Chapter 20 : Heavy Rain

The news was like a bolt from the blue. In this scorching heat, if it rained heavily for another week, wouldn’t the crops rot in the fields? All their hard work over the past few months would go to waste. What would they eat in the second half of the year? What would they report to the higher-ups?

Understanding the gravity of the situation, no one dared to delay any longer and all rushed towards the village entrance.

“We haven’t even eaten yet,” Huang Shumin said, looking at the food just served on the table with a pained expression. After an exhausting afternoon, her stomach was growling, and before she could even take a bite, they had to hurry to gather. It was as if they weren’t allowed to live.

“Divide the corn cakes. Each person take two. We’ll probably be busy until dark,” Ma Xiuzhi decided with authority, sharing the cakes with Wang Xiaomei.

Liang Qingqing stuffed the ointment into her pocket, stepped forward to help, and glanced at the beautiful sunset outside. Unable to help herself, she muttered, “It’s so hot, will it really rain heavily?”

As soon as she said that, a crucial plot point from the book suddenly popped into her mind.

Could this rain be the one that trapped the male and female leads in the commune’s elementary school for several days?

The timeline in the book was vague and didn’t specify the exact date, only mentioning that it was summer. Liang Qingqing had thought it would be later, but it was happening on the very first day she started working!

It turned out that it was indeed a heavy rain. The raindrops as big as beans fell quickly and fiercely for more than a week. There were lightning and thunder. Several large trees had fallen, countless small trees were swept away, and the water had risen above knee level. Houses in the lower-lying parts of the village were flooded, and most people had moved in with relatives.

The Daping Village residential area was close to the mountains and rivers, so if a landslide or similar natural disaster occurred, the consequences would be unimaginable. Fortunately, the worst-case scenarios did not happen.

The village organized a rescue team to help the stranded villagers, but in such conditions, everyone was too preoccupied with their own problems to worry about others.

The elementary school had only three teachers, two of whom were local villagers. After evacuating the students, they each returned home, leaving only Xu Qiao in the dormitory.

The school was situated on higher ground, so it was unlikely to be submerged by water. Thus, the village rescue team only checked briefly at the beginning and, seeing no major issues, did not return.

Unexpectedly, Xu Qiao was not drowned by the flood but nearly starved to death at the school.

Due to the heavy rain causing landslides, the only road to the school was blocked. She couldn’t leave, and no one could come in. The person responsible for delivering food to the school was busy with disaster relief and, assuming that Xu Qiao, being a girl, wouldn’t stay alone at the school in such a situation, did not deliver any supplies.

Fortunately, Su Jinchuan had been worried about her. After realizing Xu Qiao might be trapped, he risked the storm and danger to bring supplies and rescue her. However, the rain intensified, and he could not leave when he wanted to.

As a result, both of them were trapped and had to live under the same roof as a man and woman alone.

During those days of being trapped, Su Jinchuan repaired the leaks in the school, and Xu Qiao handed him tools. When Xu Qiao cooked and cleaned, Su Jinchuan assisted her. They worked together, read books, and chatted, their relationship progressing rapidly, and they spent a warm and cozy time together.

During this period, they also planned a detailed and scientific post-disaster reconstruction plan, which they submitted to the commune once they were free. Not only did they receive praise and rewards from the higher-ups, but their reputation in the village also improved significantly.

Xu Qiao received a salary increase, and Su Jinchuan was promoted to team leader of the village work team, earning two additional work points each day.

Two work points might not sound like much, but over the course of a year, it amounts to seven hundred thirty work points! That translates to a lot more food!

As expected of the protagonists, Liang Qingqing couldn’t help but feel envious just watching.

She realized she couldn’t just sit idly by while the male and female leads were caught up in their romance. Since she had foreknowledge of the village facing a severe flood and the resulting heavy losses, she couldn’t remain passive. She had to do something to help reduce the damage to the village and her family!

Moreover, if she wanted to successfully become a broadcaster once the station was established and maintain a stable job, she needed to improve her current bad reputation. If she didn’t change public perception, she would be criticized no matter how capable she was in the future.

With these thoughts in mind, Liang Qingqing’s heart raced with ideas, but before she could act on them, there was something important she needed to do.

She grabbed Ma Xiuzhi’s arm and spoke urgently, “Mom, we need to prepare some sandbags and waterproof cloth. What if the rain is so heavy that our house gets flooded? Our furniture and food will definitely get moldy and rotten. Also, we need to get some cold medicine.”

Huang Shumin, who overheard the conversation, thought Liang Qingqing was overreacting. Frowning, she said, “Is that really necessary? It’s not like we haven’t had heavy rain before. How could it flood the house?”

Liang Qingqing shook her head. “This time is different. When has the village ever had to rush to harvest because of rain? I think it’s better to prepare some things just in case. Besides, sandbags are free. We can just use fertilizer bags to get some fine sand from the river. The waterproof cloth and cold medicine will cost a bit, but it’s worth it.”

The kitchen fell silent for a moment. Everyone exchanged glances, agreeing that Liang Qingqing made a valid point but still feeling it might be overkill. With the urgent need to start harvesting soon and being exhausted, who had the spare time to deal with what might be unnecessary work?

Seeing this, Liang Qingqing was nearly frantic. If she had money, she would have already rushed to the supply store to buy everything. There was no need to waste time here. Luckily, just then, a supportive voice came from outside.

