The wind and rain lasted more than half the night before stopping. Countless cotton growers in the Fourth Team, across the township, and even throughout the surrounding area had been unable to sleep. Only in the latter half of the night, when the wind and rain died down, did most of them finally fall sound asleep.
Early the next morning, Li Long got up and went outside. The ground in the yard was already half dry, but branches, dead leaves, and debris lay scattered everywhere. A Urea Sack blown over from who knew whose house hung from a fruit tree branch.
Holding the Big Broom, he cleaned the yard and checked things over. Apart from the plastic sheeting and canvas covering the large pile of jade having blown open, there was no other damage.
The rest of the family got up one after another and set about their respective tasks.
Mingming and Haohao wanted to help Li Long clean up, but he sent them off to memorize their textbook passages.
Soon, the two children's voices rang out in the yard as they recited their passages. They were quite loud, each trying to outdo the other, and everyone else found it entertaining to listen to.
Over breakfast, Gu Xiaoxia asked Li Long whether he would go out to check the fields later. He was also quite worried that the Cooperative's cotton might have suffered damage.
"I'll certainly go and look, but I think it'll be fine." Li Long remained as confident as ever. "Our cotton's already grown so tall. Last night's wind and rain wouldn't have knocked it down. Besides, I checked this morning. The temperature didn't drop to freezing, and there was no frost. It'll be fine."
After breakfast, Li Long took Mingming and Haohao to school, then turned around