Because not only has the weather cleared up, but as the rain has continued to decrease over the past few days, the floods have also slowly receded.

So on June 28th, after breakfast, Chen Ling and Wang Susu began to pack their things and prepare to return to the village.

But when I packed my things, I realized that there were too many eggs and duck eggs. It was extremely inconvenient to carry them on the road and they would break easily due to bumps and bumps.

There was no other way, so Chen Ling had no choice but to carry two baskets of eggs and duck eggs on a pole and go out to sell them. He said he sold them, but in fact he just kept them in the cave.

After the flood, prices will skyrocket.

When he comes to the city next time, he plans to put eggs, duck eggs, vegetables, and watermelons together to sell them. The price will definitely be higher than now.

The sky has just cleared up, but there is still water everywhere on the road outside.

Chen Ling took advantage of his time to go out and put the money from selling fish into his bankbook. He also went to the small courtyard in the south of the city and tidied up briefly. Then he called Wang Susu and said goodbye to Liang Hongyu, then took the cow leash.

Pick up the dog and drive home loaded with things.

Along the way, there were many people like them returning to the village from the county town, and there were people from various villages and towns.

Gold silver nest nest as their own kennel.

I've been hiding in the county for half a month, and I've long been homesick.

Not to mention that I still don’t know what’s going on at home. How can I feel at ease if I don’t go back and take a look?

"Uncle Fugui, Aunt Susu, we are here."

Walking outside the city, as soon as they went up the mountain road, they saw Liu Nier standing on a big rock, shouting and waving to the two of them.

Next to her was Da Nier, who was carrying a bag and a basket, but Wang Lixian and his wife were not seen.

"Where are you and your mother?"

Chen Ling and Wang Susu asked after walking over.

"They went to call my fifth sister."

"The fifth sister was about to take the exam and it rained heavily. She couldn't come back from the city. My mother and I were worried and made phone calls for several days."

Liu Nier sniffed and said, but he was still young and could not express himself clearly.

It was Da Nier who was gesticulating on the side and adding something.

It means that it has rained too much this year, and I don’t know if Wu Nier has taken the college entrance examination, but she must be trapped in the city now, unable to go home, and I don’t know what to do.

Worried, Wang Lixian and Liu Yuzhi called Wu Nier's school. They called Wu Nier's school several times but could not get through. They were only connected yesterday, but the signal was not good and they could not talk to Wu Nier. They still have to call Wu Nier's school today.

Call me again and ask.

If that still doesn't work, Wang Lixian may have to take a trip to the city.

"Don't worry, I can definitely pass the exam in the city."

"Even if there is a flood, trains cannot be used and passenger transportation has been stopped. If you want to come back, you will definitely have to wait for a while. This is a normal situation, so don't worry too much."

Chen Ling comforted.

Before 2000, the college entrance examination was usually held in June of the lunar calendar. The Gregorian calendar was fixed on the three days of July 7, July 8, and July 9. Later, because there was more rainfall in this season, it started to rain in many places.

It took ten days and a half to get there, which greatly affected the exam. So in 2003, the date of the college entrance examination was moved forward a month, to June 7, June 8, and June 9.

This year's college entrance examination was held on the 10th, 11th and 12th day of the sixth lunar month. As a result, there were heavy rains and floods. The rain began to weaken after the 10th day of the lunar month. Calculating this, this year's local college entrance examination will probably have to go to

Later it was postponed.

Da Nier had never traveled far, so she didn't know whether what Chen Ling said was true or not. She was no less worried about her sister than Wang Lixian and his wife, and she still looked worried.

After waiting for about twenty minutes, Wang Lixian and Liu Yuzhi came over after calling and said that Wu Nier was fine, the exam had been postponed, and she was staying in the school dormitory. Da Nier was relieved.

Then they continued on their way together. They were all from the same village and from nearby villages. It was a lively journey. It took more than half a month for the sunny weather to come, and everyone was in a good mood.

But after crossing two mountain ridges and seeing the familiar yet unfamiliar reservoir and village, everyone fell silent and fell silent.

After the flood overflowed the embankments, the farmland was destroyed, the houses were damaged, the food was no longer available, and the poultry and livestock were dead and lost...

Although no one died in this flood, the damage was so great that for many villagers, it was as good as killing them.

The villagers all felt as if they were mourning for their heirs. Even the mother-in-law stopped shouting and screamed, and just kept sighing and going home to clean up the mess after the flood.

There is no other way, life has to go on and people have to look forward.

Near noon, people from the county and township came to see the damage. In addition, the reservoir dam needed to be reinforced. High water levels that lasted for several days would seriously erode the reservoir dam.

The reinforcement work of the dam could not be completed in a day or two. In contrast, the damage was quickly calculated: more than 200 houses collapsed, more than 1,000 acres of farmland were submerged, almost the entire army was wiped out, and the total property losses were roughly

It is estimated to be more than 300,000 yuan.

Nearly half of the families have only meager savings left and can barely survive.

Many people's farmland was flooded, their houses were washed away, the chickens, ducks, and pigs in the pens either died or ran away, and the newly harvested wheat was soaked in floods for half a month and was no longer available.

In this regard, the county said that there would be assistance and various subsidies, help in building houses, and seed distribution. In addition, there was no need to pay for this year's tax and public grain. The leaders gave a big guarantee and left, leaving some people in the township.

I helped clean up dead fish and shrimps in the village, and then sprinkled lime everywhere.

