After the beginning of spring, the weather is gradually getting hotter, but there is not a drop of rain falling from the sky. The water in Maixiang River is getting smaller and smaller, and we can barely push the water tanker. The water level in the upstream reservoir is also dropping day by day.
In mid-March of the lunar calendar, the waterwheel went on strike, and changing the waterway was of no use because the water flow was too small. This was partly due to the continuous drought and partly because of the reservoir built upstream.
By mid-April, the lower reaches of the Maixiang River below the reservoir had almost stopped flowing, and only a few deep water areas remained above the surface.
The members of the Maixiang Brigade, including most of the production brigades along the Maixiang River, could only carry loads of water from the river and weirs and ponds. Under Wang Zhong’s support, the Maixiang Brigade carried loads of water up from the river. The water is concentrated in some low-lying wheat fields.
The water level in the reservoir is also getting lower and lower.
By the beginning of May, the Maixiang River was almost ashore. The original deep water area had turned into a depression, and most of the river bed was exposed. The wheat in the field had drooped heads, and most of the wheat ears were shriveled. Although the villagers had tried their best to carry water, many of them inevitably died in the scorching sun and scorching heat.
After the wheat harvest was over, the production was reduced by about 60% compared to previous years, and this number was only a lot higher. The losses were not unbearable. Looking at the little wheat that was harvested with extremely poor quality, the villagers felt like they were in a state of despair. Similar.
This is because the Maixiang Brigade has complete water conservancy facilities and is fully prepared. The losses of other brigades were even more severe, and the worst case was almost no harvest.
Although the weather has generally been smooth in the past few years, and with the advanced technology promoted by Wang Zhong, the county encourages each brigade to build water conservancy projects based on the guidance of the Maixiang brigade, which can be regarded as a bumper harvest every year.
However, no matter how rich the family background is, they cannot withstand the influence of exaggeration. The output reported by each brigade has been rising steadily in the past two years, and the public grains turned in are naturally increasing year by year.
Especially last year, except for the Maixiang brigade, the average yield per mu of almost every brigade exceeded 1,000 kilograms, and some were even several kilograms high.
Before submitting the report, everyone thought that the higher authorities would not collect public grain according to this figure, but when it came time to actually pay the public grain, it was already too late to regret.
With such continuous dry weather, there is no hope for summer grain.
At this moment, without Wang Zhong's reminder, the villagers began to live frugally and frugally. Although they still had food at home, they also found wild vegetables and fruits all over the mountains and plains.
The villagers also know in their hearts that it will be too late if they really have to wait until the end of the land to find wild vegetables and fruits.
Who knows how long this severe drought will last, but at this point, whatever you can save is worth it.
At night, the villagers all got up early on the kang, wishing they could lie on the kang all day long without moving, so as to consume less energy, get hungry more slowly, and eat less.
Wang Zhong, who was wearing coarse clothes and a straw hat, carried a bow and arrows on his back, and a hatchet on his shoulder. Taking advantage of the darkness, he used a wooden stick to pick up a few skinny hares and two raccoons back home. .
Hearing the noise coming from the backyard, Jiang Hongguo, who had been sleeping for a while, immediately jumped up with a look on his face: "The boss?"
"it's me!"
Wang Zhong responded, and Big Red and Two Red spontaneously got into the kennel. Wang Zhong walked into the courtyard along the passage and pushed the door straight in.
Jiang Hongguo had already turned on the light and walked out.
Jiang Hongguo used a feather duster to help Wang Zhong dust off the grass clippings and dust on his body.
"It's too dry today, and there are a lot less living animals in the mountains!" Three skinny hares and two raccoons were placed on the table.
"Wash up quickly!"
"I'll make whatever you want to eat!"
"No need!" Wang Zhong took Jiang Hongguo's hand and smiled slightly: "I've had dinner."
"Rub my lower back!"
"Um!"
Wang Zhong pulled Jiang Hongguo into the bathroom, naked, and sat in the big wooden basin. Jiang Hongguo poured water over Wang Zhong's head.
