drought crisis

“You little rascal, you’re playing hard to get now,” Secretary Tian said with a laugh.

“This story isn’t finished yet. When I’m done, I’ll let everyone read it,” Zhao Dongchuan said, smiling at everyone.

During the meal, hosts and guests alike enjoyed themselves!

… … … …

After the meal, Zhao Dongchuan declined Secretary Tian’s kind offer to stay the night and returned to the guesthouse. He was afraid he might say too much if he stayed; knowing a little made him a genius, but knowing too much would make him a monster.

After Zhao Dongchuan’s words, Xu Aiyun and Xu Guoqiang would certainly not be as forceful about Runye and Xiang Qian’s marriage.

While they wouldn't immediately change their attitude, they definitely wouldn't be as concerned or as anxious as before.

This greatly reduced the pressure on Tian Runye.

Back at the guesthouse, Zhao Dongchuan finished his ablutions, did practice problems, read, wrote, exercised, and meditated.

He went through the whole routine, not going to bed until late into the night.

Early the next morning, Zhao Dongchuan paid his room fee, slung his bag over his shoulder, and rode his bicycle towards Shuangshui Village.

Although only a few months had passed, to Zhao Dongchuan, it felt like a lifetime. Before, he was a farmer earning work points in the countryside; now, he was someone who ate public food, and he had even started a “side hustle,” earning a lot of money. There was nothing he could do about it; who told him he was a “cheat”?

He thought as he rode along the bumpy dirt road.

“To get rich, build roads first.” Zhao Dongchuan complained, wondering when they would get a cement road here.

As the weather grew hotter, Zhao Dongchuan sweated a lot along the way. Even with his strong physique, he found it hard to resist the summer heat.

Along the road, he saw that many crops on the mountains were almost dried up, their color turning gray, and some crops on the sunny slopes had already withered and turned yellow.

“With this weather, if it doesn’t rain soon, this year’s harvest will be…” Zhao Dongchuan worried.

It was precisely because of the severe drought and water shortage that several villages upstream of the Dongla River had intercepted the water, forcing Shuangshui Village to take the desperate measure of digging open the dam, which led to a great disaster.

Thinking of this, Zhao Dongchuan couldn’t help but speed up. He wanted to prevent this tragedy before it happened.

When he arrived at Shuangshui Village, Zhao Dongchuan got off his bike and pushed it. Many people already recognized him as the “scholar” who had left their village. The bolder ones came forward to greet him, while others who were less familiar just stared at him.

Zhao Dongchuan greeted everyone with a smile, and soon Secretary Tian, who had heard the news, came running over, followed by his loyal supporter, Sun Yuting.

“Secretary Tian, long time no see. Are you still in good health?”

“Oh, little Zhao, you’re back! I knew you’d come back to see us!” Tian Futang said with a laugh.

“Secretary Tian, is my cave dwelling still reserved for me?”

“Of course! Our village committee voted and decided that cave dwelling is yours, and no one else can touch it!”

“Secretary Tian, it’s like this: I’ve been writing something recently and need to stay in Shuangshui Village for a while.

I’ve brought all my rations and everything, so you don’t need to worry about me.”

Tian Futang, hearing that Zhao Dongchuan was coming back to stay, had been considering the issue of rations. Hearing this, he felt relieved. The village didn’t have much in the way of rations, and if Zhao Dongchuan needed a share, others might object. It was good that Zhao Dongchuan brought it up himself.

“What are you talking about? Your coming here is an honor for our Shuangshui Village!” Sun Yuting chimed in from the side.

Afterward, Zhao Dongchuan pushed his bicycle to his dilapidated cave dwelling.

Having been uninhabited for several months, it seemed to have fallen into even more disrepair.

“Brother Dong, you’re here!”

Sun Shaoping, having heard the news, came out from his house.

“Shaoping, why are you back? Aren’t you supposed to be at school today?” Zhao Dongchuan asked, puzzled.

