Two hours later, Xu Lai used a shovel to dig up the mound of dirt, used tongs to take out the two chickens, and just as she moved them to a plate, she felt two drops of water drip onto her face.
Xu Lai thought it was Xia Ning's drool, so she laughed and scolded, "Ningning, I know you're greedy, but could you please wipe your drool off?"
Xia Ning looked puzzled. "What did I do now?"
As they were talking, more water droplets fell, and Xu Lai realized something was wrong; it must be raining.
The two quickly carried the chicken home. Although it wasn't far, the rain was heavy and they got a little wet.
Since they couldn't eat in the courtyard, Xu Lai cleaned up the main room, took out a small hammer, and smashed it into the dried mud. The moment it opened, a fragrant aroma filled the air.
Xia Ning was really drooling this time, but because she was filming a video, she could only watch helplessly, and she couldn't help but swallow.
Xu Lai first gave the chicken legs to Grandma Xia and Grandma Jiang, then gave the two legs of the other chicken to Grandpa and Grandma, and they ate the chicken wings and the chicken breast.
After dividing the chicken, she gestured to Xia Ning to stop filming and come eat. She said they had enough material for today. Her popularity had been quite good lately, and her fans were urging her to post daily, which Xu Lai was trying her best to fulfill.
Zhao Qingyun took a piece of chicken and ate it slowly and deliberately. Xu Lai thought that everything he ate was pleasing to the eye. Even when he ate heartily, he did not seem rude. He truly lived up to his name.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, it was almost nine o'clock. Taking advantage of a brief respite from the rain, Xia Ning quickly took Grandma Xia and rode their bikes back home.
Grandpa and Grandma were about to clean up the mess on the table when Xu Lai stopped them, saying, "You two go to sleep first. You usually go to bed early, and it's time now. I'll take care of it later."
Zhao Qingyun helped Grandma Jiang back home. She felt a little lazy after eating, so she rested for a while, then stretched her back and prepared to get back to work.
After she finished collecting the trash inside the house, she was just about to tidy up the mess in the yard when she saw that Zhao Qingyun had almost finished cleaning up and had put the barbecue grill in the kitchen.
Xu Lai was genuinely surprised by his arrival and asked, somewhat taken aback, "Why aren't you resting?"
Zhao Qingyun lifted the small stove and said, "I'll help you put it away; it'll be faster that way, so you won't have to work so hard."
After putting his things away, he came out and said, "I'm going back. Come and lock the gate. It's best to keep the two dogs inside tonight, as it might rain heavily."
Xu Lai nodded. She herded the chickens and ducks into their coop, locked the door, and a cool breeze blew in the night. She shivered, feeling that a heavy rainstorm was coming that night.
Xiao Hei and Lai Fu looked timid and followed her into the house without her even calling them.
After taking a shower, Xia Ning sent over the edited video. Since she came back, she had been in charge of filming and editing.
Xu Lai watched it once, while Xia Ning kept the famous scene of the chicken coming back to life. She had already laughed once during the day, and she couldn't help but laugh again when she watched it.
A clap of thunder sounded outside, accompanied by several flashes of lightning. Xu Lai remembered that the flowers hadn't been brought back yet. Although the flowers had withered, the leaves were still alive.
She pushed open the balcony door and was immediately hit by a gust of wind. Xu Lai brushed her wind-blown hair aside, took the flowers down, and went back to her room.
She touched her long hair, which was already waist-length. She untangled the knotted strands, thinking that she should take some time to style it and cut it shorter, otherwise the ends would easily get tangled.
Amidst the sounds of thunder and rain, Xu Lai gradually drifted off to sleep. She had a dream in which she fed Zhao Qingyun wine. After he asked if she could have some more, she took a sip from his glass and then fed it to him.
Xu Lai told herself this wasn't real, but she just couldn't wake up. Then she continued to dream that Zhao Qingyun pulled her to sit down next to him. It was a quiet night, and the only sound was the chatter of the elders next to her.
Zhao Qingyun leaned closer, and the two were so close that their breaths mingled. Xu Lai felt like she was getting drunk, but just as he leaned down to kiss her, she woke up.
Xu Lai clutched her chest, wondering what was going on. Had she gone mad? Why was she having such a dream?
She felt her eyelids were very heavy. It was still pitch black outside the window. She glanced at her phone and saw it was 4:50. She turned over and went back to sleep.
She woke up at almost nine o'clock, one of the few times she had slept in. Xu Lai patted her face, thinking, "What a strange dream, it kept me from sleeping well."
She pushed open the balcony door and found that it was still raining outside. The raindrops fell like beads from a broken string, making small puddles on the ground. This rain was unusually heavy, which was not good.
As expected, Xu Lai's worries came true. The stream had started to rise due to the overnight rain and was about to overflow its banks.
If there were nothing on the riverbank, it wouldn't be so bad, but the villagers' fields and ponds are not far from the stream. If the water rises, some of them will definitely be flooded, which will greatly affect this year's harvest.
After a quick breakfast, she and her grandfather put on their raincoats and went out. She also wore a raincoat underneath to prevent getting wet and catching a cold.
They went to the village chief's house first. Uncle Guiping was also very worried. This morning, several families came to him and asked him to apply to the county leaders to build a canal for the stream in their village, otherwise it would overflow every time the water rose.
Xu Lai, holding a hoe, said, "Now is not the time to talk about these things. The most urgent thing is to get the water downstream and find a way to block the pond, otherwise all the fish will escape."
Uncle Guiping called a few people, all of whom were elderly people in their fifties or sixties. There was no other way; there were simply too few young and middle-aged people in the village. They were either studying or working outside.
Liu Tao returned from outside shirtless, clearly having spent some time clearing the way. He organized everyone to put on their raincoats and grab their hoes. "Uncles, follow me. There's been an unusually heavy rain this year, so be careful."
The group went to the stream in a grand procession. Zhao Qingyun watched from the balcony and guessed that they were going to get water. He changed his clothes, put on a raincoat, and went with them.
The old lady called out to him, "I was just about to call you over, but you went there by yourself. Be careful."
Zhao Qingyun went over with a hoe, while Xu Lai was shouting at the top of her lungs, "Pile the garbage that has been hooked up on the ridge of the field, dig some silt from the pond and pile it on top, stick it up, and there's a net over there, surround the pond."
But the uncles ignored her and only cared about their own places. However, their strength was not enough, and they couldn't get it done after a long time.
At this moment, Liu Tao brought over the village committee's loudspeaker and said, "Everyone, listen to me. The water hasn't risen yet. Some houses are on higher ground and won't be flooded. We'll raise the level of the fields and ponds that are about to be submerged first, and then help the others."
Everyone stopped working, but no one wanted to help others for free, fearing their own fields would be flooded.
Xu Lai advised, "Many hands make light work. If everyone works together, it will be done quickly. If everyone does their own thing, the progress will be slow, and the water from other people's ponds might seep into yours, and all the fish will be washed away."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
