Meanwhile, An Jiuyue went to the bamboo forest again.
There were so many people under the tree. Her family did not have enough bowls. She had no choice but to go to the bamboo forest to chop some bamboo and use bamboo tubes to serve porridge.
“Jiuyue, thank you for the trouble.”
Aunt Ju took a bamboo tube from An Jiuyue and thanked her.
If it wasn’t for this girl, we will still be stranded in the water. How will we even be able to sit by the fire and eat warm porridge?
“Aunt Ju, you’re too polite.”
An Jiuyue smiled at her, turned around, and scooped the leftover porridge into a large earthen jar. Then, she took a string of bamboo tubes and was ready to leave.
“Jiuyue, where are you going?” the Junior Officer asked when he saw that she was heading out so late at night.
However, he already knew where she was heading to. The people here got to eat warm porridge, but those in the cave did not. They might not even have any means to light a fire.
“Uncle, you and the others can rest here. I’ll bring porridge to the Chief and the others. I’ll also carry some firewood over and let them dry their clothes.”
An Jiuyue turned around and replied before leaving.
“Sigh.”
The Junior Officer sighed again as he watched An Jiuyue leave.
“What a good child. Why do the villagers not like her?”
He shook his head.
“Those people in the village have too much time on their hands. They can’t prosper, so they wish that others live as badly as them. Why do you care about that anyway? Look, Jiuyue is raising two children, but they’re living well.”
Aunt Ju replied.
“Exactly.”
Someone nearby overheard Aunt Ju’s words and immediately agreed.
“Uncle, we should discuss building bigger treehouses on the mountain after the flood subsides. What do you think?” the man asked.
This man had always been a diligent and quick-witted person. He felt that it was not good for their village to be flooded so often.
“Build treehouses?”
The Junior Officer raised his eyebrows, but his eyes lit up.
“I think we can consider this. After the flood subsides, I’ll discuss this matter with the Chief. We don’t even have to build treehouses. We can just build a few straw huts on the mountain.”
Their village experienced floods every three to five years. It was terrible! However, they could not possibly relocate the entire village.
If they could build a few straw huts on the mountain, they could organize the villagers to stay in the straw huts whenever it rained too heavily. They could head back down to the village once the skies cleared.
“I think Jiuyue’s bamboo raft is also a good idea. Bamboo is available everywhere. Every family should make a bamboo raft and place it in the yard. We can get people and food onto the raft when a flood occurs. Even if we are swept away, at least we are on a raft.”
Aunt Ju added.
Furthermore, the bamboo raft could be stored vertically when unused. It would not take up too much space.
Bamboo grew throughout the year. If the bamboo on their bamboo raft cracked, they could still be used to light a fire. They could make a new bamboo raft to replace it. Sure, it would take some effort, but so what?
Today’s incident must never repeat itself. It was too scary.
…
While the people here started to come up with ideas, discussing how to prevent floods, the people in the cave were almost frozen in the cold.