After spreading the lime, they went to help the elderly people build straw huts, otherwise they would have no place to live at night.

These people worked in the village for most of the day before leaving one after another, leaving the villagers to continue their busy work.

Compared with the losses suffered by the villagers, Chen Ling's family is doing well. Except for the loss of several old houses in the backyard, which are in danger of being soaked by water, people can still live in the front yard.

First, it is far from the reservoir, so it did not suffer much impact, but was soaked by water. Second, the house in the front yard was a new house built just before the wedding, so it is much better than the old house.

Because he had prepared in advance, other losses at home were not big. In the countryside, the annual grain sales cost a lot of money. He did not grow any grain this year, and took away all the chickens, ducks and other things he could.

Even before leaving, if there were things that he didn't have time to pack away, he used bricks to raise the mattress high and put flour and other things on it, and then covered it with urea bags and plastic sheets. In this way, in addition to a little bit of flour,

Even though it was tidal, it was not soaked by the flood. It can still be eaten when dried.

The bedding, clothes, etc. were packed into packages and placed on top of the wardrobe. They were protected from blisters and were basically unaffected.

Therefore, other families had to live in thatched huts outside the village. Chen Ling and his wife did not need to live in their house. However, on the first night they returned home, he and Wang Susu did not sleep well, including the family dogs and cows.

also the same.

After the flood receded, a large number of mosquitoes breed, disturbing people tossing and turning at night and unable to sleep. After a while, their bodies are covered in pimples and itching makes them crazy.

Chen Ling was so angry that he killed nearly a hundred mosquitoes one after another, but to no avail.

The mosquito net is broken and cannot be used, and the few match ropes left at home from last year have long been soaked with water. The weather is sweltering and there is no way to cover myself with a quilt, which is very annoying.

So Chen Ling, who had been harassed by mosquitoes all night, woke up early, opened his eyes, ran up the mountain to cut wormwood, and prepared to rub some match ropes without even cooking.

Match ropes are very common in mountain villages. They can repel mosquitoes and start fires, but they are mostly used to repel mosquitoes in summer.

The mugwort used to rub the match rope must be mugwort for the best effect, because mugwort has a special fragrance. When you twist it into a rope and dry it in the sun, the smoke that comes out after lighting will stimulate the smell of mugwort, and the mosquitoes will

It was smoked away and could not be approached.

In addition, mugwort is more resistant to burning than other mugworts. A match rope can burn it for two nights. It saves money and is harmless to the human body. It is much easier to use than mosquito coils. This thing has been used since the Song Dynasty and is still used today.

It has a history of use for thousands of years.

Throughout the morning, Chen Ling came back from cutting mugwort and sat in the yard rubbing match ropes, while Wang Susu sewed a mosquito net next to him. The mosquito net was hung on the bed to prevent mosquitoes from getting in, and the match ropes were used to eat or enjoy the cool air after eating in the evening.

You can also light one and put it in the house to get rid of other bugs.

In addition, it is also used for the family's dogs and cows, otherwise they will be bitten by mosquitoes at night and Chen Ling and Wang Susu will not sleep well.

After rubbing a dozen match ropes, Chen Ling picked them up with a stick and put them on the roof. In this weather, the sun is very hot, so he can dry them in an afternoon and use them in the evening, which is very worry-free.

After finishing this, he also cleaned up the front yard thoroughly. Chen Ling planned to clean up the debris in the backyard in the afternoon and demolished the old house in the past two days. Most families in the village have to rebuild their houses these days, so he also

I want to take this opportunity to open up the front and back yards of my house and renovate them.

However, during lunch, Chen Ling temporarily put away this thought after hearing Wang Susu talk about Wang Jusheng's family.

The eldest brother, Wang Jusheng, is not lovable. He and the second child, Wang Juxiang, are both relatively close to the reservoir. However, the second child's house collapsed and his parents took care of it. However, he, the eldest brother, was ignored by no one. The couple had two children and had to take care of them.

It is really difficult to rebuild a house.

"This won't work. Brother Jusheng is too embarrassed to call us. We have to go. We have to help no matter what."

When Chen Ling heard this, he couldn't eat any more, so he put down his chopsticks and got up and walked out.

Now everyone in the village doesn't know that Chen Ling, Wang Lixian, and Wang Jusheng are close friends. If this guy doesn't even show his face, he will stop interacting with them in the future.

"Even if you are helping, you have to finish your meal first."

Wang Susu grabbed him and said, "Don't worry, I'll go with you after dinner."

Chen Ling thought the same thing. Among other things, Wang Jusheng's family now has two children at home. Zhang Qiaoling can't handle the work alone. Wang Susu also had someone to take care of her in the past.

So they finished their meal in a hurry, then locked the door, took the cows and went to Wang Jusheng's house.

After arriving, I discovered that most of the houses in Wang Jusheng's house had collapsed. The couple were wearing straw hats and towels on their faces, cleaning out the tiles and bricks. These things could still be used when rebuilding the house.

You use a lot of it, so pick it out and keep it to save materials.

As for the half-exposed rafters and the crooked earthen wall, the two of them couldn't care less about it now.

Chen Ling glanced at Wang Jusheng's family and saw Dandan, the eldest daughter of Wang Jusheng's family, squatting and playing in the mud with Da Tou. When Da Tou saw him coming, his eyes lit up and he staggered towards him with his arms spread out, saying something in his mouth.

Yelling vaguely.
To be continued...