I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

The village head decided to stay here for a few days.

Firstly, it was to give the villagers a rest, and secondly, it was to make it easier for everyone to collect rainwater.

After all, nobody knows when the rain will stop, so we'll collect as much water as we can.

As dusk fell, the people of Wangli Village dispersed into the town to find courtyards with open doors.

This house has been broken into by countless people before, and some of the gates have even been damaged.

Zhao Ningning's family finally found a house with a good gate, but unexpectedly, another family in the village also took a liking to it.

There are seven people in their family.

There were three able-bodied men, three adult women, and only one child.

Seeing that Zhao Ningning's family consisted of only four people, with only one able-bodied man among them, the other party stood forcefully at the door and refused to give way.

"There are only four of you, you can't live in such a big yard."

Old Li said, "We were the ones who first set our sights on this house."

"You're saying that just because you've taken a liking to it, it's yours?" Ning's father laughed in exasperation. He had already walked to the gate to test if it was alright when this old man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said that his family had taken a liking to the yard first.

"My dad saw it first!" the man in the family chimed in. "How many of you are there? Isn't there another yard over there?"

Ning's father didn't even need to look; the gate to the courtyard next door was broken, and he had simply walked past it without a second thought.

"Don't forget, my wife is the most murderer, she even got the village reward!" Father Ning pulled Mother Ning aside. "Putting everything else aside, no one else in our village is as capable as her!"

When Ning's father called her out, Ning's mother immediately pulled out a large knife from the carriage and waved it around in her hand. Her relaxed manner made it seem as if if these people dared to provoke her, the knife in her hand would be placed on their necks in the next second.

Old Li felt a chill on his neck, and his expression changed.

He almost forgot that Zhao Lao Er's family had a killer.

Even Zhao Lao Er is no pushover; he just wasn't ranked first, but he's still in the top ten!

Moreover, his family was the first to discover the thieves on several occasions, and the village head praised them many times, saying that if it weren't for them, Wang Li Village would have lost countless young men.

After thinking for a moment, Old Man Li snorted, "Forget it! I'm an old man, I won't argue with you. Big Head, let's go."

Li Datou glared at Ning's father resentfully and spat, "You gigolo."

Ning's father was so angry his mouth almost twisted out of shape.

What do you mean by "living off a woman"? He's not like he hasn't done any work.

After they left, Zhao Qi hurriedly helped lead the carriage into the courtyard and led the horses and mules to the eaves of the main room.

Ning's father went out in the rain again, repaired the latch behind the gate, and found a piece of wood to tightly block it.

Pull on the gate, but it won't budge.

He then jogged back to the main room.

The door to the main room was also broken, but there was no need to repair it. Ning's mother urged him to quickly take off his wet clothes, take a bath, and change into clean clothes.

There is a room on the west and east sides of the main hall. As usual, Zhao Qi has one room, Zhao Ningning went back to her space, and Ning's parents have one room.

Ning's mother had already placed the bathtub filled with hot water in the west room for Ning's father.

After the whole family took a shower and changed their clothes, Ning's father asked Zhao Ningning for a folding umbrella from the shoe cabinet by the front door. He held it in his hand, weighed it in his hand, opened it, and went to the yard to look at the horses.

Since they had stopped to rest, Ning's mother thought she should cook something.

It was still pouring rain outside, but the temperature had dropped. Although it was still a bit muggy, Ning's mother was worried that everyone would catch a cold after getting caught in the rain, so she cooked a pot of porridge in a small clay pot.

After eating the hand-pulled pancakes they had made earlier, beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads.

After eating and drinking their fill, Zhao Ningning and Zhao Qi kept watch, letting Ning's parents go to sleep first.

The two stayed up until late at night, and by the time Ning's parents got up to relieve them, it was still pouring rain outside.

When Zhao Ningning woke up and got up again, she saw that it was still pouring rain.

The yard is already starting to flood; when they were choosing a house, they specifically chose one on higher ground.

I didn't expect the rain to be so heavy; the drains in the yard couldn't keep up with the flow.

Zhao Ningning had thought there would be a transition period between the drought and the flood, but judging from the current situation, the flood would probably come in a day or two.

With one hand holding an umbrella and the other holding a tree branch, Ning's father poked at the drain in the yard. Once he opened it, the water in the yard poured out.

Ning's mother sat in the main room, mending clothes with an oilcloth.

"Mom, what's this?" Zhao Ningning asked curiously.

"I sewed raincoats for them." Ning's mother had just finished sewing, bit off the thread, and picked up the oilcloth to shake it.

Zhao Ningning then noticed that three pieces of oilcloth had been pieced together, with a hole cut in the middle and a hat sewn on.

