Chapter 195: Dealing with the villagers rushing to the back mountain with their bags
Zhang Lamei's eldest daughter-in-law followed her out. Upon hearing her mother-in-law's words, she thought them vulgar, but she asked respectfully, "Mother-in-law, are we really not handing in any grain at all? The grain is kept by the village head, and each household has its own mark, so there won't be any confusion."
Zhang Lamei had been angry with Lin Laoer's family ever since they were nearly scammed out of their land deeds. She'd been saying a lot of bad things about them behind their backs. Now it was Lin Laoer, and Zhou Ye, who was the one calling for a flood, who was the first to do so. How could she possibly listen to them? Besides, she was certain a flood wouldn't happen.
"You haven't seen how destitute Zhou Ye and his group of foreigners were when they fled to Tianshui Village. He's probably scared out of his wits. Besides, they were dealing with a locust plague back then. He's never seen anything like a flood. Anyone who believes him is a fool!"
The eldest daughter-in-law still regretted not handing over some grain just now. Unfortunately, her father-in-law and husband did not come back, so the matter was decided by her mother-in-law.
Zhang Lamei glared at her. "You think I don't know what you're thinking? Even if your father-in-law and the eldest brother were back, they'd still listen to me. Just take good care of your grandson. You're constantly worrying about this and that. How could I possibly let you down?"
While Zhang Lamei was scolding her daughter-in-law at home, Zhou Ye and Lin Dashan had already gone to the mountains with several strong men called by the village head.
Except for Li Chunmiao and Liao Laohan's families, the other villagers did not contribute much grain, and a few strong men were enough to carry the grain.
The cave is not on the outskirts of the deep mountains, but a little further inside. If Zhou Ye hadn't led the way, ordinary people would never find it. Even if they followed him this time, they might not be able to find the place next time.
The cave is not big, but it is big enough to accommodate twenty or thirty people, and it is no problem to put down a few baskets and backpacks of food.
After storing the food, Zhou Ye did not leave immediately. Instead, he called on a few people to pick up some dry firewood nearby and store it in the cave.
If there is a flood, there will be no dry firewood outside. Without dry firewood, we will not be able to make a fire, and drinking water and eating will become problems.
While Zhou Ye and Lin Dashan were busy in the mountains, Lin Shu was not idle either.
Before the rain started, she asked He Guixiang to light a fire and prepare twenty or so flatbreads as dry food.
She caught as many fish as she could from the fish pond. She had raised these fish with mountain spring water for so long, and their meat had gone from being earthy and fishy to being delicious. She couldn't bear to see them washed away by the flood, so she caught them all and kept them.
After making the pancakes, A-niang would heat half a pot of boiling water and put it in a clay pot for later use. If there was a flood, it would be fine for a short time, but if it rained for many days, the water quality would be polluted, and drinking water would have to be guaranteed. In that case, it would be impossible to make a fire.
Roll up and tie up dry clothes and bedding, then wrap them in sackcloth to avoid getting wet by rain.
After Lin Shu's series of actions, Lin Xiaopu became more and more nervous.
Sister Ping'er looked weak and lazy, but at this moment she seemed like a different person. She was decisive and efficient in her work, and her arrangements were orderly without a word of nonsense.
"Sister, what about our money jar? Will it be washed away by the flood?"
"Take the most important things with you. Dig a hole and bury all the money in the house."
Lin Shu started working as soon as she said she would. She and Lin Xiaopu, one holding an iron shovel and the other holding a bamboo shovel, started digging a hole in the yard with great effort.
If a flood really hit, it could even destroy houses. As long as the money jar was on the ground, it wouldn't be safe no matter where it was hidden. So Lin Shu wanted to bury the money jar underground. The pit had to be dug as deep as possible; it couldn't be too shallow, and the soil filling the pit couldn't be too loose either.
When He Guixiang was almost done, she came over to help dig. The pit was a full three feet deep, and He Guixiang's money box, Lin Shu's and Lin Xiaopu's small money jars were all placed in it. The soil was filled and compacted. When it was completely covered by the money box and jars, Lin Shu, still worried, went to the vegetable garden and brought two stone slabs over. She placed one on the money box and then filled it with the remaining soil. When it was finished, she placed another stone slab on top.
The plates, bowls, bottles and jars in the house were kept as much as possible. Since the stove was made of stone and yellow mud and was quite sturdy, these fragile items were placed in the stove, filled with straw, and the stove door was blocked with stones.
The large wooden items in the house, such as wooden cabinets and wooden tables, were all weighed down, tied tightly with hemp ropes, and placed against the corners. This way, the size and weight of the objects were increased, and there were load-bearing wood in the corners, so they were not easily washed away by floods.
