"Okay, don't force Lai Lai here. If you don't want to make things bigger, whoever can take charge, let him speak out." Wang Chong said coldly.
"Yes, let him come out!"
"Give us an explanation."
The villagers were all furious. If Wang Zhong hadn't been standing at the front and didn't say anything, they probably would have taken action right now.
When anger arises from the heart, evil naturally arises from the courage.
After walking around for a while, Yang San ran back to the front door, feeling the most deeply, feeling the most resentful, and shouting the loudest.
Yesterday, he was detained in the water station for nearly an hour. In the end, he had to apologize to the person at the water station. Although the man's nosebleed was indeed caused by his fists, Yang San was still unconvinced and couldn't hold it back. It's on fire.
It was clearly the person at the water station who started to curse and refused to provide water to Jintan Village. Yang San watched as the water that kept the wheat alive flowed towards Chengguan Village, which had already completed spring irrigation and was not short of water. How could this be possible in his mind? Not angry.
If it wasn't for that little water to keep Mai Zi alive, how could Yang San be so willing to compromise, admitting his mistake and apologizing at the same time.
Now it's better, the money has been paid, the apology has been made, the mistake has been admitted, and I can let go of the water day that I can't even touch.
The anger and fire suppressed in Yang San's heart completely exploded, and it was stronger and more turbulent than yesterday. It was like a volcano erupting, rushing straight to his forehead.
"What do you think? This is a water-raising station. Don't be impulsive!"
Several staff members behind the iron gate were so frightened that their faces turned green, their timid calves began to tremble, and they said uneasily.
It's hard to get angry, and they are indeed in the wrong for this matter. Yesterday, both sides clearly agreed that water would be supplied today. Yesterday afternoon, Ma Defu made up for the money owed last winter, but today they did this. Faced with When the villagers asked questions, it was no wonder that they felt guilty and scared.
Wang Zhong said in a deep voice into the iron gate: "Now I know I'm afraid. Don't worry, we are all reasonable people. Hurry up and call the person who is in charge of the matter here and let him explain to us face to face."
"Why did we change our minds about something we had obviously agreed upon? Isn't this just a joke!"
"That's right!"
"Is there anything else to explain? Didn't I just say that it was the order of our stationmaster? We are just running errands." Although they were guilty, they still spoke hard.
"Since you know you are running errands, why are you still standing here?"
Wang Zhong's eyes were sharp and his words were like daggers: "If you weren't guilty, why did you close the door?"
"You guys are so aggressive, who knows if you will cause trouble!" The people inside defended themselves.
"Making trouble?" Wang Zhong sneered: "Do you think we are like you? We, the villagers of Jintan Village, are all law-abiding people."
"Have you ever heard that the law does not punish everyone? Besides, you are the ones who are at fault for this matter. Don't say that we are not making trouble, even if we are really making trouble? Will the police arrest all of us in the village? By then If the higher authorities investigate, can you guarantee that you will not be implicated?"
"We, the big guys, were originally staying in the Xihai Sea, but government cadres came one by one to do work and dragged us to this barren Gobi Desert. We responded to the country's call and cooperated with the government's work and ran away. It’s been hundreds of miles and a lot of hard work to get here to Diaozhuang. Not only is it hard and tiring, but I also have to endure the arrogance of a bitch like you.”
"The worst case scenario is that we quit and go back to Xihaigu. When we see it, the leaders above will blame us. Are they causing trouble for us or you?"
Wang Zhong's words were like knives piercing into the hearts of several water station workers behind the iron gate, causing their expressions to suddenly change as they began to make small calculations.
"That's it! At worst, we quit and go back to our spring!"
"Yeah!"
"·······"
Looking at the villagers who said in unison, the staff at the water station were completely panicked.
Wang Zhong continued: "When the time comes and the blame comes down from above, you, the station commander, will have to bear the blame. Can you just run away?"
"It's the station commander's order to release water for you. We are the ones who follow the orders and do things. Our water station has the biggest station commander. How dare we disobey him? If you want to find it, go to him. He is making things difficult for us here. What are you doing?"
The staff at several water stations had begun to relent and did not dare to confront Wang Zhong and the others for fear of offending the public.
Public anger is hard to offend, it's not just talk, and the people in the northwest region have always been tough and tough.
