Chapter 128

128. Chapter 128: The Sudden Downpour

Upon hearing Jiang Xiaoxiao's words, Jiang Wei did not say a word and began to rework and regrind the ground materials.

A stone mill certainly could not compare to the thorough grinding of modern machinery, but after two or three rounds of reworking, it could barely reach that modern level.

After spending two or three days like this, the discarded bricks and ceramic shards in the courtyard were all ground very fine.

In addition, Jiang Wei also carefully sifted them several times with a sieve.

By the time the work was finished, the prepared cement finally achieved the effect she wanted.

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at the half-brick stuck tightly to the mud wall and shook her head, sighing that it had not been easy.

The cement her mother had formulated was almost on par with the strength of modern cement.

Cement could harden in the air or in water; after hardening, it not only had high strength but could also resist freshwater erosion, had high drought and frost resistance, and was not afraid of fire. A house built with this cement would be truly solid and indestructible.

"Very good!" Jiang Wei clapped her hands in satisfaction. "Now we just have to wait for the mason to have the materials ready to build the house."

Jiang Xiaoxiao was also very happy; at this rate, the time to build the house was getting closer and closer.

These past few days, Jiang Wei continued to have Old Man Zhao go to town to haul back those useless discarded brick and tile materials, and Liu Dagang and Zhao Youcai also took time to come to her house to help smash bricks.

As for Zhao Dasao, she also began her days of being responsible for firing the kiln at their house.

Building a house required a lot of cement; making more of it certainly wouldn't be wrong, and even if it couldn't be used up, it could be stockpiled for future use.

During these few days, quite a few things had happened in the village.

For instance, it was said that Li Xiufang had been locked up at home, making a scene every day and turning the Li household upside down.

Or, for instance, Widow Xu and Zhao Wulai would have a big fight every three days and a small one every two; their home was no more peaceful than the Li household.

Zhao Wulai was a lazy glutton who never did any chores at home. Widow Xu couldn't take it, so she simply learned from him and did nothing either—she didn't wash clothes, didn't sweep the floor, and just lay on the bed every day.

With no one doing the chores at home, the crops in the fields were even more neglected.

Villagers passing by Zhao Wulai's field could see that the weeds in the field had grown knee-high, and no one was tending to them.

"This Zhao Wulai and Widow Xu are just too lazy. At this rate, I wonder what they'll eat after the autumn harvest?"

"Tsk, it used to be looked after by Chunmiao's mother, but now that this scoundrel Zhao Wulai has gotten together with Widow Xu, it's become more and more of a mess. Look at them, both of them are lazy bums!"

Although the villagers complained, Zhao Wulai had never been popular in the village, and they didn't have the kindness to meddle in this matter.

Zhao Ergou walked along the small path in the village, listening to the villagers' discussions, and felt very uncomfortable.

These past few days at home, he had truly suffered.

His father never entered the kitchen, let alone cooked; he even needed others to serve food to his mouth before he would eat. It didn't matter when his mother was there to serve him, but now, ever since that Widow Xu came, there were fights every day, no one cooked or washed clothes, and he could only go hungry, wearing the same dirty clothes for days.

Moreover, sometimes their fights would spill over onto him.

Zhao Ergou was now somewhat afraid to go home; the house was always filled with endless arguing and the constant smashing of things. Every day, the house was filled with the sound of bowls and chopsticks shattering, and there were few pieces of intact furniture left.

Every time, he couldn't help but think: now that Widow Xu was living with his father, couldn't she be a little more sensible?

In the past, when his mother was beaten by his father, she never resisted or fought back. Wouldn't Widow Xu lose a piece of flesh if she took a few hits? Did she really have to fight back and make the house a living hell with his father?

Thinking this way, Zhao Ergou's resentment toward Widow Xu deepened.

He was walking aimlessly through the village when he suddenly caught sight of Chunmiao and her sister walking toward the Jiang house, holding hands.

Chunmiao and Chunya were busy talking to each other and didn't notice him.

Both of them were wearing clean and neat clothes, and their faces had filled out a bit; they didn't look at all like the sallow, thin, starving girls they used to be.

Chunya seemed to have said something interesting, which made Chunmiao laugh.

Both of their faces were beaming with smiles—the kind of happy smiles he had never seen before.

Zhao Ergou was stunned. Weren't they kicked out of the house? Why were they living so well?

Compared to his own disheveled self, he looked more like the one who had been kicked out of the house.

For some reason, as Zhao Ergou watched Chunmiao and Chunya walk away, a wave of jealousy surged in his heart.

He could have lived a life like that too.

Compared to Widow Xu, his mother was diligent in everything—she could cook, wash clothes, and care for the children; she could do everything...

Thinking this way, besides jealousy, an unspeakable... sorrow surged in Zhao Ergou's heart.

Days passed like this for a few more days.

The rice ears in the fields were growing increasingly heavy, and the day of the autumn harvest was getting closer and closer.

This day, when Jiang Xiaoxiao got up in the morning and just arrived in the courtyard, a gust of wind blew, and she suddenly felt a chill.

She subconsciously looked up at the sky; it was still a clear, cloudless sky with no abnormalities. The weather was the same as usual and didn't look like it would rain.

Moreover, with the autumn harvest imminent, it was truly not a good time for rain.

Rice needs irrigation for most of its life, but it is the only time it does not need irrigation when it is mature and ready for harvest.

But for some reason, her eyelid kept twitching, and she always had a feeling of unease in her heart.

Even by noon, that feeling of unease had not disappeared; she kept feeling as if she had overlooked something.

Jiang Xiaoxiao shook her head twice, as if trying to shake off the feeling of unease in her heart. When she turned her head, she saw her mother about to go out, so she hurriedly chased after her to ask: "Mother, where are you going?"

"I'm going to the fields to take a look with your Uncle Lizheng," Jiang Wei said.

The autumn harvest was right around the corner, and Lizheng had been running to the fields every day, fearing that something might go wrong.

After all, it was her idea that had solved the rice drought problem, so to ensure everything was foolproof, she simply followed along to take a look.

"Mother, I'll go with you!" Jiang Xiaoxiao didn't say a word and grabbed Jiang Wei's hand.

Intuition told her that the more she felt this vague unease, the more she needed to stay by her mother's side to ensure safety.

Jiang Wei looked at her strangely for a moment, but eventually nodded in agreement: "Alright."

However, just as they arrived at the fields and met up with Lizheng, the previously cloudless sky suddenly changed drastically!

"Boom!" A loud noise rang out!

A bolt of lightning from a clear sky struck!

The villagers who were bent over in the fields pulling weeds were all startled and looked up one after another.

In an instant, a torrential downpour descended!

The villagers were shocked: "It's raining! It's actually raining!"

They hadn't seen rain for almost two years!

Faced with this sudden downpour, they were clearly happy, not realizing the crisis.

"Why did it suddenly rain when it was perfectly fine?" Lizheng, however, frowned tightly. (End of chapter)