"Get up quickly. I also came to Daling Village because of the bandits, and also to check on that good-for-nothing Zhao Heng."
Zhao Heng stood in the crowd, his trousers rolled up. Hearing his father's words, he became somewhat displeased and pouted, saying, "Dad, what shameful thing have I done that you always talk about me like this in front of others?"
Liang Shuyan glanced at Zhao Heng and said calmly, "Actually, Zhao Heng is a very diligent child. He has been teaching arithmetic to the children at school recently, and he has been teaching very seriously."
"This is not the time to talk about this. Let's get to the Daoci Temple as soon as possible. If Daling leaves the mountain, all of us will be in danger!"
A large group of people left, with Da Shan carrying some quilts and mattresses on his shoulders, and Zhao Shi and Ru Yan carrying some pots and pans. They walked slowly towards the cave in the rocky mountain.
Grandma Liu shook her head: "Oh dear, such heavy rain, a rainstorm that's been rare for many years. Luckily, our village dug irrigation ditches a few days ago, otherwise, we would probably be flooded by now. Good heavens!"
"That's right, such a huge flood washed away all our old houses in one go. What are we going to do? I hope God will protect us and stop the rain, otherwise, some of the mud houses in our village will be washed away, and the children will suffer too."
The two old women, Granny Jin and Granny Liu, chatted back and forth, while the children, each with a sack on their head, struggled to walk.
Da Shan tore open a piece of burlap and, while pulling at Zhao Heng, pushed the magistrate and Liang Shuyan together. The clerk, standing to the side, felt somewhat embarrassed and quickly moved away.
"Never mind, I won't get wet either. Auntie, don't get wet, squeeze in a bit!" With that, the clerk squeezed Liang Shuyan toward the county magistrate.
This action made Liang Shuyan instantly understand that the clerk wanted to match her with the county magistrate.
When the county magistrate saw Liang Shuyan, he was a little embarrassed and deliberately avoided her.
Zhao Heng held onto the sack by one leg and stared at the clerk. With a clever glance from the clerk, Zhao Heng shoved his father in the backside, knocking the magistrate back. Liang Shuyan was almost knocked off balance.
The magistrate's eyes turned to his son, Zhao Heng: "You brat, what are you doing? Why are you so restless?"
Liang Shuyan's reproachful gaze left the county magistrate at a loss for what to do. At this moment, he could only blame his son. Zhao Heng, however, looked at Dashan and said, "Brother Dashan, why did you push me? Look at what happened to me, my dad scolded me!"
Only the advisor and Zhao Heng fully understood the effects of this series of actions; Liang Shuyan only had a partial understanding.
Fortunately, they soon arrived at the cave in the rocky mountain.
Ruyan and Zhang put down what they were carrying, swept the room with brooms, clapped their hands, put their things away, then pulled over stools and instructed the magistrate, his advisor, the judge, and others to sit down.
Li Zheng said, "Sanwang, hurry up, this room is too damp. Prepare a fire so the adults can warm up."
Liang Shuyan breathed a sigh of relief before saying, "I'll go prepare the firewood. Please sit down first."
Just then, the rain intensified. Not far away, two men rushed over, shouting, "Something terrible has happened! Xuehua's father is hiding inside the house and won't come out. The cave dwelling is about to collapse! Lizheng!"
Li Zheng stomped his feet in anger: "That old Wang is such a blockhead! What kind of time is this to be acting like a child? Come on, let's go take a look."
There was some dry firewood in the cave, which she gathered together and placed aside, preparing to start a fire. Dashan came over: "Mother, let Dashan come!"
The county magistrate paced back and forth, saying, "If this continues, our entire county will be flooded. Some villages haven't even harvested their wheat. If this continues, we're afraid it will be another year of famine!"
The clerk followed behind, rubbing his hands together: "Tell me about this matter. Even the mountain woman knew to harvest early. She had already conveyed the message to the officials, but what did they do? They insisted that the grain wasn't fully ripe and asked why they were in such a hurry. Now look what's happened, no harvest at all. These people deserve to go hungry!"
When Li Zheng didn't return, the county magistrate became anxious and asked, "Is it far from here to Old Wang's house?"
"It's not far. Just walk down from here, and it's a little further!"
“Let’s go see that blockhead Wang. It’s raining so hard, but he’s reluctant to leave!” The magistrate and his clerk, with burlap sacks on their heads, walked toward Wang Daikui’s house.
Liang Shuyan followed closely behind.
When they arrived at Wang Daikui's house, Xuehua stood at the door and kept tugging at Wang Daikui: "Dad, look, this cave dwelling is going to collapse in a little while. Why are you still guarding it like this?"
"Snowflake, get out! No matter what, this is where your mother and I lived, and I don't want to leave!"
Li Zheng led a group of people to the door, saw the stubborn Wang Daikui, and roared, "Look, this cave is about to collapse, what are you still doing guarding it? If you die, who will take care of Xuehua?"
Wang Daikui's face remained droopy, and he still did not react.
The county magistrate and his advisor also came in. Seeing the tilted cave dwelling, which was extremely dangerous, they went up to Wang Daikui and pulled him away, saying, "You blockhead! The flood is coming, and you still want to hold onto this cave dwelling? What, is this cave dwelling more important than your life?"
Panting, Liang Shuyan walked to the door and saw the stubborn Wang Daikui. She said, "Wang Daikui, do you believe I'll hand your Snowflakes back to that big devil and make you lose Snowflakes forever!"
Liang Shuyan's resolute face was filled with anger. Upon hearing this, Wang Daikui stood up abruptly and cried out, "Don't force me! This cave dwelling is where my wife and I lived. I can't bear to leave it!"
"Are you willing to let Snowflake accompany that great demon from now on? I'm not in the mood for jokes!"
Wang Daikui immediately stood up: "No, I can't bear to part with the snowflakes!"
Wang Daikui then emerged from the dilapidated cave dwelling, tightly embracing Xuehua. With tears streaming down his face, he said, "Xuehua, your mother is already dead. It's no use for me to die guarding that cave dwelling. But what about you? I don't want you to follow that great demon and be harmed by him!"
Seeing Wang Daikui like this, everyone's eyes welled up with tears.
Liang Shuyan, however, said with a dark face, "Look at you, with such heavy rain, not only did you have to bring the magistrate and his advisor to your rescue, but you also have to come to your aid. Do you think you have that much influence?"
As soon as everyone left, the cave dwelling was filled with a rumbling sound, then dispersed as a flood of yellow mud surged in.
Li Zheng pulled at the county magistrate, saying, "Quickly! Your Excellency, it's dangerous here!"
Before Liang Shuyan could react, she was busy teaching Wang Daikui a lesson when she was caught by a flash flood.
"Da Shan Niang! Dashan Niang!"
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