The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 330 Supporting Xiamapo, Searching for Water Sources in the River

Zheng Guodong did not give a long speech, nor did he even have an opening remark.

His sharp gaze swept over the various expressions and anxious faces below the stage, and he slammed his hand on the table!
A crisp "snap" sound echoed clearly through the microphone throughout the auditorium, startling everyone present.

"Sit still!" Zheng Guodong pointed at them with a frustrated expression, "You keep telling me about your difficulties."

"But you're having difficulties? Who doesn't have difficulties? Does Comrade Qian Jin have any difficulties?"

“Since the beginning of spring, his feet have never stopped. He travels abroad to fight lawsuits, goes to the countryside to deal with insect infestations, goes to Hong Kong to find pesticides, and now that the drought has come, he is on the front line in Anguo County!”

"Yesterday, the cadres in charge of the teams started going to the countryside. He's going to Xiamapo Production Brigade, which is the hardest hit by the drought! Do you know what kind of place Xiamapo is? The wells have dried up, the ground is cracked, the people are drinking mud soup, and even the livestock are dying of thirst. That's what it's like!"

He picked up the notebook from the table and slammed it down on the table:
"Look at you guys, I can't even be bothered to talk to you anymore!"

"Speaking of Comrade Qian Jin, just this morning, Comrade Qian Jin volunteered to the command headquarters. He has officially taken on the responsibility—he has officially reported to the Xiamapo Production Brigade!"

"Moreover, he wasn't just a figurehead; he actually lived and worked in the brigade! But he was still a special commissioner of the Anguo County Command Post, and he had the bigger picture to consider. When I asked him what he was going to do, he said he spent his days at the command post and his nights back at Xiamapo. He had poured his heart and soul into the countryside!"

The audience fell silent; everyone was trembling with fear, and some officials wore expressions of shame.

"The cadre-led team system is a wartime mechanism under wartime conditions! It's a death order!" Zheng Guodong announced decisively.

"Everyone here today, every single one of those on the list, will not escape!"

"Meet in front of the command post at 8:00 AM tomorrow. We'll arrange transportation for you! If you're sick, bring your hospital diagnosis so that doctors from the municipal hospital and the staff from the command post's health clinic can have a joint consultation!"

“If you’re really sick, the command will never let you push yourself through illness! But if you’re faking illness or trying to be sneaky…”

His gaze swept across the room like lightning, then he slammed his fist hard on the long table:
"Organizational discipline is not just for show! The drought relief command has wartime authority! Minor offenses will result in demerits, while serious offenses will lead to suspension, investigation, or dismissal! I, Zheng Guodong, mean what I say!"

Finally, he dropped an even bigger bombshell:
"Your batch is just the beginning!"

"The command center has decided that, going forward, all cadres and staff of all units and departments, while ensuring the basic operation of the organization, must go to the front lines of drought relief in batches and phases to be assigned to specific teams and stationed at designated locations!"

"Furthermore, Party members and cadres must take the lead and be given priority!"

Zheng Guodong's words completely blocked any possible escape route.

While everyone in the auditorium was filled with anxiety and making their own plans, Qian Jin had no time to pay attention to any of this.

The truck that departed from Taishan Road has arrived.

This vehicle was supposed to come to Anguo County and then Xiamapo with him yesterday, but due to the current shortage of transportation capacity, there were no vehicles available that day, so he waited all day and only arrived in Anguo County today.

Qian Jin wasn't actually that busy in Anguo County; he wasn't as busy as he was at the command post.

After all, the command post has a leadership team.

He was a special envoy, an imperial commissioner, whose main role was to inspect, supervise, and coordinate.

So it's no problem for him to lead a team to go to the countryside; he has the time and energy.

The truck departed from the command post and headed to the Xiamapo brigade headquarters.

The brigade headquarters also set up a command post in a proper manner, which was actually just a shed made of tattered mats in a corner of the brigade headquarters courtyard, with tables and chairs placed inside to receive commune members.

