Chapter 24: Rain leakage and help

“Why is it leaking?”

Su Yue asked. As she asked, she ran under the bed to take shelter from the rain, but she didn’t know that there was rainwater under the bed. When she stepped on the ground, she almost slipped and split herself.

Li Xiaoqing hurriedly reminded her, “There is also water on the ground, so be careful.”

Su Yue was frightened and found a place to stand where there was not so much water. She looked up at the roof. It was so dark that she couldn’t see anything, but rain was leaking everywhere, and the thatch on the roof was rustling. She was really afraid that the heavy rain would wash away the grass on the roof, and the house would be completely open.

At first she just thought that the house was dilapidated and ugly, but now she realized that it was not only ugly but also life-threatening. It hadn’t rained since she came here, so she didn’t realize the danger of this house. Now a rain made her realize it.

Wu Xiaoxiao was looking for a place to hide while shouting, “Why is it leaking like this? How can this house be inhabited? It’s almost turning into a pond!”

Li Xiaoqing came two years earlier than them, and she obviously knew about the leaking water in the house, so she hurriedly ran to the box where she put her things and found an umbrella. She opened it and took Su Yue and Wu Xiaoxiao inside together.

At the same time, she said, “The educated youth house was built by the brigade a few years ago and seemed to be opposed by some people at the time, because many other brigades had let the educated youth live in the homes of commune members. Our brigade also did this in the past, but then there were more and more educated youths. The commune members’ families were already in a tight housing situation, so naturally they couldn’t accommodate so many educated youths. Then the brigade discussed building an educated youth house for us.”

Li Xiaoqing wiped the rainwater from her face and continued to explain, “But those days, every household was poor, and the brigade didn’t have much money. In the end, they scraped together some materials to build a house for us, but the materials are scarce and not enough. So they used straw as rafters and wheat straw and mud as tiles. It was built in a careless manner just so it gives the educated youth a place to sleep, but when it rains, the house will leak.”

Wu Xiaoxiao came with Su Yue here, so it was her first time seeing how dilapidated the house was, and she couldn’t help asking, “Then why won’t it be repaired? How can we live in such a leaky house?”

Li Xiaoqing sighed helplessly, “Educated youths also reported this matter to the brigade, and the brigade sent people to repair it, they just added some grass and repaved it, but it didn’t work at all. It leaked when it rained. The brigade had no way to buy tiles for us, so we can only fix it again and again. In the end, we were too lazy to fix it anymore. It was going to be useless anyway.”

Wu Xiaoxiao wailed, “Then what should I do? The bed is soaked; how can I sleep? Not to mention sleeping, there is no place for anyone to stand!”

Li Xiaoqing had no choice but to console her. “Let’s just be patient and wait until the rain stops.”

Su Yue had no choice but to hide under the umbrella and wait for the rain to stop, but Li Xiaoqing’s umbrella was bought several years ago. There were many holes in it, and the umbrella was too small to hold three people, so even though Su Yue and the others were under the umbrella, they were still wet.

After a while, Wei Jia and Mao Lin also ran over. Seeing that this room was also leaking, they couldn’t help but despair, “It seems that we have no place to take shelter from the rain tonight.”

The two of them were even worse. They didn’t even have an umbrella. They just put a piece of clothing on their heads to protect them from the rain. They were almost soaked now.

At this moment, they heard a sound from Zhao Fang’s room next door. She screamed, “Oh my, why am I all wet! This broken house is leaking like this! Oh, my clothes are all wet, and the quilt is also wet!”

Su Yue and the others looked at each other. No, not a single room was in good condition. It was in complete ruins. They had no other solution, so they simply huddled in the corner of the room and waited for the rain to stop.

But they didn’t know what was going on; it usually rains and stops within an hour, but this time it was raining non-stop, and harder and harder, and the sound was making people afraid.

Su Yue couldn’t help but worry. “It’s raining so hard; this house is already in tatters. Will it collapse?”

Hearing what she said, several others started to tremble in fear. “No way? What if it collapses?”

It was Li Xiaoqing who came out to comfort. “No, it rains every year. Although it leaks, it has never collapsed. Don’t scare yourself.”

Hearing what she said, the worries of the few people dissipated a little. They simply took a long bench and put it in a corner where the rain was less leaky. They sat there and waited for the rain to stop. Although the rain outside was getting more and more scary, several people huddled up; being together at least alleviated the panic caused by the heavy rain.

Not only were Su Yue and the others unable to sleep due to the rain, but other members of the commune were also awakened by the heavy rain. Some poor people’s houses were poorly built at first; now they were also leaking. Hence, the whole family was busy using pots and pans to catch the rain so as not to let the rain wet the ground and turn the whole house into a mud pond.

But those families with solid houses do not have this trouble.

The Han family’s house is also not leaking because Han Aiguo was in the army and had a lot of allowances. All the money he earned was sent back to his family, as his life was not so tight, he asked his family to buy some tiles to lay on the roof so that the house won’t leak. He said that from now on, no matter how hard it rains, the house will not leak. Every time the family hears other people’s houses complaining about leaks, they are glad that their house does not leak.

