The daily necessities of life in a big family are always accompanied by quarrels. The Zhu family compound did not calm down until dinner, and finally the matter was resolved due to the strong interference of the grandfather.
It was a pity that the five fish I caught were wasted. Aunt Xiao Si cooked the meal with dissatisfaction and the fish were burnt into the pot.
I've never eaten such awful fish.
My uncle didn't show up at the table because he took the money and went to the county town to study early in the morning. Actually, think about it, my uncle is not very loyal. He took the money and went out to have fun, leaving my aunt to deal with the suspicion and questioning of several sisters-in-law. My aunt protected my uncle very much, and no one could say a bad word about him. I can only say that my uncle is very resourceful. He is worthy of being a scholar. He has the ability to make things happen at home.
At dinner, the grandfather gave Zhu Ping'an an extra pancake and Zhu Pingjun half an extra pancake, and told both grandsons to eat well.
"Old man, the cakes are free." The grandmother was already angry because of the quarrels between the daughters-in-law, and she saw the old man lavishly giving cakes to the two grandchildren. It was fine for Jun'er to go to school, but especially for the little grandson, half a cake was given to him, and now he gave him an extra cake, which was the amount for adults.
"What do you know, a woman? In a few days, our village will compete with Shanghe Village for water. Today, a village elder came to me and said that Jun'er and Zhu'er will participate this year. They are both the new forces of our village. This is related to the vital interests of our entire village. Land is our lifeblood. Last year, our village failed to compete with Shanghe Village, and this year's harvest suffered a big loss. Especially these days, the family must eat Zhu'er and Jun'er, and supplement with some good food."
My grandfather twisted his neck and said angrily to my grandmother, blaming her for being such a womanizer and having no vision.
Mother Chen's face brightened when she heard this. Although the village lost the last water race, Dachuan performed well and received a lot of praise from the village and outside. It will probably be much easier for him to find a wife in the future. This time, Erxiao can participate at the age of five. There will be many opportunities for him to show his face in the future.
After dinner, Zhu Pingjun went back home and learned from his father Zhu Shouyi what the so-called dispute over water with Shanghe Village was about.
Live by the mountain, live by the water, live by the water. But the two villages are close to the same mountain and the same water, so disputes between the two villages are inevitable. The mountain is not so big, it can be big enough for the two villages to do whatever they want, but it is not the same for the other two villages. The two villages rely on the water of Qingxi River for farming.
Shanghe Village is upstream, Xiahe Village is downstream, and the two villages have relied on this stream for irrigation for generations. However, when the crops need water or when there is drought, the water in this clear stream is not enough. In the past, whenever this happened, Shanghe Village would cut off the clear stream and irrigate their village, but Xiahe Village would not do it. The water volume was small to begin with, and you cut it off. Our village could not get a drop of water, and the crops and fields were all dry and there was no harvest, which was naturally unacceptable.
So, one village wanted to cut off the water, and the other village didn't want to. If you cut off the water today, I will bring people to dig a hole in the hole you cut off tomorrow to release the water. Unable to reach an agreement, the two villages started fighting, with dung forks, sticks, hoes, and shovels clattering, and a big fight broke out. When they got angry, they couldn't stop, and blood, death, injury, and hatred followed. In the past, more than ten people were killed or injured every year in the two villages because of the dispute over water, and even the families who suffered losses would fight sporadically in revenge, causing more harm.
The elders of the two villages felt that this was not a good thing to continue. With so many casualties, the losses caused to their villages were too great. The looting of crops also delayed the water season and reduced the yield significantly.
The elders of the two villages discussed together and, in order to avoid innocent harm, they established a tradition of fighting for water that has been followed to this day.
Children between the ages of 5 and 10, 30 from each village, participated in the fight for water. In this way, no matter how these children fought, they would not cause serious injuries. At most, they would just lie in bed for a day or two before they could jump around again. It was not like adults fighting over water, which would either kill or injure them.
There is a set of rules when sixty children fight for water, otherwise how can we determine the winner
The two villages each have ten flags, one for attack and one for defense. The defending side is on a small hillside, and the attacking side is at the bottom of the hillside. The winning side goes up the hillside to grab the opponent's flags. It takes one stick of incense to grab as many flags as they can grab, and then they hand them over to the village elders. After one stick of incense, the two sides exchange positions, the attacking side becomes the defending side, and the defending side goes to attack and grab flags. It also takes one stick of incense to grab as many flags as they can grab, and then they hand them over to the village elders.
The village elders of the two villages will determine the winner and loser based on the number of flags in their hands, and decide who will have the water rights for the next year. Whoever has more flags wins. One flag represents five days of water use. One more flag means five days of priority irrigation, and so on. The winning village has the right to use the water of Qingxi River for irrigation first, and the other village cannot block it or irrigate until the water period represented by the flags in the winning village is used up.
Last year, Shanghe Village won two flags, which put the village at a disadvantage in irrigation. Fortunately, there was no drought this year, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.
Seeing that it was time to decide the water rights for the next year, the village elders began to examine the candidates who would participate in the water rights dispute in the village. Because there were a limited number of children in a village, and there were not many children aged 5 to 10, after screening and selecting, Zhu Pingan and Zhu Pingjun were both selected. Zhu Pingan was selected when he was just five years old. It is estimated that the village elders were attracted by Zhu Pingan's chubby figure. The eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan was not selected because according to the village's method of calculating age, the eldest brother was just over the age, 11 years old.
The two villages have been following this tradition of fighting for water for hundreds of years. Now, fighting for water is more like a social gathering of the two villages and a place for the younger generations to show themselves. The outstanding children in previous years will have a great advantage in finding a wife in the future. Matchmakers will give them a thumbs up when they talk about it, and the girl's family will also look upon them with high regard.
Every year, on the day when the two villages compete for water, a small gathering will be held nearby. The younger generations will fight for flags on the hillside, while the elders will cheer and laugh not far away. There will also be village elders drinking tea and wine and chatting on the high platform. It will even attract many vendors to set up stalls and sell goods, which has become one of the most lively festivals in the two villages.
What's the point of a bunch of naughty kids playing flag-grabbing games? However, seeing his mother Chen's beaming with joy, Zhu Ping'an wisely didn't say anything.
Before going to bed, the eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan also taught Zhu Pingan his experience in participating in the water competition. The eldest brother, who usually speaks a lot, talked a lot, but Zhu Pingan fell asleep snoring unconsciously while listening.