Chapter 179: 186. The Calm Before the Storm

186. The Calm Before the Storm

There was no sign.

In a corner of Jiangzhou, Jiang Nan Circuit, Longcheng County, located downstream of Yunmeng Marsh.

These past two days, it had ushered in a rainfall.

There was no thunder.

Only rain.

At first, it was sparse, a light rain.

The next day, it was pitter-patter, a heavy rain.

Another day passed, and it was pouring, a torrential rain.

Just as the people of Longcheng County and the county government were becoming increasingly worried, the sky suddenly cleared.

The rain stopped.

At dusk, the dark clouds dispersed, and the orange-yellow sunset clouds after the rain were exceptionally bright.

Combined with the sunset scene.

It was exceptionally gorgeous and magnificent.

It was like a reward after experiencing hardships.

The county officials and government office runners standing under the wet, dripping eaves relaxed their expressions, looked at each other, and showed some joy.

In many places in the county, on the streets and alleys, this scene of people relaxing and rejoicing happened from time to time.

The beautiful sunset scene made many people under the eaves stare in a daze.

Because except for the children who didn't understand yet, the local people of Longcheng, who had long suffered from the capricious flooding of Butterfly Creek, had a natural caution for any rainfall during the plum rain season.

According to the elderly's expectations based on the twenty-four solar terms.

This should be the last heavy rain of the plum rain season, and it seemed to be finally coming to an end.

Only at this moment did the mountain of pressure that had been weighing on the hearts of the officials and people of Longcheng County since the plum rain season finally release.

"It rained for three days and finally stopped. Magistrate, what a sunny day, what a sunny day."

In the main hall of the county government, Assistant Magistrate Diao's head poked out from under the eaves like a duck's neck, and a series of accumulated water from the roof hit his eyelids.

The old Assistant Magistrate didn't even wipe his face, but ran to the open space, dancing with joy, and turned to report the good news to Ouyang Rong and others who were waiting in the main hall.

The expressions of the latter still retained some of the seriousness and tension from when the rain was pouring not long ago.

At this moment, Ouyang Rong, Yan Liulang, Liu Ashan, and others didn't look at Assistant Magistrate Diao who had slipped on the wet bluestone slab in the open space, but looked at each other and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Magistrate, the solar term will change in two days. This plum rain season has finally been endured."

Yan Liulang turned his head and smiled.

Ouyang Rong turned a deaf ear and tilted his head: "Has the latest water level news from the upstream water level monument been sent back?"

Liu Ashan organized his language and nodded:

"Master, it's still on the way. The report was only sent back half an hour ago. If the brothers ride fast, it should take another hour for the next report to arrive."

Ouyang Rong nodded and looked around the county government hall where the atmosphere had relaxed.

Except for him, Assistant Magistrate Diao, Yan Liulang, and others, officials at all levels of the county government were also waiting in full battle array.

Because Ouyang Rong had attached great importance to it since he came to Longcheng to take office, and had warned them tirelessly in advance.

These past two days, this last heavy rain of the plum rain season, the entire county government was exceptionally nervous.

They were ready to go, each in their own position, and had made psychological preparations for another flood.

So for the whole day just now, the atmosphere in the county government hall was quite oppressive, with Ouyang Rong sitting in the center, coordinating and commanding.

And the minor officials who monitored the water level monument upstream also rode fast all day, sending news continuously, updating the latest water level of the water level monument designated by Ouyang Rong in time.

And half an hour ago, when the heavy rain hadn't stopped, the latest water level of the water level monument was quite high, close to the danger line.

Now, this heavy rain finally came to an end, which seemed to indicate the stop of the rising water.

"Continue to supervise the water level, and notify me as soon as there is news. As for the others..."

Ouyang Rong looked around the county government hall, swept across the tired and relaxed faces, paused, and nodded:

"Everyone go back and rest for a while, have dinner, you have all worked hard for a day. But remember to be on duty on time for the night shift colleagues. The county government must have someone watching..."