It is the same tonight, although the house is noisy due to the heavy rain. They woke up, but the roof of their house was not leaking, and there was not even a drop of rain in the house. The family was so happy that they patted their chests and were no longer afraid. They lay down and continued to sleep. Han Lao-er was a little unable to sleep, so he lit a kerosene lamp and went to the door to have a look.

He couldn’t help but say, “It’s raining really hard tonight. Fortunately, we just finished harvesting the sweet potatoes, so we won’t let the rain ruin them.”

Han Lao-san also became worried and said, “I heard many people outside complaining about the rain. It seems that many people are going to suffer this time. Alas…”

Han Lao-er nodded. “Yes, it’s raining so hard. Many people’s roofs are leaking. They can’t go outside and also can’t sleep in the house.””

At this time, Han Aiguo, who was also awakened by the rain, also came out of the room. Listening to the sound of heavy rain outside, his brows gradually wrinkled, and the wrinkles became tighter and tighter. Hearing what Han Lao-er and Han Lao-san said, his face changed even more, and he looked out the door worriedly.

Han Lao-er was worried about Han Aiguo’s legs, so he advised, “Brother, our house is strong, and it never leaks. Don’t worry, go to sleep; it’ll be okay.

Han Aiguo didn’t say a word. Instead, he walked to the door and looked worriedly to the southwest outside the house.

Han Lao-san wondered, “Brother, what are you looking at?” What’s wrong?”

Han Aiguo gritted his teeth. After all, his worry overcame everything. He turned around and went to find an umbrella at home. He found one from behind the door. He held a pestle and a walking stick in one hand and walked out the door.

Han Lao-er and Han Lao-san were startled and hurried to stop him, and Han Lao-er said, “Brother, where are you going? It’s raining so heavily that it’s almost like a river flowing outside. Your legs are inconvenient; you will fall if you don’t watch out!

Han Lao-san also said, “Second brother is right. Big brother, what are you going out for? Just tell me and I’ll do it for you!”

Han Aiguo was stopped by his two younger brothers. He was so anxious that he couldn’t care about anything else, so he could only say, “It’s raining so hard; I’ll go see if everything is alright at the educated youth spot.”

Han Lao-er and Han Lao-san were stunned for a moment. Then they remembered that Su Yue lived in the educated youth point, and suddenly they understood that Han Aiguo was worried about Su Yue.

They didn’t think much about it; they just thought that Han Aiguo was grateful to Su Yue for helping them. When their family makes money, they naturally have to care more about their benefactors.

The second brother and the third brother patted their foreheads and secretly said that they were confused and did not think of their benefactors. They did not even consider whether the house of the educated youth was leaking or not, and whether Su Yue was in danger.

Han Lao-er blamed himself a little. “The house of educated youths is one of the worst in our village. It leaks the most when it rains. If it rains so hard, it will definitely leak a lot. We have to take a look and go see Su Yue.”

Han Lao-san nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes, Su Yue has been so helpful to our family. Now we have to help her when something happens to her. Brother, your legs are inconvenient. Don’t go. I’ll go take a look.”

Han Aiguo wanted to go and see if Su Yue was okay in person, but looking at his legs and the water outside the house, he had to give up. If he fell out, even Su Yue wouldn’t be able to take care of him and it will bring trouble to the family.

For the first time, Han Aiguo hated his leg injury so much. Because of the leg injury, he could only be treated as a loser again and again. Not only did he have to cruelly reject the girl he liked, but now he could not take care of her if something happened. He simply was a coward!

The room was too dark, and Han Lao-san didn’t notice that his Eldest Brother’s mood was not right. He directly found his own raincoat, put it on himself, and rushed out of the door, and his figure disappeared in the heavy rain.

The second brother came over and helped Han Aiguo sit down at the table and said, “Brother, don’t worry, the third brother has gone. If something really happens to Su Yue, then third brother will bring her to our house.”

Han Aiguo nodded with a stern face, but his eyes were fixed on the gate without blinking.

On other side, Han Lao-san ran to the educated youth point in a hurry despite the heavy rain and heard the howling sound of the educated youth point in the distance. As soon as he heard this, he knew that the house in the educated youth spot was leaking badly, and it seemed that she really needed help.

Han Lao-san hurriedly ran into the yard where Su Yue was and was about to call Su Yue, but he saw Han Qingsong was there too. Standing under the eaves, holding an umbrella for Su Yue, he bent slightly and lowered his head to accommodate to Su Yue’s height and what she was talking about.

Seeing Han Lao-san come in from the outside, Han Qingsong was stunned and asked, “Third Brother Han why are you here too?”

Han Lao-san and Han Qingsong are about the same age as each other, and the two of them have grown up playing together. They went to school together, fished and swam in the river so they were close to each other.

