This year, Cheng Zhou had an abundance of rain, within these five months, there were several rainstorms, and on the sixth lunar month, the water level of the Cheng River rose, the river water became a pea-green color, the muddied and roiling eddies rose and fell in waves, like an excited wild horse, neighing loudly and galloping about madly. It seemed as if the riverbanks could overflow at any time and wash away the city of Cheng Zhou.
That morning, it had begun to rain hard again. He Xu An was holding an umbrella, lifting his feet high with every step, the muddy water swirling about his feet, splashing on his shins. Amongst the expanse of whiteness, he could see scores of large umbrellas in the distance, clustering around a person who was standing on the slope, giving instructions. Gladness filled his heart and he increased his pace, panting to reach them: “Liu Shao!”