Chapter 197 Gratitude

Chapter 197 Gratitude

The man watched his wife and children drift away, a wave of immense relief washing over him.

But about thirty zhang (about a hundred yards) behind him, Lin Duocang and Wu Shi, supporting each other, watched the raft recede into the distance and sighed in unison.

Wu Shi had wanted to board that raft too.

However, it was already carrying two people.

With her pregnant body, the raft likely couldn’t hold her. Moreover, recognizing Lin Shu filled her with such shame that she couldn't bring herself to call out and ask for a ride.

The relationship between her in-laws and Second Uncle’s family had soured badly. As the eldest daughter-in-law, even if she felt her own family was in the wrong, she couldn’t speak up. Ever since marrying into the family, she had avoided interacting with Second Uncle’s household. How could she possibly swallow her pride and ask for help now?

But—

The floodwaters weren’t too deep yet, just up to her knees, but walking through water was far more exhausting than walking on land. The rain was icy cold, and a distance that Ping Er could cover in fifteen minutes seemed to stretch on forever. Her legs were already trembling uncontrollably.

Wu Shi placed a hand on her heavy belly, making a silent vow: for the sake of her unborn child, if Lin Shu returned, she would swallow her pride and plead for help.

After what felt like an eternity of walking, Lin Datian and the others, who had lagged far behind, unexpectedly caught up.

Wu Shi opened her mouth, about to say something to her father-in-law, but he completely ignored her and Lin Duocang, brushing past them without so much as a glance.

She was stunned for a moment, then let out a bitter smile.

In this family, her mother-in-law always put on a fierce, combative front. Wu Shi had subconsciously believed her father-in-law was a fair man, just quiet and often overruled by his wife, making him seem weak and pathetic. But now, it seemed he held grievances against her too, perhaps even more than her mother-in-law did.

Zhang Lamei, who'd been trailing them in silence, saw Wu Shi’s dejected expression and sneered as she passed, “Rushing off in such a panic, even tearing up all pretenses with me—do you think you can move fast with that big belly? If you hadn’t been so stubborn earlier, my man and I would’ve helped you. After all, you’re carrying the Lin family’s eldest grandson! But you couldn’t hold back and showed your true colors! Well, I don’t care anymore. I've got plenty of sons and will have plenty of grandsons! From today, you two are cut off from the family. Don’t expect a single grain of food from this family!”

“Mother, we didn’t mean it like that! Please don’t cast us out! Wife, hurry up and apologize to Mother!” Lin Duocang was terrified, tugging at his wife’s arm and urging her to apologize.

Wu Shi pressed her lips together, refusing to back down.

If her mother-in-law truly denied them all food, it would mean leaving them to die. The whole village would condemn her for it, and the village chief would never allow it. Her mother-in-law was just angry about her earlier defiance and trying to intimidate her.

Even if it was just a threat, it sent a chill down her spine. Wu Shi had always been respectful and dutiful to her in-laws since marrying into the family, and treated her brothers-in-law with respect, especially the youngest, Lin Duoliang. Yet, this was the treatment she received in return.

Why had she been so desperate to leave earlier? It was because her mother-in-law stubbornly refused to go.

In her condition, moving was difficult enough. Delaying further would only increase the danger. Sure, she was being selfish, but at a time like this, was it wrong to want to live?

Now, her in-laws and brothers-in-laws acted as if she didn't exist, passing her by one after another. Wu Shi refused to show weakness, gritting her teeth as she supported Lin Duocang, inching forward step by step.

As they trudged on, the raft they had seen earlier reappeared.

The raft was carried along by the current, washed by the rain, its rider occasionally pushing off with a bamboo pole, maneuvering through the storm as deftly as a fish.

Seeing the raft heading straight toward them, Zhang Lamei and the others' faces lit up. They were too far away earlier to see that it was Lin Shu doing the rescuing; this was their first glimpse of the raft.

“Who does that fellow belong to? He’s got some skill!” Lin Datian wiped rain from his face, surprised and pleased.

Lin Duoliang had an idea, “Father, we’re carrying too much. Why not ask this uncle to help transport some of our grain?”

Lin Duogu frowned, objecting, “Not the grain. What if he hides some of our grain and claims it fell into the water? Who would we complain to? He can carry other supplies.”

Zhang Lamei, forgetting her earlier anger, focused only on the advantage, “You blockheads! Why don’t Third Brother and I just board the raft with our belongings? Third Brother is young, and I’m a woman—he'd have to let us on. If he refuses, I'll just cry and act pitiful…”

Her voice trailed off.

The person on the raft was neither tall nor burly. Wearing a raincoat and bamboo hat, their face was obscured by the heavy rain. But they were strong; each push of the pole sent the raft shooting forward, appearing more capable than many men. Lin Datian and Zhang Lamei assumed it was some man from the village, likely an older fellow, given that there were many short elderly men in Tianshui Village.

But as the raft drew closer, the Lin family gaped in astonishment.

This—this wasn’t a man at all, but a young woman!

And she was no stranger—it was Lin Shu, the disgraced fake daughter from the capital’s Marquis household who had slunk back to the Lin Dashan family!

Zhang Lamei recalled her earlier words and felt as if she’d swallowed something foul.

There was no way Lin Shu would let their family board the raft!

But to their surprise, Lin Shu pushed with her pole, maneuvering it smoothly right up beside them.

