Ye Zhinan stared dejectedly at the small street - vendor cart she had made with her own hands. The scene of being flogged flashed through her mind again.
Suddenly, she got a hard flick on her head.
Lu Yanlai shouted crossly, "I still need to make money to send Xiaohu to school!"
"But they can't find Zhao Aisi. They'll surely come after you. And Brother Li can't guard you all the time."
Ye Zhinan was so agitated that tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably.
She didn't want to see anyone else get involved because of her.
Lu Yanlai hugged her tightly and whispered, "I'm not a pushover. I'm not that fragile."
A glint flashed in Ye Zhinan's eyes, shining into the bottomless abyss and also into Qin Yihuai's heart, who had been quietly waiting nearby.
The wind blew outside. Qin Yihuai had been standing at the door for a long time. The wind fluttered his robe, and the wintersweet on the corner of his robe rose and fell, just like his heart, turbulent. He didn't know when his heart, as calm as still water, had rippled again, and the ripples were intensifying, just like the weather outside, about to pour down with a heavy rain.
"It's raining!"
Thinking of the wheat in the fields, Ye Zhinan put on a straw raincoat and rushed out.
"This child, wearing so little. Hurry up and follow your sister."
Han Xiangmei stuffed a cloak into Ye Yingfeng's hand and pushed him into the rain.
Ye Yingfeng thought to himself: I haven't even put on my straw raincoat...
Ye Zhinan ran to the fields. Looking at the little seedlings swaying in the wind and rain, she felt heart - broken.
"My wheat! If it gets wet and goes bad, all our hard work will be in vain."
Fortunately, she had checked "The Supplementary Records of Heavenly History" in advance and taken timely measures. But other farmers who didn't want to listen to her advice weren't so lucky. They were all busy harvesting the wheat.
"Once the wheat is harvested, I can plant soybeans."
Ye Zhinan looked at the wheat fields and daydreamed. But the rain showed no sign of stopping. It had been drizzling for one day, then two days.
Seeing the water in the fields getting deeper and deeper, and in some places it even reached her ankles, Ye Zhinan suddenly had a bad feeling. Without hesitation, she immediately ran to the supply station.
"I need to see Inspector Qin."
A yamen runner sized her up and said lazily, "Inspector Qin is out."
"Where did he go?"
"Do you think it's your business as a criminal to ask where the inspector goes?"
The yamen runner was in a bad mood. The continuous rain had kept them from resting, so he didn't have a good attitude at all.
Ye Zhinan didn't waste any more words. She turned around and left. When passing by the fields, her heart grew heavier.
The water was accumulating more and more. Many farmers were busy in the fields. Suddenly, there was a familiar figure not far away.
It was Qin Yihuai!
He was dredging the canals. In many places, the rainwater couldn't drain away, so he organized the yamen runners to dredge them together. No wonder the yamen runner just now had a bad look on his face!
"The rain won't stop. Just dredging the canals is not enough!"
Hearing Ye Zhinan's voice, Qin Yihuai looked up.
The rain had already soaked his hair. Sweat and rain mixed together and flowed down his angular cheeks.
"It's going to be too late."
His deep voice cut through the sound of the rain. Ye Zhinan's heart skipped a beat, and she looked at the mountains in the distance.
Normally, there were few heavy rains in the northern border, and it was a place with little rainfall. Moreover, the village and the fields were on higher ground. There shouldn't have been water accumulation like this. So, the flood - prevention facilities in the village were almost non - existent.
Ye Zhinan noticed something. After reading the records in "The Supplementary Records of Heavenly History", she realized that the flood - prevention measures in the village were weak, and combined with the abundant ice on the mountains, she realized that this time, it wasn't just the rain from the sky, but also the mountain spring water.
"It's too late to just dredge. We need to block it too!"
Ye Zhinan hid in a place and took out many sandbags from her space. The sandbags were very heavy. There was a conveyor belt in the space, but she alone couldn't handle it outside.
At this time, Qin Yihuai walked over. Seeing the pile of sandbags, his eyebrows twitched slightly, but he didn't ask anything.
"I'll arrange people. You go home quickly."
The Ye family lived on higher ground, so they were temporarily safe. But Ye Zhinan was worried and hesitated to leave.
"Go!"
At his order, Chen Zhenhai appeared beside her with an oil - paper umbrella. "Miss Ye, please go back quickly. If something happens, our boss will be distracted."
Qin Yihuai gave her a stern look, and Ye Zhinan blushed and turned around to run away.
Chen Zhenhai quickly followed, always holding the oil - paper umbrella over Ye Zhinan's head.
Suddenly, she stopped and looked at Chen Zhenhai with concern. "You go back quickly. I can walk by myself."
"That's not possible. If I don't watch you get home safely, the boss will kill me. I have elderly parents at home and I want to have kids in the future. I can't die so inexplicably."
Chen Zhenhai rambled on and on, not giving Ye Zhinan a chance to interrupt.
"Miss Ye, don't worry. The boss has been through so many storms. He'll surely handle this."
He wiped the rain off his face and held the oil - paper umbrella a bit further forward.
"Come on, I said I can do it. You go back quickly and help Inspector Qin. Otherwise, I'll think you're out here slacking off."
Ye Zhinan snatched the oil - paper umbrella and glared at him.
Chen Zhenhai had no choice. His clothes were already soaked through, but he still insisted, "I'll leave after I see you go in."
What on earth did Qin Yihuai give him to make him so obedient?
Ye Zhinan strode into the house and closed the door without looking back.
Seeing Chen Zhenhai leave, she ran out again. This time, instead of going down, she went straight up the mountain.
She wanted to see how much water there was on the mountain.
When Qin Yihuai transported a pile of ice there after the cellar was built that day, she had been curious and always wanted to find a chance to go to the mountain. Although the timing was not right, if she didn't go now, she might never get the chance.
The rain on the mountain was not as heavy as in the village. As the rain gradually lessened, Ye Zhinan put away the oil - paper umbrella, put on the raincoat and rain boots she took out from the space, and prepared a walking stick.
The mountain path was muddy and slippery after being washed by the rain, but some plants that were usually hidden in the soil were now exposed.
As she walked, she picked mushrooms and wild vegetables.
"Mom will be happy this time. She can make mushroom soup again."
Suddenly, she slipped, and her whole foot sank into the mud.
She was startled.
Could it be a swamp?
No, there shouldn't be a swamp here.
She steadied herself and carefully moved her foot.
Huh? What was that hard thing?
She bent down, reached into the mud, and dug down in the direction of her foot. She seemed to touch something. She gave it a hard pull, and a huge ginseng appeared in front of her.
"Goodness! I've struck it rich!"
Ye Zhinan was a bit excited, but the next second, she heard a rumbling sound, and a dark flock of birds flew overhead.
Oh no!
The next second, a few small rocks fell from above. She quickly stuffed the ginseng into the space and scrambled towards the hillside beside her.