Let alone the past, just go back a dozen or twenty years. At that time, the Yellow River Diversion Project had not yet been carried out. There were countless armed fights between villages to grab that little water. , that time there were only a few people killed in the group fight. Earlier, when all the people were soldiers, even the local guns and cannons were brought out.
Several villages fighting for water are no different from fighting.
Gawa's damn disease was caused by a famine in 1973, when he got hit on the head with a stick during a fight with people from Huangjialiang in the back hill of Yongquan Village over a patch of wild vegetables.
At that time, Gawa's mother was still a young girl, a big girl.
The staff at the water station are not all young people, but there are also a few older people who have experienced that period.
"We are all farmers, with our faces facing the loess and our backs to the sky. We spend our lives digging in the fields. The wheat seedlings in the fields are our lives. If you cut off our water, you will kill us. When the time comes, if the wheat seedlings in our fields are The wheat has been dried to death, and if all of our 80 households and more than 400 people in Jintan Village come to you to fight for their lives, I can't stop them."
As soon as Wang Zhong said these words, the faces of the staff at the Tiemenhou Water Station all turned dark.
But it's not over yet.
"Now you can pray that our secretary will go to the scene and sort out the water supply. If not, the wheat in our fields will dry up, then you'd better hide behind the iron gate for the rest of your life!"
"What do you mean?" a water station worker with a slightly larger burden asked anxiously.
"What do you mean?" Wang Zhong laughed, looked at the young men on his left and right, and finally landed on Yang San, who had tangled hair, old and dirty clothes, and a face of dust: "Yang San, what did he mean by asking me? !”
Yang San took two steps forward, raised his hands and grasped the steel bars on the iron gate like a fence. With red eyes, he gritted his teeth and said, "You want our lives, and we want your lives too!"
"You must not mess around, this is illegal!" Several staff members in green uniforms staggered back a few steps, obviously frightened.
The man from the Northwest usually looks honest, but he never lacks blood in his heart.
"Yang San, what are you talking about!" Wang Zhong scolded. In Yang San's confusion, the corners of his mouth raised, and he walked forward: "We are all farmers, law-abiding people, how can we do things that violate laws and disciplines?" !”
"Nothing!"
Wang Zhong changed his words and looked at the two staff members with an even colder look: "No matter who gave the order, we only know that we have paid the money, but the water station still does not provide us with water. The wheat is dried to death.”
"hehe!"
"Don't say I didn't give you advice in advance. I suggest you who work at the water station to be careful when you go home in the future. You might have an accident on the way!"
"Also, be careful when eating, you might end up with a little extra leftovers in your meal one day!"
"By the way! You also have old people and babies at home!"
Wang Zhong looked at them indifferently, with cold eyes: "Don't push people into a hurry. If you really push them into a hurry, you can do anything."
Wang Chongfeng said some irrelevant words in a nonchalant voice.
However, the expressions of the staff at several water stations suddenly changed, and fear appeared on their faces.
Especially looking at the group of angry men in front of them who were staring at them fiercely.
"Either open the door, find your people who can take charge, and let us solve the problem, or..."
"Hmph!"
Wang Zhong stood quietly in front of the iron gate, looking at the several water station workers behind the door. With their calm and unwavering eyes, those workers who looked at them subconsciously stepped back, and then withdrew their butts. Dun fell to the ground.
"I'll give you three minutes to think about it!" Wang Zhong raised three fingers.
"Didn't you say half an hour?" An iron door, an iron pipe as thick as a big toe, and an iron bar as big as a pinky finger lay across the middle of two high brick walls, dividing the two groups of people inside and outside the door. Two worlds.
The people in the household hold iron rice bowls, receive wages every month, and do easy work. They also know the importance of the wheat seedlings in the fields to the farmers, but they only know it.
The farmers outside the door scatter seeds one by one into the ground at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, and then wait for the passage of time for the wheat seedlings to break out of the ground and spend a long time under the cover of snow. In the winter, when the New Year is approaching, the new green shoots are waiting to be watered by the rain and will soon grow vigorously.
Those people inside the door cannot understand the feelings of those outside the door, because they are completely from two worlds. How can the joys and sorrows of two worlds be connected.
Naturally, they couldn't understand how these grey-faced, old-fashioned and patched farmers outside the door cherished the wheat seedlings in the fields.
