One of the tall, sturdy men had beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. He first raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, but accidentally let the stick in his hand slip. He hurriedly grasped it again, suppressing his inner fear, and leaned back slightly, as if trying to distance himself from Su Wenjun. He stammered, "I...we, there is not much water left in our village. We can't let you drink it. Go away!"
Although he tried to make his voice sound tough, the trembling tone still revealed his inner timidity and anxiety.
Seeing that the people of Huaihua Village were still uncompromising after seeing Su Wenjun pull out his big knife, the village chief hurried forward, reached out and pulled Su Wenjun's clothes tightly, with a look of restraint and comfort in his eyes, signaling him to put away the knife first and not to act impulsively to avoid further intensification of the conflict.
The village chief then turned around, with a kind smile on his face, and bowed to the man standing in front with a vigilant look on his face.
His voice was a little hoarse and tired, but he still tried to remain polite and respectful. He said, "Everyone, we've been traveling all the way and are really thirsty. We don't want to take advantage of you. How about we spend money to buy some water? As long as it can quench our thirst, the price is negotiable."
As the village chief spoke, he looked at the other person with eyes full of expectation.
When they heard that the people from Sujia Village had to pay to buy water, a hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of several people from Huaihua Village.
They all thought to themselves, "If we can sell this water, it will really solve the village's urgent needs. The village has been worried about money recently. With this income, everyone can share some money, and we will have more money on hand, and life will be much better."
There were two people who looked smarter. They looked at each other knowingly, turned around without saying a word, and ran towards the village.
They walked quickly, eager to tell the village chief of Huaihua Village that someone wanted to buy water.
At this moment, the two people whose hands were originally trembling looked much more relaxed.
They slowly put down the sticks in their hands, the muscles in their arms were no longer tense, and their hands stopped shaking.
One of them cleared his throat, forced a slightly awkward smile, and said to the village chief, "We need to ask our village chief about selling water. Wait a moment. We can't make the final decision on this matter. We need the village chief's approval. Don't worry, just wait here patiently."
Upon hearing that there was a turn for the better regarding the water purchase, the village chief's tense nerves finally relaxed a little, and the anxiety on his face faded away.
He raised his hand slightly, motioned towards the exhausted villagers not far behind him, and said in a steady and calm voice, "Don't panic, everyone. Let's find a place over there to rest first."
When the villagers heard this, they felt relieved. They dragged their heavy feet slowly to the side, each found a relatively flat place, sat or lay down, and began to rest for a while to relieve the fatigue of many days.
The village chief took Su Wenjun, Dazhuang and Dahu and stayed where they were, quietly waiting for the arrival of the Huaihua Village chief.
Time passed slowly, and soon, the village chief of Huaihua Village led most of the young and strong people in the village and walked towards the village entrance in a mighty manner.
The village chief looked around as he walked, his heart full of doubts, because he did not see the large crowd of people that the messenger had mentioned. There were only a few people standing at the entrance of the village.
But he quickly comforted himself that it was safer with fewer people, and this might avoid some unnecessary trouble.
So, he quickened his pace and walked straight to the village chief with a few people around him. With a hint of inquiry in his eyes, he asked, "Are you the ones who want to buy water?"
The village chief raised his head slightly, looked past the person in front of him, and saw many strong young men following behind him. He immediately had an idea in his mind and thought to himself that the person in front of him was probably the village chief of Huaihua Village.
So, with a gentle smile on his face, he bowed slightly and said politely, "You must be the village chief of Huaihua Village. I am the village chief of Sujia Village. I heard that your village has water, so I took the liberty to come here and buy some water from your village to quench everyone's thirst."
The head of Huaihua Village was originally a little skeptical and wary, but when he saw that they really wanted to buy water, and their attitude was sincere and their words were earnest, he couldn't help but smile, and his eyes became more relaxed and friendly.
He nodded slightly and said, "My last name is Zhao, and I'm the village chief of Huaihua Village. Of course I can buy water, but our water is hard to come by. I wonder what price you would offer?"
As he spoke, he folded his hands over his chest, his eyes filled with anticipation and shrewdness, waiting for the other party's response.
After quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind, the village chief slowly and tentatively extended three fingers, his eyes filled with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation, and softly said, "Village Chief Zhao, what do you think of three cents for a bucket of water?"
When the village chief of Huaihua Village heard the offer, his brows instantly furrowed and a look of obvious dissatisfaction appeared on his face.
In his mind, water has become an extremely precious resource as there is a shortage of water everywhere this week.
If it was sold at only three cents a barrel, the money distributed to each villager would be very little.
The villagers will definitely be dissatisfied, which will affect his prestige and credibility in the village.
Thinking of this, he shook his head without hesitation and said firmly, "No, it's too low. Twenty cents a bucket is a more reasonable price. After all, we have spent a lot of manpower and material resources to protect this water, so this price is already very fair."
"What? Twenty cents a barrel? You are simply robbing me!" When Su Wenjun heard the price, he was immediately furious, his eyes were as big as copper bells, his face turned red, and veins on his neck bulged.
He rushed forward, completely ignoring the village chief's previous instructions, and shouted excitedly.
Back then, he worked as a porter in the county. He was exhausted every day with back pain and sweat all over his body. He worked hard from morning to night, but only earned fifteen cents.
It was a whole day of hard work, with my shoulders rubbed red, swollen and broken, and my back unable to straighten up, all in return for such a meager reward.
But now, just for a bucket of water, Huaihua Village asked for twenty cents, which he thought was simply outrageous.
He was so angry that he waved his hands in the air, as if he wanted to refute the unreasonable price. He looked so indignant that he wanted to argue with the other party about who was right and who was wrong.
The chief of Huaihua Village looked at them calmly. He put his hands behind his back, raised his chin slightly, and his eyes showed confidence and composure, as if he was sure that the other party would accept this price.
He said slowly, "The water isn't what it used to be. It's dry and cracked everywhere. Water is very scarce. If you're willing, we can trade. If not, forget it."
As he spoke, he turned sideways and pretended to walk back with the villagers behind him.
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