Rise From the Humble

  Chapter 37 Water battle in neighboring villages

   Firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea, how can the big family live together with less noise. The Zhu's compound didn't quiet down until dinner, and finally, because of the strong interference of the grandfather, it stopped.

   It's just a pity that I caught five fish, and the fourth aunt cooked with dissatisfaction, and the fish were all mushy.

   I have never eaten such an unpalatable fish.

  The uncle did not appear at the dining table, because the uncle took the money to go to the county town for a study tour early in the morning. In fact, thinking about it, the uncle was quite disrespectful. He took the money and went out to have fun, leaving the uncle to deal with the suspicion and questioning of several sisters-in-law. The aunt is very protective of the uncle, and no one can say a bad word about the uncle. It can only be said that the uncle has a good method, he is worthy of being a scholar, and he has a little bit of ability to turn clouds and rain at home.

  During dinner, the grandfather gave Zhu Pingan an extra pancake, and also gave Zhu Pingjun half an extra pancake, telling the two grandsons to eat enough.

   "Old man, pancakes don't cost money." The grandmother was already angry because of the noise of several daughters-in-law, and saw the old man giving pancakes to the two grandchildren again. It's fine for Jun'er to go to school, especially the little grandson, who was already given half an extra pancake, but now that he's better, he'll give him an extra pancake, and it's all adults' measure.

"What do you know, you woman, ten days later it will be the day when our village and Shanghe Village will fight for water. Today, a village elder came to me and told me that Jun'er and Yu'er are going to participate this year. The new force of our village is related to the vital interests of our entire village. The land is our lifeblood. Last year, our village did not rob Shanghe Village, and this year’s harvest has suffered a lot. Let Zhu'er and Jun'er eat, and make up some good ones."

  Grandpa twisted his neck, and said anxiously to grandma, blaming grandma for being a woman with no knowledge.

  Mother Chen's complexion improved a lot after hearing the words. Although the village lost the water fight last time, Dachuan performed well and won a lot of praise from the village and outside. It is estimated that it will be much easier to find a wife in the future. This time Er Xiao can participate as soon as he is five years old, and there will be more opportunities to show his face in the future.

  Going back after dinner, Zhu Pingjun learned from his father Zhu Shouyi what the so-called fight for water with Shanghe Village was.

  Rely on mountains to eat mountains, and rely on water to eat water, but two villages rely on the same mountain and the same water, and disputes between the two villages are inevitable under the interests of the two. Fortunately, the mountain is so big that it is enough for the two villages to struggle, 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 been irrigated by this stream for generations. However, when the crops need to be watered, or when there is a drought, the water volume of this clear stream is not enough. In the past, at this time, Shanghe Village would cut off the Qingxi River to irrigate their village closely, but Xiahe Village would stop doing it. The amount of water is already small, but you cut it off. Our village can’t get a drop of water. It is naturally impossible to dry the grains without harvest.

  So, one village should be cut off, but one village should not be cut off. You cut it off today, and tomorrow I will take someone to dig the hole you cut off to release water. If no agreement could be reached, the two villages began to fight. Dung forks, sticks, hoes, and shovels crackled, and there was a big fight. If you were impatient, you couldn't stop it. Blood, death, injury, and hatred ensued. In the past, more than ten people were killed or injured in the two villages every year because of water disputes, and even those who suffered afterwards would break out sporadically because of seeking revenge, causing further damage.

  The village elders of the two villages feel that it is not a problem to go on like this. With so many people killed and injured, the losses to their own villages are too great.

  The elders of the two villages are working together to avoid harming innocent people, so they set up a tradition of fighting for water that has been followed to this day.

  Children between the ages of 5 and 10, 30 children from each of the two villages participated in the competition for water between the two villages. In this way, no matter how these children scramble, they will not cause serious injuries. At most, they can be alive and kicking after lying on the bed for a day or two, unlike adults scrambling for death or injury.

   There is also a set of rules for sixty children fighting for water, otherwise how will the winner be judged.

Each of the two villages has ten flags, one for attack and one for defense. The defender is on a small hillside and the attacker is at the bottom of the hillside. The flags are several flags, which are handed over to the elders of the village after they are snatched. After a stick of incense, the two sides exchanged positions, offensive and defensive positions, the meritorious side changed to the defensive side, and the defender went to attack and grab the flag. Village old.

  The elders of the two villages judge winners and losers based on the number of flags in their hands, and determine the ownership of water rights for the next year. Whoever has more flags will win. One flag represents a five-day water period, and one more flag will give priority to irrigation for five days, and so on. The village that wins has the right to use the water of Qingxi for irrigation first, and the other villages are not allowed to obstruct or irrigate until the water period represented by the flag in the hands of the winning village is exhausted.

   Last year, Shanghe Village won two flags, which put the village at a disadvantage in irrigation. Fortunately, there was no drought this year, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

Seeing that it is time to decide the water rights for the next year, the village elders also began to investigate the candidates who decided to participate in the water competition in the village, because the number of children in a village is limited, and there are not many children aged 5 to 10. Screening , Zhu Pingan and Zhu Pingjun were both selected. Zhu Ping'an was selected when he was just five years old. It is estimated that the village elders have taken a fancy to Zhu Ping'an's chubby figure. The eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan was not selected because according to the village's age calculation method, the eldest brother just passed the age, and the false age is 11.

The two villages have followed this tradition of fighting for water for hundreds of years. Up to now, the water fight is more like a social gathering between the two villages. It is also a place for younger generations to express themselves. Children who have excelled over the years will have a great advantage in finding a wife in the future. The matchmaker said Everyone will give a thumbs up, and the woman's family will also look up.

Every year on the day when the two villages compete for water, there will be a small gathering nearby. The juniors compete for flags on the hillside, and the elders cheer and laugh not far away. There are still village elders in the two villages drinking tea, drinking and talking on the high platform. laugh. It even attracts many vendors to set up stalls for sale, which has become one of the most lively festivals in the two villages.

   A group of brats were grabbing flags to play, and there was something interesting about it, but Zhu Pingan wisely didn’t say anything when he saw his mother Chen’s beaming eyebrows.

  Big brother Zhu Pingchuan also taught Zhu Pingan his experience in participating in the water fight before going to bed. The big brother who usually speaks little talked a lot, but Zhu Pingan fell asleep unconsciously after listening to it.

  (end of this chapter)