Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

Seeing Li Chunhua's disgusted expression, Zhao Fu became even angrier: "That's right, you bad woman, you didn't want me and Dad back then, why are you running back to follow us now? Go find your Master Qiao."

"Zhaofu, don't blame your mother! I had no choice." Li Chunhua felt a deep sense of powerlessness because Zhaofu was now rejecting her, and no matter how hard she tried, it was useless.

"You filthy woman, you're not my mother!" Zhao Fu glared at him.

"How dare you insult my mother!" Qiao Dun angrily shoved Zhao Fu, which enraged Zhao Fu, who immediately punched Qiao Dun: "I'll insult her, I'll insult her, so what!"

"Wow~Wow~"

Qiao Dun was no match for Zhao Fu. He was pinned down and given a sound beating by Zhao Fu, and started wailing. His face was already bruised and swollen from the beating, and the swelling hadn't gone down yet. Now he was beaten again.

Li Chunhua started trying to break up the fight again, and the scene immediately descended into chaos.

Xiuzhen, who was listening from the other side, was puzzled. She had clearly heard Zhaofeng say that it was her mother, so how did it become Madam Qiao?

However, not wanting to cause any trouble, she quickly covered her daughter's ears to prevent her from hearing the crying, otherwise the child would wake up and start crying again.

……

Along the winding mountain road, many disaster victims were struggling to walk, and Zhao Lian and her group were among them.

The journey had taken its toll on everyone's energy and spirit, and coupled with the lack of food and water, everyone was moving slowly, their brows furrowed, and their heads hanging low.

These days, everyone is just surviving on a sip of water, and they've managed to hold on for another ten days or so.

The afternoon sun was scorching hot on my skin, making me feel both painful and itchy.

It feels unusually hot and humid today; even the cicadas have stopped chirping.

Why is it so hot today?

Zhao Lian raised her sleeve to wipe her sweat. The sleeve was so dirty and smelled of sweat that it made her want to vomit.

After traveling continuously for some time, I was covered in sweat. I don't know how long it had been since I changed these clothes; they were sticky and extremely uncomfortable against my skin.

Suddenly, the sky began to darken. Zhao Lian looked up and saw that a cloud was drifting in from the horizon and blocking the sun.

"Phew~" Zhao Lian breathed a sigh of relief: "Great, it's finally not so hot anymore."

"Zhao Lian, why don't we sit down and rest for a while?" Sun Shangxiang said as she walked to Zhao Lian's side.

Zhao Lian looked up at the sky. A large patch of dark clouds had briefly covered the sun, and it was estimated that the sun wouldn't be out for a while.

"Auntie, let's continue our journey while the sun is still out! What do you think?"

“Eldest daughter-in-law, Zhaolian is right. Let’s continue on our way while it’s still cool.”

Their journey is now progressing very slowly; they can only travel a few dozen miles a day.

Yan Guihua looked at the sky and felt it looked like it was going to rain. It had been like this for the past few days, but the rain just wouldn't come.

"Well, alright then!" Seeing that her mother-in-law had spoken, Sun Shangxiang could only shut her mouth.

About half an hour later, the sky grew darker and darker, and the clouds seemed to be piling up, giving it the feel of dusk. Then the wind started to blow.

Seeing the weather, which looked like it was about to rain, Zhao Lian looked at Yan Guihua with excitement: "Grandmother, something seems off about the weather. Is it really going to rain?"

It looks like it's going to rain, but I don't know if it is.

Yan Guihua wasn't sure, after all, the drought had lasted for so long, and it hadn't rained for more than two years.

Looking at the scene before him, Yan Guihua feared it was all just a dream; the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

"Old man, do you think it's going to rain?"

Liu Laogen nodded heavily: "I think so!"

A gust of wind blew over again, taking away the heat.

"Great, it's about to rain."

Pedestrians on the street cheered loudly, and everyone stopped to open their arms and feel the cool breeze.

After the initial excitement, Zhao Lian calmed down and said, "I think we should find a place to take shelter from the rain first, otherwise we won't know where to go if it starts raining later."

"Yes, that's right!"

"Boom~"

Before Yan Guihua could finish speaking, a sudden clap of thunder sounded in the sky.

“霹雳～”

With a clap of thunder, a bolt of lightning ripped through the gloomy sky, the wind picked up, and a dampness could be felt.

Zhao Lian was pleasantly surprised to find that the mountains not far away were beginning to turn white. She immediately pointed in that direction with a happy expression: "Grandma, look, it's really starting to rain over there."

"It really rained! It really rained!" Yan Guihua exclaimed excitedly, clasping her hands together and chanting prayers with a devout expression.

The sky grew darker and the wind grew stronger, and pedestrians on the road began to scatter and seek shelter from the rain.

A sound of rain approached from afar, and before anyone could react, the rain began to fall heavily from the sky. The raindrops, the size of soybeans, hit the ground and were instantly absorbed, leaving behind a muddy, earthy smell.

"It's raining! It's finally going to rain!" Yan Guihua exclaimed excitedly, tilting her head back and opening her mouth to catch the rain.

"Mom, it's raining, let's hurry!" Liu Jinzhu urged, seeing Yan Guihua standing still.

Everyone was pulling their own child along, running forward as fast as they could.

"Come on, let's come this way." Sun Shangxiang called to everyone and led them to take shelter from the rain under two big trees.

"Boom~"

Thunder rumbled in the sky again, and a flash of lightning illuminated the horizon, sending shivers down everyone's spines.

"Auntie, this tree is too tall. We can't stand under it, or we'll attract lightning!" Zhao Lian shouted, afraid that Sun Shangxiang wouldn't hear her.

"Then what do you suggest we do? It's raining so hard, where are we supposed to go?" Sun Shangxiang was at a loss.

The wind grew stronger, and raindrops pounded on the branches before falling down with a pattering sound.

The raindrops temporarily subsided thanks to the cover of the leaves.

But Zhao Lian knew this wasn't a solution; it wouldn't prevent the rain from falling, as the rainwater on the leaves would soon run down. Besides, the tree was too tall, and standing under it could attract lightning.

“Let’s walk a few more steps forward, to those small trees.” Zhao Lian pointed to the trees about ten meters away.

These trees are nestled against a large rock, providing ideal shelter from the rain, and the location is also less likely to attract lightning.

"Okay, we listen to you."

They ran forward for another ten meters or so and arrived at the small tree that was a few meters tall.

There's a reason why Zhaolian made everyone run to these trees: besides being less likely to attract lightning, these trees can also be used to tie tarpaulins.

Because I had been carrying a two-meter-wide piece of tarpaulin with me, it finally came in handy.

Zhao Lian took out the oilcloth from her bundle and handed it to Liu Jinzhu: "Uncle, Second Uncle, you guys tie this oilcloth up."

Thanks to her foresight, Zhao Lian prepared an oilcloth in advance, considering the various situations she might encounter on the road. She bought the oilcloth for ten taels of silver.