Ouyang Rong muttered a few words, a smile appeared on his serious mouth, waved his hand, and let everyone go off duty.

After giving instructions and arrangements, Ouyang Rong was the last to leave the county government hall and met Ye Weilai, who was holding an umbrella and waiting, at the county government gate.

The latter's little face was full of worry, her temples were wet, and it seemed she had been waiting for him for a long time.

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, lowered his head, and rubbed her little white-haired head:

"I'm fine, the rain has stopped, don't worry, let's go, let's go home."

Ouyang Rong looked back at Luming Street under the sunset dusk, let out a long sigh, turned his head, and took Ye Weilai back to the Meilin small courtyard.

In the study, just after washing his face with a hot towel handed over by the white-haired maid, Ouyang Rong's ears moved slightly, and he turned to look at the direction of the plum forest behind the courtyard.

"Hmm, Master, the little lady of the Su family is calling you again."

Ye Weilai, who was facing away in front of the water basin, flicked her double ponytails, and she turned her head and teased.

"Long-winded, asking for a beating."

Ouyang Rong curled his lips, threw the towel back to Ye Weilai, who was blinking, tidied up his appearance, picked up a chessboard, turned around, and went out, following the leisurely zither sound.

Ye Weilai wiped her hands and followed him familiarly.

Ouyang Rong took the white-haired maid to the elegant pavilion in the plum forest and bypassed the shadow wall.

Sure enough, a little lady with plum blossom makeup and a calm expression was lowering her eyes and playing the zither.

The little maid with a bun face was wearing a goose-yellow skirt, squatting by a small red clay stove in the pavilion, pouting and blowing air at the stove, making a fire to boil tea.

Ye Weilai seemed to have expected it, took out a small round fan she had prepared, walked up, squatted beside Caishou, and helped fan the fire.

However, it was clear that there was a little fool among the two.

Ouyang Rong and Su Guoer didn't care about the two girls.

The two didn't even raise their heads to look at each other.

Su Guoer frowned from time to time, relaxed her eyebrows from time to time, and hooked the strings with her onion-like fingers.

Ouyang Rong sat down opposite her, set up the chessboard, grabbed a handful of black chess pieces, and turned his head from time to time to look at the night scene gradually shrouded outside the pavilion.

The moon is on the willow tips, people meet after dusk.

As long as Ouyang Rong had nothing to do and got off work early, the two pairs of masters and servants often gathered in the plum forest in the evening.

After these days of getting along, the two pairs of neighbors were quite tacit.

"Why didn't you come the past two days?" Su Guoer glanced at him.

"Busy." Ouyang Rong didn't raise his head, and with a "clack," dropped a black piece.

The man's behavior was casual, and Su Guoer was accustomed to it. She put down the zither, reached out and grabbed the white chess box, preparing for a game.

She looked at the chessboard, and her hand holding the piece stopped.

"Why are you playing this thing called Five-in-a-Row again?"

"Loser." Ouyang Rong spat out four words without raising his head.

"..." Su Guoer.

She took a deep breath.

Recently, Su Guoer was surprised to find that Ouyang Rong didn't know how to play Go, so she prepared to teach him, but as she taught, she was led astray by him, and they changed to a crooked way of playing.

It was called Five-in-a-Row, and the latter even swore that this was the orthodox way of playing black and white pieces.

Simply a person of the demonic path.

Su Guoer's eyebrows frowned slightly:

"I taught you some black and white chess styles that day, and you were able to draw inferences from one instance. You clearly have such a talent for chess, why are you still obsessed with other messy wild ways of playing."

Ouyang Rong nodded and added: "Loser."

"...??" Su Guoer stiffened her face, and her small hand in her sleeve thrust hard into the pile of white pieces in the box. The fair back of her hand made the top-grade white jade chess pieces in the box look a bit dull and yellow.

With a "clack," the little lady with plum blossom makeup sitting in front of Ouyang Rong didn't say a word, picked up a white piece with two fingers, and dropped it heavily, with such force that Ouyang Rong almost thought she was going to poke the chessboard.