But at this moment, in this situation, they could see the emotions contained in those angry eyes. The words Wang Zhong just said appeared inexplicably in their minds, and their bodies began to tremble in unison. .
If it were just them, although they were a little scared, it was just fear. It was still within the bearable range, and they still had the confidence.
But when it comes to their families, parents, wives and children, their inner defenses are completely defeated.
The person behind the door ran into the office in a pissed off manner. After a while, a middle-aged man in his forties with a bit of white hair on his temples appeared behind the iron door.
The middle-aged man looked at the people outside the door with a sullen face, gritted his teeth, and finally directed a young man in his twenties to open the iron door.
"My name is Lei Heng! Our stationmaster Chen is not here. Currently, I have the highest position in the water station!"
Lei Heng walked up to Wang Zhong, stretched out his hand and said very politely.
"Wang Zhong! Villagers of Jintan Village!"
"I know you!" Lei Heng naturally knows Wang Zhong. In recent years, Wang Zhong's farm has been irrigated with water from Qingtongxia. In the first few years, Jintan Village was still under the rule of Qingtongxia. The money collected by their water station is not much, but since last year, Jintan Village has been separated from Qingtongxia and placed under the control of Yuquanying.
Wang Zhong contracted more than 500 acres of land. Last year, he paid an expensive water fee of 60,000 yuan for winter irrigation alone, which is equivalent to more than 100 yuan per acre. This is almost a sky-high price. There are 80 households in the village. They also had five or six hundred acres of land, but they only collected 28,000. Wang Zhong's price was more than double that in the village.
During the winter irrigation last year, many people at the water station felt that the price was too high. Wang Zhong would definitely not be willing to do it. Unexpectedly, Wang Zhong agreed immediately.
"I know, that saves trouble!"
A smile like the spring breeze appeared on Wang Zhong's face: "You must have heard what I just said. I don't mean anything else, just two things."
"Two things?"
Lei Heng was confused and frightened. He was puzzled because of the two things Wang Zhong said. He was frightened because the man in front of him was only around thirty years old, but his reputation had already spread throughout the country.
Anyone who has interacted with people from Yuquanying knows that in the Gobi Desert at the foot of Helan Mountain, among the old gangsters who ran out of the mountain to Diaozhuang, there emerged a capable man named Wang Zhong, who was young. , his ability is admirable, not only that, but also eager for justice, helping those in need, it is simply the modern version of timely rain, he has gained such a great reputation, in this plain under the Helan Mountain, no one can give a thumbs up when mentioning Wang Zhong .
After dealing with him, Lei Heng naturally knew who Wang Zhong was and his prestige among immigrants.
And it was clear that just before he came out, Wang Zhong was still saying words that sounded indifferent but full of threats, but now he could smile so calmly and calmly.
Just this ability to change his face made Lei Heng dare not look down upon him in the slightest.
"I'm just a small section chief. If it's within my scope of authority, I can promise you, but if it's beyond my scope of authority, there's nothing I can do!" Lei Heng spread his hands with a look of helplessness on his face.
The villagers surrounding him subconsciously wanted to surround him. Wang Zhong raised his hand slightly, and everyone's forward steps stopped in unison.
Seeing this scene, Lei Heng's childish eyes couldn't help but shrink suddenly.
This is the reputation that Wang Zhong has accumulated among the villagers through his practical actions in the seven or eight years since the immigration was launched in 1991 until now.
"Chief Lei, you have a solution!"
Wang Zhong looked at Lei Heng with a smile and said: "The first condition is to open the gate and release the water immediately."
As soon as Wang Zhong finished speaking, Lei Heng immediately shook his head.
"Comrade Wang Zhong, don't embarrass us errands. Didn't your secretary already take people to the on-site meeting? When he gets the news and orders, I will immediately open the gate and release the water without any further delay. ." Lei Heng said with a bit of pleading.
"It'll be fine if you don't drink water for a few days, but our wheat is precious. If we can't water it, we will all die!" Before Wang Zhong could speak, Yang San couldn't wait to shout loudly.
"If you release the water earlier, our wheat trees will be less likely to die!"
This statement immediately won the unanimous approval of the villagers: "That's right, a lot of wheat seedlings in the field have been dried up. If we release the water a minute earlier, we can save a few more wheat seedlings."
