The day after Xiao Jiu returned home, a torrential downpour began. Summer is the rainy season, with frequent thunderstorms, but she didn't expect such a downpour to last all day without stopping, even into the night. The rain was like water bullets hitting the ground, and after standing in the rain for a while, her whole body ached from the pounding rain.
Normally, there are no leaks during light rain, but during heavy rain, the problem is immediately revealed: there are as many as a dozen leaks of various sizes in the house.
They kept catching the rain in big and small basins, battling the floodwaters all night. Luckily, she and her brother were home; otherwise, with just her grandparents, who knows what might have happened if they panicked.
Grandpa looked at the dark, heavy rain with a worried expression: "We've finally made it through, please, please don't let there be any more floods!"
In his previous life, Xiaojiu's city had experienced a massive rainstorm. The rain lasted for three whole days, pouring down relentlessly, causing widespread panic. Now, looking up at the sky, he felt inexplicably worried.
These are all brick and tile houses now, there are no second floors for them to go up and hide. Once the water level rises, there will be nowhere to hide.
But with the rain pouring down, how can we find shelter?
Xiao Jiu went to the front yard with an umbrella, but unexpectedly, her older sister Cuihua didn't go to work.
"It's too dangerous to be facing such heavy rain as soon as I woke up this morning. On a day like this, let alone using an umbrella, even wearing a raincoat, you might not be able to see the road clearly."
"Sister, you were right not to go. Nothing is more important than your own safety. But I'm worried that this rain is coming on strong. What if the river level rises? We don't even have a riverbank here, and we could be flooded at any time! What should we do?"
Cuihua glanced at Xiaojiu in surprise. "Your fourth sister was just 'talking' about this with me. She said this rain is strange and a bit dangerous, and we should try to get to higher ground."
"I don't remember this rain. Summer in 1961 should be normal, but this rain is too unusual. I'm a little worried."
Not only did Tang Cuihua not have this memory, but Xiao Jiu also didn't. Although they had to fight floods every year, from 1959 to 1961, their area was in a period of severe drought, while the south suffered from continuous floods.
All they can do now is pray that the downpour ends soon.
However, things didn't go as planned. The rain not only didn't stop, but it got even heavier. In the middle of the night, there was a loud crash in the woodshed, which startled Xiao Jiu so much that he rushed out to see what was happening. He was shocked to find that the wall of their woodshed had collapsed. When he saw the water in the yard, Xiao Jiu couldn't sleep anymore.
Grandpa and Grandma were still fast asleep, and even the little brother hadn't been woken up. The more Xiao Jiu thought about it, the more anxious she became, and without saying a word, she started packing her things.
First, all the useful items in the parents' room were moved to the warehouse. Then, the bedding in her room, even the pots and pans in the kitchen, the firewood under the woodshed, and all the furniture in the main room were moved. Finally, the grandparents' room was cleaned up. By the time Xiao Jiu had finished packing everything up, only the bedding on their beds remained. When it was time for the younger brother's room, the water in the yard had reached his ankles.
After cleaning up my brothers' room in the dark, I heard the village's loudspeaker, which hadn't been used in a long time, start making a crackling sound.
Not long after, the village chief's anxious voice rang out, "Villagers, villagers, if you hear me, get up immediately! As the water level continues to rise, we must move to higher ground as soon as possible. Everyone, quickly pack up anything usable in your homes. Meet at the village entrance in one hour. Listen carefully, meet at the village entrance in one hour!"
The broadcast was loud enough, and with the village chief repeating the announcement over and over again, Xiao Jiu put on her raincoat without hesitation, ran to the yard, and harvested all the edible vegetables planted there. In this life-or-death situation, she couldn't care less about anything else; after all, they were her family.
After doing all this, her wonderful brother rubbed his eyes and yawned as he ran out. "What happened? I was just listening to the radio,"
“It’s what you heard. Look at the water level outside. And look at the rain in the sky. Isn’t it even heavier than yesterday during the day? It’s three in the morning now. We’re leaving in an hour. Hurry up and pack. Find the plastic sheet in the house. You put on your raincoat and pull it from the front. Grandpa and Grandma will be put on the cart, and I’ll push it from behind. We definitely can’t rely on our parents. We have to save ourselves.”
When Tao An realized the seriousness of the situation, he ran to his room and exclaimed, "My God, it's completely empty!"
"You're still talking? I've been busy all night, moving everything to the attic, including the things in my parents' and grandparents' room. Survival is the most important thing, don't worry about these material possessions. Hurry up and move the cart over here, we'll put some straw on it."
Fortunately, Tao An was easygoing, and because she spoke very quickly, giving him the illusion that they were facing a life-or-death situation, he didn't think much about how big his attic was to be able to hold so many things.
Xiao Jiu went to the cellar again and packed up everything that needed to be stored away.
Grandpa and Grandma also heard the broadcast and heard the two siblings making orderly arrangements in the yard, so when they went in, Grandpa and Grandma were already sitting by the kang (a heated brick bed) comforting them.
"Don't panic, take your time. Your sister has almost finished packing. It's a good thing it's summer. Everyone should bring a change of clothes, and two blankets wrapped in plastic to keep them dry. I'll walk by myself in a bit; you can hold your grandma's hand. We also have straw hats and raincoats. After you put on your raincoats, put on another layer..."
Grandma also packed a package. "This contains some snacks, and this cloth bag contains our savings over the years. Jiu'er, you keep it, and Grandma won't worry about it."
Without a word, Xiao Jiu accepted it. However, she then ran to her parents' room and searched every nook and cranny. In the end, it was her brother who went in and pried a bankbook out of a crack in the wall. He also lifted up a floor tile and took out a box.
Xiao Jiu looked at him in surprise, "Is there any more? You've found them all. Once you leave, who knows when you'll be back."
Tao An turned around and went into his room. After a short while, he found a bundle wrapped in plastic sheeting. It contained some coins and some cash, so it seemed that he had indeed saved it up.
After everything was tidied up, Xiao Jiu ran to the front yard again and saw that her sisters were even cleaner and more efficient than them. They had loaded everything they could carry onto bicycles and carts, and everyone was wearing raincoats and straw raincoats. Xiao Jiu breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, the bell under the big locust tree rang, signaling the assembly.
"It's time to go. Seventh and Eighth Brother, you two hold the bicycles and walk. Fourth Brother, you pull the cart. Xiao Jiu, I'll go with you to settle Grandpa and Grandma."
The items on the cart were covered with plastic sheeting and wrapped with hemp rope several times, so it looked like one person could pull it without any problem.
So Xiao Jiu followed Cuihua back to the Tao family. Cuihua and Tao An took turns pulling the cart carrying Grandma and some other things that had been piled up on the surface. Xiao Jiu helped the old man out the door and saw that the water was already up to their knees. It must have been a very difficult journey!
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