Chapter 95 : Half a Lifetime of Hard Work Gone

Xiao Qin and the others quickly built a temporary shelter in the dark to give the family some cover.

They had just finished setting up the shed when heavy rain began to pour, beating loudly on the tarpaulin above. This downpour, which they had hoped for over the past five months of drought, finally came but only after a disaster.

And now, with everyone having lost their homes, the rain only added insult to injury.

Still, they were far better off than many others in the village, who were left to cry among the ruins as the rain drenched them. The homes that had sheltered generations were now completely gone.

The rain, which had come so late, refused to leave quickly. It dragged on through the night. The family huddled together in the shed, clinging to each other for warmth. The firewood in the stove sizzled and cracked. Xiao Hechuan’s bedding had gotten soaked from rainwater that seeped in from the ground, so they had to push a cart inside and let him sleep on it for now. Thick bedding was laid underneath him, and the rest of the supplies were stacked at his feet. The rest of the family didn’t even have room to sit. Everyone stared blankly ahead, still stunned from the night’s devastation.

They endured in silence until dawn, when the rain outside finally began to ease.

As soon as day broke, Father Xiao could no longer sit still. He grabbed two umbrellas and headed to the village with Xiao Qin to check on their house.

When the father and son arrived, the village was unrecognizable only ruins remained. The familiar faces of their neighbors were all digging through the debris in the rain, trying to save whoever they could. In moments like this, past grudges didn’t matter. What mattered most was helping each other, saving lives, and finding usable supplies.

Father Xiao’s lips trembled as he and Xiao Qin hurried to where their home used to be. But when they saw the scene before them, they could no longer hold back.

Father Xiao broke down in tears.

The house he had built with years of hard work had once been the grandest in the entire village. The courtyard walls were strong and tall, he had always been proud, and the envy of others.

Now, the back mountain had collapsed during the earthquake and buried the entire house beneath it. In other parts of the village, you could still see pieces of walls or roofs something. But here, there wasn’t even a single plank left. Everything was buried deep under the landslide.

Half a lifetime of toil, gone in an instant. He was just a humble farmer now landless, homeless. How could such a large family survive this?

He squatted down on the ground, covering his face, sobbing softly, completely broken. Xiao Qin, though feeling heavy-hearted too, was still young and able to stay composed. He crouched next to his father and gently comforted him.

“Dad, don’t give up. Everything will be okay. As long as we’re all still alive, the family is still together and we’ll build a new home.”

Father Xiao gave a shaky nod and let his son help him up.

Quickly pulling himself together, he wiped away his tears.

“Go back and get your two brothers. Let’s help the others. I’m going to rescue people first.”

Back then, people valued compassion and unity. There were always small quarrels in daily life, but in times like these, everyone stood together.

Xiao Qin nodded and rushed back to the land temple.

As the sky lightened, Jiang Sui wasn’t one to just sit and wait. The firewood they brought back from home had gotten damp in the rain and was hard to light, and when it did burn, it produced thick, choking smoke.

They moved stools and tables under the tarp, wiping them clean so everyone could sit. Mother Xiao prepared a simple porridge to give the family something warm to eat.

When they saw Xiao Qin returning from afar and heard about the situation in the village, Mother Xiao was stunned. Her heart ached when she heard that their house had been completely buried by the mountain’s collapse. But as she listened, she also felt a strange sense of relief.

Her expression changed. She looked like she had aged several years in an instant but she knew she couldn’t show weakness in front of the children. She had to stay strong. So she said to her sons.

“Each of you, drink some porridge first. Fill your stomachs before going to help. That way you’ll have the strength you need. Go call your father too. No matter how sad he is, he can’t go hungry. Tell him to come back and eat something when he can. We’ll stay here to watch over Hechuan and organize our things.”

Mother Xiao knew her husband all too well. The family’s land and house had been his lifelong pride, and now that both were destroyed, of course he was heartbroken. He was just putting on a brave face.

The sons all nodded in silence, picked up their bowls, and drank their porridge. As soon as they finished, they didn’t waste a second and returned to the village to help with rescue efforts.

The rain had lightened a bit, so Mother Xiao asked Zhou to stay in the shed with Goudan and watch over Xiao Hechuan. Meanwhile, Jiang Sui, and Xiao Lanlan went to the ruins of the land temple to pick up some bricks and lay them under the shed to block out the moisture from the ground.

Everyone’s shoes and socks were soaked through, and if they stayed damp too long, they could easily catch a cold. The ox had also been standing out in the rain, but for now, it wasn’t a big concern it had thick skin and could handle it. They could just lead it somewhere nearby to graze a bit later.

Mother Xiao double-checked the tarpaulin covering the grain supplies to see if any water had leaked through, and then weighed it down with a few more bricks to make sure it stayed put.

There was only this one shed, and it was already uncomfortably crowded. They had no idea where they’d sleep that night, another problem waiting to be solved.

This is when it’s good to have men around. Her husband and sons would figure out a way, using whatever materials they could find nearby, to build a temporary shelter to keep everyone dry and give them somewhere to rest.

All things considered, their current situation was the best they could hope for, they at least had some cover from the rain.

Mother Xiao hadn’t let Zhou go out into the rain because she’d just recently recovered from an illness, and getting wet again might make her relapse. That’s why she told her to stay in the shed and look after things.

But Zhou wasn’t idle either. She carefully laid out all the bricks they’d brought back to raise the ground and make it drier. The difference was obvious, and everyone felt more comfortable.

The firewood hadn’t been completely soaked, but it was still damp, so it was hard to light. It smoked a lot in the beginning, but once it got going, it would be fine. At a time like this, everyone just had to look after themselves and help each other however they could.

Still, Xiao Hechuan showed no signs of waking. His unconscious state was the family’s greatest worry.

Later in the afternoon, Father Xiao and his two sons returned. Smoke was rising from the shed as they came back. They had spent the whole day digging through the ruins and had managed to rescue many people and retrieve some supplies.

They had also managed to build a temporary shelter. Everyone was exhausted, hungry, and covered in grime, with no time to even tend to their own injuries.

On the Xiao family’s side, Jiang Sui and Mother Xiao had hidden their carts and food under some rubble. Jiang Sui was aware that the villagers had no food or water now, and once they realized the Xiao family had everything they needed, desperation might turn into greed. In times like these, people would do anything to survive.

After that, she led the cow out to graze a little and then came back to rest.

That evening, they had more porridge, and placed a circle of corn tortillas around the edge of the pot to cook. The conditions were rough, and this was the best they could manage for now.

Father Xiao looked at his youngest son, still unconscious, and sighed over and over again. It felt like the blows just kept coming. Today alone, he had witnessed too much tragedy and death.

When the old village chief’s son the current village chief was pulled from the rubble, he was barely alive, his body covered in wounds. The old village chief himself had fallen seriously ill.

Several elderly villagers hadn’t made it out in time and were crushed to death. Most of the people they had managed to dig out young or old were barely clinging to life.