Chapter 200 The world is impermanent, so we need to look forward
This year's summer was particularly dry, and the villagers' joyful mood due to the bountiful summer harvest did not last long before being replaced by a devastating drought.
"There is no moisture in this land, how can we plant autumn crops?"
Several old people sat under the willow tree at the entrance of the village, looking at the sky and sighing. The hot sun shone directly on the already dry land, and the willow leaves above their heads began to curl.
Tang Guo stood in front of the cave in the village committee compound with a frown on his face. Now he could only ensure the villagers' daily water supply. This land is the life of the farmers, but where should the water come from? This time it was solved, what about the future? Tang Guo
Guo felt that his head was going bald, and his mood became more and more irritable with the weather.
"Tang Guo, are you standing in the yard to tan on such a hot day?"
A cadre stood at the door shaking a cattail leaf fan and joked. He raised his eyes and looked at the top of his head. It was obviously a blue sky, but now it always seemed yellow to his eyes.
"Sad."
Tang Guo entered the cave sideways, feeling the coolness in his body lower the anger in his body.
"There is nothing we can do about it. God is not willing to bless us. If we want to get water, we have to go two to three hundred kilometers away. Moreover, looking at the weather forecast, we know that this drought will be extremely widespread and last for a long time."
It will be shorter. Even if we get through the difficulty of transporting water this time, will we have to run that far every time in the future?"
The next day, Tang Guo simply packed his luggage and set off with several water searchers arranged by the village committee. In order not to look around like headless flies, two geological experts from the county were specially invited to come over.
The group first climbed to the highest point to observe which direction there would be water sources. The desolate scene made everyone lament the difficulty of living here.
"Who doesn't want to live in a place with superior conditions and convenience, but this barren land has allowed our ancestors to thrive for generations, so how can we abandon it?"
An expert couldn't help but lamented that the wind blowing in the face was extremely dry, and it was uncomfortable to pass it through the nasal cavity.
"We will walk along the ravine at the back, which is the direction towards the Yellow River, and where the water source is most likely to exist."
After simply identifying the direction, the group walked northwest along a northwest-southeast ravine. The coolness at the bottom of the ravine made movement less uncomfortable.
Because the ravine is naturally formed, and it is still collapsing and changing, there is no road to walk on. A few people are completely exploring while moving forward. Going up and down is very energy-consuming, and they wait until Yuelangxingxi stops to rest.
After looking at the map, I realized that according to the straight-line distance, they were only a dozen kilometers away from the starting point.
"Tang Guo, are you okay?"
One of the team members noticed that Tang Guo didn't look right and walked over to show concern. Tang Guo sat down and shook his head to express that he was fine.
"I'm just a little hungry, so I have low blood sugar."
As he spoke, he took out a few fruit candies from his pocket and distributed them to a few people, so that he could regain his strength a little first.
"That's good. Tell me, why are you bothering? A pretty girl insists on coming out with us."
The team member sat down next to Tang Guo. Tang Guo looked at him and said, "Are you looking down on women?"
"No, no, no, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that it would be enough for us men to do the hard work."
Seeing the other party's panicked explanation, Tang Guo burst into laughter.
"why are you laughing?"
The male team member touched his head and looked confused, but the two little dimples on the corner of the girl's mouth when she smiled were so beautiful that the male team member was stunned.
"Xiao Wang, come here and help!"
The words woke up the male team members, and they ran away with burning faces. Soon, two fires were burning at the bottom of the valley. In order to avoid fires caused by dryness, they were kept away from dry grass and shrubs.
"Eat something. Let's set off early tomorrow. We can take advantage of the coolness of the morning to walk a little more and find the water source early."
Living in the wilderness is not just for keeping warm, but also for providing psychological comfort to people sleeping outdoors.
In the early morning, a ray of setting sun shone on the wall of the ravine. After checking that there was no fire left, several people set off energetically. After another two days of traveling, everyone was very excited to see sparse green vegetation finally appearing in front of them, which meant that there was no trace of fire ahead.
There must be water sources in distant places.
"Let's go a little further and set up camp."
The exhaustion of the past few days made everyone fall asleep quickly. They walked until sunset the next day and finally felt the water vapor hitting their faces, which was very cool and refreshing.
"There is such a big underground spring here. Why has no one discovered it before?"
Everyone was very excited. The geological experts checked whether the water was drinkable and filled several bottles.
"If this water is drinkable, then the water problems of several nearby villages can be solved."
There are some fine suspended solids in the clear water that are swirling as the expert shakes.
"Although it can't solve an urgent need, at least it's very good news."
Returning along the way they came, Tang Guo was thinking about how to persuade the villagers to give up this year's summer planting. Although the crops grown here are resistant to high temperatures and drought, according to information released by the Meteorological Bureau, if it is a place with abundant water resources, it will still be better.
Don’t worry too much. But it’s different here. Planting it is just a waste of investment. It’s better to focus all your energy on making handicrafts.
