Chapter 33 Water
The water the old man sent was bitter and astringent, which really has nothing to do with "not salty".
But as soon as the water was spit out, Guo Yang was stunned while holding most of the remaining bowl of water.
The old man who brought him water and his wife also stood there blankly, their enthusiastic smiles had disappeared, and their anxious hands seemed to have nowhere to rest.
There was a six or seven-year-old boy in his family who stared blankly at Guo Yang with his round eyes widened.
Sparse laughter also came from the crowd of villagers in Shuangqiao Village who came to watch.
But most of them are understanding people, and they can't hide the worry and blame on their faces.
It’s surprising that they, a poor people, have a boss who is willing to come. If they offend the bosses who come to reserve land for this, then the old man’s family will become the sinners of Shuangqiao Village.
At this moment, the crowd parted from behind, and the laughter quickly stopped.
The village chief, who was thin, wearing a white washed vest, with white hair, stooped back but full of authority, came out.
"It's all gone. It's time to go home. When it's time to work in the fields, go to work. It hasn't rained for a long time recently, and the wheat in the fields is dry."
After that, Some of the men among the villagers who were watching reluctantly left. Although the women who stayed behind also walked to each house, they still looked over from time to time.
Seeing this, Guo Yang stepped forward and said hello: "Village chief, hello, we are here to inspect the saline-alkali land."
When facing Guo Yang and others, the village chief changed again He put on a kind smile and said: "I am Xu Zonggang, the village chief of Shuangqiao Village. Welcome you to come from afar."
Then he pointed at the water bowls that Guo Yang and others were still holding, and smiled bitterly. Said:
"I'll make you laugh. The well water in our village has always been brackish water. Even the old scalpers who cultivate the fields are unwilling to bend down to drink. As for people, it is not drinkable and can only be used for washing clothes and washing grass. Wait."
"In the past two years, we managed to dig a well by the small river 12 miles away from the east end of the village. The water quality is better. The old people in the village call this well 'Sweet Water Well'. '."
"Every morning, there is an endless stream of people fetching water. Sometimes, the amount of water fetched is too large and the groundwater does not penetrate in time. The well water quickly bottoms out and the remaining water becomes turbid. "The water that Old Man Zhong gave you to drink just now was brought back before dawn in the morning, and it is also the best water here." "
"We are poor here, but the villagers are kind people..."
Hearing this, Guo Yang and others looked at Old Man Zhong and his family, who were still a little overwhelmed. The little boy was leaning against the adults, and his little face looked dry and dull.
Looking at the half bowl of well water left in the bowl, Guo Yang gritted his teeth and drank it all.
With Guo Yang taking the lead, Dr. Zhou and others also drank the water one after another.
As far as water is concerned, the huge Hexi Corridor and the three oases of Weiwu, Zhangye and Jiuquan, where 4.2 million people live, have only one water source: the glaciers and snow of the Qilian Mountains.
All crops and fruit trees on the 10 million acres of cultivated land in the three oases, no matter whether they are lush or not, no matter what season it is, are watered by the melted water of ice and snow in the Qilian Mountains.
Even for well water, the source of its groundwater is the Qilian Mountains.
The area under the jurisdiction of Jiuquan City alone is more than 10,000 square kilometers larger than the entire Guangdong Province.
The northwest is mainly short of water. As long as there is water, there can be life!
After drinking Old Man Zhong’s ‘hospitality water’, Guo Yang’s mouth was full of ‘salty’ taste. Coupled with the hot weather, he only felt thirstier.
Guo Yang signaled Zhang Wei to take down a piece of mineral water from the car and distribute it to everyone. He also gave the remaining water to Old Man Zhong.
"No way, this is impossible."
Old man Zhong refused repeatedly. In their place, water is more expensive than oil.
Seeing this, Guo Yang directly took the water and sent it to the threshold of the main room.
With just one glance, he was shocked.
There is no decoration in the house, except for the bed and table, and the surrounding earth walls are like four ruthless barriers, cutting off Shuangqiao Village from the outside world. Old man Zhong wanted to carry the mineral water out, but was stopped by the village chief Xu Zonggang.
"Just keep it, others are not short of this."
Guo Yang even opened a bottle of water and handed it to the little boy who was watching eagerly.
At this time, Guo Yang and others focused their attention on Village Chief Xu.
After being in contact with him for a while, you can clearly feel that this person speaks clearly and clearly, neither humble nor arrogant, and his prestige in the village is also very high.
In this case, basically all you need to do is deal with the village chief, and most of the problems in the village will be solved.
Since ancient times, the saying that poor people come out of poor mountains and rivers is not just a casual saying, because it is difficult to survive without being unruly.
In the northwest region, it is common for two villages to fight over water sources.
Dr. Zhou stood up and asked: "Village Chief Xu, can you tell us about the situation of the deserted beach near the village? It is mainly about population, water sources and so on."
"Wasteland Beach? Didn't you say you want to rent the land?" Xu Zonggang asked.
"I see you don't have much arable land, so if you want to contract it, it will definitely be together." Guo Yang explained.
When they entered the village, they paid attention to the condition of the cultivated land in the village.
The terrain of Shuangqiao Village is relatively flat, but there is not much cultivated land around it. Guo Yang estimates that it is only three to four hundred acres at most. Most of the cultivated land is wheat and some scattered vegetables.
The rest is almost all barren land, and even on the surface of cultivated land where wheat is grown, obvious salt stains can be seen.
Hearing what Guo Yang said, Xu Zonggang became even more confused.
He knew that the government was vigorously promoting agricultural development in recent years, and many villages had been vigorously developing the tomato industry in the past two years.
But it is a riverside area with good light, water and soil resources.
Shuangqiao Village is not only remote, but the soil and water have seriously restricted the development of agriculture.
Why do these people like the land in Shuangqiao Village?
Xu Zonggang introduced: "Shuangqiao Village currently has 21 households with a total of 86 people. Excluding the abandoned farmland, there are still about 300 acres of cultivated land."
"A few years ago, there were villagers who were willing to open up wasteland, but they couldn't grow anything. The villagers gradually became disappointed with the saline-alkali land. The young people in the village now don't even want to return to the village."
"As for the irrigation water source, It mainly comes from Beida River and Heihe River."
Hearing the source of the water, Dr. Zhou suddenly felt bad and asked quickly: "Has the government built irrigation ditches?"
Xu Zonggang was speechless.
Shuangqiao Village and the nearest stretch of Beida River are at least 70 to 80 kilometers apart, and the distance from Heihe River is hundreds of kilometers away.
For a village so far away, it would be nice if it could not be forgotten.
Dr. Zhou and others looked at Guo Yang and shook their heads helplessly
Xu Zonggang noticed it, and couldn't suppress the disappointment on his face.
Guo Yang saw this scene and said to him with a smile: "Village Chief Xu, I have to trouble you to find someone who is familiar with the situation nearby and take Dr. Zhou around them to roughly explore the surrounding area. Hydrology and soil conditions.”
Hearing his words, Village Chief Xu’s face was filled with disbelief.
Dr. Zhou and the others looked at him in surprise.
Can you still like this poor place that needs water but no water, no land and no people?
You are a big boss after all, hey!
At this moment, Xiang Tianshan hurriedly asked Old Man Zhong: "Brother, where is your toilet?"
(End of Chapter)