As the trucks entered the convoy, some people who were enjoying the cool air quickly stood up.

"The water's back on? Didn't we just get a truckload?"

"Never mind, this time it's not water we robbed on the road."

"Yeah, right now the more water the better—wait, this isn't a water truck, it doesn't have water tanks..."

"A bunch of idiots! It's definitely not a water truck. Why would a water truck come into our brigade? These days, our village has some kind of 'last mile' project, and haven't you all seen our brigade sending oxcarts and donkey carts to fetch water?"

As they were talking, some people gathered around to look at the truck.

Children and teenagers, in particular, happily chased after the trucks.

Qian Jin was delighted to see this.

Well, the kids at Xiamapo are finally showing some energy again; they've clearly been getting enough water.

Captain Ma Congfeng and militia captain Ma Congli came out of the brigade headquarters, looking at the truck with suspicion.

They whispered among themselves, all assuming that the other had called a truck.

The truck stopped, and Qian Jin pushed open the door, jumped out, and threw down his bedding roll: "Captain Ma, Brigade Ma, comrades, the command has sent me to take charge of our Xiamapo Production Brigade as the team leader."

"From now on, we'll be stirring the pot together!"

Ma Congli's dark face lit up with excitement as he came up to shake hands with him and shook him vigorously: "Oh my, it's Commander Qian, Commander Qian, it's you here."

"Welcome, a warm welcome..."

Ma Congfeng asked in confusion, "What is a team-level cadre? You mean they're all in the same boat as us? What does that mean?"

Qian Jin explained the drought relief policies for the cadres assigned to the command center to go to the countryside to help with the task force. After hearing this, the cadres were filled with overwhelming excitement.

Especially Ma Congfeng, who rubbed his rough hands, his eyes reddening: "Commander Qian, according to your and the command's instructions, you... you've taken on the task of helping our poor village fight the drought? This... this..."

He was at a loss for words, only feeling a burning sensation in his heart.

What level of cadre is Qian Jin?

They had all heard Ma Congli say it.

Qian Jin dismissed several key cadres from their commune with a wave of his hand, and those cadres are still under investigation in the county.

They found it incredible that such a high-ranking official had come to inspect their production brigade.

Now, such a high-ranking official is coming to their brigade to work together to fight the drought?
Good guy!
Someone immediately voiced everyone's thoughts: "Great! With Commander Qian around, our brigade no longer has to worry about being blocked from water!"

Qian Jin laughed and said, "All the brigades that are supposed to deliver water will no longer have their water supplies blocked!"

Ma Congfeng hurriedly shouted, "Quickly, quickly, organize everyone! Let's get the commune members warmly welcoming Commander Qian to this godforsaken, impoverished place!"

Qian Jin quickly stopped him: "Alright, alright, what are you guys joking about in this heat?"

He thought for a moment and then said, "However, you should organize your members to come, at least one person from each household should come."

Ma Congfeng slapped his thigh and said, "That's right, I knew we should welcome Commander Qian to our brigade..."

"No, let me finish," Qian Jin said helplessly. "I want them to come and unload the grain."

He said to Ma Congli, "Didn't I take away the dried wild vegetables from your brigade? We agreed that one jin would be exchanged for five jin of grain, and now the grain has been delivered."

As he spoke, he nimbly climbed onto the truck and pulled back the tarpaulin covering the truck bed.

There were rows of burlap sacks on top.

The sack was bulging with grain!

of course.

It's all whole grains.

There is cornmeal, soybean flour, millet, and other grains such as brown rice, sorghum rice, black rice, red rice, etc. In short, they are all whole grains.

The brigade cadres were stunned.

Ma Congli jumped into the car, even more excited than when he learned that Qian Jin was coming to be stationed in the village.

He pointed at the sack in disbelief and exclaimed, "You're really going to do this?!"

