Apart from the bouts of thunder and rain that first night, the weather turned to a steady spring drizzle the following day.
The rain fell in fine threads, like smoke and mist, like ox hair and embroidery needles. Through those silver strands, the distant mountains and sea, and the weeds and trees all around, looked hazy.
As the saying went, "Spring rain is as precious as oil." It drizzled for three days and nights straight, and the corn and vegetable seeds the Old Lady had scattered in the yard just a couple of days earlier quietly sent up tender shoots.
On the clear morning after the rain, the children, cooped up at home for three days, were like birds released from their cages. Chattering with delight, they pulled on their rain boots and ran outside to play.
Early that morning, Ye Yaodong had only just gotten up and was brushing his teeth at the back door when he heard adults scolding children in every direction, yelling at them not to splash in the puddles or they would break their legs and so on.
Adults were all liars. When he was little, they had threatened him every day too: break his legs, chop off his hands...
"A-Dong, since you haven't got anything to do, watch the children. My two sisters-in-law asked me to go gather bamboo shoots in the hills, so I'm going with them. I'll be back later. The porridge is cooling on the table. Get the children to eat in a bit, and remember to keep an eye on them. Don't let them splash in the puddles. If they get soaked, they'll get a beating from me when I'm back."
The bamboo shoots had poked up after the rain. As soon as Lin Xiuqing heard her two sisters-in-law mention