Chapter 10 Raising Food Again
“The phone calls are all unreachable.”
Halfway up the mountain, Jiang Hongbing listened to the busy tone on the phone and sighed helplessly.
Looking at the muddy river rushing in the distance and the village buried in the flood and no longer visible, I became more and more anxious.
The others who followed him to check on the situation saw him put down his phone and quickly came over, their eyes full of hope. "Hongbing, what did the higher-ups say?"
The village cadres from other villages who came with them also pricked up their ears, but the answer they got was definitely not what they wanted.
“The phone calls are all unreachable.”
The light in those eyes gradually dimmed, but they still asked stubbornly, "Hongbing, don't you have a comrade at the county public security bureau? And another at the county government? Can't you contact them?"
Jiang Hongbing shook his head. "I can't get in touch with anyone. Their phones are either busy or turned off. No one answers the office phone either. I guess they're all gone to help with the disaster relief."
The people around were completely disappointed, and the panic in their hearts was growing.
"Disaster relief, disaster relief! We have a disaster here too. Why is no one coming to rescue us?"
One young man blurted out, "Other people's lives are lives, but aren't our lives lives too? Our village has been flooded, we can't go home, and we have nothing to eat. Why don't you come to save us?"
Jiang Hongbing glanced at the young man who was speaking before speaking.
"With such a chaotic situation and such a massive disaster, there had to be a sequence of events. Our situation is not good, and I know everyone is heartbroken seeing the village flooded, but at least we have a place to stay and aren't exposed to the rain. No family or friends have been swept away, and the water hasn't reached the temple. Compared to other places, our lives are not in danger, and our family is all together, so the situation is much better."
Jiang Hongbing looked around, scanning everyone's eyes one by one.
"I know everyone is panicking as we see the incessant rain and the depletion of food supplies, but times like these are the most important thing we can't give up hope on. I believe God will not abandon us, and I also believe the country will not give up on us. But before the rescuers arrive, the first thing we can't give up on is ourselves. If no one comes to rescue us, we can save ourselves. We are all capable men, and we are the pillars of our families. Don't say such discouraging words."
When the people around heard this, they fell silent, only the village chiefs of the two villages were still anxious.
"That's true, but every village has about 200 people who need to eat. Our village evacuated in a hurry and didn't bring much with us. Some people are already running out of food," said Wang Zhigang, the village chief of Xiaogang Village.
Their village was the farthest from the river and on the highest ground. They had initially thought the flood wouldn't reach them, so they weren't prepared. But when the news arrived, they were the last to evacuate, and they brought the least food.
"Then keep raising money. Some people bring less, but some always bring more. At this critical moment of a disaster, the most important thing is to get through the difficulties together." Jiang Hongbing said, and wanted to take a cigarette out of his pocket, but found that his pocket was already empty.
"If we go back and mobilize more people, we can always raise some money."
In fact, the best way is to go down the mountain to other villages that have not been flooded to collect food.
Although there are not many villages around the temple, there are always some that have not been flooded. Most rural families still have unsold wheat and corn. As long as they can find a mill, they no longer have to worry about food.
But now they were trapped on the mountain, unable to get down. The swollen river rushed around the foot of the mountain where the temple was located, almost encircling the entire mountain, and several villages at the foot of the mountain were all flooded.
The only opening left leads to even more dangerous mountains. Most of the mountain dwellers have already moved down the mountain to live under the arrangement of the government. Even if some people still stay in the mountains, they may not have enough food.
As for crossing the water to find food in other villages? Right now, the foot of the mountain is practically a vast ocean, swirling with all sorts of debris. Without a boat, even the best swimmer in the village wouldn't dare to say they could survive in this water.
It seems that the only option now is to continue raising food on our own.
"But the rain keeps coming, and even those who have food won't be willing to give it away," said the village chief of Hongzhuang Village. "If they don't want to give it away, we can't force them."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions on the faces of many people around became unpredictable.
Those who are selected to be village cadres are always the more knowledgeable and experienced people in the village.
Since the village committee was aware of the potential for disaster and warned villagers to prepare and evacuate in advance, it's only natural that they, as village cadres, would have made even greater preparations. Although many villagers had already run out of food, they certainly didn't include the dozen or so standing here.
As village officials, they naturally shouldered the responsibility of managing the villagers. But with the rain continuing and no rescue efforts coming, they were unwilling to share their own food with everyone else.
Jiang Hongbing naturally knew what these people meant.
"Of course, it's impossible to force them. As officials, we can't take even a single needle or thread from the people."
As soon as these words were spoken, the people around him visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
Among the people present, Jiang Hongbing had the highest prestige. It was thanks to Jiang Hongbing's notification that they were able to pack up and evacuate in time when the river water rose sharply.
