In the middle of the night, the sound of gongs and drums suddenly resounded through the village. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 With the sound of gongs and drums, the villagers, who were already worried, got up from their beds, groped for their belongings, dragged their children out of the house, and each found the earthen boat at home.

"The embankment is broken, the embankment is broken......" When the villagers got up, the sound of gongs and drums was also approaching, and the people who beat the gongs held torches, ran around the village, and finally returned to their homes and dragged the old people and children out.

This is an ordinary small farm yard, with only three earthen houses, and only the people who beat the gong enter the courtyard. By the light of the moon, I saw five people in the courtyard.

A woman with two and a half boys, followed by her old parents. Several of them were dressed in rags, covered only by a piece of clothing.

"Boss, is the levee really broken?" the woman's face was full of vicissitudes. "A few days ago, when Hong Feng passed for the first time, wasn't it still very stable?"

"Who knows what happened, this year's flood peak was half a month ahead of schedule, there should have been two waves, the last time it was lucky, but this time it was unlucky. The gong striker threw the gong and drum in his hand, and then pulled his wife and walked out the door.

When he turned around, he saw his face clearly, it was the old Wang who had been patrolling the embankment in the upper reaches of the Dingjiang River before.

He is also nearly fifty years old, his old parents are still there, and because he got married late, his two children are also young. Patrolling the embankment was a dangerous thing, that is, his family was poor, so he received this errand from the county.

When the embankment broke, the people who patrolled the embankment with him were washed away in an instant, and it was only because of his fate that he arrived home safely.

"Hurry up and get on the boat, the flood will come up in a little while. As he spoke, the instep of the crowd was flooded with water, and the water came in a hurry, and in a short time it reached the ankles.

"God has no eyes, our family's rice can be harvested at a glance, this is soaked in water, a year's rations are gone, and we have to borrow money to live. The woman let the king pull her out of the door, and wiped her tears with her head down.

"Those who put money are all jackals, we have to borrow money, and we can't pay it back in this life. When she had finished speaking, the woman began to weep aloud.

When the two and a half children around him saw their mother crying at this time, they were at a loss and looked at Lao Wang in panic.

Lao Wang's parents reacted immediately. "Son, we are also old, we haven't given you a good life since we were young, this time the flood comes, you first escape by boat, and our old couple will guard your home here." ”

The old father said tremblingly, with sadness hidden in his voice.

"Son, be obedient, and go away. Your dad is right, the two of us will take care of the house for you. The old mother said with tears in her eyes.

"Daddy, what are you talking about? Lao Wang scolded, let go of his wife's hand, and went to lead his second elder.

The few simple sentences of dialogue just now sound unsurprising, but as long as you think about it carefully, you can understand: the two old parents said that they wanted to stay and watch their home, but at the current flood, how can there be a home.

It's nothing more than an excuse to stay in the village and kill yourself.

The two old men knew that what the daughter-in-law said was the truth, the year's harvest was gone, not to mention the rent money of the landlord's family, even the whole family could not chew it, of course, they could only borrow money to get by.

Originally, the family couldn't save a few pennies a year, but in such a catastrophic year, once the money was borrowed, the profits rolled over, and in the end, there was only a situation where the family was ruined.

The old man offered to sacrifice the old couple in order to save his son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons.

"Now that the flood is coming, let's stop the ink, hurry up and get on the boat and go, get out of the flood land, and then discuss the future." Lao Wang pulled his parents and resolutely disagreed.

"Yes, Daddy, they all have hands and feet, it's a big deal to be a homeless person and go to the wilderness to open up wasteland. The daughter-in-law hesitated for a moment, and in the battle between reason and conscience, conscience finally prevailed.

The two children also saw the clues from their grandparents' faces, and they also cried: "Grandparents, grandchildren don't want to be separated from you." ”

"Okay, wife, let's listen to our son first, and let's talk about it when we get out. The old father hesitated for a moment, and finally gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Let's go, you're thinking as much as you want. Lao Wang said angrily. "Say a few more words, and the water will flood your calves. ”

"Yes, yes, we're not right, let's go. The old mother spoke widely. Although she was scolded by her son, she also knew that her son was really good for herself, so not only was she not angry, but she was a little relieved.

