Chapter 93

Chapter 93

One hundred miles away from Qingshui Town, in Angu County, thousands of conscripted laborers were transporting stones and logs toward the riverbank.

Days of heavy rain had caused the Yellow River’s water level to surge violently, and it was now only about three feet from overflowing the embankment.

The overseer, clutching a whip, shouted furiously, "Work harder, damn it! No slacking off!" Whenever he saw someone slowing down, he lashed out without hesitation, the whip tearing open their skin.

His urgency was understandable—if the dam broke, no one would escape unscathed: they would either drown in the floodwaters or be executed. He didn’t dare relax his vigilance.

Around mid-morning, a carriage arrived carrying the Director of the Water Management Commission.

He kept wiping sweat from his face with a handkerchief; the pouring rain felt like a death sentence, filling him with panic. Accompanying him were the local Deputy County Magistrate and a group of yamen runners—they had come specifically to inspect the riverbank consolidation work.

The Deputy County Magistrate stood hunched beside the carriage. As soon as it stopped, he forced a smile and stepped forward. "Lord Feng, you’ve arrived. The embankment is just ahead, but it’s too dangerous to go any further."

A grunt of acknowledgment came from inside the carriage.

The Deputy County Magistrate turned and ordered the yamen runners, "Go summon the overseer for questioning!"

Soon, the minor official responsible for supervising this section of the river came running over. "Your humble servant, Cui Xun, greets you, sir."

"How is the consolidation of the embankment progressing?"

"Reporting, sir—after three days and nights of working round the clock, we’ve raised it by three feet. Given the heavy rain, this is the best we can do."

"Not good enough. It must be raised another five feet!"

Cui Xun cursed inwardly in frustration. In such heavy rain, even working the laborers to death wouldn’t achieve that height!

Usually, when the court allocated funds for embankment repairs, the local officials showed no urgency. Only when the heavy rains came did they suddenly remember to act—like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted; it was far too late!

"Sir, it’s not that I’m making excuses, but we simply don’t have enough manpower. The laborers have been working in the heavy rain for three days straight. Even the hardiest couldn’t endure much longer like this!"

"If there aren’t enough people, go find more! Conscript every able-bodied man from the nearby counties. We must ensure the embankment doesn’t break on our watch!"

"Yes!"

As the minor official turned to leave, the Deputy County Magistrate called out to him, "Never mind age or gender—bring everyone who can help. We must consolidate it by another two feet before nightfall!"

Gritting his teeth, the official replied, "Understood. I’ll see to it immediately."

From beginning to end, the official in the carriage didn’t even get his shoes wet. Once the Deputy County Magistrate finished issuing orders, he had his attendants drive the carriage away.

But after moving just a few steps, the carriage suddenly halted. The horse neighed wildly, turned abruptly, and bolted in another direction.

"Whoa!" No matter how hard the driver whipped it, he couldn’t regain control. The carriage rocked violently, tossing the passengers about violently.

Before anyone could curse in anger, a massive wave of water surged over them, overwhelming everything in its path—the Yellow River had breached its banks.

*

At the Chen Family compound, Chen Xi (male) waited outside with the entire village. Chenjiazhuang had seventy-three households. Apart from seven families who refused to be persuaded, almost everyone else had come—over two hundred people in total.

They carried baskets on shoulder poles, hauled grain sacks, shouldered pots, pans, and dishes. Some even led pigs and sheep or held chickens in their arms, determined to bring every movable possession they could.

Leaving livestock behind was too risky—they feared both theft and flooding—so they decided to bring them all up the mountain.

Wang Ying (male) and the others were also ready. They had packed three sealed boxes containing clothes, several quilts, and money. A few strong young men were asked to help carry these up the mountain.

Wang Ying carried Yuanbao on his back, worried the child would get drenched. He draped a rain cape over him and covered him with a bamboo hat.

