Chapter 160

Fan Qian, Fan Damu, and a few others exchanged glances.

“Isn’t this just stating the obvious?” Fan Qian thought.

“Our houses are almost flooded. How can we not be anxious?”

“If we wait for the rain to stop, what if it doesn’t?”

“They weren’t in a rush before, could they afford not to be? Now suddenly it’s not their houses getting flooded!”

Li Wen stood nearby, strangely calm, showing no urgency at all.

Yesterday evening, when he tried to persuade them, they were nonchalant, saying it wasn’t their concern. Li Wen was agitated then.

But today, they were all in a hurry while he remained remarkably calm. It was truly peculiar.

“Elder Village Chief, if you’re unwilling to step up, I’ll go to each house in the village myself!” Fan Qian said angrily.

The Elder Village Chief agreed without hesitation, “Alright, go ahead.”

Li Wen stifled a laugh on the side.

Yesterday, Fan Qian had angered many with the trench-digging in the village. The men might have complained as soon as they got home.

By morning, the whole village knew. Now, if Fan Qian personally asked, managing to persuade even one person would be a victory!

Fan Qian knew deep down he didn’t have the ability to mobilize the villagers to work, otherwise he wouldn’t be desperately seeking the Elder Village Chief’s help.

One had to admit, though strict on ordinary days, the Elder Village Chief was indeed able to rally the villagers when it came to village matters and mobilizing them for work.

He didn’t move a step, swallowing his reluctance and anger, bowing his head and admitting with utmost sincerity, “Elder Village Chief, I know I was wrong yesterday. Here’s the deal: my family will send four people to build the dam, no, three.”

Leaving three or four to take turns to replace him.

Fan Damu took the opportunity to generously state, “Although my family’s thatched cottage collapsed in the rain, we’re the least capable of contributing physically, but we’re all one village. I can’t just watch you all busy.”

“So here’s the deal, count me in too. I’m willing to do my part for the people in the village!”

Li Wen snorted.

These two had come this far and were still calculating!

It seemed there was no rush yet.

He looked at his father, thinking they should continue to stall, even if it meant waiting until the houses were completely flooded!

The Elder Village Chief swallowed his tea, his aged eyes looking at both of them, and said in a deep voice, “The men in the village worked hard digging trenches yesterday. Today, they finally get to rest. I can’t let them continue working. Let’s wait until tomorrow to discuss this. You have many people willing to help. If you can’t wait, why don’t a few of you go and start building the blockade? Maybe with your effort, the flood won’t reach the houses in the village.”

His words were heavily tinged with sarcasm, leaving Fan Qian and Fan Damu speechless with bowed heads.

They glanced at each other with lowered heads. Fan Qian gritted his teeth, “My family will send out six people!”

This included him, Sun Jinhua, and all four sons, leaving just enough for his wife to prepare two meals.

Fan Damu knew that doing nothing now was not an option. They couldn’t fool the Elder Village Chief like they could with Li Wen.

He gritted his teeth, “My family will send out five people!”

This included him, his wife, and their sons.

Li Wen opened his mouth, surprised that after his father’s words, instead of leaving, both families could now contribute more workers!

Father was truly amazing.

“People should contribute, like sacks.”

“Contribute, contribute! Whatever’s at home, bring it out!”

“Count me in too!”

The old village chief finally set down his teacup and continued, “Our village has more than a thousand hemp sacks in total. If the rain continues and the floodwater backs up, you all know it will only become more dangerous.”

Fan Qian and Fan Damu didn’t understand, but upon hearing the chief mention danger, their hearts immediately tightened.

Nervously, Fan Qian asked, “What should we do? Are there still households that haven’t brought out their sacks?”

“We need to clear out the sacks used for storing grain too. At a time like this, it concerns our homes. We can’t afford to spare the sacks!” the chief emphasized.

“We should think about everyone’s welfare!” Li Wen scoffed.

At this moment, these two men finally remembered to consider everyone else.

“Yesterday, I sent the eldest to the Xiaozijia to inquire. But we agreed beforehand that we’re borrowing from their family. We’ll have to return it later. Do you agree?” the chief asked calmly and urgently.

Fan Qian pursed his lips, thinking that since they were all villagers, why should Fan Jin’s family be considered borrowing? And they had to return it too.

Fan Damu remained silent with his head down.

If they agreed, he would definitely have a part in returning it later.

If they didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to stay in the village anymore.

Li Wen became impatient and interjected, “The whole family of Fan Er is on it. Even if our entire village is flooded, his family will be fine! He doesn’t need to build embankments at all. Frankly, I’m grateful if he can and is willing to lend. That’s what everyone in the village thinks. Now it’s up to your two families. If you agree, we’ll go borrow. After borrowing, we’ll share the cost among everyone. If you don’t agree, we’ll wait longer, or wait until the flood comes back.”

Only then did Fan Qian and Fan Damu realize that the old village chief had already discussed this with the entire village beforehand! He had even considered the number of sacks and the future needs.

They secretly regretted their impatience in running over.

Seeing their expressions, Li Wen immediately realized he had misspoken!

The old village chief glanced at his eldest son but didn’t say much, only addressing the two in front of him, “Don’t think too much about it. When we start depends on when you make a decision. In other words, if you don’t come today, we’ll wait one day. If you don’t come for three days, we’ll wait three days.”

The eldest son couldn’t control his anger and couldn’t manage the situation, so he could only leave the village’s affairs to the younger son.

Without a good leader, the village had no backbone. When things happened, it was all chaos, and more disputes arose for no reason.

After hearing Fan Qian and Fan Damu’s answer, they both assured, “Build now! We are willing to return the sacks.”

The sooner they built the embankment, the more relieved they would be.

If they didn’t build it, the flood would enter their houses.

Although these days were difficult, they didn’t want to be even worse off.

The men who built the embankment soon gathered.

It was the group that dug trenches yesterday.

The soil that came out of the trenches yesterday could be put into sacks and put on the boards and wheelbarrows, which would be taken to the riverbank.

Dozens of men dug the trenches, filled the soil, and carried the sacks without stopping.

Rain mixed with sweat, and even wiping couldn’t keep up.

It was hard work, especially during heavy rain, and even adult men were tired and weak.

At dusk, the embankment at the entrance of Shanshui Village was built half a person high, with trees as thick as the thighs of adult men behind the sacks, fixed to prevent collapse.

In addition, a small team was set up in the village.

An old man familiar with the direction of the water led more than 20 strong young men with good water skills and physical strength down the river of Shanshui Village. When they encountered blockages, they used long bamboo poles to break up the water grass and trees to allow the floodwaters to flow downstream.