Located on the top of the mountain, like a hill, the area is generally gentle and flat, with more land available for farming, and many natural villages are distributed high and low. Wu Xiaojun and Bai Lingyan visited several nearby natural villages according to the roster, and one was quite smooth.

At about two o'clock in the afternoon, the two began to set off for their next destination, Gaozhuang.

The scorching sun of midsummer is like an umbrella covering the sky, the sky is dazzling, the weather is hot like a steamer, there is not a trace of wind, and the people in the village are under this oppression, lazily as if they have lost their active vitality, and they all stay at home, drowsy, or simply fall asleep, and no one wants to go out and suffer. The sparse and rare crops in the fields on both sides of the road drooped their heads without any energy, orchards full of large and small apples and green and round watermelons all over the ground, and the leaves covered with a layer of dust were wilted and curled up. Countless cicadas screamed hoarsely in the trees, and this qiē added to people's irritability on a hot day.

The two walked on the village road, did not meet anyone along the way, passed by the forest ridge, left the stone avenue on the path, the stones under their feet made a diligent sound and the burning heat of the soles of the feet, bursts of heat rushed to the face, there was a feeling of being roasted, looking into the distance, the silent and unmanned road, as if the transparent vapor was rising.

It didn't take long for him to walk profusely and his mouth was dry, so he drank some well water from a fellow villager under a poplar tree on the side of the road, rested for a while, and continued on his way. Bai Lingyan handed over the parasol she was carrying to Wu Xiaojun, and wore a sunhat on her head to alleviate the damage to her eyes caused by the bright light. The two walked side by side, Wu Xiaojun was grateful and caressed, and tried his best to cover Bai Lingyan with the time formed by the umbrella to reduce the damage of ultraviolet rays to her delicate jade body.

The villagers in the orchard shed on the side of the road, seeing the two people who were very close and warm on the road under the scorching sun, seemed to see strange monsters, and watched the two walk in front of them intently, and then pointed and pointed, talking and laughing, maybe laughing at them playing umbrellas under the clear sky.

In a field downhill, there are many tractors, tricycles and rack cars parked on the side, and many men, women and children are sweating profusely, carrying large buckets and pots and cans, and competing for water around a water truck.

Wu Xiaojun looked at it and asked Bai Lingyan with some curiosity, "Why are so many of them receiving water?" Is it drought-resistant watering? ”

"What you said is so easy, who hasn't eaten yet, who is willing to go to the ground, it's too luxurious."

"It is normal to fight drought and water the land to grow crops, even if the weather is dry, it will not even have water, how can it be said to be a luxury."

"As the saying goes, it's harder to eat water than oil. People in the mountains are most afraid of drought, and when the weather is dry, people and animals are the biggest problems. One year, my father ran back and forth for more than ten miles to carry a load of water in the Qinghe River, and he didn't even dare to use a basin to wash the dishes but use a bowl, and the washed water was stored in the clothes, and the whole family ate for more than ten days. ”

"We don't have to worry about running out of water at all, every household uses pressurized wells, and there is endless water at any time, and as long as there is a drought, everyone is busy watering and fertilizing the crops, and the crops have been growing well. However, we are most afraid of floods and strong winds, and a storm may destroy even the best crops in an instant, or even fail to harvest them. ”

"Although there is a big difference between the two places, it is not as strict as you said."

"What I said is true, for example, four years ago, when I saw that the wheat harvest was in sight, it was almost ripe, and a storm of more than two hours, all the wheat in the field was poured into the water, although it took a lot of effort, the amount of wheat straw and wheat harvested was quite large, and the weight did drop significantly, the flour was bitter and black, and it was impossible to eat at all, and then it was all sold as wheat bran to the feed mill at a low price."

As he was talking, a family of three in front of him was pushing and pulling a rack car with a tin bucket uphill, the man was driving the handlebar, the eleven or twelve-year-old boy was holding a thumb-thick hemp rope on his shoulder, and he was walking forward with his head down, and the woman behind the car gritted her teeth and pushed forward. Because the slope was relatively steep, the three of them were very struggling, and it was difficult to walk an inch, and the car could retreat to the bottom of the slope at any time and climb into the trench on the side of the road.