Li Shi (female) and Chen Rong (female) supported each other as they walked, while Lin Sui (female) and Qing Yun (female) followed nearby, carrying daily necessities.

Uncle Chen (male) and Dun Zi (male) each carried fifty catties of provisions. Aunt Chen (female) used a basket to bring plenty of ginger, scallions, salt, and sugar. Once they reached the mountaintop, they planned to boil ginger soup to help everyone ward off the cold.

Mutou and Chun Sheng led Wangwang along. No one knew where Big Orange had run off to—after searching for a long time without success, they assumed the cat had already found a safe place to hide.

After locking the main gate, the group set out along the path up the mountain.

The rain was heavy, and the mountain road was slippery. Everyone tread carefully, afraid of slipping and falling.

After walking for the better part of an hour, they finally reached the limestone cave Chen Xi had mentioned.

Fearing wild animals might be inside, Chen Xi called over a dozen strong men armed with hoes and stone picks to investigate first.

The men ventured in cautiously and soon emerged to report, "There’s nothing in the cave except some dark birds. They flew deeper inside as soon as we entered."

Hearing this, Chen Xi waved everyone inside to take shelter from the rain.

The cave was shaped like an inverted gourd. The entrance had a slope that prevented rainwater from flowing inside. Beyond it was a spacious area about thirty feet wide, littered with dry branches and decaying leaves—likely blown in by the wind.

These dry branches could later be used as kindling and firewood.

Further in, a narrow path led to the largest chamber. It was pitch black, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Uncle Chen poured oil onto some rags, wrapped them around wooden sticks to make torches, and lit them with a fire starter. The torchlight illuminated the cave, allowing everyone to see clearly.

The cave was much larger than expected—over a hundred feet wide. The ground was covered in bat guano, reeking with a fishy stench.

Bats hanging from the ceiling were startled by the light and flapped chaotically around the cave until the villagers drove them out by waving their farming implements.

Wang Ying said, "Let’s have someone clean this area first. After it’s tidied up, we can lay out sleeping mats and rest."

Chen Xi immediately organized everyone to clean the cave. With many hands, the work went quickly—the entire cave was swept clean in less than an hour.

They pushed the bat droppings into the front chamber, planning to haul them down the mountain after the rain stopped to use as fertilizer.

The livestock were also left in the front cave to prevent them from fouling the air with waste.

Once the area was clean, Uncle Chen laid out the mats they had brought, and everyone sat together in a circle.

Wang Ying lifted Yuanbao down from his shoulders. "Are you cold?"

"Not cold."

He felt the child’s hands—they were warm, and his clothes were dry. Relieved, he relaxed slightly.

Li Shi touched her grandson’s forehead. "Is Yuanbao scared?"

"Papa, Grandma, Grandaunt, Auntie, Uncle... everyone is here. Yuanbao isn’t scared." The little one named everyone present, making the two elders chuckle and easing their worries a little.

Taking advantage of the moment, many people prepared to go back down the mountain to retrieve belongings they hadn’t had time to bring earlier.

Uncle Chen also intended to go down for more grain, worried that the supplies they’d brought wouldn’t be enough for so many people. Wang Ying stopped him and said quietly, "No need to fetch more. I have everything with me."

Uncle Chen paused for a moment, then nodded in understanding. He had always known his young master was extraordinary, but since neither the young master nor his husband spoke of it, he didn’t dare ask and pretended to know nothing.

Wang Ying asked Uncle Chen to set up a pot at the front and boil a large batch of ginger sweetwater to help everyone ward off the cold.

Water was easy to come by in the cave—they placed wooden buckets outside, and they filled up quickly. They lit a fire, added two catties of sliced ginger, and soon had a large pot of ginger soup boiling.

Aunt Chen first served her master, then called the elderly, women, and children over to serve them ginger soup. Women and children are naturally weaker than men and more susceptible to illness at times like these.

Once the first pot was finished, Aunt Chen refilled the pot with water and boiled a second batch, so that everyone could have a bowl.

