Chapter 40: Flood

While they siblings were engrossed with their own activities, Bai Yi Chen handphone suddenly rings, something that is rarely happen since Bai Yi Chen handphone rarely rings even during the day.

"Hello Head Village." Bai Yi Chen answer. Bai Yi Yang immediately look up. Why is the head village calling this late, it is already 9.15 pm.

"The village river is raising?" Bai Yi Chen sounds shocked, he immediately walk out of the living room. Indeed, as Bai Yi Ling said the rain is much more heavier now compared to during the evening, what more it hasn't stop at all.

"We won't go out anywhere. All my siblings is inside the house now, I will tell them not to go down the mountain for now." Bai Yi Chen said on the phone again. Head Village Li seems to be saying something important because his brows is frowning.

"The Bo and your second Li family? Alright, I will look over and see if they are at the foot of the mountain. Head Village please don't worry, I will immediately inform you when I arrive there." Bai Yi Chen said before turning off the phone.

Bai Yi Yang and Bai Yi Ling has stopped doing their homework, they are now sitting properly as they hear Bai Yi Chen conversations with the Head Village. Bai Yi Chen enters the living room with a frown.

"There is a flood in the village?" Bai Yi Yang ask. She wasn't worried about flood since they live in the mountain, it was impossible for the flood to reach here unless the whole town sinks, so she didn't really pay attention to it. Didn't think that the village is one of the easily flooded place.

"It's not that bad yet, but the two houses near the river has been affected, the villagers go there to look but the two houses is empty, they suspect that these two families went up the mountain road to escape the flood. They are still looking for them but the ditch besides the road connecting the mountain road and the village is quite deep now, the villagers doesn't dare to cross it to search for them." Bai Yi Chen said as he search for small plastic to put his phone inside.

At this time, even the two children playing inside the bedroom also already come out to listen to their conversation. Bai Yi Yang is a bit confused about the geography of the village, which ditch and which road again?

"The old Bo couple house and the second Li family house is located a bit far from the rest of the houses in the village, and it is near the river. If they wanted to go to the nearest village houses, they need to cross the deep ditch area which is a shortcut or use the longer road from their houses. I think they may tried to use the shortcut path at first, didn't think that the place is already flooded, when they wanted to return to use the longer path, the water is already deep near their house, so they can only go wait at the foot of the mountain for rescue." Bai Yi Chen explains. Bai Yi Yang finally understand. She didn't want to waste time and help Bai Yi Chen wear his raincoat, then she also let him bring an umbrella.

"I will go first, you all stay at home and wait for me. Remember, don't go down the mountain on your own." Bai Yi Chen said to Bai Yi Yang.

"Ge, don't worry. I will take care if the house. You go and be careful too, the road may be slippery."Bai Yi Yang said. Bai Yi Chen nod and walk away.

The four siblings watch Bai Yi Chen walk through the heavy rain with his raincoat and torchlight in his hand. The mountain road is very dark at night, Bai Yi Yang was thinking of adding road lights in the future, then it won't be as dark as now, of course this is a plan for the future.

"Xiao Ling, help me turn on all the lights. We wait for gege to return here in the living room." Bai Yi Yang ask the two smaller on sit on the quilt on the floor while she and Bai Yi Ling went go the houses to turn on the lights. The house immediately lights up and the three smaller one finally relax a bit. They all sat close to each other on the quilt in the living room with blanket around them.

"Jie, whose house is filled with river water?" Bai Yi Fang ask innocently.

"Hurm..gege said that it was old Bo house and second Li family.." Bai Yi Yang answer, honestly she doesn't know this two family. She can guess that the second Li family is Head Village Li brother, just like Xiao Bao father who is the third Li.

"They are so pitiful.." Bai Yi Fang frown.

"Will our house get flooded too?" Bai Yi Mo looks worried and horrified.

"It won't. Our house is high up the mountain." Bai Yi Ling said.

"What a relief, if not then we need to climb the mountain and live in the forest." Ba Yi Mo said. Bai Yi Yang smile with Xiao Mo extreme imagination. Bai Yi Yang has asked Bai Yi Chen to call her if there is anything, so she put her phone in front so that she can notice it right away.

'He is fine right?' She ask the system.

'Your gege is fine. By now, he should be almost at that place.' The system answer.

'Good, good.' Bai Yi Yang thought.

The children was actively chatting at first but then they become a bit sleepy and lay down. Bai Yi Yang look at her phone, it was almost 10.00 pm, taking consideration of the bad whether and slippery road, Bai Yi Yang guess that he should return about now if there is nothing else. And as she expected, not long after that, she heard a few voices talking in the rain and when she look through the door, there are several flashlights outside.

It wasn't very clear how many people it is because of the heavy rain but Bai Yi Yang sure it wasn't less than 5 people. Bai Yi Yang stood up and her siblings who fall asleep also woken up from their sleep.

"Gege is back?" Bai Yi Ling asked.

"En." Bai Yi Yang said. When Bai Yi Chen brought the people through the main gate, Ba Yi Yang can see them clearly now, all of them are wearing raincoat that Bai Yi Yang doesn't think work that well, their hair is wet and even with the addition umbrella over their head, it wasn't sufficient in this heavy rain. What more, if what Head Village Li said is correct, then they must have been outside under the rain for at least 2 hours now.

