Chapter 95

Chapter 95

After these people left, everyone stayed on guard, unsure if they might sneak back in the middle of the night.

Chen Xi decided to divide the men on watch into two groups of about thirty people each. Even if those people tried to sneak in, the numbers would be roughly equal, allowing them to hold off the intruders and wake everyone up in time.

Back inside the cave, Wang Ying noticed his hands trembling slightly.

The earlier situation had been truly frightening. If he hadn’t urged the villagers to take refuge on the mountain, just his family alone would never have been able to stop others from breaking in.

He and his son Yuanbao could have temporarily hidden in the experimental field, but what about his mother-in-law and Third Aunt?

Not to mention Qing Yun and Lin Sui, both young adults—they could easily have been violated by those men.

The more he thought about it, the more terrified he felt, breaking out in a cold sweat.

As he entered, Li Shi and Chen Rong hurried over to ask, “What happened outside?”

“A group from the neighboring Zheng Village came. They said their village was flooded, and only about thirty men escaped. They wanted to take shelter from the rain.”

Everyone immediately protested, “We can’t let them in! Who knows if they’re trustworthy or not? Besides, we don’t have much food. What if they get desperate and try to rob us?”

“Exactly. Who knows when the rain will stop? Once it does, our homes and stored food will likely be washed away. How will we survive after this?”

Sighing and lamenting filled the air, the heavy atmosphere weighing on everyone.

A piercing cry of a child echoed through the cave.

“Qiu Shuang, why is your baby always crying?”

The woman named Qiu Shuang wiped away anxious tears. “He might have caught a fever from getting drenched yesterday. Aunt Zhang helped with gua sha, but now the fever is back.”

The child was only seven or eight months old, crying desperately in her arms.

Afraid of disturbing everyone, Qiu Shuang picked up the child and paced back and forth, hoping to soothe him to sleep.

The village doctor came over to examine the child and used silver needles for moxibustion. “I left in a hurry and didn’t bring medicine. The child has caught an illness—it’s up to him to fight it off.”

Hearing this, Qiu Shuang bowed her head and wept, gently touching her baby’s face. This was her first child, and she didn’t know if he would survive.

Wang Ying remembered there was some cold medicine in the experimental field, leftover from when Li Shi had felt unwell and specifically went to town for it. Only two doses had been used.

He went out briefly and returned with two packets of medicine. “I have some Siwu Tang here. I’m not sure if it’s suitable for the child.”

The doctor quickly nodded. “Yes, reduce the dosage—divide one packet into five portions and brew it for him!”

The young woman knelt and kowtowed in gratitude. “Thank you, Master, for saving my son’s life.”

Wang Ying hurriedly helped her up. “Quick, have someone brew the medicine and feed it to the child.”

“Yes!” The young woman called her husband to help prepare the medicine. Soon, it was brewed and fed to the child, who broke into a sweat, and his temperature finally dropped slightly.

Wang Ying thought of his own son, who was curled up obediently in Li Shi’s arms, looking sad. He hadn’t asked to go outside or acted mischievous these past few days.

Wang Ying walked over and lifted his son onto his lap.

“Father, when can we go home? We want to go home…”

“Soon. We’ll go back once the rain stops.”

Wang Ying held his son tightly, though he feared there might be no home to return to.

*

The rain finally stopped on the fourth morning. The sky remained overcast, but the rain had ceased.

Everyone lined up to exit the cave, standing outside with mixed emotions—relief at having survived, sorrow at the destruction of their homes—laughing and crying at once.

“Let’s go… let’s see what’s left…”

Supporting each other, they made their way down the mountain. The floodwaters below had not fully receded; houses and fields were buried in mud, unrecognizable as the place they once called home.

Chen Xi seemed to have aged over a decade overnight, his hair entirely white, bent over with a cane.

Over thirty years ago, he had fled here with his father, painstakingly built a home, raised a family, and settled down—only for a flood to wipe it all away.

Imagining the devastation was one thing; seeing it was another. Some couldn’t bear the shock and fainted on the spot.

Everyone rushed to revive them by pressing their philtrum, then continued along the riverbank, searching for a place to stay.

They found a slightly elevated spot, but stepping on it sank them knee-deep into mud. They quickly pulled each other out and didn’t dare try again.

“Let’s head back for now. The rain has stopped, and the sun will come out soon. Once the ground dries, we can try again.”

As they were about to leave, a faint meow caught their attention.

Mutou suddenly pointed at a drifting plank in the water. “Master, that’s our cat! It’s Big Orange!”

Wang Ying looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw Big Orange clinging to the plank, floating on the water.

Uncle Chen found a long bamboo pole and pulled the plank closer. The cat, recognizing familiar faces, meowed excitedly.

Wang Ying scooped Big Orange into his arms. The once plump cat, weighing over ten pounds, was now skin and bones—who knew how it had survived these days!

“It’s alright now. You’re alive—that’s what matters.”

The usually proud cat let out a weak meow and lay docilely in his arms, not moving.

The end of the rain didn’t lift everyone’s spirits. Instead, seeing the devastation below plunged them into renewed grief.

Several elderly villagers, unable to withstand the shock, fell ill upon returning. The village doctor went around administering acupuncture, but this was a sickness of the heart—no amount of needles could cure it.

