This rainy season has been exceptionally long, with plants covering the mountains and fields growing to over a meter tall, and the rain hasn't stopped yet.
Today, Yunqi had to clean up the moss around the house with his mother again. Due to the humid climate, the moss grew very quickly. It felt like they had only cleaned it for two days, and it was already everywhere again.
As she scraped with a hoe, Mother Cloud complained, "I was looking forward to rain, but now it just keeps raining. I feel like I'm going to get moldy. No wonder these moss plants keep sprouting up one after another."
Yunqi followed beside her, shoveling the moss off his mother and putting it into a winnowing basket. "Luckily, we built a firewall before, otherwise this house would definitely be moldy. I even found some fungi on the wood we piled up in the backyard yesterday."
Mother Cloud looked at the water on the eaves and said, "This rain is too heavy. Otherwise, we could go up the mountain to see if there are any newly sprouted wild mushrooms and vegetables."
Yunqi dared not take on this task. She knew that the back mountain was not the same as before. The vegetation was lush, and the reptiles that had previously hidden themselves were now out running rampant again due to the rainy season.
Noticing her daughter's lack of response, Mother Yun continued, "The rain acted like a catalyst, turning the once barren mountains into lush green hills, with even the grass growing faster than the crops."
For this reason, the two men in the family have to go to the fields to clear away the weeds every day without fail, and even when she and Yunqi want to help, they are refused.
Although they complained about how fast the weeds were growing, everyone felt relieved.
Similarly, the crops in the fields were growing every day, giving hope to the nearly empty granaries of every household.
"But if it keeps raining like this, won't there be floods?" After dinner, the family sat there sipping tea, and Yun Zhiming began to worry about something new again.
Si Cheng shook his head and rejected the idea, saying, "For so many years, there wasn't a drop of water. This rain just made up for all the missing moisture."
Moreover, the couple knew that the rainy season was almost over, and what awaited them was...
It will be a completely new blue planet.
Because of the rainy season, everyone completely gave up the idea of going out. The roads were so muddy that if the village hadn't used those broken cement blocks to level the ground, the roads would have been impossible to walk on.
People are even afraid of wearing out their shoes, so these days when they go to the fields, they twist rice straw into ropes and then weave them into straw sandals. This way, they can prevent slipping and won't hurt their feet.
However, there is a downside: these straw sandals are not durable at all and must be replaced every one or two days.
Even so, straw sandals became a new favorite, and every household would make a few pairs to keep on hand when they had free time.
Si Cheng put on straw sandals of his size. "I'll go to the village entrance to see if the lake level has continued to rise these past two days."
Yunqi quickly took the prepared straw hat from the eaves. "Remember to wear this. It's not good to always get wet in the rain."
Sicheng accepted it without objection and put it on his head.
Yun Zhiming quickly instructed his son-in-law, "Don't go near the lake. It's muddy everywhere, and you might slip if you're not careful."
Si Cheng nodded in agreement and strode out.
The lake's water level, which had dropped due to the drought, quickly returned to its original level after a period of continuous rainfall, and in recent days there have even been signs of rising.
Old Zhao and his fellow villagers from Hutiao Village haven't even dared to live in their small bamboo huts on the lake lately.
Although their bamboo house was built some distance from the water, the rising water level day by day made them feel uneasy.
Two days ago, they made a special trip to Pinghe Village to ask if it would be possible to open an opening on the other side to divert some lake water out.
Although the rising lake water will not affect Pinghe Village for the time being, Sicheng and the others are still concerned, since they will have to pass through there in the future. So they agreed to help repair a water diversion ditch when the time comes.
Apart from people weeding in the fields, no one was out and about in the entire village.
The villagers guarding the wall were huddled under a simple thatched shed, chatting idly.
Sicheng also came to the wall and looked down. Hutiao Village was much more lively than his own village.
Many people braved the rain to fish by the lake, and to avoid accidentally slipping into the water, they all worked together as a family.
Old Zhao was also holding tightly to the rope in his hands with his little grandson, the other end of which was tied to his big grandson.
They went to great lengths to catch fish in the lake, and the entire lakeside was full of people like them.
Perhaps due to the rising water level and prolonged rainfall, the water became murky, causing fish to migrate to the lakeshore, which brought a bounty to Hutiao Village.
"Brother Cheng, the water level keeps rising. The families in Hutiao Village who used to live by the lake have all moved to the shore. If this rain keeps falling, will it spread to our village?" Gu Mili asked with some concern.
Gu Mili is no longer the skinny little boy who first came to Pinghe Village. After these few years of growth, he can even be called a young man.
Si Cheng said, "We will organize the villagers to build an irrigation ditch together. The rain is showing signs of gradually decreasing, and it may stop after a while."
Seeing their worry, Sicheng simply acted as a prophet, predicting that the rainy season would soon be over.
Yao Lie has been working shifts with the villagers during this period. Since the drought, he has completely lost contact with Yaojia Village. Until he can return to the village, he is now a member of Pinghe Village.
Over the past few years, he has been studying medicine and pharmaceuticals in Yunnan, and he can now be considered a master, even surpassing those who came from other villages to learn.
Because of the arrival of the rainy season, it is temporarily impossible to process traditional Chinese medicine. Apart from the occasional minor illnesses in the village, they are completely idle, so he comes here to help with the shifts when he has nothing to do.
Seeing the worry in Yao Lie's eyes, Si Cheng comforted him, "Once the rainy season is over, we will go to Yancun again, and then you can come home with us."
Yao Lie was very excited when he heard this. "Really? If that's true, that's great! I wonder what's going on in the village? No one has come for so long. Is the medicine we exchanged before enough?"
Yao Lie was grateful to Pinghe Village. The food rations he had brought with him had long been used up, and he had survived these times thanks to the collective food rations of Pinghe Village. So, in his spare time, besides studying medicine, he would go to the fields to help out and do what he could, which was also a way of repaying the village.
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