Chapter 205: Dam Breaks (Additional chapter for Yunqi's 195,000 recommended votes)
In the early hours of the morning, there was a loud bang next to his ears. Manbao had become immune to loud noises recently, so he turned over and continued to sleep.
Because of the heavy rain for several days, Qian was worried about her, so she moved back to the small bed separated by a bamboo screen to sleep in the past two days. Perhaps because she knew her parents were by her side, she fell asleep quickly hugging the quilt.
But soon, there was a bang on the door of Zhou's house. The visitor was afraid that they couldn't hear him, so he shouted, "Uncle Jin, Dalang, open the door quickly!"
There were noises coming from the rooms of Zhou Dalang, Zhou Erlang and Zhou Sanlang. Zhou Dalang responded vaguely and went to open the door in the dark.
Manbao rubbed her eyes and got up. She saw her father walking out with his clothes on. She asked dazedly, "What's wrong?"
Qian pushed her onto the bed, patted her back and soothed her, "It's okay, it's okay, go to sleep."
But he pricked up his ears to listen to the noise outside.
Manbao yawned, but couldn't fall asleep.
Zhou Dalang opened the door and asked, "What's wrong?"
The visitor wiped the splashing rain from his face and said, "Daliang's house collapsed and people are buried inside."
Zhou Dalang was startled and asked quickly, "Is he okay?"
"We're already digging. Daliang is fine, he's just stuck inside and can't get out. But the room where his parents sleep has completely collapsed. I don't know what's happening to them."
This was not a matter of one family providing one laborer. From Zhou Dalang to Zhou Silang, and even Old Zhoutou, they all rushed out in the rain to rescue people.
Zhou Daliang's house is a mud house made of a mixture of mud and straw. A long time ago, half of the roof was covered with tiles. Later, the tiles were damaged, and gradually another layer of thatch was covered.
Especially since it rained a lot recently, the house was leaking badly, so Daliang's family replaced the thatch. However, they didn't expect the rain to be so heavy. It might also be because the house was too old, the wood of the beams was rotten, and the mud walls were exposed to wind and rain in recent days, and they collapsed with a snap.
The loud noise Manbao heard just now was not thunder, but the house collapsing.
It was not until Zhou Daliang woke up, stretched out the straw that was pressing on him a little, and shouted a few times that the neighbors realized what was happening and quickly called for help.
Everyone in the village woke up, and the village chief directed everyone to move the wood, thatch, tiles and walls, first rescue the people who were making sounds, and then dig out the silent ones.
Families like Zhou Daliang's, whose houses have been in disrepair for many years, are afraid to even let their children sleep, and have to carry them out of the yard for fear that their houses will collapse as well.
Zhou Daliang was Zhou Silang's good friend. He was just hit by some thatch and tiles and had some scratches on his body. His wife was sleeping next to him, so it was not a big deal. But his parents' situation was more serious.
Because after being called several times outside, the old couple did not respond.
He knelt on the ground, completely stunned.
The rain only lightened for a moment, then quickly picked up again. Problems were found in many houses of the village. One house even had cracks in the wall. The man who checked this kicked the wall, intending to see if it was still strong, but the wall collapsed as a result of his kick.
The wife standing next to him was stunned for a moment, then she got so angry that she started fighting with him, and the village was filled with ghosts howling again.
When it was a little light, Zhou Daliang's family members dug out. His father was completely stunned, with some bleeding on his forehead, and his mother was frightened and fainted, and her whole body was trembling. The mountain road was difficult to walk on at that time, and it was impossible for them to go out to call a doctor.
But there were some old people who knew a little more and pressed their philtrum hard, and the old couple woke up one after another.
The couple was lucky. The falling beam happened to land on the cabinet beside the bed. Although the thatch and tiles that came crashing down hit them hard, they did not hurt any bones.
The village chief breathed a sigh of relief, as long as everyone was fine.
At this time, the county magistrate who was sleeping soundly in Luojiang County was also awakened by someone knocking on the door.
The county magistrate didn't care that this was the county magistrate's inner residence and ran directly to his door. When he heard some movement in the house, he said anxiously: "Sir, the Minjiang River has burst its banks."
As soon as he stood up in the room, the still dazed Fu County Magistrate fell to the ground. He got up in a somewhat awkward manner, not bothering to put on his clothes. He opened the door with a snap, and grabbed the county magistrate with a drastic change of expression, "Where did it collapse?"
"Minjiang River, Minjiang River!"
County Magistrate Fu's hands trembled slightly as he asked, "The Minjiang River, doesn't the Minjiang River have a Feisha Weir? It's been inspected and repaired for years, and it was even reinforced before. It was just completed the year before last. How could it be..."
The county magistrate was sweating profusely. "Sir, let's not worry about the Minjiang River right now. The rain is pouring down, and the water level of the Luojiang River is also rising sharply. There are also the Kaijiang River, the Ningshui River, and the Mianyuan River, which are diverted from the Luojiang River..."
County Magistrate Fu awoke with a start. His face was grave. He straightened his clothes and said, "Go and call everyone over. You're right. We can't control the Minjiang River. We have to take care of the Luojiang River first, especially the villages along the river. If a flood really comes, we have to relocate them to the nearest mountains..."
The rain gradually stopped, and Manbao followed Zhou Wulang and others to the village chief's house.
Zhou Daliang's family was temporarily placed in the village chief's house. Qian packed some eggs and asked Zhou Wulang to take them to them, and Manbao followed behind to join in the fun.
The village head is here too.
He was comforting Daliang's father and said, "I'm glad you're okay. I'll ask the village to repair your house later."
Then he said to the others, "You should also check your houses and fix any problems. Don't be reluctant to spend money. Life is more important than money."
"Village head, how long will this rain last?"
"You'll have to ask God about this. I'll ask for you when I get home tonight."
"...Village head, the rice seedlings have already reached ears, but now they are all flooded."
"I know. My house was flooded too."
Manbao squeezed to the front and asked curiously, "Grandpa, is it raining so hard outside?"
"It should be raining everywhere. Look at how wide the dark clouds are. It's definitely not just raining here."
"Will other places be flooded like us?"
The head of the village frowned and began to think. He didn't know what he was thinking about, and his expression changed slightly.
He was getting a little impatient and stood up and said, "As long as everyone is alright, it's fine. You guys can discuss where to stay first and then repair the house when the weather clears up. I'll go to the county town to take a look."
Since the rain, the roads have become difficult to walk on, especially the mountain roads leading to the county town, so the village head has never been to the county town, but today he wants to go and take a look.
The head of the village could only rely on his old arms and legs to get in and out, but the Bai family had a car and servants, so he could receive news from the outside world more quickly.
Besides, he also had a shop in the county town, so not long after dawn, a donkey cart came to the Bai family in the rain.
After a while, Mr. Bai knew the news of the Minjiang River bursting its dike, and Mr. Zhuang also knew about it.
When Manbao went to the Bai family to prepare special meals that day, Mr. Zhuang was distracted frequently and looked very unhappy.
Manbao looked at Bai Shanbao, who winked at her and told her to be careful. Bai Erlang, who was thinking hard with his pen biting on his teeth, saw this and glared at the two of them. He raised his hand and complained, "Sir, Zhou Man and Bai Shan are deserting their duty."
He felt that the reason why he was given special treatment was all because of the two of them, because all along, special treatment was just a benefit for the two of them, and he was arrested because of them.
(End of this chapter)
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