Qian Jin laughed and said, "What's the difference between real and fake? I, Qian Jin, am the deputy commander of the city's drought relief headquarters. My word is my bond. What I say is the command of the headquarters. How could I lie?"

"Quickly, unload the grain! It's so hot, we can't let it dry in the sun any longer. The drier it gets, the less edible it will be!"

He laboriously dragged a sack and pushed it to Ma Congli.

Ma Congli tested the weight, and the heavy feel filled him with joy: "What are you guys waiting for? Let's unload!"

Ma Congfeng stood on tiptoe, peering through the truck bed's side panel, his face beaming with delight: "Ha, it really is grain for our brigade?"

Qian Jin said, "It's a 1:5 exchange rate with dried wild vegetables."

The cadre behind him asked urgently, "Can we still exchange them? Actually, every household in our brigade still has some dried wild vegetables!"

Wild vegetables have little energy; eating them is merely to fill your stomach, nothing compared to grains.

Another key factor is the proportion!
One to five!
One pound of dried wild vegetables can be exchanged for five pounds of dry rations!
The brigade cadres racked their brains but couldn't recall ever having such good conditions before.

Qian Jin laughed and said, "If we can exchange them, then we can exchange them. Send them all to the command post so that those city leaders know what kind of life we ​​farmers are living."

"It's not just the command post, but also the city's command headquarters. Those leaders and cadres in the command headquarters should also experience the hardships of farmers!"

Ma Congli roared, "Great!"

Ma Congfeng hurriedly ran outside, rushing to inform the commune members at Xiamapo to come and exchange grain.

When the commune members learned that they could receive grain, and that it was not the relief grain that had been advertised, but rather the dried wild vegetables that Ma Congli had collected a couple of days earlier that had actually been exchanged for grain, they were even happier than the brigade cadres.

Running around telling each other.

Swarmed.

All the grain was unloaded.

The strong laborers, working in pairs, chatted and laughed as they carried the sacks to the warehouse next to the brigade headquarters office.

The accountant untied the sacks one by one.

Looking at the golden cornmeal, the reddish-brown sorghum, the bright yellow millet, and the rice of various colors, not to mention the ordinary commune members, even the brigade cadres couldn't help but swallow.

Since the drought began, let alone millet and rice, we haven't seen sorghum rice for a long time!
The accountant was an old man, wearing an old military cap and a pair of reading glasses whose legs had been broken and bound together with thread. He reached into the rice and millet, stroking the slippery grains, and couldn't help wiping his eyes:
"The government still cares about us poor people. Not only does the government not let us go hungry, but it also sends us good things!"

He gestured to those around him and said, "This millet is good. Millet is nourishing. Fourth brother, doesn't your mother always have stomach aches? She can't eat coarse grains. When you bring back some millet from your family, make her some millet soup. It will relieve her pain..."

A strong laborer nodded emphatically: "Yes, Uncle Jiu, I remember."

Ma Congli couldn't help but put his arm around Qian Jin's shoulder to show affection.

Ma Congfeng pulled him away: "The money-grubbing guy is clean and wears polyester. What about you? You're covered in grease and grime, and if you threw that stench into the sheepfold, it would attract all the ewes..."

Everyone laughed.

There's nothing funny about that.

The main thing is to be happy and joyful.

Ma Congli was even happier and more delighted, and he kept thanking Qian Jin.

Qian Jin waved his hand: "What are you thanking me for? Hurry up and distribute them. It's almost lunchtime. We must make sure that every household has a full meal today. Besides, only when they are well-fed will they have the strength to fight the drought."

When the wild vegetables were harvested, the accountant recorded the weight, so he was also responsible for calculating the accounts and distributing the grain.

The commune members, having received their grain, happily walked back home.

The children skipped and jumped around, shouting, "Let's go home and cook rice!"

