Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Technology Failure
As the saying goes, spring rain is as precious as oil.
The spring rain moistens everything silently, alleviating the drought in the land caused by the less rainy seasons in autumn and winter, and quickly promoting the growth and germination of crops.
However, the people in Hejia Village were not happy.
Last year's autumn rain left them with such severe psychological trauma that when the spring rain came, everyone was on high alert. The two team leaders hurriedly stopped sowing and ordered their employees to repair the drainage ditches.
It turns out that they were right.
Although the spring rain is not as violent as the autumn rain, it only drops down, happily playing a beautiful spring chapter, but the "advantages" of the spring rain, while bringing vitality, also bring a lot of troubles to human beings.
Spring rain after spring rain excessively moistened the land. Rainwater that exceeded the land's capacity flowed from ditches into rivers, lakes and seas, but it could not change the fact that the land was overloaded and no longer suitable for sowing.
This intermittent spring rain lasted for a full month and a half before it stopped.
The sky was damp and the ground was wet. The water molecules in the air washed away the remaining winter air bit by bit, leaving only a large hazy white fog and clothes, shoes and socks that were difficult to dry.
The farming team had to prepare the land for sowing again after the long-awaited sun finally arrived, even though they had already done it once.
Sterilization, disinfection, soil loosening, fertilization...
Several days passed as the entire process was completed. When the crop seeds finally hit the soil, the farm workers finally stopped counting the days in fear.
The workload decreases sharply from sowing to germination, and the employees of the farming team have a long-awaited leisure time.
He Junxia still remembered what Xu Li said during the New Year, so she found an opportunity to go to the provincial capital to visit He Chengfeng again.
This time he brought some bread and some food for the journey. The real big head was hidden in the inner pocket, and even the sharpest eyes could not see it.
He Junxia hadn't expected that she'd travel light, but would be bringing a fat kid back with her. Fortunately, the bicycle had a back seat, otherwise bringing the fat kid back to Hejia Village would have been a real problem.
He Junxia returned to Hejia Village with the child, exhausted. Zeng Xiuping was stunned when he saw the fat boy on the back seat of the bicycle.
"Why did you bring Chenchen back? How's Xiaofeng doing? Did something happen?"
It's no wonder Zeng Xiuping subconsciously thought of the worst. Unless absolutely necessary, no loving parent would be willing to separate their child and send him or her to be raised by relatives.
Even my own brother and sister-in-law are no exception.
He Junxia lifted the little fat boy off the bicycle seat and said with a smile, "Auntie, it's okay. Let's go inside and talk. Chenchen is so hungry after reading all the way."
Zeng Xiuping immediately put his doubts aside and said with a slight reproach, "Children can't go hungry. Why don't you have breakfast in the county?"
Zhang Zhichen rubbed his eyes and said, "Aunt, Xiaoxia and I ate steamed buns in the county, but none of them were as delicious as the ones you made. I like the ones you make."
Zeng Xiuping was immediately overjoyed: "Okay, okay, I'll make you some meat buns later."
Zhang Zhichen said happily: "Thank you, auntie, I love you the most."
Zeng Xiuping smiled from ear to ear: "Aunt loves Chenchen the most too."
He Junxia, who was completely ignored: ...
He looked at Zhang Zhichen, who had become much thinner than when they first met, and snorted in his heart. He didn't bother with a child.
"Hey, puppies, two puppies."
Zhang Zhichen was so excited when he saw Zhima and Tangyuan lying in the doghouse that he danced with joy. He kicked his short legs and was about to pet the dogs, but he didn't know that the two puppies, who were almost adults, had their ears perked up and were staring at him warily.
If he hadn't come in with He Junxia and Zeng Xiuping, Zhima and Tangyuan would have started barking wildly the next second, and even behaved aggressively if he approached.
He Junxia quickly grabbed the child's collar and said expressionlessly, "Go take a shower first. You stink."
Zhang Zhichen lowered his head to sniff his clothes, and couldn't help but dry heave, yelling, "It stinks, it stinks, Brother Xia, I need to take a shower."
He Junxia looked around and wanted to ask He Junqiu to look after Zhang Zhichen, but he knew that there were only three of them at home and they couldn't find any able-bodied men, so he had to do it himself.
"Zhima, Tangyuan, come here."
The two puppies heard the command and ran over with their tails wagging, but they remained wary of Zhang Zhichen, preventing the children from even touching a hair.
He Juanxia grabbed Zhang Zhichen's hands and said, "Be obedient. You can't touch the puppy now, or it will bite you."
