The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 216 - 205: The Dam Breaks (Extra - for getting 195,000 recommendation votes from Cloudrise)

Chapter 216: Chapter 205: The Dam Breaks (Extra Chapter for getting 195,000 recommendation votes from Cloudrise)

In the early hours of the morning, a loud snap resounded by Manbao’s ear, but she had grown immune to such noises lately and simply turned over to continue sleeping.

Ms. Qian, worried about her due to the continuous heavy rains, had moved her back to the small bed partitioned by a bamboo screen these past two days. Perhaps it was the knowledge that her parents were nearby, but Manbao soon fell into a deep sleep, clutching her quilt.

However, it wasn’t long before someone was banging on the Zhou Family’s front door, and fearing they wouldn’t hear, the visitor shouted, "Uncle Jin, Dalang, hurry and open the door!"

Zhou Dalang, Zhou Erlang, and Zhou Sanlang all stirred in their rooms. Zhou Dalang, somewhat muzzily, responded and groped his way in the dark to open the door.

Manbao got up rubbing her eyes, and saw her father also wrapping himself in clothes and heading outside, prompting her to ask in groggy confusion, "What’s happened?"

Ms. Qian pressed her back down into the bed, patting her back soothingly, "It’s nothing, nothing, go back to sleep."

Yet her ears perked up, listening intently to the commotion outside.

Manbao yawned but couldn’t fall asleep again no matter how hard she tried.

Zhou Dalang opened the door and asked, "What is it?"

The visitor wiped the rain that had splashed onto his face and replied, "Daliang’s house has collapsed, and people are buried underneath."

Zhou Dalang, startled, quickly inquired, "Is everyone alright?"

"They’re already digging them out. Daliang’s alright, just trapped and can’t get out, but the room where his parents were sleeping completely collapsed; it’s unclear what their condition is."

This was no longer a matter of one family providing a laborer; from Zhou Dalang to Zhou Silang, even Old Zhou hurried out into the rain to help rescue people.

Zhou Daliang’s house was made of mud mixed with grass. A long time ago, half the roof was tiled, but as the tiles were damaged and gradually replaced with thatch, it gained an additional layer.

This was especially problematic with the recent rains, as the house suffered severe leaks. Having recently replaced the thatch on top, the family had not anticipated the heavy rain or that the aged beams of the house might have rotted. Weakened by days of rain and wind, the mud walls collapsed with a snap.

The loud noise Manbao had heard was not thunder, but the house falling down.

It was Zhou Daliang who woke up first, managing to prop up a bit of the thatching that had fallen on him and shouted for help. It was only then that the neighbors became aware of the situation and rushed to assist.

The whole village was awakened, and the chief directed everyone to move the wood, thatch, tiles, and walls aside, first rescuing those making noise and then digging for the silent ones.

Other families with similarly dilapidated houses, fearing for their safety, didn’t dare let their children sleep and instead carried them out into the courtyard, worried their own houses might collapse as well.

Zhou Daliang was Zhou Silang’s good friend, and he had only been struck by the thatch and tiles, suffering some abrasions. His wife, who was sleeping beside him, was mostly unharmed, but the situation was much graver for his parents.

Despite several calls from outside, the elderly couple hadn’t responded.

He knelt on the ground, completely dazed.

The rain briefly let up only to soon pour down once more, and issues with many village houses were discovered. In one instance, upon finding a crack in their wall, the man of the house kicked it to see if it was still stable, only to have the wall collapse upon his impact.

His wife, standing beside him, was initially stunned, then exploded in anger, resulting in another round of ruckus in the village.

As dawn was breaking, all of Zhou Daliang’s family members were dug out. His father was dazed from the impact, bleeding a little from his forehead; his mother had fainted from fright and was shivering. With the mountain roads being treacherous at that time, it was impossible for them to leave to seek a doctor.

But fortunately, some older villagers with a bit of knowledge pressed hard on their vital points and the elderly couple gradually came to.

