Volume Four: Glorious Years Chapter 153: The New Official’s Three Fires Upon Taking Office

"How could it not be me? It seems Village Chief Yang not only has a fiery temper, but also holds rather little regard for female comrades!" The fashionable lady was none other than Zhang Xiaoshan. Previously, Yang Tian had taken her for a mere homebody, but now he realized her sharp tongue was truly formidable.

"Director Zhang is joking. I'm just immensely excited to run into an old acquaintance in a foreign place!" Yang Tian stood up with a composed smile, his mind clearing up even further. He had previously suspected that Zhang Xiaoshan did not belong to Binhai City, and now it turned out she came from a prominent background. Coming to Binhai was evidently just for some peace and quiet.

"Oh, so Village Chief Yang and Director Zhang already know each other! Well, I thought... Today has been quite chaotic, but it's all joyous in the end! Come, come, come, Director Zhang, take a seat, right here next to Village Chief Yang!" Old Ruan took a deep drag from his cigarette, having initially thought Yang Tian and Zhang Xiaoshan were locking horns, only to find out they were just two acquaintances bantering!

It was all for the better if the two newly arrived cadres already knew each other; it would make future work much easier!

Having arrived at the grassroots level, Zhang Xiaoshan was noticeably more lively than she had been in the city. She laughed and chatted merrily with Old Ruan and the others, and even occasionally picked food and placed it in Yang Tian's bowl.

The farmhouse dishes were quite greasy, but the flavors were superb. Pig ears, cured pork, salted duck, salted fish, and salted duck eggs were all Yang Tian's childhood favorites. Having moved to Binhai, he had assumed such delicacies would be hard to come by again, so discovering he could still enjoy authentic rural flavors here made him start to grow fond of this place. Perhaps it was that dormant spark of affection for his hometown's customs and people stirring within his heart!

Originally, Yang Tian had not planned on drinking alcohol during his tenure as village chief, but feeling somewhat jubilant tonight, he raised his glass and had a few rounds with Old Ruan and the others.

Seeing Old Ruan holding an oily earthen jar of liquor, Yang Tian had first thought it was some aged vintage. Only after drinking it did he realize it was Stone Village's locally brewed rice wine. The flavor was truly exceptional, smooth and fragrant upon the palate.

After a few cups, Yang Tian began to feel a bit dizzy, so he hurriedly called it a halt. Getting thoroughly drunk at a villager's home on his very first day as village official would look terribly unprofessional.

Yet everything seemed to exceed Yang Tian's expectations. Even though he had applied the brakes in time, his head was still spinning—clearly, this liquor had a very strong afterkick.

"Yang Tian, I remember you just got admitted to Binhai University this year. How is it that you ended up running off to be a village chief?" Zhang Xiaoshan had not touched the alcohol and remained completely sober.

"Oh, so Village Chief Yang is only in college this year! No wonder he's so young!" The three businessmen from Stone Village all smiled with relief, practically breathing sighs of relief. It was evident they were thinking that since this village chief was nothing more than an inexperienced student, he probably wouldn't know how to meddle in village affairs, and thus wouldn't stand in the way of their moneymaking schemes!

"I want to join the Party, so I came to the grassroots level to temper myself first," Yang Tian replied casually. He knew such a lie wouldn't fool Zhang Xiaoshan, but it was more than enough to hoodwink Old Ruan and the others.

Tonight, the quiet and impoverished mountain village had grown exceptionally lively thanks to the arrival of the two urban village officials. The pinpricks of lamplight and the bright moon reflected off one another, fully displaying the tranquility and serenity of a new-century mountain village.

Yang Tian was still able to walk, but Zhang Xiaoshan insisted on supporting him, leaving him thoroughly embarrassed. The grand village chief had gotten thoroughly drunk on his very first day.

Zhang Xiaoshan led Yang Tian into the room first, helped him take off his shoes and socks, and even brought him a basin of hot water. Had Yang Tian not repeatedly insisted otherwise, she probably would have offered to wash his feet for him as well.

