Chapter 96 Year of Drought

Chapter 96: The Year of Drought (Seeking First Subscription)

[Today's News 1: A prolonged heatwave is on its way]

[Today's Information 2: Rainfall is expected to be 60% to 80% lower than the same period last year over the next month]

[Today's Information 3: Due to future weather conditions, the activity range of nearby wild animals is likely to change. Please prepare accordingly.]

[Today's Information 4: Today's temperature will range from 14 to 28℃]

[Today's Intelligence 5: Due to weather conditions, fishing and hunting activity in nearby waters has increased (click to view specific location)]

Is it all related to the weather?

Is there a severe drought?

Zhang Wenshan felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the five intelligence reports updated today.

Thinking about it carefully, the old men at the welfare home did mention that in 1982, many parts of Northeast China suffered from drought due to insufficient rainfall.

He completely ignored the last two pieces of information, stood up abruptly and walked out, but stopped in his tracks just as he reached the door.

No.

It rained last week, and the temperature has dropped again these past two days. Judging from the conversations, everyone thinks it's going to rain again soon, and some even say the harvest is good.

If I were to jump out now and say that there will be a severe drought, not many people would believe me. I might even be seen as alarmist, and I won't be able to convince many people.

By the time the wrangling is over, it's too late.

Besides, even if the three leaders of the brigade believed it, it wouldn't be easy to direct the entire village to fight drought after the land was divided.

Digging irrigation ditches to combat drought is not like using a toad pond, where you can make money right away and it doesn't interfere with farm work.

Drought relief and water storage require adjustments to all farm work in the village, making it a major undertaking. Without planning, blindly proclaiming a severe drought could easily cause chaos and even lead to trouble.

"What should we do?"

Zhang Wenshan pursed his lips, pacing back and forth in place, various thoughts flashing through his mind.

If you make a prophetic claim, no one will believe you. It may feel good to be proven wrong in the end, but most people in the village will suffer, and some families might even run out of food.

Or, how about we continue with the Toad Pond project and expand from there?

Wait, even a toad pond can store water.

With this thought in mind, his anxiety lessened somewhat. At least he had a backup plan, which gave him time to make a proper plan and not to rush things.

Zhang Wenshan's gaze fell on the latter two intelligence reports.

To persuade the entire village, one must establish oneself as someone who understands the ways of the world.

Thinking of this, he glanced next door, then turned and shouted into the house, "Mom, come out quickly!"

"Are you trying to call back the soul?" A short while later, Xu Xiulian appeared from the house, followed closely by Zhao Qiang. "What are you doing?"

"Mother, the weather is nice today. I'll point you to a few places to catch fish later," Zhang Wenshan said loudly on purpose.

Xu Xiulian blinked, and it took her a while to react: "Me, catching fish?"

"Let me tell you—" Zhang Wenshan launched into a long explanation of the impact of weather changes on aquatic life, "Mom, have you forgotten? Last time I said it would rain, and it rained!"

"Mother hasn't forgotten, so please keep your voice down," Xu Xiulian hurriedly interrupted.

This kind of cheap deal is best kept to yourself; why make a big fuss about it to the whole world?

Sure enough, a Taoist priest darted out from the next room.

Aunt Zhu chuckled and leaned closer, peeking her head out through the cane: "Shanzi, um—"

"Perfect timing, Aunt Zhu, why don't you go with my mother and get some together?" Zhang Wenshan said casually. "Invite the fishing and hunting team too, and anyone in your family who's free and willing to go, come along as well."

Aunt Zhu's eyes lit up, but then she frowned again.

With so many people, how many strips can be allocated?

Hsu Hsiu-lien, however, managed to discern some of the nuances.

According to the son, fish are easy to catch now, and his family can't possibly eat them all, so he might as well tell the truth and gain some goodwill.

Zhang Wenshan reported the fishponds marked by the system to his mother, just as Lang Qiuping returned.

He held the snare in his hand, shook his head and said, "I only caught a pheasant, and the weasel spirit gnawed half of it on it. As you said, I didn't take it back."

"Okay, let's grab our things and go." Zhang Wenshan nodded, not surprised at all, and led the group straight to the brigade leader's house to borrow a bicycle.