After finishing all this, Lin Shu looked up at the sky covered with dark clouds, picked up the axe and went out of the yard.
"Where are you going, sister?" Lin Xiaopu was about to follow her when she stopped him, "I'll be back soon. You and mother stay in the room and don't go anywhere!"
Zhou Ye was in a hurry and the axe he always carried with him when he went out fell in the yard. Lin Shu used the axe to go to the back mountain to chop a few bamboos, split them in half, tied them up and dragged them back.
The wind was howling outside, the branches and leaves were swaying wildly, and the slender people seemed to be blown away by the strong wind.
There were no pedestrians on the road, all the farmers working in the fields had gone back to their homes, and the windows and doors of every household were closed.
As soon as Lin Shu returned to the courtyard, she heard a loud noise in the air.
“Boom—”
Thick lightning split the dark sky, moving back and forth, and thunder roared.
Lin Xiaopu exclaimed, "Sister, it's starting to rain!"
Raindrops as big as beans fell down, and in an instant it turned into a heavy downpour.
"Ashu, come in quickly!" He Guixiang shouted.
Lin Shu dragged the bamboo back to the main room and without delay, she started chopping the bamboo.
"Sister, what are you doing?"
Lin Shu said without looking up, "Let's make a bamboo raft. Mother, aren't there many people in Tianshui Village who can swim?"
He Guixiang was startled and frowned as she replied, "Not only are there not many, there are hardly any who can swim at all."
Although there is a lot of water in Tianshui Village, they are all small ditches and rivers. Except for a few deeper sections of the river, the water only flows to the villagers' legs and feet. On weekdays, the villagers at most go to the water to take a bath, and few of them can swim.
Lin Shu guessed that few of the villagers could swim, so she made a bamboo raft just in case.
The bamboo raft had just started to move when Zhou Ye and Lin Dashan came back from outside the house in the heavy rain.
He Guixiang had already prepared cloth towels for the two of them to wipe their bodies.
After changing into dry clothes, Zhou Ye took the iron axe from Lin Shu and continued to chop bamboo.
He guessed what Lin Shu was going to do without her saying anything. The bamboo was split into equal lengths and tied into rafts with hemp rope. One layer wasn't strong enough, so Zhou Ye used two layers.
Seeing that the two of them had even made the bamboo raft, Lin Dashan was extremely anxious. He glanced at the heavy rain outside the house from time to time and sighed repeatedly.
In the past, even if there were such heavy rains, they would only last for half an hour at most before subsiding. However, Lin Dashan's heart was pounding as he watched the heavy rain that did not subside at all and was even getting heavier.
Seeing the water outside quickly spreading to the threshold, Lin Shu made a quick decision, "We can't wait any longer! Dad, Mom, Xiao Pu, run to the back mountain, now! It's not thundering anymore, find a place to hide from the rain. Ah Ye and I will go to the village to shout, we can't stay here anymore!"
The terrain of Tianshui Village is not high. If there is a flood, it will be easily submerged. If we wait any longer, the water will accumulate more and more, and the flow will become faster and faster. It is no exaggeration to say that it will be difficult to move forward.
While Lin Dashan was still hesitant, He Guixiang had already carried the bedding, clothes and other things that Lin Shu had packed earlier, and Lin Xiaopu also quickly picked up a bag.
"What are you still standing there for? Put your things on your back and go!" He Guixiang urged.
"Oh, oh, oh." Lin Dashan carried two buckets of fish, and in addition to the necessary sundries, he also put all the hens, pheasants, and chicks in the basket on his back. He also slung an iron pot across his chest, and brought everything he could from home.
A group of three walked towards the back mountain in the heavy rain.
At this time, there was a large area of water on the ground, so you had to be careful when going to the back mountain.
Lin Shu and Zhou Ye did not dare to delay, and they acted separately. Lin Shu called on the villagers to go to the back mountain to avoid the disaster, while Zhou Ye went to find the head of the village.
The words of the village head carry weight. As long as you persuade him and let him shout, most of the villagers will respond.
In fact, the village head's eyelids had been twitching since he agreed to Zhou Ye's grain storage idea. Having lived to this age, he'd seen his fair share of storms. While Tianshui Village hadn't experienced a major flood in years, what if one did? If a flood did occur, it wouldn't just damage the fields, but it could also kill people!
"Has the rain stopped?" the village head asked the eldest son.
"Dad, the rain is still going strong and it's getting heavier!" replied Boss Zhang.
The eldest daughter-in-law, Zhang, said worriedly, "Dad, Zongyao is still studying in town. If there really is a flood, will he be okay in town?"