Under the bright sunshine that followed, a rare, faint aroma of grain wafted from the dilapidated mud-brick houses at Xiamapo.

Qian Jin clapped his hands: "There's one more thing I forgot, it's the mobile canteen on Taishan Road that's supporting our brigade."

He went to the driver's cab and unloaded the large box.

It contains pickled vegetables.

Oily pickled vegetables.

In years of severe drought, pickled vegetables are a good dish; pickled vegetables with oil can be as precious as gold and silver!
Each household receives only a small bag, weighing about one pound.

This is a rare and precious item.

The members of the production brigade who had already received their grain rations gathered together, causing another sensation.

Ma Congfeng picked up a piece of glistening pickled vegetable and popped it into his mouth, grinning, "Delicious! So delicious!"

"These pickled vegetables smell so good, they must have been made with sesame oil. How much sesame oil must they have used?" one woman exclaimed in astonishment.

"Rice and pickled vegetables with sesame oil, that's about all we have for the New Year." The commune members were overjoyed.

The people of Xiamapo were especially happy today; this lunch filled them with a deep sense of happiness.

A hearty bowl of cornmeal porridge, millet porridge, or brown rice porridge, with a few shredded, oily pickled vegetables added to each person's plate.

This taste!
For the commune members who had been starving for a long time, it was an absolute delicacy.

The children held their bowls, sipping their porridge slowly and carefully, their faces showing long-lost smiles of contentment.

Ma Congli felt bad about it.

He's a real man.

He knew that Qian Jin was deliberately taking a loss by exchanging grain for worthless dried wild vegetables. The man had brought them life-saving grain out of sympathy for the hardships their brigade was going through!
So, with my poor family and broken business, what can I offer to entertain them?
He suddenly remembered something, called his two half-grown sons, grabbed shovels and broken basins, and rushed towards the almost dried-up riverbed behind the brigade.

"Commander Qian, please sit down, we'll go get you some 'wild game'!" Ma Congli said before running off.

Qian Jin didn't understand.

He talked to Ma Congfeng about the drought situation in Xiamapo.

This is the important matter. Now that he has officially settled in the village, he has to focus on the important things and help the villagers find ways to combat the drought.

About an hour later, as the weather grew hotter, Ma Congli returned excitedly, covered in mud.

The broken basin he was holding contained a small amount of wriggling and struggling loaches!

Upon seeing this, Qian Jin immediately stood up: "Where are the loaches?!"

Where there are loaches, there is water!

Ma Congfeng knew what he was thinking and explained, "Commander Qian, there's a river behind our brigade, and it's almost dry this month." "Didn't you see some muddy water in some people's water tanks last time you came? That's stuff scooped out from some muddy puddles in that river."

"But it's dry now, and the last mud pits have dried up in the last couple of days, there's nothing left..."

Ma Congli explained, "I dug through the surface mud crust in the deepest and coolest depression in the riverbed and found these loaches underneath."

"We country folk know a lot about loaches. They are the most drought-resistant creatures in the water. As long as there is still wet mud in the ground, they can survive."

"I figured our brigade didn't have much to offer you, so I took the two of us to dig up some loaches for you to enjoy. At least it'll be some meat."

Qian Jin asked, "There are loaches in the river, why don't the people go dig them up to eat?"

Ma Congli laughed: "It's exhausting. To tell you the truth, it takes three men in my family to dig out these loaches, and it's not even as much effort as it takes for them. If it weren't for entertaining you, I wouldn't have taken them to do all that work."

“If you put in a lot of effort, you'll waste food. My second son has been complaining that his stomach hurts from hunger.”

"Besides, loaches eat oily food. Without oil and alcohol to remove the fishy smell, humph, then you can eat it. You'll find it so fishy you won't be able to swallow it..."

Ma Congli's wife, wearing a blue cloth jacket covered in patches, immediately got busy at the earthen stove in the courtyard.