Zhang Zhichen: QWQ
At He Junxia's command, Zhima and Tangyuan circled the child several times, sniffing his scent carefully. Their drooping tails gradually began to wag, but the amplitude of the wag was a little slow and hesitant.
That's fine.
He Junxia let go of the child's hand and asked him to go to the living room first. She went to the kitchen to boil water and went to Zeng Xiuping to explain the details.
He Chengfeng had just given birth to a child, and the baby needed to be left alone all the time. Unfortunately, Zhang Zhichen's grandmother accidentally broke her leg while going out to buy groceries, so all the big and small things in the family fell on the shoulders of Zhang Zhichen's grandfather.
The family really couldn't take care of Zhang Zhichen, so they let him go play in the community by himself. Who knew that he got lost while playing? Several adults in the Zhang family searched for him for the entire afternoon but couldn't find him. Their eyes were red from crying.
Fortunately, the police sent him back at night, otherwise the Zhang family would be in chaos.
After asking a few adults, they found out that the boy was tricked out of the community by human traffickers in the name of asking for a guide.
If his classmates and parents had not recognized him while playing on the roadside, and his parents had not realized something was wrong and chased after him to detain him, he would have been abducted.
Mobile phones are just for show nowadays. If you are abducted by human traffickers to some remote mountain den, you might never find your way back to your home again.
The adults were angry and afraid, but they really couldn't spare the time to take the children out to play. Locking the children at home and not letting them go out also made them feel uncomfortable.
It happened that He Junxia came to the provincial capital to visit. After discussing with her family, He Chengfeng asked He Junxia to take Zhang Zhichen to Hejia Village to recuperate for a while.
After all, the village is spacious and there are security patrols. It is better than locking the children at home and not letting them go out.
Zeng Xiuping was also shocked after hearing He Junxia's explanation.
"Buddha bless you, Buddha bless you, luckily Chenchen's classmates saw it, otherwise how would Xiaofeng live in the future?"
"These damn bastards, they were born by their mothers but not raised by them..."
Zeng Xiuping cursed and swore, using countless "beautiful" words to criticize the human traffickers and their ancestors for eighteen generations, leaving He Junxia stunned.
It was the first time he saw Zeng Xiuping like this.
Zeng Xiuping cursed for a while, and only stopped to rest when her mouth was dry. She turned to look at He Junxia, as if remembering something, and asked curiously, "What will be the name of the boy or girl born by Xiaofeng?"
He Junxia smiled: "Girl, her name is Zhang Zhiyue, she weighs four and a half pounds."
Zeng Xiuping was delighted: "Great, great, a boy and a girl, just enough to make up the Chinese character for 'good'."
The two talked for a while and the water finally boiled.
He Junxia poured the boiled water into a large wooden tub for bathing, added a large basin of cold water, and after confirming that the temperature was appropriate, she brought the child into the room and helped him take a bath.
There was no other way. The child was only five years old and hadn't had a bath in almost two weeks. If I let him wash himself, it would be difficult for him to even wash his hair, not to mention scrubbing off the dirt.
He Junxia pinched her nose and scrubbed the smelly child's body. The water in the wooden tub gradually became turbid, and even the towel turned black.
He Junxia: ...
He Junxia transferred the child to another plastic bucket filled with warm water, asked him to squat in the bucket first, then took out the stopper on the side of the large wooden barrel to drain the water. After the dirty water drained out, he poured in freshly boiled hot water and transferred the child back for a new round of cleaning.
It was He Junxia's first time bathing her child. She was busy running around until she was sweating all over and even her clothes were mostly wet.
"Xiao Xia, please let me soak for a while longer. It feels so good. I don't want to get up."
Zhang Zhichen lay in the wooden barrel and begged with his eyes wide open.
He Junxia was very moved but refused: "No, I'll catch a cold if the water gets cold later."
He handed the dry towel to Zhang Zhichen and couldn't help shaking his hands. Washing a child was more difficult than washing his cousin's Samoyed.
Zhang Zhichen put on his clothes with an aggrieved expression, but when he heard the sound of the puppy outside, he became excited again and couldn't wait to play with it.
He Junxia: ...
He Junxia, who was so tired that she just wanted to fall asleep, gritted her teeth and had a clear understanding of the energy limit of children.
He Junxia quickly took a bath, changed into clean clothes and lay down on the bed to sleep. After a while, the intermittent snoring and the chattering of children in the yard complemented each other.
…
Zhang Zhichen's arrival caused heated discussions among the villagers, but his popularity did not last long before it was diverted to new excitement, and the He family's life remained peaceful and stable.
Summer seems to have arrived exceptionally early this year.
As soon as May arrived, the weather became hot and every household put on short-sleeved sandals and changed into summer clothes.
