The rain poured down from the sky, without stopping all day.
After a month of drought, flash floods poured down, filling the already dried-up gullies with water carrying mud and leaves, and threatening to converge on the paddy fields on both sides.
The cool rain soaked the land, but also collapsed many field ridges and blocked ditches.
When the ditch is full, the water flows wildly. Farmers fear drought, but they fear this kind of heavy rain even more. Every household in Xujia Village is busy draining water and preventing floods despite the rain.
We can't let the crops we just saved be destroyed.
All those who were building houses stopped working, and whether they were migrants or outsiders, regardless of whether they had farmland or not, they all participated in the disaster relief efforts.
If the water channels are clear and there are no problems, you should still check if there are any leaks in your own fields.
When the fields are dry and cracked, you have to quickly stomp on them to seal them, otherwise the water will leak out.
Every household was preoccupied with the crops in the fields, neglecting one particular place.
To maintain secrecy, the hastily constructed mosquito coil workshop was located in the middle of a plot of land far from the houses, with only a shallow ditch dug around it to drip water from the eaves.
Several months have passed, and with so many people coming and going, the ditch has long been flattened.
At this time, everyone in the village had left the mosquito coil workshop, but Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang were still making mosquito coils by themselves.
We'll go to Sister Lianhua's house for dinner once the rain stops. Today they're helping Qin make mosquito coils.
Outside the workshop, torrential rain poured down, and the water in the ground, unable to seep in, began to flow everywhere.
As the muddy water flowed into the workshop from the nearby field, forming a layer of water on the ground that was gradually deepening, the two children became somewhat frightened.
They ran in and out of the empty workshop, trying to go to the village to call for help, but the rain was heavy and the roads were already flooded.
Da Xiang returned to the workshop and first moved some forgotten medicinal powders to a platform that could be kept out of the water.
Just as the two were about to put down the various wooden stools that everyone was sitting on, two people suddenly rushed in from the wading path.
They were two men, dressed in straw raincoats and hats, their heads and faces covered, and holding hoes in their hands.
Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang were startled and quickly stood to the side.
The man at the front was startled when he suddenly saw two children there: "Why are there still people here at this hour?"
The person behind peered out and whispered, "What's there to be afraid of with kids like these? Quick, see what they're doing!"
Because of the rain, the mosquito coil trays made by Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang were casually placed on the drying rack on the platform, while the bamboo tubes used to press mud were also hung above the platform.
The person in front rushed to the lever, raised his hand and pressed down, and the dark green medicinal mud was slowly pressed out and fell into the spiral groove below.
"Ah, Dad, look, this is mosquito coil!" the man exclaimed in surprise.
"Let me see!" The man called "father" also came closer, constantly examining the press, the rotating platform, and the medicinal powder and mud.
Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang huddled in the corner, their eyes fixed on the two people's movements.
"Quickly, grab those two girls and find out how they did this!" the "father" exclaimed excitedly.
I usually only see truckloads of mugwort leaves, chaste leaves, and all sorts of strange and varied leaves and bark being delivered, but I never know how they're made into thin strips.
After lingering in Xujia Village for so long without leaving, and helping with chores every day to please the old man, he finally got the chance to get close to the workshop.
If I learn this skill today, I can make mosquito coils when I go back in the future.
The thought of money rolling in made the father and son almost burst out laughing.
The "son" rushed towards the two children, splashing water everywhere he went: "Whose children are you? Come here and teach us how to make mosquito coils, okay?"
Seeing the two skinny little girls huddled in the corner, the man worried that they might be from some family in the village, and that if things got out of hand, it would be difficult to handle. He even tried to keep his voice down so as not to frighten them.
Da Xiang grabbed her younger sister and pulled her back, thinking that as long as she got out, no one would dare to hit her.
Xiao Xiang shrank back and turned to run away, but the man grabbed her arm: "Don't be afraid, just tell me how to do it, and I'll give you money to buy candy and flowers!"
Da Xiang screamed and bit the man's arm.
The man cried out in pain and slapped Da Xiang across the face, knocking him to the ground in the mud.
Years of beatings in the Yang family and their mother's demand that they not speak made the two children accustomed to silence from a young age.
Besides, being slapped was commonplace for them; neither of them could even utter a cry.
Moreover, in the past, if you were hit, you had to stand up immediately and couldn't lie on the ground and "play dead," otherwise you would get kicked, which hurt even more than a slap.
As if by reflex, Da Xiang stood up instantly, but this time she did not obediently wait to be slapped a second time.
Under Xiao Xiang's terrified gaze, Da Xiang, like an enraged puppy, gripped a bamboo knife used for cutting incense paste and lunged forward, stabbing the other person hard in the thigh.
As Sister-in-law Wang once said, you can't just let people beat you; you have to learn to fight back.
The man never expected that this mute girl, who wouldn't even cry when she was beaten, would stab him, and so without hesitation.
The thin pants were instantly covered in blood, and the man screamed in agony, clutching his thigh.
Da Xiang grabbed Xiao Xiang and rushed into the heavy rain without looking back.
At this moment, Xu Genyou was building low embankments with mud in the field to store water.
A section of the field collapsed at the corner, and the precious water in the field flowed out with a gurgling sound. If a simple mud embankment is not built now, the water will be gone by the time the rain stops.
Suddenly seeing the little girl running around, he quickly said, "Hey, Da Xiang, Xiao Xiang, where are you running to? Quickly find a place to take shelter from the rain."
Xu Genyou knew the two girls. Wang Xiaoju would come home every day and talk about the Yang family. Moreover, Xiaoxiang was about the same age as his daughter Chunxi. He still felt sorry for the children's plight.
Although Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang didn't recognize him, they knew he was from the village, so they immediately stopped and looked anxiously toward the workshop.
Xu Genyou shook his head helplessly. He knew that the two children didn't talk, but it was dangerous for them to run around like this.
The heavy rain was still falling, visibility was poor, floodwaters were everywhere, and the ditches were full. If you stepped into the wrong place, you would be in trouble.
Thinking of this, Xu Genyou said, "Don't wander off, I'll take you back!"
He walked out of the field, intending to send the two children back.
But as soon as he stood on the edge of the field, he saw two people hurriedly coming out of the workshop.
Da Xiang pointed at the two people and screamed, "Bad guys!" She immediately grabbed Xiao Xiang and turned to run away!
Everyone's busy tending to the rice seedlings, so why is someone making mosquito coils... Wait a minute, Xu Genyou suddenly realized.
Since these two are villagers, and their faces are covered up tightly, what are they planning to do?
And then there was Da Xiang shouting about bad guys. Xu Gen instantly thought of child abductors. There were bad guys in the village who were abducting children!
Without thinking twice, he immediately stopped the two of them: "You two... Ouch!"
He had barely opened his mouth when he saw the man in front of him suddenly hurl a hoe at him.
If that hoe hits someone on the head, it could kill them.
Xu Genyou, an honest farmer, never expected to get into a fight in the village. Fortunately, he was alert when he heard Da Xiang shout that there were bad guys, and he hurriedly jumped into the field: "Who are you? Everyone come quick! There are bad guys!"
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