Quick Wear: Men Farming and Women Weaving

He Erniu was a little worried because the village was located in the center of the plain, and the river dam was not far away. This year's weather was wetter than in previous years, and it would definitely rain heavily. According to his prediction, it would rain heavily in the next one or two months, and it would not stop. The dam would definitely not be able to support the flood and would release the water.

Half a month later, the officials began to arrange for the villagers to return one after another, and the river embankment had been almost completed.

Those who came from the same village also started to go back together. Everyone was in a good mood and packed their luggage.

After walking for a whole day, they finally arrived at the village late at night. People who heard the noise cheered for the men's safe return. Every household lit oil lamps and began to make fire and cook for the men.

He Erniu hurried back home, waking up the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, who were both very happy to see him back. Mother He asked if the fourth child was safe, and then hurried back home first.

Xiangru poured him some water and wiped his sweat with her belly that was about to be six or seven months old. She felt sorry for him and he looked much darker. The two of them went to the kitchen together to prepare some noodles and fried some poached eggs. He Changning heard the noise and woke up in a daze, calling for his mother. He smelled a fragrance and was so greedy. He followed the fragrance to the kitchen. He saw his father who had disappeared for a long time was back, and he happily ran to him to hug him.

Holding her son in her arms, she happily weighed him, and knew that he had eaten a lot in the past few months. Grandma He, who doted on her grandson, fed him a lot of good things.

The family was eating noodles in the kitchen. Xiangru was pregnant and her stomach was pushed by the baby, so she could not eat more than a few bites and felt sick easily. So she started to feed her son.

After lying on the bed waiting for the child to fall asleep, Xiangru began to ask how things were going over there.

He did not hide it and directly said that the yamen had begun to cut corners, and even the river mouth dam was made of inferior stone and wood. The relief money distributed by the court was divided among them. He was afraid that there would be floods in the rainy season. Their village was on a plain and was prone to floods.

Xiangru was also very knowledgeable, having lived in a wealthy family for more than ten years and having learned to read and write, so she knew the tricks involved in the relief money.

He Erniu planned to move to a high mountain seven or eight kilometers away to avoid floods when the rainy season came. He often went hunting there and knew there was a hidden cave where he would live for a while and wait for the flood to recede.

I told my wife what I meant and planned to buy a donkey to pull things tomorrow so that they could move freely in the mountains and forests.

Xiangru also agreed and took out the fifty taels of silver and handed them to him, asking him to buy as he wished.

He put away the silver, blew out the lamp, and prepared to go to bed.

I slept until almost noon and woke up. It was getting late. I went to the kitchen and saw that my wife had already prepared the meal. I picked it up and started eating.

We rode in a ox cart all the way to the county and went directly to the west market, which was a special area for selling livestock.

There were all kinds of cattle, horses, sheep and pigs in the fence. He looked for a long time and finally saw a donkey that had just reached adulthood through the introduction of a trafficker. He bargained for a long time and finally got a ride on a donkey cart.

I drove the fishing cart to the grain store and bought 500 kilograms of rice and millet. I also bought thicker oilcloth to prevent water leakage. I went to the pharmacy to find the old doctor and bought some medicines for fever, cold, plague prevention, and mosquito repellent.

I pulled these things back home and didn't plan to pack them up anymore. I would take them all to the mountains later.

Put all the extra food or things that are not easy to preserve in the house into the space. Clean up the cave in the next few days, for fear that the wife will give birth at any time and the hygiene is not very clean.

He unloaded the donkey cart and rode the donkey alone towards the deep mountains and the old forest.

After running for almost half a day, I finally arrived at the cave. There were weeds everywhere inside, so I used a machete to remove the weeds on the ground. There were vines growing around the walls, so I pulled the vines out from the walls with force. I gathered the grass and trees together and prepared to burn them to remove the moisture inside.

The dry firewood collected outside was used to build a fire around the wall to drive out many insects and ants. The insect repellent powder bought from the pharmacy was sprinkled all around the product.

Many things were brought here from home one after another. Especially the daughter-in-law's dowry. More than 20 boxes, more than half of which were clothes and fabrics. Boxes made of camphor wood were more valuable. One box was full of gold, silver and treasures, as well as jewelry, bracelets, pendants, and jade pendants. There was also silver that was saved up. Most of it was saved by the daughter-in-law as a maid over the years, and some was given by others as dowry.

Most of the food was moved here, except for the furniture, which was too heavy to move. Before the rainy season came, I cut down a tree outside the cave and made a solid wooden bed for myself. I put it there to dry, and when my wife and son came, I could sleep here.

Now all that is left of the house is the kitchen furniture and some food to last until the rainy season.

In the past few months when I was not in the fields, Old Man He came to take care of them, and the crops are growing well.

The potatoes and sweet potatoes might be a little smaller after being dug out, and they can be harvested in another month. He doesn't plan to wait any longer because he feels that the humidity is getting heavier.

Many villagers saw him digging potatoes on the ridges of the fields and advised him to wait another month before digging. Even Old Man He heard that he was digging potatoes and rushed to the fields to stop him.

"Dad, if you listen to me, you should do this right away." He didn't plan to keep it secret for long.

“When I was working on the river during the corvée period, I saw that the materials used to build the embankments were all of poor quality and could not withstand a major flood.”

"I feel the humidity in the air is getting heavier these days. It may rain heavily. If there is a flood over there, we are on a plain and will be affected."

Old Man He and the villagers who heard him looked at him in disbelief. Those who went with him to build the river also thought that the wood and stones used to build the beams of the house were of very low quality and would break with just a little force.

Elderly people and experienced farmers who have experienced floods all feel that the humidity in the air is also high. They usually don't pay attention to it, but now they feel it's a bit serious.

The village chief asked the elders and clan elders and found that the humidity during the rainy season was different from the past few years. He quickly beat the gongs and drums to gather the villagers.

After discussion, they decided to observe for a few more days. After all, they had a large family to support. The villagers also hoped that the land would grow as long as possible. If there was no heavy rain and flooding, there would be no losses.

He Erniu told the village chief that he was going to take shelter in the mountains seven or eight kilometers away. If the village needed to avoid the flood, they could go there.

No matter how hesitant the villagers were, they turned around and went back home.