Although the rain could not reach Deng Province, even this much eased Lingdong's drought. More importantly, it gave people's confidence an enormous boost.
And Lingdong consisted of more than just Deng Province, Zhao Province, and Yun Province. It included several other provinces, and beyond the five suffering severe drought, the rest were hardly faring well either.
This downpour covered at least two provinces. For Lingdong this year, that was a considerable quantity of water, and as the rain fell, it would flow into rivers and underground, benefiting other places as well.
Rumble!
Lightning flashed within the rain clouds, and thunder resounded across the land.
That thunder was a heartening signal, but it also seemed to awaken the drowsy plants and animals across the earth, rousing the wilted, half-dead crops in some fields.
Splash, splash, splash.
An hour later, the rain still had not stopped. Though it had weakened considerably, everyone was delighted.
Everyone had gone home. Even Chu Hang and the others digging the canal had been forced to find sturdier places to shelter from the rain. The newly dug canal had not yet been connected to the little mountain river, but it had already found a use.
Though this canal was only five feet wide, it linked the border between Yun Province and Deng Province and had been designed to follow the terrain. Much of the runoff gathering from the heavy rain would follow it into Deng Province, benefiting countless fields along the way.
To combat the drought this year, many places in Lingdong had abandoned their usual practice of growing rice. When the situation began looking grim, the Revitalization Marshal's Office had coordinated efforts to have a considerable number of people switch to wheat.
Thus, even a certain amount of water could bring considerable relief to the crops