Wang Zhong rubbed his face and asked, "How is the team these days?"
"Nothing's wrong, the villagers are still searching all over the mountains and plains.
Wild vegetables. "
"There are no wild vegetables left! Everything that needs to be dug has been dug out." Wang Zhong sighed: "The rest are dry and withered!"
It was a severe drought that lasted for more than a year. The crops in the fields were all burned to death, and the shrubs, weeds and wild vegetables all over the mountains and fields were spared.
Wang Zhong simply washed, using only a few ladles of water, and then wiped his whole body with a wet towel. He let Jiang Hongguo use loofah pulp to rub his back vigorously, and then he felt that his whole body was clean. .
Although the wells dug by the brigade can produce water, it is necessary to save some energy at this time.
After taking a bath, I came out of the bathroom and put on the clothes prepared by Jiang Hongguo. I soaked the dirty clothes in a wooden basin filled with bath water. After washing the clothes, the water had to be used to water the ground. No waste was allowed.
Nowadays, even using the toilet at home is done in a temporary dry toilet built in the backyard, just to save the water used for flushing the toilet.
On the kang, the two sons in short coats were lying stretched out, sleeping soundly. The weather was hot, but fortunately the kang was quite cool.
The two sons were relatively slow at sleeping and were immovable. Wang Zhong grabbed Jiang Hongguo, who was about to get on the bed, and whispered in her ear: "Let's go to the side room!"
[An app that has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old book-chasing tool, used by all old bookworms.
In the great famine that year, my father, uncle, and brothers were captured and sacrificed on the battlefield. Although my mother escaped from the great famine, she also suffered from the root cause of the disease, and she returned to her hometown shortly after. God gave up.
Then came the founding of the People's Republic of China and the land reform. Seeing that life was promising, Jiang Hongguo married her former husband with the help of her relatives. However, within a few months of the marriage, her husband fell ill and became bedridden. There was no land left, and there happened to be a famine again. Life could no longer go on, so he was kicked out by the husband in front of him.
"Head of the family!" Jiang Hongguo looked at Wang Zhong with tearful eyes, her eyes sparkling with crystal tears, and her eyes seemed to be filled with a different kind of emotion: "You... are you serious?"
Wang Zhong grinned, put his right hand on the back of Jiang Hongguo's head, and moved forward to touch her red lips like a dragonfly touching water. He said with one touch, "You'll know this after you're born!"
Jiang Hongguo didn't know where she got the strength, so she rushed forward, pushed Wang Zhong down on the kang, and sat astride Wang Zhong.
"Don't you have no energy?" Wang Zhong's mouth was blocked as soon as he spoke. His already strong energy was like a powder keg, exploding at the drop of a hat.
Although he was as young as a wolf and a tiger, he was still no match for someone who had plug-ins enabled. Early the next morning, Jiang Hongguo took a rare nap and the chickens in the backyard crowed several times, but they still had no intention of waking up.
"Where's dad and mom?" the two sons asked stupidly. In the past, Jiang Hongguo would have been busy preparing breakfast for the family at the stove.
"Mom is not feeling well. She is sleeping in the wing. You two are acting weird. Don't disturb her!" Unfortunately, these words fell into the eyes of the two demon kings. It was the same as not saying it. Wang Zhong just entered the room to prepare breakfast. Brother The two of them got into the side room.
Looking at his mother, who had her eyes closed on the kang and was obviously still asleep, Ziping just opened his mouth when his quick-eyed brother next to him covered his mouth.
"Shh!" Zian raised his finger: "Didn't you hear what dad said? Mom is not feeling well!"
Ziping took off his brother's hand, looked at his mother, and lowered his voice and asked, "What do you think is wrong with my mother?"
Zian's eyes were also filled with concern: "How do I know!"
"Haven't you been studying medicine with your father?"
Zian didn't want to talk to Ziping, so he just looked at his mother quietly, with a bit of worry in his eyes.
When Jiang Hongguo woke up, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when she heard the concerned words of her two sons.
