“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Liu Guiying, who was nearby, came running out with a spatula still in her hand.
Shen Yihuan patted her racing heart and forced herself to calm down.
“It’s nothing. A mouse suddenly ran out and startled me.”
Liu Guiying let out a sigh of relief before immediately cursing the culprit.
“That damned mouse! Running around causing trouble!”
Then she comforted Shen Yihuan.
“Don’t be afraid. Later I’ll have Changfeng and Yunfan make a few more mousetraps and catch every last one of them.”
Jiang Lanxin, who had also rushed outside, secretly rolled her eyes.
It’s just a mouse.
Did she really have to scream like that?
I thought she’d fallen over again.
It was only a small incident.
No one paid it much attention.
That evening, Liu Guiying prepared polished white rice especially for Shen Yihuan, while everyone else still ate coarse brown rice.
Noticing the obvious dissatisfaction in Jiang Lanxin’s eyes, Shen Yihuan thought for a moment before speaking.
“From now on, I’ll eat the same food as everyone else.”
“You don’t have to make anything special for me.”
Liu Guiying hesitated.
“Will you be able to get used to it?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Shen Yihuan nodded.
At worst, I’ll just eat less here and have an extra meal inside my space.
Jiang Changfeng spoke up.
“Let her adapt little by little.”
He understood Shen Yihuan’s concerns.
She was now a member of the Jiang family.
If she continued receiving special treatment all the time, it was only natural that his younger siblings might begin to resent it.
Liu Guiying understood her son’s meaning immediately.
She nodded in agreement.
Privately, however, she decided that from now on she’d cook polished rice every few days so Shen Yihuan could adjust gradually.
Tonight there was a fish on the table, something rather uncommon.
“Yunfan caught it by the river today.”
“There are still several more alive in the water vat.”
“Yihuan, eat a little more.”
Mentioning it made Jiang Yunfan puff up proudly.
“The fish were really strange today.”
“The whole school was packed together, jumping all over the river.”
“Erhuzi and I caught loads of them.”
Shen Yihuan suddenly froze.
Her chopsticks stopped halfway to her mouth.
Schools of fish leaping wildly…
Chickens refusing to return to their coops…
Weren’t these…
Signs that an earthquake was about to happen?
What was going on?
How could this be?
Her heartbeat became increasingly frantic.
The expression on her face changed again and again.
“What’s wrong?”
Jiang Changfeng immediately noticed something was off.
Suppressing the storm raging inside her heart, Shen Yihuan slowly put down her bowl and chopsticks.
Taking a deep breath, she looked seriously at everyone seated around the table.
“If I told you…”
“These are all signs that the Earth Dragon is about to turn over…”
“Would you believe me?”
Everyone froze.
“That’s impossible.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Jiang Lanxin was the first to object.
Liu Guiying’s lips trembled.
“Yihuan…”
“Are you serious?”
Shen Yihuan nodded solemnly.
“I’m absolutely certain.”
Assuming everything those earthquake education programs taught in my previous life was correct…
Every sign pointed to the same conclusion.
An earthquake was coming.
Soon.
She didn’t dare gamble.
She would rather believe it and prepare…
Than dismiss it and regret it later.
Jiang Chunsheng fell into deep thought.
“There’s an old passage in the classics.”
“‘The rivers dry up, Mount Qi collapses, dogs howl in the marketplace, and cattle and horses cry through the night.'”
“Perhaps…”
“What you’re saying is correct.”
Both Jiang Changfeng and Jiang Yunfan had studied the classics.
They naturally remembered the same passage.
Hearing Jiang Chunsheng say so…
Their expressions changed dramatically.
No one had any appetite left.
“I’m going outside to take a look.”
Jiang Chunsheng immediately put down his chopsticks and strode out.
Jiang Changfeng and Jiang Yunfan quickly followed.
Only the three women remained at the table, staring at one another.
After a long silence, Shen Yihuan spoke.
“Let’s finish eating first.”
“Then we can start packing.”
“Even if we’re wrong, it’s better to be prepared.”
Liu Guiying’s thoughts were in complete chaos.
Yet hearing Shen Yihuan speak so calmly somehow gave her something to rely on.