The day after returning, Tang Guo and others received feedback from experts that the water they found met drinking standards. This news made the village committee cadre class very excited, and they immediately started planning to apply for drinking water construction projects from the county and city.
.
"Tang Guo, I have your phone number."
On the third day after returning, Tang Guo, who was in a meeting together, was called out alone. It seemed that something serious had happened.
"dad?"
When Tang Guo came to the office and answered the phone, she could hear the choking and vicissitudes in her father's voice, and her intuition told her that something important had happened at home.
"Guoguo, please come back."
After answering the phone, Tang Guo felt like the world was upside down. The buzzing in his ears made it difficult for him to hear what the people next to him were saying. He barely managed to maintain his body and didn't want to fall down, but after all, he couldn't withstand the blow of huge grief.
"Tang Guo!"
The next day after waking up, Tang Guo finally got on the bus home after many twists and turns. Her eyes were dazed, which worried the passengers sitting next to her.
"Comrade, are you okay?"
After asking several times, there was no response. The passenger was about to ask the driver to stop and let him come over to check. Tang Guo then realized that she was fine, but she was too obsessed with her thoughts just now. When the passenger saw that she looked normal, he
He didn't say anything more, he just kindly told her to tell her what she had to say and don't keep it in her heart.
"thank you."
He held on to the backpack strap on his lap with his fingers, praying in his heart that this was just an exaggerated joke played by his family on him.
Tang Guo was exhausted physically and mentally after two or three days of traveling, but she didn't dare to delay and took a taxi home.
"mom!"
Pushing the door open, there was no one in the house. Suddenly, she remembered what her father had said, telling her to rush directly to the intensive care unit of the city center hospital when she came back.
When Tang Guo arrived at the hospital, he saw his father, grandparents and family standing at the door of the ICU. He was about to go up to ask about the situation. A doctor came out of the ICU and told the family to express his condolences. Mu Ran opened his eyes wide and covered his mouth tightly.
Not letting himself make a sound, two lines of clear tears finally rolled down at this moment.
"Doctor, what you said is false, right? My daughter is still alive, right?"
Tang Guo's grandmother, who had a silvery hair, grabbed the doctor's arm and burst into tears. How could she accept the white-haired man giving the black-haired man a gift? Tang Guo's uncle and aunt on the side tried to persuade him with sad expressions.
"Please have your condolences."
Tang Guo felt as if there was a huge pressure on her chest, and the feeling of being out of breath made her almost faint.
"mom?"
Entering the intensive care unit, Tang Guo walked over softly, her voice cautious as if she didn't want to disturb her sleeping mother. It wasn't until she saw her mother's pale face that she was willing to believe that she had really lost her. She watched helplessly.
As the nurse covered her mother with a white cloth, she lost control of her emotions and rushed forward to hug the body that was only warm. This farewell would be forever, and we would never see each other again in heaven or on earth.
Because of Tang Guo's family, many people came to attend the funeral. Some of them were sincere and she didn't want to investigate. Now she just wanted to quietly accompany her mother for the last time. Thinking back carefully, after she went to elementary school
, I don’t have much time to spend with my mother.
The boarding in primary school, the rebellion in high school, and leaving home in college all gave her little opportunity to talk to her mother and talk about the tenderness between mother and daughter. A steady stream of tears dripped down her cheeks.
On the plain white mourning clothes, the sadness in her eyes is a sadness that others cannot understand.
Taking a car from the crematorium to the cemetery, Tang Guo felt for the first time that things were impermanent. No one could predict whether he and the people around him would have a chance to see each other again after parting. The heavy weight in his hands was not all of a person. It turned out that he was alone.
The final outcome is just a plume of smoke that flies out of the stove chimney and dissipates, leaving only the ashes produced after the body is burned to prove that this person has been here.
The black stone slab was lightly covered, completely cutting off the opportunity for the buried people to get close to the living. Looking at the dates of his mother's birth and death on the tombstone, Tang Guo couldn't help but feel sad. His mother was still so young, she
You haven't enjoyed your daughter Cheng Huan's presence, and you haven't handed your daughter over to your partner with your own hands. How could you say goodbye to her in such a hurry?
"Dad, please go back first. I want to stay with my mother."
The mourners left one after another, and the sadness that Tang Guo had accumulated during the entire funeral broke out at this moment, until he cried until he was hoarse and short of breath. The sky that had been gloomy all morning cast a piece of sunshine on Tang Guo.
The feeling of warmth is like a piece of clothing your mother gives you when you are cold, or a bowl of hot egg noodles that your mother brings to you when you are hungry.
After stopping crying, Tang Guo rubbed his red, swollen and bloodshot eyes twice and looked up at the ray of sunshine.
Don't worry, Mom, I will definitely live a good life.
He immediately got up and left the cemetery, and embarked on a journey back to the poverty alleviation area the next day. People cannot be immersed in sorrow and cannot extricate themselves. This will make the living people uncomfortable and the deceased people will not feel at ease.