The old village chief finally put down his teacup and continued, "Our village has more than a thousand sacks in total. If the rain continues and the floodwaters rise and overflow, you know it will only be more dangerous."
Fan Qian and Fan Damu didn't understand, but when they heard the old village chief mention danger, their hearts immediately jumped.
He asked nervously, "What should we do then? Are there still other people's sacks that haven't been taken out?"
"We need to make room for the grain sacks too. At this time, the house is at stake, so we can't be stingy with the sacks!"
"We should think of everyone else!"
Li Wen snorted coldly.
At this moment, these two people remembered that they should think about everyone else.
"Yesterday I sent the eldest son to ask the boy's family, but we made it clear beforehand that we borrowed it from them and would have to return it later. Do you agree?" the old village chief asked calmly.
Fan Qian pursed his lips, thinking that since they were all from the same village, and their family was giving it away for free, why should Fan Jin's be considered a loan? And why should he have to pay it back?
Fan Damu kept his head down and remained silent.
If you agree, he will definitely get a share when it's time to pay back.
If he doesn't return it, he won't be able to stay in the village anymore.
Li Wen got anxious and interrupted, "Fan Er's family is up there. Even if our whole village is flooded, their family will be fine!"
He doesn't need to build a dam at all. To be honest, I'm very grateful that he can lend it to me and is willing to do so.
The other families in the village have the same idea. Now it's up to you two families. If you agree, we'll borrow the money, and we'll split the repayment amount later.
If you don't agree, we can continue to wait, or wait for the flood to back up.
Fan Qian and Fan Damu only then realized that the old village chief had already made arrangements with the whole village!
Furthermore, the number of sacks and the subsequent required quantities were also taken into consideration.
They both secretly regretted not being able to resist coming over.
Seeing the expressions on their faces, Li Wen immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing!
The old village chief glanced at his eldest son but didn't say much. He only said to the two people in front of him, "Don't overthink it. When we start depends on when you express your opinion."
In other words, if you don't come for one day, we'll wait one day; if you don't come for three days, we'll wait three days.
The eldest son couldn't keep his composure and couldn't maintain order, so from now on, the affairs of the village could only be left to the younger son.
Without a good leader, the village lacks a backbone, leading to chaos and unnecessary trouble.
Upon hearing this, Fan Qian and Fan Damu repeatedly assured them, "We'll build it right now! We're willing to return the sacks."
The sooner the dike is built, the more at ease they will feel.
If we don't build it soon, the flood will inundate the house.
Although these past two days have been tough, they don't want things to get any worse.
The men who were building the dike quickly gathered together.
It's the same group that dug the ditch yesterday.
The soil that was dug out of the ditch yesterday can be put into sacks, loaded onto carts and wheelbarrows, and transported to the riverbank.
Dozens of men worked tirelessly, some digging ditches, some filling soil containers, and others carrying sacks, without stopping throughout the torrential rain.
Rainwater mixed with sweat, and there was no time to even wipe it off.
This is a tough and tiring job, especially during heavy rain. Even strong, able-bodied adults will be exhausted.
As evening approached, a dike half a person's height was erected at the entrance of Shanshui Village. Trees as thick as an adult man's thigh were nailed to the back of the burlap sacks to secure them and prevent them from collapsing.
In addition, a small team was formed in the village.
An elderly man familiar with the water flow led more than twenty strong men who were good swimmers, physically fit, and fast runners down the river in Shanshui Village. When they encountered siltation and obstruction, they used long bamboo poles to break up the water plants and trees so that the floodwater could flow downstream.
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