Zhu Ping'an learned a few days later that a strong typhoon passed by the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, bringing the continuous strong winds and rainstorms for several days. Fortunately, the typhoon bypassed Shenzhou and turned to the northeastern sea islands, and did not land on the land of Shenzhou. This was a blessing in disguise. However, even so, under the influence of this typhoon, the Jiangnan region continued to have heavy rains for several days, eventually turning the Jiangnan water town into a swamp. According to preliminary statistics, more than 130 counties suffered serious floods, among which the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas suffered the most.
Jingnan was not spared! Although Zhu Pingan mobilized the people to prepare in advance and repaired and renovated flood control projects, humans are still too insignificant in the face of this great flood. Especially after the floods came from Taiping County and other directions, several floods merged and Jingnan was ravaged by the floods.
However, the efforts of Zhu Ping'an and the people of Jingnan were not in vain. When Taiping County and other places were already ravaged by floods, Jingnan County's flood control and prevention projects lasted for more than a day before they were declared failed, giving Jingnan a day to react.
Zhu Ping'an used this day to transfer all the people in the county to the flood shelter area with higher terrain. Although Jingnan was inevitably hit by floods, no one in the county died in the floods. Only a few elderly people and children fell a few times during the transfer, but they were all fine.
"Oh my God, my house, my house collapsed..."
"Dad, our house collapsed, so the rice we just harvested was also soaked by water, right?"
A family of disaster victims in the flood shelter watched their mud house collapse in the distance, and the couple hugged each other and cried breathlessly. Although the house was just a mud house, it was almost everything to them. It was their biggest support to keep out the wind and rain and survive in this world. The house not only contained the food and money they didn't have time to save, but also their hope.
Now that the house has collapsed, it seems as if their lives have collapsed with it, and they can't help but feel overwhelmed with sadness.
There were many families like them in the flood shelter. At that time, most of the villages were made of mud houses. When the flood came, except for a few brick houses and lucky mud houses, most of them were soaked and damaged. They came to the flood shelter urgently, and basically brought with them gold and silver jewelry, bedding, and livestock such as cattle and sheep. As for the heavy objects such as food at home, they had no time to move them out.
Now that the flood has come, those who didn’t have time to move out of their homes have been soaked by the flood and are basically ruined.
Homes were destroyed, property was destroyed, and for a moment, the people in the flood shelters could not help but feel grief-stricken and burst into tears.
"Okay, stop crying. If a house collapses, we can rebuild it. If crops are soaked, we can plant them again. If property is destroyed, we can earn money again. Aren't we all fine? This is a blessing in disguise. As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no worries about lack of firewood. When this flood recedes, we will build a new home."
Li Zheng, a man with gray hair, was a lively and clear-headed man. Seeing everyone crying, he couldn't help but clapped his hands to encourage them.
"Village head, you make it sound easy, but rebuilding our home is not that easy. These are the only things we can bring with us. Everything else was destroyed by the flood. How can we rebuild our home?"
"That's right, Li Zheng. We haven't paid off the debt we owed for building the house. Now that the house is destroyed, how can we build a new one?"
The village head's words encouraged some people, but most people were still immersed in sadness and unable to extricate themselves.
"Do you have any ambition? Our ancestors fled here and started from scratch. What's wrong? At least you all have gold and silver. Besides, you are all young and strong. What's there to be afraid of? One brother can help three others, and many hands make light work. Let's help each other to cut trees, make bricks... ... build houses. Besides, I believe our county magistrate will also help us."
The village chief was puffing his beard and glaring.
"County Master?! Old man, please don't mention the County Master. At the beginning, the County Master mobilized us to repair the dike, saying it was for flood prevention and control, and we all went. You saw it. But in the end, the dike was repaired, and the flood still came, and we still suffered the disaster. We worked in vain, and we suffered a lot."
"That's right. When the county magistrate gave the order, my husband and children all rushed to repair the dam. No one could stop them. But in the end, the flood still came, and my house was also flooded and collapsed."
Some victims whose homes were destroyed could not accept the fact and blamed Zhu Ping'an.
"Assholes! What are you talking about? Let me tell you! The reason you can stand here alive is all thanks to the county lord. How dare you make up stories about the county lord? If the county lord hadn't mobilized everyone to repair the dam and blocked the flood for a day, we wouldn't have had a chance to escape here. If it weren't for the county lord, we would have been washed away by the flood and fed to turtles."
When the village head heard these remarks, he was so angry that veins on his forehead popped out, and he pointed at their noses and cursed back.
"You all pick up your bowls to eat, and put them down to curse your mothers! This bad habit must be cured! Old Zhang, Old Zhang, come here, come here, tell them about your village. Then you will all know how happy you are."
While the village head was teaching a lesson to those in the village who had criticized Zhu Ping'an, he waved to an old farmer and asked him to come over.
Old Zhang fled here from Taiping County. This flood refuge is not too far from Taiping County. Some disaster victims in Taiping County fled here after hearing that Jingnan County had set up a flood refuge. Old Zhang is one of them. Up to now, many disaster victims from Taiping County have heard the news and have fled here one after another. Almost every hour or so, there are about ten people fleeing here from Taiping County. This flood refuge has gradually accepted more than a hundred refugees from Taiping County.
"Village head, what do you want me to say?" Old Zhang was holding a baby who had just been weaned, looking at a loss.
"Just tell the truth," said the head of the village.
"Ahem, let me tell you. Young and old men in Jingnan County, my name is Zhang Dashan, and everyone calls me Old Zhang. I'm from Xiangyukou Village in Taiping County, about twenty miles ahead... Our village suffered a flood the night before yesterday, and the whole village was still asleep when the flood broke through the river bank in front of the village and poured into the village. It was so tragic, and everyone didn't even have time to cry for their parents before they were all swept away by the flood. Fortunately, I was outside helping my grandson to poop, and I was lucky enough to escape with my grandson. All my family members are gone..." As Old Zhang spoke, he couldn't help but shed tears.
"Grandpa, don't cry, Grandpa, don't cry..."
The little kid was still young and didn’t know why his grandfather was crying, so he raised his chubby little hands to wipe his grandfather’s tears.
"Don't cry, Old Zhang. You still have a grandson. The bloodline of your Zhang family is still there, and hope is still there."
The village head patted Old Zhang on the shoulder.
"Yes, yes, as long as my little grandson is still alive, my Zhang family will never be extinct." Old Zhang nodded vigorously.
"Did you hear that?! If our county magistrate hadn't led us to repair the dam and blocked the flood for more than a day, giving us precious time to evacuate, our village would have been swept away by the flood in the middle of the night!"
The village head took the opportunity to teach the villagers a lesson.
After listening to Old Zhang's personal experience, the villagers bowed their heads one by one, and they understood in their hearts. Indeed, although the repair of the dam failed to stop the flood, it gave them a chance to escape. Xiangyukou Village did not even have time to react because no one directed the flood prevention and control in advance.