Han Lao-san looked at Han Qingsong inquiringly and said, “Our village’s educated youth spot is always leaking, so I came to see if the educated youth spot needs any help. Qingsong, what are you doing here again?”

Han Qingsong subconsciously glanced at Su Yue, then cleared his throat and said a little unnaturally, “I’m here to take a look, too. The house is leaking so badly that the educated youths can’t sleep. It seems like the rain won’t stop for a while. I want the educated youth to go to the members’ homes to take shelter from the rain first.”

Han Lao-san looked at him, then at Su Yue, suddenly understood something, and couldn’t help but look at Han Qingsong meaningfully and asked, “Oh, that’s quite Okay, are you asking Su Yue to go to your house to take shelter from the rain?”

Han Qingsong was inexplicably embarrassed by Han Lao-san. Knowing that he had noticed, he touched his nose and said, “Yeah, my mother is living alone in her room; we can let Su Yue go spend the night with my mother.”

Han Lao-san said “yo ho” in his heart, secretly thinking that this guy has taken a liking to Su Yue, and now he has come to show his courtesy, so he should go back and not hinder others from pursuing their girls.

So, Han Lao-san said, “Since you are here to take care of this matter, I won’t care about it. I’m going home to sleep.”

Han Lao-san came and left in a hurry, and Su Yue didn’t get to say a word to him.

Su Yue sighed with disappointment in her heart. She originally thought that Han Lao-san was sent by Han Aiguo to find her, so she was very happy, but he just left like this. Could it be that she is being sentimental?

Her mood became even worse. Su Yue didn’t bother to talk to Han Qingsong anymore and said to him, “Captain, thank you for your kindness, but there is no need to go to your house. It will be dawn soon. I can just stay in the room for a while; the rain will probably stop soon. Captain, please go home and go to bed.”

After Su Yue finished speaking, she went directly into the room without giving Han Qingsong a chance to speak again and continued to sit in the corner to hide from the rain.

Han Qingsong was extremely disappointed outside, but there were several girls in the room, and he couldn’t chase her in to persuade her, so he had to return without success and go to another courtyard to see the situation.

Han Lao-er sat in the room with Han Aiguo and waited for a long time before Han Lao-san came back, but he saw that he came back alone. Han Lao-er couldn’t help but ask, “How is it? Is everything okay over there at the Educated Youth Point?”

Han Lao-san took off his raincoat and replied, “It’s raining so hard over there that it’s almost turning into a fish pond.”

Han Lao-er was anxious. “Then why didn’t you invite Su Yue to sleep with us? Our house is big enough; she can sleep with our mother.”

Han Lao-san sat at the table and laughed, very teasingly, “I originally planned to let Su Yue come, but I didn’t expect someone to come before me. He has taken a step forward, so Su Yue doesn’t need my help.”

Han Aiguo frowned and looked straight at Han Lao-san, his eyes a little sharp.

Han Lao-san was aroused by the look in his eldest brother’s eyes, thinking that his eldest brother was angry that he did not care about Su Yue, so he quickly explained to himself, “Brother, it’s not that I don’t want Su Yue to come to our house; it’s that when I went, Han Qingsong was already there, and he was inviting Su Yue to his home. So I couldn’t stop his good intentions.”

Han Lao-er didn’t notice anything and said, “Since Han Qingsong went to call Su Yue, we don’t have to worry.”

Han Lao-san chuckled again and said to his two brothers in a sly voice, “I discovered something amazing. It turns out that Han Qingsong likes Su Yue. This guy has high vision and has refused to get married until now. I thought he wanted to be a bachelor for the rest of his life. I didn’t expect that Han Qingsong likes Su Yue quietly. No wonder Su Yue is so beautiful and capable; a girl like this will definitely catch his eye.”

Han Lao-er also became interested and asked curiously, “Really? How did you know?”

Han Lao-san pointed to his eyes. “I can see it. Yeah, you don’t know the way Han Qingsong looked at Su Yue, not to mention how obsessed he was; I could even see it with my eyes closed! Moreover, he didn’t call anyone; he just asked Su Yue to go to his house to take shelter from the rain. How obvious. So I came back with good sense; I couldn’t ruin other people’s courting phase.”

Han Lao-er also laughed, “Then he must really like Su Yue. It’s a good thing. Han Qingsong is capable, his family is in good condition, and he is a good person. He’s not bad looking, but he’s worthy of Su Yue. If these two people can be together, then they can be considered a talented man and a beautiful woman pair.”

”Wow -” While the two brothers were talking, there was a sudden sound of a bench scraping against the ground. They were startled and realized that it was Han Aiguo who suddenly stood up and made the noise.

Han Lao-er asked in surprise, “Brother, what’s wrong with you?”

Han Aiguo pursed his lips tightly, said, “I’m going to bed,” turned around, and walked away with his crutch.

Han Lao-san and Han Lao-er looked at each other, a little confused, but they felt that their eldest brother was not happy tonight.