Chen Changhai and his father drove the carriage out of the village.
There was a vast expanse of water outside the village, and even the road could not be seen clearly. If we were not careful, the carriage would get stuck in the mud.
"Push quickly!" Chen Laoshuan held the reins tightly with one hand and turned back to instruct his son and daughter-in-law.
Chen Changhai and his elder sister-in-law Zhao stood on each side, pushing the cart forward with difficulty.
Han was at the back of the carriage, holding an umbrella in one hand and leaning on the carriage with the other, looking a little at a loss.
The water was flowing very fast and the waves had already reached her knees. She could not even stand steadily, let alone have the strength to push the cart.
Suddenly, the carriage tilted towards Chen Dasao's wife, Zhao, and the people in the carriage screamed in fear.
Chen Laoshuan shouted hurriedly, "Don't let the car get stuck in the pit! Sanlang! Han! Come over here and give it a push!"
Chen Changhai immediately ran to his sister-in-law and pushed the cart, trying to straighten it out of the pit.
But his second sister-in-law, Han, had not come yet, and he couldn't help getting anxious, so he turned his head to look over.
There was no trace of Han behind the car.
Looking around again, I saw an umbrella being washed farther and farther away by the current, and behind the umbrella, there was a vague figure struggling in the water.
"Dad! My second sister-in-law fell into the ditch!" There are occasionally shallow ditches on both sides of the dirt roads in the countryside. They are canals used for irrigation of rice fields.
Now the traces of the canal have been obscured by the rain, and if someone accidentally slips and falls into it, it would be impossible to get out.
In addition, the water flow was very fast at this time, and soon Han was washed farther and farther away.
Chen Laoshuan leaned over to take a look and said coldly, "Ignore her. Get the carriage up first. There are a family of old and young in the carriage."
If the carriage overturned, the whole family would be finished.
Chen Changhai glanced at his second sister-in-law who was getting farther and farther away, and then he stopped paying attention to her and pushed the carriage with all his strength.
Sister-in-law Zhao didn't dare to look in that direction at all. She and her brother-in-law worked together and finally pushed the carriage straight.
Looking back, there was no trace of it left, even the umbrella had disappeared.
At the other end of the canal is the Chuan River, which is now vast and connects the sky and the earth, forming a wide water area with this place.
Zhao was trembling a little, and didn't dare to look anymore. She just held the carriage shed tightly with her fingers.
Chen Changhai wanted to go back and look for her, but his father stopped him: "Changhai! You are out of your mind! The water is so deep, she has been washed away to who knows where, can you find her? Don't put our whole family in danger for her!"
It’s just right that Han died.
She fell into the ditch accidentally, and it has nothing to do with the Chen family.
In such a natural disaster, no one can predict life or death.
Even if Han's younger sister, Xiao Han, asks about it in the future, we will have something to say.
Cui in the carriage also advised anxiously: "Husband, the water is so high, don't take risks, think about me and Kang'er, and... and the baby in my belly."
Chen Changhai was silent for a moment, then looked back and sighed. "Dad, let's go."
Chen Laoshuan's brows relaxed when he heard this: "Okay, you and your sister-in-law should be careful and don't fall."
"Um."
The family walked in the water for several hours and finally arrived at the town.
The situation in the town was indeed much better than their village. Although the water level had risen a bit, it was not serious.
Many families had no water in their homes because their foundations were built high.
The Chen family's carriage arrived at Rongji Pharmacy first. Chen Laoshuan found his granddaughter Chen Zhao and told her: "Zhao'er, your mother was washed away by the flood. It was your grandfather who was useless and couldn't save her." As she said this, she cried twice.
Chen Zhao was stunned for a long time before he burst into tears: "My mother was really washed away by the water? How could she be washed away by the water when she was fine?"
Chen Laoshuan patted his granddaughter and choked up, saying, "There was a flood over there. The whole village was flooded and many houses collapsed. Your grandmother and I managed to escape. We were lucky. Fortunately, your brother was held by your grandmother. Otherwise, ah..."
Chen Zhao sobbed for a long time, turned around to look for his brother, and saw his grandmother Chen Fengshi sitting there holding Xu Bao, not knowing what she was thinking.