Ning's mother even sewed a brim onto the hat.

Take it out and harness it to the mule; it fits perfectly.

Ning's mother came back and started sewing another piece.

In addition to the two raincoats she made for the livestock, she also made a tarpaulin cover for the firewood at the back of her wagon.

It involves splicing two pieces of tarpaulin together, fixing them to the roof of the vehicle, stretching the tarpaulin from the roof to the rear of the vehicle, and then tying the excess rope on both sides.

This way, rainwater can't get in.

When you need it, you can simply untie one side of the rope to get the firewood, which is very convenient.

The rain outside was so heavy that the mules and horses standing under the eaves were getting soaked by the rain and were pacing back and forth uncomfortably.

With their bodies and heads covered by oilcloth raincoats, the two animals gradually relaxed.

After they calmed down, Ning's father led them into the main room, which immediately became crowded.

While wiping their fur with a dry cloth, Ning's father said, "I'll go outside and take a look later. This rain is too heavy. If it keeps up like this, we can't stay in this town tonight."

Ning's mother nodded. She took out clean water and hay from her space. The two animals, whose fur had been dried, huddled together and quietly chewed the hay.

After lunch, Ning's father asked Zhao Ningning for a spare folding umbrella, put it in his bundle and tied it tightly. He then asked Ning's mother for an oil-paper umbrella, slipped on his straw sandals, and went out to check the water level.

Under the scorching sun, one could occasionally see a person in the town, but now, on the second day of the torrential rain, there was no one left in town.

It was convenient for Ning's father, so he carried the oil-paper umbrella all the way to the east side of the town. There was a river on the east side, which was dry when he came yesterday, but now it was filled with muddy rainwater.

The river was turbulent, with muddy yellow water rushing forward.

Ning's father didn't know the situation upstream and downstream, so he could only make a rough estimate: if the trend continued, there would definitely be a flood next night!

You need to go to a high place in advance.

Looking around, the nearest mountain is Waitou Mountain in Waitou Mountain Town, which is only an hour's walk from the town.

They need to find someone to watch the river; if the water overflows, they must get to the mountain within an hour.

Nobody wants to go out in the rain if they can stay indoors.

After thinking for a moment, Ning's father took his umbrella and went to the village head to tell him his thoughts.

The village head was shocked by the rising river level. He said, "I went to check this morning in the rain, and the water level was only halfway up the riverbed."

"In just half a day, the river has filled the riverbed."

He had planned to take another look before going to bed tonight, but wow...

He walked around the house twice with his hands behind his back. The village head sent two children to find someone to help him keep an eye on the river.

When they got home, Ning's father told him about the river.

After saying that, Ning's father said to the two children, "Your mother and I will be on night duty tonight. You two go to sleep."

Zhao Ningning: "That won't do! You guys have to catch the train. How about this, my mom will sleep for the first half of the night, and you can sleep for the second half."

That way, no matter when you want to leave, there will always be someone to catch your train.

Ning's mother nodded: "That's fine. I'll go to bed early after dinner and take over for you early tonight."

The family had agreed on the night watch schedule, and while Ning's mother was still able to cook in the house, she used a small stove to cook a few more pots of porridge.

That way, they can have hot sweet or savory porridge whenever they're on the road.

After dinner, Ning's mother and Zhao Ningning went to bed early.

Fearing she might fall into a deep sleep inside the room, Zhao Ningning slept outside.

In the middle of the night, she felt someone shaking her.

"Ningning, wake up."

When Ning's mother's voice rang in her ears, Zhao Ningning thought she was dreaming.

Thinking about what happened before she went to sleep, Zhao Ningning suddenly woke up completely.

She asked, "What's wrong?"

"We have to leave quickly." Ning's mother breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Ning Ning wake up. If her daughter hadn't woken up, she would have carried her directly to the car.

After hurriedly getting up, Ning's mother followed Zhao Ningning and put the bed, along with the blankets and pillows, into the space.

Once outside the main room, Ning's father had already harnessed the mule cart. The two animals were dressed in oilcloth raincoats and looked incredibly docile.

Leading the mule cart out, it was pitch black outside, and we couldn't see anything.

Zhao Ningning felt like she had gone blind.

The rain was too heavy, so Ning's mother took out a dry torch from her space and could only use the shelter of their carport to see the road ahead.

Further away, you can't see anything at all.

"What time is it now?" Zhao Ningning asked.

"It was almost a minute when I called you."

Ning's mother got up to keep watch but didn't call Zhao Ningning. Ning's father was still awake when he heard the sound of gongs being struck outside.

Accompanied by the sound of gongs, there was also Wang Xiufeng shouting that the flood was coming.

