Chapter Eighty-Two Mountain Floods
Elder Sun sat on the head bench, his face ashen, with the village chief and several other village elders sitting beside him.
"Almost everyone's here!" Elder Sun cleared his throat. "We've called everyone here with the gong because it's something extremely important!"
Upon hearing that the matter was serious, the ancestral hall instantly fell silent, with only the sound of the pouring rain outside.
"I just received the news!" Elder Sun's voice suddenly rose: "Not to mention Liujiawa in the north of the county, the mountain collapsed and people were buried. There's also Liujiatun in the east, Xinghuaping in the south... Several villages have been struck by a dragon, houses have collapsed, land has been washed away, it's terrible!"
A collective gasp filled the ancestral hall, followed by a murmur of discussion.
"Quiet down, everyone!" the village chief roared. "Let Old Sun finish speaking!"
Elder Sun took a breath, his gaze sweeping over the crowd with an unprecedented seriousness.
"Our Zhuohe Village is nestled against the mountains and beside the water, so we're not afraid of dragons! Our village is far from the foot of the mountain, and the river is wide! But..."
He paused, then slammed his hand on the table: "I'm afraid the mountains will flood again!"
"Mountain flood?" someone exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes! Mountain flood!” Elder Sun’s voice was heavy. “This rain has been falling for days and nights. The water in the mountains has been stored up for a long time. Once the upstream can’t hold, the flood will rush down, and our village, which is right next to the river, will be the first to be hit. It’s not just a few households in Zoujiaochong, it’s… it’s going to flood the whole village!”
The ancestral hall erupted in chaos.
"What? The whole village is flooded?"
"Really? How many years has it been since our village suffered a flood?"
"Elder Sun, are you sure you mean it?"
"Good heavens! How are we supposed to live like this?!"
Panic spread like a plague.
"Stop shouting!" Old Li stood up and said loudly, "Old Sun, you are a highly respected elder, but you can't just say things like that. Flooding? Our village isn't low-lying, and the river is wide. There have been years with much heavier rains, and nothing happened. You're not just spreading rumors to scare everyone, are you?"
"frighten?"
Elder Sun was so angry that his beard bristled: "Old Li, do you think I'm just trying to scare you for no reason? The county government just sent a messenger to tell all the villages along the river to prepare for the worst. The floodwaters have already come down over Willow Ditch, and we don't even know how many people have died yet! Do you think this is a joke?"
Old Li was caught off guard, his expression changed, but he still stubbornly insisted, "Well... well, it's not necessarily true for our village either..."
"Not necessarily?" Song Ru's father, Song Laonian, suddenly retorted loudly, "I...I just came back from the riverbank this morning...the river...the river was swollen terribly, almost level with the banks, the water was yellow like mud soup, with branches, rotten wood floating on it...and...and dead pheasants, the sight...it was terrifying!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the ancestral hall became even more chaotic.
"My goodness!"
"What should we do?!"
"Run! Run now!"
"Run...where do you want to run?" Old Li's wife tugged at him, who was about to argue back, and asked in a tearful voice.
"Yes, it's raining so hard, it's a real ordeal to go out with the whole family."
"We can't just sit here and wait to die!" Old Song shouted, his eyes red.
Elder Sun coughed heavily, silencing the noise, and his cloudy eyes swept over the fearful faces.
"Will arguing bring us a way out? The most important thing right now is to save our lives!"
He paused for a moment, then said, "The county government has sent word that we should make preparations as soon as possible! Those families at the foot of the mountain, Wang Ermazi, Song Laonian, you should quickly evacuate your elderly and children and move them to the ancestral hall. The ancestral hall has thick walls and is on higher ground!"
He turned his gaze to the village chief: "Youtian, you immediately arrange for people to be divided into several groups to keep an eye on the river day and night. If anything seems amiss, if you see large tree trunks floating down from upstream, if there are more dead livestock, or if you hear a rumbling sound like muffled thunder... then a flood is coming. Don't worry about anything else, beat the gong, and have the whole village run to the official road in the county town."
"Running towards the county town?" someone asked in surprise and doubt.
"Yes! Head towards the county town!"
Elder Sun said firmly, "The county town has city walls and charitable halls! If it really comes to that, living in a charitable hall is better than staying in the village and waiting to die!"
“Then…the things in the house…” Wang Erhu was really heartbroken about his house, which he had just renovated not long ago, and the little bit of wealth he had accumulated.
"You're already dead, what do you want?" Elder Sun shouted sternly. "Take as much food as you can, and stuff your valuables into your pockets! The rest... don't worry about that now, do you understand? Saving your life is the most important thing!"
The ancestral hall was deathly silent, save for heavy breathing and suppressed sobs. This time, no one made a sound.
Zhang Liuyi felt as heavy as a carrying pole with two large water buckets on it, and followed Zhang Dashan, trudging through the mud, back to the Zhang family courtyard.
