Bab 36: So Ruthless!
Editor: Atlas Studios
The firewood under the stove was seasoned. She added more to kindle flames so that it was easier to light a few piles on fire.
"Those with smaller children can follow me upstairs. Zheng'er and Rong'er still have some clothes they wore when they were younger. The children can wear them. It's better than having them freeze."
"Thank you! Thank you, Jiuyue!"
A few women who were carrying their children were so touched that they almost cried.
The thought, how much karma did we accumulate in our past life to meet An Jiuyue who is so considerate towards us?
"Go, go on up. Jiuyue, we can start a fire."
The husbands of the women with young children hurried their wives to change their children's clothes. Then, they began carrying out different tasks—some cooked porridge while others started bonfires.
"Liang Zi, go to the cave where we hid the rice and bring a few bags of rice over."
The village's Junior Officer watched as An Jiuyue brought some women upstairs to change the children's clothes, and instructed the man beside him.
"Alright, I'll go now."
When Liang Zi quickly responded.
"Chief, I'll go too. It'll be too heavy for one person to carry," another man overheard their exchange and volunteered.
They did not know when the floodwaters in the village would subside. They could not keep eating Jiuyue's food. It was not easy for a young woman to raise two children, and there was probably not much rice in her home.
They had to use their own.
It was difficult to differentiate which bags of grain in the cave belonged to which families. But they were going to use it anyway.
"Sigh, if I'd known, I'd have made a trip to the Chief's house yesterday." The Junior Officer watched them leave to retrieve the rice and sighed.
"Don't blame yourself. Who would have thought that Old Kang's wife would be so ruthless!" Aunt Ju comforted her husband.
If not for the fact that everyone was in a dangerous situation, she really wanted to teach that woman, who was not only blind but also selfish, a lesson!
This is such a huge matter and she did not even breathe a word about it to her husband!
"Many people in our village have been swept away. Let's think about what we should do next," she continued.
"Yeah."
The village's Junior Officer glanced at the shivering villagers and sighed again.
Every time a flood occurred, it would wipe out half the villagers. The number of people rescued was always limited.
However, it was much better this time. More than half of the people in their village were saved with An Jiuyue's help. It was a great fortune amidst this misfortune.
"Luckily, we have some rice in the cave and Jiuyue has pots here too. We don't have to go hungry. But if we run out of rice, then…"
That will be terrible. Will we be able to live off wild vegetables and tree bark?
Of course, the answer to that is 'no'. Only those who are starving will be willing to eat tree bark. It is not easy for someone to eat that.
"Let's not talk about this. Let's light up the fire first."
He said.
After a while, a few bonfires were lit, and the people seeking warmth by the fire finally felt a little alive.
No one bothered to separate the men and women anymore. Everyone removed their outerwear and hung them on the tree branches. They wanted to dry their innerwear by the fire.
There was not much outerwear anyway. As the flood occurred at night, many were asleep and did not have enough time to grab a coat. However, those who thought of bringing a coat managed to grab a few with them.
Bab 37: It Is Terrible!
Editor: Atlas Studios
Meanwhile, An Jiuyue went to the bamboo forest again.
There were so many people under the tree. Her family did not have enough bowls. She had no choice but to go to the bamboo forest to chop some bamboo and use bamboo tubes to serve porridge.
"Jiuyue, thank you for the trouble."
Aunt Ju took a bamboo tube from An Jiuyue and thanked her.
If it wasn't for this girl, we will still be stranded in the water. How will we even be able to sit by the fire and eat warm porridge?
"Aunt Ju, you're too polite."
An Jiuyue smiled at her, turned around, and scooped the leftover porridge into a large earthen jar. Then, she took a string of bamboo tubes and was ready to leave.
"Jiuyue, where are you going?" the Junior Officer asked when he saw that she was heading out so late at night.
However, he already knew where she was heading to. The people here got to eat warm porridge, but those in the cave did not. They might not even have any means to light a fire.
"Uncle, you and the others can rest here. I'll bring porridge to the Chief and the others. I'll also carry some firewood over and let them dry their clothes."
An Jiuyue turned around and replied before leaving.
"Sigh."
The Junior Officer sighed again as he watched An Jiuyue leave.
"What a good child. Why do the villagers not like her?"
He shook his head.
"Those people in the village have too much time on their hands. They can't prosper, so they wish that others live as badly as them. Why do you care about that anyway? Look, Jiuyue is raising two children, but they're living well."
Aunt Ju replied.
"Exactly."
Someone nearby overheard Aunt Ju's words and immediately agreed.
"Uncle, we should discuss building bigger treehouses on the mountain after the flood subsides. What do you think?" the man asked.
This man had always been a diligent and quick-witted person. He felt that it was not good for their village to be flooded so often.
"Build treehouses?"
The Junior Officer raised his eyebrows, but his eyes lit up.
"I think we can consider this. After the flood subsides, I'll discuss this matter with the Chief. We don't even have to build treehouses. We can just build a few straw huts on the mountain."
Their village experienced floods every three to five years. It was terrible! However, they could not possibly relocate the entire village.
If they could build a few straw huts on the mountain, they could organize the villagers to stay in the straw huts whenever it rained too heavily. They could head back down to the village once the skies cleared.
"I think Jiuyue's bamboo raft is also a good idea. Bamboo is available everywhere. Every family should make a bamboo raft and place it in the yard. We can get people and food onto the raft when a flood occurs. Even if we are swept away, at least we are on a raft."
Aunt Ju added.
Furthermore, the bamboo raft could be stored vertically when unused. It would not take up too much space.
Bamboo grew throughout the year. If the bamboo on their bamboo raft cracked, they could still be used to light a fire. They could make a new bamboo raft to replace it. Sure, it would take some effort, but so what?
Today's incident must never repeat itself. It was too scary.
…
While the people here started to come up with ideas, discussing how to prevent floods, the people in the cave were almost frozen in the cold.
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