"Alright, alright, I'm an old man, it's the same every day. How have you been lately? Have you had anything to eat?" Uncle Li asked.
“Uncle Li, don’t worry about me. I bought some grain last autumn, and with the mixed grains we grow ourselves, we have enough to eat for now,” Lu Chuan said.
"Alright, just let me know if you need more food! Thanks to your reminder, your brother bought some grain last year, otherwise we would all be tightening our belts now!" Uncle Li said with a smile.
"You have no idea, my father nags me about you every day, saying that you had the foresight to prepare the food in advance," Manager Li chimed in with a chuckle.
"Hehe, I just stumbled upon this by accident. I originally just wanted to buy more grain and store it while the price was cheap. Who would have thought there would be a drought!"
"To be honest, we're really lucky we bought grain back then. Otherwise, like every year, we probably would have run out of food long ago," Lu Chuan said honestly, scratching the back of his head.
"You're a lucky person; God couldn't bear to let you suffer anymore," Uncle Li said with a smile.
"You must stay home today for a simple meal and have a good chat," said Manager Li.
"Yes, yes, go tell the kitchen to prepare a few more dishes. Lu and I will have a good drink together," Uncle Li said.
"Okay! I'll go right now."
"No need to trouble yourself, I just came to take a look and will be leaving soon," Lu Chuan said.
"You're not allowed to go. You have to have a meal at home today before you leave," Uncle Li said, feigning anger.
Seeing this, Lu Chuan couldn't refuse any longer. Since he couldn't go back today anyway, he might as well stay and have a meal with Uncle Li! He didn't know if he would have another chance to eat together in the future.
So he took out a bag of dried vegetables from his basket and said, "These are dried vegetables that my wife dried; they'll make a nice addition to our meal."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Manager Li took the dried vegetables and headed towards the kitchen.
Only Uncle Li and Lu Chuan remained in the hall. Uncle Li then asked, "How's the situation in the mountains? There shouldn't be a shortage of water, right?"
"There is no shortage of water to drink now, but many small rivers have gradually dried up. At present, there is no need to worry about drinking water."
"That's good. The water level in the wells in the city is dropping drastically. If this continues, I'm afraid we won't even have any drinking water left," Uncle Li said with a sigh.
"We don't know how long this drought will last."
“I remember there was a major drought about 20 years ago. At that time, our area was not particularly affected, but the north was severely affected. I heard from people who fled that the drought lasted for more than a year, and even the deep wells were dry.”
"We were a little better off here, at least we still had water to drink, but we couldn't grow any crops. Just when we were about to flee south, God sent rain, and that's how we survived," Uncle Li said, recalling the incident.
"Does Uncle Li have any news about the situation in the north?" Lu Chuan asked.
"Yes, it's said that the north is also experiencing drought, just like here. It hasn't rained since the Lunar New Year. Further south, I've heard that it hasn't rained for a long time either."
"There are quite a few areas affected by this drought, and many places have been hit by the disaster," Uncle Li said.
"If it really comes to the point where we have to flee, and even the south is experiencing drought, where should we go then?" Lu Chuan asked as he pondered.
"Then we can only go further south. If we really need to flee, we don't know if we can even get out! After all, it's arid further south. We're lucky we can manage to keep going as far south as possible, but what will happen to the people in the north?"
If you set off too late, you won't be able to reach your destination at all. You need to prepare enough food and water before you can get there, otherwise even if you are fleeing, you will only be heading for death.
After all, by the time they get to our place, there will be no water left, and without a way to replenish their fluids, they simply won't be able to hold on.
"I hope it rains soon! We absolutely can't let it come to this!" Uncle Li said with a worried expression.
"Sigh! If it really stops raining, we should make plans early. Otherwise, with so many people fleeing the famine, anything can happen, and we won't be able to escape," Lu Chuan reminded him from the side.
"Let's see what happens before the New Year, and whether it will rain after the New Year," Uncle Li murmured.
Seeing this, Lu Chuan stopped talking and, after having lunch at the Li family's house, said goodbye.
After leaving the Li family, I went straight to the clinic. The clinic was open, but it was still deserted.
"Uncle Zhang, are you there?" Lu Chuan walked into the clinic but didn't see any apprentices inside, so he called out loudly.
“I’m in the backyard, just come in!” Uncle Zhang said.
"Uncle Zhang, why are there no apprentices at the clinic? Are you managing all this yourself?"
"I sent the young apprentice to fetch the medicine. The clinic has reduced its staff now. In this year, unless it's a serious illness, no one wants to come to get medicine. Everyone wants to save more money for the future!" Uncle Zhang said while drying the medicinal herbs.
"Oh, is that so! No wonder no one came!"
"What brings you to the county town today? How have you been lately? Do you have enough food?" Uncle Zhang asked.
"I haven't been down the mountain for a long time, and I don't know what the situation is like down there, so I wanted to come down and take a look."
"Don't worry, we have enough food. This is some dried vegetables that Xiao Han asked me to bring you. Try them," Lu Chuan said.
"Alright, alright. The situation down the mountain isn't good either; many rivers have dried up. Try not to go down the mountain when you have nothing to do; just stay home and enjoy your own lives," Uncle Zhang said.
"Yes, I know, Uncle Zhang. I heard about the situation down the mountain when I had lunch at Manager Li's house today. Sigh! There's nothing we can do," Lu Chuan sighed.
Seeing that Lu Chuan already knew the situation, Uncle Zhang didn't repeat it. Of course, Uncle Zhang also knew that Lu Chuan had dealings with the Li family, and he figured the Li family had already explained everything to Lu Chuan.
So he asked again, "There shouldn't be a shortage of water in the mountains, right? If not, you can move to the city. There are deep wells in the city, so there's never a shortage of water to drink."
"There is no shortage of water at present. Although some rivers have dried up, the water resources in the mountains are relatively abundant. There shouldn't be any major problems in the short term."
Uncle Zhang was relieved to hear Lu Chuan say that, and he knew that Lu Chuan was not lying, since he knew the situation in the mountains.
If there is no water in the mountains, then the situation at the foot of the mountain is probably even worse, as there has long been no water there.
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