Shortly after midnight, a ghastly white bolt of lightning split the ink-black, cloud-covered sky. The horizon flashed bright for an instant before a thunderclap shook the heavens.
Song Jinzhao jolted violently, as if she had fallen from a cliff in her dreams, the intense feeling of weightlessness jolting her awake.
A tremendous crash of thunder sounded right beside her. The infant next to her twitched his limbs and turned his head, seeming about to be roused by the noise.
She picked up Song Anhao, sat cross-legged on the kang, and softly hummed him back to sleep.
It had been stiflingly hot all day; it looked like a heavy rain was coming.
In the next room, Song Shixue drowsily opened her eyes. Realizing it was just thunder, she rolled over, buried her head in the bedding, and went back to sleep.
After the lightning and thunder persisted for about a quarter of an hour, a gale began to howl outside. Raindrops the size of beans poured down, pelting the roof with a deafening clatter.
Afraid Song Anhao would be frightened, Song Jinzhao covered his ears with her hands.
This was the first storm of such magnitude since she had crossed over into this world; it felt like the apocalypse was coming.
Awakened by the noise, Song Qiming sat up in bed, listening intently to the wind and rain outside.
He touched his forehead—it was wet. Looking up at the roof, he saw water dripping right above him.
All sleepiness vanished. He scrambled out of bed and hurried out of the room.
Seeing him rush out in a panic, Song Jinzhao asked, "What's wrong?"
Was he scared by the thunder?
Song Qiming grabbed a wooden basin from the shelf, intending to catch the water. "The roof is leaking; it dripped right onto the bed."
"What!" Just as Song Jinzhao was about to put Song Anhao down, a tremendous roar exploded overhead, shaking the entire roof.
The gale ripped all the thatch clean off the small room's roof, leaving a gaping hole.
"Elder Sister~"
Song Shixue let out a terrified scream. Without even stopping to put on her shoes, she tumbled off the kang and scrambled out of the room on all fours.
Rain struck his face. Song Qiming stood frozen in place, basin in hand. With a hole that big, how could he possibly catch the water?
"Elder Sister, the grain is going to get wet." Ten sacks were stored in the small room—grain meant to be saved for food.
Song Jinzhao handed the child to Song Qiming, pulled Song Shixue over, and shoved them both under the dining table. "Stay crouched there; don't come out."
A wind this strong definitely wouldn't stop anytime soon. She prayed the house wouldn't collapse.
She quickly moved the grain from the small room into the main hall. She couldn't let the remaining thatch be blown away, or the entire house would be drenched.
She pulled the door bolt and had just cracked the door open a sliver when the wind nearly knocked her over.
She pushed back with all her might, slammed the door shut, slid the bolt back into place, and braced her body against it. The wind was so fierce that simply standing was difficult, let alone climbing onto the roof to secure the thatch.
Kneeling on the floor, his body hunched under the table, Song Qiming called out to her worriedly.
Song Jinzhao shut the door connecting the two rooms, gripping the handle to prevent the wind from blowing it open, and called out to reassure the two children, "It's alright. Stay where you are."
Song Shixue's pale little hands tightly covered Song Anhao's ears, her shoulders trembling.
The sound of something heavy crashing down mixed with the howling wind and pounding rain. Song Jinzhao's brows furrowed into a deep crease.
She raised her head, staring fixedly at the roof, convinced it would give way at any second.
Drip, drip, drip... The house began leaking everywhere, turning it into something of a water curtain cave.
Looking at the sacks getting soaked, Song Qiming was so upset he was almost in tears.
The fierce gale lasted a full half-hour before finally subsiding, though the rain continued to fall.
Huddled on the kang with the three children, Song Jinzhao had no idea how she made it through the latter half of the night.
In the middle of the night, Song Anhao woke up hungry twice. She had to squat in the damp, leaking main hall to light a fire and heat his rice paste. The feeling was eerily similar to the little match girl from the fairy tale.
Freezing to death on a snowy Christmas Eve, a cold that pierces straight to the bone.
