Qi Tongwei at the start: Not relying on Liang Lu, but winning by a single move against Heaven.

Seeing that Qi Tongwei had set the tone, Baimaiti didn't know what else to say and nodded.

"I've already had the water resources bureau do the surveying work... and the report should be ready soon..."

Qi Tongwei stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and said to Baimaiti with a smile.

"Let's go, let's not just sit in the office brainstorming ideas, let's go check out Bailong Gorge..."

Baimaiti was taken aback, and complained as he got up.

"Your temper is so fickle... I wonder if you can ever change it..."

Despite their complaints, the two still got into the Santana and drove towards Bailong Gorge.

On the way, Baimaiti gave Qi Tongwei a brief introduction to the basic situation of Bailong Gorge.

Bailong Gorge is located upstream of Ergong Township. It is a natural canyon shaped like an inverted gourd...

During his presentation, Qi Tongwei asked several questions, which Baimaiti answered one by one.

After driving for about half an hour, the car stopped at the edge of the canyon.

Driver Xiao Li grinned and spoke to the two people in the back seat.

"Secretary Qi, County Chief Bai... there's no road ahead, the slope is too steep to go up. We have to get out of the car."

Qi Tongwei didn't take it seriously and was the first to open the car door and get out.

Baimaiti walked to Qi Tongwei's side and pointed to Bailong Gorge at their feet.

"So, this is Bailong Gorge... It has a large belly and a small opening. If you block the opening, it becomes a large reservoir..."

Qi Tongwei looked around at the surroundings, nodded, and said softly.

"Brother Bai, you know what... you really did pick a good spot..."

If the flow rate here were any higher, it could power a plumbing and electrical system...

We don't need to argue about whether to prioritize water or electricity...

No sooner had he finished speaking than Luan Yu, the director of the Water Resources Bureau behind him, chimed in.

"Hydropower is not feasible... We've calculated that the annual water storage capacity is only around ten million cubic meters..."

The water storage season is from April to June... but it's enough for agricultural irrigation and drinking water.

Qi Tongwei nodded again, glanced at Baimaiti, and asked softly.

Where is the water source?

Baimaiti exhaled a breath of cold air and pointed north.

"To the north, the Bailong River is 50 kilometers away as the crow flies... All we need to do is build an irrigation canal."

Qi Tongwei glanced at the mountain, frowned slightly, and stepped towards the bottom of the canyon.

"Let's go down there and see if we can find anything..."

The group reached the bottom of the valley. Qi Tongwei crushed a few pieces of ice with his foot and asked in a deep voice.

"Has Bailong Gorge been dry? There's not a drop of water at the bottom of the valley..."

Baimaiti stomped on a few pieces of ice, then said with a wry smile.

"Tongwei, what kind of question is that... You arrived at Fuyuan first, and you're asking me? How am I supposed to ask you...?"

His tone was relaxed and slightly teasing, which drew laughter from the crowd.

As soon as the laughter subsided, Luan Yu immediately chimed in.

"In previous years, Bailong Gorge had water... and it was the main source of irrigation from April to June..."

For some reason, the water volume was quite high at the beginning of the year, but drought started in June...

Qi Tongwei's heart tightened, he frowned as he glanced at the mountainside, and continued to ask.

"How deep were the floodwaters in previous years...? Were they greater than the flow rate of the Leishan River?"

He asked questions as he walked towards the mountainside.

Luan Yu followed behind and continued.

"They're pretty much the same, these seasonal rivers are all pretty much the same... The White Dragon River has a lot of water."

The Bailong River not only has snowmelt but also underground springs...it never dries up all year round...

Reaching the side of the mountain, Qi Tongwei reached out and touched the cold stone wall, asking softly.

"Has this mountain been surveyed? It's all rock... It must be quite difficult to construct..."

"The rocky mountain has a relatively stable structure... so construction is indeed challenging."

However, our county has small coal mines and experience in building culverts, so it shouldn't be a big problem...

After saying that, Baimaiti gave a brief introduction to his ideas for the dam and the irrigation canal.

