Chapter 98 Flood Breaks the Dam
Jiang Ying, who was on night duty, had already sensed something was wrong in the first half of the night.
It was pitch black outside and I couldn't see the rain, but my hearing became more sensitive because I couldn't see.
The rain didn't seem to be falling, but more like pouring! It poured down continuously, one bucket after another.
She sat for a while and stood up. As she stepped out of the door, her foot stepped into a puddle and she was suddenly startled.
Qili Village is close to the city and its terrain is relatively high in the entire Xingcheng. If the water here has accumulated to her ankles, then wouldn't the water in the homes of the villagers in the low-lying areas be at least half a person's height?
She waited anxiously for the rain to subside... Nearing midnight, she heard a loud rumbling noise in the distance!
She quickly picked up the gong at hand, beat it, shouted, and rushed out.
The rain was pouring down on us, and the shouts were drowned out by the rain. Fortunately, the gong was loud and was not drowned out by the noisy flood.
The Jiang family was the first to get up. In the dark night, the men quickly rushed into the rain and pulled the carriage under the eaves. The women took over and stuffed the young children and the gold and silver jewelry that had been packed long ago into the carriage. The men waded through the water and tied the carriage frame tightly to the big tree in the yard with hemp ropes!
Dad had told me in advance that when a flood hit, walls would collapse and houses would fall down, and thick bricks would fall down, either killing people or causing bloodshed. The best thing to do was to hold onto a big tree in the empty yard, but how could the children have the strength to hold on?
This is the only way.
After giving some instructions to their children, the women stayed by the carriage. Jiang Dalan, Jiang Datao and Xie Qingshan wiped their faces and waded through the water to their third and fifth uncles' homes - their third and fifth uncles' homes didn't have carriages, so they went to fetch the children.
The flood came faster and more suddenly than anyone expected!
When the flood rushed in, people could not stand firmly under the huge impact force. Jiang Dalan, Jiang Datao and Xie Qingshan on the dirt road were immediately swept away by the waves. They watched helplessly as the thatched huts and adobe houses collapsed one after another!
Screams, screams, wails, cries...
*
Shen Qing sat up. Jiang Xiangbei, who was holding up the tarpaulin on the roof with a wooden stick in the darkness, asked softly, "Mom, why aren't you sleeping? It's still early for dawn."
Shen Qing replied in a low voice: "I have been resting during the day. I am not very sleepy and can't fall asleep."
In fact, it was not comfortable to sleep. There were more than ten people living in the temporary shed. People could only lie down with difficulty and could not even turn over.
From day to night, the entire activity area is in this cramped shed. There is no room for movement. I go out occasionally but return quickly.
It was pouring rain outside and it was pitch black even during the day. People in the shed couldn't tell the difference between day and night and could only eat and sleep.
She looked at Jiang Xiangbei, who was holding a wooden stick and poking out the water accumulated on the oilcloth from time to time, and thought that it seemed very good to be able to eat and sleep without having to work.
"Are your hands tired?"
"Not tired!" Jiang Xiangbei grinned.
I was tired at first, but when I saw the whole family sleeping peacefully, I didn't feel tired anymore.
"Mom, the rain is so heavy! I've never seen such heavy rain before. It's like there's a hole in the sky. Luckily we came out. If we hadn't, my house wouldn't have survived the night." He was in charge of tonight and knew how heavy the rain was going to be.
Shen Qing said worriedly: "Yeah, I don't know how your second grandfather and the others are doing."
"It should be fine. We live in a thatched house, and they have mud houses. How could they collapse?" Jiang Xiangbei's voice became softer as he spoke. A day or two of heavy rain would not bring down an adobe house, but what about a flood?
The embankment of the huge river near their Xingcheng is already higher than the entire Xingcheng. If the flood comes, will the people of Xingcheng still have a way to survive?
No, it won’t happen. Qili Village is far away from the river. Besides, even if the flood comes, it may not be in Xingcheng. As long as it is downstream, Xingcheng will be fine, right?
But if nothing really happened, how do we explain the dreams that mother, second grandfather, and Aunt Ying had?
Why do they have to come out...
He nervously looked up in his mother's direction. His expression was unclear in the darkness, and his voice trembled slightly as he asked for confirmation, "Mom, are Second Grandpa and his three families okay?"
The second grandfather who always protected them, who often helped their cousins during the busy harvest season, and who secretly gave food to their aunt Ying, their third grandmother, and their fifth grandmother... Later, he often sent them tofu and malt sugar...
He didn't want anything to happen to them, not at all!
Shen Qing was unsure, but meeting his son's hopeful gaze, he still said firmly, "Qili Village is far from the riverbank, and your life will be safe."
It's just that superficial injuries and property losses are unavoidable, but there's nothing that can be done about it. After all, her fellow villagers won't move their entire families just because of a dream she has.
Hearing that his life was not in danger, Jiang Xiangbei was obviously relieved.
He wanted to continue asking his mother, second grandfather and others when they would come, but then he remembered the meeting place his mother had asked them to remember.
If mother knew, she wouldn't have to tell them the location without mentioning the date. All they need to do now is wait.
All we can do is wait.
*
The torrential rain still showed no signs of abating, and it could still cause some pain when it hit people's faces and bodies, but no one in Qili Village cared about these slight pains anymore!
"Da Tao, Da Lang! Where are you?"
"Qingshan! Where are you guys?"
Zhou Yan, Li Xiu Lan and Jiang Ying stood in waist-deep water, holding on to the tree and the bicycle frame tightly with their hands, not daring to loosen their grip. The rain slid down their faces and they did not bother to wipe it off.
Jiang Yang, who was standing on another cart, stepped into the flood.
Jiang Ying saw this and hurriedly shouted, "Dad! It's dangerous now, don't go!"
"Yes, Dad, wait until the flood recedes before going to find them. They will be fine." Zhou Yan suppressed her grief and worry and persuaded him.
The fate of the three heads of the family is uncertain, and Dad can’t get into any more trouble!
Li Xiulan was cold and scared, her whole body was shaking uncontrollably and she was crying uncontrollably.
She didn't want to cry, but when she looked up and saw the collapsed house, the scattered belongings, and her husband whose life or death was unknown, she felt despair.
The child in the carriage suddenly burst into tears: "I want daddy, I want daddy."
"Mom, water has entered the carriage. Most of my clothes are wet. It's so uncomfortable."
"Woo, woo, I want to sleep, I don't want to stay in there, mom, take me home."
"Mother, mother..."
Hearing the shout, Li Xiulan, who had been crying silently, held back her tears and choked out, "Mom is here, it's okay, it's okay, it will be over soon, my dear daughter, my dear daughter."
Jiang Yang looked at the scene in front of him and walked out of the yard without hesitation.
The waist-deep flood rushed forward with great force, and he walked out step by step with difficulty.
It’s all his fault!
Blame him for underestimating the disaster.
When he heard Shen Qing say that walls and houses collapsed, he thought it was just a few people and that nothing serious would happen if they helped each other. But it turned out that in the face of natural disasters, people could be so insignificant and useless.
If he hadn't been timid and hesitant, and had spoken out even at the risk of spreading rumors, could the villagers have avoided this disaster?
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