Chapter 306: Chapter 306: The Rain Has Stopped
Qi Quanjin also found himself in a tough spot.
These families added up to a dozen or twenty people, and it was not feasible to house them all in one place.
Moreover, nobody knew when the torrential rain was going to stop. If it stopped quickly, setting up a temporary straw shelter might work.
But what if it lasted three to five days?
No family could accommodate outsiders for three to five days.
It would be inconvenient to live like that, and meals would also be a problem.
Looking around, the only place truly suitable for sheltering these people was his own home.
There’s no choice; after all, the Qi Family had the largest yard and the most houses.
And they were particularly sturdy, the best in the entire village.
However, Qi Quanjin did not voice this idea.
Such a big decision, he had to discuss it with his family.
Even if they ultimately had to accommodate them in their home, they needed to work out the arrangements for room allocation.
"Alright, everyone stop crying. I will go home and think about what to do."
Qi Quanjin finished speaking and left.
The villagers who lost their homes wanted to create a fuss, but with a glare from the Qi Brothers, they instantly fell silent.
Qi Quanjin went to check on the shelter arrangements of several other families, but the problems were similar.
The brothers braved the rain back to their home.
As soon as they entered the main room, warm ginger sugar water was served.
After they took off their rain gear and hats and drank the ginger sugar water, Qi Quanjin finally said to Qi Zheng, "Dad, those families’ houses are completely destroyed, and we can’t clean it up with all this rain."
"Are those people staying in neighbors’ homes able to settle down?"
Qi Zheng had already considered this issue while at home.
Qi Quanjin shook his head, "No family has that much space, and it’s problematic for men and women of all ages to be crowded together."
Qi Quanjin sat down, wiped his face with a cloth, and said, "That’s why I came back to ask if our home can spare a few rooms to let them settle temporarily, and when the rain stops, they can build a straw shelter as a makeshift arrangement."
"No way!"
Without hesitation, Qi Zheng immediately rejected the idea, "You said men and women of all ages are living together, and we have many women and children in our family; it’s not suitable."
"Dad, what do you suggest then?"
Qi Quanjin also considered this aspect, but as the village chief, he couldn’t just watch the village fall into chaos over this situation.
Just then, Qi Manman, who was following his grandmother around, happened to hear the conversation and said directly, "Grandpa, Dad, isn’t the school still vacant? The place is big, let them stay at the school first!"
As soon as she spoke, Qi Quanjin’s eyes lit up and he patted his leg, "Right! My daughter is really smart! Dad, what do you think of this arrangement?"
"That’s fine, they’re only temporarily staying there. Plus, there’s plenty of firewood near the school. When you bring people over, make sure to count the items and make it clear that if anything is lost or damaged, they have to compensate."
Qi Zheng also found his granddaughter’s suggestion to be a good arrangement.
His previous idea was to have the families temporarily live with those they were familiar with in neighboring homes.
Men could stay in one household, women in another, eliminating the issue of mixed-gender living.
But his granddaughter’s arrangement was even better.
The only issue was walking to the school in the rain.
When people are without homes, would this minor inconvenience even count?
"What about food? I saw that a lot of their grain got washed away."
Qi Quanjin brought up another issue.
Qi Zheng sneered, "What to do? Let them deal with it! Every household stores their grains in large vats. If any did get washed away, that’s their problem. Rescue what you can and if it can’t be saved, they’ll just have to manage."
"Alright!"
When Qi Quanjin saw the scattered grains, he had this same doubt.
Normally, grains were stored in vats to prevent rodent theft.
A wooden lid would be placed on the vat, and often a bowl or something similar would be placed on top.
Among these families, spilled grain only indicated a lack of usual care.
If they’re not careful with their own grain, why should outsiders be worried?
Without delay, Qi Quanjin quickly donned his rain gear again and, along with his brothers, ventured out.
The families who lost their homes were naturally unwilling to move to the mountain in the torrential rain, but refusing wasn’t an option.
If they didn’t move, they’d be drenched in rain outside; staying in others’ homes was not an option anymore.
Thus, a procession quickly formed in the village.
Everyone was clad in rain capes, walking toward the foot of the mountain through the pouring rain.
The Qi Brothers made sure to count everything at the school grounds in front of these families and then returned to their home in the rain.
The torrential rain lasted for five or six days.
The water level of the distant creek had long risen.
With less than two meters from the village path, the rain finally stopped, and the sky turned into an endless blue.
The sun hung high, and the warm sunshine seemed to disperse the gloom of the past few days.
Yet, no one relaxed; in fact, they became even busier.
Although everyone diligently swept the roofs and courtyard walls before the rain, the severe weather still caused many rooftops to start leaking.
Taking advantage of the clear weather now, repairs had to be made quickly; no one knew when the next rain would come or how long it would last.
Qi Manman followed her brothers around, running everywhere like little muddy monkeys.
Tasks were for the adults, and for Qi Family’s children, apart from eating, drinking, sleeping, and learning, their primary duty was to play.
The Qi Family’s houses were well-built, without any leaking issues.
But everyone stayed busy regardless.
Vegetable gardens were flooded and disarrayed, so the women hurried to salvage what could be saved and quickly replanted seeds where needed.
Who knew how much they’d yield in the autumn; any harvest was better than none.
As the village chief, Qi Quanjin was the busiest at this time.
He visited each household to check in on the villagers, even made a special trip to see those families at the school.
Though they seemed weary, at least they were alive.
Besides these duties, Qi Quanjin had to organize people to help those families erect straw homes.
The school could only serve as a temporary refuge, once the rain stopped, they couldn’t stay there any longer.
The two doctors were especially busy, hardly having a chance to sit.
The days of continuous rain caused many elderly and children to develop symptoms of chill and fever.
The whole village, if not every household, at least over eighty percent were steeped in the bitter aroma of medicinal concoctions.
The stock in the Qi Family’s pharmacy was depleting rapidly, causing the two doctors growing concern.
If this pace continued, they’d need to procure herbs from the city; yet, they were unsure of the city’s condition.
