Chapter 37 Neighboring villages fight for water
Firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, big families live together and there is less 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.
I have never tasted such terrible fish.
The uncle did not show up at the dinner table because he took the money early in the morning and went out to study in the county. 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 eldest 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 my 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 pancakes don't cost anything." The grandmother was already angry because of the noise of her daughters-in-law, but she saw the old man lavishly giving pancakes to his two grandsons. It's okay for Jun'er to go to school, especially for the grandson. He was given half a pancake, 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 Shi'er will both have to fight for water this year. Participate. Both of them are the new force of our village. This is related to the vital interests of our entire village. The land It’s our lifeblood. Our village didn’t take advantage of Shanghe Village last year, so we suffered a lot from the harvest this year, especially these days, so we need to make up for it with more good ones.”
Grandpa twisted his neck and said anxiously to his grandmother that she was really a woman and had no sense.
My mother, Mrs. Chen, looked much better after hearing 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.
Relying on mountains and relying on water, two villages rely on the same mountain and the same water, so disputes between the two villages are inevitable due to their interests. It's okay to say that the mountain is 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 amount of 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.
As a result, a village must be cut off, but a 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 this situation continued. 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 reduced a lot.
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, participate in the fight for water 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.
Each of the two villages has ten flags, 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 flag in one stick of incense. , just grab as many flags as you can, and give them to the village elders after grabbing them. 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 judge the winner and loser based on the number of flags in their hands, and decide the water rights for next year. Whoever has more flags wins. One flag represents a five-day water period. 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 children between the ages of 5 and 10 are not available. Not many, after screening, Zhu Ping'an 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.
This tradition of fighting for water has been observed by the two villages for hundreds of years. Now, fighting for water is more like a sorority party between the two villages. It is also a place for the younger generations to express themselves. Children who have excelled over the years have many opportunities to find wives in the future. Big advantage, the matchmaker will give a thumbs up when talking about it, and the girl’s family will also look at it.
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 in the two villages setting up a flag. Drinking tea, talking and laughing on the high platform. 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 to grab flags, and they were very excited. However, seeing the beaming look on his mother Chen's face, Zhu Ping'an wisely did not speak.
The eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan also taught Zhu Pingan 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 Pingan snored and fell asleep unconsciously while listening. (End of this chapter)