Breakfast consisted of polenta and vegetable dumplings. There was not much oil or water in meals these days, so there was no need for picky eaters. The two sons grabbed the vegetable dumplings and ate them to their heart's content.
Wang Zhong said: "Starting tonight, you two will go to the wing to sleep."
"Why?" The two brothers ate in unison.
Jiang Hongguo thought that Wang Zhong would come up with some good reason to get rid of the two sons, but Wang Zhong's words almost made her blush.
"Don't you want younger siblings? You always sleep with us. How can your mother and I give you younger siblings?"
The two sons looked at each other, then looked at their father and mother across from each other, and said in unison: "Okay! We'll move in after dinner!"
Jiang Hongguo pinched the soft flesh of Wang Zhong's waist, and the hand that had just used a little strength was released. The reaction of the two sons was somewhat beyond his expectation.
After dinner, the two brothers were busy moving their things to the east wing. Jiang Hongguo wanted to help, but Wang Zhong didn't let him.
Wang Zhong was about to go out when Qiao Yue and Niu DaDang ran over with their children in their arms with worried expressions on their faces.
"Big Chong, look at this, what's wrong with the dog?"
Niu Dadan and Qiao Yue's child is almost one year old. His nickname is still Gou'er. He is about the same age as Ma Renli's son Ma Gongshe. He is now more than eight months old.
Wang Zhong took the child and inspected it carefully and breathed a sigh of relief: "There is no big problem, it's just malnutrition and a little bit of heat stroke. It's easy to say that it's heat stroke, but this one is malnourished."
Wang Zhong looked at Qiao Yue, the meaning was self-evident. The child was only eight months old and had not yet reached the age of weaning.
"The child is still young and can eat some rice lake noodle soup, but it mainly needs to be supplemented by breast milk.
Nutrition. "
"Do I need any medicine?" Niu DaDa asked nervously.
"No, I'll give the dog a massage and feed him some mung bean soup. By the way, do you have any mung beans at home?"
Niu shook his head boldly.
"Then let Guo'er bring you some. Remember, just drink a small bowl at a time. The dog is too young. Drinking too much is not good for your health."
Wang Zhong gave the dog a massage, told him what to pay attention to, and sent Niu Dada and his family away.
On the mountain, Yang Deng'er, Jin Hua's sister-in-law, and Han Chunmei carried their children on their backs with cloth, holding hoes in their hands, digging for grass roots.
Most of the wild vegetables on the mountain have been sunburned to death. Only some grass roots and leaves of all large trees have been spared. As early as after the summer harvest, the villagers have begun to dig wild vegetables and grass roots in the mountains.
Ziping and Zi'an carried this small hoe alone and followed Jiang Hongguo, gathering with a few people.
"When will it rain today?" Mrs. Jinhua raised her sleeves to wipe the sweat from her forehead, feeling a little tired.
Nowadays, we can’t grow crops, we eat only meager meals, and there is no oil or water in our stomachs, so naturally we don’t have much energy.
"Sister-in-law Deng'er, doesn't your Renli know how to look at the weather? Is that what he said?"
"Why!"
Yang Deng'er stopped what he was doing and stood with his hoe in his hand, with sadness in his eyes: "What can we say, it's not raining."
Sister-in-law Jin Hua said: "We have been experiencing drought for more than a year. The Maixiang River has stopped flowing. I heard that the water in the reservoir has bottomed out. Do you think autumn sowing can be carried out normally this year?"
Han Chunmei said: "Looking at the current situation, the winter wheat is definitely out. Didn't the team place a lot of buckwheat seeds? When autumn comes and the weather cools down, we will just make up for a crop of buckwheat."
"We need to make up a new crop of buckwheat. It's hard to say how it will turn out." Yang Deng'er said worriedly.
"There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain!" Jiang Hongguo said: "It's useless for us to worry blindly. Let's just take it one step at a time."
Sister-in-law Jinhua looked at Jiang Hongguo: "Guo'er, I find that you are becoming more and more like your man now!"
