She pulled Lu Ye and ran towards the deserted sandy area in the distance.
Bai Sheng was overjoyed that it was raining so heavily today. At this moment, she just wanted to frolic in the rain with Lu Ye like a child.
The two held hands and ran and ran, stopping at the windbreak forest they had planted.
"Husband, it's raining!" The rain was so heavy that Bai Sheng couldn't open her eyes. She grabbed Lu Ye's arm and shook it excitedly.
Lu Ye's eyes were burning with passion. Looking at her lips, which were becoming more moist from the rain, he bowed his head and kissed her without hesitation.
Rainwater slid down their cheeks and flowed into their fiercely contending mouths, silently fanning the flames.
In the misty rain, the two held each other tightly, indistinguishable from each other.
After a long while, Lu Ye opened his eyes, cupped Bai Sheng's rain-washed face, and gasped. He shouted loudly, "My dear, thank you. Thank you for coming to my side, for becoming my most beloved wife, and for bringing all this beauty."
Bai Sheng also shouted with a smile, "Lu Ye, thank you too. Thank you for being my handsome husband with no blind spots, thank you for letting me conceive four adorable babies, thank you for giving me a warm home, thank you—"
Before Bai Sheng could finish, Lu Ye kissed her passionately again.
Between heaven and earth, apart from the pouring rain, there was only the sound of their heartbeats.
The sky had completely darkened by now. Lu Ye picked up Bai Sheng and walked towards a hidden sandy valley.
When the rain fell on Hongshu Village, Qianfei Village, which was only two to three li away from Hongshu Village, received not a single drop of rain.
Several other villages five to six li away also received no rain at all.
The villagers in these villages watched with astonishment and extreme jealousy as the sky in the distance poured down heavy rain that did not belong to their villages.
All the villagers of Qianfei Village stood to the north of the village, looking in utter shock as the pouring rain fell on the area one or two li away, while the ground beneath their feet was drier than dry.
This preferential treatment was too obvious!
"It's really strange. Our Qianfei Village is only two or three li away, why isn't the rain coming here?"
"Heaven is too damn biased! Why isn't it raining in our village?"
"Is Heaven punishing us? Wuwuwu... we used to... wuwu..."
"I suspect the people of Hongshu Village are using sorcery!"
"That's possible. I feel like Lu Ye's entire family is not normal! They might be monsters!"
"Monster my ass!" Village Head Sun walked over and kicked both of them in the butt. "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll kick you out of Qianfei Village!"
The most painful realization of Village Head Sun's life was that he could not follow wicked people and do unconscionable things, otherwise, he would be punished.
If he hadn't listened to Zhang Jiawang's instigation and joined them in causing trouble, his family would have been villagers of Hongshu Village long ago. Why would they be stuck in this dilapidated Qianfei Village?
The villagers dared not discuss sorcery and monsters anymore, but watching the pouring rain go to waste made their hearts ache, and their thirst was unbearable.
After a long silence, someone boldly suggested, "Village Head Sun, can we go... go to their village to collect... some rainwater? The children are almost dying of thirst."
"Yes, Village Head Sun. This is rain from Heaven, not something that Hongshu Village exclusively owns."
"This is rain that Heaven specifically sent to Hongshu Village. Do you think we will anger Heaven if we go to collect water?"
Village Head Sun looked at the heavy rain about a li away, pursed his lips, and made a significant decision. He turned around and said loudly, "Everyone in Qianfei Village, grab your water containers and let's go to Hongshu Village to collect water!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers didn't even cheer. They all scurried home to get their tools.
Village Head Sun asked his family to get containers and rushed to Hongshu Village with the villagers to collect rainwater.
He also carried two buckets himself. Upon reaching the rainy area two li away, he didn't even have time to drink a mouthful of rainwater. He put down the buckets and first went to Lu Ye's house to find Ji Chenghe.
He had expected Lord Ji to be furious about this, as the rain was a gift from Heaven to Hongshu Village, and he was somewhat acting on a fait accompli.
To his surprise, Lord Ji praised him, saying that he had fought for the villagers' interests at a critical moment and had fulfilled his duties as the village head.
Village Head Sun let out a joyous yell and ran out.
The rainwater danced merrily in the wooden buckets, basins, jars, pots, pans, and bowls. The villagers of Qianfei Village all tilted their heads back, opened their mouths wide, and first filled their stomachs.
This was the first time they had drunk water so heartily in more than two years.
Seeing that the buckets were full, those with water tanks at home carried the water home to fill the large water tanks first.
Those without water tanks to fill washed themselves in the torrential rain, scrubbing off years of grime.
Lu Yun and the other mischievous boys played in the water. Seeing the people of Qianfei Village scrubbing off dirt, they sighed with regret, wishing they could pour such good bathwater into the septic tank.
However, thinking that his sister-in-law had ordered people to scatter grass seeds on these sandy areas in the morning, Lu Yun felt that the bathwater from Qianfei Village could fertilize these plants, so he didn't feel it was a waste.
The people of Qianfei Village filled all the containers they could, and their bodies were scrubbed clean, shedding layers of skin.
Villagers from nearby villages also came to collect rainwater, and even the nearby refugees, beggars, and vagrants all flocked over.
The guards of Hongshu Village did not stop them, only demarcating areas for them to collect rainwater and forbidding them from entering the village.
Lu Ye's family, after being drenched by the rain, were herded home by Granny Wu to change their clothes.
Granny Wu also had Tian Guihua cook a large pot of ginger soup and forced everyone to drink it.
At dinner, the Elder and the Elder Lady did not return. The Prince of Yu did not wait for them and directly ordered dinner to be served.
After dinner, Lu Ye and his wife had still not returned.
Everyone stayed up, not going to bed. They heard that the Prince of Yu and Ji Chenghe were waiting for the Elder Lady to return and explain her foreknowledge of the rain, which they were also eager to hear.
In the main hall, candlelight flickered.
Everyone waited and waited, but the two still did not return.
In such dark weather and heavy rain, what were they doing outside? They hadn't even eaten dinner.
A Qiu had already fallen asleep, leaning against a chair, snoring. Ji Chenghe, too excited, had no sleepiness at all. He propped his chin with his hand, waiting attentively.
The Prince of Yu's mind was involuntarily filled with indecent images, making him both angry and jealous, thus unable to sleep.
After Hai Shi, the two returned, dripping wet. Bai Sheng was wrapped in Lu Ye's clothes, and Lu Ye was bare-chested.
As they pushed the door open, they saw dozens of pairs of eyes staring straight at them.
Yang Ming glanced at Bai Sheng and immediately lowered his head, blushing.
Actually, when he was on patrol earlier, he had discovered the Elder and the Elder Lady and accidentally witnessed a scene that made his blood boil. The Elder Lady and the Elder were…
Ah, he couldn't think about it anymore!
Fortunately, the sound of the rain was too loud, and the two, who were completely engrossed, didn't notice Yang Ming. He immediately turned and called away several guards who were not far behind him.
Upon returning home, everyone was waiting for the Elder and the Elder Lady, asking them where they had been. But Yang Ming kept his mouth shut tight, pretending to know nothing.