The oppressive atmosphere persisted until late at night when a scream suddenly shattered the silence.

“Auntie! What are you doing? Someone! Help!!!”

The piercing cry woke everyone. The men on night watch rushed over and quickly lifted the woman down from the tree where she had hung herself.

The old woman’s neck was bright red, and it took her a while to catch her breath. Tears streamed down her face as she cried, “Why save me? I’m a lonely old woman with no children, and now I’ve lost my home and land… What’s the point of living?”

Wang Ying, who had run out upon hearing the commotion, caught her words. Having spent so much time together, he had come to see them as his own. Seeing them driven to suicide by despair filled him with indescribable sorrow.

Everyone helped the woman back into the cave, and many elderly villagers came to comfort her. “A wretched life is better than a good death! Old Zhang, you mustn’t think like this!”

“That’s right! If you die, who will I argue with?” said another white-haired woman nearby.

The two had been quarreling neighbors for decades, since they were first married. Seeing her suddenly try to hang herself had shaken the other woman deeply—she couldn’t just let her go like that.

Wang Ying knew the villagers were worried about their livelihoods. They needed something to hold onto.

He stood up and cleared his throat. “Don’t worry, everyone. The rain has stopped, and we can go down the mountain in a day or two. While there’s still time this season, we’ll replant a crop of millet. There will be no rent this year—by year’s end, everyone will have enough to eat!”

Wheat cannot be planted in summer because it requires a period of low-temperature vernalization and a specific light cycle to sprout. Although wheat sown in summer may grow, it will only produce seedlings without forming ears, making the effort futile.

Someone muttered, "Where would we get the seeds?"

"I will buy them for you—thirty catties of millet seeds per family!"

Upon hearing this, everyone perked up immediately. "Thirty catties of millet seeds? Where will you buy them, landlord? Can you really get them?"

Li Shi tugged at Wang Ying's sleeve. "A Ying, we don’t even have a mule cart. How will we buy them?"

"Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out."

Someone else asked, "But what about these next few months? The food we brought won’t last until autumn..."

Chen Xi tapped his cane on the ground. "We can survive by chewing tree bark and digging up edible roots. How can you expect the master to provide all our food and drink?!"

Everyone stopped complaining. With seeds, there was hope—a way to survive.

*

Early the next morning, the men who had gone down to scout returned and reported, "The water has receded another foot or so. There’s a small path to the west that’s passable now. Shall we go down?"

"Let’s go down!"

Everyone packed up their things, supporting the elderly and carrying the children, forming a line as they slowly descended.

Compared to the previous day, the water level had dropped significantly, revealing broken walls and debris in many places. People searched for their homes based on memory, hoping to find some food or usable items buried in the mud.

Wang Ying and his group returned to the country house. The courtyard wall was gone, but the main gate still stood, looking oddly solitary. The house had been badly damaged by the flood.

Li Shi sighed as they walked. "I wonder how the house in town fared. A flood this big must have submerged it too."

Wang Ying said, "We’ll go back tomorrow. First, let’s clean up here and see if we can find a mule cart." The mule had been brought up the mountain, but without a cart, they would have to carry everything back on foot.

Yuan Bao, perched on Wang Ying’s back, looked at the unrecognizable remains of their home and wiped away tears.

After comforting Yuan Bao and having him hold Big Orange while sitting on a rock with Mu Tou and Chun Sheng, Wang Ying went with Uncle Chen and Dun Zi to search through the rubble.

The four walls of the main room were still standing, but the roof was gone, and the interior was a mess. The mud left by the receding water was over a foot deep, making it difficult to walk.

After searching around, they found the mule cart, though the shaft was broken and needed a wooden plank for repair. Without the right tools, they would have to ask others for hammers or saws later.

The storeroom had been breached by the flood, and all the cloth inside was gone. Wang Ying regretted not moving it to the experimental field earlier. Though the cloth wasn’t extremely valuable, it would be hard to buy after the disaster.

Once goods were transported from elsewhere, prices would skyrocket.

Qing Yun and Lin Sui searched the backyard and found a sewing kit and a small bronze mirror. They took everything, useful or not.

After the heavy rain, the sky looked clear and fresh, and the sun was blindingly bright. By noon, it was too hot to stay outside, so everyone sought shade to rest.

Lunch was again a pot of thin porridge, with each person having a bowl. When it was Mu Tou and Chun Sheng’s turn, the two quietly scooped out the millet from their bowls, drinking only the watery part.

Wang Ying noticed and asked, "Why aren’t you eating the millet?"

Chun Sheng waved his hands hurriedly. "We’re not hungry. A little is enough for us."

Mu Tou nodded in agreement. "We’re small and don’t eat much. Please, sir, don’t send us away..."

"When did I ever say I would send you away?"

Chun Sheng and Mu Tou exchanged glances. Both were children who had suffered greatly and learned to read people’s moods. Seeing the country house in ruins, they feared that if food ran short, Wang Ying might dismiss them.

"Eat. Your share won’t make a difference. You need to be strong to help me look after Yuan Bao."

Only then did the two relax, each scooping a spoonful of millet and eating heartily.