The stove was a simple mud-brick stove, which burned dry branches that had been collected.

She first scooped up some precious clean water to keep the loaches moist so they could expel the mud, and then went to tell the accountant.

The accountant rode out on her bicycle and returned beaming: "The food station had the last piece of tofu, and they told me to hurry and snatch it..."

Ma Congli exclaimed happily, "That's wonderful! Loach burrowing into tofu, it's making the old master's mouth water!"

"Commander Qian, don't complain about our brigade being poor at noon today. Our brigade will treat you to 'Loach Drilling into Tofu'!"

Qian Jin readily agreed: "Great! I just happened to bring some wine with me. Let's have a few drinks and give it our all to fight this drought to the very end!"

Several brigade cadres responded enthusiastically.

Ma Congli's wife lit the stove, poured all the stored oil into the pot and began stir-frying scallions and ginger slices. She then cut the old tofu that the accountant had brought into pieces and put it into the pot. Next, she added the loaches that had been purged of mud, along with seasonings, covered the pot, and began to stew.

The flames in the stove leaped, reflecting the woman's focused face.

As the water temperature slowly rises, the loaches in the pot can't stand the heat and burrow into the relatively cool tofu, breaking the tofu apart.

This is the local famous dish, "Loach Drilling into Tofu".

Soon, a steaming pot of "Loach Drilling into Tofu" with a milky white broth was served.

There was only this one main dish on the table, accompanied by a plate of tofu with scallions, several bowls of mixed wild vegetables, and chopped pickled vegetables. In addition, the pickled vegetables that Qian Jin brought were also served as a main dish—at least they were quite oily.

Qian Jin took out the wine.

Ma Congfeng and the others passed it around and said, "Great, bottled wine."

"Xifeng liquor? This is a famous liquor. We are so lucky to be drinking such a fine liquor."

"I've benefited from following Commander Qian, but I've also caused Commander Qian to spend money..."

Pour the wine into a teacup.

Everyone sipped their lips, their faces beaming with happiness.

Qian Jin picked up a piece of tofu with a loach inside, blew on it to cool it down, and put it in his mouth.

The aroma of tofu blends with the sweetness of loach, and although it has a slightly earthy taste, it is a rare delicacy in this environment.

He ate with great relish, nodding repeatedly: "Delicious! Old Ma, my sister-in-law's cooking is really good!"

Seeing Qian Jin enjoying his meal, Ma Congli and the other accompanying cadres all wore simple, satisfied smiles, as if they themselves were eating the finest delicacies.

That's how it is for farming families.

It doesn't matter if I suffer hardship or poverty myself. When guests come, especially important ones, they are happy as long as I treat them well.

While eating, Qian Jin inquired in detail about the depression where they had previously dug for loaches.

He still felt that this place had great potential.

The Xiamapo production brigade needs to combat the drought, and ideally, the local area should be able to produce water.

If a temporary well can be drilled in the riverbed, once water is found, his work will be considered a success.

Ma Congli carefully chewed a mouthful of pickled vegetables and explained the situation to Qian Jin in detail.

Upon hearing this, Qian Jin realized that the area was the lowest point of the riverbed, which used to be the deepest part of the river. Although the surface was dry, digging down more than a meter would reveal wet mud and even a little bit of murky muddy water.

Qian Jin's mind started racing.

He put down his chopsticks and asked, "Captain Ma, have no well-drilling teams ever tried drilling wells in your riverbed before?"

Ma Congfeng chimed in, "They came, but after the inspection, they said it was impossible to drill a well. They said the riverbed conditions were not good enough and it wouldn't be suitable for drilling. The well would collapse after only a few meters of depth."

Qian Jin thought for a moment and said, "Then have we tried it?"

Ma Congfeng spread his hands: "Diesel is so precious, drill bits are so precious, how can we test it?"

Qian Jin waved his hand: "Okay, let's eat first, let's eat first."

