Chapter 289: 287: When the Room Leaks, It Rains All Night
Chapter 289: 287: When the Room Leaks, It Rains All Night
“Stop messing around, the snow is too thick. If you step down, you’ll sink just the same. Just lie obediently and don’t move! That way, we can get home sooner.”
Di Yelei gasped for breath, and as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, the wild wind mixed with heavy snow blew unceasingly into his mouth.
He quickly lowered his head to avoid the wind.
“But! The snowstorm is too strong! You…”
Liu Sisi wanted to say more, but another gust of wind blew by. She quickly lowered her head to hide, burying the remaining half of her sentence in Di Yelei’s back.
In order to resist the strong wind, Di Yelei’s body was almost at a 45-degree angle, fighting against the wind to move forward.
“Don’t talk, once we pass this windy area… it’ll be better! ——”
He shouted with all his might, but his voice was scattered by the wind and snow, making it hard to hear clearly. Liu Sisi simply buried her head in his neck, avoiding the flying snow that went straight into her mouth and nose.
The snow quickly fell, rapidly accumulating a thick layer in the hollow of Di Yelei’s neck.
She hurriedly reached out to brush it off but was blinded by the strong wind and couldn’t open her eyes at all.
“Don’t move! …It’ll be fine in a while!”
Di Yelei shouted, subconsciously propping up her small body and continued to carry her, stumbling step by step towards home against the wind and snow.
After turning past the windy area, the pressure in front of their eyes eased, and the gust of wind immediately lessened a lot. The two of them couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, and a warm current flowed through their bodies.
“This year’s snow… is so heavy!”
Di Yelei panted.
“I don’t know how everyone at home is doing.”
Liu Sisi was worried about the elderly and children at home, as well as her Second Sister, Liu Zhi’er. She didn’t know how they were now.
They didn’t get the contract, so how was her sister’s injury, and what should they do in the future? If she continued going on like this, her later years would be ruined! All sorts of thoughts spread in her mind.
“It should be fine, I just swept the snow off the roof this morning!”
Di Yelei answered, walking quickly towards home.
“I’m glad it’s okay.” Liu Sisi’s heart was a mess.
“Sisi, before you came over, Uncle Land Officer mentioned a farm with a small courtyard and hot spring near the official road not far from the county…”
Di Yelei regained his breath, recalling the previous incident, and spoke up.
“Is that so? Then how much do you know about this fertile land?” Liu Sisi thought for a while and asked.
Di Yelei propped her body up again: “I do know about those fields. They’re located upstream of the river, backed by a mountain forest. I went to the hot spring beneath the mountain forest when I was young; it’s indeed a good piece of land. However…”
“Is it because we don’t have enough money? By the way, how much did the person ask for?” Liu Sisi’s question immediately hit the nail on the head.
“They’re asking for 1000 taels of silver.” Di Yelei said indifferently.
How could they come up with 1000 taels of silver? Liu Sisi’s expression darkened.
Both of them fell silent, and it seemed to take even longer for them to return home than when they had left.
As soon as they entered the house, they heard the sound of shoveling snow.
Di Yelei looked up and was immediately stunned! A big tree next to the house had been broken by the accumulated snow and had fallen directly onto the roof. At the moment, Elderly Mr. Di was setting up a ladder, holding a firewood knife, and standing shakily at the top of the ladder, cutting the tree branches with the knife.
“Dad! Don’t move! Be careful, don’t move!”
While speaking, Di Yelei put down Liu Sisi and rushed over to support the ladder.
Elderly Mr. Di was struggling with the tree branches. He looked back at the two and smiled: “You’re back? The snow is too heavy, the house… ”
“Dad, don’t move! Get down quickly, Ye Lei will do it. Please, get down!” What if he fell?
“Father-in-law, please come down and talk. Hurry and come down!”
Liu Sisi felt her soul leaving her body!
How could her father-in-law, who had difficulty walking, climb onto the roof?
It was a great relief to finally get him down from the ladder. Only then did they realize that he was soaked in sweat, and his wet hair clung to his body.
He grinned at the two, revealing his shriveled mouth with missing teeth: “Not long after you left, the tree… I was worried… worried that the house would collapse… ”
“Dad! It’s my fault for making you work so hard!”
Di Yelei looked very emotional: “Dad, just rest. Leave the rest to your Third Child. Okay?”
Liu Sisi also nodded quickly: “Father-in-law, your clothes are wet. You can’t sit here. Please go inside and change into some clean clothes.”
While talking, she helped Elderly Mr. Di into the room.
Elderly Mr. Di still tried to resist: “I’m not cold! I can… help drag the branches… ”
“Father-in-law! Please go in and change your clothes first. Sisi will pull the branches later. Ye Lei has more strength and is faster at these things. Don’t worry.”
After supporting Elderly Mr. Di into the house and adding more firewood to the fire, she scooped out some hot water for him before going out to help.
The heavy snow outside showed no sign of stopping.
Di Yelei wore a straw coat and a bamboo hat, continuously chopping the big tree on the roof. The room crushed by the tree was the one he and Ye Lei lived in. Liu Sisi didn’t know the situation inside the room, and with roof tiles constantly falling, she didn’t dare to go in and check.
Tightening the straw coat around her body, Liu Sisi grabbed the tree branches that Di Yelei had chopped down and dragged them out of the house, all the way out of the courtyard to a vacant lot outside the courtyard wall. Only then did she turn around and go back to continue dragging the branches.
After going back and forth many times, she finally saw Di Yelei lifting the last section of the tree trunk, sliding it along the eaves and letting it fall along the edge of the wall.
He quickly got off the ground and wiped his sweat: “The main beam in the middle of the house is broken, and many purlins and rafters are also broken. Even the adobe wall near the eaves is damaged, with a crack as wide as two palms. It looks like this house is uninhabitable tonight.”
“Can we still go in? I want to go in and get our belongings and temporarily store them in the kitchen.” Liu Sisi asked anxiously.
“I’m afraid the roof tiles and other things might still fall, which is too dangerous. You go to the kitchen and stoke the fire first. I’ll go into the inner room and move the items.” Di Yelei said, turning around and going into the inner room.
Of course, Liu Sisi didn’t waste any more time either. She went straight to the kitchen, filled two large iron pots with water, and started the fire.
She was still lighting the fire in the brazier when the fire blazed up. She added some cleaned beast meat and decided to have another meal tonight.