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Qijia Village was filled with joy because of the new water source.
But there was no water anywhere else, not even in the well in Hujia Village, the closest village to Qijia Village.
Taoyuan County is facing a severe drought this year, which is now a foregone conclusion.
However, when the people of Hujia Village heard that Qijia Village still had water, they all came to fetch water.
Secretary Qi was in a dilemma. If he didn't help those people fetch water, they would have no water to drink. They were all neighbors, and he couldn't refuse. But if he agreed, then Qi Family Village wouldn't have enough water, and the fields were desperately waiting for irrigation!
Secretary Qi has already arranged for people to keep an eye on things and prevent people from other villages from fetching water for the time being.
The situation was urgent, so Secretary Qi convened a meeting of village officials.
"What do you think we should do?" Secretary Qi asked. This matter concerned the entire Qijia Village, and he couldn't make the decision alone.
Qi Shuli thought for a moment and said, "Secretary, if we let people from other villages come to fetch water, our village will have no water for irrigation, and we will have no harvest. That would mean our village cadres are not doing their job!"
Upon hearing this, Qi Shuming sneered inwardly. Qi Shuli was so determined because he hoped that Secretary Qi would antagonize the other villages and cause trouble so that he could reap the benefits.
“Accountant Qi, what you said makes some sense. But don’t forget, in the entire Taoyuan County, only our Qi Family Village has water. So far today, people from three other villages have come to fetch water, and as the drought worsens, even more people will come to our village. One village is manageable; two villages are barely manageable; but what about three villages, four villages, ten villages…”
“Accountant Qi is also thinking about our village and doesn’t want our village to suffer from reduced production. Besides, this is a new society now. This is our village’s water source. If we don’t allow it, can they just forcibly take it?” Qi Shuqiang retorted to Qi Shuming.
Seeing the two of them fighting again, Zhao Dajiao felt annoyed. What kind of time was this to be thinking such petty things?
“Everyone, please keep quiet. Have you forgotten how plentiful our game was last winter? We wanted to keep it all for ourselves, but people from other villages came to steal it, and in the end, someone even died. The commune intervened, but it was for the greater good, siding with the other villages. This water source is only available to our village. Do you think the commune would side with us? Besides, without water, we can't survive. Who cares about future punishments? Survival comes first!” Zhao Dajiao’s words silenced everyone.
No one who can be a village official is stupid; they can all imagine this situation!
If everyone is dying, who would even think about punishment!
Furthermore, the law does not punish the masses, and the commune had no way to deal with such a situation!
"So what do we do now?" Qi Shuming said. "We understand the logic, but alas, we don't have enough water!"
“The fact that water can still gush out in our village proves that there is an even larger water source below. Why don’t we dig a few more wells?” Qi Shuli suggested. Qijia Village doesn’t have any wells because there is a spring at the entrance of the village, so there is no need to dig wells.
"That's one approach," Secretary Qi nodded. "Are there any other approaches?"
Wells can only provide enough water for daily life, let alone for irrigation.
Where can we get countless amounts of water?
"There are some mountain springs on the back hill. We can divert them down there and get some water," Qi Shuming suggested, gathering all the water we could collect together.
Secretary Qi nodded and said, "That works too! If we can find enough water in the village or behind the mountain, we might be able to save this year's harvest; otherwise..."
Secretary Qi didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood.
When Secretary Qi returned home, he saw the worried looks in his wife's and daughter Qi Xiaoyan's eyes.
“Xiao Yan, I’ll take you to the county town tomorrow, and Dajun will take you to Huai City. I won’t take you; there are so many things to do in the village, I really can’t leave.” Secretary Qi explained that the exams coincided with spring plowing, so he didn’t have time; and with this incident happening while he was joining the army, he was even more unable to leave.
Qi Xiaoyan shook her head and said, "Dad, I know you've been troubled by things in the village lately and haven't had time to take me. You don't need to take me. Brother Dajun will come over tonight and will take me to the county town on his bicycle tomorrow."
Hearing that Niu Dajun had come to pick up his daughter, Secretary Qi was slightly relieved and said, "That's fine then. Take good care of yourself while you're away and don't overwork yourself."
"I understand, Dad. The village's water source..." Qi Xiaoyan asked worriedly, "Won't it cause a fight?"
"Sigh, if this isn't handled properly, a fight is inevitable," Secretary Qi said. "Without water and food, we can't survive. Who cares about anything else then!"
"What should we do?" Qi Xiaoyan asked anxiously, unable to leave her family behind.
"Don't be afraid, this matter will reach the commune sooner or later, and then the commune will talk to me and we can discuss the terms," Secretary Qi said. "Don't worry about things at home, just focus on joining the army."
At least my daughter won't go hungry while she's in the military.
Qi Xiaoyan smiled but didn't say anything. If she showed too much worry, it would only make her parents more worried.
But she was also very sad and felt uncomfortable keeping it all inside, so she secretly came to find He Tiantian and talked about her feelings.
He Tiantian then realized that Qijia Village's water source had become the object of contention among other villages!
Sigh, is it so hard to wish for good weather and abundant harvests?
“Xiao Yan, if you go out, we can save some food rations,” He Tiantian said. “Besides, you’ll get a salary, which you can send home or buy food and send back, which will ease the burden on your family. Instead of worrying here and not being able to help, you should do well in the army and make your parents feel at ease and proud.”
With red eyes, Qi Xiaoyan nodded and said, "Sister Tian, you're right. I should pull myself together and not let my parents worry, let alone bring shame to them."
After receiving some comfort from He Tiantian, Qi Xiaoyan felt a bit better. She only realized Niu Dajun had arrived when Liang Hongyu called out to her.
Accompanying Niu Dajun was his uncle, Niu Peng!
He Tiantian was curious, so she came along to hear Niu Peng's insightful opinion.
If I'm not mistaken, it's probably for the water source of Qijia Village!
Niu Peng took a drag of his cigarette and said, "Brother Qi, you'd better think about the bigger picture this time!"
Secretary Qi was heartbroken. He wanted to consider the bigger picture, but the villagers wouldn't agree!
“Brother, I’m a Party member, so naturally I’ll consider the bigger picture,” Secretary Qi said with difficulty. “Last year, our village had a bumper harvest. Every household had grain, and we also received a good amount of money from selling the game. So, the commune asked us to help other villages, and you came to persuade them personally. Everyone agreed. We all understand that we can’t just watch others starve while we’re well-fed ourselves! But this is different from last year’s game from the mountains behind the village! We haven’t even irrigated our own village’s fields. How can we just stand by and let them take away our water?” (To be continued.)
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