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墨書 Inktalez
The North Wind howled, and the leaves rustled. As the door opened, fallen leaves scattered across the ground, leaving only the bare tree trunks standing lonely along the road.
It was cold—Liu Qingxi had never experienced such a distinct change in weather in her past life. At this moment, she couldn't help but sigh; the villagers' descriptions were not exaggerated at all.
It felt like wearing two layers of thin clothing yesterday and now putting on a thick cotton coat—a stark contrast.
However, at this moment in Sanhe Village, one house appeared to be leaning precariously, at risk of collapsing at any moment.
The first to notice was none other than the owner of that house, Liu Goudan. He had thought he could happily and safely get through the winter this year, but what happened?
Waking up in the morning, he felt the cold wind rushing in, sending chills all over his body. When he opened his eyes and looked around, he exclaimed, "What! How is it that one wall of the house is about to collapse!"
This realization struck him like a bolt from the blue, exploding above his head with a loud bang. His heart sank heavily, as if a thousand-pound weight pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe!
"Mother, get up quickly! Come and see!" Liu Goudan's voice trembled as he struggled to speak.
Zhang, who was awakened by his call, was initially confused. But once she realized what was happening, she began to tremble all over and burst into tears.
"What happened? My house! How did it end up like this?"
Who would have thought that a night of fierce winds would lead to such destruction?
The couple held each other tightly and wept bitterly; this was their home, their place of livelihood. Now it was on the verge of collapse. With the cold winter approaching, how would they survive?
If this shaky house continued like this, their family would have no way to live!
Their cries, combined with the children's wails, attracted the attention of neighbors. Before long, a crowd gathered around them.
"Oh dear! Why is this family crying so much?"
"I don't know, I hadn't even started cooking when I heard their cries, so I hurried over to see what was going on." Everyone was still confused.
From the direction of the front door, they could see that the main wall was intact, which left them puzzled.
Some people who couldn't stay still ran around the house and rushed back, panicking: "It's bad! The house of Liu Dogdan is about to collapse, it's in the back! You can't see it from here!"
The chaotic footsteps moved toward the back. Changing their angle, they could clearly see the damage, and they all shook their heads and sighed: "This won't hold up; it's going to collapse soon. They can't continue living here!"
"What happened? Wasn't it fixed before? How did it end up like this?"
"Right! Liu Dogdan, and you two stop crying for now. Let's find out what's going on!" The one who spoke with authority was the village chief of Sanhe Village.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone echoed: "Yes, yes! You all hurry and check where the problem is; let's think of a solution together!"
Since they were neighbors with good relationships, they were sure to lend a hand.
Zhang, with the support of other women, managed to stand up but then collapsed again onto his knees!
Liu Goudan was a bit better; although his legs were weak, he could stand up by himself.
Then, with everyone's help, they carefully inspected around the house but couldn't figure out what was wrong.
"Woo woo woo~~~ Why are we so unlucky? How are we going to get through this winter? Oh dear, why can't you open your eyes!" The wailing sounded.
Those who heard it felt heartbroken, and tears welled up in their eyes. For farmers, their house was equivalent to half their life; they truly empathized with the situation.
A few people who usually got along well had red eyes and held back tears that threatened to fall.
Suddenly, a puzzled voice emerged: "Wait a minute, didn't you just renovate your house? Wasn't it supposed to be fine? What's going on?"
This person suddenly recalled how Zhang had boasted by the river while washing clothes a few days ago, claiming that the house was built particularly sturdy, comparable to those in Ten Li Pu, and could last another ten or eight years. She had been surprised at the time.
Now that it had suddenly broken down, she was still pondering where things had gone wrong when she finally remembered this matter, almost forgotten by everyone.
"Right, right! What happened with that Wang? We need to find her now that there's a problem!"
"Exactly, let's go find her!"
"Wait!" Village Head Liu's voice rang out. "Liu Dogdan, come over here and take a look at what's going on."
The village head was cautious and serious. While everyone else was discussing in confusion, he was the only one carefully observing and finally noticed something amiss.
He pointed to the severely damaged corner, where traces of destruction faintly revealed a few bamboo sticks and remnants of previous bindings.
"Liu Dogdan, what was this place like before?"
Liu Goudan, the honest man, seemed to find support and recounted the condition of the house as it had been.
The issue started with Wang!
Originally, there were safety concerns about the house, and their family was quite anxious. Wang somehow learned about these issues and came over to ask if they wanted repairs; she assured them she could fix it.
When someone from Ten Li Pu suddenly appeared claiming to know how to repair houses, everyone recognized her skills and didn't think much of it.
Moreover, the people Wang brought along also seemed competent, using only basic materials. By the time the work was completed, there were no visible signs of problems from the outside, so they took it at face value.
Who knew that just after the first big storm, things would break down so easily?
The village chief stroked his beard, deep in thought. With a sigh, he pulled out his pipe and took a couple of deep puffs. "Liu Goudan, you see, the broken parts are all the areas that have been repaired! In other words..."
Everyone understood what the village chief meant; it was like Wang's group had come to fix the house, but instead, they made things worse!
"What?" Zhang exclaimed, realizing the implications. They had begged Wang's group to come and repair the house, spending three hundred wen—almost their entire savings. "What are we going to do? Head of the household, what should we do?"
The woman’s eyes brimmed with tears, her face pale and trembling as if she might collapse at any moment.
"This is quite a dilemma for Liu Goudan, isn't it?"
But the onlookers couldn't hold back any longer. "You two, what are you going to do? The people from Ten Li Pu broke your house; go find them! What are you afraid of?"
"Exactly! Go find them!" A younger fellow rolled up his sleeves, filled with righteous anger, ready to charge in at any moment.
They from Sanhe Village couldn't just let themselves be taken advantage of by Ten Li Pu. They had lost money and now their house was damaged—this was unacceptable!
In their fiery youth, even if the elders could endure it, they couldn't. This was about team spirit; this was about standing united against outsiders!
What was Wang doing? She was still feeling pleased with her decision from earlier.
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