Chapter 153

Behind them, Fan Damu’s laughter was particularly loud. As he laughed, he shouted:

“If you don’t want to dig, just follow my example;

Besides, you all have new houses. What’s there to worry about? Are you afraid the new houses will get washed away?”

“Building a house is supposed to make you comfortable, yet you’re out here digging ditches and suffering. Doesn’t seem worth it to me.”

The group of men clenched their fists in anger.

Li Wen, the leader, turned to Fan Damu, speaking in a heavy tone, “No matter how much we suffer, we live in our own houses. We don’t have to run around looking for a place to stay, and we’re not crammed into someone else’s house.”

Fan Damu’s smile faded, and he said nothing, his eyelids drooping.

The men in the village immediately chimed in, “That’s right! It’s our own houses, and this hard work is only temporary!”

“Once we’ve dug the ditches, we can go home, take a hot shower, and drink ginger tea. How comfortable that will be.”

“You think living with so many people in someone else’s house is convenient? It looks crowded to me! And borrowing a place to stay is only a temporary solution. What about after the rain stops? Are you all going to keep squeezing together?”

“Are you going to live crammed in there forever and not rebuild your house?”

Hearing “live crammed in forever,” Fan Qian turned suspiciously to Fan Damu.

Brother Damu had only mentioned borrowing a place to stay but never said how long. Once the rain stops, it would take several days to rebuild the thatched house, wouldn’t it?

Fan Damu cursed the men under his breath and assured Fan Qian, “We’ll move out as soon as the rain stops! Don’t listen to their nonsense!”

Li Wen and the others, not wanting to miss the spectacle, added, “It’s easier to invite the gods in than to send them away.”

“The rain won’t stop anytime soon. It could go on for ten days or half a month.”

“I’m putting it out there now, Fan Damu: don’t call me to help build your house! I won’t go even if you ask!”

“Me neither!”

“Me neither!”

The men all echoed their agreement.

In the past, if a thatched house in the village collapsed due to rain, everyone would pitch in to help rebuild it in a day or two.

Now, with the village digging ditches, Fan Damu’s family didn’t contribute a single person and even made sarcastic remarks!

They weren’t so foolish as to not understand. Since he was being unkind, they didn’t have to uphold the village camaraderie.

Fan Damu didn’t realize this point.

In the village, only he and Bald Zhang had thatched houses. The rest were adobe and tile houses, and his thatched house had collapsed the first night. Moving into Fan Qian’s house, he was constantly resented, feeling angry all over.

Seeing this group of people only made him angrier.

Speaking out of anger, he now realized he had offended them.

He wanted to make amends, but the men were already leaving the yard.

Fan Qian was now deeply regretting his decision!

If the villagers didn’t help, how could Fan Damu’s family possibly rebuild the thatched house?

Turning to Fan Damu, his tone lost its previous courtesy, becoming cold, “Where’s your stored firewood?

You’ve seen mine, barely enough for five or six days. Now, with your whole family here, cooking and boiling water all require firewood. What about your share?”

He had taken them in, but that didn’t mean he had to provide for them too!

Fan Damu’s face turned awkward, “Brother, didn’t we both agree not to expect heavy rain?

Who would stockpile a large amount of firewood for no reason? I do have some, but it’s all soaked!”

Fan Qian wasn’t a fool. How did their soaked firewood become his problem?

“That’s not my concern. You can only use your own firewood. I don’t have extra!”

Fan Damu gritted his teeth, cursing him for being stingy, but forced a smile, “Alright, I’ll bring the wet firewood over. We can dry it by the stove and it’ll still burn.”

Fan Qian said nothing more, turning back into the inner room.

Fan Damu’s mother walked over, spat, and muttered, “Same last name, Fan, yet they won’t spare even a bit of firewood!”

“Mother, when you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head. But once we’re living well, I’ll make sure to get back at them!” Fan Damu said, glaring at the inner room.

Fan Damu’s mother patted his hand sympathetically. “My son has ambition!”

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On the main road of Shanshui Village, seventy or eighty men were divided into ten small teams, each digging a section of the ditch.

The soil, mixed with stones, was tough to dig through.

The heavy rain poured down, blurring their vision, but no one dared to stop. The rain showed no signs of letting up. If it continued for another day or two, the standing water would start affecting the lower levels of their homes.

“Remember when Fan Er’s family spent half a month digging ditches? I thought they were wasting time and money. Turns out, those scholars are smart. They saw the long-term benefits.”

“Right? If we had known, we’d have dug ditches throughout the village. Then we could be resting at home instead of out here in the rain.”

“Hindsight is always 20/20.”

“I think we should copy Fan Er’s family. If we follow their example, we won’t go wrong.”

Li Wen, overhearing this, fell into deep thought.

They could indeed follow Fan Er’s example.

Raising his voice, he asked, “How about when the rain stops, we all get together and dig ditches throughout the village?”

The other men thought they couldn’t wait for the rain to stop.

The rain was getting worse. If they didn’t dig now to drain the water, it would soon flood their homes.

The ground had turned to mud, sinking their legs up to their calves with every step, splattering mud everywhere.

The rain pounded down, stinging painfully.

Their straw raincoats were no good today; many places were soaked through, making their clothes cling uncomfortably to their skin.

A few days ago, when they were harvesting potatoes under the scorching sun, they longed for rain. Now that it had rained, even cooled down, it felt freezing.

Thinking of the potatoes, Xu Laosan said, “Good thing we harvested the potatoes early. In just three days, the fields are like this. The water would be up to our waists by now. How would we harvest anything?”

Li Wen, who had fifteen mu of potatoes, and his father-in-law’s family with five mu, nodded vigorously. “Yes, thank goodness we harvested early.”

Otherwise, they’d be too worried to eat or sleep.

He added, “By the way, it was my wife, Guifen, who heard about it from Fan Er’s wife. She asked my father, and that’s why we decided to harvest early.”

Hearing this, everyone was even more convinced to follow Fan Er’s family’s lead!

Families without potatoes were worried. “What about the crops in the fields?”

Someone tried to comfort them. “Don’t worry, rice can survive being submerged for a few days.”

But they all knew that while rice could survive a few days underwater, any longer and the roots would rot.

Without crops, life would be hard…

The men digging the ditch fell silent, focusing on their work.

They thought about the potatoes they had helped harvest, exchanging labor for potatoes to plant in September.

Thinking about the potato harvest gave them a glimmer of hope for next year’s food supply.

They wondered how Fan Er’s family was faring in this heavy rain.