Re-embroidering life

He couldn't speak, and as soon as he opened his mouth, water poured into his mouth and nose. He gestured to the water lady to put the child in the bathtub. Fortunately, the child was not very old, only six or seven years old, and could barely sit down.

The first child sat in, and he pushed the tub to the far shore. After four rounds of this, he was almost out of strength. Just as he was about to signal the water lady to sit in the tub, she had already jumped into the water with a splash. Yes, there were a few children who grew up by the Ou River who couldn't swim. She seemed to see that he was running out of strength, so she grabbed his hand in the water, held it tightly, and led him to the shore.

The two finally climbed ashore, and the four children were squatting on the ground, hugging each other like four little quails. One of them had a high fever. Shen Yi carried her on his back, and Shui Minghua held the others. The group stumbled forward in the rain. After an unknown amount of time, the two took turns carrying and hugging the children, and finally saw the Shui family's yard.

Shui Xiucai and his wife were anxiously looking in the doorway. When they saw them, they immediately ran out to catch them. Finally freed from the continuous scouring of the heavy rain, everyone was gasping for air like a thirsty fish. Aunt Li boiled a pot of ginger soup, and everyone drank a bowl. Several elementary school students wanted to see a doctor, and the whole family was in a panic. Shen Yi felt that his strength had recovered a little, and he didn't want to cause trouble for them, so he quietly left.

"Mr. Shen," Shui Minghua called him from behind, quickly followed him, and handed him a bamboo hat, "Put it on, it will be more comfortable."

He took it.

"This is the second time you have saved the Shui family. The last time was my third brother. Thank you." Shui Minghua's face was pale from being soaked, and her hair was still dripping with water, which slid down her face to her neck.

He turned his eyes away, smiled and shook his head, put on his hat, and strode away.

In such a rain, the bamboo hat is actually of little use. The washing of the rain makes his mind particularly clear. He remembered what Shen Xin said to him at the dock before leaving Jiangxia: "Are you going to exile yourself like this for the rest of your life? Where are your martial arts and your ideals and ambitions? Xiaoyi, don't waste time any more."

Maybe it's time for him to leave.

***

The heavy rain had been going on for more than a month, and every day I could hear neighbors talking about it with worry. I heard that many dikes in Qianzhou had burst, causing countless casualties, and they were still defending the largest section of the dike. The Qianzhou prefect had already asked for help from the local guards and sent troops to assist in disaster relief.

Ji Zimo had been gone for so long, and no message came back. The whole family was in a gloomy mood. The old lady and Ji Zixuan blamed Shui Qinghua for not stopping Ji Zimo, and they were full of resentment towards her. The old lady cried bitterly.

Shui Qinghua was also worried, but now worrying was useless, she had to do something. The damaged silk had basically dried up, and Shui Qinghua asked Dou Jianzhi to take the embroiderers to the embroidery workshop to make the silk into the simplest clothes, without any embroidery, and pay them for their work.

These embroiderers had never done such simple work except for the initial apprenticeship period. They did not use any skills, but only the most basic flat stitch to sew the clothes. Cutting and sewing, over and over again, after a few days, the warehouse was piled up with a mountain of clothes.

After almost two months of rain, it finally subsided, the flood receded little by little, and the roads became passable. Jiangxia Prefecture also welcomed the first batch of refugees who came to escape with their elderly and children. Most of them came from Qianzhou, their homes and fields were all destroyed, and many relatives died.

Jiangxia organized people to settle the refugees outside the city, and wealthy families set up porridge stalls to provide relief. Shui Qinghua couldn't afford to provide porridge. Her goods had just gone down the drain, and she had to pay the embroiderers' wages, which was a heavy loss. However, she had hundreds of silk clothes, so she also set up a stall. While others provided porridge, she distributed clothes.

These refugees had survived a near-death experience and had traveled a long distance, so almost all of them were half-naked. They didn’t feel that way when they were among the refugees, because everyone was the same. But when they entered the city and saw others dressed neatly, their sense of shame returned. At this time, someone gave them a neat piece of clothing, made of silk. Even if it was faded and wrinkled, it was still a piece of silk clothing. It was not just clothing, but also a person’s dignity and respectability.

There were also literate refugees among them. They pointed at Shui Qinghua's shed and read out three words: Shui, Xiu, Fang.

Next to the Shuixiufang tent is the Chen family's medical tent. Shui Qinghua had sent a letter to Chen Jinlan long ago, asking Dr. Cai and his team to prepare for disaster relief and epidemic prevention. Today, Dr. Cai and his team were in charge of the free clinic and boiled a large pot of herbal medicine for epidemic prevention. Everyone could get a bowl.

Just as she was busy, Huixin ran over and called her: "Third Madam, come home quickly, Third Master is back!"

Shui Qinghua was stunned for a moment, put down the clothes in her hands, told Lanxin and Huixin to look after the shed, and then slowly walked home. Later, she realized that she was filled with joy mixed with fear, and she walked faster and faster, almost jogging.

When they got home, the joy of the couple's reunion was still on their faces, but they were shocked by Ji Zimo's appearance. In just one month, the handsome young man in his prime disappeared. His cheeks were sunken, and his skin became rough, dark, and cracked due to long-term exposure to wind and rain. His clothes were wrinkled and wrapped around his body hastily. There was a hole in the tip of his shoe, and his big toe was sticking out. A fishy and smelly smell emanated from his body.

These were all nothing. The biggest change was in his eyes. His originally clear and bright pupils were now bloodshot, his eyeballs were yellow, and he stared blankly at the ground.

"Husband." Shui Qinghua called him in the softest voice.

He shuddered and raised his eyes. "Qinghua," his voice trembled slightly, as if he was suppressing something.

He paused and took a deep breath. He had been holding back some words for too long, and he couldn't wait to get them out.

"So many people have died in front of me along the way, so many that I've become numb to it."

"On the way to Qianzhou, it rained so hard that we stayed overnight in a village. In the morning, just a few miles out of the village, the ground suddenly shook. I looked back and saw a landslide. A mountain collapsed and the whole village was buried underneath. An entire village!"

His body trembled slightly, and tears welled up in his eyes. "I still remember the old man who took us in. His hair and beard were all white. He made noodles for us in the morning and told us to be careful on the road. In the blink of an eye, he was gone."

He lowered his head deeply, not letting Shui Qinghua see his face. Shui Qinghua walked over, sat down next to him, and put her arms tightly around his waist.

"Along the way, there were floating corpses everywhere. I didn't know who they were, whose sons, whose mothers, whose husbands, whose wives. I saw with my own eyes a father holding his daughter and sitting on a tree branch, and he was swept away by the water. I couldn't save him. I could only protect the teacher first. I couldn't save anyone else."

His shoulders twitched violently and he buried his head in his knees, letting out a stifled sob.

The scene described by Ji Zimo made Shui Qinghua feel heartbroken.

"Later, we finally arrived in Qianzhou and met the prefect Deng Zhihao. At that time, dozens of dikes in Oujiang had already breached, and the garrison troops also came to rescue. They stood in the water hand in hand, trying to use a human wall to block the flood. A wave came and several officers and soldiers disappeared. It was really unbearable to defend, so Prefect Deng could only reluctantly order the breach of the Qingyuzui section of the dike to divert the flood. Hundreds of acres of fertile land and many people's homes were destroyed! There were also so many people who didn't have time to evacuate or were unwilling to evacuate!"