"Chief Lei! I'm curious. Does this water station belong to his surname Chen, or does it belong to the country?"
Without thinking, Section Chief Lei blurted out: "Of course it belongs to the state. The water station was built with the state's money."
Wang Zhongdao: "The state has asked you to manage the water station so that you can help the villagers on both sides of the Yellow River divert water for irrigation. Although our Jintan Village is no longer under the jurisdiction of Qingtongxia, the third-level water pumping station on the Yuquanying side It hasn’t been completed yet, so if we in Jintan Village want to water it, we can only water it from your side of Qingtong Gorge.”
"The world is big and the common people have the most to eat. I believe Section Chief Lei will not fail to understand such a simple truth." Wang Zhong spoke softly. He was completely different from before. The water station staff behind Lei Heng They all looked at the scene in front of them in disbelief.
Lei Heng nodded: "That's the truth."
"Our village secretary has now gone to the on-site meeting, and your Qingtongxia leader is present at the on-site meeting. Do you think your leaders will tell you to open the gate and release the water after he leaves?"
Although Lei Heng didn't want to admit it, he still nodded.
"We paid the money and you promised to release the water today, but the small amount of water released was not something that even the people in the lake could handle. You delayed the release of water, and an unknown number of wheat seedlings in the fields died. Now this matter has been brought to your immediate superiors. Come here, do you think the people at your water station have anything to do with it?"
"After the superiors investigate, do you think your stationmaster Chen will handle this matter by himself?"
Lei Heng's expression had changed, and his brows were furrowed. Although Wang Zhong's words didn't sound good, they were true.
"Should we wait for the leaders above to take the blame and then take action to make up for our mistakes? Or should we take the lead now and correct the mistakes we made? When the leaders come to hold us accountable, we can tell the truth about the matter."
"Section Chief Lei can't figure out the pros and cons, right?" Wang Zhong said with a smile on his face.
Lei Heng was also a section chief, so why couldn't he understand Wang Zhong's words?
"I believe Section Chief Lei must have heard what I said before. How to choose depends entirely on Section Chief Lei himself!"
"Although we abide by the law, we also know what it means to petition and what it means to pretend to be pitiful! When the time comes, our entire village will go to Qingtongxia to ask your leaders for explanations and compensation. Chief Lei wonders if the higher-ups will find someone to come. Can you resist this?"
Chief Lei looked at Wang Zhong, his eyes flickering, his face turned from green to white, he took several deep breaths, and asked calmly: "Didn't Comrade Wang Zhong say there are two things? I don't know about the second one. , what is it again?”
"Last year, I had 572 acres of land for winter irrigation. Stationmaster Chen asked me to pay 60,000 yuan, which is more than 100 yuan per acre. We prepared the land, and it only cost a few dozen yuan per acre at most. We, eighty households in Jintan Village, have a total of 543 acres of land. The money paid yesterday for irrigation last winter, your people calculated, is 28,000 yuan."
"I think Section Chief Lei also knows about this!"
"Clear! Clear!"
How could such a big thing not be clear?
Looking at Wang Zhong's behavior, it was obvious that he had already thought about it and was waiting for a suitable opportunity to bring this matter up.
"Chief Lei is a smart man, I don't think I need to say anything more!"
"Master Li, Wang Jin, Zhang Yuan, the three of you go over and open the gate to release water to Jintan Village!"
"Section chief, station chief..." The three young men walked up to Lei Heng and said hesitantly and tangledly.
The man named Master Li was slapped on the head by Yang San yesterday, causing his nose to bleed.
Facing the three of them, Lei Heng scolded the water station with a straight face and a frosty face: "Is the stationmaster's order more important, or the wheat in the fields of the common people? We manage the water station for the country and the common people, not for the people. Who are you, the wheat in the fields of the villagers is almost drying up now, can we just watch it?"
"You three, hurry up and get me some water. If the station master comes back and blames you, no matter what happens, I will bear it alone!"
At this moment, Chief Lei Heng seemed to be the reincarnation of Bao Hei. He was upright and devoted to the people, just like the words engraved on his face.
"Chief Lei is really dedicated to serving the people!"
