Chapter 125: The Famine Problem
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Even with his knowledge of the situation, he couldn’t directly report it, as he lacked concrete evidence.
He only knew the actual production from the villagers. Only the grain that was handed in was recorded. If those who exaggerated the production did not admit it, then he would have no way to punish the person who lied about the grain production.
Jiang Xia sighed, “This year, our only hope lies with the country. Whether it’s land distribution or opening up new fields, all of it takes time. Autumn harvest is almost here, so any strategy now would be futile. We can only hope for a larger portion of grain to be left after handing it over, or depend on the village head to apply for relief grain. Otherwise, this winter will be tough.”
Shen Mo pondered for a moment before continuing to ask, “What do you mean by ‘opening up new fields’?”
“You’ve been travelling around recently, so you must have seen the barren hills around our village. If there’s a chance, we could consider developing these barren hills. Regardless of how much grain we could eventually grow, if the land area for cultivation is expanded by developing these barren hills, it would present an opportunity to increase the yield no matter what we plant.”
Having already said so much, Jiang Xia didn’t hold back. She answered whatever Shen Mo asked.
Just as Shen Mo was about to ask about seeds, they heard the sound of a donkey cart in the distance.
Jiang Xia also heard it, turned to look, and saw Xiao Wu driving a donkey cart with the village chief and Zhou Lan. There was another donkey cart following them, although she couldn’t clearly see the driver, it looked like Uncle Li from next door.
In no time, the two carts arrived before them. Shen Mo swallowed the words he was about to say.
The injured were helped onto the donkey cart. Seeing the severity of their wounds, the village chief couldn’t help but exclaim, “How did you get such severe injuries?”
Since Jiang Chuan already knew the situation, he didn’t let Wang Wen repeat it, and he recounted the events to the village chief.
“All! I told you it’s dangerous in the mountains, but no one listened. Now look, you’ve got such severe injuries.”
The village chief was truly worried as he sighed and talked. There was an unintentional note of blame in his voice. Shen Mo looked up at the worried village chief, and in the end, he didn’t say a word.
“You’ve suffered such severe injuries. Rest in the village for two days first and go back when your injuries are almost healed.” the Village Chief said.
Considering what Jiang Xia had told him, Shen Mo wanted to refuse. After all, solving the famine crisis was urgent, and they needed to report the situation as soon as possible. But the village chief seemed to understand what Shen Mo was going to say and continued.
“If you go back now, the journey may worsen your injuries. If it gets infected, there’s no need to rush to work. You might fall ill first,” the village chief reasoned.
The village chief took a deep puff of his cigarette and asked Xiao Wu to drive straight to his house.
The village chief’s house was considered one of the better ones in the village, with three brick rooms. Now that his children were away studying, an empty room served as an excellent place for Shen Mo and his group to rest and recuperate.
The village doctor had been informed when the village chief went to fetch Shen Mo and the others, so he was already waiting at the chief’s house, ready to start treatment as soon as they arrived.
With the doctor around, there was no need for Jiang Xia’s family. They initially planned to go home, but Jiang Chuan decided to hand over the seeds directly to the village chief for distribution.
When Jiang Xia brought the village chief outside, he seemed a bit confused, wondering what they were up to. Jiang Chuan passed him the seeds, “Chief, these are the seeds we’ve collected from the mountains over this period. We’ve already categorized them. Please distribute them to the villagers as a small contribution from our family to the village.”
The village chief was a bit stunned, holding the bag of seeds in his hand. He hadn’t expected the Jiang family to find so many seeds and offer them to him without condition.
“You’re giving all these seeds to the villagers?” The village chief’s voice trembled. For them, who depended on agriculture, seeds were treasures. If sold at the supply and marketing cooperative, these seeds could fetch a good sum of money, yet the Jiang family was giving them all away.
Seeing the village chief’s emotional reaction, Jiang Chuan smiled, “Chief, this was our goal when we went up the mountain. Now that we’ve accomplished it, it’s only natural that we fulfill our promise.”
Tears welled up in the village chief’s eyes, and his aged hand trembled as it gripped Jiang Chuan’s, “Jiang Chuan, I, on behalf of the villagers, thank you all..”