The fishing spot mentioned in the intelligence is more than ten miles away from Chishongtun. It's not deep in the mountains, so there's no need to force yourself to walk there. Don't make things difficult for yourself.

"You're busier than me, the captain," Wang Tieshan joked with a laugh, tossing the car keys over to him.

We passed through the town.

He began to look at Zhang Wenshan with increasing respect and became even more convinced that the young man was destined for greatness.

"You're the battalion commander, in charge of command and control. I'm just the errand boy. It's like a battle; commanders don't go to the front lines."

"You have such a silver tongue, you could talk a dead person back to life. Be careful on the road."

"Don't worry." Zhang Wenshan put the keys in his pocket, then turned and called into the house, "Auntie, wanna go fishing with my mom?"

"Catching fish?"

Zhang Wenshan repeated his reasoning, deliberately adding a bunch of terms like dissolved oxygen, saturation, and stress-induced dormancy.

Wang Tieshan and his wife were stunned.

After a long pause, Wang Tieshan blinked and sifted through a bunch of new words to pick out the key point: "It's just that it's getting cool, so the fish are all surfacing! You can even read the heavens, kid?"

"Of course I can. Xiulian has learned from me several times. When Shanzi says it will rain, it will rain. It's a skill taught by the master, and it's very accurate."

"Shanzi, really, really if we go there we can get it?" Wang Tieshan rubbed his hands together, his dark face glowing red, hesitant to speak.

He wanted to organize a group of people to go together, so that every family could have a taste of meat.

But the land has already been divided up, so he has no right to force people to hand over the benefits. Besides, in the past two days, many people have been laughing at the Zhang family behind their backs.

Zhang Wenshan understood everything perfectly well; he hadn't intended to hide it anyway, so he immediately spoke up.

"Call whomever you want, it's only for a day or two anyway, just don't try to kill them all."

"No way, release all the small fish." Wang Tieshan was overjoyed, giving a thumbs up. "Good job, Shanzi, you're so generous."

"Hurry up, I have to go."

"Okay, slow down!"

Watching Zhang Wenshan and Lang Qiuping leave, the brigade leader's wife couldn't help but mutter, "Shanzi is really different now. If it were me, I would definitely wait until we've scooped up almost everything before saying anything."

"Your awareness is amazing!"

"All that's left in our family is awareness. Let me tell you, the land has been divided up, so don't just think about the village's affairs. Think about your own family. You don't have to stand up for everyone in everything."

"Okay, okay."

"Don't just talk the talk, pay attention to Shanzi's affairs. Even if we don't benefit from it, what about our sons and grandsons?"

Before long, the fishing team led by Xu Xiulian walked across the paddy field ridge, immediately attracting a lot of attention.

"Sister-in-law, where are you going?" someone asked curiously.

"Let's catch fish!" Xu Xiulian knew what her son was thinking and said loudly, "My son Shanzi said that the weather is getting cooler and the fish are coming out to surface, which is the best time to catch them."

"It's still chilly today, but I'm already sweating profusely. It's not much better than the day before."

"That's right, you need some decent tools to catch fish. What are winnowing baskets and hampers?"

"Old Dong, don't you think so?"

Many people turned their attention to a bald man standing nearby.

Dong Yaowu.

Before Zhang Wenshan rose to prominence, Lao Dong was the village's top hunting expert. In the past two years, even though there was less food available, he could still occasionally catch some wild game, and his life was more comfortable than others.

"They've already learned the trade; how can I, a self-taught amateur, dare to say anything?"

Dong Yaowu snorted and continued working.

Xu Xiulian didn't argue with him and led the people straight ahead.

Instead of arguing, it's better to catch a couple more fish; that's more effective than anything else.

On the ridges of the fields, most people continued to work, but a few families had shifty eyes and quietly nudged the children next to them.

The boys, understanding the unspoken message, crouched low and followed in a flash, or went back to get help.

Dong Yaowu glanced up and saw it, his lips curled into a sneer, and he spat.

It's true that Zhang Wenshan has some skills, but expecting a bunch of old women to catch fish with winnowing baskets, sieves, and enamel basins is unrealistic.

dream!

Do you really think it's still like it was a decade or two ago, when there were so many fish in the river that you could just catch them anywhere?