The only difficulty living at school was going to the toilet, because the toilets were all on the playground, which was very far away. Every time, Tang Cuihong would carry her grandmother there on her back, while she and her sister Cuihua would stand on either side, holding umbrellas and helping her to prevent her from slipping.
It's inconvenient as it may be, but at least they have basic manners. Unlike others who just use curtains to block the view and relieve themselves in the urinal, disregarding the feelings of others. It's selfish and shameless, and most importantly, it smells terrible in the middle of summer!
So Xiao Jiu would hide in the warehouse whenever she could, and she took care of all three meals a day. Since the living conditions were not good, she became even more particular about the food.
Taking a bath in the sweltering summer heat is inconvenient. Xiao Jiu boils water herself and takes a bath in her space. Sister Cui Hong can also manage on her own. Xiao Jiu brings hot water to her older sister and grandmother behind the curtain every day so they can wash themselves. Occasionally, when she's not busy, she takes two buckets of hot water to the toilet for a refreshing shower.
After three days and four nights of rain, the sky finally cleared. However, according to news from the front lines, their entire village was flooded. Those who could be rescued were all saved, but the exact number of people who drowned is still unknown.
The People's Liberation Army sent a large number of people to provide disaster relief, and batches of relief supplies were delivered. The already difficult year of 1961 became even more difficult.
The livestock in the villages that were evacuated in advance were well relocated and settled. The villages that were not evacuated in time were flooded as many as they could be. It is said that the Yi River was filled with corpses, various animal carcasses, and people...
After the flood, the first thing to guard against is the plague. As the saying goes, disease enters through the mouth, so Xiao Jiu takes this very seriously. Fortunately, she has prepared a lot of commonly used medicines and disinfectants in her space. These do not require coupons and can be bought with money, so she buys them whenever she has the chance and has gradually stockpiled quite a lot.
Sister Cuihong also has some, but those are emergency medicines given by Sister Cuimei.
In the current situation, it is essential to drink boiled water and wash your hands frequently, before meals and after using the toilet. Don't be afraid of the inconvenience.
She also frequently sterilizes their tableware at high temperatures in the warehouse before using it.
So while the others developed fevers and even diarrhea and dysentery one after another, the four of them remained unharmed.
The three of them are easy to talk to, but the most important thing is to take good care of Grandma. Xiaojiu also doesn't allow her to lie down or sit all the time. She has to go outside to the playground three times a day, morning, noon and evening, to walk around and exercise her legs.
After the weather cleared up, Xiao Jiu used the umbrella at home to put the quilts on it to dry. Later, everyone followed suit and used this method when they didn't have enough ropes or other drying facilities.
Fortunately, the water level rose quickly and receded relatively quickly. Ten days after leaving their homes, villagers have gradually returned home.
My father came several times during the disaster. “Our village is close to the river and was severely affected by the disaster. Most of the houses were flooded. The sturdy ones are still intact, but the flimsy ones were completely destroyed. After this flood, the leaders above have discussed starting construction on the river embankment on both sides of the river after the autumn harvest.”
The disaster victims left in waves. By the end, the classrooms were much more spacious, and finally, in late July, they were ready to return home.
Father came first to inform them, then went back to call the others. The whole family was there, and they all returned home together.
On the way home, you can see PLA soldiers and civilians clearing mud everywhere. They carry cleaning tools and, despite the scorching heat and peeling skin, do their best to create a life-saving passage for everyone.
If the county town is crowded, then the rural areas beyond the Yihe Bridge are truly breathtaking.
Everywhere you look, there are young soldiers in green uniforms and orange life jackets. Under the scorching sun, they are shoveling mud with iron shovels. When they encounter someone in need of help, they will step forward and give them a push.
Their clothes were wet and then dried repeatedly. As you got closer, you could smell the strong stench of sweat emanating from them, and see the white salt stains all over their bodies. In an instant, a sense of respect arose, and I couldn't help but think of the equally difficult lives of the rank-and-file soldiers in various units in later generations.
Behind every video clip, there are their figures, including military doctors who rushed to the front line, not to mention the air force, whose extraordinary status was demonstrated in the great earthquake.
There's a reason why the people love and respect them: whenever disaster strikes, it's these most lovable people who stand by everyone's side, sharing the burden and advancing together.
With these warm-hearted people cheering them on, even when they returned home to find their house completely destroyed and blocked by mud, no one complained. They rolled up their sleeves and got to work. The front door had been washed away by the flood, there was still a lot of standing water in the yard, the vegetables they had planted had long since died, and the cellar was filled with water. It was unknown how many days it would take to clean it up.
Fortunately, none of their family members were missing, unlike other families in the village where stubborn people just died. However, it was not uncommon for them to die from gastroenteritis and diarrhea caused by eating unclean food, which was a pity.
The villagers gradually returned, and those whose homes had collapsed due to years of disrepair sat in front of their doors, wailing and crying.
"It's all gone, everything's gone, absolutely nothing. What's the point of me living? I might as well be dead!"
The Tao family's gate was destroyed. The Zhou family's foundation was higher, but their gate was blown open and the courtyard was full of mud. Otherwise, the Zhou family was in much better condition than the Tao family.
At this time, no one could take care of anyone else. The five Tang sisters were working hard at home, while Tao Changyi and his wife, Tao An and Xiao Jiu were also busy. The old man was responsible for looking after the old lady and helping with the tidying up.
After a whole day of fussing, the house still wasn't properly tidied up, so they just set up a frame in the yard and made do sleeping on it that night.
After wandering around for so many days, even though I couldn't sleep because of mosquito bites, the feeling of coming home and lying in my own yard looking at the stars was completely different. It truly proved the saying, "There's no place like home."
Fortunately, it hasn't rained since the torrential rain, and the sun has been shining brightly every day, giving the house plenty of time to dry.
On the contrary, the road in front of their homes was made muddy by the water pumped out and the silt pushed out by each household.
The silt inside and outside the house was piled up in the front and back vegetable gardens, or directly used as a padding in the yard.
All the furniture and household items inside were moved to the yard to air out. Those that could be used were kept, and those that couldn't were thrown away. Taking advantage of this disaster, we did a decluttering.
Taking advantage of climbing the attic, Xiao Jiu took out important items that she had previously hidden in her space in various ways.
Zhao Lingli, who was still lamenting the value of her dowry, bedding, clothes, various trinkets, and savings books, excitedly turned to look at Xiao Jiu.
"My goodness, they're all here! How did you find the passbook? You even managed to keep it safe for me? You're such a worrywart!"
Xiao Jiu wasn't going to take the blame: "It wasn't me who found it. You should thank your son. If it weren't for his help, the writing on the bottle would probably be illegible by now. Whether the bank would even recognize it or not is another matter. Mom, be nicer to my brother. Look how much he did this time, how much he saved our family from loss!"
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