Fortunately, although it is hot, it is not unbearable. Judging from the physical feeling, it is only 28 or 29 degrees Celsius at most, which is not even a small matter for the south that suffers from scorching heat all year round.
However, after May, things that were not considered trivial became big things. Going out for a walk at seven in the morning would make you sweat profusely. The county's Huoxiang Zhengqi Pills and Huoxiang Zhengqi Water were in short supply, and many members of the farming team fell down due to heatstroke.
For the safety of employees, the farm had to adjust working hours so that everyone could avoid the hottest periods and reduce the chance of heat stroke.
But this measure only addresses the symptoms and not the root cause.
People can hide indoors to avoid the sun, but the land and crops can only face the test of the scorching heat head-on - cracks like tortoise shells appear on the earth, and the crops that once held their heads high are now bent down withering, and their leaves have turned into a burnt yellow.
If this problem is not solved in a timely manner, there is a high possibility that crop yields will be reduced on a large scale or even stopped in the future.
But watering is also a technical job.
Using a ladle to water in large quantities may not be worth the effort, affecting the transpiration of plant leaves and the respiration of plant roots, leading to soil compaction and salinization.
The best method is drip irrigation or sprinkler irrigation.
This method can ensure that farmland and crops are evenly exposed to water to the greatest extent possible, and can also greatly improve water utilization and avoid waste.
The problem arises again.
Where can I find tools for drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation?
The few households in the village who plant crops all year round have a few manual backpack sprayers and small spray bottles for spraying pesticides that can be borrowed, but these few tools are not enough compared to the vast farmland.
The head of the farm went to the county for help and called on everyone to brainstorm.
Hogen scratched his head. "How about we burn a few holes in the ladle and use it as a sprinkler?"
Zhang Xialan retorted anxiously, "How can that be? We only have so many water ladles in our village. If they get scalded, how are we going to get water at home?"
Besides, all the factories have stopped production, and I might not even be able to buy a plastic scoop in the future."
Her argument made sense, and most people agreed. The scoop was their personal property, and while it was fine to lend it to the farm, they couldn't damage it and leave it unusable in the future.
However, He Gen's words reminded He Junxia.
He suggested: "If a scoop doesn't work, you can use a mineral water bottle or a plastic bag. Just poke a few holes in it with a needle and it will act as a sprinkler."
Hogen's eyes lit up: "Okay, okay."
After hearing this, no one else objected. As long as they were not allowed to deliberately damage their own things, the rest was fine.
Plastic water bottles are not rare items. Even if rural people do not have the habit of buying water outside, they will inevitably need to buy some plastic products, such as disposable plastic cups, disposable plastic bowls, and bottles for dishwashing liquid, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, soy sauce and other condiments.
Plastic bags are extremely common items.
It is no exaggeration to say that one can find at least five plastic bags in a person's home. The plastic bags mentioned here do not just refer to plastic bags for garbage, but also food packaging bags, laundry detergent packaging bags, grain packaging bags, etc.
With everyone's brainstorming, the sprinkler problem was finally solved, and the person in charge also obtained some supplies from the county, including pesticides and fertilizers - drought not only brings water shortages but also causes serious pest and disease problems.
The employees of the farming team began to get busy again. Every morning and evening, they would carry homemade sprinklers to the fields to water the crops. The crowds of people fetching water upstream and downstream of the stream became a unique spectacle.
As Xu Li was fetching water, she said worriedly, "The water level in the creek seems to be much lower than before. Will there be a water shortage in the future?"
An auntie smiled and said, "Don't worry, this river has never dried up since I can remember."
Zhang Xialan scoffed: "Little girls just like to think about things."
I got the mudslide reward because I was lucky enough to guess it right. I really think I am an expert and want to get involved in everything.
Xu Liwen smiled gently and said, "It's mainly because the weather has been so weird lately. Last winter was also extremely cold, and there's also that special magnetic field.
Don't be afraid of ten thousand things, just be prepared for the worst.
We all rely on this river for food and drink. What if it dries up? We won't have any water to drink, let alone food to eat."
A small number of people thought that Xu Li was worrying too much, but others took her words to heart.
The little girl is not a person who acts without purpose. It was her contribution that helped Hejia Village avoid the mudslide last time.
What if there is really no water? How can people survive?
Experts on DouX said that people will die if they don’t drink water for three days.
Zeng Xiuping agreed, "You're right. It's better to be safe than sorry. We can't rely on luck. I'll go see the captain later to see what he says."
Zhang Xialan snorted again in disdain.
