Chapter 22 The Next Day
"Dad, Mom, someone is coming!"
Jiang Qian sat by the window for a while, and the other people sleeping in the car were woken up by the heat. Only Jiang Dong, who had just lay down, was still sleeping in a daze.
Huang Liping asked the time in a low voice and started preparing lunch, with Ren Ru helping her.
Jiang Qianze discussed with Jiang Weimin and decided to go to the temple to fetch two buckets of water.
Water is a more important strategic material than food. People can go without food for three days, but they cannot go without water for three days, not to mention that in addition to eating and drinking, there is also a lot of water needed for daily life.
There is a flood outside now, and clean water is hard to come by.
She also checked during the day today. The temple was very quiet and there was no major disturbance. It should still be safe.
Although they still had several boxes of mineral water in the car, the supply was always limited. In order to avoid running out of resources, it would be better to stock up now.
Although the other people in the family were a little worried, they also felt that what Jiang Qian said made sense, and seeing that the temple was indeed relatively orderly, they agreed.
Jiang Qian and her father found several empty white plastic buckets and carried them into the temple.
The temple was indeed very quiet. Apart from the noisy chirping of cicadas, the only sounds were those of footsteps and struggles coming from a side hall.
In the scorching heat, everyone got out of the car and the villagers found a shady corner in the temple where families huddled together to eat lunch.
When he saw them come in, he just looked at them twice and didn't say anything.
Jiang Qian and the other person had no intention of saying hello, and they carefully carried the buckets of water and walked towards the backyard.
On the entire hill, there is only one well like this, in the backyard of the temple.
Because the terrain is high, the well is dug very deep, several hundred meters below, and is usually used mainly for drinking by people in the temple.
When the temple was digging a well, some people said that the well was redundant and complained that the temple was wasting people's money.
After all, there are usually only four or five people in the temple, and digging a well costs tens of thousands of yuan. This money can be used to buy nearly 100 tons of mineral water, which can be consumed for several years.
But now that I’m trapped in the mountains, I realize how good it would be to have such a well.
When Jiang Qian arrived at the backyard, village cadres from various villages were eating around a small table under a tree in the backyard.
Jiang Hongbing saw them coming, asked a few questions, and after finding out that they were there to fetch water, he took them to the well.
The well was not far from the kitchen. The cement slabs that originally covered it had been removed. Long water pipes were crisscrossed on the ground next to it, and a water pump was thrown aside.
"After the power outage yesterday, the electric pump couldn't pump water. We only managed to get the pump out this morning. Now we have to pump water manually."
Jiang Hongbing took a rope and a bucket from the side. "It rained heavily before, and the water level in the well rose quite a bit. Otherwise, this rope might not be long enough."
Jiang Weimin took the bucket and said, "Let me do it. Hongbing, you go eat first."
Jiang Hongbing didn't say much and left after reminding them to be careful not to fall.
Jiang Qian stood aside and watched Jiang Weimin throw the bucket into the well, and then slowly pull the bucket up with a rope.
She prepared her own bucket and poured all the water into it.
Fetching water was indeed hard work. By the time the two men had filled the four buckets they had brought, their clothes on the backs were already soaked with sweat.
"It's full, let's go back first."
Jiang Weimin put the rope and bucket aside, said hello to Jiang Hongbing, and went out with Jiang Qian carrying the bucket.
The two buckets of water were not light. Although Jiang Qian was carrying two relatively small buckets, they still had to stop and rest after walking for a while.
It was only a few hundred meters away, but it took more than ten minutes to walk.
However, the people who stayed in the car were relieved to see them return safely.
Huang Liping had already prepared lunch and was waiting for them to come back and eat together.
Jiang Dong was still asleep, so the family didn't call him. They just waited for him to wake up and then did it again for him.
"We've been in the mountains for several days, and there aren't many fresh vegetables in the car. I just soaked some dried vegetables and stir-fried them. I'll go look for some wild vegetables nearby."
