Chapter 127 Strike first
Village Chief Li ignored their teasing. He waved his hand as a greeting, ignoring the way they stared at the waterwheel and drooled. "I'll have someone take you home first. I'll be back when I'm done."
"Hey, Old Li, what are you doing? We came here to find you, how can you just leave us alone?"
"That's right, we came here specifically to see you." The word "specifically" was particularly prominent.
"We've been friends for many years, so don't be polite with us. Just go about your business and we'll just wait on the side."
Seeing that he didn't move, several people urged:
"What were you doing just now? Go quickly, don't delay the official meeting."
"Yeah, just go and do your work, don't worry about us."
Village chief Li looked at the old guys and curled his lips. They were all thousand-year-old foxes, so who didn't know who?
However, since the people had already arrived at the scene, he couldn't chase them away. He could only glare at them and sit back on the pedals.
After the people left, the few people who had just arrived breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew, that scared me! I really thought Old Li was going to send us back."
"He's just loud, you guys are too timid."
"Hey, if you can, don't hide behind anyone when he's glaring at you."
"You're talking about me, aren't you the same?"
"There's nothing we can do. We have to ask for help."
"Hey, come to think of it, are they going to start diverting the water soon? My chest is pounding. I'm so worried."
"It should be possible, otherwise it wouldn't have reached the county magistrate."
“…”
Several people looked at the situation on the side of Village Chief Li and others and discussed in a low voice.
As "guests", they were very conscious of their place and spoke very quietly, so that no one else could hear them except them.
Village chief Li knew that there was no room for improvement, so he ignored those people. He and Rong Bingwu agreed and started to push with their left foot, and then with their right foot.
Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, as they stepped on the water wheel one by one, the motionless water wheel slowly turned.
"Ah, it's moving!"
"Look! Water! Water! The water is coming up!"
The people who were participating in the assembly were all excited when they saw the slowly turning water wheel, especially when they saw the water drawn from the bamboo tube slowly flowing out.
Wow!
Wow, it really works?!
The "uninvited guests" saw the water being diverted to a higher place, flowing to a water storage tank on the side, and then flowing along the bamboo trough to a farther place, until it reached the highest paddy field.
As people who have been farming for decades, they immediately thought of a lot of things.
They could imagine that when the water in that field was almost full, it would be released into the slightly lower paddy field through the outlet, and then layer by layer until all the paddy fields were filled with water.
Moreover, at this height, they can also bring water to the foot of the mountain. Although they still have to carry water up the mountain, the distance is shortened by half, which saves a lot of effort.
Thinking of this, several people looked at each other, and their eyes looked at the big guy in front of them even more enthusiastically.
No matter what, they have to find a way to get one back as soon as possible.
They had a hunch that more people would come later.
Thinking of the scene of Baijiaqiu, several people couldn't help but feel fortunate for their smart decision.
Village Chief Li was in a particularly good mood when he heard the sound of rushing water. He reminded Rong Bingwu, "The heads of several surrounding villages are here. They must have heard about the waterwheel too."
Rong Bingwu nodded: "It is our honor that the waterwheel can benefit the people."
The reason they did this was to spread their reputation as quickly as possible, so that people from other places could use it and they would see the success.
These are all free publicity.
"Don't worry, you will definitely not suffer any loss." As the village chief of Fushan Village, Village Chief Li automatically took on the role of seeking welfare for the villagers.
He knew that the appearance of the waterwheel was of vital importance to ordinary people like them. He just confronted those old guys because he knew their character. How could such a good thing be obtained so easily?
Humph, they always made fun of Fushan Village in the past. Today, the old man must let them know how powerful Fushan Village is.
Rong Bingwu smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you, village chief."
Their purpose in doing this is not to make money. When the time comes, the rewards from above will not be small. However, some things are too easy to get and people will not cherish them. It is better to wait until the village chief has communicated with these people before making any decision.
Because both of them had something to do later, they did not continue treading water. Village chief Li received a few visitors, while Rong Bingwu and his group did what they were supposed to do, and did not get carried away by making the waterwheel.
The waterwheel is temporarily guarded by people arranged by Village Chief Li.
You have to defend it.
Many people are curious about water wheels and want to try them out. But what if they step on them carelessly without knowing how to use them and break them?
Rong Yan replied that it didn't matter. As long as there was no intentional damage, the waterwheel was still very sturdy if used normally.
Farming is too hard these days, and if there is something that can lighten their burden, how can they not cherish it even if they are busy maintaining it?
"Grandpa Village Chief, don't worry, we will definitely take good care of it."
"Yeah, we'll play here from now on and not give bad guys a chance to get close."
"With this, my parents will be able to relax a lot in the future."
“…”
The children who were watching the fun on the side heard what the village chief and others said and immediately volunteered.