The ginger soup was spicy, and after drinking it, a light sweat broke out on their foreheads.

Chen Rong said worriedly, "I wonder when this rain will let up? I wonder if the county town is getting heavy rain too, and whether Qiu Er and Cao Kun have found shelter."

Li Shi patted her arm reassuringly, "Don’t worry too much. The county town has the government office. At the first sign of trouble, the authorities will surely direct people to shelter."

Around noon, those who had gone down to retrieve their things returned. As soon as they entered, everyone gathered around to ask, "What’s it like down the mountain? How deep is the water?"

Tian Daniu, wringing out his clothes, said, "At my house in the west of the village, the water’s already up to the knees. The deepest parts in the east are probably waist-deep."

Chen Xi turned pale upon hearing this—his home was in the east, and he guessed it must be flooded. "The water wasn’t this high when we left this morning. How did it rise so much in just one morning?"

"I don’t know either. It seemed to rush in all of a sudden, rising in no time."

After listening, Wang Ying had a sinking feeling—the river upstream must have burst its banks. Given the situation, the water would only keep rising!

At noon, the villagers started fires to cook meals. Since dry firewood was scarce, some families pooled together to cook, while others simply steeped dried provisions in hot water to make do.

After the meal, many went back down the mountain to salvage more of their belongings. With the water so high, they feared their grain would be ruined if it soaked.

Chen Dashun also went down with them. His family still had a lot of grain at home, and hearing how deep the water was, he wanted to bring some up.

But as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, they were blocked by the floodwaters. The path was completely submerged, the water murky with mud, making it impossible to gauge the depth.

Someone asked uneasily, "Should we still go?"

Chen Dashun rolled up his pant legs and took a step into the water, but the swift current instantly swept him several meters away!

Terrified, he grabbed a nearby branch and scrambled back to the bank. "Don’t go any further! Our lives matter more than our things. Let’s hurry back up the mountain!"

The group returned empty-handed, their news sent a wave of dread through everyone.

No one had expected such a severe flood. They worried about those who hadn’t left—had they been swept away by the waters?

Some began to sob quietly. Their crops were gone, their homes washed away, and a lifetime of savings was wiped out in an instant. Once the flood receded, how would they survive?

Though the men didn’t cry, they let out heavy sighs. Faced with such a natural disaster, there was nothing to do but accept their misfortune.

Chen Xi cleared his throat and said, "Don’t despair too much. Even if our homes are gone, at least we’re alive. If the master hadn’t led us up the mountain, we’d likely be dead by now!"

Everyone started talking at once.

"Thank goodness the landlord saw this coming. Who would’ve thought the flood would really come?"

A young man wiped his tears and said, "If I’d known the water would be this high, I would’ve gone to Li Family Village last night to bring my parents up here."

"Don’t say anymore. My son married into the next village. I don’t know if he made it up the mountain to safety."

Since the two villages were so close, if Chen Family Village was flooded, the others would be too. The women couldn’t help but sob again.

The stifled weeping grew louder, spreading until it echoed throughout the cave.

It was good to cry—holding such grief inside would only make them sick.

Yuanbao, frightened, nestled in Wang Ying’s arms and whispered, "Father, why are they crying?"

Wang Ying sighed and nuzzled the child’s cheek with his forehead. "They’re sad because something bad happened."

By evening, the water had risen another foot. Someone was stationed below to keep watch, reporting updates regularly.

"The water’s already above the rooftops. Those who didn’t come up the mountain are probably drowned…"

Everyone had expected this outcome and weren’t too shocked. They had cried themselves out in the afternoon and now felt somewhat numb.

That evening, they made porridge. Wang Ying fed his son half a bowl, then secretly took out a boiled egg from his clothes, peeled it, and gave it to him.

This time, Yuanbao didn’t waste a bit—he ate every last morsel of the egg white and yolk.