Because they had saved his life, even if Jiang Hongbing really made a decision, no matter how much they objected, they could not refuse it openly.
But before they could relax, Jiang Hongbing added, "But in extraordinary times, we're all from the same village, and we've been connected for generations. I think as long as we do a good job of educating everyone, there should still be people willing to contribute some food. Although we live in a society ruled by law, if there really is no food to eat, there will still be chaos."
In the last sentence, Jiang Hongbing had a hidden meaning.
Although he didn't seem to say anything, certain scenes involuntarily emerged in the minds of everyone present, and they were all terrified.
The whole place was silent, and it was a long time before anyone spoke.
"Yes, yes," the Sanguantun village chief chuckled. "What Hongbing said makes sense. We're all from the same village. How can we just stand by and watch everyone go hungry? Food is like water in a sponge. If we squeeze it, there's always more!"
"Yes, yes. When we get back, I'll mobilize everyone and ask them to save some food. We can wait for help to arrive."
Others also said, "Then let's go back and talk to everyone about it. Let's get through this together."
…
Anyone who can become the head of a village is a smart person.
Seeing everyone speaking out, Jiang Hongbing finally said, "We need to raise food, but we can't just take everyone's food for free. I suggest that each village register whoever donated food. When the water recedes, each village will give them double the amount or give them cash from the public account. They've made a contribution, and we can't let good people suffer losses and feel disheartened."
The expressions of the people present were obviously better than before, and the smiles on their lips were more genuine. "Yes, that's it!"
"Yes, how can we let kind people suffer losses! Our village has a lot of land, and the harvest was good last year. We can give three times as much."
"Let's go, let's go back now and gather the food so we can eat early. I didn't even feel full with that one bowl of rice at noon today."
"Don't even think about it! Even if we gather enough food, we won't be able to feed you tonight. At least don't even think about eating until help arrives! Now is not the time to eat too much!"
"I'm just talking, can't I just talk to satisfy my craving for pleasure?"
"Okay, okay, anything's fine. Let's go! The rain is getting heavier!"
"Oh, that's right, this won't continue, right?"
"Who knows?"
…
The group returned to the temple, splitting up into groups of three or four to go to the main hall and side halls where their fellow villagers gathered.
Because there were too many people in the temple and it was difficult to find a place to stay, after lunch, the Jiang family did not get off the car and slept directly in the car.
When Jiang Qian woke up, everyone else was still asleep.
She quietly clicked on the screen in her mind, only to find that the status of each module was still the same as before, except that the part displayed on the map was slightly larger than before.
She carefully compared it with the previous map in her mind and found that the extra piece was just to the west of the original outer area.
The temple is also to the west of their village. Could it be that this map is gradually updated according to the car's route?
Jiang Qian had some guesses in her mind and decided to verify her guess when she had the chance.
She turned her attention away from the screen and just happened to see people returning from outside the temple through the car window.
She opened the window and greeted the person walking in front, "Uncle Hongbing, how's the situation outside?"
Jiang Hongbing turned around and saw that it was her, and his expression improved a little.
He shook his head, without saying anything specific, and asked, "Qianqian, where is your dad?"
"My dad is sleeping in the car." Jiang Qian subconsciously looked back and saw that Jiang Weimin had opened his eyes in the car. "He's awake now. What's wrong? Uncle Hongbing, is there something wrong?"
"It's okay, just close the window to keep the rain out. I'll come back later."
"Oh." Jiang Qian closed the window as she was told, but turned around to see that everyone in the family had woken up.
After talking to her father for a while about Uncle Hongbing's arrival, Jiang Qian continued to keep an eye on the situation outside.
After people entered the halls, a noise of clamor could be heard from afar. Jiang Hongbing emerged from the hall in the rain, and together with the others, he carried some items from his car into the hall.
After that, the noisy sounds in the hall became quieter.
Seeing Jiang Qian staring outside, the others also looked outside curiously, but saw nothing. Just as they were about to ask Jiang Qian what happened, they saw a figure coming out of the hall and approaching.
When Jiang Dong saw the person, he quickly opened the car door and welcomed the person in.
Jiang Hongbing shook the water off his raincoat at the door before walking in and greeting Jiang Weimin with a smile.
But everyone knew that he definitely didn't come here to chat about family matters.
Sure enough, after just three pleasantries, Jiang Hongbing stated his purpose.
"Brother Weimin, I won't beat around the bush. This time I came here just to discuss with you about raising food."
"I understand the situation. Everyone evacuated urgently and didn't bring much with them. We didn't know when the rain would stop, so it's understandable that everyone didn't want to take out their own food."
【Author’s words】
Once a day, please collect it!
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