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Chapter 608: The Great Storm Arrives

Even as the farmlands of Jishan County widely adopted celestial fertilizer, seizing the heavens' bounty for massive production increases, Puzhou's cotton fields, too, began widespread scientific cultivation.

These cotton fields became Gao Family Village's primary objective for the year.

They already had numerous areas dedicated to growing grain, but this was their first large-scale venture into cultivating an "economic crop" like cotton.

Gao Family Village's textile industry had always relied on cotton provided by the Heavenly Lord, an undoubtedly precarious situation.

Several farsighted individuals within Gao Family Village—such as San Shier, Tan Liwen, Liang Shixian, and Feng Jun, along with a large group of middle school graduates—recognized the fragility of a textile industry solely sustained by the Heavenly Lord's cotton.

They feared that if, one day, the Heavenly Lord grew displeased and ceased delivering celestial cotton to the mortal realm, the textile industry would collapse, triggering an economic depression that would ripple through all other sectors.

Therefore, Gao Family Village mobilized its best and brightest, dispatching numerous technical experts to Puzhou to boost cotton field yields. Their goal was to ensure that for the coming year, all textile factories could rely solely on Puzhou's cotton production, no longer troubling the Heavenly Lord for his intervention.

In April, at the dawn of summer, the Saintess Gao Yiye personally arrived in Puzhou.

Her "personal guards," Padi Tu and Zheng Gouzi, had both gone to Xi'an, so she was assigned a new escort. These new guards were all meticulously obedient, but without "Rabbit Lord" (Padi Tu), much of the fun was lost.

At present, not a single white cotton bloom was visible, only waist-high cotton plants stubbornly pushing skyward.

A large group of cotton farmers busied themselves in the fields, clearing weeds from among the rows.

Oh, and there was a tiny Puppet Heavenly Lord, only thirty centimeters tall, scampering through the furrows of the cotton field. Every now and then, it would snatch a weed, grunt with effort, and yank it out.

Gao Yiye giggled, chasing behind him, "Heavenly Lord, Heavenly Lord, wait for me!"

The Puppet Heavenly Lord ducked under a cotton plant, hiding himself away.

As expected, Gao Yiye didn't spot him, dashing quickly past. "Heavenly Lord, where did you go?"

Only then did the Puppet Heavenly Lord leap out from behind, laughing heartily.

As the two played happily in the fields, the cotton farmers shared in their merriment. "Please be careful, Saintess, don't fall!"

Gao Yiye laughed, "Don't worry, I won't fall and crush the cotton plants."

The farmers replied, "What does it matter if a few cotton plants are crushed? We're worried you might get hurt."

Gao Yiye chuckled, "No, damaging them won't do. I'm waiting for them to ripen so I can 'steal' some cotton myself!"

The cotton farmers broke into a sweat. *You, the esteemed Saintess, want to 'steal' cotton? If you truly came to steal, should we apprehend you or not?* they wondered.

Just as they pondered this, the Puppet Heavenly Lord poked his head out from under a cotton seedling, grinning. "If she tries to steal cotton, you should catch her and hand her over to the authorities!"

The cotton farmers once again broke into a cold sweat. *Although this is a divine decree from the Heavenly Lord, we wouldn't dare obey it,* they thought. *Heaven knows whether you're serious or just joking when you issue such a decree.*

Just then...

Suddenly, a roaring sound erupted from the sky, and the torrential rain began.

Everyone cried out, startled.

It was early summer, and Gao Yiye wasn't dressed in heavy clothing. If her garments became drenched and clung to her, it wouldn't be a pleasant sight. Frightened, she scrambled towards the edge of the field.

Her guards rushed forward, opening oiled-paper umbrellas to shield her from the rain. In those few short steps, her clothes were saved from being soaked through, but a few strands of hair became damp, clinging to her cheek, adding an unusual beauty to her appearance.

A few other guards ran towards the Puppet Heavenly Lord, intending to offer him an umbrella.

But the Puppet Heavenly Lord shook his head. "I'm not afraid of getting wet."

The guards quickly withdrew.

The Puppet Heavenly Lord strolled through the rain, slowly making his way to Gao Yiye's side.

Gao Yiye knelt down, cupped him in her hands, and placed him on her shoulder. Thus, the Puppet Heavenly Lord sat upon her delicate shoulder, and together, beneath the umbrella, they watched the rain pour down, washing over the earth with a rhythmic drumming.

"Such heavy rain right at the start of summer," Gao Yiye murmured. "The weather this year is truly something else."

The fourth lunar month typically corresponded to May or June in the solar calendar—early summer!

Heavy summer rains weren't unusual, but after several years of continuous drought, the sheer abundance of rainfall this year felt somewhat strange.

The cotton farmers, however, dared not seek shelter. Instead, they braved the downpour and rushed into the fields.

Li Daoxuan, who wasn't particularly knowledgeable about farming, watched this scene with a touch of curiosity. *What are they doing?* he wondered.

He quickly understood, however.

The farmers had rushed into the fields to inspect the drainage ditches.

His dynasty's farmers had tilled the land for thousands of years, and that experience wasn't for naught. They thoroughly understood how to handle torrential rain: through "drainage." As long as the fields had properly arranged drainage ditches, they wouldn't suffer from waterlogging.

Their crops wouldn't be affected, and yields wouldn't decrease.

But then...

This time, the seasoned farmers encountered a new problem.

Because the preceding years had been plagued by severe droughts, the cotton farmers had somewhat neglected their drainage ditches. Those dug years ago were now dilapidated, with many sections clogged, and some were even filled with compacted earth and stones, as hard as a beaten path.

The sight of the ditches horrified the cotton farmers!

Someone bellowed, "Quick, clear the ditches, or the cotton fields will be waterlogged!"

"With rain this heavy, the fields will be flooded in less than an hour! Dig, quickly!"

"Dig! Call out everyone from your homes, dig together!"

The cotton farmers frantically began to clear the ditches, digging and digging and digging...

The torrential rain was powerful, and within a short time, many furrows in the fields filled with water. However, the farmers' immediate efforts to clear the ditches also had an effect: the accumulated water began to flow out along the channels, emptying into larger drainage canals.

But then... those larger drainage canals were also clogged. What's more, no one had bothered to clear those main channels. The cotton farmers had focused solely on their own fields, completely neglecting the primary drainage system.

Soon, the main drainage canals accumulated deep pools of water.

The water level rose, beginning to spread outwards...

The cotton farmers' faces turned grim with fright.

If the main drainage canals were truly massive, like small rivers, they would have no time to clear them on such short notice.

Just as they stood there in utter panic, Gao Yiye, standing beneath the umbrella, smiled. "Don't be afraid, everyone! The Heavenly Lord is about to act!"

The cotton farmers rejoiced. "The Heavenly Lord is willing to help us?"

Li Daoxuan was currently searching for something. He couldn't use a small shovel; it was too wide. One scoop would create a river, not a ditch, potentially ruining the cotton fields on both sides of the drainage channel. He needed to find a finer tool.

His gaze swept across his computer desk and landed on a Monkey King action figure. The Great Sage held a Ruyi Jingu Bang, and its width felt just right.