After this episode, a family of six got on the earthen boat that had been prepared at the door half a month earlier. The boat was only half a meter deep, and six people had to be close to each other to squeeze in.

At this time, the water level had already risen, and when everyone entered, the wooden boat also floated.

"Master, where are we going?" got on the boat, and the old Wang's daughter-in-law also felt a strange sense of relief and asked.

"Let's float out along the river, otherwise we will go out of Tianlin Gorge and walk for ten days and a half to the exit to find the Lord Fang who is controlling the water, it is said that he will be short of work at all times. As soon as Lao Wang put the rope down, the hemp rope fell to the surface of the water, causing a circle of ripples.

"But our family only has these few rations, can we?" said the old Wang's daughter-in-law as she unfolded the package in her arms, revealing four or five large bran breads.

"It's summer, and there are a lot of wild fruits and vegetables on the roadside, are you still afraid of starvation? Lao Wang replied unconfidently.

"Just listen to the son, there are six of us, and the son and two grandsons can be one laborer. The three of us can also be worth one labor, so it's definitely okay to try. The old father nodded.

"Yes, I heard that there are people in all ten miles and eight towns who have already gone to Lord Fang's construction site. Lao Wang rowed the oars, and there was finally hope on his face.

It turned out that after Fang Haoze came to Wuzhou, he had already used the hundreds of thousands of silver taels he had saved before to send the guards of Fangfu to preach the deeds of water control along the Dingjiang River.

Even more incognito, he has done a lot of good deeds, donated money and materials, and now the villagers on both sides of the upper and lower reaches of the Dingjiang River rarely know about the water control project.

On the one hand, it is the need to spread fame and collect incense, and on the other hand, it is also to bring a steady stream of migrant workers to the water control project.

The flood was getting bigger and bigger, and Lao Wang's family sat on a wooden boat and soon floated to the entrance of the village, and they also saw seven or eight villagers, all of whom were also dragging their families to sit on wooden boats.

They said hello from afar, said they were safe to each other, and they were far away from each other's sights.

A few snakes and rats occasionally swam out of the water and tried to climb into the wooden boat, but they were also killed by Lao Wang and thrown into the boat.

The old king's daughter-in-law understood it and caught it, skinned and disemboweled, so that it could be used as rations in the future.

The crowd drifted along the flood for most of the night, and they didn't dare to close their eyes. Along the way, they paddled along the Dingjiang River, but it was calm.

Suddenly, the Dingjiang River not far away made a rumbling sound, and a light and shadow came out of the water, roaring from the left and right flood peaks.

Take a closer look, although the light and shadow are hazy, but the old Wang family knows that it is the manifestation of the water god of the Dingjiang River.

"Phew......" Lao Wang couldn't help but take a sip.

"If you are in charge, you have to hold back. The old Wang's daughter-in-law hurriedly came to cover her mouth. But soon, she couldn't be calm either.

The flood not far away broke through the embankment with a loud bang, and a huge amount of river water flowed out, forming a big wave that rushed in the direction of Lao Wang's family.

In an instant, in the red eyes of the old king, the flood suddenly covered the wooden boat.

The wooden boat, which had not had enough water, was full of river water and was about to sink.

"Don't be stunned, scoop up the water. Lao Wang shouted. So a few people hurriedly poured water out, and there were no utensils, so everyone scooped with both hands and kept spilling the stagnant water.

But where could the speed keep up, the wooden boat was gradually sinking, and the water that everyone scooped out was not as much as the water entered.

For a while, Lao Wang's face was filled with despair.

At this moment, Lao Wang's parents saw each other, jumped out of the wooden boat, threw themselves into the flood, and were instantly washed out of the distance. Without giving an explanation, he sank into the water.

"Daddy and mother......" Lao Wang was still trying to scoop water to save himself, and when he reacted, his parents had gone with the river and didn't know where to go.

The two and a half children of "grandparents" also cried.

But after going to two people, the wooden boat finally stabilized, the draft was much shallower, and the remaining four people on the boat were safe.

"Let's go, let's go to Lord Fang's water control site, you two swear to me that we must work hard, so that we can see Dingjiang intercepted by Lord Fang in our lifetime. Lao Wang said to his two sons with tears in his eyes.

The small wooden boat fell into a miserable atmosphere.

And such a scene, with the outing of the water god of the Dingjiang River, continues to be staged on the riverbank.