Zhang Lamei was momentarily ecstatic, thinking her niece was letting bygones be bygones, trying to suck up to her. For a moment, she even felt smug.

But her expression froze in the next instant. Lin Shu’s eyes looked right past them and settled on Wu Shi, who was trailing behind.

“Sister-in-law, come aboard. I’ll take you to the back mountain first,” Lin Shu called to Wu Shi.

After a pause, she added, “Don’t worry, I’m steady. You won’t fall.”

“Yes, yes! Thank you, Cousin A Shu!” Lin Duocang reacted quickly, answering for his stunned wife and helping her onto the raft.

Lin Shu reached out a hand to steady her. “Stand firmly. If you’re afraid of rocking, you can sit and hold the edges.”

As the raft moved away, Wu Shi stared blankly at the raindrops pocking the water’s surface. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she whispered, “Thank you.”

The wind and rain nearly drowned out her words. Thinking she hadn’t been heard, Wu Shi was surprised when the raft’s pilot replied, “You can thank me properly once everyone is safe from this flood. You’re carrying a child; you need to be careful after being drenched in this rain.”

Wu Shi had held back tears through all her earlier hardships, but now, hearing this, her eyes welled up, tears mixing with the rain streaming down her face.

She nodded quickly, then remembered Lin Shu couldn’t see her with her back turned. Choking up, she replied softly, “I understand, Little Sister A Shu.”

Lin Shu hadn’t been boasting; she handled the raft with skill. The journey that would have taken much longer on foot was shortened significantly with each push of the pole.

Zhou Ye was waiting at the foot of the mountain. He was briefly surprised to see Lin Shu bringing Wu Shi, but not because of Wu Shi herself—he was astonished that Zhang Lamei, with her stubborn and suspicious nature, had allowed Lin Shu to take her daughter-in-law away.

“A Ye, help Sister-in-law up the mountain. I’m going back to the village to check,” Lin Shu said before turning the raft around.

Zhou Ye watched her navigate skillfully away, frowning slightly. Many questions arose in his mind, but they soon seemed unimportant.

By now, whether they had believed the warnings or not, the villagers had no choice but to accept the reality: Tianshui Village was flooding!

Some stubborn villagers were only now panicking and fleeing for their lives. Those living near the village’s end might still make it, but those closer to the front stood little chance. The Lin Datian family had been lucky with their timing; moving carefully, they could still reach the back mountain. But Lin Shu’s mission wasn’t to fetch them—it was to rescue those who had delayed too long.

Sure enough, on her next trip, Lin Shu found several trapped villagers.

Two exhausted villagers had climbed onto a high slope, while one family hadn’t even left their courtyard, clinging to their collapsing thatched roof and crying out in terror.

Lin Shu made three trips back and forth, safely transporting all these villagers to the back mountain.

The back mountain was wooded and grassy. Villagers took shelter under trees or in small caves the children often played in. But this was only a temporary solution. Zhou Ye suggested building simple shelters against the trees.

The village chief, deeply shaken by the flood, was immensely grateful to Zhou Ye and Lin Shu. He immediately agreed to Zhou Ye’s suggestion and assigned several capable men to assist.

The villagers, too, were full of remorse. They had previously doubted Zhou Ye, even gossiped behind his back. But now…

Ah! They owed their safety to Zhou Ye from the Lin Laoer family!

"Zhou Ye, just tell us how to build the shelter—we'll all follow your lead!" a burly man spoke up, and the others quickly echoed their agreement.

"Given the urgency, I won't be modest. I do have some experience building shelters in the mountains. With many women and children in the village, let’s first put up two shelters to get them out of the rain. My parents previously surveyed this area—the back hill—it’s densely wooded, sheltered from the wind, with low-hanging branches and thick foliage, making it easiest to build shelters. Here’s how we’ll do it…"

When Zhou Ye mentioned "my parents," everyone was momentarily taken aback.

Oh, right—he was referring to Lin Dashan and He-shi. The way Zhou Ye said it so naturally almost made them doubt their memories, as if Zhou Ye’s biological parents had come back to life and found him.

Bamboo was plentiful in the mountains and easy to cut. Zhou Ye led a group of strong men armed with tools to cut some bamboo.

Using bamboo as frames and leveraging the branches of large trees, they quickly threw up a shelter.

Palm leaves, taro leaves, and other foliage were everywhere in the mountains. They gathered plenty to layer on the roof, then added tree bark for extra coverage, creating a makeshift shelter against the wind and rain.

By the time over a dozen simple shelters were built and all the villagers had crowded inside, night had quietly fallen, and the heavy rain outside had finally eased into a drizzle.

Looking down from the mountainside toward Sweetwater Village, they could see most of the village submerged. The roads were flooded, thatched huts had largely collapsed, and vast stretches of farmland had turned into a murky expanse.

The villagers stared at the scene—some in stunned silence, some sighing in despair, and others weeping softly inside the shelters.

"It really flooded after all…"

"Everything’s gone. Our home is gone, we’ve lost everything. We left too late and couldn’t take much with us…"

"The rice would have been ready to harvest in another month. My family planted two acres of taro too. With this flood, how much of the harvest will be left? Months of hard work washed away. How will we survive from now on? Boo-hoo…"

Though their lives and the food they carried were safe for now, what about the future?

Without a new harvest, even if they rationed carefully, the little grain they had might not last more than a few months!

One person’s panicked weeping set off many others. Some wept openly, their cries choking off.