Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Technology Failure
Things turned out to be worse than anyone imagined.
As July arrived, only a thin layer of water remained in the stream. The water flowed slowly along the riverbed, with dry pebbles on both sides, not a trace of moisture.
Even if you collect water from the fastest-flowing part of the river, it still takes nearly fifteen minutes to fill a bucket.
The crops in the fields are at a critical stage of maturity. If sufficient water is not provided in time, these crops are likely to suffer a significant reduction in yield or even total failure.
In order to protect the fruits of a quarter's hard work, people carried buckets of water and stood at various places along the river where the terrain was quite different. After filling their buckets with water, they rushed to the fields they were responsible for without stopping.
not enough!
Still not enough!
The water flow in the stream is too small and the farmland is too large. Sometimes people even collect water upstream, causing the flow to be cut off downstream.
Because too much water was lost, the farmland cracked like a tortoise shell, and some crops that could not withstand the scorching heat and exposure to the sun have died.
At the same time, people's domestic water supply has also been severely affected. After the widespread use of tap water, the open-air wells that pose a greater threat to children have gradually been abandoned by the villagers of Hejia Village. As a result, after the water plant was affected by the magnetic field, most people have to rely on water from the small river to survive.
But now the river's water level is alarmingly low, less than the depth of a single index finger joint. The river is already overwhelmed by the demands of both humans and farmland, and it's feared it will soon dry up completely.
There is quite a bit of water stored in the reservoir.
However, this amount of water is still insufficient compared to the daily water demand of Hejia Village Farm - if it is only used to provide drinking water, it can barely last for two months at most. But if the water demand of farmland and crops is added, it will be out of stock in half a month at most.
Faced with the decreasing river flow, people's smiles became less and less, and their brows became more and more furrowed. Only a few families with wells had better living conditions.
But it's not much better.
He Junqiu looked at the well and sighed, "Brother, our well is almost out of water. Look, it's almost empty."
He Junxia walked over and took a look at the well. Sure enough, he could clearly see the bottom of the well. The water inside was only about the depth from the finger to the elbow joint. Even if he put the bucket in and pulled it up, he could not get back half a bucket of water.
He Junxia comforted him, "It's okay. Our well should be able to hold out for a while. And I heard from my second uncle that the person in charge is going to set up two teams, one for domestic water and one for agricultural water."
He Junqiu was puzzled: "But there is no water in the river?"
He Junxia asked in even greater confusion: "Is there only one river in the world?"
He Junqiu: ...
He Junqiu couldn't help but reach out and touch his head. Help, isn't it said that high school is the peak period of IQ?
Has she become stupid?
He Junxia laughed heartily at He Junqiu's doubtful expression and sarcastically said, "You're really stupid. Really."
He Junqiu: ...
He Junqiu clenched his fist and let He Junxia feel the iron fist of love. Zhang Zhichen heard the commotion and ran over, excitedly saying that he wanted to join the battle too.
He Junxia: "Chenchen, is Brother Xiaoxia always nice to you? Do you want to eat chocolate and tickle your sister Xiaoqiu's armpits?"
Zhang Zhichen is also a naughty boy.
Hearing He Junxia's words, he immediately stood at attention, raised his right hand and saluted, "Yes, sir."
The moment the words fell, Zhang Zhichen suddenly hugged He Junxia's thigh and shouted loudly: "Sister Xiaoqiu, hurry up and beat down the bad guy."
He Junxia: ? ? !
He Junxia looked at the rebellious brat in shock and issued a "furious" threat: "Zhang Zhichen, you are finished, you will never have chocolate to eat again."
Zhang Zhichen: QWQ
Zhang Zhichen raised his face aggrievedly: "But mom said that boys can't bully girls?"
He Junqiu backed up Zhang Zhichen: "Even children know not to bully girls. Don't be afraid, Chenchen. I'm here. I'll give you some chocolate."
Zhang Zhichen bared his teeth happily.
He Junxia was extremely sad: "If you can't bully girls, do you have to bully boys?"
Zhang Zhichen said righteously: "I heard it. You were the first one to say Sister Xiaoqiu was stupid. I didn't bully you."
He Junqiu: Hehehe
However, the smile on her face froze the next second because of Zhang Zhichen's second sentence.
"Although I also think Sister Xiaoqiu is a little silly, but Mom said that we can't say things like that out loud, because it will make people sad when they hear it."
He Junqiu: No, hehe
He Junxia looked at the little brat lovingly and said "Amen" in his heart without any sincerity.
The poor child didn't realize that he had offended two people. He stood in front of He Junqiu with a strong sense of justice: "Don't be afraid, Sister Xiaoqiu, I will protect you."
He Junqiu gritted his teeth: "You two should have discussed this."
"What was agreed upon?"
Zeng Xiuping and He Chengcai finally finished the team leader meeting and heard their daughter's angry voice as soon as they returned home.
He Junqiu complained: "Mom, my brother said I was stupid. I am your child. When he said I was stupid, he was just calling you stupid."
What a joint liability.
