Chapter 199 The rain has stopped! The moon is out!
Seeing his wife only cared about crying and hadn't even taken the things, Lin Duocang hurried to help take the clothes and said gratefully, "Xiao Pu, thank you, uncle and aunt, thank you for your family, thank you so much! Your sister-in-law needs a dry set of clothes!"
Lin Xiaopu explained, "My elder sister has the final say in the family these days, and she asked me to bring these clothes. She said she was taking extra care of my sister-in-law because she was pregnant, and she'd do the same for anyone else." She then handed over a piece of palm bark, "This is the bark my brother-in-law cut. This side is dry inside. You can use it as a cushion to rest. We don't have any extra bedding at home."
After Wu came back to her senses, she wiped away her tears hastily and thanked Lin Duocang along with him.
There were indeed no extra beddings at Lin Laoer's house. Although He Guixiang bundled up all the beddings in the house and took them with her, the rain was too heavy, and in the end only the two quilts at the innermost part of the pack were dry. He Guixiang, Lin Dashan and Lin Xiaopu had to share one quilt, and the other set was the new bedding that Lin Shu and Zhou Ye used for their wedding, so it was naturally given to them.
But in the current conditions, the villagers were lucky to have a dry spot to sit and rest, not even a dry blanket to sleep on. Most villagers huddled together for warmth, while their mothers clung to the youngest children, rubbing their cold hands and feet, fearing they might develop a fever in the middle of the night.
Lin Shu's eyes fell on a mother holding a baby. After staying there for a moment, she turned away and saw a father holding a three or four-year-old child in his arms, with his upper body naked, using his arms to keep the child warm.
After a moment of silence, Lin Shu sighed softly and asked the man beside her: "Aye, can I sleep next to you tonight?"
Zhou Ye had guessed what she was going to do, "Well, you hold me while you sleep, it's a bit warmer than the quilt."
Lin Shu curled the corners of her mouth slightly and looked at Zhou Ye without saying a word, but her eyes were filled with emotions that only Zhou Ye could understand.
A corner of Zhou Ye's heart softened.
He had known for a long time that Ah Shu was a very kind woman. Unlike his former self, her kindness was just right. Just like this bread, Ah Shu would eat it first, and only share the rest after everyone in the family had their share. Even then, she would give it to the women and children who needed it most first.
If it were any other kind-hearted person, how would he have gotten five breads? Now that his appetite has decreased a bit, five breads can only make him about 60% full.
Then there was the boiling water Ah Shu had boiled in advance. Water was heavy and difficult to carry, so they only brought a small jar. When they ate the bread earlier, Ah Shu kept it all for herself, especially for him. He worked hard and sweated a lot, so Ah Shu let him drink most of the jar. The bread, which he could soak in the water, he ate with great satisfaction.
Finally, there was the blanket. After he and Ah Shu finished their work, they each changed into dry clothes. Having the blanket was the icing on the cake, but it didn't matter if they didn't need it. The villagers, especially the elderly, the weak, the women, and the children, who were soaked in sweat, really needed it more than they did.
Lin Shu walked up to the woman with the baby and whispered something to her. The woman was flattered. The man next to her also looked grateful and kept saying something.
Not long after, the woman came to Lin Shu's straw hut with the baby in her arms.
When the woman saw the bright red quilt, she was amazed. "Ah Shu, please change it. This is your wedding quilt!"
This woman was the one who had been carrying the baby in a basket on the road and was sent to the back mountain by Lin Shu on a bamboo raft. She was already very grateful to Lin Shu for what had happened before, but she didn't expect that Lin Shu would give up her wedding quilt and mattress.
"It's okay, sister-in-law. You and the baby should get in bed and warm up. This quilt is big, and if we squeeze in, we can sleep two more people. Do you mind, sister-in-law?"
The woman hurriedly said she didn't mind.
At this point, she doesn't mind sharing a mattress with an old lady with stinky feet!
So not long after, Mrs. Wu, who was pregnant, and the mother of another baby were also called over by Lin Shu.
When He Guixiang saw that Lin Shu had given up all her bedding, she discussed with Lin Dashan and Lin Xiaopu and decided to give up theirs as well.
Unexpectedly, Lin Shu said, "Mom and Dad, you can keep these quilts for yourselves. Aye and I gave them up because we are young and can endure it. Besides, Aye is hot, so I can keep warm by leaning on him. We can do good deeds, but we can't let ourselves suffer."
He Guixiang didn't insist after hearing that. She always listened to Lin Shu.
At this time, Third Aunt Zhang Qiaohua said, "Ashu, I have an extra bed at home. I'll give one away!"
Li Chunmiao also said: "A Shu, I have a half-dry bed here that can be used. I am willing to give it up."
Both families left early, taking what they could with them, including bedding. They kept one for themselves and shared the extras with others, just like Ah Shu did. There were many children in the village, as well as several elderly people. These people were in poor health and easily sick, so they gave away their bedding.
For a moment, the villagers and their families who benefited were all moved to tears of gratitude.
The village head felt ashamed when he saw this. These things should have been done by him, but he had a large family and had always taken care of food before leaving. He only had one set of dry bedding left, which he left for his young grandchildren. He really didn't have much to share with the villagers.
"Grandpa, you should also get into bed and warm up." The little grandson from the third room was only five years old. He called him over to squeeze in. Several sons and daughters-in-law also tried to persuade him, fearing that he could not endure it because of his old age.