Zeng Xiuping's family was clueless. Not only did they support the sister-in-law, they even brought the baby back home to raise. How could the baby born by that evil star be any good? He was obviously an ungrateful little wolf.
She said that a daughter who is married off is like spilled water, so she would rather use her spare money to help the villagers. Her three sons were all unmarried, and Zeng Xiuping was still their third aunt. She had been reluctant to introduce the young women in the group to her, but she refused.
Humph, isn’t it because she is afraid that her son will marry a girl from the city and suppress their family?
Zhang Xialan muttered to herself, and then suddenly thought of something else. She said in panic, "Oh, I forgot to take something. I'll go back and get it. You guys go ahead and do your work."
Zhang Xialan ran away in a hurry, and the atmosphere on the river bank became much better. Everyone chatted casually about family matters, and after filling their water bottles, they returned to their respective jobs.
During the lunch break, a group of people gathered in the cafeteria to eat. The air was filled with noise and bustle, but the person in charge and two team leaders suddenly walked into the cafeteria and signaled everyone to be quiet.
The person in charge is the highest leader of the farm and has great prestige on the farm. After a while, the bustling cafeteria became silent and quiet.
The person in charge nodded with satisfaction.
He smiled and said, "Comrade Zhang Xialan just came to Captain He and said she was worried that the hot weather would cause the river to dry up.
This is a very important and serious reminder. After discussing it with the two team leaders, I decided to build two water reservoirs at the factory to deal with the possible problem of river water drying up in the future."
As the person in charge finished speaking, everyone couldn't help but whisper to each other, looking at Zhang Xialan with complicated expressions that were hard to describe, and saw his smug expression.
How shameless.
He had the nerve to claim Xu Li's suggestion as his own idea, and deliberately found Captain He before Team Leader Zeng to take credit for it.
Zhang Xialan felt very happy, as if the 100 yuan bonus had already gone into her wallet. She didn't care about other people's eyes at all, and didn't feel that she had done anything wrong.
——Xu Li took the initiative to express her thoughts, and she didn't force her. These people were just one step behind her and were envious and jealous.
Seeing Zhang Xialan's unyielding and smug look, the others turned their attention to Xu Li, curiously observing her reaction, expecting her to rush up and tell the truth and slap Zhang Xialan in the face.
Unfortunately they were disappointed.
Xu Li didn't show any anger, as if the credit wasn't hers—she already had the job, and the so-called reward was just icing on the cake. She'd been frightened the last time another reborn came knocking on her door, and she didn't want to draw attention to herself again. It was a good thing Zhang Xialan was willing to step in for her.
Besides, if she jumps out now, wouldn’t she be slapping the person in charge in the face?
Although the person in charge is a generous person, according to the villagers of Hejia Village, when the land was expropriated, Zhang Xialan's son wanted to attack the person in charge, but the person in charge did not bother with them.
But the fact is that Zhang Xialan's eldest son and youngest son both sold their jobs and became stay-at-home parents.
Xu Li didn't dare to bet on any possibility.
The two captains, unaware of the complexities of the matter, immediately led the applause after the leader finished speaking. The cafeteria staff were equally undeterred, their hands moving without a pause, even as countless thoughts flashed through their minds.
Warm applause suddenly rang out in the spacious cafeteria, the echoes were pleasant to the ears, and the person in charge nodded with satisfaction.
He continued, "Employees interested in participating in the reservoir construction can contact Captain He Qiangguo this afternoon to sign up. The deadline is tonight. The number of spots is limited, so it's on a first-come, first-served basis."
"Does anyone have any questions?"
One person raised his hand and asked, "Is there any subsidy for participating in the reservoir construction work?"
The person in charge smiled and said, "Of course we can't let you work for nothing. The subsidy is eggs produced by the chicken farm, 10 eggs a day, including food."
Now a box of eggs can be sold for nine yuan in the market, and 10 eggs are three yuan, and it includes food, so it is a good deal.
You know, the last time we built the farm, the food provided in the canteen was very rich. The stir-fried pork with peppers had more meat than peppers, and if you weren’t full, you could order more food.
Although the farm pays them in eggs, they are not required to take out all the eggs at once. Instead, they can take out as many as they want to eat. There is no need to worry about the eggs going bad if left for too long.
Some families spent all their farm repair wages before the Lunar New Year, which made those who did not sign up very envious. This time, they were determined to sign up no matter what.
That afternoon, a large group of people came to He Qiangguo to sign up for the reservoir construction work, and blocked the small office tightly.
He Junxia and He Chengcai did not join in the fun. The weather is much hotter now than last time. If they are not careful, they will get heatstroke. Life is more important.
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