Qianxia and Lin Yinan were clearly startled.
The person who came was wearing a straw raincoat, and water was constantly dripping from his body.
A bolt of lightning instantly illuminated the dark night sky, revealing the face of the newcomer—Yun Mo had returned!
The loose strands of hair on his head clung to his face, still damp.
"Why are you back at this hour?" Lin Yinan reacted and stepped forward, examining him in the flash of lightning.
Yun Mo was also looking at her, "Worried about home, he hurried back on horseback."
"Young master, I'll go boil some water for you to bathe and change." Qianxia said, heading out.
But Yun Mo stopped him, "No need, I just came back to see you, I have to go out again later." By the dim candlelight in the room, he looked at the various sizes of earthenware jars on the floor that caught rainwater, "Is the bed leaking?"
"No, the area around the bed was just safe from the hail."
"Then you should go to sleep early. I'll fix the roof tomorrow if it gets damaged. I've brought a lot of stuff this time. My brother-in-law and the others are still on their way. I'll take some people to meet them."
Yun Mo gave her a deep look, then felt relieved and turned to walk into the rain.
Lin Yinan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but before she could, she sighed, turned to Qianxia and said, "Qianxia, I'm fine here. Go back and check on your house."
Qianxia was worried about leaving her alone. "With Qianwu here, even if it leaks, there's nothing we can do about it now. Let it be."
Lin Yinan took off her shoes and got into bed, patting the empty space next to her.
"If that's the case, then you can sleep here with me tonight."
What if the son-in-law comes back?
Whenever Qianxia saw Yun Mo, she would feel a chill in her heart, because her brother also had that aura.
"He won't be back in time tonight."
Chika then obediently lay down by the bedside.
When Lin Yinan opened her eyes again, it was already bright daylight, and she could hear the pitter-patter of rain.
It's still raining!
She turned over, but Qianxia, who had slept beside her last night, was nowhere to be seen. She reached out and touched the blankets; they were cold, so she must have gotten up early.
I stretched and sat up, put on my clothes and got out of bed. The room was dry except for the bed; everything else was damp.
After relieving himself, Lin Yinan avoided the earthenware pots on the ground, walked to the door and looked outside. It was still drizzling.
Picking up the umbrella hanging under the eaves, Lin Yinan went out. Passing by Qianwu and the others' small room, the door was wide open and no one was inside. She peeked inside and saw several earthenware jars on the floor to collect rainwater.
The courtyard was quiet; no one was there.
Walking along the corridor out of the inner courtyard gate, I could hear voices coming from the main hall in the distance. Judging from the voices, there were quite a few people there.
Upon entering the second hall, one could see Lu Yashuang holding a child, peering towards the main hall.
Hearing footsteps, Lu Yashuang turned around and saw Lin Yinan, her eyes immediately lighting up.
"Anan, you're up. There's some porridge and flatbread keeping warm in the kitchenette. Have you eaten?"
"I'll eat later." Lin Yinan wasn't hungry yet, but seeing her looking towards the lobby, she asked, "Second Sister-in-law, what happened up ahead?"
Lu Yashuang looked worried. "I heard the gist of it. It seems that many of the rice seedlings in the field were damaged by the hail last night."
"I'll go take a look," Lin Yinan said, stepping out of the second hall.
Before she even reached the lobby, Li Shulan, who was standing outside, spotted her and ran out in the rain to help her.
"The ground is slippery from the rain, why did you come out?"
Before Lin Yinan could speak, someone shouted, "Anan's here!"
The crowd immediately fell silent and made way for them.
Yunye, Lin Yiheng, the clan chief, and others stood in the center of the hall, surrounded by a crowd. Many of them were wearing raincoats or oilcloths and straw hats.
Lin Yuanzhi, supporting the clan chief, walked shakily to Lin Yinan, like a wronged child seeking comfort from his family.
"Anan, I'm afraid half of the seedlings in the field won't survive. What should we do?" he said, tears welling up in his eyes.
The hardships of life and the vicissitudes of time have etched deep wrinkles on the old man's face.
When the clan chief said this, some villagers started cursing.
"The rice seedlings are already about an inch long, and it looks like they'll be ready to be planted soon. Damn it, the heavens really can't stand to see us doing well."
Upon hearing this, the villagers who were gathered around all had slightly red eyes, tears welling up in their eyes, and they were extremely saddened. Some women even covered their mouths and sobbed softly.
They had just arrived and had nothing yet, and a hailstorm caused them to lose so many rice seeds.
Their sadness and distress stemmed from the fact that the cost of their trial and error was too high.
Lin Yinan's gaze swept across the crowd, finally settling on Ding Gui and Chen San.
"Ding Gui, Chen San, have you taken stock of the damaged rice seedlings in the field? If you're going to replant, how many do you think are appropriate?"
She still has seeds stored in her space, so replanting shouldn't be a problem.
Ding Gui and Chen San looked at each other, not quite able to figure it out yet.
"At least 200 kilograms more need to be replanted."
The speaker was a young man standing in the corner. Lin Yinan looked up and saw that the man was Chen San's son, Chen Shi.
Everyone gasped in shock upon hearing this; so many rice seeds were needed.
"Is it too late to replant now?" Lin Yinan asked again.
Ding Gui hurriedly replied, "The weather is warm now, and the rice seeds will germinate quickly. There's plenty of time."
Lin Yinan breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, Elder Chief, have someone go to the storeroom to get more rice seeds and soak them to germinate them quickly."
"Are there still grain seeds in the warehouse?" The village chief looked at Lin Yiheng, who was in charge of managing the warehouse.
Ah Nan said it was okay to take it, and that she still had some in stock. Lin Yiheng nodded, "There is some, but not much left."
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