"Here, let me help you take off your outer jacket and guide you to the bed to lie down," Zhang Xiaoshan whispered as she leaned close to Yang Tian, a faint, delicate fragrance washing over him.

"No, if Zhao Shilei finds out, how is he supposed to keep being brothers with him!" Yang Tian was a bit tipsy, and thus let slip a remark, consciously or unconsciously. At least for the present moment, whenever Zhang Xiaoshan was mentioned, Yang Tian couldn't quite shake off her relationship with Zhao Shilei.

"Don't ever mention him in front of me again... Goodnight!" The mere mention of Zhao Shilei was like hitting a raw nerve for Zhang Xiaoshan. Her expression turned fiercely cold as she spat out those words before turning on her heel and marching swiftly out of the room.

Yang Tian was stunned for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head before collapsing onto the bed and falling fast asleep. Compared to the city, mountain villages had one great advantage: they were quiet, exceptionally quiet, allowing a person to sleep peacefully until they naturally woke up.

The autumn harvest was still a long way off. Besides, in today's countryside, the village administration had no hand in the autumn harvest; the villagers harvested everything themselves. The most the village administration could do was ensure proper irrigation.

Therefore, bright and early the next morning, Yang Tian walked out into the fields to inspect the irrigation conditions of Stone Village's farmland. Before stepping out the door, he glanced at Zhang Xiaoshan's room. The door was locked; it seemed she had already gone out into the grassroots to lecture the expectant mothers on healthcare knowledge.

The farmland across the four settlements of Stone Village wasn't very large, though there were plenty of barren hills. The ditches between the fields were quite shallow, full of bumps and hollows, high in some places and low in others, completely failing to meet irrigation requirements.

It looked as though they hadn't been cleared or repaired in many years. But that was hardly surprising; Old Ruan had already mentioned last night that there were no nearby rivers or streams to supply Stone Village with irrigation. To put it bluntly, the crops in Stone Village's fields depended entirely on the mercy of the heavens.

"And they expect to guarantee a bumper harvest of crops this way? China is a major agricultural nation, so whether it's provinces, cities, regions, or individual farming households, if the fields aren't farmed well, don't expect much economic development, and don't expect to grow prosperous!" Yang Tian muttered to himself, and began scouring the hillsides for a water source.

He figured a situation like Stone Village's shouldn't exist. The Yangtze River basin ditches had been extensively renovated during the major floods of 1998; from large rivers and reservoirs down to village fields, everything should have been connected by networks of ditches. How could Stone Village still be living a primitive, rain-dependent agricultural lifestyle?

Before long, Yang Tian proved his hypothesis correct. Crossing a ridge, he found a ditch running along the opposite side that led directly to the four settlements of Stone Village.

The only thing that puzzled Yang Tian was that right in the middle of this massive ditch, a thick stone dam had been constructed. On the other side of the dam, clear water pooled brightly, while on this side, the channel was choked with water weeds and completely dried up all the way toward Stone Village.

"Isn't that water right there? Just dredge the ditches for the four villages and channel the water over—the autumn harvest will be guaranteed! Ah, I, Village Chief Yang, have brought blessings to the people less than three days after taking office. Truly a cause for celebration!" Yang Tian drew a long breath of joy, then hurried back to find Old Ruan and have him organize the villagers to dredge the ditches.

Upon hearing that Yang Tian had found a water source, Old Ruan didn't even have time to put on his leather shoes; he ran barefoot up the hill after Yang Tian. After all, if there was water, this year's autumn harvest would be secured!

Yet when Old Ruan saw the ditch Yang Tian was pointing at, his face darkened instantly, and a look of utter despair flashed through his eyes.

"Little Yang... we shouldn't even dream about that water!" Old Ruan took a fierce drag from his cigarette and waved a hand dismissively at Yang Tian.

"Why is that?" Yang Tian furrowed his brow.

