Chapter 230: Chapter 226: The Water is Rising_1

Translator: 549690339

Chen Fu peeled off the noodles, and moved to the other side.

Forget it, what’s the point of arguing with an ignorant woman.

Seeing Jiang Sanlang, Chen Fu quickly went over and asked, “Is Yingbao alright?”

Yingbao got drenched in the rain yesterday, his whole body was soaked, and he was really afraid the child would get sick from it.

“He’s fine. Don’t worry, Uncle Chen.” Jiang Sanlang looked towards the river and said, “As soon as the rain lets up a bit, hurry up and pull the cart over.”

Chen Fu nodded and then frowned, “I don’t know how the old village is doing. Those two dead brats, Jiaxing, and Jiazhen, I told them to move to the South Slope but they wouldn’t. I think they’re looking for death!”

Jiang Sanlang remained silent.

He had done his duty by warning them, whether they listened or not was up to them.

By noon, the rain finally ceased, and the current of the stream had lessened significantly.

Chen Zhu and Chen Yin asked for some help from villagers to pull over two carts, and transported two coffins into their house, finding a small room to store them.

At this time, many villagers from West Village, with their luggage and cattle, moved up to the South Slope, settling in the thatched cottages built earlier.

After a night of heavy rain, the water level of Chuanhe rose drastically, almost spilling onto the banks.

The more timid villagers were scared. As soon as the rain stopped, they hastily packed up their belongings and led their families up to the South Slope.

Some stubborn ones, like Old Master Chen, stood at the doorway of his house scoffing at the moving villagers.

“All gone mad, hmph!”

He went back into the house, and said to his wife, Feng Family:”When has the Chuanhe not risen due to rain? But some people are taken in by Jiang Sanlang’s nonsense. I don’t know what he’s up to, getting everyone to move to the South Slope.”

Feng Family was a bit perturbed and said to her husband: “Last night’s rain was really scary, I didn’t dare to close my eyes all night.”

“Well, hasn’t it stopped now?”

Old Master Chen sat down on the edge of the kang, picked up the teacup and took a sip: “It’s just a bit of water in the house. Isn’t summer always like this? You shouldn’t believe everything you hear, even if there really is a flood, we can go to the town, or even directly to Prefecture City.”

The water flows from west to east, and they have a carriage at home. They don’t have to cross rivers or bridges to reach Prefecture City, they can just directly ride in a carriage.

He didn’t believe that even Prefecture City would be flooded.

The rain stopped for a day and then started falling again in the evening.

Since there wasn’t much thunder, everyone didn’t pay much attention to it.

In the middle of the night, Han Family’s son, Xubao, cried incessantly, so she found a match and lit a candle.

She groggily stepped out of the kang to help her son use the bathroom, only to find her foot submerged in water.

“Ah!” Han Family screamed, lower her head to see that the room was filled with water, which had risen to her ankles.

Han Family was terrified and hurriedly splashed through the water to open the door.

Water surged into the house non-stop, making Han Family retreat a few steps in fear.

“Mom! Mom! The house is flooding!” Han Family shouted in the direction of her in-laws’ rooms: “Get up, quick!”

After several shouts, she finally managed to wake Old Master Chen and his wife.

Feng Family hurriedly climbed out of the bed, found a match, and lit the oil lamp, only to see the room glittering with water.

“Oh my! What are we going to do?”

Feng Family was horrified and hurriedly looked for her shoes to put on.

Fortunately, there was a step stool by the kang and the shoes were placed there, but they were completely soaked.

Feng Family put the wet shoes on and waded out of the room.

Old Master Chen also got down from the kang and came to the door.

Under the illumination of the oil lamp, the yard was filled with water, and the sky was still raining.

“What do we do? There’s a flood!” Feng Family was in utter panic and asked her husband, “Should we go to town?”

Old Master Chen looked at the pitch-black sky and sighed, “Even if we go, we have to wait till it’s light. How can we find our way in this darkness?”

“Then, then I’ll go pack our things…” Feng Family hurriedly went to pack household items.

