Evans Brick House Was Washed Away

"May Parker, our house is made of brick and tile—it's sturdy, not like those thatched cottages that get washed away at the first sign of trouble. It'll be fine." Mrs. Zhao's lips trembled as she prayed silently that her home would survive.

The Su family stared at the floodwaters, not blinking. After a while, suddenly, a large section of rooftop floated by. Some villagers with sharp eyes immediately recognized it.

"Hey, isn't that the tiled rooftop from the Su family's house?"

"What? My house got swept away by the flood!" Old Madam Su finally snapped out of her daze, wiped her dim old eyes, and stared intently. Sure enough, floating in the raging floodwaters was the rooftop of her brand-new house she hadn't even warmed up yet!

Next to the rooftop, several large wooden cabinets floated by—brand new furniture made for the new house.

"Heavens above, my house is gone!" Old Madam Su wailed, plopping down on the ground. Her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

With Old Madam Su fainted, the Su family instantly panicked, scrambling around and shouting for Doctor Wu.

Doctor Wu was in Mark Hunter's treehouse at the time, but was called over to treat Old Madam Su.

"It's nothing serious, just anger." Doctor Wu didn't bother to be polite to the Su family. "The old lady has a temper. Tell her to be more open-minded and stop thinking everyone's out to get her, otherwise she'll end up driving herself crazy."

Some villagers watching the commotion, who had long disliked the Su family, chimed in, "Exactly! Old Madam Su told me not to go up the mountain earlier today. If I'd listened to her, I'd have been swept away by the flood by now."

"That's right, thank goodness we listened to the village chief. If we'd listened to that old woman, we'd be dead now."

Mrs. Zhao snapped, "Enough already! My mother just fainted and you're still talking. Are you all hoping for her to die? How can you be so heartless!"

The village chief arrived too, shaking his head at the Su family.

After the disaster, no one had the strength to help others. The Su family set up a tent and settled down. The adults were busy tending to the fainted Old Madam Su, while the two youngest children cried from hunger.

Doctor Wu felt sorry for the two kids and said to Mrs. Chen, "Why don't you let me take them? I have hot food at my place."

Mrs. Chen knew Doctor Wu—he had a good reputation in the village.

Seeing her children crying so pitifully, Mrs. Chen's heart ached. But with all the chaos, she couldn't look after them, so she agreed, "I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Wu."

She squatted down and said to the two kids, "Jack Evans, Jill Evans, go with Grandpa Wu and behave yourselves, okay?"

Jack Evans and Jill Evans were twins—Jack was the brother, Jill the sister.

Jack Evans took his sister's hand and wiped his tears. "Mom, I'll definitely take care of Jill Evans."

Mrs. Chen stroked her son's little face and handed the children to Doctor Wu.

Doctor Wu quietly told Mrs. Chen the location of Mark Hunter's treehouse. "That house isn't mine. I'm risking my old face to take your kids there. Don't tell your family. When the flood recedes, I'll bring them back to you. Your second sister-in-law and niece Ali are there, too. Don't worry, I'll take good care of them."

Mrs. Chen was sensible and replied softly, "I won't say anything. Thank you for your trouble, Doctor Wu. I'll be sure to thank you in person later."

Doctor Wu led Jack Evans and Jill Evans toward the treehouse. Mrs. Zhao saw them and rolled her eyes. "You're just letting outsiders take the kids away like that?"

Mrs. Chen glanced at Mrs. Zhao and said nothing.

Mrs. Zhao was just mouthing off anyway—the kids weren't hers. In fact, she was glad the two noisy brats were gone, so there'd be less crying to annoy her. She immediately turned her attention to her own daughter, May Parker, muttering to herself that it was lucky Samuel Evans was in town. Otherwise, he'd be suffering right now. Her scholarly son could never handle this kind of hardship.