There were two ropes extending down from the wellhead, one tied to a small wooden bucket for drawing water, and the other tied to the waist of the person at the bottom of the well.
The bucket was put down again, and the man caught the bucket. With his other hand, he used a small bowl to scoop the water from the puddle and collected it into the bucket bit by bit.
As soon as there was a little water in the bucket, the people above would pull it up and distribute it to the people who were already waiting anxiously.
Zheng Gang watched this scene silently, looking at the smiles on the faces of those who were given water, with no expression on his face. He didn't know how many days this kind of day could last. He didn't even know what the point of persisting like this was. But if he didn't do this, what else could he do?
Suddenly, he noticed a pair of eyes falling on him. He looked up, but because of hunger and lack of water, he was even a little dizzy. It took him a moment to see the person clearly through the strong sunlight.
Is it her?
"Brother Gang." Lin Man walked over and looked at the man by the well. "Brother Gang, can you please have a moment with me?"
Zheng Gang intuitively felt that she had something important to say: "Okay."
He leaned on a crutch and followed Lin Man with a weak step, moving a few steps to the side until he came to the shadow of the house.
Lin Man noticed that he was much weaker than he was three days ago. Back then, he could still run so fast, but now he even had difficulty walking. She got straight to the point: "Brother Gang, we found a place and dug a water hole. The water is coming out pretty good."
Zheng Gang's eyes lit up: "Where is it?"
"It takes two or three hours to walk from here, and the mountain road is slow to walk. If you walk slowly, it may take four hours."
"It's okay. This distance is nothing. Just take us there." Zheng Gang said that as long as they can drink water, no one will mind the distance.
Lin Man did not agree immediately, but asked: "Brother Gang, how many people are left in our base?"
Zheng Gang's excited mind instantly cooled down. He thought that the puddle might not be able to provide food and drink for everyone.
He paused and said, "There are less than 400 people in the base now."
Lin Man was surprised: "So little?"
"There were only about 3,000 people to begin with, and most of them have left recently. With the chaos three days ago..." Zheng Gang shook his head. "Only 87 people died that night, but many others are missing."
Zheng Gang speculated that they must have escaped that night. They ran too far, so it didn't matter whether they came back or not. There was no way to survive if they stayed in the base. Most people didn't leave just to wait for death quietly. Now this quietness is gone, the house is burned down, and there is no water. Why bother to run back?
Isn't it death everywhere?
In short, only a small number of people returned in the past three days. In addition, there were some conflicts during these three days, and some people were killed or injured. There were also people committing suicide every day...
In short, there are less than 400 people now.
Lin Man didn't know whether he should be relieved or regretful, but if there were less than 400 people, there shouldn't be any trouble and it would be easier to manage.
"Lin Man, how big is the puddle? How much water can each person get?"
"Judging from the current water output, it can supply everyone."
"Really!" That was a big surprise.
Lin Man asked again: "How long can everyone's food last?"
Zheng Gang smiled bitterly and shook his head: "What kind of food is there? We just rummage around in the mountains every day and can barely survive."
This is the same as before, and to be honest, because the population has suddenly decreased, fewer people go to the mountains and fields to find food, and the pressure on this mountain that is almost barren has been greatly reduced.
Lin Man understood that the most pressing problem at the moment was drinking water.
She said: "In fact, we not only dug a water hole, but also a small wild vegetable patch there. We sorted out the wild vegetable patch and expanded the area. Today we also found two nests of small sweet potatoes and planted them next to the vegetable patch. They are growing well and it seems that they will not die."
Zheng Gang was stunned for a moment, then he became excited: "You mean, you mean we can plant there?"
It's easy to talk to smart people. Lin Man nodded: "It seems to be like this at the moment."
"How big is the vegetable garden?" Zheng Gang asked the key question right away.
"It's not big, it can be said to be very small. The old vegetable garden can only provide enough food for three or five people. The newly opened vegetable garden is still growing and it is not time to harvest it yet. There is no hope of growing sweet potatoes in the next three or four months." Lin Man explained carefully.
When Zheng Gang heard this, he couldn't help feeling disappointed, but this was already a rare thing, and it could even be said to be great news. He patted Lin Man's shoulder heavily and said, "Lin Man, thank you."
Lin Man pursed his lips and smiled slightly: "Brother Gang, what are you going to do?"
"What are your plans?"
"I'll listen to Brother Gang."
Zheng Gang glanced at her. Although the girl said she would listen to him, Zheng Gang had a feeling that if what he said did not satisfy her or was too different from her plan, this thin and weak-looking girl would probably have a problem with him.
We are all doing this for the base and for those who are still alive, so of course we should try our best to be friendly, help each other and understand each other.
Zheng Gang smiled and said, "Having water can solve everyone's urgent needs. Having vegetable plots and sweet potatoes can give everyone hope and encourage them to persevere. I want to tell everyone this good news and then arrange for some people to fetch water every day. What do you think?"
"As for the vegetable patch, since you're the ones managing it, I'll keep it in your care. However, if there are any particularly weak or malnourished people, especially children, I hope you can give them some of the crop as appropriate."
Lin Man felt that she had chosen the right person. Zheng Gang had tacitly acknowledged that the vegetable plot belonged to her and had not asked her to give it up, which made her feel very comfortable.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