Li Zheng looked relieved and waved his hands, saying, "I'm in good health. Living another ten years won't be a problem!"
How can he sleep well tonight? I just hope the rain stops soon and doesn't continue.
Thinking of the other villages under Jingxi Town, the old villager was in a heavy mood.
They had Zhou Ye's advance warning, stored food in the mountains, and Lin Shu paddled a bamboo raft to rescue people. Tianshui Village, with its dozens of households and over 200 people, had all been relocated to the mountains behind. Without Zhou Ye and Lin Shu, other villages wouldn't have been so lucky.
Tianshui Village isn't high, but the villages further down the river are even lower, especially Dafu Village at the very bottom. I wonder how the people in those villages are doing now...
Some people, like the village head, are concerned about other villages because they have relatives in other villages, but there are also people who fuss over trivial matters.
Zhang Lamei had long forgotten her vow to eat feces from the pit. Now, seeing that others had bread to eat and bedding to sleep on, while her family had not gained anything, she could not help but speak sarcastically.
"I didn't expect my niece to be such a kindhearted person. If she is so kindhearted, why doesn't she care about her uncle and cousin, but instead cares about irrelevant outsiders - A-choo!" Zhang Lamei sneezed loudly before she finished speaking. "Oh, no, I'm sick. I was not in good health to begin with, and now I'm caught in the rain. Why is my life so miserable!"
A village woman nearby also said sourly: "Tsk, a truly kind person repays evil with kindness. Lin Shu doesn't even care about your aunt-in-law, so I, who have argued with her before, should forget about it." The speaker was Gao, who had slandered Lin Shu behind her back.
Their entire family got nothing. Besides, her parents-in-law were already quite old, so why didn't Lin Shu share her bedding with them? That damned girl Lin Shu was clearly deliberately ignoring them. Wasn't this just holding a grudge?
But Gao didn't think about it. The one who came out to distribute the bedding was not Lin Shu at all, but Zhang Qiaohua and Li Chunmiao. They were looking for the young children and the elderly who were in poor health in the village. What did they have to do with Lin Shu?
But no matter how sarcastic these people were, Lin Shu pretended not to know, and the other villagers who were dissatisfied would naturally help to counterattack. The clamor on the other end lasted for a long time before it died down.
As the night deepened, the voices in the straw huts gradually died down. The villagers had been working tirelessly for a long time, exhausted both physically and mentally, and could no longer hold out. The women, children, and elderly who had blankets were already asleep, while those who had nothing slept lightly, leaning against those close to them for warmth, just like Lin Shu and Zhou Ye.
Zhou Ye sat on the dry brown leather, holding the petite Lin Shu in his arms. After holding her for a while, he felt the wind blowing towards him, so he pinched Lin Shu's waist with both hands and lifted her up, turning her over.
Lin Shu was caught off guard by his change of direction and almost cried out in surprise. She pinched his waist in anger and asked, "Could you have told me in advance?"
Zhou Ye wrapped her legs around his waist and put his arms around her back, blocking most of the night wind from the mountains.
"Go to sleep. This position is warmer."
Lin Shu felt that the koala's posture was really embarrassing. It was fine when Ping'er was alone with them, but now... She secretly glanced at her Third Aunt and Aunt Li and found that they were not looking at them at all.
That's right, at this time, everyone is taking care of themselves and no one has the time to care about others.
Feeling relieved, Lin Shu tilted her head and leaned on Zhou Ye's neck. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep in a moment.
Before falling asleep, I muttered to myself: Ah Ye is really as warm as a stove. It’s so comfortable to sleep with Ah Ye in my arms…
Zhou Ye was also feeling a little tired. He had been guarding the foot of the mountain during the daytime floods. Whenever the villagers were carrying a lot of things, he would help them. He even carried some of the elderly up the mountain on his back. He had walked back and forth countless times in this back mountain.
Then, in order to build the straw huts that could accommodate all the villagers before dark, they had no time to rest.
Holding Lin Shu in his arms, sniffing her faint body fragrance and feeling her warm body temperature, Zhou Ye felt sleepy and soon fell asleep.
In the dead of night, one of the awake villagers suddenly shouted out in joy, "The rain has stopped! The moon is out!"
The villagers who were lightly sleeping were awakened and all breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the good news.
It's good that the rain has stopped! Once the rain stops and the sun shines, the accumulated water outside will seep into the ground in a few days.
Lin Shu, who was woken up, heard the good news. Her brows, which had been slightly furrowed in her sleep, relaxed. She rubbed her head on Zhou Ye's shoulder and soon fell asleep again.
The next day, Lin Shu opened her eyes at dawn.
As soon as she moved, Zhou Ye noticed it, "Ashu, are you awake?"
Lin Shu hummed and got off him. "Let's go find some dry firewood."
Normally, she would sleep until she woke up naturally every day, but this time, contrary to her usual behavior, she woke up early and looked extremely natural, which made Zhou Ye look at her a few more times, but this time he didn't ask anything.
Lin Shu was not unaware of Zhou Ye's puzzled gaze.
Who wants to toil and travel when they can live a leisurely and lazy life? The flood simply awakened the sense of crisis that was already engraved in her soul, giving her a long-lost sense of urgency.
She urgently needed to do something to relieve this mood, such as stockpiling things, firewood, food, clothing, medicine, and even weapons. Anything would be fine, as long as the more of it could be used, the better!
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