He Junxia quietly slipped away from the vegetable garden in the backyard, leaving Zhang Zhichen alone to be tortured.
…
The day after the group leader meeting, the daily list of the agricultural water group was freshly produced, and the list of the domestic water group also took shape as He Qiangguo went door to door to inquire.
——The person in charge stipulated that every household must send someone to join the domestic water group, otherwise the family would not be able to use the water in the reservoir.
Some people were unhappy when they heard it.
The reservoir was dug out bit by bit by them at the risk of heatstroke. Why can't they use the water in the reservoir?
He Qiangguo: ...
He Qiangguo paused for a few seconds and said, "You are indeed involved in the reservoir, but you also received your salary. Do you think you can go out and repair other people's houses and live in them after they are repaired?"
"How can such a thing be possible in this world?"
He Qiangguo looked at the people with different expressions and said seriously, "You all know the style of the person in charge. He means what he says. What he says is what he means."
"Although the person in charge won't force all families to sign up, once the river in our village dries up completely, it will be difficult for some people to join. You have to think carefully."
Finally, under the coercion and inducement of He Qiangguo, all the families living in Hejia Village signed up. Even the two groups of newcomers who came last year spontaneously formed small groups similar to families or joined the domestic water group in their individual names.
All four members of He Junxia's family are members of the farming team and have to participate in the work of fetching water for agricultural use, which is a heavy burden, so only He Junxia and He Chengcai participate in the use of domestic water.
That day, the two of them got up early and rode their tricycles to the meeting place. There were already several people guarding the village entrance.
The two security team members who led the way were Zhang Quan and Chen Fengyang, both of whom were apprentices of He Chengcai.
This is certainly not a coincidence.
As the saying goes, the more favors you use, the more you gain, and the closer your relationship becomes. Unless there is a huge difference in social status between the two, it would be a fool not to use the relationship.
The people in the same group greeted each other. Zhang Quan and Chen Fengyang placed some of the water storage containers prepared in advance on the tricycle brought by He Junxia, and one of them rode a tricycle in front to lead the way.
After walking for about half an hour, the group finally arrived at the water source - a pool under a waterfall, sweating profusely.
Everyone frantically pushed the water containers from the car into the water. One person used a dry branch to test the depth of the pool and said, "It's not deep here. I guess it's only half a meter. I don't know how long it will last."
Zhang Quan explained, "This is the county's designated water intake point. We're lucky we weren't diverted downstream, otherwise we'd be upset."
The person who was speaking nodded and said, "That's right. We're just worried that people upstream will mess around and make the water smelly and dirty."
Another person pointed at the uneven, barren, cobblestone ground beside the pool and said, "Wait until the water is high enough and try it. It's at least 1.5 meters deep. The cascading water from above will make it hard to breathe."
"You think I'm stupid."
The first person to speak put his hand in a container downstream from where he was drawing water and sighed, "The water is still cooler. It's been getting hotter lately. I heard the county hospital is out of medicine for heatstroke. People sent there can't be treated, and many elderly people have died."
He Junxia squatted down and scooped up river water with both hands to pour it on his face. The cold river water brought a hint of coolness but could not resist the scorching sun.
He raised his head slightly and looked at the sky. His eyes were instantly blinded by the dazzling sunlight. He subconsciously squinted his eyes and secreted natural tears.
One person said, "How long will this damn weather last?"
Another person complained: "You still have the energy to speak, I feel too hot to even speak."
Everyone tacitly sped up the pace of fetching water, and by the time they had filled all the containers, the water level in the pool had clearly dropped by one depth.
They ran back and forth four times that day.
When leaving for the last time, He Junxia used the dry branch he had used before to test the depth of the pool and found that the depth of the pool had been reduced by half.
Fortunately, the waterfall upstream is still sending water down continuously. Although the water flow is not large, it is much better than the tributary in Hejia Village. When the next group comes to fetch water the next day, the pool should be able to return to its original depth.
Shouldn't it?
Half a month later, He Junxia and his team members came to the pond again to fetch water. When they first saw it, the half-meter-deep pond just covered people's ankles. The waterfall that originally flowed like silk turned into white silk threads on the stone wall.
This water point is obsolete.
A few hours later, the group finally returned to the village pushing a tricycle with containers full of water and poured the water in the containers into the water storage reservoir.
He Junxia asked the people who went to the pond to fetch water yesterday and found that the depth of the pond was still slightly below the calf when they fetched water, and the waterfall was not a white silk thread as thin as cow hair attached to the stone wall.
In just one day, the depth of the pool had shrunk by nearly half. I'm afraid by the time the water-collecting team arrives tomorrow, it will have become a small puddle.
He Junxia immediately reported the situation to the team leader, He Qiangguo, who in turn reported it to the person in charge. The person in charge sent several people to other villages to inquire about the situation, and the next morning, at dawn, they hurried to the county town.
As He Junxia expected, the pool of water turned into a small puddle, and the waterfall disappeared.
The water-collecting team walked several kilometers upstream along the river to try their luck, but unfortunately they found nothing and had to return to the village in disgrace.
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