With firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea, the big family lives together without any noise. The Zhu family compound could not calm down until dinner. In the end, it was settled because of grandfather's strong intervention.
It's just a pity that the five fish I caught were all cooked by the fourth aunt with dissatisfaction, and the fish were all burnt.
I have never tasted such terrible fish.
The uncle did not show up at the dinner table because he took the money and went out to study in the county early in the morning. In fact, if you think about it, the uncle is quite unloyal. He took the money and went out for a leisurely life, leaving the aunt to deal with the doubts and questions of several sisters-in-law. The eldest aunt is very protective of the uncle, and no one can say a bad word about the uncle. All I can say is that the uncle is very resourceful and worthy of being a scholar. He has a certain ability to turn his hands into clouds and rain at home.
At dinner, his grandfather gave Zhu Ping'an an extra pancake and Zhu Pingjun half a pancake more, telling both grandsons to eat well.
"Old man, the cakes don't cost money." The grandmother was already angry because of the noise of her daughters-in-law, but she saw the old man lavishly giving cakes to his two grandsons. It's okay for Jun'er to go to school, especially for the grandson. He was given half a pancake extra, but now he's given an extra pancake. It's all for the adults.
"What do you know, you woman? In ten days, our village and Shanghe Village will have to fight for water again. Today, a village elder came over and told me that Jun'er and She'er are both participating this year. Both of them are The new force of our village is related to the vital interests of our entire village, and land is our lifeblood. Last year, our village did not overtake Shanghe Village, and this year we suffered a big loss in the harvest. Especially these days, the family needs to be able to Eat it with Xie'er and Jun'er, and make up for it with some good ones."
The grandfather twisted his neck and said anxiously to his grandmother that it was because she was a woman and had no sense.
Mother Chen's face improved a lot when she heard this. Although the village lost the last time they fought for water, Dachuan performed well and won many praises from inside and outside the village. It will probably be much easier to find a wife in the future. This time, the second child can participate at the age of five, so there will be many opportunities to show his face in the future.
Going back after dinner, Zhu Pingjun learned from his father Zhu Shouyi what the so-called fighting for water with Shanghe Village was.
The mountains depend on the mountains, and the water depends on the water. However, since two villages depend on the same mountain and the same water, disputes between the two villages are inevitable due to their interests. The mountain is okay, it's so big that it can be used by the two villages no matter what, but no one can do it. The two villages rely on Qingxi for farming.
Shanghe Village is upstream and Xiahe Village is downstream. The two villages have relied on this stream for irrigation for generations. However, when crops need watering, or when there is a drought, the water in this clear stream is not enough. In the past, at this time, Shanghe Village would cut off the Qingxi River to irrigate their village, while Xiahe Village would not do it. The water volume is already small, but you still cut off the water. Our village will not get a drop of water, and the crops and fields will be damaged. Naturally, it won’t work if everything is dry and nothing is harvested.
Therefore, one village must be cut off, but one village must not be cut off. You cut it off today, and tomorrow I will take people to cut it off and dig a hole to drain out the water. Unable to reach an agreement, the two villages began to fight, with clattering dung forks, sticks, hoes, and shovels, and a huge fight broke out. When they got anxious, they couldn't hold back, and blood, death, injury, and hatred followed one after another. In the past, more than ten people would be killed or injured every year when two villages competed for water. Even the families who suffered losses would break out into sporadic fights out of revenge, causing further damage.
The village elders of the two villages felt that it would not be a problem if things continued like this. So many people were killed and injured, which caused great losses to their villages. The crops were snatched back and forth, and the flood season was missed and the production was greatly reduced.
The village elders of the two villages were working together to avoid innocent harm, and established a tradition of fighting for water that has been followed to this day.
Children between the ages of 5 and 10, thirty children from each village, participated in the water dispute between the two villages. In this way, no matter how these children fight, they will not cause serious injuries. At most, they can lie on the bed for a day or two and be active again. It is not like adults fighting for death or injury.
There are also a set of rules for sixty children to compete for water, otherwise how would they judge the winner or loser.
There are ten flags in each of the two villages, one for offense and one for defense. The defender is on a hillside, and the attacker is at the bottom of the hillside. The gong side goes to the hillside to grab the other side's flags. How many flags can be grabbed in one stick of incense? Flags are just a few flags. After grabbing them, they are given to the village elders. After a stick of incense, the two sides exchange positions, the offensive and defensive positions are changed, the attacking side becomes the defending side, and the defending side goes to attack to grab the flag. It is also a stick of incense. It takes only a few flags to grab them. After grabbing them, they are handed over to the village. Village elder.
The village elders of the two villages determine who wins or loses based on the number of flags in their hands, and determines the water rights for next year. Whoever has more flags wins. One flag represents a five-day water period, and one more flag will give priority to irrigation for five days, and so on. The winning village has the right to use the water of Qingxi for irrigation first, and the other village cannot block it and cannot irrigate until the water period represented by the flag in the hand of the winning village is used up.
Last year, Shanghe Village won two flags, which put the village's irrigation at a disadvantage. Fortunately, there was no drought this year, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.
Seeing that it is time to compete for water rights for the next year, the village elders also began to examine the candidates to participate in the village's water competition. Because the number of children in a village is limited, and there are not many children between the ages of 5 and 10, screening and selection , Zhu Pingan and Zhu Pingjun were both selected. Zhu Pingan was selected when he was just five years old. The village elder probably took a fancy to Zhu Pingan's chubby figure. The eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan was not selected because according to the village's age calculation method, the eldest brother was just over the age of 11.
The two villages have been observing this tradition of fighting for water for hundreds of years. Now, fighting for water is more like a sorority party between the two villages, and it is also a place for the younger generations to express themselves. Children who have excelled over the years will have a great advantage in finding a wife in the future. Speaking of matchmakers, Everyone would give a thumbs up, and the woman’s family would also look at her.
Every year on the day when the two villages compete for water, there will be a small gathering nearby. The younger generations compete for flags on the hillside, the elders cheer and laugh not far away, and there are village elders from the two villages drinking tea and talking on the high platform set up. laugh. It even attracts many vendors to set up stalls and sell, making it one of the most lively festivals in the two villages.
A group of naughty children were playing with flags, and there was something exciting about it. However, seeing his mother Chen's beaming expression, Zhu Ping'an wisely did not speak.
The eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan also taught Zhu Ping'an about his experience in participating in the water battle before going to bed. The eldest brother, who was usually less talkative, talked a lot, but Zhu Ping'an snored and fell asleep unconsciously while listening.
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