Chapter 23 Report Zhou Yimin found the old branch secretary and told him about his plan. "Sure, we'll move as much as we need." The old branch secretary nodded. It was not a big deal. The mud bricks were left over from building the village canteen. In theory, they were the collective property of the village, but Zhou Yimin only used them first and would return them later. No one could find fault with them. If Zhou Yimin can't even satisfy such a small request, then there is no use for him as the old branch secretary. Seeing Zhou Yimin building another house, the old branch secretary was actually delighted. The fact that they do this shows that they still care about Zhoujiazhuang and will come back often in the future. This is a good thing for Zhoujiazhuang. After all, it is like having a connection in the steel plant, and he is a buyer, which may be of great use in the future. In addition, given Zhou Yimin's care for the villagers these two or three times, he had to help Zhou Yimin for both moral and legal reasons, and for both public and private reasons. "If you need anything, feel free to come to me, the old branch secretary," he added. "Okay! Thank you, old Party Secretary."
The old branch secretary waved his hand, then put his hands behind his back and went about his business. In front of them, several children were playing a game of peeing and mud, shaping the mud into various shapes to see who was better. The two brothers Lai Fu and Lai Cai were eager to join in. If their older brother hadn't been around, they might have rushed over and joined in. "Hello, Grandpa Sixteen!" …… They also noticed Zhou Yimin, and they all tilted their heads to look over and greet him. "If you want to eat melon seeds, go wash your hands," Zhou Yimin told them. The little guys scattered and ran towards the water. Melon seeds? That's a delicious thing that can only be eaten during the Chinese New Year. Peanuts and melon seeds are usually only available during the Spring Festival and are not easy for ordinary people to buy on other days. Seven children went to wash their hands, but twelve came back. No need to guess, the secret must have been leaked. Don't expect these children to keep a secret, their mouths are looser than a widow's belt. Everyone is familiar with the route. No need to be reminded, after running to Zhou Yimin, he knew to queue up. The adults working in the distance said happily, "Uncle Sixteen has distributed delicious food to the children again." "Uncle Sixteen is a generous man. He deserves to enjoy a good life in the city." "Where are you going? Damn it! Come back here. How old are you? Do you still have any shame?" The team leader who was leading the work saw someone trying to beg for food and immediately cursed. Zhou Yimin took out some melon seeds from his trouser pocket and gave each person a small handful. Everyone was so busy eating that they didn't notice the trick; their pockets couldn't hold so many melon seeds. Listening to these little guys calling Uncle Sixteen, Grandpa Sixteen, or even worse...
Zhou Yimin was numb. Because the melon seeds he took out were flavored with five spices, the children had never tasted something so fragrant before. They even used their teeth to grind the shells of the melon seeds, and were reluctant to swallow them immediately. Good guy! Eat melon seeds without spitting out the shells. Zhou Yimin was just about to take Lai Fu and his two siblings for a stroll home when he saw Village Chief Wang from Shangshui Village coming with his men. In addition to a wild boar, there was also a black bear, weighing at least 300 kilograms, which made Zhou Yimin's eyelids twitch a few times. "Village Chief Wang, is everything going well?" Zhou Yimin asked cautiously. Village Chief Wang smiled bitterly: "Someone's leg is broken, alas!" The old branch secretary was speechless: This old guy is playing the victim again! He was a little envious. Such a big black bear could be exchanged for a lot of sweet potatoes and potatoes! As for the person with a broken leg, they should just get more compensation. If you go into the mountains to hunt, you have to be prepared for injury and death. If there were no risks, they would have gone in long ago. Why wait until they ran out of food? No one died, which was a relatively good result. Zhou Yimin handed out cigarettes and said, "I can't take such a big black bear back. Please help me deliver it to the steel plant. There's a bit more meat this time, would you like to switch to sweet potatoes and potatoes?" Village Chief Wang nodded: "Sweet potatoes and potatoes will do. No problem! I'll have them deliver them." It was good enough to have something to eat, so why would he be so picky? And he also knew that these two kinds of food could be exchanged for more. Without further ado, Zhou Yimin went home and rode his bicycle. The old Party secretary shouted from behind: "Yimin, don't forget about pumping the well." Village Chief Wang, who was standing nearby, was curious: "What water pressure well?" The young man from Zhoujiazhuang boasted proudly: "You haven't seen it before? It's a well that can easily pump out water. We..." Before he finished speaking, he felt a chill piercing his back. He turned around and met the old branch secretary's gaze. The young man shuddered and said quickly, "I'll go to work!" Then he ran away. The old branch secretary laughed and said, "Don't listen to his nonsense. That kid's brain hasn't been normal lately." Village Chief Wang stared at his old friend: "..." Who the hell are you fooling? Now, the river section in Shangshui Village has completely dried up, and Village Chief Wang is extremely worried. How could he let go of the well that had water easily when he suddenly heard about it? "Old Zhou, don't hide it! Even if we dig a well in Shangshui Village, it won't affect your Zhoujia Village, right?" The old branch secretary thought about it carefully and felt that it seemed to be right. "Forget it, I can't explain it clearly. Come with me to take a look!" As he said that, he took the old king to the home of grandfather Zhou Yimin. When Village Chief Wang arrived at Zhou Yimin's grandfather's place, he first greeted him warmly and then went to see the so-called water pressure well. Watching Lao Zhou operate it, with just a few presses, clear water flowed out from the iron pipe at the head of the well. He couldn't help but widen his eyes and trembled a little with excitement. "Old Zhou, how do we dig a well like this? How deep should we dig? How…"
A bunch of questions came to the old branch secretary. The old branch secretary picked up a few words Zhou Yimin had said before, something about groundwater. "Old Zhou, you are confused!" Suddenly, Village Chief Wang said with great sorrow. The old branch secretary is confused, and I am confused? Village Chief Wang continued, "Don't you know that there is a water shortage everywhere? Don't you realize the importance of this water well? You didn't report this. What are you thinking? If this is reported, Comrade Xiao Zhou, as the inventor, will definitely be rewarded, and maybe even be named an advanced individual. Why not report it?" A word to wake up the dreamer! The old Party Secretary slapped his head and said, "Oh no! I didn't think of that before." The main reason was that they did not consider that this would bring great benefits to Zhou Yimin. "Come on, follow me and report now." Village Chief Wang is anxious! Waiting for water! If this is reported, the higher authorities will definitely require the relevant units to produce the components of this water pressure well as soon as possible, and then popularize it to various villages and communes. The old branch secretary first explained the situation to Zhou Yimin’s grandfather and sought his consent. When Zhou Yimin's grandparents heard that their eldest grandson might be rewarded, or even recognized as an advanced individual, why would they disagree? In this age of dedication, personal advancement is a great honor. The old man felt like smoke was coming out of his ancestral grave. "Then go quickly. How can you be the party secretary? You don't even have this little awareness." Zhou Yimin's grandfather scolded him. If Village Chief Wang hadn't reminded him, his eldest grandson would have missed the opportunity. How could he not be angry? The old branch secretary was very depressed. This guy relied on his seniority and even scolded him. (End of this chapter)