“I think my sister is right. Even if the rain isn’t as heavy as we imagine, spending money on waterproof cloth and cold medicine isn’t a waste. They’ll be useful eventually,” Liang Shuqiang said as he entered carrying Songzi. He continued, “After work tonight, I’ll borrow a flashlight from the village head and go to the river to collect some sand.”

Liang Shuqing, being the most educated in the family, had a persuasive influence. Ma Xiuzhi, who was still unsure, immediately nodded. “Alright, then. The place where we store firewood in the backyard also needs new waterproof cloth. I’ll go buy it. You all hurry to the village entrance to gather. I’ll catch up with you after I’ve bought the supplies.”

Seeing that things were settled, Liang Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but remind, “The roof and windows at home also need to be reinforced and repaired, right?”

“I’ll take care of that. I’ll find time to do it tomorrow,” Liang Xueyong said from the gate, urging, “Hurry up, the team leader has already started yelling.”

“Okay!”

Wang Xiaomei quickly had Liang Shuqiang put down the child, and reminded him carefully, “While we’re out, make sure you stay at home and don’t run around, okay?”

“Got it,” Songzi nodded quickly.

Seeing him covered in dirt and not knowing where he had been misbehaving, Liang Qingqing couldn’t resist putting on a stern expression and said, “Songzi, I really dislike talking to dirty children. If you get your clothes this dirty again, I won’t talk to you anymore.”

“Did you hear what your aunt said? After dinner, change into clean clothes by yourself.”

Wang Xiaomei smiled slightly, seeing Liang Qingqing take charge of her son. It was a stark contrast to before when Liang Qingqing had disapproved of Songzi and wished he would misbehave more so that no one would compete with her for the family’s favored position.

But recently, Liang Qingqing’s attitude had changed, not only was she kinder but also took the time to play with Songzi, teach him to read, and even to care about cleanliness today!

“I won’t do it again,” Songzi tugged at his dirty pants, trying to cover up the grime. He looked at Liang Qingqing with hopeful eyes and answered loudly and firmly. However, Liang Qingqing was already out the door with Ma Xiuzhi and didn’t notice Songzi’s expectant gaze.

After settling the child, the family hurried to the village entrance. By the time they arrived, a large crowd had already gathered, buzzing with noise. Some complained about having to work after finishing their tasks, while others were worried about the accuracy of the flood warning.

On the high platform, all the village leaders were gathered, with the team leader leading the charge, assigning tasks as quickly as possible.

In this critical moment, women were put to work like men, and men were worked like livestock. No one was allowed to slack off. The most important thing was to harvest as much as possible before the rain began, to minimize losses.

Liang Qingqing stood among the crowd, her gaze fixed intently on Xie Qingbao. After the meeting ended, she quickly seized the opportunity to approach him. “Team leader, I need to talk to you about something.”

“What is it? I’m very busy right now,” Xie Qingbao said, noticing Liang Qingqing. He thought to himself that seeing her was never a good sign. He still needed to go to the granary to count the grain and didn’t have time to deal with her.

Seeing this, Liang Qingqing quickly caught up to Xie Qingbao, speaking rapidly, “Does the village have sandbags and waterproof cloth prepared?”

“Yes!” Xie Qingbao replied, as if it were a given. Emergency supplies like these were usually stockpiled in the warehouse just in case.

“But the quantity isn’t much, right? Team leader, this rain is definitely going to be heavy. I think it’s necessary to prepare more. What if the granary gets flooded?” Liang Qingqing’s face was full of concern, making it clear that she was genuinely worried about the situation.

Xie Qingbao looked at Liang Qingqing in surprise, not expecting this young woman to be concerned about such matters. His tone softened considerably, “You don’t need to worry so much. We’ve had weeks of continuous rain in the summer before, and nothing happened. Don’t just stand here, go help out in the fields.”

“That’s not the same! I read a report in the newspaper about a neighboring province that had a similar situation. Several villages ignored the warnings and didn’t take preventive measures. Not only did their granaries get flooded, but the entire villages were also submerged. The villagers had no place to live, and the higher-ups were furious. Several village officials were even dismissed!”

Liang Qingqing knew that providing concrete examples had a powerful impact. So she decided to pull out her big argument. As expected, Xie Qingbao’s expression changed upon hearing this. He furrowed his brows and asked, “Which newspaper did you read that in? I read the newspapers every day and didn’t see anything about this.”

Of course you wouldn’t know; I just made it up.

“Team leader, don’t worry about where I saw it. What’s urgent now is to arrange for people to make sandbags, rush to the county to buy waterproof cloth and drainage pipes! It would be best if we could reinforce the roofs and windows of every household, and install some waterproof barriers or rain covers. If rain gets into the houses, it will be a real mess.”

“Also, on my way here, I saw that our village’s drainage ditches are blocked with mud. If we don’t clear them in time, the consequences of a heavy rain could be disastrous.”

Seeing Liang Qingqing’s serious demeanor, Xie Qingbao’s frown deepened. Just as he was about to respond, a voice cut in from the side: “Team leader, someone from the granary is to urged us.”

“Coming, coming,” Xie Qingbao replied, quickly walking past Liang Qingqing.

She opened her mouth but didn’t call him back. Even though there was a weather forecast from the county, who could have predicted such a heavy and prolonged downpour?

At this critical moment for harvesting, it was as if one person wished they could split into two. If she tried to convince the team leader to divert some manpower for preventive measures without solid evidence, it would seem absurd, even to her.

Never mind. She should go help out in the fields for now.