"Xu Bao." Chen Zhao rushed over and hugged Xu Bao, crying again, scaring Xu Bao so much that he started crying too.
"Don't cry, be careful not to scare Xu Bao."
Chen Laoshuan looked around and asked, "Where is your aunt?"
Chen Zhao sobbed and said, "She caught a cold yesterday and is lying in the backyard."
As the two grandparents were talking, Doctor Li came over, bowed to Chen Laoshuan, and asked, "Is your village really flooded?"
"Not only were the houses flooded, many houses in the village were collapsed." In fact, the collapsed houses were all adobe houses that had been in disrepair for many years.
"Oh, that's terrible. Is anyone hurt?" asked Doctor Li.
Chen Laoshuan looked sad: "Someone must have been injured. My second daughter-in-law was washed away by the flood. Woohoo... How should I explain this to Erlang?" He covered his face and choked with sobs.
Doctor Li was stunned for a moment, then said soothingly, "My condolences. Fortunately, the others are fine. If Brother Chen has nowhere to go, why don't you stay at my house temporarily? It won't be too late to go back after the rain subsides."
Chen Laoshuan wiped his eyes and bowed to Doctor Li: "Thank you, Brother Li, for your righteousness. I am very grateful."
So, Chen Laoshuan and his family temporarily settled down in the Li family.
The next day, the rain stopped and the accumulated rain water gradually receded.
After a few more days, the water level of the Sichuan River finally dropped to the safe line.
When the villagers of Xicun returned to the village one after another, they saw the ground was covered with mud and fish and shrimps were splashing in the puddles on the roadside.
Many old adobe houses have collapsed, but those made of blue bricks and tiles are still standing.
However, the upright house was filled with mud, and the walls and furniture were covered with various insects and leeches.
Those who moved to the south slope in advance were glad that they listened to Muramasa and moved their food and bedding to the south slope, otherwise they would have suffered a great loss.
Those who did not move were in a miserable situation. Not only were the things in their homes soaked by water, but even their rice and flour were soaked by water.
The worst thing was the fertile fields on both sides of the river. Not a single crop or rice seedling was left. All of them were gone.
Some people sat by the fields and cried loudly, while others were secretly delighted.
Those who were secretly delighted listened to Muramasa and did not plant the seeds.
Not planting seeds means that your own seeds will not be lost.
Dongcun Village Chief Jiang Sanlang said that the flood crisis has passed, and while there is still time, everyone should clean up the fields and plant seeds again.
During this flood, thanks to the timely warnings of Jiang Sanlang and Sun Lizheng, although some houses of the villagers living on both sides of the river collapsed, most of their properties were preserved and there were not many casualties.
As far as Xichen Village is concerned, only Chen Laoshuan's family is handling the funeral.
When Yingbao learned that Han died in the flood, she was still a little surprised.
Unexpectedly, in this life, Han died early.
She didn't feel happy or sad, she just felt a little strange and relieved at the same time.
The feeling of being strangled to death by Han in her previous life was still vivid in her mind, and she felt palpitations whenever she thought about it.
Now that Han is dead, I feel relieved.
"Mrs. Chun, you don't know that Mrs. Han was dragged out of the bushes. She was so fat that she couldn't even fit into the coffin. What a sin!"
Tang sat under the eaves sewing shoe soles, pulling out hemp thread while saying, "Her son is so pitiful. He's only a little over a year old. Tsk tsk, he lost his mother at such a young age. What will happen to him in the future?"
Chunniang said nothing. She glanced at Yingbao who was sitting by the window writing. Seeing that her daughter didn't react, she felt relieved.
I also heard Tang say, "After Han left, Chen Fengshi seemed to have become a different person. Her neighbors said that she actually ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist scriptures at home. She also said that she wanted to go to Simen to invite a Buddha back to worship."
Since the people from the West Village also moved to Nanpo, women and daughters-in-law would come to the East Village from time to time with baskets of needlework, so Tang heard a lot of gossip.
Chunniang smiled and said, "Maybe it's because my daughter-in-law died suddenly and I was frightened."
"Yes, I think so."