When the wind had lessened, Mother Zhou went to the kitchen, braving the rain, to search for anything that might still be usable. The ruined household still had value in fragments; by carefully selecting and sorting, she believed they could still be used in the future.
Father Zhou, on the other hand, put on a straw rain cape and prepared to go to the fields.
He had just experienced a hailstorm, and he did not know how much damage the farmland had suffered. He had to go and take a look; otherwise, he would not be at ease.
The road was covered with unmelted hailstones, a pale white expanse. Half of the leaves on the trees had been knocked off, and many branches were broken. The once lush trees now looked desolate.
As soon as Father Zhou reached the fields, he saw large stretches of rice crops flattened by the hail.
His heart sank instantly to his throat. He hurried toward his own field, even losing one shoe in his rush, yet he did not notice at all.
But when he reached the edge of his field, even the last trace of hope in his heart was shattered. His own rice crop had also been destroyed.
The rice had already headed; it was now completely ruined.
A middle-aged man held a rice ear in his hands and cried bitterly. It had clearly been almost time for harvest—how could anyone not feel heartbroken and helpless?
At the same time, Father Zhou was not the only one who had come out in the storm to inspect the fields. The villagers who witnessed this scene all shed tears. The fields were the lifeblood of rural people; half a year of hard work had been wiped out. How could they not feel heartbroken?
If the fields could not produce grain, what would their families eat or drink? How would they survive?
Father Zhou did not know how he made his way back home. When Mother Zhou saw him, she was startled by his appearance; he looked as though his soul had been taken away.
The rain continued without any sign of stopping.
From the collapsed kitchen, they salvaged some bowls and chopsticks. Most were broken, but having something was better than nothing.
They also harvested all the vegetables in the garden. Some were submerged by accumulated water, while others were smashed by hail. In short, this natural disaster had caused heavy losses to the villagers.
That evening, the family ate some vegetable porridge in silence.
It rained continuously for two more days, and water entered the house. No matter how it was swept, it was useless. They quickly moved their grain onto tables and beds, as this was what would sustain them until the late rice harvest.
This grain was now equivalent to their very lives.
The water kept rising and soon reached Zhou Qingling’s ankles.
Beds and stools inside the house were covered with belongings, and everyone’s feet were soaked in water.
Father Zhou dared not delay any further. Since ancient times, water and fire had been merciless; if a flood occurred, the entire village could be submerged in an instant.
The whole family wrapped their grain and bedding, anything that could not get wet, in oilcloth or straw rain capes, preparing to carry them up the mountain.
Zhou Qingling also helped with the packing, while her mind recalled the plot of the second book.
That year indeed experienced a disaster that caused the spring crops to suffer heavy losses. It was a large-scale natural calamity, and grain prices rose several times over.
After that, the Zhou family’s life also became increasingly frugal. Moreover, at that time, the eldest sister-in-law Lin Guihua gave birth; when adults had no food, children had no milk either.
Whose ration should be reduced then? Father Zhou, as the head of the family, was the backbone and could not be deprived.
The eldest brother was the main labor force. The Fourth Son was the family’s cherished child. In the end, only the original owner suffered.
According to Mother Zhou’s words: “Girls have small appetites. They don’t need to eat that much. Skipping a meal is nothing serious.”
What nonsense. Truly, those who were not favored were always outsiders in the family.
The original owner, still young, had already developed stomach illness from hunger. She often could not sleep at night due to pain and could only drink water to fill her stomach, though it only made her hungrier.
This time, it was her turn. Steamed buns, meat buns, braised pork—she would eat whatever she wanted. Not a single bite would be shared. She would focus entirely on eating well.
Each person carried a large bundle on their back. Being drenched by rain was not the issue; what mattered was that the items in their arms could not get wet.
The entire family began heading up the mountain. The village paths had long turned into mud. Everyone waded through muddy water, encountering many villagers along the way.