Huang Liping whispered, handed the bowl to her husband, and asked, "What's going on at the temple now? They have such a big vegetable garden behind it, so they shouldn't be short of fresh vegetables, right?"
"How could that be? Although I didn't pay attention to what they ate, even a large vegetable garden wouldn't be enough to feed hundreds of people three meals a day! We've been here for so many days, and the temple's vegetable garden must have been completely plucked out."
Jiang Weimin didn't think that the small vegetable garden in the temple would have enough vegetables for everyone to pick after these few days.
"I saw that they didn't eat much," Jiang Qian said after a quick glance and thought for a moment, "Only half a spoonful per person. They mainly rely on porridge to fill their stomachs."
"If the supplies can't be delivered on time, I don't think we can hold out for much longer."
The cruel reality made everyone silent.
But this time, even Jiang Weimin, who is always a good guy, did not suggest sharing some of the food he brought with him with the villagers.
It's not just because we know the future will be difficult, but also because it's a drop in the bucket and it's a crime to possess a treasure.
The sudden silence made Jiang Mingchen next to him feel that the atmosphere was wrong, and he even slowed down his eating.
"Eat!" Jiang Qian noticed and patted the top of her nephew's head. "The adults are here for this, so you don't have to worry about it. When you're full, go fan your father."
Jiang Mingchen nodded and silently quickened his eating pace.
Even though he was still a child, Jiang Mingchen noticed the abnormality in the past few days.
He couldn't help with anything that worried the adults at home, but he could still fan his father.
After dinner, Jiang Weimin looked at the two empty buckets at home and wanted to go to the temple to fetch some more water, but was persuaded by Jiang Qian.
"It's too hot now. Let's go in the evening when it's cooler."
Only then did Jiang Weimin give up.
The place where they parked was on a hillside. There was a small forest behind the car, which provided shade for the car. Occasionally there was a breeze, so it was not too hot.
After lunch, Ren Ru stayed by the side while the others continued to rest.
She thought it would be a very boring noon, but unexpectedly, after a while, Ren Ru saw a car leaving the temple and heading towards where they were.
Ren Ru was worried about danger and quickly woke up the others.
"Dad, Mom, someone is coming!"
"who?"
Jiang Qian, who hadn't fallen asleep yet, jumped up suddenly.
"I don't know. Several cars have arrived."
As they were talking, the cars were getting closer and closer, but they stopped when they were still about ten meters away from them.
Huang Liping squinted her eyes and looked at him. "Is he from our village?"
Jiang Weimin frowned, "Looking at the license plate, it doesn't look like it."
Jiang Dong yawned and asked, "What are they here for?"
"Maybe he felt unsafe in the temple just like us, so he came out?" Jiang Weimin tried to guess the best. "Dongzi, don't fall asleep yet. Come with me and get out of the car. Let's go ask."
"Okay, Dad."
Jiang Dong rubbed his face, followed his father out of the car, and the two walked towards the car not far away.
This time, three cars came out of the temple and parked not far from them. The owners of these cars were probably relatives, and they were quite close to each other.
Before Jiang Weimin and Jiang Dong arrived, the people in the car got out. There were about ten of them, both old and young.
The two of them relaxed a little.
The visitor was not from their village, but he was quite polite and explained as soon as he saw them.
"Sorry, did I disturb you? It's too hot in the temple, and there aren't many shady places, so we thought we'd stay out for a while. There are fewer people outside, and we can get a good night's sleep."
"Oh." After understanding the other party's intention, Jiang Weimin was no longer so nervous. "There are trees over here, it's really cool."
"That's right, it's much cooler than the temple." The other party said, "If we didn't bring much food when we came out and had to eat at the temple, we would really like to stay outside like you."
"Haha." Jiang Weimin laughed awkwardly. "We just listened to the village committee and packed some things in advance, but it's not much. We have been counting our food these days and waiting for the supplies we applied for."
"You guys go ahead and do your thing. Since we're here, even if we're neighbors, just say hello if you need anything."
