The rain had stopped, and the sky was beginning to lighten, improving visibility considerably.
The crowd looked closely and saw that the arrivals were all elderly people, women, and children.
Each of them was carrying items such as baskets, buckets, kettles, and bamboo tubes.
"Dad, why are you here?"
Mayor Liang saw his own father in the group and hurried forward to ask.
"Last night, there was a flood. We heard you were organizing rescue efforts up here. We couldn't get across and couldn't help."
"So, the women in the village thought you were working hard on the dike and made all sorts of food from midnight to bring to you."
Mayor Liang's father briefly explained the situation.
During the busy times, these people hadn't felt hungry, but now, hearing that food was being brought, their stomachs rumbled.
Since the food had been brought, Mayor Liang called everyone to eat breakfast before going home to rest.
Some waved goodbye, while others stayed to eat.
The people downstream, thinking that many people upstream were helping them, were very generous. They prepared boiled eggs, salted duck eggs, meat buns, vegetable buns, and rice balls. Some families even prepared ginger water.
After a night in the rain, drinking ginger and brown sugar water to ward off the cold was necessary to avoid getting sick.
Everyone ate and chatted cheerfully. Despite their exhaustion, their faces were filled with satisfaction.
Especially after asking the people downstream, they learned that because of the early warning, most people had managed to take shelter in homes on higher ground.
Some families had indeed suffered losses, but the people were safe. Only one family's cow had died.
A few people were injured, but the rest of the families were fine.
"Someone is injured? Is it serious?" Mayor Liang asked immediately.
"They've been given basic first aid according to the emergency rescue knowledge we learned recently and sent to the clinic. It shouldn't be a big problem."
A young woman answered, her voice particularly clear. She had also attended the town's first aid training recently and hadn't expected it to be used so soon.
Mayor Liang felt much relieved upon hearing this.
It was good that there were no fatalities.
Speaking of yesterday's events, they were fortunate to have the timely reminders from Teacher Shen and the two young companions.
If they hadn't been warned, with so many people on the dike at the time, they might all have been swept away by the river when it collapsed.
At that time, it wouldn't have been just one or two deaths, and perhaps even he himself would not have survived.
Thinking of this, Mayor Liang, still shaken, bowed respectfully to Shen Zizhen and the three young people, including Su Xiaotian.
Shen Zizhen was wringing water from his clothes when Mayor Liang suddenly bowed. He didn't even have time to dodge.
He had, in effect, received a grand gesture of respect.
"Teacher Shen, you deserve it!" Mayor Liang said quickly as Shen Zizhen was about to speak politely.
"If it weren't for your and the two young companions' timely warning, who knows what might have happened to all of us."
"You are our benefactor."
Secretary Du also realized what Mayor Liang meant and immediately added, "Mayor Liang is right. Without your and the two young companions' warning last night, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
Shen Zizhen politely exchanged a few words with them. Knowing they had more work to do, he urged them to hurry and not worry about them.
"Dad, Teacher Shen will go home with you first. Ask Cuiyu's mother to find clothes for Teacher Shen, Xiao Su, and the young master to change into."
Mayor Liang had initially wondered if Secretary Du taking Shen Zizhen and the others home would delay their return to the government office.
Now that his father had come, it was perfect to take them home to settle in first.
"Why don't you come to my place!"
Secretary Du quickly invited them. The matter was not yet resolved, and he planned to understand the situation in the dozen or so villages in town before returning home.
Shen Zizhen smiled and said, "We've been busy all night and are a bit hungry. We'll eat something first, then get the bicycles and hurry back. To be honest, we had originally planned to take the train back to the capital tonight and can't afford to be delayed."
In reality, Shen Zizhen was worried if they could reach the city smoothly today.
Although the rain had stopped, there would undoubtedly be a lot of standing water on the roads. In such conditions, he didn't know if the bus to the city was still running.
"I'm afraid you won't be able to go to the city today, Teacher Shen," Mayor Liang said, surprised by Shen Zizhen's urgency to return.
But after a night of heavy rain, the roads would surely be damaged, and the bus service would not be able to operate normally.
And their location was far from the city, so walking was not an option.
When Shen Zizhen heard that they couldn't go to the city, he subconsciously looked at Su Xiaotian.
It was fine for him and San Gong to be delayed by a couple of days, but Xiao Tian couldn't afford it.
Returning to the capital at this time would be just in time for the midterm exams, as previously agreed with the school.
What would the school do if Xiao Tian couldn't return?
They couldn't let Xiao Tian's studies be delayed because of their own matters.
"Today, the roads to the city are likely to be damaged, Teacher Shen," Secretary Du also said. "The roads here are dirt roads, which are easily damaged. After every heavy rain, it takes two to three days to repair them."
Two to three days was for ordinary heavy rain. Last night's heavy rain was unusual, and it might take even longer than two to three days.
But Secretary Du found it difficult to say this.
"Xiao Tian, I didn't do well this time, and I'm going to delay you!"
Shen Zizhen looked at Su Xiaotian and apologized sincerely.
He had brought Xiao Tian along, thinking he could bring her back to the capital on time.
When Su Xiaotian heard them say the roads might be damaged, she suddenly realized she might not be able to make it back.
The school had explicitly stated that if she didn't participate in the midterm exams, she would have to repeat the year.
The loss this time was truly significant.
Could it be that she would have to repeat a year?
Su Xiaotian's face fell, but she knew that natural disasters and man-made misfortunes couldn't be blamed on Teacher Shen.
"Uncle Shen, you can't be blamed for this. I can only say my luck is bad."
Su Xiaotian comforted Shen Zizhen instead. Since her chances of taking the exam were slim, she couldn't let Teacher Shen feel burdened by it.
Mayor Liang and Secretary Du guessed from their conversation that the young master needed to return to the capital for something important.
"Is the young master in such a hurry to return to the capital because of something important?" Secretary Du asked.
Shen Zizhen then explained that Su Xiaotian was a university student in the capital, whom he had borrowed to help, and recounted the school's requirements.
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this.
Su Xiaotian could only force a smile and say, "Actually, it doesn't matter much. I'm young, so repeating a year won't be a big problem."
It would just be a waste of an extra year.