The table of dishes was cleaned up neatly.

These brigade cadres are all strong laborers, but they don't have much oil in their bellies. They haven't had a full meal in a long time, and now their bellies are like rice buckets, not enough to hold this little bit of food.

Ma Congli's wife cooked a pot of cornmeal porridge. Everyone scraped the salt water from the bottom of the plate and each drank a large bowl of hot porridge.

He was sweating profusely from drinking.

Finally, she touched her belly and kept saying "It feels so good."

Qian Jin put down his chopsticks and immediately said, "Come on, take me to see the river."

The river behind Xiamapo Brigade is quite small. Even in years with good weather, there is no major flooding. The widest part of the river is only two meters wide. In Haibin City, a place that has never lacked water in history, it is considered a small river.

The riverbed has now dried up, and some higher areas are cracking like farmland.

Only in the low-lying areas can you still see traces of moisture.

Ma Congli then took the money and went into the lowest part of the riverbed.

The land here was turned over completely, just like when the soil was being plowed. The damp soil that was turned over had dried up after being exposed to the scorching sun all afternoon.

No wonder the people don't come to dig for loaches when they have no food. Ma Congli dug more than half a meter deep, and in some places it was a meter deep, before he dug out only a small half basin of skinny loaches.

The loaches that are dug out cannot make up for the energy consumed in digging them up.

Qian Jin squatted down and looked, and saw murky water slowly gathering at the bottom of the pit.

This excited him.

I've found a way!

He immediately jumped down and reached into the soil.

It can't be pierced.

The bottom layer is clay.

Ma Congli said, "You need a shovel and a hoe; you can't dig it down by hand."

Qian Jin nodded, then dipped his finger in the water and tasted it.
"This isn't stagnant water! There's shallow groundwater underneath! Although the water quality might be very poor, with a strong fishy smell, and it's definitely undrinkable, but..."

"It's still useful. It can be used to feed livestock, and if there's enough, it can even be used to irrigate farmland to save lives!"

The cadres were excited again upon hearing this.

Their skin was already flushed from drinking, but upon hearing these words, they all turned into steamed prawns.

Ma Congli pulled off his clothes and asked excitedly, "Can we really find water here? Aren't we not allowed to dig wells?"

Qian Jin said, "It should be fine. I'll send the drilling team over to check the situation."

Ma Congfeng was both excited and nervous: "Can it really work? The drilling team has already come to check it out and said it won't work."

Qian Jin said, "Whether it works or not, we have to give it a try."

“In that case, I will go to the commune right away and call the command post to ask them to send the standby well-drilling team to your Xiamapo area first.”

"You must immediately mobilize the able-bodied men to come and work. Right here in the riverbed, along the low-lying areas, dig several more wells for me. That way, when the well-drilling team comes, they'll have a clear target, and we should try to get water by this afternoon!"

All the members of the militia came.

The afternoon sun was intense, causing the skin on people's backs to peel and crack.

But when the villagers learned that the river might overflow, they worked with great enthusiasm.

The arrival of the small truck brought a hopeful roar to the river.

It was already afternoon.

The riverbanks were packed with people; it was probably half the entire brigade that had come.

The impact drilling rig has started working.

Wearing oil-stained work clothes, the well-drilling team set up drilling rigs at several marked depressions under the personal command of Qian Jin and with the assistance of commune members such as Ma Congli.

The drill pipe roared as it pounded downwards, splashing mud everywhere.

Qian Jin didn't expect this place to produce high-quality drinking water, so there was no need to dig a deep well.

The drilling team's technician also reported the situation to him.

Below the riverbed is a layer of clay, which is suitable for drilling wells, but below that is a deeper layer of sand, making the well tunnel prone to collapse.

Therefore, it's definitely impossible to drill a deep well.

As Qian Jin requested, the well only needed to reach the sand layer, allowing water to seep into the sand layer for extraction.

This only requires four or five meters.