"Okay, thank you, uncle." The young man who spoke to me was also very understanding and explained, "We'll just stay here for the afternoon to rest and go back before dinner tonight."
After hearing this, Jiang Weimin and Jiang Dong said nothing, smiled and turned away.
After returning to the car, the two told the others about the situation. They felt that the risk was not great, so the family continued to sleep. However, Ren Ru, who was watching over them, was still a little worried and quietly increased her attention to the other party.
But it seemed that they really just came to enjoy the cool air. Ren Ru watched them for the whole afternoon but didn't find anything unusual. When the people who stayed in the temple started to eat dinner, they really went back as they said.
Watching the car drive away, Jiang Dong glanced at his wife with a serious face and patted her shoulder. "Okay, stop looking. They've all left. Let's eat first."
Because the power was out and there was little light at night, the original dinner time was moved forward so that everyone could get everything done while it was still daylight.
After the Jiang family finished their meal, it was still light outside. Jiang Weimin picked up the empty bucket in the car and took Jiang Dong to the temple to fetch water.
It was quick and easy on the way there, but on the way back, Jiang Dong was carrying two large buckets with a ferocious look on his face.
"This is too heavy! Dad, can't we just drive the car to the backyard and pull the water over?"
Jiang Weimin was also a little tired, so he put down the bucket and rested for a while.
"Okay, stop complaining. Our car is so big, you think it's not conspicuous enough, right?"
"But now we have to fetch so much water from the temple every day, it's very conspicuous!"
Jiang Dong put down the bucket in his hand and said, "It would be great if our tricycle was still there."
It was just a dozen meters away, why didn't he drive the tricycle across the river first!
If the tricycle had not been washed away by the water, they wouldn't have to work so hard now.
Jiang Weimin, however, has no regrets. "It's already good enough now."
Although they lost some things, at least now their whole family is safe and sound, which is God's blessing.
"Okay, let's go. Your mom and the others are still waiting in the car. If we go back late, they'll be worried."
…
In an inconspicuous corner of the temple.
"Did you see that just now? They're here to get water again."
"They still have the energy to fetch water, so they must have plenty of food, right? I really want to go check out their car!"
"There's also the one in Sanguantun that has a small truck. Last time I opened the door, I saw a lot of cardboard boxes and gift boxes inside."
"The same thing happened with the family I was watching. Their child didn't even get out of the car at night. There must have been food in the car."
"The food distributed at the temple is getting smaller and smaller. I'm not getting enough to eat and I don't even have the energy to move every day."
"Are we really going to rob them?"
"Don't say it so harshly. We didn't steal, we borrowed. We will return it to them when the water recedes or the relief supplies arrive."
"That's right. We just need food temporarily. We're asking them to help us through this difficult time. Didn't the village committee say we should help each other? At worst, we can pay them back double when the disaster is over."
Someone asked tentatively, "So, shall we take action tonight?"
The person who was vaguely surrounded was silent for a while and lowered his eyes.
"No, let's wait until tomorrow. Everyone, pay attention to who has more food. Even if we have to take the lead, it can't be just us. We have to pull everyone down!"
…
Jiang Qian had no idea that someone was plotting to steal their supplies. By the time the family waited for Jiang Weimin and Jiang Dong to fetch water, it had become completely dark.
Because Huang Liping volunteered to keep watch, everyone else went to rest. Fortunately, nothing happened that night.
A good night's sleep.
【Author’s words】
There's another list this week, and I'll update more than 15,000 words as required. However, I'll update every other day this week, but the number of words in each chapter will be a bit longer than before, and the next chapter will be updated on Monday.
Thank you all for the birthday wishes, I received them all!
Off topic: Although I didn’t update yesterday, I found that I still couldn’t get rid of typing, because I had new inspiration yesterday and wrote a rough outline in the memo on my phone.
Suddenly I realized that I really love writing. I volunteer to work overtime all the time. Hahahaha [covering my face]
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