Wang Shufang couldn't win against Lin Fan; she could only tell him to go to bed early and stop watching the rain.
She was still worried about whether Lin Fan had any injuries!
Lin Fan, however, looked indifferent. He pulled up a long bench and sat by the door, staring at the water pouring from the eaves.
It was pitch black outside, but the lightning, thunder, and torrential rain hadn't stopped for a moment.
Flashes of lightning occasionally illuminated the entire earth as white as snow, allowing Lin Fan to see the situation outside for a brief instant.
The rainwater from the eaves hung like a water curtain; it had been three hours, and there was no sign of it letting up.
In the evening, Lin Fan had tumbled over a hundred meters down the Hillside. Now that he was finally alone...
Lin Fan felt as if his bones and muscles were falling apart; even just sitting there was painful.
There was no ibuprofen in the mountains, not even aspirin. Lin Fan could only use his willpower to dull the pain.
In a daze, he didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly heard a "Rumble!" sound, and even the ground trembled a few times.
Lin Fan, who was dozing on the bench, was startled awake. He wasn't the only one.
Third Uncle, Third Aunt, and Wang Shufang were all startled awake too. They prepared to light torches to check on Lin Fan's house.
Lin Fan stopped them: "Mom! Third Uncle! Third Aunt! It's so dark and raining so hard; you won't be able to see anything even with torches."
"Besides, even if we see that our house has collapsed now, there's nothing we can do."
"You should go back to bed and wait until dawn to go out and look."
The adults looked at the pitch-black night, only able to see further during the flashes of lightning.
Third Uncle said, "Lin Fan is right. Going now won't help."
"And accidents could happen easily. Let's wait until dawn!"
The three adults lost their sleepiness and sat down in the main hall, staring blankly at the dark night outside.
At this time, Lin Family Gully didn't have electricity yet, and kerosene lamps weren't something you'd light whenever you wanted.
Sitting around like this in the middle of the night without work to do, they naturally wouldn't light the lamp; it would be a waste of kerosene.
They sat around the Eight Immortals Table in the main hall, one person on each side, sitting quietly in the night.
Only the occasional lightning outside revealed the four of them in the darkness; if an outsider saw this, they would be terrified.
After a long silence, Third Uncle packed his tobacco pipe, took a puff, and said, "Second Sister-in-law! What do you plan to do next?"
Although Lin Fan had stopped them from rushing into the rain, the four of them had stood under the eaves and, with the help of the lightning, saw that the Lin family's house had indeed collapsed.
Wang Shufang felt only lingering fear, with none of the joy of survival.
Lin Fan reached out and held her hand, feeling her whole body trembling. He consoled her, "Mom! Our whole family escaped a disaster tonight. To survive such a catastrophe is a blessing; it's a good thing."
"The house collapsed, so we'll just rebuild it. This time, we'll build a house with blue bricks and large tiles."
Wang Shufang suddenly burst into tears: "I'm not heartbroken over the house. I'm thinking, if we hadn't come to Third Aunt's house to stay tonight..."
"How... how could I face your father?"
When Wang Shufang had mentioned staying for the night earlier, Third Aunt had been a bit reluctant.
Seeing the house collapse just now, she also felt afraid. If she had really refused last night and caused harm to Second Sister-in-law's family, she probably wouldn't have been able to sleep for the rest of her life.
She quickly said to Wang Shufang, "Second Sister-in-law! Being alive is better than anything."
"Isn't your family safe? The house is gone, but tomorrow I'll have my family cut some bamboo and build a few thatched huts for you to live in temporarily."
"Just like my nephew said, next time we'll build a blue-brick house with large tiles—three rooms!"
In the countryside, building a three-room blue-brick house was the greatest wish.
Wang Shufang cried for a while, letting out her fear, and then slowly stopped.
Lin Fan said, "Mom! Third Aunt is right! We'll set up a temporary thatched hut first."
"I heard the current policy encourages everyone to go out and work to earn money. Someone from the neighboring village has already left."
"I've graduated this year too. Let's all go south to find work together."
Before Wang Shufang could reply, Third Uncle spoke first: "Lin Fan! A thousand days at home are easy, but an hour away is hard!"
"You're taking the whole family to find work outside. Where will you live? What will you eat?"
"Opportunities outside aren't just waiting for you; it's not like you'll find work as soon as you get there."
"Stay at home and tend to your small plot of land. With the help of fellow villagers, the three of you won't go hungry."
Third Sister-in-law also quickly added, "Yes! Yes! Second Sister-in-law, everyone in Lin Family Gully is descended from the same ancestors."
"No one will ignore you."
Wang Shufang was hesitating and didn't speak. Lin Fan didn't continue talking about going out to work either.
By then, there had been no thunder for a while, as if its violent temper had been mostly spent tonight.
The torrential rain outside was like a child's tears, stopping all of a sudden.
Half an hour later, the rain stopped and the clouds dispersed. A full moon hung in the west. The darkness of the night seemed as if it had never existed. The mountains were filled with moonlight like flowing water, illuminating the actual gurgling streams on the ground.
Lin Fan and the others weren't in the mood to enjoy the night scenery. The four of them walked out and went to the front of Lin Fan's house.
The Lin family's three-room earth-walled house, with over a hundred years of history, had truly collapsed. The debris from the collapse flooded the entire Drying yard.
Seeing this scene, Wang Shufang immediately wanted to go in and salvage some things.
Lin Fan quickly pulled her back and called out to Third Uncle: "Don't go in. The soil is still soft right now; it's still flowing."
"If someone gets trapped, they won't even be able to be rescued."
People in the mountains who truly get caught in mudslides can't pass on the message, so Third Uncle didn't know if what Lin Fan said was true or false.
His steps faltered slightly. Lin Fan continued, "The house has already collapsed, and everything inside is soaked."
"A few more hours of soaking won't make much difference. The important thing is that everyone is safe."
"When dawn comes, we'll get more uncles and brothers to help. With more people, we can look out for each other. It's much better than us risking ourselves here."
Hearing Lin Fan say so much, Wang Shufang finally stopped struggling. She said in a raspy voice, "Faner! Let go! I won't go over."
Wang Shufang glanced at the ruins once more, turned around, and said, "Third Uncle! Third Sister-in-law! Let's go back! Let's get some rest tonight and come back tomorrow."
Lin Fan was finally relieved. He could also go back and sleep for a while.
Third Uncle looked at him: "You stayed awake all night just to keep us from coming over, fearing an accident?"
Lin Fan smiled awkwardly: "My words carry little weight. You wouldn't have listened if I told you, so I could only keep watch at the door."
Third Uncle said with a bitter smile, "When did you learn to predict the future, kid?"
Lin Fan quickly said, "I didn't! I just saw the water accumulating in the house and was afraid it would soften the foundation of the earth walls, so I felt it was unsafe."
"Anyway, Third Uncle's family is good to us. Even if nothing happened tonight, Third Uncle and Third Aunt wouldn't say anything about us disturbing you."
These words subtly flattered Third Uncle and Third Aunt, and both of them immediately became happy.
Especially Third Aunt; she had let Lin Fan's family stay the night and saved three lives. If word of this got out...
Everyone would call her a righteous and benevolent person!
In the mountain villages, everyone was poor. The poorer people were, the more they cared about reputation and integrity.
As the saying goes,'Selling one's children to buy a steamer—not to steam buns, but to save face.' Those who acted this way were always the poor or those of low social standing.
Returning to Third Uncle's house again, Lin Fan could finally have a good sleep.
However, the three adults lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.