Wang Zhong said with a smile, but then he looked at Yang San next to him: "Brother Yang San, please take someone to follow our staff and go take a look together."
"Okay!" Yang San agreed immediately and called two fellow villagers with whom he usually had a good relationship to follow him.
Wang Zhongchong handed Lei Heng a note and said, "This is my number. If Section Chief Lei needs help, please feel free to call me at any time."
Looking at the note Wang Zhong handed over, Lei Heng hesitated for a moment, thinking that it was just a phone call and not a bribe, so he reached out and took it.
"Then thank you, Chief Lei!" Wang Zhong smiled and shook hands with Lei Heng.
"It should, it should!"
Lei Heng said with emotion: "Thanks to Comrade Wang Zhong's words for waking me up. Otherwise, I would have forgotten why I came to the water station!"
The villagers who were angry and indignant just now couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the scene in front of them.
Wang Zhong just said a few words and asked this section chief to release the water?
"Folks, please don't stand here and be blocked. Not only does it affect the daily work of the water station, but it also delays the watering of your own fields."
"Chief Lei has already sent people to release the water. Everyone, please go back and watch in your own fields! It's time to call people and get busy, but don't let Chief Lei's good intentions go down."
"Yeah!"
"Brother Wang Zhong is right, let's go back quickly!"
The villagers reacted immediately and hurriedly greeted him and ran back!
"Chief Lei, regarding the 60,000 yuan water fee charged to me by the irrigation station last winter, I have to ask Chief Lei to take the trouble to respond to the leadership above."
"One winter irrigation is 60,000 yuan. After a year, it doesn't cost 120,000 yuan! Although I, Wang Zhong, can afford this money, I am not someone who can be exploited. I responded to the government's call and took the lead in immigrating here. Diaozhuang, if Section Chief Lei can’t solve this problem, then I’ll have to report it to our leaders at Yuquan Camp.”
"One acre of water costs more than 100 yuan for one irrigation. This is the first time I have heard of such a high price in the whole of Ningxia, let alone our Yuquan Camp."
"Comrade Wang Zhong, please rest assured. I will report this matter to my superiors immediately, and I will solve this problem for you as soon as possible." Lei Heng almost assured Wang Zhong by patting his chest.
From the moment Lei Heng asked people to open the gate and release the water, he and Wang Zhong were tied together. No, it should be said that he had already made a choice, choosing to stand on the side of Jintan Village, choosing to support This side of Diaozhuang’s immigration policy.
He chose to stand on the opposite side of Station Master Chen.
"Thank you for your hard work, Chief Lei!" Wang Zhong smiled and shook Lei Heng's hand again.
Wang Zhong took his time and said goodbye to Lei Heng before riding on his bicycle and chasing after him.
Watching Wang Zhong and the villagers go away, the smile on Lei Heng's face gradually disappeared, and his amiable and friendly temperament suddenly faded away, with a straight face and hands behind his back.
"Section Chief, what should we explain to the station chief?" A young man with no eyesight asked anxiously.
Lei Heng glanced coldly and said indifferently: "Explain? What to explain? Isn't it right for our water stations to provide water to the people and water the fields?"
The young man shook his head. The water pumping station that the country spent so much manpower and material resources to build was originally used to provide water to the people.
Lei Heng said with a serious face: "Since you are right, then what are you afraid of? What I just said was right. Although Jintan Village is no longer under the control of our Qingtong Gorge, the three-level water pumping in Yuquanying has not yet been completed." After repairing it, Jintan Village can only divert water from our side for irrigation. The leaders asked us to manage the water station because they believe that we can solve the problem of irrigation for the people instead of waiting for the villagers to come to the leaders to ask for everything. Let’s talk and wait for the leader to give the order.”
"Since we have accepted people's money and promised to provide them with water, how can we regret it when the end comes?"
"I told the stationmaster this morning that something will happen if we do this!"
"The country handed over the water station to us because it trusts us and thinks we can do a good job in the water station. In some respects, in the eyes of the people, we represent the country. Now that they have paid the money, they say We have good water supply, but we continue to harass the people like we did this morning. We have damaged not only our image, but also the country's image in the hearts of the people."
"When the time comes for the leaders to place the blame, do you bear the blame? Or do I?" Lei Heng glanced at the colleagues gathered around him and analyzed them calmly.