The rain was still falling, pattering against my straw hat with a muffled sound that made me uneasy.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, everyone was already gathered in the main room. Even the Xiong family had come, clearly there to discuss something, their faces as solemn as the bottom of a pot.
Xiao Bao was held tightly in Song Shi's arms, his big, innocent eyes looking at the adults.
"Take note, you're back?" Aunt Wang saw her niece and immediately took two steps forward, asking anxiously, "What did they say at the ancestral hall? What's the elders' plan?"
Zhang nodded and repeated Elder Sun's words verbatim to those who were not present.
Upon hearing the words "mountainous and desolate," a collective gasp filled the room.
Song tightened her grip on the child, and Xiao Bao whimpered uncomfortably.
"Is it really... really that dangerous?" Old Man Xiong murmured, his wrinkled face full of reluctance.
Having lived in the village for most of his life, he now wants to abandon it. Will he ever be able to come back?
"Father, the elders won't speak carelessly." Xiong Zijuan's eyes were red, and her voice was trembling with tears. "Life is more important!"
Zhang Dahe also sighed: "Yes, brother, as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. People being safe and sound is more important than anything else."
Looking at everyone's worried faces, Zhang Liuyi took a deep breath and calmed himself down: "Father, Uncle, the elders told us to be prepared to leave at any time. They didn't mean we should run now. They told us to pack up our essentials. Once we hear the gong and the other side of the river reports that a flood is really coming, we have to leave immediately and head to the charity hall in the county town!"
Zhang Dashan was silent for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh: "That's right! That makes sense! We can't panic, but we can't do nothing either!"
He looked at Old Man Xiong and Zhang Yili: "In-laws, Yili, the small courtyard behind our shop where we prepare materials, and the shop itself, have sturdy brick walls and are on higher ground than our courtyard."
“I think we should move the important people and things over there first! Even if they don’t come for a while, the shop is more resistant to water damage than our mud-brick house and can hold our things.”
Zhang Liuyi immediately nodded: "The shop has three floors, there's enough space. People can squeeze into the shop, and the back courtyard can store things. Both of our families can stay there!"
"Alright!" Zhang Dahe's expression settled down, and he arranged, "Then let's do it this way! People, food, valuables, and..."
He paused, then looked toward the cowshed: "Move all the livestock to the small courtyard of the shop first, and have Liu Ji build a simple shed to settle them in."
“We’ll just stay home and listen for the gong. If there’s nothing else, we don’t need to make a fuss. If the gong sounds, we’ll run as fast as we can. If we see any elderly, weak, sick, or disabled people on the road who can’t run, we have strong men to pull the cart. We’ll help them if we can. When we get to the county town, the charity hall has limited space, so we’ll squeeze into any available shop.”
Zhang Dashan immediately agreed: "Brother, you've thought this through. Let's do it this way. Bring Dazhuang, Yangyang, and Ji along. Once the shop is ready, we'll move over there and prepare for when the gong sounds."
Zhang Liuji also said, "Yes, let's move there first. It'll make us feel more at ease. The shop can be set up quickly. I'll just use the materials on the spot to build a shed."
"Then...when will we start moving?" Mrs. Song asked, her voice trembling as she held the child.
"Now, Mother!" Zhang Yili said decisively, "Let's get started while the rain has lessened a bit! Once we're packed, we won't panic. If the gong sounds, we can just grab our bags and leave!"
Everyone sprang into action immediately, with the men heading straight for the cowshed and sheepfold.
Zhang Dashan and Zhang Dahe worked together to pull Dazhuang out.
The continuous rainy days made this gentle old fellow a little uneasy, and he wasn't as easy to catch as usual, but he still mooed twice and followed the person, just wagging his tail haphazardly.
Old Man Xiong carefully carried the lame sheep out.
The women then began frantically packing their valuables and, most importantly, their food and dry rations.
Zhang Liuyi returned to his small house, quickly opened the cabinet, carefully wrapped several thick clothes and some loose silver and copper coins that the family had saved in several layers of oilcloth, and stuffed them tightly into his bosom close to his body.
Li Xiulan was busy rolling up the bedding on the kang (a heated brick bed), covering it with a large piece of oilcloth, and binding it tightly.
Looking at the little house filled with memories, her eyes reddened again, and her movements slowed down.
"Sister-in-law." Zhang Yili returned to the west wing after tidying up and saw this scene. He gently patted her back and softened his voice: "Don't look at that. In the current situation, we can't worry about these things. As long as we're alive, we can get these things later. We'll definitely come back when the water recedes."
Li Xiulan sniffed, nodded vigorously, wiped her eyes, and quickened her hand movements as she tied the cloth.
In the courtyard, Song was busily helping Aunt Wang tie up the chicken coop.
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