The man's face was flushed, he was very anxious, and kept shouting and scolding, "I can't pull it up even if I'm tired, you two are just useless waste, I don't know how to use more energy." ”

The woman pushed forward and said angrily, "When I came, I said to bring the cow, but you didn't let it, it's good to go down, don't go up the slope, it's in vain." It's all because you don't have a brain, and you scold me and my mother for a fart. ”

Wu Xiaojun saw it, hurriedly closed the umbrella and handed it to Bai Lingyan, ran forward, used all his strength, and pushed the cart forward from behind with the woman, and Bai Lingyan also came over to help. It took about ten minutes to finally push the car to the top of the slope.

The woman wiped the sweat from her face with a towel and said gratefully, "Thank you, brother and sister, this slope is also a little bigger, if it weren't for your help, I really wouldn't be able to get up, and you would be tired." Now it's okay, it's more or less downhill, and you don't have to work hard to get to our village Gaozhuang in front. ”

Bai Lingyan said, "Sister-in-law, you mean that there is Gaozhuang in front, what a coincidence, we are going to the village to do something, let's go on the same road." ”

The woman said, "Girl, whose house are you going, do you think we can help?" ”

Wu Xiaojun said, "We mainly went to a few houses to learn about the situation of some children rescued by the Hope Project, and if it is convenient for you, show us the way, I don't know if it is convenient or not." ”

The woman said happily, "It's convenient, it's convenient, there are more than 1,000 households in the village, and I am familiar with every family. ”

Wu Xiaojun said, "Great. Sister-in-law, are you pulling water for free or do you pay for it? ”

The woman said, "There is no such thing as a free good, you can pay for it, and it is very expensive." ”

Bai Lingyan asked, "How much do you need for this bucket of water?" ”

The woman said, "This water is sold for catties, and a pound of water costs five cents, and this bucket is more than 100 yuan." ”

Wu Xiaojun smacked his tongue when he heard this, and said in his heart that buying a bottle of mineral water in the city is only six or seven cents, which is really expensive enough, and the draft is as expensive as oil.

A few people laughed all the way to Gaozhuang, and under the guidance of the women, they found the home of the eight children very smoothly, it was late, and after a simple verification of the situation, it was six o'clock in the evening, so they had to follow the original road to the town and return.

Although the two of them were physically and mentally exhausted, after all, the way back was quite familiar, and they didn't need to ask anyone to inquire anymore, so they naturally felt much faster.

The sun slowly set in the west, mist and wisps of green smoke gradually rose among the mountains, accompanied by the slightest breeze blowing in the face, the hot temperature was no longer so scorching, and the mood of the two of them for a tense and depressed day began to stretch.

Wu Xiaojun looked at Bai Lingyan's hurried steps all the time, and said with a smile, "Bai girl, I have been walking non-stop for a day, and the pace is still quite fast, I feel a little difficult to chase you, if I continue like this, even if I am tired and lie down, I can't catch up with you, it's really good." ”

Bai Lingyan pursed her lips proudly and said with a smile, "Don't think of girls as weak babies, many times they are no worse than boys, how about it, are you satisfied with my partner, I didn't hold you back, I didn't cause you trouble." I still have the strength now, if I'm not convinced, let's see who can go faster. ”

Wu Xiaojun rolled his eyes, thought about it, and said casually, "Okay, I don't believe it's better than you." You say, what if you win or lose? ”

Bai Lingyan said with a strange and cunning face, "You lose, you invite me to dinner tonight, you pay for it, I lose and you pay for it, I invite you to dinner." ”

Wu Xiaojun involuntarily patted Bai Lingyan on the shoulder and said, "It's so cunning, you always want to take advantage of me, okay, whether you win or lose, I'll invite you to dinner tonight, and the game will begin." ”