In this region, rainfall was frequent and flooding common, so villagers were used to it. They were not panicked and instead moved in an orderly manner toward the mountain.
On the mountain, there was a naturally formed cave that could accommodate seven to eight hundred people.
By the time Zhou Qingling’s family arrived, many people were already inside.
Children’s cries, women’s scolding voices, and the sounds of chickens, ducks, pigs, cattle, and sheep mixed together with the sound of rain.
A domestic pig, frightened, ran wildly inside the cave while villagers worked together to catch it, leaving the scene in chaos.
Father Zhou chose an open space, placed their belongings down, and went to help.
Pigs were one of the few sources of income in rural households, so they were highly valued.
The villagers quickly managed to tie the pig up. The eldest sister-in-law, who was pregnant, stayed behind to guard the belongings, while the rest of the family returned to bring their eight chickens and two pigs from home.
These livestock were worth several taels of silver and could not be lost.
The family hurried back down the mountain. While Father Zhou and others were tying up the piglets, Zhou Qingling slipped into the room and quickly ate a steamed bun; she needed to fill her stomach first, as she did not know when the next meal would come.
The bun had a faint smell, and with the rain, its wheat fragrance was quickly masked.
When the family returned to the cave again, there were noticeably more people. Women had set up a curtain to change out of wet clothes.
Lin Guihua boiled ginger soup, and Zhou Qingling received a bowl, finally feeling much better in her stomach.
For dinner, Zhou Qingling received a thin bowl of vegetable porridge. Fortunately, she had eaten a steamed bun earlier; otherwise, this watery meal would not have been enough.
That night, everyone slept very uneasily. The cave was not only filled with people but also with chickens, ducks, pigs, donkeys, cattle, and sheep. Whenever one animal cried out, the others followed, creating a chaotic chorus.
The smell was also unpleasant. Fortunately, the cave entrance was large, allowing fresh air to flow in; otherwise, the odor would have been unbearable.
In the next two days, the wind and rain gradually weakened, though a light drizzle still fell like mist.
Plants washed clean by the rain appeared more vibrant, and droplets gathered on leaves before falling steadily.
This stood in sharp contrast to the previous days of violent winds that seemed capable of swallowing people whole. Now, the scenery at the foot of the mountain looked like a painted landscape.
The villagers understood that the disaster was coming to an end, and joy returned to their faces.
They began moving their belongings back home.
This disaster had destroyed several houses on the outskirts of the village, and some old, poorly maintained houses had collapsed, but most remained intact.
However, the crops in the fields suffered severe losses, and it was estimated that only about one-third of the usual harvest would remain.
People began cleaning up their damaged homes.
As Lin Guihua’s pregnancy grew more advanced, Zhou Qingling took over more household chores, since heavy work was not suitable for a pregnant woman.
She remembered that Lin Guihua’s pregnancy would result in a boy and a girl. In this era, having twin babies was considered an auspicious sign, symbolizing good fortune. The female protagonist truly lived up to her role. Her womb was indeed “blessed.”
Zhou Qingling’s small kitchen had collapsed, so she continued sleeping in Father Zhou and Mother Zhou’s room, which was inconvenient for everyone.
Although Father Zhou and Mother Zhou were about to become grandparents, they were still under forty in this era where marriage happened early.
During these days, Father Zhou worked tirelessly to make adobe bricks, hoping to rebuild the kitchen as soon as possible.
In August, the Zhou family finally welcomed new life. The pair of dragon-and-phoenix twins completely secured Lin Guihua’s position in the Zhou family. Father Zhou and Mother Zhou held their grandson and granddaughter with deep affection, and their attitude toward Lin Guihua improved significantly as well.
After childbirth, Lin Guihua used her remaining strength to urgently ask the matchmaker: “Is it a girl or a boy?”
Upon learning that there was a son among them, the weight in her heart finally lifted again, and she fainted in relief from exhaustion.