Although they were children, they also knew the importance of crops. Every day, they saw their parents and family members working hard to carry water, especially before spring plowing, and their shoulders were always full of empty space.
They may not have known enough about the waterwheel before, nor understood the changes it might bring, but after a day, they already understood the significance of the waterwheel.
Village Chief Li rubbed the child in front of him and said, "Then I'll leave it to you."
Although these children are young, they are very sensible.
Rong Bingwen walked up to his brother and asked him what he was going to do next. The latter looked around and said calmly, "Whatever you need to do."
The waterwheel is ready, and now it's up to County Magistrate Zhang.
The Rong family, the Pu family, Lu Mingxiu and others went back to rest together.
In order to catch up on the work, they have been busy since yesterday until now, and have only had less than two hours of rest in the middle. Now they have to go back and catch up on their sleep.
Village Chief Li knew that they hadn't rested much, so he urged them to go back and rest. After they had gone far away, he looked at them and said, "Tell me, what are you doing here?"
He looked as if he was about to tell the truth, and it was obvious that he knew these people very well.
"Old Li, you know that it's very difficult to get water in our village."
"Yes, our area is mostly mountainous. If we want to irrigate, we have to carry water on our shoulders. It's really hard."
"A villager was carrying water when he slipped and rolled down the slope. He was bedridden for two months."
“…”
Four elderly men in their fifties were talking about their own difficulties. Village Chief Li looked at them with amusement, "We're not far from each other. Who hasn't been through this?"
"Hey, old man Li, don't pretend with us. You must know why we are here today."
Seeing that Village Chief Li refused to accept the challenge, the other four village chiefs simply laid their cards on the table.
"Just tell me, how can we get this waterwheel?"
"Don't stop me. It's a shame to leave such a good thing in Fushan Village."
Village Chief Li glared at the person who said this, "We've been friends for decades, and you still don't know what kind of person I am?"
"Oh, we definitely trust you, Old Li," someone said with a smile, "So you mean we can also install this water truck?"
Village Chief Li stopped teasing them. "The waterwheel was made by those people just now. I'm not qualified to deal with it. However," he said, as everyone looked frustrated and disappointed, he changed the subject, "If the county magistrate knew that everyone wanted it, he should be able to do it."
"Let's go straight to the county magistrate?" someone said impatiently, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to the county town now."
"Wait a minute," someone immediately stopped him and said hesitantly, "This waterwheel was made by those people just now. Would it be a bad idea for us to go directly to the county magistrate?"
If it was him, someone wanted his things, but skipped him and went to their clan leader, and the other party pressured him to give up the things he had worked so hard to obtain...
Just thinking about it made him want to beat that guy up twice.
Putting himself in their shoes, he didn't think those people would be happy.
After hearing what he said, the others also hesitated.
Seeing this, Village Chief Li smiled and said, "Don't worry, they made this because they thought the people here were working so hard. They're happy to be able to help everyone."
"Then we go straight to them?"
"I just saw them going that way," the man said, then something occurred to him, "Who are they?"
These old acquaintances are naturally aware of the special distribution of villagers in Fushan Village.
Village Chief Li nodded, "Those just now were just ordinary Rong family members, and there is also a new batch that just arrived in the village."
Ugh! This is incredible.
Several people gave a thumbs up.
"So what should we do now?"
"They've already handed the waterwheel business over to me," said Village Chief Li. "This is a great thing that will benefit both the country and the people. I think we should first ask the county magistrate if he has other plans."
What could the magistrate do? Should he install one in every village?
"No, we have to get into the city quickly!" Regardless of whether the county magistrate planned to do so or not, they had to seize the initiative and be on a first-come, first-served basis.
So, the group hurried to the city without delay.
Zhang Wende didn't go anywhere today and was waiting in the yamen. When he heard that the village chief of a nearby village was coming to report something important, he was overjoyed. He coughed lightly and let the person in.
When he heard about their purpose, Zhang Wende acted like a local official and said that he also hoped that the people under his rule would get better and better. The waterwheel is beneficial to the present and future generations, and it would be best if it could be carried forward.
He immediately arranged for the craftsmen to prepare, and the group rushed to Fushan Village.
For two consecutive days, the county magistrate came in person, which made the people in Fushan Village excited and a little nervous. However, after hearing the purpose of his visit, they were left with a vague sense of pride.
Zhang Wende was shocked when he saw the tall waterwheel standing by the lake from afar, especially when he saw the gurgling lake water slowly flowing into the fields through the bamboo troughs. The long-lost ambition of serving the people and benefiting the people resurfaced in his mind.
I have been living in a muddle for more than ten years, and now I don’t know if it is too late to change?
Such uncertainty passes by quickly and is soon replaced by something else.
He thought that no matter when, as long as he did it, it would be good in the end.
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