Moving the silver, clothes, jewel boxes, and documents for the house and land, nothing could be missed.

But the more she packed, the more things there were; three large bundles couldn’t even fit everything.

“Han Juniang waded through the water and upon seeing her in-laws packing their things, she understood they might be heading for the county town and hurried back to pack her own things.

It was quite a relief when daylight finally broke.

Not only had the rain not stopped, but it was also getting heavier.

Old Chen donned his raincoat and bamboo hat, opened the courtyard gate, only to see water rushing outside like a runaway horse.

He muttered a curse under his breath and retreated back into the yard.

He waded his way to the stable, led the old horse out, and harnessed it to thecart.

He then instructed his old wife to put all the bundles into the cart.

With one hand holding an umbrella and the other a bundle, Han Juniang walked in and asked, “Father, where are we headed?”

Old Chen responded, “We’re heading to the town first. If the town is also flooded, we will go straight to the county town.”

Upon hearing that they were going to the county town, Han Juniang was quite pleased.

Her husband had passed the county examination and had already gone to Prefecture City to take the prefectural exam. She figured that it wouldn’t be long before he returned and they could all reunite in the county town.

She was utterly fed up with this village and did not want to stay a moment longer.

She thought that escaping from here due to this flood could not be any better.

Han Juniang placed the bundle into the cart and went back to get her son Xubao.

Old Chen glanced at the back figure of his daughter-in-law, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Father! Where are you planning to go?”

Old Chen’s younger son, Chen Changhai, waded over, saw his father leading the horse cart towards the gate, and asked.

Old Chen replied, “We’re heading to town. I was about to go get you. Have you packed your things?”

Both his older and younger son’s houses were not far away, just a few steps away.

Chen Changhai replied, “Everything is packed. Father, you don’t have to come, I’ll go and call my sister-in-law and they can come over.”

“Good, hurry up. The water is rising quickly, don’t get stranded here.” Old Chen urged his son.

Chen Changhai acknowledged him and turned to go back.

He first went to his elder brother’s home to inform his sister-in-law and told her to hurry and pack their things, before returning to collect his own wife and child.

His wife, Mrs. Chui, used a cloth strap to securely bind their son, Chen Kang, onto her back. She held her husband’s hand with one hand and held an umbrella with the other.

“Husband, how many people can fit in Father and Mother’s cart?”

With two large bundles in his arms, Chen Changhai replied, “Doesn’t matter how many it can fit, as long as you and Ah Kang get on it.”

Chui Family replied, “Oh.”

After considerable effort, they waded to the old house. Chen Changhai stuffed the two bundles into the cart and then helped his wife and son onto it.

In a short while, his elder sister-in-law from the Zhao Family, clad in a raincoat, also arrived, leading her ten-year-old son.

Chen Changhai helped his little nephew and his own mother, Mrs. Chen Feng, onto the cart, then grabbed the reins of the cart and started to move off.

Han Juniang, holding Xubao, ran after them, “Wait for me.”

Old Chen replied indifferently, “Give Xubao to your mother to hold, you can follow behind the cart.”

Seeing her sister-in-law already wading through the water, Han Juniang reluctantly handed her son to her mother-in-law.

The cart moved slowly, but the flow of water grew increasingly swift.

Han Juniang held an umbrella in her hand and almost fell several times, fortunately, her sister-in-law Zhao Family managed to grab her.

As they passed by other villagers’ houses, one asked, “Changhai, where are you all going?”

Chen Changhai: “To the town!”

The town is built on higher ground and should not be flooded.

The villager commented, “The town isn’t safe either. It might be better to seek shelter on North Mountain.”

Chen Changhai retorted irritably, “Did you build a house on North Mountain? Do you expect us to stand under this heavy rain?”

He deeply regretted not building a house on the South Slope with Chen Changsheng, otherwise he wouldn’t have to be scurrying about like a refugee.

If the town also ended up getting flooded, with just this one cart, how could he get his family to the county town?