Despite the heavy rain, the village officials went door-to-door tirelessly to notify residents. Some were unwilling to leave, and repeated persuasion was ineffective, so the officials had no choice but to move on to the next house.
Once assembled, the group slowly made its way to higher ground for resettlement.
“If you have relatives or friends living on the slope, you can go there to stay with them. If you don’t have relatives or friends, you can go to the county stadium, school or other resettlement sites. Once you get to the county, cross the Yi River and go wherever the terrain is higher. The rain is too heavy right now, so we can’t worry about anything else. The rescuers won’t be here for a while, so we can only rely on ourselves. Do you understand? We can only rely on ourselves.”
The sound of the rain was so loud that the captain's voice became hoarse from shouting. Fortunately, those who were among the first to evacuate understood the seriousness of the situation and set off without hesitation.
Xiao Jiu had never experienced anything like this before. But she knew how dangerous the journey was. Although the rain was heavy, they had to keep going. If they didn't, the water would get deeper and deeper, and they wouldn't be able to leave. They couldn't let the rescuers have to come back to save them.
As for those villagers who didn't care, claiming they were clinging to their wealth and unwilling to leave, they were actually all stubborn fools, and she couldn't be bothered with them.
Fortunately, both families had already cleared out all the necessary items, so they weren't worried about anyone taking advantage of the disaster to steal from their homes.
"Let's try staying at the winery first. If there's no place there, then we'll go to the school."
Cuihua made this arrangement because Tao Changyi and the others were all at the winery, but Xiaojiu felt differently.
"Sister, it's best if we go to the school first. There are empty beds there. The students have all taken them with them during the holidays. The distillery's dormitory can't accommodate us at all. If we go to the distillery first and then go to the school, there will be a delay and there won't be any more beds available. It's better to go to the school before dawn."
Xiao Jiu's considerations were reasonable, and even Tao Shuanzi couldn't help but nod in agreement.
“Jiu’er is right. Let’s go to school first. Xiao’an can go to the winery later and tell your parents that everyone in our family needs to be well.”
Without further ado, now that they had decided on their direction, they hurried on their way. However, the water, mixed with mud, was more than just slippery. It was dark, and there was water everywhere, making it difficult to even determine their direction. If it weren't for someone leading the way, they wouldn't have known where to go at all.
But the rain showed no sign of stopping; instead, it poured down even harder. The heavy rain pounded on my body, icy cold and painful.
Even though everyone took all the necessary precautions, they still slipped and fell in the mud from time to time.
If she was like this while supporting Tao Shuanzi, how much more so would Tao An be pulling the cart?
The water was knee-deep in some places, and it was gradually getting deeper. Everyone was walking very fast and showed no sign of stopping.
The people on this road walked silently and repressively, their teeth clenched as they made their way forward. From time to time, the cries of children and the bewildered cries of women could be heard, but right now, no one cared about anyone else.
The dirt road that usually takes 30 to 40 minutes to reach the town took them more than two hours to safely reach a decent cement road.
As soon as they got onto the cement road, everyone quickly put on their shoes. Their groups were completely disrupted from there. Some were going to visit relatives, some were going to the township, some were going to nearby villages on higher ground, and of course, some were heading towards the county town.
Xiao Jiu and the others dared not delay, because it was already dawn. Once the villages around the city also began to migrate, there would be fewer and fewer places left for them. They had no car and no other means of transportation to get to the city. The county town was currently the only place they could seek refuge in.
She was unwilling to expose her warehouse to her family unless absolutely necessary.
She has several tents in her warehouse, and even sandbags, raincoats, and umbrellas, all left over from that year's heavy rain.
Once they reached the town, the road became a little easier to travel on, and the water level dropped to knee-deep. Cuihua took over pulling the cart from Tao An, who held onto it while Grandma clung to it, trying to prevent it from slipping. Despite being very careful, Grandma's legs were still soaked in the cold water.
Grandpa kept one hand on Xiaojiu's shoulder the whole time to prevent him from slipping.
Cuihong pulled her own cart, and when they encountered difficult places, several people carried it across.
Cuilan and Cuifeng held onto the things on the bicycle, careful not to let them fall, and they walked very hard, especially Cuifeng, whose legs were still weak. But she still gritted her teeth and persevered. When they reached a flat section of the road, Cuihong would pull her along for a while to relieve the pressure caused by her leg weakness.
Once on the national highway, seeing the dense crowds of refugees, Xiao Jiu felt an increased sense of pressure.
"I don't know if I'll be able to get a bed."
The torrential rain made the journey difficult, as they waded through the water. When crossing the bridge, the water rushed down with all its might. If it weren't for the fact that there were enough of them to push each other up, they would have had to be careful not to be swept away by the water above. Although they were wearing shoes, their bodies were covered with countless bruises and cuts from falling on unidentified rocks underwater. Fortunately, Xiao Jiu reacted quickly and prevented the old man from falling.
It is said that going uphill is easy but going downhill is difficult. Going downhill, especially down the slope of the bridge, is difficult because of the rain. With one person in front controlling the direction of the cart, two people pulling it from behind, and someone sitting on top to relieve the downward force.
When they reached the city center and saw that the floodwaters were up to an adult's waist, Xiao Jiu's heart sank.
"Keep an eye out and see if you run into your parents on the way."
Now that it's daylight, the water in the city can't be drained. They'll definitely try to get home if they're worried about their families. If they can reunite with their loved ones during this time, that would be the best thing, saving them the trouble of going back and forth looking for someone.
When Xiao Jiu got off the bridge, she checked the time. It was almost seven o'clock. Good heavens, it had taken more than an hour to walk from the town.
There were many people fleeing on the road. Xiao Jiu had decided to go to No. 1 High School a long time ago, so he didn't stop anywhere else on the way and headed straight for No. 1 High School.
It was a pity that we didn't run into Tao Changyi and his group. Fearing the appearance of manhole covers, the person in front held a bamboo pole in their hand and occasionally poked at the underwater ground as they moved slowly forward.
When they arrived at the entrance of the high school, it was almost nine o'clock. The school gate was full of refugees who had fled. The school had just received the news and was sending people to settle them down. They followed the instructions and lined up to move forward. In less than half an hour, the line behind them was washed away by the rain and could no longer be seen.
Xiao Jiu and his group of eight were not as fast as the people from the surrounding rural areas, so they didn't manage to get a dormitory room with beds. Instead, they were assigned to a corner of the classroom, where the ground was extremely muddy and dirty, making it impossible to live there. This was something none of them had expected.
However, even with such a good spot, later arrivals might not be able to get it and would have to huddle together in the corridor or in a place where the rain wouldn't reach.
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