Looking at this competitive personality, knowing it was a casual provocation, she still wouldn't admit defeat...

Ouyang Rong laughed, shook his head, and played Five-in-a-Row with Su Guoer opposite him.

Ouyang Rong had always been good at dealing with tsundere, for example, when he used to discipline his junior sister, although Su Guoer's tsundere was very different from his junior sister's...

Half an incense stick later.

Su Guoer suddenly stood up, dropped the half-full white chess box, walked quickly to the eaves of the pavilion, looked around, stiffened her little face, and raised her fair little chin:

"The rain has stopped."

This seamless topic-shifting technique made the two little girls, Ye Weilai and Caishou, who were daily experts at playing dumb, bow down.

"Play on." Ouyang Rong urged.

"You want it to rain?"

"No, I mean, you drop your piece quickly." Ouyang Rong reminded warmly.

"Oh, not playing anymore, boring." Su Guoer curled her lips.

Ouyang Rong smiled lightly, lowered his head to tidy up the chessboard, and didn't force it anymore.

This was a little lady who didn't accept losing.

You can see her general personality from playing chess.

However, she was also extremely intelligent. Although she was just praising Ouyang Rong, saying he had a talent for chess, in Ouyang Rong's eyes, wasn't Su Guoer equally amazingly talented?

This strange way of playing Five-in-a-Row, she had only been in contact with it for a few short days under Ouyang Rong's provocation, but now, she could calculate at a glance that she would lose the game within five moves, so she immediately stood up and ran away with an impatient expression.

Both of them knew this well, but Ouyang Rong didn't say it in front of Caishou and Ye Weilai.

Su Guoer couldn't help but look back at the young magistrate who was lowering his head and carefully tidying up the chessboard, unhurried and seemingly not angry at all.

When he raised his head, Su Guoer's gaze immediately moved away, feigning to look outside the pavilion:

"The rain has stopped." She repeated.

"Hmm."

"Is the water level of Butterfly Creek stable?"

"Almost."

"According to your previous point of view, if this last rainfall of the plum rain season has passed, does it mean that there will be no more big water in the upstream Yunmeng Marsh this year, and Butterfly Creek can be stable until the plum rain season next year?"

Su Guoer asked with concern.

Ouyang Rong's fingers paused, and he raised his eyes to look at the sky outside:

"That's right, you have also seen the map of the upper and lower reaches of Butterfly Creek that I drew before, and the reason is clear at a glance.

"The floods of Butterfly Creek over the years are all because the upstream Yunmeng Ancient Marsh has low-lying terrain, accumulating water flow from the surrounding hundred miles of mountains during the plum rain period, naturally rising water, and overflowing when full.

"And the Yangtze River behind us is the best flood discharge outlet. It's a pity that Jiangzhou, especially Longcheng County, is located between the two. Butterfly Creek is too narrow and too curved to discharge floodwater in the first place. If it doesn't flood us, who does it flood."

Su Guoer nodded thoughtfully:

"So, you built the Zhe Yi Canal and the Digong Sluice one after another to deal with the flood?"

She lowered her head and thought for a while, nodded in agreement:

"It is indeed this logic. The Zhe Yi Canal is a root-cure method, once and for all, but the construction period is long.

"The latter is an expedient measure, which can resist floods for a while, see results in the short term, and wait until the former is completed, then once and for all.

"Your logic of water conservancy is exquisite. If it is promoted, it can govern most of the water disasters in the world today..."

Su Guoer looked over with bright eyes. Ouyang Rong discovered that this little sister of the Su family, although she lived in the deep boudoir, always liked to spit out the word "world".

It's a pity that the little sister of the Su family, although she has such a big heart, her other heart is not big enough, forming a sharp contrast with a certain junior sister.

Ouyang Rong nodded without saying a word, and didn't elaborate. In fact, they were all old topics:

He had said it countless times in front of the county government and the elders and villagers in the county, but there were few who could chew it thoroughly like Su Guoer in front of him.

