"The higher-ups are planning to build some kind of rural village, and this organization is clearing the silt. The silt that comes up has a terrible smell." Zhou Junliang said as he took Xiuyuan and Zhang Zhihao to where the silt was piled up.
The closer you get to where the silt is piled, the worse the smell becomes.
"It smells so bad, how can you stand it?" Zhang Zhihao couldn't stand it before he even got to the place.
"It's winter now, so the smell isn't that strong. When we first dug it out, in late September or October, the smell was unbearable..." Zhou Junliang said.
As the three of them were talking, they arrived at the place. There was a large open space filled with cleared silt.
Zhou Junliang was cursing, but he didn't notice that Xiuyuan's face was not looking good either. This piece of land was already polluted, and it needed to be treated through other technical means in the future. But now there was a pile of polluted silt that had been cleared out.
"Let's take a look at the silted areas." Xiuyuan said.
Zhou Junliang looked at the young face of Xiuyuan and was a little confused. He wondered why Xiuyuan was concerned about such things. Just as he was about to say something, Zhang Zhihao said, "Old Zhou, take us for a walk. We don't have anything to do right now anyway."
Zhou Junliang nodded and took the two of them to the Black Water River to take a look. When they finally arrived at the place, they saw that the banks of the Black Water River were in a mess. It was obvious that the dredging work was done very poorly.
It was almost twelve o'clock at this time. The three of them returned to Zhou Junliang's house. The little girl from Zhou Junliang's family also came back. Seeing that there were strangers in the house, she was a little timid and followed her mother Zhang Qian.
Zhou Junliang pulled his daughter to call for help.
The meal was almost ready, and several people gathered around a small low table to eat.
During the meal, Zhou Junliang talked about some things in the village. He used to be a temporary worker at Jinxin Coal Mine. Although it was hard work and he didn't earn as much as those with formal jobs, at least his family could still make a living.
In the end, the Jinxin Coal Mine was closed down, but it didn't matter. For temporary workers like them, they could just find another coal mine to work.
Huangyuan County doesn't have much else to offer except for the many coal mines. Unexpectedly, this village was chosen as a model agricultural village, requiring each household to provide one able-bodied laborer to work for the village and dredge the Heishui River.
He was the only one working in their family, so he had to do everything by himself.
"Doesn't the village give money?" Xiuyuan asked.
He had heard Yun Yanchang mention this matter before, saying that a company was established in Meilin Village and took over the early stage of the project, which could be regarded as a benefit to the villagers.
This dredging can also make money, and it can also absorb the village’s labor force and increase the villagers’ income.
The county just agreed to it without going through the bidding process, leaving it to the township to arrange it themselves.
After listening to Zhou Junliang's explanation, it seemed that it had become a forced levy by the villagers.
"Whatever money the village gives us, we give to the villagers. One villager is fifteen yuan. How can I support my family with that?" Zhou Junliang picked up the wine glass and drank another one.
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