"Uncle Village Chief, should we still hold a general meeting?" Yan Xiaoqiang asked.
"Of course we should open it. Even if the village pays for it, they should pay half. Otherwise, they won't cherish public property," Village Chief Ma said firmly.
Yan Xiaoqiang raised both hands in agreement. Most of the villagers were good, but there were also bad apples. In order to prevent bad apples from spoiling the whole bunch, the village chief's method was absolutely correct.
The loudspeaker in Mushroom Village began to blare: "Attention all villagers! Attention all villagers! Head to the threshing ground for a general meeting! Head to the threshing ground for a general meeting! There is an important announcement to make in the village! There is an important announcement to make in the village!"
Upon hearing the loudspeaker, the villagers, carrying palm-leaf fans and small stools, gradually arrived at the threshing ground, whispering among themselves about what was going on that required such a large meeting so early in the morning.
"Villagers, this year's rainfall has been far too little, and the river is almost dry. For the sake of our crops and to keep us from going hungry, the village has decided to dig a well. We have already found a water source, and the commune has approved our well-digging. Now the only problem is funding."
Drilling a 30-meter well costs 20 yuan. The village committee will pay half, and the remaining amount will be shared by all 121 villagers, averaging 8 cents per person. The money must be collected and handed over to the brigade accountant by the end of this month.
The villagers were in an uproar, making a lot of noise. Most people disagreed with sharing the cost. Some families with many children had more than ten members, including the elderly and young, which meant they would have to pay 80 cents, enough to buy more than ten kilograms of wheat bran.
Wang Gou Dan was the most vocal among them. His family already owed the village money, so where would they get any more? He did have one life-threatening problem, no, eight.
Village Chief Ma and the Party Secretary had a pretty good grasp of the villagers' thoughts and actions, and formulated some measures based on their reactions. Of course, given the villagers' economic conditions, they couldn't be completely heartless.
The village party secretary picked up the loudspeaker and began to speak. The villagers held the village party secretary in high esteem, and the entire area fell silent as they awaited his address.
"Villagers, as you all know, the weather is not raining, but we urgently need water. Drilling wells is a must. Of course, the village committee understands your difficulties, so we have devised several methods. You can see which one suits you best and follow that one."
The village committee has limited resources, so it asks everyone to contribute money if they have money and labor if they don't. Ten yuan is divided equally among everyone, which is eight cents. A household can contribute a few cents to fetch several buckets of water every day.
For example, if there are five people in my family, and I contribute two share of the money, which costs a total of 16 cents, then I can fetch two buckets of water every day. If I don't have money to contribute, I can exchange it with work points or grain.
Does that mean villagers who have no grain or food can't fetch water? Of course not. We still need to consider human relationships. You can exchange your strength or your time for water.
As for the specifics of the exchange, we need to hold a meeting to discuss it, and we will notify you then. Villagers who are willing to support the village committee in digging the well can go to the brigade accountant to pay their fees.
The village secretary and village chief Ma left the threshing ground, but the villagers did not. They gathered in groups here and there to talk. Before they knew it, Grandma Yan and Cuihua were surrounded by some women who asked them all sorts of questions. After listening for a while, Yan Xiaonan finally summarized it in one sentence: "How much money will your family contribute?"
Grandma Yan replied with a smile, "We also need to go back and discuss it. There are so many people in the family, we need to think it over carefully." Yan Xiaonan sighed inwardly, "Old foxes are indeed shrewd; they dismissed those villagers with just a few words."
As expected, everyone nodded in agreement and left one by one. Wang Daniu watched Bei Nan and Xin Nan leave with Zhong Nan, chased after them for a few steps, then stopped and walked home dejectedly. Wang Sanniu looked at Er Niu, then at Bei Nan, and sneered inwardly, "Do you regret it now? Too late." She, however, headed towards the foot of the mountain.
The family had sold all their chickens to the villagers. They had nothing to eat themselves, so how could they raise chickens? The chickens used to be able to find a few worms to fill their stomachs, but now even worms were nowhere to be found. The two chickens were so hungry that they stopped laying eggs. They couldn't bear to eat them themselves, so they had no choice but to sell them.
Now Erniu is in charge of the housework, mainly because her grandmother needs help with everything from eating and drinking to using the toilet. Daniu stays at home sleeping, saying that she is weak and gets dizzy if she stays in the sun for too long. Wang Gou Dan knows that she is being cunning and sly, but he doesn't dare to hit her anymore because the consequences of hitting her would be too high.
If you can't hit her, you can scold her. Wang Gou Dan scolds Da Niu, Grandma, Er Niu, and even the young Si Niu. He scolds anyone who eats for free. His foul language makes San Niu unable to stay in this house for a moment. She might as well go for a walk at the foot of the mountain and see if there are any wild vegetables or anything.
Yan Xiaoqiang's childhood friends and Tang Jianjun all followed Yan Xiaoqiang to the Yan family home. Grandma Yan's family had long decided to exchange grain for their share. Now wheat bran was selling for eight cents a pound, and the family of nine would give up nine pounds of wheat bran. Zhong Nan was also considered a member of the family, and the Yan family did not want people to gossip.
Tang Jianjun spoke up: "Qiangzi, do you really need this much water every day? Why don't you take less grain out? There's no grain left to exchange in town. Forget about fine grains, there's not even any chaff left."
Yan Xiaoqiang was somewhat helpless. In this hot weather, his little girl needed to take a bath every day, which would require two buckets of water. He and his fellow men would each need half a bucket, which would also require two buckets of water. His mother, Cuihua, and Xuemei would need three buckets of water. The remaining two buckets would be used for drinking water and cooking. In any case, nine buckets of water were necessary. However, he couldn't say this out loud.
Seeing that Yan Xiaoqiang didn't answer, Tang Jianjun wisely kept quiet. One bucket of water was enough for his family of three. Didn't the village secretary say that they could help change the water? He was strong and healthy, so what was there to be afraid of?
Several childhood friends nodded thoughtfully. Last time, Yan Xiaoqiang's reminder led them to take out all the money and fine grains they had saved and exchanged them for about a thousand catties of coarse grains. As long as they carefully calculated and ate them slowly, their families would not go hungry for the time being. However, water was needed every day. If they couldn't use it all in one day, they could store it in a large vat. Anyway, following Yan Xiaoqiang's lead was definitely the right thing to do.
After lunch, the village committee was crowded with people, most of whom brought bags of rice. Except for Yan Xiaoqiang and his childhood friends who came with their whole families, most families paid half the amount, since a pound of grain with a little extra water could feed the whole family for two or three days.
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