"It's so dark..." Zhao Ningning looked up at the sky. The sky was dim and dark red, and the whole world seemed to have mutated, strange and terrifying.

"If I had known, I would have gone straight to the mountain during the day. I didn't expect the flood to come so soon. It's no use regretting it now," Zhao Ningning sighed, and settled herself in the car, holding onto the door.

As you walk along the main road of the town, you can gradually see villagers from Wangli Village coming out.

Everyone walked silently and slowly, yet anxiously, through the rainy night.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

A deafening clap of thunder, like a bomb, swept past their ears and struck everyone's hearts.

The rain was heavier than before.

Many people had nothing to shield themselves from the rain, so they could only use their own straw mats to cover their heads. When the wind blew, the rain would immediately soak their faces.

Knowing that the water level had suddenly risen, no one dared to stop for a moment. They all became extremely alert and followed the people in front of them.

When Ning's father estimated the distance during the day, he overlooked one point: the road is clear during the day and the road is easy to walk on before it rains.

It's so dark now that you can't see the road clearly. The yellow mud on the road has been soaked and rotten by the water. When a car runs over it, the people behind it are covered in mud.

Both wheels were completely covered in heavy mud. With no other option, Ning's parents got out of the car and stood on either side, scraping off the mud that had been turned up with the back of a kitchen knife as they walked.

At least this way I can walk.

Walking in the dark for about half an hour, Ning's father felt a chill creep up from under his straw sandals.

It's standing water!

"Flooding!" Ning's father shouted, "The road is starting to flood!"

Upon hearing this, the people in the group began to panic. "Village head! What are we going to do! Can we hurry up and leave!"

"This is already the fastest we can go!" The village head wiped the rain off his face and struggled to hold up the torch to light the way.

Wang Xiufeng felt a pang of heartache seeing this, and snatched the torch from his hand, urging, "Father! Get in the carriage! My brother and I will take turns!"

Wang Xiufeng's younger brother also tried to persuade him, and several children joined in. The old man was being helped back to his car and sat down.

They walked ahead, one holding an umbrella and another carrying a torch.

Their own carriage followed behind.

Ning's father followed suit, holding an umbrella in one hand and a torch in the other, which at least helped him walk a little faster.

With the firelight illuminating him, he could see the water on the ground. In the short time it took to talk, the water had already reached above his ankles.

I don't know if I'll be able to get down the mountain safely in half an hour.

The further you walk, the higher the water level rises.

As they walked further in, Ning's father was wading through water, and the livestock were somewhat disobedient and reluctant to move forward.

Ning's mother got out of the car, and she and Ning's father each led one of the animals ahead. Zhao Qi got out, holding an umbrella and a torch to light the way.

Zhao Ningning stood beside the wheel, using a small stick to pry away the thick mud from the wheel.

There will be standing water here, making the mud much easier to pry off than before.

As she walked, Zhao Ningning was hit by a big wave, and instantly, half of her body was soaked.

When he turned around, the villagers behind him were in a panic.

Someone shouted, "Oh no! The flood is coming!"

"Flood! Run! Run!"

Some people even abandoned their torches and desperately waded forward through the water.

Zhao Ningning nervously gripped the small wooden stick, holding onto her car as she looked ahead.

It will take about ten more minutes; we'll be at the foot of the mountain in ten minutes.

Everyone was running forward with all their might. In the midst of the chaos, Zhao Qi walked to the back of the car and went with Zhao Ningning.

Holding his younger sister's hand, Zhao Qi felt a little more at ease.

The two men pulled on the extra rope that was tied to their cart with firewood, using the cart's momentum to move forward.

The water level is rising higher and higher.

It was almost up to the horse's belly.

Zhao Ningning's car was being dragged forward by mules.

In this situation, she and her brother should definitely not sit in the car.

Fortunately, they were almost at Waitou Mountain. Once they got up the mountain, they would be safe.

A large wave crashed over, and the people behind started running again.

Everyone was terrified of being drowned, so they rushed forward desperately.

In the chaos, Zhao Ningning and Zhao Qi were pushed out of the vicinity of their own carriage.

Zhao Qi comforted his sister, "It's okay, let's walk faster later, we'll be up the mountain soon, and it will be safe once we're up there."

Zhao Ningning nodded and tightened her grip on her brother's hand.

The two children staggered up the mountain with the crowd, and Zhao Ningning only felt at ease after stepping onto Waitou Mountain.

God knows how terrified she was that she and her brother would be swept away by the flood.

We're safe now.

Just as Zhao Ningning was relieved, an unusual rumbling sound rang in her ears.

—Was there lightning just now? Why was there thunder?

Zhao Ningning thought for a moment, there was no thunder just now! Then what was that sound?!

"Oh no! It's a mudslide!"