Yu Xiaofeng slumped to the ground, unable to believe what she was seeing.
The midwife said the baby had been dead for a while, not just in the last two days.
She had waited so long for this result, only to receive such an outcome.
Outside, wind and rain raged, and dark shadows swayed in the bamboo forest, menacing and terrifying.
Lin Tao heard the shouting from outside and rushed in to see the child, only to find the body cold.
He was so angry that he wanted to grab Ma Huijuan and question her, but he found that she had already fainted and could not be woken up no matter how he patted her.
Just then, a series of urgent horn blared outside:
"Instructions have come from above: all villagers must evacuate their houses and seek higher ground. Pack your belongings quickly and get to higher ground! The flood is coming soon."
Lin Fugui, wearing a raincoat and barefoot, started going from house to house with a megaphone to spread the word.
Upon hearing the announcement, Lin Chen quickly instructed Wang Xiufen and Jiang Ning to pack their things.
"It seems that this rainstorm will continue for several more days. Most of the houses in our village are mud-brick houses, which simply cannot withstand long-term rain erosion."
I heard the water level in Tuanjiehu Lake is already quite high; it seems we're not safe here either.
Jiang Ning quickly packed her things, deliberately making a bundle out of a quilt and then putting various supplies inside.
Peach shortbread cookies, malted milk powder, milk candy, flour... stuff it with everything that can fit.
Lin Chen then packed their clothes and toiletries...
Those with relatives can go and stay with them; those without relatives can stay in temporary tents set up by the government.
Jiang Ning and Lin Chen discussed it and decided to go to the guesthouse in the village.
The only guesthouse in the village has more than ten rooms, but I don't know if it will still be available to stay there now.
Without much thought, they tied several packages to the back of their bicycles, wrapped them in tarpaulin, put on raincoats, and headed towards the countryside in the cold night rain.
Lin Chen and Wang Xiufen each pushed a bicycle, with Jiang Ning following behind. The journey, which usually takes only forty minutes, took them more than an hour.
Upon arriving at the guesthouse, Lin Chen eagerly parked the car and pulled Jiang Ning inside.
Unexpectedly, quite a few other people shared the same idea and had already registered at the counter.
They quickly lined up.
Wang Xiufen locked her bicycle and parked it under the eaves, then put all the packages into the guesthouse lobby.
The so-called hall, which was only a few square meters in size, was already packed with people.
At this point, you can't complain about others being wet, because you're not much better off yourself. Even though you're wearing a raincoat, your pants and shoes are already soaked.
"This awful weather, I wonder when it will end!"
"Let's find a place to stay first. I've lived most of my life and this is the first time I've ever seen such heavy rain."
Everyone was criticizing each other.
When it was Lin Chen's turn, there was only one room left.
"One yuan a day, for several days." The cashier held a pen, ready to issue a receipt.
Lin Chen remembered that this guesthouse used to cost 50 cents a day, so this was an extortion.
"Ten days, I guess." He pulled out a ten-yuan note.
The cashier took the money and handed him the keys. Just then, a woman in her fifties suddenly jumped out and snatched the keys away.
"I'll take this room."
Lin Chen was furious. How could there be such an unreasonable person? Everyone else left when there were no rooms available, but this person insisted on taking theirs.
"Give it to me! I've already paid for this room," Lin Chen said sternly.
“What’s wrong with paying money? I have money too, comrade. Give him back his money and take mine.”
She casually pulled out a five-yuan note.
The cashier smiled and said, "Ma'am, the room rate is one yuan per day. Besides, this gentleman has already booked for ten days, so I can't give you the room."
The woman's face darkened: "Wasn't the room rate 50 cents before? Why has it gone up?"
You guys are really greedy, trying to profit from refugees!
With that, he threw the key on the counter and said, "Whoever wants to stay in this shabby place can stay!"
Just as she turned to leave, she almost bumped into Wang Xiufen, who was carrying things over.
"Xiufen, is that you?"
The aunt exclaimed in surprise and exaggeratedly circled around Wang Xiufen.
"You haven't changed at all, just like when you were young."
Wang Xiufen put down her package, carefully examined the woman in front of her, and after a long while, hesitantly asked:
"Are you my sister-in-law?"
"That's right, I'm Guixiang. I didn't expect to run into you here. Is this your son and daughter-in-law?"
The auntie chuckled as she spoke, her eyes flickering slightly when she mentioned Lin Chen.
"If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have tried to take it. You know, it's true what they say, relatives should visit each other more often, otherwise, family members won't recognize each other."
Wang Xiufen chuckled inwardly. Her sister-in-law was no pushover; she had looked down on her when she married Lin Weiguo.
They disliked Lin Wei's family for being poor and were afraid she would come home to freeload, so they would speak sarcastically to her every time she returned to her parents' home.
She wasn't good to her parents either; they died young, partly because of her.
In short, she has never returned to her parents' home since her parents passed away, and they have not had any contact for more than ten years.
After a while, her older brother, Wang Tiezhu, also arrived, carrying large and small bags, along with his entire family.
Wang Tiezhu wasn't very happy to see Wang Xiufen either. He kept sighing when he heard that there were no rooms available at the guesthouse.
Li Guixiang's slanted eyes darted around, and she said to Wang Xiufen:
"Xiufen, we're all family, why don't we squeeze in?"
Wang Xiufen chuckled: "Sister-in-law, my daughter-in-law is newly pregnant and can't handle any stress. You should find another place."
After saying that, she turned and pushed Lin Chen and Jiang Ning away quickly, her face dark.
After entering the room, she quickly locked the door.
Seriously, what a shameless person to want to share a room with them.
There were six of them, of all ages, and they couldn't possibly all fit in.
To everyone's surprise, they didn't leave. Instead, they took their bags and settled down at their doorstep.
The staff at the guesthouse tried to kick them out, but they were the ones who yelled at them and drove them away instead.
"This awful weather! Where are we supposed to go?! Do you want our whole family to freeze to death?!"
Others who had objections could only swallow their anger in the face of their menacing demeanor!
Wang Xiufen gave Jiang Ning an apologetic smile:
"Ningning, I'm really sorry, but my older brother and sister-in-law have always been so domineering."
Jiang Ning comforted her instead: "Mom, don't overthink it. I'm fine. Let's put our things away and get ready to rest."
Lin Chen chimed in, "Mom, when you were going through such a tough time, they didn't even offer to help you. You don't need to pay any attention to them now."
"Yes, let's just take care of ourselves." She smiled easily.
At this time, most of the members of Chayuan Village had moved away.
Lin Tao's family, however, was still hesitant.
Yu Xiaofeng's family home is also near the lake, so they definitely couldn't go there. They didn't want to live in the government's resettlement housing, so they stayed there hoping for the best.
"We'll figure something out tomorrow. Let's stay here for the night first."
Faced with a tremendous blow to his life, and then a natural disaster, Lin Tao just wanted to sleep and didn't want to think.
Just as they were fast asleep, a huge roaring sound came from beside them...
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