At daybreak, after the rain stopped, Song Jinzhao stood in the yard, speechless as she looked at the half-collapsed earthen wall and the ruined kitchen.
Just when the roof leaks, it rains all night; the wind rolls up three layers of my thatch.
Why did the wind have to be so strong?
Why did the rain have to be so cold?
How could life be so wretched?
Two earthen walls had collapsed. Half the roof had vanished without a trace, the other half was full of holes. Would they be crushed if this happened again?
Song Qiming and Song Shixue had been badly frightened all through the latter half of the night. Now, seeing their home destroyed like this, they felt as if the sky had fallen.
Song Qiming gripped Song Jinzhao's hand tightly, wanting to cry but unable to. "Elder Sister, what do we do now?"
Song Jinzhao clenched her teeth, took a deep breath, and said, "We're going to Uncle's house."
In this state, the house was definitely uninhabitable.
The three of them, carrying Song Anhao, entered the old house. Oldest Song and Elder Aunt Song were sweeping the courtyard.
Old Man Song, sitting by the door enjoying the cool air, saw their disheveled hair and asked, "What happened?"
They were here so early, and with the baby too.
Seeing the adults, Song Shixue could no longer hold back her distress and burst into loud sobs. "Grandfather, all our grain got flooded."
As soon as the words were out, all the adults and children gathered around.
Song Jinzhao explained, "Last night, there was a big storm with strong winds. Half the thatch on the roof was blown away, rainwater poured in and soaked the grain, two walls collapsed, and the kitchen caved in too."
Old Lady Song's mouth hung open, speechless.
Oldest Song and Elder Aunt Song stood rooted to the spot like wooden stakes, their minds blank.
How could this have happened?
Recovering his senses, Old Man Song immediately said to Old Lady Song, "Boil some ginger water for them right away to drive out the chill."
"Oldest Song, you come with me to take a look."
Song Jinzhao motioned for Song Qiming and Song Shixue to go inside first, then turned and followed Old Man Song.
Staring at the collapsed building, its ugly skeleton exposed, they didn't even know where to begin repairs.
The ten sacks of rice rescued from the small room were so full of water they squished when squeezed. Most of the rest were half-dry, half-wet. Only three sacks pressed against the corner wall were merely wet on the bottom layer.
Old Man Song's face was grim. He listlessly sifted through the rice in a sack with his hands. "We should have hauled it into town to sell yesterday."
Now, soaked like this, even if they dried it, the selling price would be much lower.
If the sun didn't come out and it couldn't dry, the worst-case scenario was it would all rot.
Song Jinzhao gazed at the sliver of rosy dawn light on the horizon, feeling a sense of relief. "The sun should come out today."
Old Man Song glanced up at the eastern sky, but the deep furrow in his brow didn't relax.
He said solemnly, "Go call Second Brother Song. We'll move all the grain to the old house to dry in the sun. Then we'll see about fixing the house."
Song Jinzhao spoke up, "Grandfather, this house is too old. Even if we fix it, it won't last more than a few years. I want to build a new one."
Oldest Song stopped in his tracks and turned to stare at Song Jinzhao.
Building a new house would cost a lot of silver. Did they have the money?
Old Man Song was silent for a long moment before asking, "Are you sure you want to build a new one?"
Song Jinzhao said firmly, "Winter is even colder. I'm afraid heavy snow will collapse the roof."
Old Man Song calculated, "Six taels of silver for one room, twelve taels for two. All the money you made selling mushrooms would have to go into it."
Song Jinzhao nodded emphatically, her expression stubborn. "Grandfather, I have enough money. We must build a new one."
Old Man Song pressed his lips together tightly and walked a full circle around the house.
Some parts of the roof beams were already rotten, and he spotted over a dozen wormholes.
When Third Brother Song bought this place after the family division, he knew it was dilapidated. Over the years, they had patched it up countless times. Who would have thought it would still collapse?
And at such a critical time, with the grain suffering such a disaster.
"Alright, Granddad will go and ask the folks in the village for help. We'll start building tomorrow."
