Chapter 352: Chapter 351

The wind wasn’t too strong yet, but it had already started raining. Ling Chengyan led a team over the mountain ridge to Fangjiaao Village, where the third sister and grandma lived.

When Ling Chengyan arrived, the third sister was at school, so only grandma was at home, busy moving dry firewood into the house. The pigs and chickens in the pen were somewhat panicked, the chickens fluttered, and the pigs squealed in a scene of distress.

In the special training team, there were those who had built houses before. After circling around and returning, they reported to Ling Chengyan: the house was too old, with the back wall visibly tilted and cracked, enough to be classified as dangerous. Such a house couldn’t withstand a strong typhoon, and even an ordinary rainy day posed a risk of collapse.

Ling Chengyan also walked around, pointing to the two side rooms on the east and said, “These two small rooms look okay, go inside and check if they’re usable.”

After inspection and asking grandma, they learned that the two low rooms on the east were newly built for the third sister’s brother, just over a year old. Although there were only two small rooms, the materials used were fairly solid.

Ling Chengyan had the team members inspect both inside and out, found a few purlins, and hurriedly made some supports to prop up the back wall of the main house—even though it was already a dangerous building, with sturdy purlins propping it up, it could withstand ordinary wind and rain. As for whether it could withstand a typhoon, Ling Chengyan didn’t dare to gamble and wouldn’t take risks, as it involved the lives of grandma and the third sister.

Some team members helped make wall supports, while others helped move grandma’s belongings into the east wing.

Grandma hadn’t saved up any valuables in her lifetime, but all the jars and everyday necessities were her lifetime’s accumulation, and she was reluctant to leave any behind.

The team members patiently helped her move everything into the east wing, while Ling Chengyan walked four or five miles to pick up the third sister from school.

Seeing the third sister shielding her bag with a piece of fertilizer sack, not caring if she got wet, Ling Chengyan was relieved that she had come to pick her up.

Wrapping the third sister in a thick military raincoat, Ling Chengyan brought the little girl back to Fangjiaao, trudging through mud and water. The sky was dark, the wind and rain were intensifying, and the typhoon was drawing closer.

Grandma busied herself trying to cook for them, but Ling Chengyan and the soldiers politely declined. After reminding the third sister to stay sheltered from the wind and rain in the east wing and not to go into the main house, they braved the storm back to the base.

Not far out, Deng Chuang wiped the rain from his face and suddenly exclaimed, “Those two small rooms are so cramped, with pigs and chickens inside and all sorts of belongings. We couldn’t even stand, let alone sit.”

Geng Wei laughed and kicked him: “The old lady’s intentions are sincere; hardship makes everything more precious.”

Deng Chuang dodged the kick with a smile and said, “I didn’t mean it as a complaint, just stating the facts… Though back home, we’re not wealthy either, we’re not this poor. When we moved, I noticed, even the third sister, being so grown up, didn’t have a single new piece of clothing.”

Ling Chengyan walked quietly, not joining in the conversation, pondering why, with Fang family’s father and brothers working in the city for a long time, they were still so impoverished.

Could it be that the father and son made money but didn’t give it to grandma and the third sister? Or perhaps they had bad habits, rendering the money unreturnable?

Thinking this, Ling Chengyan noted it down in her mind and planned to ask Chen Changzheng about it. Since the grandma delivered vegetables, the base must know about the Fang family’s situation.

However, Chen Changzheng didn’t know much about the Fang family father and son. He had been stationed there for almost two years and had only seen them once, only knowing that they were both quiet and confirmed not to have any bad habits during investigations.

As for why the Fang family lived so poorly, Chen Changzheng knew a bit because the third sister’s mother had died of illness, and they had borrowed a lot for medical expenses. Although the mother was gone, the debt had not been paid off.

“Probably, all these years, the father and son have been working to pay off the debt,” Chen Changzheng summarized.

Ling Chengyan was silent. Indeed, since the rural land contracting responsibility system was implemented, generally, the grain produced was enough to feed them, but rural people who fell ill had no insurance. A serious illness often saddled them with significant debt, which was a harsh reality.

In the middle of the night, the typhoon made landfall. Even though their position wasn’t the landing point, the wind and rain were intense. In the latter part of the night, woken by the storm, Ling Chengyan worried about the Fang family’s house, wondering if it was okay.

The next day, the wind and rain persisted all day. Ling Chengyan wanted to go to Fangjiaao, but was dissuaded by Chen Changzheng and others, not just because of the weather, but also due to the potential danger of landslides with such inclement conditions.

After another night, the storm finally weakened. Following the advice, Ling Chengyan didn’t risk climbing up but took a ten-kilometer cross-country detour via the highway to Fang Family Village.

The situation in the village was better than Ling Chengyan had imagined, probably because the mountain provided some shelter, mitigating the wind damage to the village’s houses.

However, when they reached the third sister’s house, they were taken aback by the scene before them.

The back wall of the main house, which they had reinforced with purlins before the typhoon, had not completely collapsed thanks to the supports, but the cracks had widened considerably, with parts of the wall even falling off. The team member who had built houses said that without the supports, the wall would have surely collapsed.

Even though it hadn’t collapsed now, the house was no longer habitable.

Because of the typhoon, the third sister didn’t go to school. When she came out to meet them, Ling Chengyan noticed her eyes were red.

After chatting briefly, the third sister lowered her head and said, “I’m planning to drop out of school.”

Ling Chengyan was stunned, not understanding why this book-loving girl had suddenly changed her mind.

The third sister kept her head low, her voice firm, “The money owed from my mother’s illness isn’t repaid yet, and now a new house needs to be built. Relying solely on my father and brother to work is too hard. If I drop out to work, at least I can help a little.”

Ling Chengyan felt a heavy heart, wanting to encourage her but unable to find the words.

She only gave the third sister two sets of her used military uniforms: “These are my old clothes; I hope you don’t mind.”

The third sister looked at the uniforms that were about sixty to seventy percent new, liked them, but hesitated, “I…”

Ling Chengyan smiled at her, “We get new clothes every two years. The old ones, if you don’t take them, will just be disposed of.”

Only then did the third sister hold the clothes in her arms, shaking her head with a smile, “I really like them.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep