Zhu Pingan only learnt a few days later that a strong typhoon had passed by the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, bringing with it this gale force rainstorm for several days. Fortunately, the typhoon bypassed Shenzhou and turned towards the northeastern sea island and did not make landfall in Shenzhou, which was a blessing in misfortune. However, even so, affected by this typhoon, the Jiangnan region continued to rain for several days of heavy rainstorms, ultimately resulting in the Jiangnan water town into a swampy country, the preliminary statistics of a total of more than one hundred and thirty counties suffered serious flooding, of which the area of Jiangsu and Zhejiang were the most seriously affected.
Jingnan was not spared! Although Zhu Pingan mobilised the common people to make preparations in advance, mending and repairing the flood control and flood prevention projects, but in front of this great flood, human beings are still too small. Especially after the floodwaters came from Taiping County and other directions, several floodwaters merged together and Jingnan was ravaged by the floodwaters.
However, the efforts of Zhu Pingan and the people of Jingnan in general were not in vain, as when Tai Ping County and other places had already been ravaged by the floods, the flood control and flood prevention projects in Jingnan County held out for more than a day before declaring a loss, buying Jingnan one day of response time.
Zhu Pingan made use of this one day to move the people of the county to higher ground to avoid the flood. Although Jingnan also inevitably suffered from flooding, but no one in the county met their death in this flood, only a few old people and children fell a few times on the way to transfer, but their bodies were not seriously hurt.
“God ah, my house, my house smashed down ah ……”
“My child’s father, our house collapsed, then our family just harvested rice is not also soaked by the water?”
Flood shelter area of a family of victims watched in the distance his family’s mud house in the floodwaters were soaked and collapsed, at once husband and wife hugged in the crying on the breathless. Although the house is just a mud house, but for them, but almost all, is their wind and rain, the biggest dependence on this world, the house not only have they did not have time that food, finance, and their hope.
Now the house collapsed, as if their life also followed the collapse of the same, can not help but sadness into a river.
There are many other sad families like them in the floodplain. Most of the villages at this time of the year were mud houses, and when the flood came, most of them were soaked and damaged, except for a few brick houses and the lucky mud houses. When they urgently came to the flood shelter area to take refuge, they basically carried with them their gold, silver, linen, bedding, and livestock such as cows and goats, and it was too late for them to move out the food and other heavy things and whatnot from their homes.
Now the flood came, the family did not have time to move out, was soaked by the flood, basically all finished.
Homes were destroyed, belongings were destroyed, for a time, the people in the flood shelter area couldn’t help but feel sad and cry bitterly.
“Well, everyone don’t cry, the house fell down can be built again, food soaked can be planted again, property destroyed can be earned again, we are all people are not good, this is already in the misfortune of a million fortunate, stay in the green mountain is not worried about no wood to burn. When the flood waters recede, we will build a new home.”
The white-haired Rizheng is a living through, see the crowd crying sadly, can not help but clap his hands to encourage the crowd said.
“Rizheng, it’s easy for you to say, but it’s not that easy to build a home again. This is all we can bring out, the rest was destroyed by the flood, what can we take to build homes again.”
“That’s right, Rizheng. The debt we owed for building the house is still unpaid, and now that the house is destroyed, how can we build a new home.”
Rizheng’s words inspired some people, but most of them were still immersed in grief and could not extricate themselves.
“Do you guys still have any talent left, what happened to the old ancestors who fled to this place in the first place and started a family with nothing. At least you all still carry gold and silver. Besides, you are all young a bladder strength, what is good to be afraid of, a brother three help, all people pick up firewood flame high, we all help each other, cut down trees, playing billet ……The first thing I want to do is to build a house. Besides, I believe that our county zun will also help us.”
Rizheng blew his moustache and glared.
“County Dignitary? Rizheng your old man can not mention the county zun, when the county zun mobilised us to repair the dyke, said that it was flood prevention and flood control, we also went, which you old man is to see. But the result, the dike also repaired, the flood should come or come, we should suffer or suffer. The work we have done in vain, the sin is not less suffered.”
“That’s right, when the magistrate gave the order, my men and children rushed to repair the dyke, and couldn’t stop them. As a result, the flood came anyway, and my home was soaked and collapsed by the flood.”
Some of the victims whose homes were destroyed could not accept the facts and blamed Zhu Pingan.
“Assholes! What are you all babbling about one by one! I’ll tell you all! The only reason you’re all alive and standing here now is thanks to the blessings of County Honour, so what kind of face do you have to make up stories about County Honour’s faults! If it wasn’t for His Excellency’s mobilisation to repair the dykes and hold back the flood for a day, we wouldn’t have had the chance to escape here. If it wasn’t for County Honour, we would have been swept away by the flood and fed to the wangbaos.”
When Rizheng heard these remarks, he was so angry that the veins on his brain showed, pointing at their noses and cursing back.
“You all pick up your bowls to eat and put them down to curse! This stinking problem has to be cured! Old Zhangtou, Old Zhangtou, come here, come here, you tell them about your village. Each of you will know how happy you are.”
While lecturing the people in the village who were naysaying about Zhu Pingan, Rizheng beckoned to an old farmer, asking him to come over.
Old Zhangtou had fled from Tai Ping County, this flood shelter was not too far away from Tai Ping County, some of the flood victims in Tai Ping County had fled here after hearing that Jingnan County had set up a flood shelter. Old Zhangtou was one of them. Up to now, many other victims from Tai Ping County have heard about this and are fleeing here one after another, almost every hour or so, there are about ten people fleeing from the direction of Tai Ping County to this area. This flood shelter has taken in more than a hundred refugees from Tai Ping County one after another.
“Rizheng, what do you want me to say?”Old Zhangtou was holding a little doll that hadn’t been weaned for long, his face at a loss for words.
“Just tell me the truth.”Rizheng said.
“Ahem, then I’ll say it. For the young and old of Jingnan County, I’m Zhang Dashan, everyone calls me Old Zhangtou. I am from Xiangyukou Village in Taiping County, just twenty or so miles ahead ……Our village was flooded the night before last, and the whole village was still asleep when the floodwaters broke the riverbank in front of the village and poured into the village. It was so bad that everyone was swept away by the flood without even having a chance to cry out for their parents. Luckily, I was outside to relieve my little grandchildren stink, so I was lucky to take my little grandchildren escaped with my life. The family is all gone ……”Old Zhangtou couldn’t help but shed tears as he spoke.
“Grandpa don’t cry, grandpa don’t cry ……”
The little doll was still small and didn’t know why grandpa was crying, raising his meaty little hand to wipe his tears.
“Old Zhangtou don’t cry, you still have grandchildren, your old Zhang family’s bloodline is still alive, hope is still alive.”
Rizheng patted Old Zhangtou’s shoulder.
“Well, well, as long as my young grandson is still around, my Old Zhang Family will never have a descendant.”Old Zhang Tou nodded vigorously.
“Did you guys hear that! If it wasn’t for our County Zun leading us to repair the dykes and holding back the flood for more than a day, winning us precious time to move, our village wouldn’t have escaped being swept away by the flood in the middle of the night!”
Rizheng took the opportunity to lecture the villagers.
The villagers lowered their heads one by one after hearing Old Zhang Tou’s presentiment, and they all figured it out in their hearts. Indeed, although repairing the dyke failed to stop the flood, it won them a chance to escape. Xiangyu Kou Village was because there was no one to direct the advance flood prevention and flood control, which was why they didn’t even have the time to react.
