Chapter 036 Chapter 36 Flood and Rescue

Lin Yue didn't know that this family had so many lawsuits. She delivered the things to Aunt Su's house, walked around the yard, pointed to the empty cowshed and said to Wang Xiuxiang: "Sister-in-law, I'll unload the household items here first. They won't be needed these days, and it will be a nuisance to keep them in the house."

Wang Xiuxiang also knew the situation at home. There was not enough space to put things. She went into the cowshed and carefully checked it. The cowshed was built simply, but fortunately the roof did not leak. There was also a low wall on the side of the yard. It was just a little rainy. It should be fine if it was covered well. So she tidied up the cowshed and put the things in with Lin Yue.

There were still a lot of things in the house, and Lin Yue had to move them at least twice. She didn't care that her clothes were soaked, and hurried back to get things, but was stopped by Wang Xiuxiang: "Shoucang has returned, let him go with you, the remaining things are all big, how can you move them by yourself!"

Lin Yue could really move it, but she didn't dare to say it.

Zhang Shoucang heard his sister-in-law's voice coming out of the house. He picked up his raincoat and hat, put them on his head, and said cheerfully, "Sister-in-law, I'll go with you."

He and Lin Yue each pushed a cart and returned to Lin Yue's house together, moving the remaining items onto the cart.

The two of them worked in perfect harmony and quickly cleaned up the remaining pieces, leaving only an iron pot with nowhere to put it, which Lin Yue tied to his back.

Seeing Lin Yue in this state, Zhang Shoucang laughed out loud. He reached out to take the pot on Lin Yue's back and said with a smile, "You look like a turtle! Put the pot on my cart quickly. Let's hold on to it. It shouldn't fall off."

Lin Yue smiled and said, "Oh, it's okay, it just happens to be able to shield me from the rain."

The gate was pushed open with a creaky sound. The two looked up and saw a man in military uniform standing at the door holding a black oilcloth umbrella. Who else could it be but Zhang Yuandong!

Lin Yue asked in surprise: "Why are you back?"

Zhang Shoucang also greeted him, "Brother Xiaohui, why are you back today? Didn't you just come back a few months ago?"

Zhang Yuandong's face suddenly turned dark.

Without saying a word, he walked over to Lin Yue, took the pot off her head, found a more stable position, and placed it on top of the pile of miscellaneous items on the cart.

Zhang Shoucang didn't know why Zhang Yuandong was unhappy. He touched his head awkwardly, not daring to call him by his nickname anymore. Without waiting for Zhang Yuandong to ask, he started to explain the matter first: "Brother Yuandong, you don't know, there has been too much rain this year, and the reservoir may flood. I'm here to help my sister-in-law pack up her things and move to my house first."

Zhang Yuandong nodded and said, "Let's go."

This person had sent her several letters in the past few months, and Lin Yue felt that she was no longer afraid of this evil star. Now was not the time to talk alone, so she didn't say much.

Now someone was helping her push the cart, so she excitedly ran to the corner of the wall, picked up a chicken coop that looked like a small thatched house, and followed the two of them out.

Zhang Yuandong turned his head and took a look at the strange-looking chicken coop in Lin Yue's arms, and the corner of his mouth twitched. Not only was the chicken coop oddly shaped, it was also soaked by the rain. Wouldn't it be uncomfortable for her to hold it in her arms?

He reached out to take it, but Lin Yue refused. She held the chicken coop with one hand and took Zhang Yuandong's black cloth umbrella with the other hand, raised her arm and followed him to hold the umbrella for him.

It was raining so heavily that the three of them returned to Aunt Su's house in silence.

Just as I entered the house, before I could take off my straw raincoat and hat, I heard a faint "boom" sound coming from a distance.

Everyone in the room was shocked. Zhang Zhiqiang slapped his thigh and said, "Oh no! The dam has been destroyed!"

He thought about how when he went to notify each household last night, no one had moved yet. Only one night had passed, and he was afraid that many people might not have had time to move yet.

Zhang Zhiqiang was so anxious that his hands were shaking. He quickly found his straw raincoat and hat, put them on neatly, and instructed the people in the house: "Guardian, come with me to check the situation. Guardian of grain, take the gong and go to the street to inform everyone to close their doors and not to go out to join in the fun! Tell them that our village is located on high ground, and except for the families living in the south of the village, as long as the others don't go out, nothing will happen! And you women, stay at home, take care of the children, and don't go out!"

While he was still making arrangements, one foot had already stepped out of the house and rushed into the rain.

Zhang Yuandong shouted, "Uncle, I'll go with you!" After that, he quickly took off Lin Yue's straw raincoat and hat, put them on, and chased after him.

In the blink of an eye, only women and children were left in the room.

It was only mid-morning, and the sky outside was overcast. Aunt Su lived in the north of the village, a certain distance from the south end of the village. Apart from the initial loud noise, there was no more sound suspected of flooding. The world was silent, with only the whistling sound of the wind and the rustling sound of the rain.

But the less other sounds they heard, the more anxious the people in the room became.

