Daha He Village was out of water.
It was still dark, but people were already going to Cheng Family Village to carry back two buckets of water.
"The people of Cheng Family Village are all bastards! One catty of millet or cornmeal for one bucket of water, they're trying to squeeze us dry!"
"Cheng Family Village is still a bit better than Gui Hua Village. Gui Hua Village says three catties of corn for one bucket."
"You can go a day without eating and still move, but in this heat, you'll die if you don't drink water for a day."
"The village chief is here, let's see what he says..."
The village chief walked over with a serious expression. He stood on a high spot, cleared his throat, and said, "Everyone, quiet down."
Everyone looked at the village chief with hope. He was the pillar of Daha Village, and they believed he could come up with some kind of solution.
"One catty of millet, plus a basket of wild vegetables, is a family's daily ration. If we send those to Cheng Family Village, then the people of Cheng Family Village will survive, and the people of our Daha Village will be like Old Woman Zhao Er, one by one dying of starvation." The village chief said coldly, "If you starve to death early, you might still get a coffin. If you starve to death later, you'll just be wrapped in a straw mat and buried..."
The village chief's words made many people panic.
Everyone knew that famine killed people, but Old Woman Zhao Er's death yesterday made them realize for the first time that people around them could truly die of starvation.
Now there was no water either. Besides those who would die of hunger, there would also be those who would die of thirst.
Daha Village, where their ancestors had lived for generations, would soon be starved to death.
An old man below cried out, "We, the people of Daha Village, have never done anything bad, why is Heaven punishing us like this? This is truly a sin..."
"Everyone, quiet down!" The village chief said loudly, "Heaven will not be so heartless; it will always give us a way out."
Last night, the village chief had already thought it through. The trees, wild vegetables, and mushrooms on the mountain could all survive. In addition, there were some pheasants and hares that could also live well, so there must be a water source on the mountain. Da Shan's words were well-founded. Currently, Daha Village could only hold onto this hope.
"Going a day without water, besides being a bit uncomfortable, won't lead to death. So, do what you need to do." The village chief said slowly, "Before sunset, I will give everyone a method."
The presence of water on the mountain had not yet been confirmed, so he couldn't reveal too much for now.
Without waiting for people to ask more questions, the village chief put his hands behind his back and left.
The village chief had served for twenty or thirty years and was highly trusted in the village. After hearing these words, the villagers gradually emerged from their panic.
Cheng Loanloan brought her four sons to meet the village chief on the mountain.
Following the village chief were his two sons, Zhao Anjiang and Zhao Anhe, and also the most promising great-grandson in the village, Zhao Tiezhu.
Zhao Tiezhu was a bit older than Zhao Sidan, and younger than Zhao Sanniu. The three children often played together.
Zhao Sanniu scratched his head and said, "Tiezhu, teach me how to write my name."
"Zhao Sanniu is too simple." Tiezhu squatted on the ground and wrote three characters. Although each stroke was straight, it wasn't very beautiful.
Zhao Sidan looked on admiringly and said, "Brother Tiezhu is amazing, can you write my name?"
"Nothing is impossible."
Zhao Tiezhu squatted down and wrote the two characters "Zhao Si," but he couldn't remember how to write the character "Dan." It seemed to have the character "Chong" in it, but he couldn't recall if it was on top or underneath. He considered just drawing a circle to represent an egg, but under Zhao Sidan's admiring gaze, he hesitated, mainly because he was afraid of ruining his image.
He looked up at the sky and saw a few fluffy white clouds floating by, immediately changing the subject: "Grandpa, the clouds are so high up, is it going to rain soon?"
For a moment, everyone looked up.