Chapter 18 Zhuang Dagouzi can finally give up his job!
"Of course I'm reluctant, but what else can I do?"
There was crying in the threshing floor.
Everyone was devastated. After three years of enduring, they couldn't make it any longer!
Before, there was just not enough water, so people could barely survive. Now there is no water at all, how can they survive!
"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment and listen to me!" The village head cleared his throat. "Ye Yanping found a water source in Wild Bear Ridge. Today, he brought water back from the mountains. Many people saw him and even drank a few sips! In other words, Heihe Village is not hopeless. We still have hope!"
When the villagers heard this, they all stared at the head of the village in a daze.
It is true that there is a water source in Wild Bear Ridge, but not everyone dares to go there, and it is not easy to walk twenty or thirty miles.
"Does the village head mean for everyone to follow Ye Yanping into the mountains to fetch water?"
“Not every household can walk such a long mountain road to fetch water!”
"That's right! Most people in the village can't do that!"
…
The village head frowned, "I plan to organize the strong laborers in the village, led by Ye Yanping, to go into the mountains to fetch water every day, and the water we fetch will be used for drinking by the whole village.
Don't worry about safety when entering the mountains. With Yan Ping here, you won't have to worry about wild animals. But the crops in the fields are definitely not going to be safe. There won't be any harvest this year, so everyone should be aware of this!"
"The laborers in the family have gone to fetch water. What will happen to the family's livelihood?" someone asked.
The village head said, "Since the crops are gone, there's no farm work to do. To fill their stomachs, the whole village goes up the mountain to dig wild vegetables. A portion of the wild vegetables they dig up is distributed to the families who have contributed labor."
"This..." Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
The village head sighed, "Why are you hesitating? What else can we do? Right now, we can only take one step at a time! This is the only way I can think of to save the whole village! If you think this method is not feasible, then there is only one way left - flee from the famine!"
Everyone felt nervous. No, they didn’t want to flee from famine!
In recent years, they have heard of many stories of people fleeing famine. Those people left their homes with their families, and accidentally died on the road. Their bodies were gnawed by wild dogs until not even a bone was left!
"Brain! Nisou!" A tender little baby voice rang out.
Everyone looked back and saw that Ye's little Jiuer was sitting on Ye Buwei's neck, with her two little hands pulling Ye Buwei's hair, and her little face was full of anxiety, as if she had something to say that she couldn't hold back!
Ye Buwei patted her little hand soothingly, "Village Head, there is another way."
"Dad Yan Ping has a solution?"
"What can a blind man do?"
Everyone was buzzing with discussion.
…
The village head waved his hand to quiet everyone down, "Father Yanping, please tell me now!"
After everyone quieted down, Ye Buwei said calmly, "What the village chief just said about organizing people to go up the mountain to fetch water is indeed a solution, but it won't solve the long-term livelihood problem. The fields will be empty and the wild vegetables will eventually be dug up. By then, we can't just rely on drinking water to survive."
The village head's face turned grim. "I'm aware of this drawback, and I've just said it. For now, we can only take one step at a time. It's better than the whole village fleeing the famine tomorrow!"
Ye Buwei said slowly, "But if we follow the headman's plan, when the whole village has used up all their money and food, the only option left is to flee! And by then, we'll have no money or food left to support ourselves, and we'll be dead on the way!"
The village head said with a dark face, "So, according to you, we have to flee the famine right now?"
As soon as the village head said this, everyone below started saying, "Escape now? No, we won't go!"
"Village head, don't listen to a blind man's nonsense! We only listen to you!"
"That's right! The Ye family has Ye Yanping, so they don't have to worry about being out of water or food. Our situation is different! The Ye family doesn't need to join in the fun!"
"Ye Buwei is a man who never leaves his house, what does he know?"
…
Ye Buwei pursed his lips tightly, his face expressionless.
The little girl touched his face with heartache.
"What are you arguing about! Can you please listen to what Old Ye has to say? You are a bunch of ungrateful people!"
Luo Qiuyue walked over with a cold face, looking at everyone with eyes as cold as ice.
She actually scolded her man, how can she look down on others!
"Everyone, my Ah Ping can go up to the mountains three or four times a day. The water he brings back is enough for the crops to drink. We really don't need to get involved! But since Old Ye has offered a suggestion, is it because he has nothing better to do?
He did it for our village, for you! Not only are you ungrateful, but you're also attacking him with vile words? Are you even human?!
"Old Ye, come back with me! Whether they flee from famine or starve to death, it has nothing to do with us!"
Everyone knew they were in the wrong and didn't dare to say anything. Moreover, they didn't dare to offend the Ye family because they still needed Ye Yanping to lead them to find a water source!
The village head's expression softened, and he nodded, saying, "Mother Yan Ping's words are true, and this is exactly what happened! We were a little excited just now, and I apologize on everyone's behalf. Father Yan Ping, don't be angry, just continue!"
Xiaojiu waved her little hand and said, "Brain bag, whoosh!"
Ye Buwei coughed twice and said, "Right now, we need water, not just for drinking, but also to save our crops. There's a permanent solution, and everyone knows it—digging a canal in the mountain to bring water into the village!"
Ye Buwei's words caused an uproar in the threshing ground.
Although everyone was afraid of being scolded by Luo Qiuyue, they still couldn't help but speak out in opposition.
"Dig a canal through the mountain? What a dream! Impossible!"
"Do you think everyone is as strong as your Ye Yanping?"
"It would take months to dig up the twenty or thirty li mountain road!"
"By the time the canal is dug, we'll be starving to death!"
…
Amidst the clamor, Ye Buwei chuckled softly and said slowly, "You're overthinking things. Digging a canal to divert water is certainly not easy, but it's not as difficult as you say. May I ask the village head, roughly how many young and strong laborers are there in Heihe Village?"
The village head said, "There are a total of 206 households in our village, and there should be at least 400 young and middle-aged laborers."
"Okay, let me do the math!" Ye Buwei said loudly, "The water source is twenty or thirty miles away from Heihe Village, which means the maximum distance is about five thousand feet! I'd like to ask you all, how long canal can a young and strong laborer dig in a day?"
Someone answered, "It's a canal. It doesn't need to be very deep or wide. One worker can dig at least ten feet in a day!"
"Very good!" Ye Buwei continued, "Each person is ten feet a day, so four hundred people a day is four thousand feet! But since we'll spend quite a bit of time on the road, I'll give you a discount and only record three thousand feet! Do you find any problems?"
"We've found it!" Ye Yanshun said excitedly, "The canal we need to dig is five thousand feet long! The whole village can dig at least three thousand feet a day, which means the canal can be dug in less than two days!"
"Great!" Little Jiuer clapped his hands so loudly that the mountains echoed.
Everyone was dumbfounded. They seemed to understand and yet didn't understand.
Can the canal be dug and the water be brought down the mountain in less than two days?
In other words, if we go up the mountain to dig tomorrow, we can divert water down the mountain the day after tomorrow at the latest?
The village head was shocked and looked at Ye Buwei, who was standing there calmly, with tears in his eyes.
Oh my God!
Thinking about how I thought Ye Buwei was just trying to attract attention, I felt so ashamed that I wanted to slap myself!
It must be that God heard his prayers and sent him a successor!
At this critical moment that determines the life and death of the entire village, he, Zhuang Dagouzi, can finally give up!
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