The Hometown is Poor and Dry, the Strong Man Sighs at His Hard Fate. Yesterday, I went to the second group of Yangliushu Village in Xiangshui Town, Pan County, and found more than 30 villagers working hard by the roadside.
"Our water supply has arrived!" Villager He Houquan greeted the visitors with a beaming face.
He Houquan, who is 42 years old this year, lives with his wife and four children in Zhejiang. They work in a shoe factory. The couple have been working in Zhejiang for seven or eight years and now earn more than 2700 yuan per month. In early February, the team leader Li Guangqiao called him back to repair the well, so he and his wife immediately returned home.
Speaking about this newly found water source, He Houquan was very excited. He mysteriously told the reporter that it was passed down by the elders of the village. Last year, due to the drought, the "desperate" villagers began searching everywhere for a water source. The 75-year-old elder He Faguo, relying on the memories passed down from his ancestors, finally found a hidden water source by the roadside. Everyone was thinking about how to blast it open to get water, but they were afraid of damaging the water source. So, the elder brought a bamboo pole with a string bell and carefully extended it into the cave opening, bit by bit, until they heard the faint sound of the bell touching the water, thus accurately measuring the distance to the water source. "Yesterday, we pumped water for a full four hours, there must be at least 15 tons of water..." While busy helping the villagers build a pool around the water source, He Houquan calculated, "Judging by the looks of it, it will be done in three days, then we won't have to carry water anymore..."
Similarly, in early February, when the group discovered the water source point, each household was asked to send one laborer. Thinking about his elderly mother, Cao Wenjun reluctantly came back. On the first day, after walking a long way up the mountain to fetch water, Cao Wenjun couldn't help crying on his way back, "Why are we so unfortunate? So poor and yet suffering from drought, it's so unfair."
The surrounding villagers teased him kindly, "Ask him again and he'll cry," Cao Wenjun also laughed somewhat embarrassedly, "At that time, I just felt heartbroken..."
Wu Shibin, 28, told the reporter that he worked in an electronics factory in Panyu. As the team leader, he could earn three or four thousand yuan a month. The new house in his family, decorated with tiles both inside and out, stands out prominently in Taoyuan Village, Shuitang Town. Inside, sofas, audio equipment, motorcycles, and other furnishings are considered quite fashionable in the village. This year, he had come back for a few days during the Spring Festival holiday, but after the holiday, unable to withstand the continuous phone calls from the factory urging him to return, he hurriedly left. "Later, when I saw the news, the disaster situation was really too severe, so I quickly came back." With an elderly father and a wife taking care of the children at home, "I'm here specifically to fetch water for them." Now, although the government sends water every other day, "We still need to go and carry two trips ourselves," so Wu Shibin plans to wait until it rains before seeking another livelihood.
Ancestral Secrets Unveil Water Sources
Although earning money outside, the drought situation weighs heavily on their hearts.
On March 31, according to reports, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from Pan County, Guizhou Province, returned home to fight against the drought. For this reason, the reporter specially came to Pan County for an on-site interview. After two days of continuous visits, the reporter learned from relevant local departments that after two weeks, many migrant workers have been urgently settled back home and have returned to their job positions to "indirectly fight against the drought", but there are still many migrant workers steadfastly staying in their drought-stricken hometowns, busy fetching water, repairing reservoirs, and farming.
"Look at him, he cried when he first came back to fetch water!" Speaking about fetching water, He Houquan couldn't help pointing to a tall villager nearby and laughing. The person being laughed at is Cao Wenjun. At the age of 47 this year, he works in a small restaurant in Kunming, Yunnan, earning just over 1000 yuan a month. His 87-year-old mother lives at home, his wife is in poor health and has difficulty walking, and his two children are in high school locally. The entire family relies on his meager wages for survival. Even while working away, he doesn't dare to go far because of the need to take care of his family.