Chapter 14: Storm
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Just as Lin Xiujuan complained, muffled thunder could be heard from outside.
“Thunder?” Liu Liangcai said. He got off the bed and went to the door to look outside. “Mommy, get up quickly and keep the things in the courtyard into the house. It’s really going to rain.”
Hearing this, Lin Xiujuan hurriedly jumped off the bed and said in surprise. “It’s going to rain?”
The two of them hurried to collect the things in the courtyard and put them into their rooms. The rumbling thunder became more and more intense, accompanied by heavy rain and flashing thunder from time to time.
The storm came quickly and fiercely, accompanied by a strong wind. The sound of the thunderstorm was terrifying.
Zhou Xiaoli had already laid out the thatch then.
Fortunately, she had asked Zhou Yu to extend the bed a few days ago as she felt that the bed was too cramped for their family. Using wooden boards, he widened the wooden bed so that their family could sleep better if they squeezed and laid horizontally.
After everything was settled, everyone listened to the storm outside the house and laid on the bed.
Zhang Lan was super thankful. She kept sighing and rejoicing at the same time. “Fortunately, your sister is considerate and that’s why we had repaired the house first. Otherwise, we would have to spend the night in the rain tonight.”
Zhou Xiaoyu was already sitting on the bed. She held her little face and nodded her head in admiration. “Sis is the best!”
Zhou Xiaoli tapped the little fellow’s nose. “You’re the sweet one.”
Zhou Xiaoyu giggled for a while. “No, Second Brother thinks so too.”
Zhou Junjun nodded in agreement.
The few of them stayed in the same room. However, they did not feel uncomfortable even though it was cramped. On the contrary, with the sound of the rain outside the house, they felt at ease and warm.
Although it was common for families in the countryside to allow boys and girls to mingle, the traditional thinking remained that males and females should nonetheless maintain a prudent distance.
Wei Chiyu listened to the sound of the rain outside the house and felt a strange feeling in his heart, as if those raindrops were smashing into his heart instead.
With that, he suddenly began to worry again if his stay in the Zhou family would affect Zhou Xiaoli’s reputation.
In any case, he tossed and turned the entire night and could not sleep well.
However, as the other key person, Zhou Xiaoli slept soundly. As a carp with a modern mindset, she did not take the traditional thinking that males and females should keep a prudent distance, seriously at all.
It was just a few children sleeping together. What was the big deal?
The sudden storm lasted for almost the entire night and it only gradually stopped at dawn.
Zhou Xiaoli’s family was well-prepared, so they were not flustered on this stormy night.
The others in the village were different. That night, many people’s roofs were swept away by the wind. Their houses were filled with water and they did not sleep the entire night.
There were also many houses that had collapsed from the howling wind. Those who did not manage to escape in time were buried under the houses.
Due to Zhou Xiaoli’s help in strengthening the house, the members of the Liu family survived the storm and had a peaceful night.
Looking at the miserable state of the others, Liu Liangcai was filled with emotions. “Look, look, it’s all thanks to Little Li. I knew it. That girl is very lucky!”
“Let’s take a few eggs to the Zhou family to thank her later.”
This time, Lin Xiujuan didn’t say anything else.
She was a stingy person, but she was not the kind of person who did not know what was good for her. This time, it was indeed thanks to Zhou Xiaoli that they were not drenched.
She gritted her teeth and endured her heartache. She went into the house to get three eggs and sent them to the Zhou family to express her gratitude.
Zhou Xiaoli naturally refused to accept it.
“Little Li, keep it. It’s not easy for your aunt to give this to you,” Liu Liangcai joked around.
“You have no conscience. Do you think I’m stingy? If I hadn’t been diligent, thrifty and helped you to save up bit by bit, perhaps you would have stayed on the hill at the village entrance with no food and roof over your head.” Lin Xiujuan glared at Liu Liangcai and said angrily.
Liu Liangcai hurriedly tried to smooth things over with a smile. “How can that be? In the entire Boyu Village, who doesn’t know that I, Liu Liangcai, have a virtuous wife?”
After Liu Liangcai’s coaxing, Lin Xiujuan’s expression softened. “Hmph, that’s more like it.”
Then, she stuffed the eggs into Zhou Xiaoli’s hand. “I’ve given it to you, so just keep it. Don’t blame me for being too straightforward. It doesn’t sound good but take these eggs to nourish your mother. Let her recover quickly and support this family.”
“It’s not easy for a little girl like you to be working outside and what’s more, to get married in the future. Besides, it’s not right for you to stay in someone else’s house.”
As soon as she said that, Liu Liangcai pushed Lin Xiujuan. “What nonsense are you talking about! Little Li, don’t listen to your aunt’s nonsense. You can stay in this courtyard for as long as you want.”
Zhou Xiaoli naturally wouldn’t stay in Uncle Liu’s courtyard forever, so she immediately thanked him.
“Uncle Liu, we’re very grateful that you let our family stay here for the time being. How can we stay here forever?”
“Auntie is right. We have to have our own house. My mother has taken medicine recently and is recovering. When we raise some money, we’ll build a house immediately.”
Liu Liangcai nodded. “Your family has to build a house, that’s for sure. After all, your brother, Little Jun, will have to start a family in the future, but there’s no hurry. Building a house is a big deal. Take it slow, take it slow.”
With their family’s situation, it would not be easy to earn enough money to build a house.
Liu Liangcai chuckled and sent Lin Xiujuan home. He said a few more words to Zhou Xiaoli for her to not take Lin Xiujuan’s words to heart before rushing home himself.
Although his house had been reinforced, it also took a lot of damage after last night’s storm. Most of the thatch laid on the roof had been swept away by the wind.
He had to cut some thatch to repair the house. Almost every house in the village had to be repaired so if he was late, it was likely that he would not have any reeds to make thatch from.
—
Worried about Zhou Xiaoli’s reputation, Wei Chiyu got up early in the morning and left the Zhou family compound.
His residence had been destroyed by a big tree. While he was shocked by what could have happened to him, he also took the kindness shown by Zhou Xiaoli and her family to heart.
At this moment, he was with Zhou Yu to cut reeds to make thatch.
After the rainstorm, the weather for the next two days was very good. The land dried up, and it was a good time for them to enter the mountain soon.
She wanted to earn money quickly.
...
Zhou Xiaoli thought back to her previous life. When she was a carp, she had often heard Immortal Taiyi preach the Way and from that, she also learnt a lot about Feng Shui.
Therefore, Zhou Xiaoli decided to walk around the mountain to see if there was any suitable wood to make a compass.
After breakfast, Zhou Xiaoli took an ax, a basket on her back, and went out on the excuse that she would be digging for wild vegetables.
It had just rained, and there were many mushrooms growing in the mountain. As soon as the land dried, many villagers went up the mountain together to harvest mushrooms and wild vegetables.
Coincidentally, when Zhou Xiaoli went out, she bumped into Liu Yuanyuan and Zhou Guihua, who were also going up the mountain to pick mushrooms.