The torrential rain arrived with great ferocity, as if intent on swallowing all of creation. Peals of thunder roared across the sky, an utterly terrifying sound.
Kong Xingzhuo quickly stuffed the two little buns into the carriage and then jumped onto the shafts himself. He raised his whip and shouted, "Giddy up, giddy up..."
The fine horse whinnied and bolted forward.
"It's raining so hard!~" Little Xi Tian lifted the curtain and peered out the carriage window.
All she could see was a misty curtain of rain, making everything blurry...
It was strange, really. The Heyang County area had been suffering from a drought this year.
People would draw their swords for a single dipper of water.
Now, the heavens were unleashing torrential rain with all their might.
Judging by the look of it, this rain wouldn't cease for at least three to five days...
Xiao Jinheng, afraid Little Xi Tian would get wet, reached out and pulled the curtain down, drawing her closer to him.
"Little village child, are you afraid of thunder?" Xiao Jinheng asked.
He had been afraid of thunder since he was very young. Back then, his mother would coax him to sleep, and he felt fearless.
Little Xi Tian pouted, "What's there to be afraid of about thunder? Thunder doesn't bite people!~"
Hearing this, Xiao Jinheng curved his lips, "Then you are indeed very brave!"
Little Xi Tian thought to herself, could she afford not to be brave? When she was at the agricultural base, she had seen all sorts of wild beasts...
That base was built in the wilderness, with a vast grassland in front and an endless primeval forest behind.
She often witnessed black bears eating sheep and foxes stealing chickens.
By the time the carriage returned to Dashui Village, it was nearly dark.
The village roads became a muddy mess whenever it rained.
Villagers stood by their windows, watching the downpour outside, their hearts filled with a thousand emotions...
The heavens were truly playing a joke. Their village waterwheel had just been repaired, and now this incessant rain.
It was as if they had a feud with Dashui Village.
If it continued like this, they might even have to guard against floods.
This was truly a year of hardship and disaster!
"Sister is back, are you wet?" Yun Daman scooped up Little Xi Tian and carried her towards the inner room.
"No!~" Little Xi Tian shook her head, feeling a bit hungry.
There was food left for her at home: cornmeal steamed buns and pickled vegetable soup...
Little Xi Tian was not a picky eater. Despite her young age, she had a very good appetite.
Just as she was about to pick up her soup bowl, Granny Jin from next door arrived.
She held an oiled paper umbrella and carried a roasted chicken in her hand.
"Oh, sweetie must be hungry, here, break this roasted chicken apart and eat it!~"
Granny Jin, with a beaming smile, leaned towards Little Xi Tian, "Our little master gave this to you, eat it, hehe..."
Upon hearing this, Little Xi Tian put down the cornmeal steamed bun in her hand.
With roasted chicken available, she wouldn't eat this.
"Thank you, Granny Jin!~" Little Xi Tian said gratefully with a smile.
This roasted chicken weighed four to five catties. She couldn't possibly eat it all by herself.
She planned to save a chicken leg each for Xiao Bao and her mother.
The two drumsticks were for her elder brother and second brother...
She only needed the breast meat for herself.
Unexpectedly, Liu Cuirong walked over from the east wing.
Upon seeing the roasted chicken, her eyes widened, and she immediately came closer.
"Sweetie, eating chicken?" she smacked her lips twice.
"Mmm, eating chicken!~" Little Xi Tian had no intention of letting her have any.
But she underestimated Liu Cuirong's audacity.
"Sweetie, you know Xiao Bao has had diarrhea recently."
"He can't eat anything these past few days, throws up whatever he eats, it's so miserable!~"
"You are his aunt, so let Xiao Bao have the whole chicken, alright?"
Giving a chicken to her nephew, was that too much to ask?
Little Xi Tian: "..."
She had intended to give Xiao Bao a chicken leg, but her second sister-in-law was asking for a whole chicken.
Well, a lion's mouth indeed, how could you even ask for that?
"One chicken leg!~" Little Xi Tian said crisply.
No more than that.
Liu Cuirong nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, a chicken leg it is..."
Due to the drought, the Yun family's meals were generally not as plentiful as in previous years.
There was less game in the mountains, and the chickens, ducks, and geese they raised were limited.
If they slaughtered chickens and butchered sheep every day, they would have been begging for food long ago.
Fortunately, Little Xi Tian would occasionally bring out some cured meat or drive a sheep from her space.
When meat was scarce, the Yun family ate it themselves. When there was plenty, they would invite the villagers over to share the feast...
Outside, the wind raged, lightning flashed, and the torrential rain pounded the ground as if it were free, making a 'whooshing' sound.
Just as Little Xi Tian had guessed, the downpour lasted for a full four days before the sky gradually began to clear.
The villagers said that the water in the ditches and lakes had already overflowed.
It was pouring into Dashui Village, which was situated in a lower-lying area...
If it were just a drizzle, it would be fine, but the precipitation from a torrential rain was truly terrifying.
"I heard Zhao Dabao's land was flooded. Alas, all that corn is wasted. It was almost fully grown!"
Old Man Yun walked in from outside, took off his straw cape, and sighed.
Gu Shi heard this and quickly inquired about their own land, "Is our land alright?"
"It's fine for now, the water has been drained, but quite a bit of wheat was submerged..."
Old Man Yun sat down on the kang, lit his pipe, and began to puff on it.
Daman and Erman had stayed home these past few days. Hearing their father's words, they both felt it was a pity.
This situation was similar to the rat plague that year. The crops hadn't fully grown, and they couldn't harvest them early.
But if the heavens continued to rain torrentially, all the village crops would be ruined...
Sometimes, floods were even more terrifying than droughts.
They not only ruined the common people's crops but also endangered their homes and courtyards.
Once the floodwaters surged, they could sweep away a house in an instant.
As the Yun family was talking, they suddenly heard a muffled thud from the roof.
It made the roof beam creak, and a cloud of dust fell...
The Yun family froze for a couple of seconds, then they all rushed out to investigate.
They saw that on the mountainside, there seemed to be a lot of碎石 (suì shí - broken stones) and mud flowing down.
Although slow, at this pace, it would take three to four days to engulf the entire Yun family mansion...
Little Xi Tian, riding on her second brother's neck, narrowed her eyes, "It's a landslide!~"
Their house was built right on the mountainside. If the entire mountainside were to slide down, the consequences would be unimaginable.
This rain had come at such an inopportune time.
It was a waste of labor and money, and the Yun family's mansion couldn't even be saved.
Little Xi Tian glanced at the mansion next door.
The two houses were right next to each other. If their home was affected, the neighbor wouldn't escape either...
Liu Cuirong wailed and stomped her feet in anger, "Oh, what have we done to deserve this? Why is heaven targeting us!~"
She glared angrily at Little Xi Tian.
Wasn't her sister-in-law the lucky charm of the village?
Why wasn't she showing her divine power now?
The family, and even the entire village, doted on her to the heavens.
In the end, it was all for nothing...
Little Xi Tian didn't have time to ponder her second sister-in-law's thoughts.
She turned her head and glanced at the few houses at the foot of the mountain.
"They're in danger too!~" Little Xi Tian murmured.