The village chief opened his eyes, filled with worry. "I'm worried! The river is rising, the dam is breaking, and if we can't pay the taxes, won't we be punished? And how will those families who don't have food survive?"
Jiang Shan didn't understand. "No, aren't there government officials to manage it? Dad, you're overthinking it. They should be able to take care of it."
The village chief frowned. Will he really care?
"The weather this time is so abnormal, it's a natural disaster. If the government had taken care of it, no one would have entered the village until now..."
Before he could finish, he heard snoring beside him.
The village chief suppressed the urge to beat someone up, then closed his eyes and rested. He had been too worried lately and hadn't been able to sleep well.
He wondered if he should talk to the village head first to see what the rules were. This was a natural disaster, so he couldn't just ignore the people, could he?
Before he could come to the door, the village head came with people from the yamen.
The village chief and his sons went out to greet them. They saw Zhang Lizheng, who usually held his chin high, wearing a straw raincoat, nodding and bowing, holding an umbrella for an adult in a long robe.
The man got off the mule cart. He had a serious face. He was not tall, but he had a big belly.
After entering the main room, the adult first patted the water stains on the corners of his clothes.
Zhang Lizheng smiled flatteringly and introduced, "Sir, this is the village chief of Jiangjia Village."
Then he raised his head again, as if proud, and said, "This is the County Magistrate of Rongjiang County. He has come down specially to understand the farmers' situation. Please cooperate with us."
The county magistrate was in charge of the grain department and taxation. The village chief had only seen him once from a distance before and couldn't quite recall his face. He quickly bowed and asked his wife to pour him some water.
He didn't have any tea at home, so he was lucky to have hot water.
The county magistrate would not take this to heart. He despised the farmers for not even having cups and using bowls to serve food, so he naturally would not use them.
He nodded slightly, then put on a grateful expression and said, "It was harvest time when we suffered a rainstorm. The county magistrate was deeply moved by the suffering of the people and, overcome with worry and anxiety, fell ill. Therefore, he sent me to inspect the affected villages so that he could compile a report for the county magistrate."
The village chief bowed his head and said, "Thank you, County Magistrate, and County Deputy. I will fully cooperate with you."
"Yeah." The county magistrate was obviously satisfied with the village chief's cooperation.
The village head then asked him some routine questions, such as how many households there were in the village, how much land they had, what the approximate harvest was, whether any houses had collapsed, etc.
Half an hour later, they declined the village chief's offer to see them off, saying that they would just inspect the village on their own.
Not long after, the mule cart left the village.
Apart from the small path around the foot of the mountain, the only way in and out of the village must pass by their house.
The village chief estimated the time and almost walked around the village and left.
Seeing his father sitting on the stool for a long time with a gloomy face, Jiang Shan asked carefully, "Dad, what's wrong?"
"Do you think there's something wrong with the County Magistrate?"
Jiang Shan scratched his head, "Is there any problem?"
The village chief took a deep breath and said, "Close the door. I'll teach you."
"oh."
Jiangshan closed the door and sat aside.
"Let's not discuss whether what the County Magistrate said about the magistrate being ill is true. But the County Magistrate came here this time and asked only superficial questions, and he hasn't even taken notes. Do you know how many villages are nearby? There are over a dozen villages, large and small. Is his memory really that good?"
"Also, did you notice what he's wearing? He's not wearing his official uniform, perhaps to show his affection for the people. But wearing a long robe during a rainstorm? Previous county magistrates would wear short brown robes when they came for inspection. His cloth shoes, aside from the mud on the soles, have only a few stains on the uppers..."
Jiangshan recalled what had happened just now. It was indeed like that. He felt heavy in his heart. He then heard his father ask, "When I last asked him if there would be relief food, his expression and answer, please repeat it."
The county magistrate's expression was obviously impatient. He said that he had to report the disaster situation to the adults first and wait for their instructions.
"He never gave a clear explanation from beginning to end. We didn't know if there was any relief food for the disaster in our village, nor did we know how to comfort the villagers while they waited for instructions. He didn't even mention the most difficult issue, paying taxes."
He understood that these were just face-saving efforts and there would be no chance of relief at all.
He sighed. They hadn't had enough to eat in previous years, and this year was going to be even harder. Whenever there was a disaster, there would always be people in the village who couldn't make it.
His family survived the drought when he was eight, but his grandmother didn't survive the drought when he was twelve. In order to save food for the children, she starved to death.
He has lived for forty years and remembers the disasters every year very clearly, so he spent so much money to stock up on food even though he knew his family had no money.
Starvation is not uncommon.
Patting my eldest son on the shoulder and looking at his young face, I realized that he was in his early twenties and it was time for him to stand up.
He spoke earnestly, "You are my eldest son, and you are the one who will support the family. I only had a few educations, could read a few words, and worked as a peasant all my life. It's the same for all of you. You should think more carefully and act more prudently in the future. Otherwise, when Hu Tou grows up, what will you pass on to him? And how many children will your wife have? How will they be divided?"
Jiang Shan looked at the dark circles under his father's eyes and felt the pressure of supporting the family. "Yes, Dad, I will work hard."
In the middle of the night, their chicken coop collapsed. Luckily, the chickens were small and had hidden in a corner, so they escaped the damage. The mule had already been pulled into the kitchen, and now they had to add a few chickens and two rabbits to their sleeping quarters...
No matter how disappointed the village chief was with the villagers, he still had to fulfill his responsibilities as a village chief. He took his eldest son to inspect the conditions of each household in the village. The heavy rain washed away the villagers, and the straw raincoat was almost useless, only protecting them from being washed away.
Walking down the village, I saw more than one or two houses destroyed by the heavy rain.
The toilet of this house collapsed, the kitchen of that house collapsed, and some even collapsed the main room and bedroom. The food was not dried in the first place and was soaked in water.
Someone's leg was injured, and Jiang Sanhe came over in the rain to tie a board around him.
The villagers cried and cursed God, but they still had to survive after cursing.
The village chief and his eldest son tried their best to help them move their things, and the neighbors on both sides also helped as much as they could, but it was no more than they could do.
Now that everyone was drying their crops inside, who had a spare room to lend? Even their own relatives had cruelly refused, so they could only cry as they moved their belongings to an abandoned house in the village.
This abandoned house is naturally shaky and it is unknown how long it can last.
The village chief's eyes were red, but he had no way to resist the wrath of God.
Jiang Shan reminded, "Dad, the houses in the village have collapsed like this, at the foot of the mountain..."
Jiang Yue and Jiang Nian's house is almost a dilapidated house. Oh no, it was originally a dilapidated house too!
The village chief wiped the rain off his face and said in a hoarse voice, "Let's go and take a look."
Their straw hats were almost blown away, and they held each other and moved forward.
After much effort, he arrived at Jiang Yue's yard and knocked hard on the door.
“Bang, bang, bang—”
"Jiang Yue, Jiang Nian!"
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