And so, the elderly couple from the Liu family followed their daughter-in-law to Hua Village.
Adding in the four vehicles from Hua Ergu’s family, they made two trips, only then managing to transport all the people and items that were mostly grains and necessities; no furniture or large items from their ho were taken.
A big lock was used to secure the main door, and it wasn’t until Liu family’s elder brother ca knocking when the villagers went up the mountain to escape the flood that he realized his third brother’s family had long departed.
Without much thought, he knew they must have been taken away by his wife’s family. The elder brother, who had always cared about face, was certainly unhappy that the third brother left without saying anything and took their parents along. Yet, apart from kicking the door in frustration, there was little else he could do, so he left in anger.
Leaving, after all, ant saving the family’s grains. Thinking this way, Liu family’s elder brother felt much better, and he hastily returned ho to gather things and led his family to relocate alongside the villagers to the nearby mountains, treading heavily.
Today was busy; all things had to be moved to the mountain, aning several journeys, with no ti to think about anything else.
This scene wasn’t unique to the village where Hua Dagu and Hua Er lived, but was common to several surrounding villages that were also in low-lying areas.
In the rain, villagers from village to village trudged up the mountain with grain and luggage on their backs, only stopping when night fell and roads beca invisible.
In contrast to the chaos in those villages, Hua Village was notably calm. At this mont, the elderly woman of the Hua family, seeing that her daughters’ whole family had arrived, was quite pleased and was enthusiastically chatting with her daughters’ mothers-in-law.
Sitting on the bed, the two won praised each other’s children incessantly, clearly happy, with smiles never leaving their faces.
In the kitchen, the daughters-in-law, daughters, and several nieces-in-law were busy working, with no need for the two elderly won to bother.
Since they were also going to the mountain tomorrow, the al tonight was kept simple, consisting of hot soup noodles which included both the noodles and the broth.
When Liu Lady learned that Hua Village was also heading up the mountain the next day, she was a bit surprised.
With Hua Village being situated on high ground, she thought she was only following her son and daughter-in-law to the village to avoid the flood. She hadn’t expected Hua Village to decide to seek refuge in the mountains as well.
Thinking this, she asked, "My dear, with our village being at such a high elevation, why are we heading up the mountain so early? It’s possible that it might not flood here."
She looked at the elderly Hua wife with a puzzled expression.
The elderly Hua wife was quite satisfied with her second daughter’s mother-in-law, who treated her daughter well and was clear-minded. Understanding her doubts, she explained.
Honestly, she too didn’t want to go up the mountain. Life on the mountain wasn’t as comfortable as at ho, and she shared so of Liu Lady’s wishful thinking. But her husband was right; the rain was pouring without stopping, and the surrounding rivers could barely hold for long. A levee break was only a matter of ti, and when the Yun River’s banks collapsed, flooding would happen in an instant.
There would be no ti to prepare, and survival would be a matter of luck, so it was better to prepare early even if it ant more work. At worst, if they couldn’t return from the mountain, it was bearable.
Then, the elderly Hua lady smiled and said, "Who wouldn’t think that way? But as you know, my old man is the village chief and feels a heavy responsibility. He’s overly cautious and says that with the persistent rain, the surrounding rivers may not hold. If they break, no matter the elevation, even Hua Village might not escape the fate of being subrged. I think it’s better to endure so hardship and move to the mountain early for peace of mind."
Liu Lady wasn’t very knowledgeable, but she understood the aning behind her relative’s words. Hearing about the potential of a levee break, her heart skipped a beat, and she said no more.
Her relative was right. It was rely a matter of hardship but at least provided peace of mind.
On the other side, Mrs. Qi, along with her sister-in-law and younger relatives, was preparing als in the kitchen. She declined her two sisters-in-law’s requests to take food, pointing out that there was still plenty of ti, and Hua Fen and Hua Fang, not being persistent, thought they could later make more delicious food to bring over once they settled.
The three families together constituted over thirty people. Even for the simplest hot noodle soup, just the preparation tired the few in the kitchen. But once finished, the al was truly comforting, with noodles, vegetables, and broth, and a few slices of stead cured at in everyone’s bowls.
Despite the pouring rain outside, the al was warm and satisfying.
Next was how to arrange the sleeping accommodations for the night.
In the end, Liu Lady, the elderly Hua woman, and her daughter-in-law slept together.
Mrs. Qi’s room was occupied by won, including the elder sister-in-law, her daughters-in-law, and small children who couldn’t be without their mothers.
The rest stayed in the rooms of the two sisters-in-law and Hua Yunao’s family, with so sleeping on beds and others spreading out bedding on the floor.
Hua Jin’s side was the most relaxed, only needing to sleep with her little cousin.
Liu Hui, the little cousin, remained carefree. Knowing she could be close to her cousin from now on, she seed to treat it like an autumn trip, without any hosickness, and after much chatter, finally fell asleep.
The next day, the rain continued to pour and seed to be even heavier.
Everyone got up early and started preparations.
Several elders and clan elders from the village sent people to Old Hua’s ho for news. Learning that the plan remained unchanged, everyone returned ho to prepare thoroughly before gathering behind the village at the appointed ti.
Worried that so in the village might not know, Old Hua specifically had Hua Chengtian go around the village shouting with a gong, emphasizing the timing to prevent anyone from falling behind.
Hua Dagu and Ergu hadn’t unpacked their things upon arriving, so leaving would be straightforward. Now they were helping their brother’s family with their preparations.
There wasn’t much to organize, beyond what was used the previous night, since everything else was packed and wrapped thoroughly in layers of oilcloth, they just needed to pack up the existing items again.
Even the poultry in the backyard were put into baskets, covered with oilcloth, ready to be carried to the mountain together.
Speaking of poultry, the wild rabbits, which had brought a lot of value to the family, had to be ntioned.
Like at Hua Dagu and Ergu’s hos, except for the ten breeding rabbits kept in reserve, all other wild rabbits were slaughtered. They were coated in a thick layer of salt and smoked overnight with pine branches, resulting in smoked rabbit at that could last a long ti, along with preserved pork and lamb, which were kept in plain view, along with several jars of pickled eggs and duck eggs, also in plain view.
With many hands at work, packing was easy. The bedding and other items that couldn’t get wet were wrapped in layers of oilcloth, and ti quickly advanced to the appointed hour.
Only Hua Jin and the elderly Hua woman stayed behind to watch the house while others gathered behind the village, those driving driving and those carrying carrying, ready to head to Qinggu Mountain in the rain, under the lead of Hua Cheng and Old Hua, making sure not to leave anyone behind.
That day, everyone in Hua Village was like ants relocating, gradually moving everything from their hos to the mountain caves, even figuring out a way to haul the large water tanks they used for drinking to the mountain.
Although the process was arduous, fortunately, everything was finally in place before nightfall.
Besides the Big Cave that accommodated the whole village, known caves around were also filled with people.
With few caves, naturally, allocation adhered to a first-co, first-served basis to avoid disputes.
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