Bai Yi Chen urged them to go under the roof at the corridors as they followed Bai Yi Chen to the Main house, walking at the corridor. Bai Yi Yang saw a pair of elderly couple at least in their mid 50s with a boy that looks to be around 12, then a family of 6 which consist of a teenager boy that looks only about 1 year older than her and Bai Yi Chen, a teenage girl maybe around 14 to 15, a 6 years old girl and another small one in the father embrace.

They all have a few things in their hands, or bamboo basket behind them which is covered with plastic. Bai Yi Yang didn't recognise even one of them but her younger siblings are already talking with each other about the children that they saw, they seems to know the small guests.

"Ge, you have returned." Bai Yi Yang said to Bai Yi Chen.

"En, Yang Yang. Everything is well at home?" He ask. He had bring over the people at the corridor of the Main house and they are already taking off their raincoat to be put aside.

As Bai Yi Yang had guess, they are really wet, not as bad as getting rained on directly but their head is wet and their clothes are damp. Out of all the people, only the small child in the father embrace is dry, it is a little girl about 2 years old.

"Everything is well. Everyone please come inside first, it is cold outside." Bai Yi Yang invite the people inside.

"If you show us the bathroom we will go change first, the house may get wet." The second Li said. He didn't expect that the Bai siblings house be this well maintained, he has seen this house before about 2 years ago and it was old, but it was different now, it was brightly lit, the spacious living room is clean and neat.

"Uncle, what the rush. If the floor gets wet then just wipe it later. You all have stayed under the rain for too long, the children is cold, wait for us to help boil the water for bathing then go take bath." Bai Yi Yang smile softly. She understand this simple village folks, they can just come up the mountain anytime to their house but they choose to stay at the foot of the mountain because they doesn't want to trouble them.

"Then..we really have trouble all of your today." The elderly man said as he make the decision, they really have stayed outside long, they are cold, the children surely feels cold. He is the head of the Bo family.

Bai Yi Yang smile and let her siblings bring the quilt they were using into the room so that it won't obstruct the people. Bai Yi Yang put an old towel on the floor at the entrance so that the people can wipe their wet feet on it. The two family's take off their slipper and entered one by one, they put their bags and things aside at one corner before taking a seat. Bai Yi Yang doesn't want them to feel awkward so she told her younger siblings to sit down quietly and not mess around.

"Please be comfortable, I will go to the kitchen first to boil the water. If there is anything please call me." Bai Yi Yang bring Bai Yi Ling to the kitchen.

"Eldest yatou, you can show me the bathroom. I can stand the cold, only let my wife and grandson bath with hot water." The elderly man said.

"Grandpa, my brother is using the other bathroom in the West house, you can use these bathroom instead." Bai Yi Yang pointed at the bathroom in the Main house.

"Thank you eldest yatou. If you don't mind, we will stay here in the living room while waiting for the rain to stop, we two families don't want to trouble you very much." Grandpa Bo said.

"Grandpa Bo, these rain I afraid won't stop anytime soon. How about we do it like this, we have a few empty rooms that can be used. Grandpa Bo, you and your family can use the empty room in the East house, as for second Uncle Li family, the room on the left side is empty and you can use it and this gege can share a room with my beother. How about that?" Bai Yi Yang suggest. When she saw these number of people, she already made an arrangement inside her head.

"Then, we will be thankful." Second Li said as he nod. It is fine sleeping in the living room if it is himself, but he have 4 children, they will take quite a lot of space and it may be cold out here, so he thinks that this arrangement is the most suitable.

Bai Yi Yang open the room on the left and let the Second Li family arrange their stuff on their own, then she bring Grandma Bo and her grandson to the room next to the one Bai Yi Chen and Xiao Mo is using.

"Eldest yatou, you don't need to boil water for us, just show us the kitchen and bathroom and we will know what to do. We have trouble you enough." Grandma Bo said when Bai Yi Yang send them to the room.

"Then after this I will show Grandma Bo the kitchen. The bathroom in the Main house is too far from the kitchen, so just use the West house bathroom later." Bai Yi Yang said. Grandma Bo nod.

Bai Yi Yang briefly heard Grandma Bo talking to her grandson when she steps out of the room. Grandma Bo is reminding him not to be naughty and cause trouble. The boy didn't answer at all but he also didn't refute his grandma.

Bai Yi Yang smile and return to the Main house, the teenage boy from the Li family is wiping the wet floor with a rags now. It was wet because they were sitting there just now. The rest of the second Li family is inside the left room now.

"Let it be, deal with it later." Bai Yi Yang said.

"It's fine. I can do this much." The eldest boy of second Li family said as he smile. Bai Yi Yang didn't bother with him anymore, she really doesn't know him so it is better to not act too friendly, lest people knows that she has become a bit weird.

Bai Yi Yang look into her and her siblings bedroom and the children are already asleep. Her phone that she lend them is lying between them, still playing a video. She turn off he phone and switch off the lights in the bedroom, only leaving one lights on. Only after that she head to the kitchen to help up a bit.