They were lucky; the collapsing beam had landed on top of the cabinet at the head of the bed, and despite being heavily hit by the falling thatch and tiles, their bones remained unharmed.

The chief breathed a sigh of relief, glad that no lives were lost.

Meanwhile, County Magistrate Fu, sleeping soundly in Luojiang County, was awakened by someone pounding on his door.

The Assistant County Magistrate didn’t even wait to be properly admitted to the magistrate’s inner quarters; he ran straight to the door, and upon hearing sounds from inside, urgently shouted, "My lord, the Minjiang River has breached its banks!"

Still groggy, and just getting up, County Magistrate Fu fell to the floor. He clumsily got up, not bothering to dress properly, flung open the door with a changed expression, and grabbing the Assistant County Magistrate, asked, "Where did it break?"

"The Minjiang River, the Minjiang River!"

County Magistrate Fu’s hands shook slightly as he questioned, "The Minjiang River, doesn’t it have the Feisha Dam? It’s been checked and reinforced annually, and it had been fortified just the year before last. How could it...?"

The Assistant County Magistrate, sweating profusely, replied, "My lord, we can’t concern ourselves with the Minjiang River now. The rain hasn’t stopped, Luojiang’s water level is soaring, and there are also Luojiang’s tributaries – the Kai River, Ningshui River, and Mianyuan River..."

County Magistrate Fu snapped out of his daze, his expression turning grave. He straightened his clothes and said, "Gather everyone, you’re right, we can’t control the Minjiang River, but we must secure Luojiang, especially the villages along the river. If the flood really comes, we need to relocate them to the nearest hills..."

The rain gradually stopped, and Manbao accompanied Zhou Wulang to the chief’s house.

Zhou Daliang’s family had been temporarily placed in the chief’s home, and Ms. Qian had packed some eggs for Zhou Wulang to bring to them. Manbao followed behind, simply tagging along for the excitement.

The Chief also arrived.

He was consoling Daliang’s father, saying, "It’s good that everyone’s safe. We’ll have the village fix up your house later."

Then, addressing the others, he said, "You all should inspect your houses too. If there are any issues, get them repaired. Don’t skimp on spending; lives are more important than money."

"Chief, how long will this rain last?"

"That’s a question for the heavens. I’ll ask on your behalf tonight."

"... Chief, the rice has started to head, and now it’s all submerged."

"I know, my field’s flooded too."

Manbao squeezed her way forward and curiously asked, "Grandpa Chief, is it raining this hard everywhere else too?"

"It probably is, given the clouds are spreading so wide, surely it’s not just raining here."

"Then, could other places also be facing floods like ours?"

The Chief furrowed his brows, deep in thought and seemingly coming to a realization that caused his expression to shift slightly.

He became restless and stood up, saying, "As long as the people are alright, discuss where to stay for now. Once the sky clears up, we can fix the houses. I’m going to the county seat to take a look."

Ever since the rains started, the roads had become treacherous, especially the mountain roads to the county seat, and the Chief hadn’t yet ventured there. But today, he was determined to check on it.

The Chief could only rely on his own aging limbs to get in and out, but the Bai Family had both a carriage and servants, and thus received news from outside much faster.

Besides, he also had a shop in the county seat, so soon after dawn, despite the rain, a donkey cart arrived at the Bai Family’s home.

Before long, Old Master Bai was informed of the Minjiang River breach, and Mr. Zhuang also came to know.

That day, when Manbao went to the Bai Family for her small stove session, Mr. Zhuang was frequently distracted, his complexion not looking good.

Manbao glanced at Bai Shanbao, who was making faces at her, signaling her to be careful. Bai Erlang, brooding with a pen in his mouth, caught sight of this and glared at them before raising his hand to tattle, "Master, Zhou Man and Bai Shan are slacking off."

He felt his inclusion in the small stove sessions was entirely their fault, as it had always been just the two of them who benefited from it. He believed their doings had dragged him into this predicament.

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