"Decades have passed, and Stone Village and Daha Village have literally killed each other several times over this water, but in the end, we still couldn't get a drop! Lad, as an elder, I don't know if I should say this, but Daha Village has connections in the town government. The town declared that all that water belongs to Daha Village, so even if we tried to seize it, we could never manage!" A look of profound sorrow surfaced on Old Ruan's weather-beaten face. Clearly, this bit of water was a still-festering scar for the people of the entire Stone Village.

"What does having connections in the town have to do with anything? Does irrigation water belong to specific villages now? Isn't that a severe capitalist tendency? Go find a few stout-hearted fellows in the village and bring them over with tools!" Yang Tian placed his hands on his hips. He had seen this kind of phenomenon before; back in Big Willow Tree Village, each village strictly maintained its own irrigation water sources.

However, those were mostly pond waters, whereas this was ditch water. By what right did Daha Village claim a monopoly? Connections in the town? Even if Daha Village had connections in the municipal government, Yang Tian was determined to channel that water over today.

"Oh my, Village Chief Yang, can't we take the easy way out? The able-bodied men in our Stone Village don't outnumber the ones in Daha Village. In a fight, we'd definitely lose!" Old Ruan thought Yang Tian was about to organize a bloody brawl with the villagers, and was so frightened his little straw hat nearly fell off his head.

In the past, violent clashes between Stone Village and Daha Village were a regular occurrence, all fought over this very water. In the end, Stone Village always lost. Taking the losses and injuries was bad enough, but when the town found out, instead of punishing Daha Village or resolving the water dispute, they would summon Old Ruan to the township committee office and tear him apart with criticism, accusing his ideological awareness of lagging behind.

Therefore, what Old Ruan feared most now were matters of this sort—the classic rural mindset of "if the other side has backing in the township and we can't afford to provoke them, we simply stay far, far away."

"Who said anything about fighting? Just have them bring farming tools to dredge these field trenches, and today I'm going to channel that water over. This matter cannot be glossed over. I simply don't believe it—the sky of socialism belongs to us common folk, and yet in the 21st century, the countryside still has to deal with such tyrannical bullies!" Yang Tian nudged Old Ruan back to fetch people.

Old Ruan had no idea what Yang Tian's plan was, but he thought to himself: if they really could bring the water over, wouldn't that be an earth-shattering piece of joy? Not only would it secure the autumn harvest, but it would also vent the pent-up grievances the people of Stone Village had endured for decades.

Thus, he went back and rounded up five young lads and a dozen middle-aged men, all armed with shovels. They spent the entire morning clearing out the waterways across Stone Village's four settlements, and by noon, it actually looked like a proper irrigation system.

Meanwhile, Yang Tian sat in the shade of a small poplar tree on the hillside to cool off, casually watching the villagers dredge the ditches.

"This... Little Yang, how do you plan to negotiate with Daha Village and get them to let us channel the water?" Sitting beside Yang Tian, Old Ruan had pondered this all morning and finally couldn't help asking.

"Negotiate? What is there to negotiate? Old Uncle, lend me your shovel for a moment!" Seeing that the ditch dredging was nearly finished, Yang Tian called out to an old man not far away.

That old man was thrilled. The grand village chief wanted to requisition his shovel—to him, that was an supreme honor. He hurried over with a stooped back and respectfully handed the shovel into Yang Tian's hands.

Without another word, Yang Tian took the shovel and charged toward the water channel. The sturdy stone dam blocking the surging, crystal-clear water from flowing westward had clearly been specially constructed.

Yet in front of Yang Tian, was this anything more than a wall of paper? He raised the shovel high and brought it crashing down with a resounding thud against a key support point of the dam.

The shovel shattered into pieces, but that thick stone dam instantly collapsed, and the roaring water surged forth, rushing into the fields of Stone Village.

"Oh, my goodness!" Old Ruan and the old man cried out simultaneously. The old man was heartbroken over the loss of his shovel.

Old Ruan, however, panicked completely. Wasn't this new village chief just asking for trouble? With water being diverted like this, a vicious showdown between Stone Village and Daha Village was once again inevitable!