Who Will Go
Now Xiaobao no longer needs to be escorted to and from school. After finishing breakfast, she happily carried her small school bag and went to school.
Just as she reached the intersection in front of the school, she saw Mr. Zhuang standing on the roadside, looking in her direction. Xiaobao immediately ran over and asked, "Sir, were you waiting for me?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled slightly, turned his gaze away, and patted her on the head, asking, "Why is the village so lively?"
"The village chief called for a meeting." "I don't know if they've gone fishing again."
Mr. Zhuang couldn't help but chuckle; her childish words dispelled some of his worries.
Mr. Zhuang calmed down, led Xiaobao back to the classroom, and arranged for her to study before returning to the courtyard. He thought that if something happened, he would know by the end of the school day.
After school, Xiaobao found out that the family was discussing who would serve this year as soon as she returned home.
It is said that yesterday afternoon, the village head was urgently summoned to the upstream Jiangding Village and scolded by the county magistrate for the dam breach incident.
Of course, it wasn't their village head who was scolded; their village head was just present. The person who suffered the most was the leader of Jiangding Village, who is rumored to have been imprisoned by now.
But even though the dam was breached, it didn't have much impact on their village, as there were still three villages between them and Jiangding Village. However, the county magistrate's intention was to gather laborers to repair the dam, so the village head came to find the village chief early in the morning.
The village head anticipated that the labor order from the county would likely be issued in a few days. Therefore, it was prudent to inform everyone in advance to be ready.
Last year, Zhou Lang served according to the order. This year, it should have been Zhou Dalang's turn. Unfortunately, Zhou Silang was about to come of age.
After he comes of age, he can still inherit land. Old Zhou has already consulted with the village head and is planning to give him a gift in exchange for better land.
Today's discussion was about whether Zhou Dalang or Zhou Silang should go to serve.
Zhou Silang returned home happily with money in his pocket and an empty basket. As he opened the door, he was met with everyone's piercing gaze, which made him feel a bit uneasy.
He instinctively took the purse off his shoulder and said, "I didn't take any extra money." You can ask Lao Wu and Big Sister; they have all the accounts for today.
Zhou Xi pushed him inside and asked, "What's wrong?"
Everyone looked down on Zhou Silang, and Zhou Erlang said, "The dam upstream has broken, and the county may issue a labor order."
Zhou Xi couldn't help but say, "Isn't that in Jiangding Village?" "Why are they conscripting from our village?"
Old Zhou shook his head and said, "They're all on the same river." If they're in trouble, can we be spared?
He said, "It's lucky that it's not the flood season now." If it had broken two months earlier, all the crops in the fields would have been ruined, and the houses might have been affected.
Zhou Erlang said, "I remember the dam in Jiangding Village was repaired five years ago, and it was Big Brother who went then." How did it break?
Zhou Dalang frowned and thought for a long time before hesitantly saying, "Could it be due to a shortage of wood?"
Feeling unwelcome in the current atmosphere at home, Zhou Silang quietly approached Xiaobao and squatted beside her. He handed her a letter and asked, "Why is everyone staring at me for serving?"
The letter was written by Miss Fu Er, and Xiaobao happily accepted it. He explained, "Fourth Brother, you are coming of age this year."
Zhou Silang's mouth dropped open, and he tightened his grip on his purse, asking, "So, do I have to serve?"
Xiaobao thought for a moment and said, "According to the rules, that's how it is."
Otherwise, it would be unfair to take turns from Big Brother.
But Zhou Silang's eyes lit up, and he asked Xiaobao in a low voice, "If I go to serve, what will happen to the ginger and yams in the fields?"
Xiaobao replied, "There's also Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother; they are very capable now." And if worse comes to worst, there's also Second Brother; he will help.
"If I go, will the family next door still make stew?"
"It should," Xiaobao thought for a moment and reassured him, "Fourth Brother, don't worry." If you go, I will make sure that Big Brother and the others make stew next door.
Zhou Silang felt much better and handed her the purse, "Here, count the money for today."
But Xiaobao decided to read the letter first, as her parents were still discussing matters, and there was no rush to count the money.
In fact, Miss Fu Er intended to write a letter to Xiaobao yesterday. However, because Zhou Silang and the others changed the location for selling ginger, the letter was not sent. However, early this morning, as soon as she heard the cries outside, she sent the letter out.
The letter mainly emphasized what she had been reading and learning recently. It was also mentioned that everyone in her family really liked the dried fish she had sent and shared some gossip she had heard with Xiaobao.
After all, she was startled by County Magistrate Fu at the time. She was only ten years old, and despite being very sensible, she couldn't help but cry afterwards.
It was her mother who comforted her, saying it had nothing to do with her, which made her feel better. However, she still had someone inquire about what had happened.
Of course, County Magistrate Fu would not tell his daughter about these things. However, early this morning, when her father returned home exhausted, she still found out what had happened from her mother's nagging.
A section of the dam had collapsed. Fortunately, it was not the flood season, so only some fields in Dingjiang Village were affected, and no other villages were flooded.
After the autumn harvest, Dingjiang Village only experienced some vegetable losses, with no damage to the crops. However, the deepest fields might have imbalanced fertility, potentially transforming fertile fields into infertile ones.
Fortunately, the dam had collapsed and needed to be repaired.
Miss Fu Er said that her father had been very angry because repairing the dam required money, and it seemed that the county office had run out of funds.
This was just gossip from Miss Fu Er, and she didn't go into detail, but Xiaobao couldn't help but widen her eyes and ponder for a moment. If there was no money, would the County Magistrate ask them for it again?
At this moment, County Magistrate Fu was also pondering this issue.
He had not intended to issue a labor order this year, allowing each village to manage its own water conservancy and allocate land for the young adults.
But now, it was unavoidable.
But how should this be done?
Which village's laborers should be conscripted, and which ones should not?
Of course, this was not the main issue. The main issue was what to do about the materials needed to repair the dam.
The county had not applied to the prefecture for funds to repair the dam; consequently, no money had been allocated for this purpose this year.
County Magistrate Fu was itching with frustration at the thought of this. The dam that had collapsed was repaired during his tenure as county magistrate. It was merely a coincidence that the repair took place in the year before he left office.