while, he said, "Dayong, go and check on those two families while wearing your raincoat. If they don't have bed boards, bring them to our shack. At least they won't have to lie on the wet ground. Our bed boards are big enough; they can squeeze in."
They carried the bed board up the mountain that day, and considering the possibility of storing grain on rainy days, they also cut some branches and pieced them together into a large plank. Now, the group is sitting on the bed board, with grain piled up next to them and a large empty space at the other end.
Liu Dayong nodded, put on his raincoat, and left the shack.
Jiang Yimian was lying on the bamboo bed listening to the soft rain outside when she heard a few voices coming from not far away. The voices quickly disappeared, and only the sound of footsteps gradually approached.
A moment later, a man's voice rang out from outside the shack, though it was somewhat indistinct in the fine rain.
"Sister-in-law Fengqin, how is your family? My father said that if there aren't enough beds, you can stay temporarily in my shack."
Wang Fengqin was startled, and it took her a while to recognize Liu Dayong's voice. She quickly put on her clothes and shoes, and lifted the oilcloth to see him standing outside the shack wearing a straw raincoat.
It was already getting light outside, and you could vaguely make out a person's figure.
Seeing the man standing in the rain, Wang Fengqin quickly said, "My bed is big enough. Thank you for your concern, Uncle Liu. I'm sorry to have troubled you to come all this way in the rain. You should go home now and not catch a cold."
It was already past midnight, and with the rain, the temperature in the mountains dropped, making it quite cold outside.
Liu Dayong nodded upon hearing this, saying, "It's no trouble at all. I was a little skeptical when Sister-in-law Xiaoyun told me that your family had made bed boards, but it turns out it's true. If you ever need any help in the future, please feel free to come to us."
It's cold outside, sister-in-law, you should go back to sleep.
After saying that, the person left directly.
Wang Fengqin was somewhat surprised. Back in the shack, she said in surprise, "I really didn't expect that Old Man Liu would worry about us and send his son to inquire about us in the pouring rain."
Back in the village, Old Liu was known for his eccentric personality. He spent his days working in the fields and rarely interacted with others. However, due to his age, the villagers still respected him.
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