Most people still asked him over and over again whether there would be big water this year, and whether the Digong Sluice could resist the rising water of Yunmeng Marsh.

Regarding the flood of Butterfly Creek, Ouyang Rong found quite helplessly that the awe revealed in the eyes of the people of Longcheng County was still more.

The only thing Ouyang Rong could do was to nod confidently and give an affirmative answer over and over again.

Giving them spiritual peace of mind and condensing the hearts of the people might also be the greatest role of most parents' officials.

"What is the Master thinking about?"

"Nothing."

Su Guoer sized up Ouyang Rong's calm expression, opened her mouth slightly, and closed it again, as if the poisonous and stinging words were swallowed back.

A certain little lady with plum blossom makeup organized her language and nodded in praise:

"Regardless, now that the rain has stopped, we have finally survived the plum rain season. The Master's efforts have not been in vain. When we enter midsummer next, the upstream water level will definitely drop.

"When the water rises next time, it will be in May or June next year. By then, the second phase of the Zhe Yi Canal will have been completed long ago, and there is no need to worry about the task of resisting floods during the flood disaster of the Digong Sluice. The Zhe Yi Canal will naturally help discharge the flood.

"In this way, everything can be rested. By then, Magistrate Ouyang can take time to organize a governance chapter and present it to the imperial court. It is said that by rooting out the flood disaster in Jiang Nan, he can become famous in the world again."

Ye Weilai, who was helping to light the stove and boil tea, couldn't help but turn her head with joy on her little face, but she, like Su Guoer who was looking sideways, saw a normal reaction from someone.

"Is the Master unhappy?"

Ouyang Rong smiled at them: "No, quite happy."

Really quite happy.

But it was the kind of happiness of a "Great Zhou civil servant" who had no holidays all year round and was finally going to have a long vacation one day.

Instead of the happiness of outstanding performance and being about to be appreciated by noble people and having a bright future.

After several months, the matter of water governance finally came to an end.

Ouyang Rong's voice was as weak as a mosquito's murmur: "... Return, return, why not return when the fields are about to be overgrown?"

Su Guoer had sharp ears and heard the *Return, Return* poem, and couldn't help but look at the young magistrate, wanting to speak.

But at this moment, a sound of boots stepping heavily on the wet leaves in the forest suddenly came from outside the pavilion.

Everyone in the pavilion was startled and turned their heads.

Liu Ashan and others, who were dusty and tired, rushed to the steps of the elegant pavilion, panting heavily:

"Magistrate, Magistrate! Something big is bad, upstream... upstream..."

Ouyang Rong slowly put down the chessboard without turning his head, "Don't stutter, speak."

Liu Ashan's pale lips trembled as he spat out the words:

"The rain stopped for a night, but the water level of the upstream water level monument is still rising sharply! It has exceeded the highest water level line since the monument was set up, rising sharply without stopping, and the Digong Sluice also sent people to report that the water level is abnormal!"

The pavilion was silent.

Not long ago, the beautiful sunset clouds in the evening suddenly became the most terrifying thing in everyone's heart.

Countless panicked eyes gathered on the young magistrate in the pavilion whose back was as steady as a mountain.

Rumble—!

At this moment, a dull thunder came from the distant sky.

The wind filled the forest, and the pavilion swayed.

A few raindrops blew obliquely into the pavilion from the pitch-black sky, hitting the back of a fair hand that was preparing to tidy up the chessboard.

Someone stood up first and plunged into the fine rain and oblique wind.

A Western fantasy novel recommended by a friend, brothers who are interested can take a look: *Emperor Dragon*

Introduction: The four basic forces are the authority I control, my eternal crown, and my immortal throne.

The world respects me as the Emperor Dragon of the End, Emperor Dragon Saja—Saja Gatanjea Aatrox Diablo Nexus Targaryen Arceus!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 180 =====

(End of this chapter)