“My brother went to Shanxi, and my dad can’t handle all the farm work by himself, so I came home to help!”

“Hmm, I see. Well, after you finish work, come to my place tonight, and I’ll tutor you,” Zhao Dongchuan said.

“Alright, thank you, Brother Dong!” Sun Shaoping couldn’t help but be happy to hear he could study with Zhao Dongchuan.

With the help of Sun Shaoping and several enthusiastic villagers, the cave dwelling was quickly cleaned up.

Although it still looked dilapidated, it was clean and tidy.

After everyone left, Zhao Dongchuan closed the door and took out some daily necessities, a kerosene lamp, and a small writing desk from his space.

Once everything was tidied up, Zhao Dongchuan prepared to light a fire and cook. Although the firewood here was almost used up, there was still enough for one meal.

Before he could light the fire, there was a knock at the door.

“Brother Dong, my dad is calling you to come eat at our house!”

It was Sun Shaoping.

“No need, I’m just about to light the fire and cook.

I also brought a lot of cakes and bread from the city, so I won’t go hungry. Really, no need!”

Zhao Dongchuan knew Old Man Sun’s family wasn’t well off and didn’t want to trouble them.

Seeing Zhao Dongchuan’s firm attitude, Sun Shaoping could only go back.

Zhao Dongchuan cooked a bowl of noodles for lunch, rested for a while, then picked up a bag of food he had brought from the county and walked towards Old Man Sun’s house.

“Little Zhao, you’re here!” At this moment, Old Man Sun was squatting in the corner of the courtyard, smoking his dry pipe. Seeing Zhao Dongchuan approach, he quickly stood up to greet him.

“Grandpa Sun, how have you been recently?”

“I’m doing well, doing well, come in and sit!”

“Brother Dong, you’re here!” Sun Shaoping also heard the noise and came out to greet him.

Once they were inside, Zhao Dongchuan took out a piece of cake from his bag and handed it to Old Man Yu Hou’s mother.

“This cake is delicious and soft,” Zhao Dongchuan gestured to Old Man Sun’s mother.

Then he took out some more food he had brought from the city.

“These are just some snacks, Grandpa Sun, please don’t be so polite. You are my savior after all!” Zhao Dongchuan said, disregarding Old Man Sun’s refusal.

After inquiring, Zhao Dongchuan understood the current situation of Old Man Yu Hou’s family. There hadn’t been much change; it was still as bad as ever. However, thanks to Zhao Dongchuan’s help, Sun Shaoping’s conditions at school had improved a lot, and he had also become more confident after giving the revolutionary story speech.

“Lanxiang, how is your studying going?” Zhao Dongchuan asked.

“It’s going well!” Lanxiang said a little shyly.

“Grandpa Sun, on my way here, I saw that the crops don’t seem to be doing well. Has it not rained for many days?” Zhao Dongchuan asked.

“Who’s to say it hasn’t? The crops are all withered. If it doesn’t rain soon, we’ll all have to beg for food in the second half of the year!” Old Man Yu Hou’s dark face showed an expression of helplessness.

“The water in the Dongla River can be utilized!” Zhao Dongchuan said.

“That’s true, but the villages upstream have intercepted the water, so we don’t have any here,” Old Man Yu Hou said helplessly.

“Ding, system mission triggered. Mission content: Help Shuangshui Village resolve the drought crisis and prevent disaster from happening. Mission time limit: 48 hours. Mission reward: 3 lottery chances. Mission failure: A random item will be deducted. Completion progress: 0/1.”

Looking at the system mission prompt, Zhao Dongchuan was very pleasantly surprised. A mission had finally been triggered again. Sure enough, this trip was not in vain.

However, the reward for this mission was less, only 3 lottery chances, and it was time-limited to 2 days, plus there was a penalty?

Zhao Dongchuan knew this was because the mission was relatively simple, which was why there were fewer lottery chances and a penalty. But having something was better than having nothing.