“Right… yes.”
“Let’s eat first.”
“We shouldn’t waste food.”
Even Jiang Lanxin unusually refrained from arguing.
What Shen Yihuan had said was simply too frightening.
An earthquake?
How could something so terrifying happen?
Shen Yihuan quickly finished her meal before returning to the bedroom to pack.
There actually wasn’t much to gather.
Her six dowry chests were still stacked neatly in one corner.
Everything else belonged to the Jiang family.
Even so…
She couldn’t shake the panic in her heart.
She needed to be doing something.
Meanwhile, the three Jiang men walked around the village making observations.
Sure enough…
They discovered countless strange phenomena.
Chickens crowed nonstop.
Dogs barked wildly.
Rats scurried everywhere.
Everything matched the ancient descriptions almost exactly.
Jiang Chunsheng could no longer remain calm.
“I’m going to see the village chief.”
“Changfeng.”
“Yunfan.”
“You two go home and begin making preparations.”
“Yes, Father.”
Knowing the seriousness of the matter, Jiang Changfeng and Jiang Yunfan immediately ran home.
Jiang Chunsheng quickened his pace toward the home of Village Chief Jiang Defu.
Jiang Defu was his elder cousin.
Upon hearing Jiang Chunsheng’s explanation, the old man shot to his feet, eyes wide.
“Chunsheng!”
“This is no joking matter!”
Jiang Chunsheng’s expression remained grave.
“I know.”
“But listen carefully.”
“Can’t you hear the dogs barking?”
“The chickens refusing to settle?”
“The books all record these as omens before the Earth Dragon turns.”
Jiang Defu had spent his entire life farming.
He had noticed the unusual behavior long ago.
He simply hadn’t thought much of it.
Now, hearing Jiang Chunsheng connect everything together, anxiety finally gripped him.
“What should we do?”
Jiang Chunsheng answered immediately.
“Warn everyone in the village.”
“Whether they believe us or not…”
“At least we’ll have done our part.”
Jiang Defu nodded repeatedly.
“Good.”
“That’s exactly what we’ll do.”
Soon, the village chief ordered his eldest son to strike the bronze gong, summoning everyone in the village to gather for a meeting.
Meanwhile, Jiang Changfeng and Jiang Yunfan hurried back home.
Shen Yihuan was already packing clothes.
Although her thoughts were a tangled mess…
Her hands never stopped moving.
She had no idea where the earthquake’s epicenter would be.
Nor did she know how badly Xinghua Village would be affected.
The only safe choice was to move everyone into an open area away from buildings.
As soon as Jiang Changfeng entered their room, he saw Shen Yihuan methodically organizing clothing.
She worked quickly and efficiently.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of panic in her movements.
He immediately stepped forward to help.
No one knew when the earthquake would strike.
Nor how long they might have to remain outdoors afterward.
Naturally, all valuable belongings had to be taken.
But for an ordinary farming family…
Every porcelain bowl…
Every pair of chopsticks…
Was precious.
This couldn’t be left behind.
Neither could that.
Before long, the pile of packed belongings had grown into a small mountain.
It looked less like preparing for a disaster…
And more like moving house.
Meanwhile, the village chief’s courtyard had erupted into chaos.
After listening to Jiang Chunsheng cite passages from the classics and explain why Xinghua Village might experience an earthquake within today or tomorrow…
The villagers burst into laughter.
Without exception, they thought he was exaggerating to scare people.
The whole idea sounded utterly ridiculous.
“Our village hasn’t had an earthquake in decades.”
“Why would one suddenly happen now?”
“Exactly.”
“Chunsheng, you’re not trying to frighten us, are you?”
“That’s right.”
“Chickens crowing and dogs barking happen every day.”
“You scholars are just too timid.”
The crowd laughed even louder.
Most people dismissed the warning completely.
Jiang Chunsheng knew that words alone weren’t enough to convince them.
Even so…
Saving one life was worth more than building a seven-story pagoda.
Although not everyone here belonged to his own clan…
He still couldn’t bear the thought of standing by and doing nothing.
So he patiently continued trying to persuade them once more.