The heavy rain left Li Lanzhen and her companions stranded in Forget-Worry Valley.
Li Lanzhen sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), listening to the heavy rain outside the cave.
He patted his leg and said, "Is this Heaven's will to keep me here?"
Hehe, no one can stop me from leaving!
She put on her shoes, got off the kang (a heated brick bed), and stood at the entrance of the cave. She saw the heavy rain pouring down from the top of the cave like a water curtain, then gathering into streams of small rivers that gurgled and flowed into the farmland in the valley.
It's late autumn; a fall rain brings a chill.
After the rain, the temperature in Forget-Worry Valley immediately dropped.
Han Minghai was also afraid that the elderly people's bodies couldn't take it while sleeping on the kang (a heated brick bed), so he lit the kang.
Li Lanzhen said that for the kang (heated brick bed) in her house, you don't need to add too much firewood; just lightly smoke it over a fire, as long as it's not bone-chillingly cold.
It rained heavily in the morning and it didn't stop.
So everyone stayed huddled in bed and didn't move.
Li Lanzhen shouted at Xue Nizi and the others.
"Let's all sleep in. Get some rest before you get up and cook."
Last night, the twenty children went to rest at several different homes, and a few boys went with Gou Dan.
There were also a few boys living with Han Yinan and Su Chen.
Apricot Blossom and Pear Blossom went to live with Lu Huahua.
Douhua, Linglong, and Miaomiao were sleeping on Li Lanzhen's kang (heated brick bed).
Da Tou refused to leave, so San Wang came over and said that boys shouldn't sleep with girls and should be separated, so he took Da Tou away.
After the children got up, they all gathered in the restaurant.
Han Minghai placed four braziers in the restaurant.
A piece of wood as thick as a child's arm was placed in the fire pit. The smoke had already dissipated, and the glowing embers made the restaurant warm and cozy.
Twenty children, plus ten children from their families.
Inside the restaurant, the birds were chattering like a flock of sparrows.
Children's world is very simple; they are very sensitive to how others treat them.
After one night, they became best friends who could talk about anything.
Douhua, Linglong, and Miaomiao were all talking to each other, heads together, chattering away, though it was unclear what they were saying.
Sanwang, no longer wary, pulled Douhua into his arms.
Pear blossoms, apricot blossoms, and several older girls went to the kitchen to help with cooking.
Breakfast was a thick, dark porridge. Today's breakfast didn't include any chopped wild vegetables, but instead contained ten wild duck eggs.
The wild vegetable pancakes also contain little wild vegetables and a lot of dark flour, and lard is added to them.
The pancake is golden brown on both sides and soft inside.
I stir-fried Chinese cabbage with pork cracklings, and also made stir-fried sweet potato leaves and hot and sour shredded potatoes.
All three dishes were served in large bowls.
Then Xue Nizi let out a loud shout.
"Dinner's ready!"
Everyone gradually arrived at the restaurant.
Lu Huahua and her father also came over, and Lu Huahua immediately became friends with the girls.
Some carried bowls, others served rice.
Li Lanzhen saw that Zhang Deshui and his son, along with Hai Mingjiang and the others, were all soaked to the bone.
He frowned. "You lot went to the fields again? Without even putting on plastic sheeting!"
The plastic sheeting was all black; Li Lanzhen took it out of her spatial storage and had her mother, Ye Shi, and a few others cut it into the shape of a raincoat.
Normally, everyone is reluctant to use it, but when they go up the mountain in the morning and the dew is heavy, Li Lanzhen reminds them to wear it.
But no one uses it; they all say it's such a good thing and it's a waste.
With such heavy rain today, I'm still reluctant to use it.
Li Lanzhen got a little angry.
"You guys are so greedy you'd risk your lives!"
Everyone has a plastic raincoat to keep out the rain, so why not use it?
I've already told you, I still have some here. If it's damaged, I can repair it or replace it with a new one!
Zhang Songshu saw that Li Lanzhen was angry.
Deep down, I know she's doing this for their own good.
"Hehe!" she said with a smile. "Aunt Lanzhen, we'll all use it from now on. We'll all take care of our health and stop being so greedy for money that we neglect our own well-being. Don't be angry anymore."
After hearing what he said, Li Lanzhen couldn't get angry anymore, so she lowered her head and drank her porridge.
They chatted and laughed while eating.
The old village chief led several people from the village committee in.
Li Lanzhen smiled as she saw them come in.
"Old village chief, have you eaten? Have another bowl of porridge."
The old village chief chuckled and said, "We've already eaten, we've already eaten, you guys eat."
Han Minghai and Xue Bao stood up and brought over several long benches for them to sit down.
Xue Ni glared at them, then stood up and, along with Tonghua and Li Sanya, went to the kitchen to bring them water.
The children saw the old village chief and his group arrive.
Their faces turned cold, and they stopped joking.
He slurped his porridge down, took big bites of the golden vegetable pancake in his hand, and occasionally ate some vegetables from the bowl.
Some children spread out the pancakes, put the vegetables inside, rolled them up, and ate them.
A gust of wind swept away the clouds!
The three baskets were emptied of hundreds of pancakes in no time.
The old village chief and the others stared wide-eyed when they saw it.
Oh my god!
They secretly rejoiced.
It seems my decision was right!
So many kids, they can eat so much! If you want to leave, then leave!
The guilt I had initially felt has now subsided.
Yes, when faced with people who are taking their food, they feel no remorse whatsoever.
They ate quickly and cleaned up efficiently.
After the children finished eating, they picked up all the bowls, chopsticks, and basins, some wiped the table, and others went to wash the dishes.
They quickly packed up all the benches and left the dining room in a flurry.
The speed at which the village chief and his companions were taken aback once again!
The adults hadn't left. Li Lanzhen looked at the old village chief and said, "Old village chief, you've come to see me. What's the matter?"
The old village chief chuckled as he spoke.
"Lanzhen, you said yesterday that you would leave this morning, but with this heavy rain, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave anytime soon."
"I came here to ask if we could keep the cows, donkeys, plowshares, and farm tools that you gave to the village?"
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