As Qian Jin predicted, a shallow well was dug, and there was water!

The water has come out!
The well water that seeped out was murky and contained a strong amount of mud and sand, as well as an unpleasant odor, making it undrinkable.

However, if you let it stand, remove the mud and sand, leaving the top layer of water, and add a disinfectant tablet, then it will definitely be fine to use it for livestock drinking.

It's perfect for watering the land!

Of course, the people know that this little bit of water is not enough to irrigate the land, but isn't it good enough to ensure that livestock and poultry have water?
Of course, the general public is unaware that many factories across the country are working overtime to produce drip irrigation pipes.

In short, when the first shallow well produced muddy water, the area around the riverbed was in an uproar!
"Water's coming out! Water's coming out!" the commune members cheered excitedly, even though the "water" was like muddy soup.

Qian Jin personally used the chipped gourd ladle from Ma Congli's house to scoop up half a ladle of muddy water and carefully poured it into a bucket next to him.

The silt settled, and the water on the surface became clearer.

Qian Jin wiped the water with his hand, smelled it, and said:

"Fellow villagers, although we humans can't drink this water, let's see if we let it settle and clear out a little bit of water that can be used by livestock!"

"This muddy water is actually a good thing. When poured onto the land, it can help those crops that are about to die from drought survive for a few more days! And I think that every extra day they survive gives us a better chance of getting a good rain or receiving water from a water diversion project!"

Ma Congli raised his arms above his head and clapped enthusiastically: "Yes, yes, yes! Commander Qian is right!"

It's worth noting that poultry and livestock use a lot of water.

Now that we can produce our own water to meet the needs of poultry and livestock, each household can retain a good amount of clean water for their own use.

what does this mean?
This means that children no longer need to ask adults for water.

This means that adults no longer need to worry about wasting water or being afraid to sweat; they can get out of bed and do some work.

Shallow wells are easy to drill.

Throughout the day until nightfall, water gradually emerged from several shallow wells.

Although the water volume was small and the water quality was extremely poor, Qian Jin and the technicians estimated that the wet mud washed out of these wells each day and the small amount of clear water that settled out were absolutely enough to keep the dozens of emaciated livestock in Xiamapo Brigade from dying of thirst.

The good news quickly reached Shangmapo, upstream of the river.

The cadres in charge of the team in Shangmapo quickly came to learn from their experience.

He originally wanted to show off his style, but when he heard that Qian Jin was the one who came to Xiamapo to take charge of the team, he practically hunched over as he entered the Xiamapo brigade headquarters.

Qian Jin readily agreed and, upon learning the other party's purpose, immediately dispatched a well-drilling team.
"Your brigade should immediately mobilize the members to conduct preliminary exploration in the riverbed. Explore overnight and start drilling wells at dawn tomorrow. Try to drill a few mud wells for livestock before noon tomorrow."

The team leader repeatedly said, "Okay, okay, I'll make the arrangements right away."

"Also, Commander Qian, how about coming over to my place for a quick meal? I just joined the brigade this afternoon, hehe, I brought some food from home, nothing fancy, just a roast chicken..."

Qian Jin waved his hand: "Thank you for the invitation, but I have to go to the command post tonight, so I won't be able to eat at your place."

"Once the drought relief work is over, I will definitely toast you!"

He thought for a moment and then said, "Oh, I brought an extra bottle of wine, so I'll give it to you. But I'd like to ask you for a drink on behalf of the cadres from Shangmapo. You two can have a drink and have a good chat. Fighting the drought requires our concerted efforts!"

The cadre immediately said, "Okay, I'll follow Commander Qian's instructions."

Qian Jin returned to the brigade headquarters and began writing the report.

The Xiamapo Brigade still has no electricity.

He lit an oil lamp and prepared to write.

As a result, several people came in, and when they raised their hands, light shone out.

It's a flashlight.

(End of this chapter)