The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 215 - 204: Continuous Rain (Additional release for reaching 190,000 recommendation votes on Cloud Rise)

Chapter 215: Chapter 204: Continuous Rain (Additional release for reaching 190,000 recommendation votes on Cloud Rise)

Of course, an overnight deluge wouldn’t reach the schoolhouse, considering it was quite a distance from the riverbank.

Therefore, when Zhou SiLang quickly returned from his visit, he was soaked through despite carrying an umbrella.

But the weather wasn’t cold, and with a casual wipe, he said, "The teacher sent me back; the Bai Family also sent someone over. They said once the rain stops, we’ll temporarily move to the Bai’s, but Mr. Zhuang didn’t seem too keen and declined."

Before he returned, the Bai Family’s person was still there, and families in the village with children studying there had sent representatives to check as well.

Old Zhou nodded and instructed, "Whether you go or not, check again once the rain stops. If we’re moving, give a hand. Mr. Zhuang’s furniture and books in the courtyard will certainly need to be moved."

Zhou SiLang acknowledged the order.

However, they were all too optimistic. Since morning, the rain hadn’t truly stopped—even at its lightest, there was a constant drizzle, small yet troublesome.

Then, in less than three quarters of an hour, it intensified again. At its peak, there were flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, just like the previous night. It was supposed to be a bright afternoon, yet dark clouds hovered, as though night had fallen.

Old Zhou sat on the doorstep, looking up at the ominous black clouds, his expression growing more solemn.

Manbao sat beside him, also staring at the dark clouds, in a pose much like yesterday when they were looking up at the sky from beneath the large banyan tree at the entrance of the village.

After a night of torrential rain, the downpour had lightened, and their door was knocked. Without waiting for it to be opened, the visitor tiptoed to peer over the courtyard wall, calling out, "Uncle, open the door; it’s Dazhu."

Zhou Liulang rushed to open the door first.

Zhou Dazhu didn’t even enter, instead standing outside and shouting, "Uncle, my dad’s asking for one person from every household to clear the channels around Little Bay and Big Bay."

Zhou SiLang clicked his tongue, "It’s still raining."

Zhou Dazhu forced a smile, "It has to be done. At noon, my dad took advantage of the lighter rain to check—the water on the road, the overflow from the river, it’s all pouring in. Some fields are lower; half of the young crops are submerged. That field on your east side, a good chunk of it has completely collapsed."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhou could no longer sit still. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Eldest, you go. Two, take Third and Four with you in raincoats to check, every field... nevermind, I’ll go with you."

"We don’t have enough raincoats at home..."

Old Zhou didn’t wait for them, taking a raincoat for himself and saying, "The rain isn’t that heavy; you young ones will be fine even if you get drenched."

Zhou Dalang and his brothers: ...

Upon hearing this, Ms. Qian came out from the house and glared at him, "The ground is very slippery right now; what’s the point of you joining in at your age? Let Two and Three go. Eldest, join the others from the village to clear the channels."

Between what their father and mother said, of course, they listened to their mother.

Zhou Er silently pulled the raincoat from his father’s hands, looking like he was eager to say something, but his mother tapped him on the head before he could speak, "Don’t you get any funny ideas. If I find out you went out in the rain, I’ll smack your backside."

Manbao instinctively covered her backside and silently went back inside.

She felt she had nothing in common with them, so she decided to chat with Keke, "How long do you think this rain will last?"

Keke was silent for a while before responding, "I am unable to predict the weather, but based on the current scanning of the cloud distribution and the activity of the atmospheric water molecules, it will conservatively last at least three days."

Manbao’s eyes lit up, "Doesn’t that mean I can have a three-day break?"

Keke: ...

Manbao cheered up for a moment, then her shoulders drooped, "But it’s so boring not being able to go out and play when it rains. I’d rather go to school."

Keke breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, its host wasn’t entirely unmotivated.

"Indeed, and such torrential rain can greatly damage the current agricultural operations. The host should consider how to make the rain stop sooner."

Manbao was stunned, "Can I make it stop?"

"...Cannot."

Even in the future, such a large-scale thunderstorm cloud would be risky to disperse, and if it were smaller... no, no, that’s not right. It’s a collection system, even if it were smaller, it couldn’t be possible.

"Then we can only pray to Heaven Master," Manbao said, sitting down by the door, her hands clasped together as she looked up at the sky and made a wish, "Heaven Master, please stop the rain, I’m really getting worried."

Perhaps Heaven Master did not hear Manbao’s words, for the rain continued until the evening, briefly stopped, then started drizzling again.

By the time they had finished their dinner and each returned to their rooms, almost asleep, there came a torrential downpour outside.

Manbao opened her bleary eyes, and it took her a while to come to her senses. Listening to the heavy rain outside, she began to worry from the bottom of her heart, could it really flood like Keke had said?

But she couldn’t swim. What would she do if she were washed away by the water?

Should she go find her parents now, so she could cling to her father’s arm when the time came...

With her mind racing, Manbao gradually fell asleep again, and even dreamed that she was swept to the bottom of the river with a splash. She kicked her legs in the dream and then woke up.

When she opened her eyes and looked outside, there was light, yet it still rained.

This rain took everyone by surprise, including Mr. Zhuang.

Despite his worries, he had no time to think too much, for the river had risen to the front of the school. If it rose further, it would flood the building.

He had no choice but to take Old Master Bai’s suggestion and move the furniture and books in the small courtyard temporarily to the Bai Family.

Fortunately, it was already the third day, and though there was still a lot of rain, it wasn’t continuous as before. It now came in bursts, and sometimes the sun would even shine for a while.

But seeing the churning dark clouds on the horizon, Mr. Zhuang didn’t feel much better.

He was worried, and so was Manbao who came to help, no, to join in the fuss. Seeing the teacher looking up at the sky just like her father, she also looked up, "Teacher, is the rain going to continue for another three days?"

Keke’s conclusion after another scan was that the rain would continue for another three days, though it predicted a decrease in the rainfall.

But for Qili Village, which was already on the verge of flooding, this wasn’t much of a good news.

Because even with reduced rainfall, the duration of the rain was still long.

Mr. Zhuang sighed and said, "Hard to say, if it keeps raining, the upstream dikes might not hold."

"They were repaired just last year."

"Yes, thankfully they were repaired last year, otherwise..."

Otherwise, Qili Village would have flooded on the first night.

Mr. Zhuang, watching the ominous black clouds, said gravely, "Qili Village is still all right, but who knows about other places?"

Manbao sighed, "It’s a pity we don’t have wings; otherwise, we could fly there and check."

Even though Mr. Zhuang was full of concerns, he couldn’t help but laugh at this, patting her little head and teasing, "You really are a child. What bird dares to fly out in the rain? Even if you had wings, you wouldn’t be able to fly out in the rain."

Manbao pondered for a moment and realized this was true. After thinking a bit, she said, "What about having a ’thousand-mile ear’? With that you could hear people talking from very, very far away, and then we would know whether it’s raining or not."

Mr. Zhuang could not help but burst out laughing, then said, "Come over to study tomorrow when the rain stops. I will give you, Bai Shan, and Bai Cheng catch-up lessons."

Manbao was taken aback.