Aunt Su paced back and forth on the ground, clasped her hands together, and muttered something silently. Lin Yue knew without listening that she was asking for the "blessing of the Snake Goddess."

She was not in the mood to think about these things at the moment. Her clothes were still wet and she had no intention of changing them.

It rained too heavily during this period, and the road to the reservoir was difficult to walk. The brigade did not dare to send people to open the gate to release the floodwater, and Lin Yue also did not dare to take the risk to go to the reservoir to check the situation. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the dam was destroyed, so she could only repeatedly remind Zhang Zhiqiang, the brigade leader, hoping that he could make arrangements early. Who knew it was such a coincidence that the second notice was issued last night, and the dam broke this morning.

She sat on the edge of the kang, holding the two children anxiously. Zhang Xiaomi also rested her head on her shoulder and sat quietly beside Lin Yue.

Wang Xiuxiang was also very nervous, but she was used to taking care of others, so she got up and went to the kitchen, and brought a cup of sugar water to everyone in the room, even the little kids.

The children were influenced by the atmosphere among the adults and did not dare to speak. They just lowered their heads and sipped the sugar water in their hands.

Holding a cup of hot water in her hand, Lin Yue finally felt that her limbs were not so stiff and cold. She looked better and forced a smile at Wang Xiuxiang. Wang Xiuxiang cast a soothing look at her, hugged her mother-in-law's shoulders and whispered comforting words, took her inside, and accompanied her mother-in-law to carry out feudal superstitious activities inside.

The waiting time was very long. It was not until a few children could no longer sit still and started to fight with each other that the sound of Zhang Zhiqiang returning was finally heard from outside the door.

Aunt Su heard the noise and hurried out from the inner room, ran to the door and looked out. Lin Yue and the others followed her out and stood beside Aunt Su, looking out.

The four little ones didn't know what was going on, so they lined up at the window and leaned on it to join in the fun.

Zhang Zhiqiang came in from outside, holding a shovel in his hand and cursing, followed by Zhang Shoucang, Zhang Shouliang, Zhang Yuandong and Secretary Liu's eldest son Liu Dejun.

Aunt Su quickly made way for the others to come in. They took off their raincoats and hats at the door and entered the main room.

Aunt Su hurriedly asked, "What's going on outside? Why did you take so long?"

Zhang Zhiqiang took a big sip of hot water and briefly described the situation in the village: "No one is hurt, a few families lost their chickens, and Zhang Zhixiang's eldest grandson was almost washed away by the flood, but was pulled back by Yuandong."

Everyone in the room was shocked. Aunt Su asked quickly, "Why is it so dangerous? Our village is quite far from the reservoir and the terrain is high. It shouldn't be that dangerous!"

Zhang Zhiqiang took two puffs of his pipe and sat on a chair with his back bent, his tone full of uncontrollable anger: "When we rushed over, the flood hadn't come yet. Several households in the south of the village heard the noise, and those who hadn't moved yet knew to run north first. Only Zhang Zhixiang's family didn't take my words seriously at all, and they hadn't even decided where to live. When we rushed over, his wife was still reluctant to leave the few things in the house and was packing up her belongings in a mess. No matter how we tried to persuade her, she wouldn't listen and just refused to leave."

Aunt Su scolded: "You are really asking for your life! It's already this hour and you still don't know how to take care of yourself first, why do you care about your property!"

Wang Xiuxiang brought in two small earthen stoves for everyone to warm up. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but curse, "This family really doesn't know the importance of the matter!"

"There's no way. His family is extremely poor. They have had a hard time in the past few years. Zhang Shoufu and his wife are notoriously lazy. If it weren't for the fact that we have... in our village, their family would have starved to death two years ago! Now asking them to leave behind all their household items and food is tantamount to asking for their lives!" Zhang Shoucang thought that Zhang Yuandong didn't know about the food problem in the village, so he was deliberately vague when he spoke of that.

Zhang Yuandong pretended that he didn't hear anything and didn't even look in that direction.

After hearing this, no one in the room felt sorry for the family. Liu Dejun even spat on the ground: "It's what they deserve. What should they have done earlier?"

Zhang Zhiqiang glanced at Liu Dejun and saw him rubbing the spit on the ground with the sole of his shoe. He felt unhappy and snorted. He continued, "We finally helped him move out the valuable belongings at home, and then we heard Zhang Sanniang crying and saying that her eldest grandson was missing. We helped to look for him everywhere. Finally, Yuandong climbed up the aqueduct and saw the child at a glance. The flood was flowing fast, but fortunately Yuandong was quick and pulled the child up when he was washed over. Otherwise, the child would have been gone in the blink of an eye!"

"I was at the Xiling threshing ground at that time, and I saw it." Liu Dejun rushed to say, "You don't know, it was so thrilling! Yuandong, that kid, used one hand to hold the child with a stick, and with the other hand he grabbed the child's arm, and he pulled the person out of the flood! As soon as the child was pulled up, they both fell into the water channel in the aqueduct! I saw it with my own eyes, and it really scared me. Yuandong was too brave. What if the person couldn't be rescued, and he got himself in trouble!"