Chapter 196: Paddling a bamboo raft to save people
Lin Datian usually obeyed his wife's orders; otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten into such a bad rap with his second and third brothers over the years. But seeing all the neighbors packing up and leaving, he couldn't stand it any longer. Ignoring Zhang Lamei, he shouted at his three sons, "What are you still standing there for? Get your stuff ready! Take everything you can from home, especially the food!"
"Don't pack your things!" Zhang Lamei said angrily and reached out to pull Lin Datian.
"You bitch, are you crazy?! If you don't leave, my sons and I will leave!"
The water outside was piling up more and more, but my mother-in-law and father-in-law were still arguing inside. The eldest daughter-in-law, her belly protruding, sneered, "If mother-in-law wants to stay home, then she can. I'm going to the back mountain. Even if the flood doesn't break out today, I'll accept it."
As she spoke, she turned and asked Lin Duocang, who was supporting her, "I want to go to the back mountain. Will you take me there, or will you listen to your mother and stay indoors?"
"I...my wife, you are still pregnant. If you insist on going, I will take you there!" Lin Duocang is also a henpecked man who listens to his wife. What's more, his wife is pregnant, so he will definitely put his wife first.
"Great, great! I knew you usually didn't take me, your mother-in-law, seriously, but now you're finally giving up! Don't think that just because your ancestors produced a scholar, you can really consider yourself a respectable person. Pah! That was all so long ago. Your father and your brothers were all peasants digging for food in the fields. And yet you're pretending to be so noble in front of me? If you dare leave this room today, I'll have my son divorce you tomorrow!"
Zhang Lamei's eldest daughter-in-law's surname is Wu. Her ancestors were scholars, but that was a long time ago. Later, each generation became more impoverished. Now the family has only four or five acres of thin land, and only some books and classics handed down from ancestors are worth some money. In addition, Wu can read a few characters, so she was chosen by Zhang Lamei and became his eldest daughter-in-law.
Zhang Lamei had long been displeased with some of Wu's daily behavior. What was even more infuriating was that this little bitch had whispered something into her eldest son's ear, and the eldest son was becoming more and more on her side.
If it wasn't for the fact that her eldest grandson would inherit some of her ancestors' scholarly air when he came out of her belly, why would she marry such a lazy daughter-in-law, who is now talking back to her, the mother-in-law, in public!
Mrs. Wu was too lazy to talk nonsense with her. She originally wanted to let Lin Duocang take some rice away, but seeing Zhang Lamei's attitude, she didn't want the rice anymore.
"If you want to divorce me, you have to ask Dalang if he's willing. If he's willing, you can divorce me. If he's not willing, we can separate voluntarily! From now on, mother-in-law, don't interfere in my affairs!"
Zhang Lamei was so angry at this that her face turned blue. She angrily asked her eldest son, "Lin Duocang! Do you want a wife or your mother?"
Lin Duocang was caught in the middle and was in a dilemma. "Mother, I definitely want both, but my wife is still carrying the baby. I'll listen to her and send her to the back mountain first."
The third brother, Lin Duoliang, was a troublemaker. He took the opportunity to express his opinion: "Brother, if you don't listen to our mother and go with our sister-in-law, you can no longer be my eldest brother. I won't recognize you! Everyone in our family has to listen to our mother." He hurried to support Zhang Lamei, "Mother, I listen to you."
Zhang Lamei's anger subsided a little after her youngest son's thoughtful gesture. She had three sons, but the eldest was born in vain. Fortunately, the second and third sons were willing to listen to her.
"Alright, stop making trouble!" Lin Datian said again impatiently, "Pack up and go to the back mountain!"
Zhang Lamei continued to make trouble and started to push people away. Lin Datian was so angry that he slapped her hard.
Zhang Lamei stared at him in disbelief, "Lin Datian! How dare you hit me? I'll fight you!"
Seeing that the couple was about to argue again, Wu did not delay any longer. She took the straw raincoat from home and put it on. She did not care whether her mother-in-law would call her selfish. She walked on the water to the back mountain of the village without taking anything else.
Lin Datian didn't dare delay any longer. If he delayed any longer, all the villagers would leave, and then only his family would be left. If a flood really happened, the whole family would go to the underworld together.
Thinking of this, Lin Datian felt ruthless and grabbed Zhang Lamei and slapped her twice, knocking Zhang Lamei unconscious.
"You stinky bitch, it's already this late and you're still making a fuss. If you miss, go die by yourself, don't drag the whole family down with you!"
Lin Datian usually doesn't get angry, but when he does, Lin Duogu and Lin Duoliang don't dare to say a word and pack up their things obediently.
By the time the big and small backpacks were all filled with things, the water in the village had reached the calf level!
Zhang Lamei was angry and didn't want to follow, but seeing that the water level outside was getting higher and higher, Lin Datian and his two sons really left without her. She was depressed for a moment, and finally followed behind, covering her face with the slap marks and sobbing.
Before reaching the end of the village, and having only walked a little way, the water had already reached my knees.
Lin Duogu stumbled and the sack of flour in his backpack fell into the water. He was shocked, "Fat flour, our flour!"
Rice can be eaten after being washed and contaminated by dirty water, but ash flour cannot be eaten after being contaminated by dirty water.
This is a sack of gray flour!
Lin Datian gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry about it, just go!"
