The rise of the poor

Chapter 37

Chai, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, how can there be less noise when a big family lives together?The Zhu family compound was not quiet until dinner, and finally it was over because of the strong interference of the grandfather.

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

I've never eaten such nasty fish.

The uncle did not appear at the dinner table, because the uncle took the money early in the morning to go out to the county for a study tour.In fact, thinking about it, the uncle is also quite unethical. He took the money and went out for a leisurely walk, leaving the aunt to deal with the doubts and questions of several sisters-in-law.The aunt is very protective of the uncle, and no one can speak ill of the uncle.It can only be said that the uncle is good at means, and he is worthy of being a scholar. He has a point or two in his ability to turn his hands into clouds and rain at home.

At dinner, the grandfather gave Zhu Ping'an an extra pie, and also gave Zhu Pingjun half a pie, and told the two grandsons to eat well.

"Old man, pancakes don't cost money." The grandmother was already angry because of the noise of several daughters-in-law, and seeing the old man gave the two grandsons pancakes lavishly.It's okay for Jun'er to go to school, especially the little grandson, who already gave half an extra pancake, but now he's ready to give an extra pancake, it's all adults.

"What do you know, a woman and a Taoist, another ten days will be the time when our village and Shanghe Village will compete for water. Today, a village elder came to tell me that Jun'er and She'er will participate this year, and both of them are The new force of our village is related to the vital interests of our entire village, and the land is our lifeblood. Last year, our village did not rob Shanghe Village, and this year’s harvest has suffered a lot. Especially these days, the family needs to be able to Eat She'er and Jun'er, and make up for it."

Grandfather twisted his neck and said anxiously to grandmother, blaming her grandmother for being a womanizer and having no knowledge.

Mother Chen's expression improved a lot when she heard the words.In the last competition for water, although the village lost, Dachuan performed well and won a lot of praise from the village and outside the village. It is estimated that it will be much easier to find a daughter-in-law in the future.This time, the second primary school can participate as soon as they are five years old, and there will be more opportunities to show their faces in the future.

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

Relying on the mountain to eat the mountain, and the water to drink the water, but the 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 villages.It’s okay to say that the mountain is so big, and it is enough to toss with the two villages, but no one can do it. The two villages rely on the stream of 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 the crops need watering, or when there is a drought, the amount of water in this clear stream is not enough.In the past, every time this time, Shanghe Village would cut off the clear stream, close to their village for irrigation, and Xiahe Village would not dry it. The water volume is already small, so if you cut it off, our village could not get a drop of water, and the crops and fields All dried grains are not harvested, naturally it is not acceptable.

As a result, a village must be cut off, and a village is not allowed to be cut off.If you cut it off today, tomorrow I'll take someone to dig a hole that you cut off and release the water.When they couldn't reach an agreement, the two villages started to fight, with dung forks, sticks, hoes, and shovels crackling.In the past, more than ten people would be killed or injured every year in the two villages because of the fight for water, and even those who suffered after the fact would fight sporadically because of revenge, causing further damage.

The village elders of the two villages felt that it was not a problem to continue like this. So many people were killed and injured, and the losses to their own villages were too great.

The village elders of the two villages are working together, and in order to avoid innocent harm, they have set a tradition of fighting for water that has been followed to this day.

For children between the ages of 5 and 10, [-] 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 fight, they won't cause serious injuries. At most, they will be able to live and dance again after lying on the bed for a day or two. It is not like adults fighting for death or injury.

There is also a set of rules for [-] children to compete for water, otherwise how to judge the winner or loser.

Each of the two villages has ten flags, one for the attack and the other for the defense. The defender is on a hillside, and the attacker is at the bottom of the hillside. The flags are just a few flags. After grabbing them, they will be handed over to the village elders of this village.After a stick of incense, the two sides exchange positions, the offense and defense change positions, the Gong side becomes the defender, and the defender goes to attack and grab the flag. Village old.

The village elders of the two villages judge the winners and losers according to the number of flags in their hands, and decide the ownership of water rights next year. Whoever has more flags will win. One flag represents the five-day water period, and one more flag will give priority to irrigation for five days, and so on.The winning village has the right to use the water from the clear stream first for irrigation, and the other village cannot block or irrigate until the water period represented by the flag of the winning village runs out.

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 was time to decide the water rights of 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 between 5 and 10 years old, screening and selection , Zhu Ping'an and Zhu Pingjun were both selected.Zhu Ping'an was selected as soon as he turned five years old. It is estimated that the village elder just liked Zhu Ping's chubby figure.The eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan was not selected because according to the village's method of calculating age, the eldest brother just passed his age and was 11 years old.

The two villages have followed this tradition of competing for water for hundreds of years. Now, the competition for water is more like a sorority meeting between the two villages, and it is also a place for the younger generation to express themselves. Children who have been outstanding over the years have a great advantage in finding a daughter-in-law in the future, the matchmaker said. They all give thumbs up, and the woman's family also looks up.

Every year on the water competition day between the two villages, there will be a small gathering nearby. The juniors compete for the flag on the hillside, the elders cheer and laugh not far away, and there are village elders drinking tea and drinking on the raised platform in the two villages. laugh.It will even attract a lot of vendors and set up stalls to sell, which has become one of the most lively festivals in the two villages.

A group of bear children grabbed the flag and played with some energy, but Zhu Ping'an wisely did not speak, seeing his mother Chen Shi's beaming appearance.

The eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan also taught Zhu Ping'an his experience of participating in the water competition before going to bed.

(End of this chapter)