Thunder rang several times, crashing, and dense raindrops began to fall.《》()
Lin Xi felt full and warm due to the dual tonic effects of the snow bird's nest soup and the iron-headed dogfish. He felt that the rain was heavier than yesterday, and he wanted to call Jiang Xiaoyi to practice in the rain together.
But at this moment, he heard someone talking to Old Man Mo, but the voice could not be heard clearly amid the rain.
A moment later, Old Man Mo's footsteps sounded on the wooden stairs, getting closer and closer, and Lin Xi thought that someone might be looking for him again.
Sure enough, Old Man Mo walked not far from the door and said, "Mr. Lin, someone has something important to see you."
Lin Xi responded and immediately opened the door and went out. Following Old Man Mo downstairs, she saw an honest-looking farm man wearing a pair of straw sandals.
Before he could say anything, the farmer seemed to be sure that he was the "Master Xiaolin" in everyone's mouth. He immediately knelt down with a thud. He was nervous and not good at words by nature, so he opened his mouth for a moment.
, but he looked like he didn’t know what to say. In a hurry, the farmer subconsciously made another snap and kowtowed to Lin Xi.
"Don't be too polite, don't be impatient. If there's anything important, just tell me." Lin Xi immediately stepped forward, supported the farmer, and lifted him up forcefully.
The farmer opened his mouth several times, but he still didn't know how to speak. He finally said: "Master Lin, please save the lives of five thousand people!"
"Five thousand lives?"
When Lin Xi, Jiang Xiaoyi, and Old Man Mo heard this, their expressions changed, and they felt that something big had happened. But seeing that the farmer was nervous and dull, and didn't know what to say, Lin Xi still didn't move.
He said in the gentlest tone: "Don't be nervous. Speak slowly. If you can't calm down and speak clearly, even if I have great abilities, I won't know what to do."
"Don't worry, you don't need to think clearly about your words before speaking. Whatever you think of, just say it sentence by sentence, and we should be able to figure it out." After pondering for a moment, Lin Xi looked at the farmer encouragingly and said, "
Are you from Donggang Town, what is your name?"
For this farmer, answering Lin Xi's question seemed easier than answering his own question, so after calming down for a while, he immediately answered: "Chen Haozhi, a grassroots man, is from Sangyuwei, Donggang Town."
"Sangyuwei?"
Lin Xi frowned slightly. He remembered that this place did not belong to the Seventeen Alleys, One Harbor and Three Cities where things often happened. It was to the east outside Donggang Town and was a village where a large number of farmers gathered. But he vaguely understood
Remember, the total population of that village where farmers gathered was more than 2,000. What exactly did Chen Haozhi mean by the 5,000 lives?
"Did something big happen to you?" But because the farmer was nervous and speechless, he still asked calmly in the gentlest tone.
The farmer finally spoke more smoothly and said in one breath: "The river dam is very likely to collapse."
"The dam broke?" Because Lin Xi was not an ordinary young man, and the knowledge in his mind was much more profound than that of people in this world, so he immediately felt the tension in it, and his brows suddenly wrinkled. "I just said
When I come to Donggang Town, I don’t know much about this place... Don’t be impatient and talk slowly first.”
"My great-great-grandfather asked me to come. My great-great-grandfather is already ninety-three years old." Probably because Lin Xi had told him not to think clearly about the wording before speaking, but to just say whatever came to his mind. The farmer immediately started to hesitate.
I said this sentence like a postscript.
Then he immediately added: "My great-grandfather has worked in our kind of farm all his life, and he already knows our weather very well. He said that heavy rains like this will probably continue for a few days. And this year's rain has already exceeded
The number is more than double that of previous years. It is very likely that the river dam will collapse."
Lin Xi frowned even more, but before he said anything, Old Man Mo already frowned and said: "But the river dam has always been very reliable. Over the years, I have never heard of any problems.
It is said that the officials who built the river dam received awards and were later promoted to the capital."
Chen Haozhi, a farmer, seemed to have gotten the idea and spoke more smoothly: "My great-grandfather said that there were originally four river dams built, one in Donggang, one in Yanlai, one in Qinghe, and one in our river.
Downstream Jinqi Town. We in Donggang and Yanlai have always had nothing to do, because they were reinforced 37 years ago. At that time, it was also the "Jianglongwang raises its head" weather. Not only did it rain much more than in previous years, but it also rained continuously.
Heavy rains, and before the rainy season itself, the water level of the river is relatively full."
Lin Xi's heart sank, and she immediately looked at Chen Haozhi and asked, "What do you mean, did the dams in Qinghe and Jinqi Town collapse that year?"
When Chen Haozhi saw Lin Xi discussing with him carefully and with an extremely solemn look on his face, he immediately felt more at ease and nodded vigorously: "The dams in Qinghe and Jinqi towns were all broken back then, and now there are no traces at all. It's just that
Back then, large connected fish ponds were opened behind the two river dams of Qinghe and Jinqi. When the floods came out, there were not many people living nearby, so not many people died back then. Those fish ponds are no longer there now.