Lin Datian was already regretting his decision. It was because of his wife's tantrums that he'd delayed so long, causing the water outside to grow deeper and deeper. He only saw a few villagers ahead; most had already gone to the back mountains. Back there, he realized the water wasn't just deep; it had become a river. The foothills of Tianshui Village were higher than the head, meaning they were essentially swimming upstream.
In front, although Wu and Lin Duocang walked earlier, Wu couldn't walk fast because of her big belly.
As they walked, the water reached Wu's knees. Without paying attention, she tripped over an invisible obstacle in the water, fell into the water, and choked on it. Lin Duocang hurriedly helped her up and said in a panic, "Wife, wife, are you okay?"
"I can't walk anymore." Mrs. Wu panted.
She was carrying the baby, and she was wearing a heavy raincoat, which was made of palm hair and was also heavy. She was also struggling through the water, so how could she bear it? But if she took off the raincoat, her body would be soaked by the rain. What if she caught a cold?
At this moment, the two of them suddenly heard a loud bang. It turned out that someone's thatched house was collapsed by the rain.
Seeing the collapsed house, Wu took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, saying, "Let's go! Keep going!"
Going further, a few scattered villagers who were walking forward saw the collapsed houses and their faces turned pale with fright.
Those who were the last to leave were either stubborn and refused to believe in evil, or greedy and wanted to take everything. Now that they saw the houses collapsed and the water in the village accumulated more and more, how could they dare to question anything?
This is a flood!
Let’s go, we have to leave quickly. If we delay any longer, we won’t be able to leave!
Among them were women carrying babies on their backs, the babies crying loudly all the way in their baskets. Although the baskets were covered with a thick blanket and a bamboo hat, the rain was so heavy that it was impossible to prevent any leakage.
The woman walked step by step with great difficulty, while the man next to her was carrying all the food in the house, holding some sundries in one hand, and holding a boy of seven or eight years old in the other.
"His father, it's all my fault for not wanting to leave. If I can't reach the back mountain, you can take the eldest and second sons up the mountain, wuwu..."
"What nonsense are you talking about? I won't abandon you or the baby. Hold my arm and let's walk slowly and steadily. We'll reach the back mountain soon!"
The boy also said, "Don't be afraid, mother. I'm strong enough to walk by myself. Let father hold your hand."
The woman shed tears, "Good child, hold on to your father. Don't let him fall. If he falls, he will be washed away by the water, understand?"
The boy nodded heavily.
The man looked at the miscellaneous items in his hands, sighed, and threw them away, "I don't want any of these anymore!"
He held his wife in one hand and his eldest son in the other, and the whole family walked forward together.
It was raining so heavily that in just a short while the water was already above my knees.
It wasn't that they didn't want to listen to Lin Shu and leave early, it was simply because the youngest child in the family was too young. The eldest was eight years old, and the youngest was just over a year old. With the storm outside, the couple was afraid the youngest wouldn't be able to endure the rain. Although their thatched hut was leaking, it still provided some shelter.
But after some hesitation, the family left in the rain.
The rain was so heavy that it blurred her vision, making it impossible to see the road. The woman nearly slipped several times. But she didn't dare to do so, as she was carrying the baby on her back.
As they were walking, the boy the man was leading suddenly cried out in surprise and pointed ahead, saying, "Dad, Mom, there are people coming this way!"
It's not surprising that there were people there, but what was surprising was that the man actually came on a bamboo raft.
The one rowing the bamboo raft was Lin Shu. She and Zhou Ye had previously acted separately. After they reunited, they had some discussion and then separated again.
Zhou Ye stayed at the foot of the mountain to help the villagers as they climbed up the mountain. Lin Shu was a good swimmer and, knowing that several families had young children, she paddled Zhou Ye's bamboo raft to the village entrance to pick them up.
The bamboo raft has great buoyancy and low draft, so it can be paddled even in shallow water. Lin Shu paddled the bamboo raft more and more smoothly.
Not long ago, she sent a young mother and son to the foot of the mountain, and also sent an elderly couple with mobility problems. This is her third trip back.
This time, I met four people with their families.
Lin Shu didn't have a deep impression of this family. She only remembered that the elders had passed away early, and the two older sisters who were the head of the household had married off to other villages, leaving the man alone in the family as a laborer. His two children were so young that they hadn't left until now.
"Sister-in-law, I am Lin Shu from Lin Dashan's family. You bring the two children up first, and I will take you to the back mountain! Big brother doesn't need to take care of you here, and it will be easier for you to walk alone." Lin Shu shouted to the woman.
The bamboo raft was not big and could only carry three people, which was enough for her, the woman, and the two children.
The woman cried with joy upon hearing this. After saying a few words to the head of the family, she got on the bamboo raft carrying the basket on her back. The eldest son was carried up by the man.
After they had stabilized, Lin Shu used the long bamboo pole in her hand to push the raft around instantly. Then, relying on her strong hands, she used the bamboo pole to gain leverage and headed against the current towards the back mountain.
After the bamboo raft had traveled some distance, the woman called back, "Dad, the two kids and I will go first. Be steady on the road. We'll wait for you in the back mountain!"
The man waved his hand, his worried expression easing. He didn't have to worry about his wife and children, and it would be much easier for him to be alone. He would have to thank Lin Shu later!
By the way, not only Lin Shu, but also Lin Laoer's family should be thanked! If they hadn't notified the villagers in time, he wouldn't have gone with them. If he were still trapped in the thatched hut, the consequences would be disastrous.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