Han Chunmei couldn't help but nod.
"Hey, isn't that Qiao Yue?" Everyone looked at Mrs. Jinhua's position and saw a woman wearing a plaid thin shirt, also carrying a child on her back, a hoe on her shoulder, a rattan basket tied around her waist, with short shoulder-length hair and The woman with bangs is heading up the mountain.
"What's so strange!" Yang Deng'er only glanced at it and then withdrew his gaze.
"Don't tell me, Qiao Yue has changed a lot in the past two years." Sister-in-law Jinhua still looked at Qiao Yue.
"When she first married Captain Niu, she was so squeamish. She felt uncomfortable here today and uncomfortable there tomorrow. She asked for leave and was too lazy to do anything. She just refused to work in the fields and asked Captain Niu to wait on her."
"That was all in the past, why are you still talking about this!" Jiang Hongguo said: "Besides, aren't Captain Niu and his wife living a good life now?"
Speaking of this, the fire of gossip in Mrs. Jinhua's heart started to burn: "When it comes to this matter, your men know it best. When Qiao Yue had a quarrel with Captain Niu, it was Da Chong and Cai Baozi who were together. I just came to the door and was persuaded to stop."
"Guo'er, tell us how you persuaded your man and Cai Baozi?" Mrs. Jinhua looked curious.
"What else can I do to persuade them, other than to let them live a good life?" Jiang Hongguo's heart skipped a beat, remembering Wang Zhong's instructions, and did not dare to tell the truth, otherwise Qiao Yue's reputation in the village would be ruined.
Counting the days, she is far away from her husband and refuses to give birth to a child for her man...
In Jiang Hongguo's perception, this was like a bolt from the blue, impacting her three views.
"Have you met Captain Niu's brother?" Jiang Hongguo changed the subject.
Without the ten thousand kilograms per mu, the lives of the folks in the Maixiang Brigade are countless times better than in the original plot. Although last year's autumn grain production was severely reduced, this year's summer grain production was even more serious. From now on, there won’t be much left in hand, but every household still has a lot of money, and there is also food in the brigade’s grain depot.
, the days of the Maixiang Brigade, let alone the Maixiangling Commune, even if it was placed in the county, it would be number one.
Niu Budao's younger brother and his mother were also affected by the disaster, and at a time when exaggeration was raging, it looked like he could no longer survive. One night a while ago, Niu Budao's half-brother came to the door carrying his mother on his back.
There was still a lot of food in the house, so Niu Da boldly left the people behind.
Sister-in-law Jin Hua shook her head and said, "Didn't you say that Brother Bold's brother left the same night when he sent Brother Bold back? Not many people in our team have seen him, right?"
"Never seen it before!" Han Chunmei also shook her head.
Yang Deng'er said nothing.
Han Chunmei said: "It's hard to live outside now. Why don't you think Brother Bold and his younger brother will stay? At least he can still stutter!"
"A man!" Sister-in-law Jin Hua said, "If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't live any longer, I guess even Brother Daring might not be willing to come back."
Yang Deng'er remained silent and focused on waving the hoe.
"I heard that Brother Bold's mother fell ill as soon as she came back?" Sister-in-law Jinhua asked.
Han Chunmei said: "She is sick. When the head of the family and I went to see her, my aunt still couldn't recover and she didn't have much strength."
Jiang Hongguo said: "My boss has visited her several times. The old man is too old and his body bones are already weak. In addition, he has been hungry for a long time and traveled all the way. His vitality has been damaged, so he can only recuperate slowly."
"Can it be nursed back to health?" Sister-in-law Jinhua asked curiously.
Jiang Hongguo shook her head: "It's hard to say! After all, my aunt's age is there."
"Hey!" Han Chunmei sighed: "Now the situation is like this again!"
Sister-in-law Jin Hua also expressed emotion: "Who says it's not the case!"
Jiang Hongguo's eyes also flickered, remembering the past.
Only Yang Deng'er didn't say a word.
