OBS Chapter 213 Emergency Repair of the Dike
Chapter 213 Emergency Repair of the Dike
Over the next few days, Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou continued to work on the wasteland with their livestock.
That morning, Li Xiangyang noticed that the ox's gait was a bit strange.
After a careful inspection, he discovered that the animal's hooves had been worn raw by the stones.
“We need to re-stitch their paws,” Li Xiangyang said to Wang Ergou. “Go find Doctor Qian for some medicine, and I’ll go find the blacksmith.”
Upon arriving at the blacksmith's shop, the old blacksmith was forging farm tools.
Seeing Li Xiangyang arrive, he put down his work: "What's wrong?"
“The horseshoes on the livestock are worn out,” Li Xiangyang said. “I would like to ask you to re-shoulder them.”
The old blacksmith nodded: "Alright, I'll go right away. By the way, I heard you've almost finished turning over that wasteland?"
"Yes, it should be finished in another two or three days."
"Well done! With the land cleared, our village's grain yield will be high today," the old blacksmith said as he tidied up his tools.
Back in the wasteland, Wang Ergou had already gotten the medicine from Doctor Qian.
The old blacksmith skillfully replaced the animal's shoes with new ones and applied ointment.
"Alright," the old blacksmith stood up, "let them rest for half a day, and they'll be ready to work tomorrow."
Just as Li Xiangyang was about to express his gratitude, he suddenly heard a commotion in the distance.
Looking up, I saw Zheng Dehou leading a few people hurriedly towards me.
"Something's happened," Zheng Dehou said breathlessly, "The riverbank on the east side is leaking!"
Li Xiangyang's heart tightened.
The river rises during this season. If the dikes breach, not only will the wasteland be flooded, but the crops in the village will also be lost.
“Let’s go,” he said to Wang Ergou, “let’s go take a look first.”
When they reached the riverbank, the situation was indeed dire.
There is a crack in the dam, and river water is seeping out.
Although it is not serious yet, the consequences could be dire if it is not dealt with promptly.
“We need to find some stones and sandbags to block it up,” Li Xiangyang said, looking around. “Ergou, go to the village and call some people, and bring back plenty of tools.”
Wang Ergou turned and ran.
Li Xiangyang then led the people present to start collecting stones.
Soon, everyone in the village arrived.
Li Xiaoyun and Ma Hongxia also came to help, each of them barefoot, filling sandbags along the riverbank.
"Be careful," Li Xiangyang said to Li Xiaoyun, "the river water is cold."
Li Xiaoyun wiped the sweat from her forehead: "It's alright, you guys are doing the heavy work, we can help."
As the sun rose higher, everyone was busy working enthusiastically.
Suddenly, the cracks in the dam widened, and the water flow became rapid.
"Oh no!" Zheng Dehou shouted, "Everyone, back off!"
At this critical moment, Li Xiangyang noticed a large tree root under the dam.
He had a sudden inspiration and said to Wang Ergou, "Go and bring the livestock here!"
Soon, several cows were led to the riverbank.
Li Xiangyang tied a rope to the tree root and the other end to the cow.
"This will temporarily stabilize the dam," he said while directing the work. "Everyone, hurry up and fill in the stones!"
Sure enough, with the help of the livestock, the dike temporarily stabilized.
The group took the opportunity to fill the crack with stones and pile up sandbags.
They worked until the afternoon, and the dam was finally repaired.
Everyone was exhausted and collapsed on the ground, but looking at the sturdy embankment, they all smiled with relief.
"Good lad," Zheng Dehou patted Li Xiangyang on the shoulder, "if you hadn't thought of using livestock, we would have suffered huge losses today."
Li Xiangyang waved his hand: "It was only through everyone's cooperation that we got things done."
As the sun set, villagers walked back home in twos and threes.
Li Xiaoyun walked beside Li Xiangyang and quietly took his hand.
“I was terrified today,” she whispered, “seeing you standing in such a dangerous place…”
Li Xiangyang squeezed her hand: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
……
The weather was sunny for the next few days, and the reclamation of the wasteland progressed smoothly.
Early that morning, Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou arrived at the livestock shed as usual.
Just as I was about to start working, I heard footsteps outside.
"Li Xiangyang, Wang Ergou, are you there?" It was Zheng Dehou's voice.
Hearing the sound, the two went out of the shed and found several strangers standing next to Zheng Dehou, who looked like they were from the city.
"This is Comrade Li Xiangyang, and this is Wang Ergou, who is in charge of the team's livestock breeding," Zheng Dehou introduced. "These are comrades from the county's agricultural bureau, here to check on our land reclamation progress."
Upon hearing that they were from the Agriculture Bureau, the two quickly greeted each other.
A middle-aged man wearing glasses stepped forward: "I heard you turned over most of that wasteland in less than half a month?"
“Yes,” Li Xiangyang replied, “thanks to the animals working so well.”
“Take us to see,” said the middle-aged man with glasses.
Upon arriving at the wasteland, several comrades from the Agriculture Bureau carefully examined the soil, nodding in approval from time to time.
The middle-aged man with glasses squatted down and pinched the freshly turned black soil.
“The soil is good,” he said, standing up. “How did you deal with those stubborn grass roots?”
Li Xiangyang explained their method in detail.
Wang Ergou added from the side, talking about the difficulties encountered in the early stages of reclamation and how they were overcome.
"Great!" the bespectacled middle-aged man praised repeatedly. "Young people really know how to do things. If rice is planted on this land, the yield will definitely be high."
Just then, Li Xiaoyun arrived with several educated youths.
Seeing so many people, she was a little surprised and greeted them politely.
“These are our comrades from the educated youth settlement,” Zheng Dehou introduced, “they’ve also contributed a lot.”
The agricultural bureau officials praised the educated youth, saying they had made contributions to rural development.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoyun smiled with relief.
After the inspection, the middle-aged man with glasses said to Zheng Dehou, "I'll write a report for my superiors when I get back, saying that Xiaoliang Village did a good job."
After seeing the agricultural bureau officials off, Zheng Dehou said happily, "That's great! The higher-ups will definitely support our village."
Li Xiangyang nodded.
He knew that with the support of higher authorities, the village's development would be much more promising.
Back in the livestock shed, Wang Ergou excitedly said, "Brother Xiangyang, we've done a great job!"
"Ergou, don't get too excited," Li Xiangyang put down the hay he was holding. "Ultimately, it all comes down to the yield."
“That’s true,” Wang Ergou replied, and continued working.
Li Xiangyang glanced at the sky: "Oh, right, spring planting is almost over. Don't forget to buy the tickets."
"I almost forgot!" Wang Ergou slapped his forehead. "I've been so busy clearing land lately, I haven't had a chance to think about it."
"Okay, after we finish our work, we'll go to the bus station in town."
After finishing their work, the two tidied up briefly and headed towards town.
On the way, I ran into Li Xiaoyun and Ma Hongxia returning from the fields.
"Where are you going?" Li Xiaoyun asked.
“Go to the station and buy tickets,” Li Xiangyang said. “If we don’t buy them now, it’ll be too late.”
Upon hearing this, Ma Hongxia blushed and said, "Then...then I'll go with you."
“I’m going too,” Li Xiaoyun said, “Let’s set the date.”