Chai, rice, oil, salt, soy, vinegar and tea, noisy and disturbed is the practice that large families can not avoid. The Zhu family compound could not be quieted down until dinner, but in the end, because of the grandfather’s strong intervention, it was not settled.
It’s just a pity that the five fish that I caught, the fourth aunt with the dissatisfaction of cooking, the fish are battered pot.
I have never eaten such bad fish.
The eldest uncle did not appear at the table, because the eldest uncle early in the morning to take the money to go out of the county to go to school. In fact, think about it, the eldest uncle is also quite unrighteous, he took the money and went out to get away, leaving the eldest aunt to deal with the suspicion and questioning of several sisters-in-law. Auntie’s defense of the eldest uncle very much, who can not eldest uncle a bad word. Only, the eldest uncle good means, worthy of being a scholar, in the family turned his hand for the clouds and his hand for the rain of the ability to have so one or two points.
At dinner, grandfather gave Zhu Pingan an extra cake, also gave Zhu Pingjun an extra half cake, instructing both grandchildren to eat a full meal.
“Old man, the cakes don’t cost anything.” Grandmother was already angry because of her daughters-in-law’s quarrels, but when she saw the old man giving his two grandchildren cakes, it was just a matter of Jun’s schooling. Jun’er go to school is also just, especially the grandson, originally gave more than half a cake, now good to give more than one cake, are the amount of adults fast.
“You a woman understand what, another ten days will be our village and the village of the river on the day of competition for water. Today there is a village old man over to me, Jun, swine children to participate this year, both are our village’s vitality, this is related to our entire village’s vital interests, land is our lifeblood. Last year, our village didn’t beat Shanghe Village, and this year’s harvest has suffered a lot. Especially these days, the family should feed the swine and Jun’er, and make up some good ones.”
Grandfather knocked on the tobacco pot, and blamed grandmother for being a woman with no insight.
Mother Chen sniffed, her face was much better. Last time the water, although the village lost, but Dachuan performance is good, got a lot of praise from inside and outside the village, the future to find a daughter-in-law is estimated to be much easier. This time, the second so just reached the age of five can participate in, the future face of the opportunity to show a lot of it.
After dinner back, Zhu Pingjun from his father Zhu Shouyi that understand the so-called competition with the village of Shanghe.
What is the so-called competition for water with Shanghe Village.
Relying on the mountain to eat the mountain, rely on the water to eat the water, but the two villages rely on the same mountain, rely on the same water, under the interests of the two villages under the dispute is inevitable. The mountain is fine, so big, as the two villages how to toss enough, but who will not be able to, the two villages rely on the Qingxi stream for farming.
The two villages have relied on this stream for irrigation for generations, with Upper River Village upstream and Lower River Village downstream. However, when the crops need watering or when there is a drought, the amount of water in the stream is not enough. In the past, whenever this time, the upper river village will cut off the clear stream, tightly their village irrigation, the lower river village will not do ah, the amount of water was, you also cut off, our village can not get a drop of water, crop fields are dry grain, naturally, is not.
So, a village to cut off, a village not to cut off. If you cut it off today, I will bring my men to dig the opening you cut off tomorrow to release the water. Reach no agreement, the two villages began to fight, dung fork, stick, hoe, shovel crackling, go up a big fight, hit the eye can not put away the hand, blood, deaths and injuries, hatred also ensued. In the past, every year the two villages because of the water will be killed or injured more than ten people, and even after the loss of the family because of revenge will sporadically break out in the fight, re-creation of injuries.
The village elders of the two villages felt that it was not a good thing to go on like this, so many people were killed or injured, causing too much damage to their own villages, and the crops were also lost in the wrong time of the water season, which reduced the production.
The village elders of the two villages are working together, in order to avoid innocent harm, they set up a tradition of water competition that has been observed to this day.
Thirty children between the ages of 5 and 10 from each of the two villages will participate in the water competition between the two villages. This way, no matter how these children scramble, will not cause much serious injury, at most, only in bed for a day or two will be able to live again, unlike adults scramble non-death or injury.
Sixty children fighting for water is also a set of rules, otherwise how to judge the winners and losers.
Two villages each have ten flags, an attack and a defense, the defending side in a hillside, the attacking side in the lower slopes, by the side of the work to go to the slopes to grab each other’s flags, an incense stick of time, can grab a few flags is a few
After one incense stick, the two sides will exchange flags and hand them over to the village elders. After an incense stick, both sides exchange positions, offense and defense change position, the merit side becomes the defending side, the defending side go to the attack to grab the flag, also an incense stick time, can grab a few flags is a few, after grabbing is also given to the village elders.
The village elders of the two villages according to the number of flags in their hands to determine the winners and losers, to decide the ownership of the water rights for the next year, who has more flags who wins, a flag represents five days of water, more than one flag will be prioritized for irrigation for five days, and so on. The winning village will have the right to prioritize the use of Qingxi’s stream water for irrigation, and the other village will not be allowed to block or irrigate until the water period represented by the flag in the winning village’s hand is exhausted.
Last year it was Shanghe village that won two flags, resulting in the village being at a disadvantage in irrigation, fortunately there was no drought this year, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Seeing that it is time to decide the next year’s water rights of the water period, the village old man also began to examine and decide to participate in the village water candidates, because a village children limited number of children between the ages of 5 and 10 is not a lot of children, sieve selection, Zhu Ping’an and Zhu Pingjun have been selected. Zhu Pingan just turned five years old was selected, I guess the village old is to see Zhu Pingan chubby body. Big brother Zhu Pingchuan was not selected, because according to the village’s method of calculating age, big brother just over the age of the virtual age of 11.
This water tradition, the two villages have been observed for hundreds of years, to the water is now more like the two villages of the sorority, but also the descendants of the performance of their own venues, the children of the past year to find a daughter-in-law in the future have a great advantage, the matchmakers up will be thumbs up, the female family are also high a few eyes.
Every year the two villages compete for water day, the neighborhood will become a type of assembly, generation in the hillside between the scramble flag, elders in the not far away from the applause and laugh, the two villages are also the village old man in the high platform set up to drink tea and drink wine talk and laugh. Even attract a lot of vendors, set up stalls for sale, which has become one of the most lively festivals in the two villages.
A group of bear children to grab the flag to play, there is a what is the point, but look at the mother Chen’s eyebrows fluttering appearance, Zhu Pingan wisely did not open his mouth.
Big brother Zhu Pingchuan also before going to bed to teach Zhu Pingan his experience of participating in the water competition, usually less words of the big brother rambled a lot, but Zhu Pingan listening to listen to unconsciously snoring to sleep.