The village head scolded him, "You're only thinking about Zong Yao. Why don't you think about the people in our village? Jingxi Town is located on high ground, and the houses here aren't thatched houses like ours. Even if there's a flood, our village will be the first to suffer!"
Zhang was silent. As a mother, was she wrong to worry about her son's safety?
"Dad, the water outside is almost reaching the threshold!" Boss Zhang continued to report the situation.
"Dad, there are more and more leaks in the house!" Zhang Laoer also said.
The second and third wives were all busy. The heavy rain was washing over the thatched house, and there were leaks in several places. The wind was still blowing outside, and the sound of the wind was so loud that they had to make sure the roof was not blown away.
The village head paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, looking anxious.
Until Zhou Ye came to the door and asked the village head to make a decision, "...With the momentum of this heavy rain, if we delay any longer, it will be too late to go to the back mountain."
Although there are many slopes in the village, they are all dirt slopes. Heavy rain can easily cause mud and rock slides. You must not go up the dirt slopes. The nearest mountain is the back mountain. The back mountain is large, with many plants, gentle slopes, and high terrain. It is the safest place in Tianshui Village.
The village head hesitated for only a moment before making up his mind, "Okay, I'll tell all the villagers to go to the back mountain!"
The head of the village asked Zhang Lao Da to follow Zhou Ye to the village to make a fuss.
What Boss Zhang said was exactly what the head of the village said. After he shouted this, the villagers felt even more uneasy.
The rain today is indeed horribly heavy.
"Don't delay any longer, take the important things at home and go to the back mountain immediately!" Zhou Ye said, following behind Boss Zhang.
Lin Shu had already called out once before, and except for those who trusted Lin Shu and those who were timid and followed her to the back mountain, most of the villagers did not move.
But this time it was the highly respected headman who spoke, which showed that he also felt that a flood was coming.
"No, is there really going to be a flood?"
"No matter if there's a flood or not, it's always better to be prepared. I'm going back to pack my things!"
"Still packing up? If there's no flood, wouldn't it be all in vain? We can just hide away."
"Then don't take it. If there's a flood and you don't have anything with you, you'll be left starving!"
"Manzi, stop standing there and let's pack up and follow the others!"
"Mom, pack up your belongings quickly and take all the valuables in the house!"
"Dad, do you want to take the mattresses and bedding with you?"
"Boss, go tie up the chickens in the chicken coop, put them in a basket, and carry them away!"
"Erniu, take our rice jar and the clay pot too!"
“…”
The more critical the moment, the more panicked the villagers became and the more they wanted to take this and that.
If there was a flood, the thatched house would be washed away, not to mention the things inside. I wanted to bring pots and pans, mattresses and quilts, everything.
In the end, when they couldn't take anything else, they took the most important food. Many villagers had only handed in a small amount of food, and the majority was still stored at home.
You don’t have to take anything else, but you must bring food!
Those who had little food at home, like Liao Dunzi from Old Man Liao's family, only had rice for two or three days, and stored the rest in a cave in the mountains. When Lin Shu called out for the first time, he had already hurriedly packed up and went to the back mountain.
There was still a lot of food left at Li Chunmiao's house, but she didn't delay. There were only two working men in the family, so they took as much as they could, and threw away the food that they couldn't take away!
Not to mention Lin Dashui and Zhang Qiaohua, who packed up and left without wasting a moment after Lin Shu called out.
If it weren't for Lin Shu, their son would not have been able to go to the town school. The town school did not accept everyone. It was all thanks to Lin Shu's good teaching.
Lin Shu had also given Zhang Qiaohua a lot of advice on her handkerchief embroidery, and now she wasn't just embroidering bamboo, she was also embroidering patterns like osmanthus and persimmons, which had auspicious meanings. They were selling incredibly well. She had recently made a killing helping sell those bamboo lounge chairs, a job Lin Shu's eldest niece had given her.
In Zhang Qiaohua's opinion, Lin Shu's words must be listened to, and there will definitely be no harm in doing so.
Now the couple's only concern was Lin Yushu, who was also studying in town. But there was no point in worrying, as their son would definitely not be back for a while.
In addition to these families, several families who are close to Lin Dashan's family are also willing to listen to Lin Shu.
These are the first group heading to the back mountain.
As more and more people left, the rest followed suit.
Seeing the villagers carrying big and small bags and heading to the back mountain, Lin Datian could no longer sit still.
The rainwater has already reached the threshold and the floor of the house is covered with water.
Lin Datian: "Pack up your things, let's go!"
Zhang Lamei stiffened her neck and said, "If you want to leave, go ahead. I won't leave. Just wait and see. The rain will stop soon!"
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