After inspecting the situation at Bailong Gorge, Qi Tongwei frowned slightly, feeling somewhat worried.

He paused for a moment, glanced at Baimaiti, and said with a smile.

"It's rare for the two of us to go to the countryside, so let's take a look around the villages... and see what the actual situation is like for the people..."

Bailongxia is very close to Ergong Township; the Santana turned a corner and drove into the village.

Driver Xiao Li pushed open a courtyard gate first and shouted loudly inside.

"Is anyone there...? We've come to ask for a drink of water..."

Xiao Li called out four or five times before the door slowly opened.

A Uyghur girl with a head full of braids came out of the house.

She blinked her big, watery eyes, looked the group up and down, and said softly.

"You want some water? We're out of water... Why don't you try asking somewhere else..."

Qi Tongwei was taken aback, then smiled and asked softly.

"No water at home? Girl...where are your parents?"

The little girl nodded and replied timidly.

"Yes, there's no water... that's why Ata went to the mountains to fetch water..."

Qi Tongwei was taken aback, glanced at the dry well in the yard, and asked softly.

"Don't we have a dry well at home? Why do we still need to fetch water from the mountain? Is it frozen?"

Before the girl could answer, the sound of a carriage came from outside the courtyard, and a kind voice rang out.

"No, that's not true... I don't know what's wrong this year, the well has dried up, we can't draw water..."

Qi Tongwei was startled and quickly turned around to look at the voice.

A man was driving a horse-drawn carriage into the courtyard, with a large oil drum on it.

Before Qi Tongwei could speak, the little girl ran over first.

"Ata, you're back..."

She reached out and took the reins from the man, urging the carriage deeper into the courtyard.

The man dusted himself off and greeted him with a smile.

"You must be county officials? What are you doing here...?"

Qi Tongwei was taken aback, handed the man a cigarette, and asked with a smile.

"Brother, we've come to ask for a drink of water... How did you tell we were cadres?"

The man tucked a cigarette behind his ear, grinned, and pointed at Qi Tongwei's feet.

"Four pockets, wearing leather shoes... what else could he be but a cadre..."

Qi Tongwei was taken aback, looked down at his dusty leather shoes, and chuckled awkwardly.

After laughing, he didn't mention asking for water again and continued to ask.

"Brother, we've been short of water for years! Why do we still have to go up the mountain to fetch it?"

The man sighed, gestured for the group to sit down in the courtyard, and said in a deep voice.

"It's so dry... It's been May, and not a single drop of rain has fallen... This year is drier than usual..."

Qi Tongwei frowned slightly, glanced at Luan Yu, and continued to ask.

"Why didn't you report the situation to the township government...? Also, where did you get this water from...?"

The man lit a pipe, took a deep drag, and said in a deep voice.

"What's the use of reacting... Fu Yuan is just like that, relying on luck..."

He paused slightly, pointed into the distance, and his voice carried a hint of emotion.

"But thankfully, God still left Fuyuan with the White Dragon River..."

Qi Tongwei glanced at the donkey cart behind him and asked in a deep voice.

"Brother, you must have traveled quite a distance this time... How long did it take?"

The man grinned, revealing a simple and honest smile.

"We set off just as dawn broke... It'll take most of the day to travel there and back..."

After hearing the man's words, Qi Tongwei couldn't help but frown slightly.

He paused for a moment, then took out half a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, stuffed it into the man's hand, and said in a deep voice.

"Brother, we haven't done our job well enough, and we've caused our fellow villagers to suffer..."

On the way back from Ergong Township, the atmosphere in the carriage was very somber, and no one spoke.

As the Santana drove into Fuyuan Town, Qi Tongwei suddenly asked a question.

"The water shortage in Fuyuan is so severe, why hasn't the county government resolved it?"

Luan Yu was taken aback, then sighed and said in a deep voice.

"It's not that we don't want to solve it; the county has even considered diverting water from the Bailong River."

Construction was halted due to an accident...

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Dear readers, please add this to your bookshelf... I'm afraid I'll have to read further into the story...