It just turned into two inner bays. Among them, the inner bay of Qinghe Town became the Chuiyi Port of Qinghe Town, and the edges were full of dyeing workshops and cloth-making workshops."
Old Man Mo's face changed slightly. He was in his sixties this year. Thirty-seven years ago was a long time ago for him. He only vaguely remembered that such a thing had happened.
"This dam was built for forty-five years. Eight years after it was built, water flooded and two dams burst." Chen Haozhi looked at Lin Xi, who was frowning, and said: "The reason why my great-grandfather remembers it so clearly is because
He was also one of the people who built the dam back then, working under Mr. Yuan who built the dam back then. And he later also did the work of strengthening the dam."
After saying these two sentences, the farmer suddenly thought of another important point, and immediately said eagerly, "And my great-great-grandfather heard Mr. Yuan say that there was a water measuring column in front of the dam, and the water level was higher than the water level inscribed on it.
The mark on the dam means that the dam itself may be in danger at any time. However, the water column was broken by a ship more than ten years ago. But my great-grandfather saw the water level and said that the water level at this moment must be where the water column was measured.
Above the mark.”
Lin Xi naturally grasped the key points better than Chen Haozhi. He nodded and said thoughtfully: "I heard what you mean. Although the two dams have been reinforced now, they are already in disrepair. They are the same as they were thirty-seven years ago.
Is it very dangerous?”
Chen Haozhi immediately nodded and said: "When my great-grandfather discovered that the water level was wrong the day before yesterday, he asked us to carry him to look around the dam. He determined that the condition of the dam was not as good as it was thirty-seven years ago. Many of the stakes have rotted.
Already."
Lin Xi frowned and continued to ask: "I have never been to those two river dams... If those two river dams fail, will your rear areas be in danger? Will many people drown?"
"Behind the dams of our two towns, Donggang and Yanlai, there are large tracts of fertile farmland, and the villages are all in the center of the fertile fields. The terrain is not high, and there are many ponds surrounding them, forming a water network, like an isolated island. The surrounding areas here are
', itself refers to an artificially fenced settlement in the water. Now in our Sangyuwei area of Donggang, most farmers still believe my great-grandfather's words. Some old and young have moved to higher ground elsewhere, but if the crops in these fields are
Everything has been washed away, and we have no harvest. How will we live next? So most people are unwilling to give up. Now about half of the middle-aged people, after listening to my grandfather’s words, are already guarding the river dam on our side.
, try to strengthen the dam."
"It's just that our manpower is limited, and we can't get enough big wood for reinforcement at the moment. So if the river dam breaks, I'm afraid hundreds of people will die on the dam."
At this point, although Chen Haozhi said it smoothly, he became more and more anxious. A stout man actually started to cry, and his words became incoherent again: "Few people in Yanlai Town believe that
As for my grandfather, he feels that it has been settled for so many years, and the dam seems to be in good condition, so there is no action at all."
"The reason why we in Donggang and Yanlai strengthened the river dams back then was because many of the people who built the dams were still there, and behind the dams in our two towns were fertile rice fields transformed from depressions, so there was no room for loss. But so
It has been peaceful for many years. In addition, the water surface of the Xizi River is open and the water flow is not fast. There has never been any flooding. In addition, those who built the dam in their prime have died of old age, so no one believes it. There is no such thing.
Do you think there will be any problem with the high water level?”
Hearing Chen Haozhi's cry and narration, Lin Xi's brows furrowed even more tightly and his face became more solemn. He asked seriously: "In your opinion...this dam is extremely dangerous now and may collapse at any time."
?The five thousand people you mentioned refer to the people behind us in Donggang and Yanlai who may be flooded?"
"Mr. Lin, that's exactly it." Chen Haozhi felt that he finally made it clear and couldn't help but kneel down again.
Lin Xi held Chen Haozhi, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "This river and port water conservancy matter was not originally under my jurisdiction. Now that you come to me and are so eager, it is because the officials of the relevant engineering department do not believe it."
What did you say?"
"Yes." Chen Haozhi wiped his face, looked at Lin Xi, and said sadly: "They think I am talking nonsense. They say that my great-grandfather is probably old and demented and talks hysterically. How can they believe it? I just said
I wanted to find the town governor but couldn't find him. I really had no choice but to think of Mr. Lin."
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Lin Xi's mouth, but her heart became nervous and cold.
Previously, he had hoped that the rain would fall harder so that the effect of his practice would be better, but he did not expect that the continuous rain had already caused such an impact and could endanger the lives and deaths of so many people.
"Let's go, you come with me to see the governor."
After just thinking for a moment, Lin Xi nodded to the farmer, took his green umbrella, and walked into the heavy rain outside.
In the dark night and heavy rain, Chen Haozhi and Jiang Xiaoyi followed Lin Xi closely.
***
(I wrote this chapter very tired and late, but for some reason, I felt very happy after finishing it. Today is the return trip from Shanghai to Wuxi, so tonight’s update will definitely be a little later. Please wait for me.)