As soon as they heard that it was brown sugar tea, everyone was relieved, and the accompanying doctor said: "Brown sugar nourishes qi and blood, strengthens the spleen and warms the stomach, and it is very beneficial for the elderly to properly supplement brown sugar." ”

Sang Jingxian also said: "In those years, the masses in the old revolutionary base areas, under the condition of active and difficult material conditions, used brown sugar and eggs to supplement the nutrition of the wounded of the Eighth Route Army. ”

Uncle Liang rubbed his hands and smiled, Ye Lao also nodded frequently, Ye Qing also picked up a bowl of water and took a sip when he heard this, and felt a strange taste in his mouth, mixed with bitter and sweet, the taste was very bad, and he subconsciously wanted to spit it out, but how could he do such a rude thing in front of everyone, so Ye Qing had to swallow it hard, and said with a smile: "This brown sugar seems to be more unique." ”

Everyone laughed, from Ye Lao to Liang Laohan and Sang Jingxian, as well as the villagers at the gate of the courtyard, and even a few dogs barked excitedly, today's scene reminded them of the days of eating a big feast, and thought that they would be able to pick up a few meat bones to eat later.

Ye Qing was stunned, and then understood, Kushuijing Township, as the name suggests, is strange if the water is sweet, and basically no rivers and ponds have been seen along the way, and the villagers have black mud on their feet, the adults are better, the children's faces are dirty, their hair is clumped, and it looks like they haven't taken a bath for at least two months.

There is no doubt that this is a village with an extreme shortage of water, Ye Qing is not the kind of pretentious urban girl, from some subtle places, she can think of the extent of water shortage and poverty in this village, she can even imagine that there will be a water tank in that low pot house, which contains half a tank of precious bitter water, and this half tank of bitter water is still from the water source ten miles away to resist it, every day to cook and feed the livestock, water the ground and wash the face, all count on this tank of water, there is water to drink, who cares about bitterness and sweetness.

Thinking of this, Ye Qing picked up the bowl and drank the brown sugar tea, and after drinking it, he couldn't help but grin and frown: "It's similar to the taste of traditional Chinese medicine." ”

The villagers laughed kindly again, the township chief Liang Zhongzhong saw that the time was almost up, and made a look at his brothers, Liang Xiaojun was already ready, carried a basket and walked into the yard, standing in front of the table while taking the pure water and coke in the basket out, while explaining: "The problem of water shortage in our village has always been very serious, a basin of water is used from morning to night, after washing your face and clothes, you are reluctant to pour after washing your clothes, you can also feed the livestock, water the ground, come and come, drink this, not the people who are not bitter wells are not used to drinking the water of our township, It's too bitter. ”

Ye Qing took a bottle of pure water and asked, "Why don't you dig a few more wells?" ”

"There have been dozens of wells in the county, and there are a few wells that can produce water, but it is too deep, and it has to be pumped out, and the pump has to burn diesel, and this water is more expensive than oil, who can stand it."

Sang Jingxian said: "Kushuijing Township is mostly saline-alkali land, and the water that is drilled has a large alkali content, so it is naturally bitter, and only by drilling deep wells, very deep machine wells can solve some of the problems, but the county is in economic difficulties, alas." ”

At this time, Ye Lao spoke, although he was old, his courage was still the same as that of Commander Ye, who was dominant, "Dig a well!" How many years have passed since the success of the revolution, I don't believe that the draft problem cannot be solved, Qing'er, use my salary to sponsor the drilling of machine wells in Kushuijing Township, no matter how difficult the conditions are, the Japanese devils and the Kuomintang reactionaries have all run away, and I am afraid that this small difficulty will not be successful. ”

Liang Xiaojun was waiting for this sentence, and he immediately bowed and said, "Old man, I thank you on behalf of the whole village!" ”

The crowd around the door also applauded, their eyes were full of joy, Zhao Hui and Liu Ziguang in the crowd glanced at each other, shook their heads and smiled, but Zhou Wen smiled very embarrassedly, as the parent official of Nantai County, he couldn't even solve the draft problem, he felt a little hot on his face, fortunately, today is an old army cadre who has long since retired, if the officials in the province and city come to inspect, there is really no place to put his face.

However, at this time, as the county magistrate, he still had to stand up and say a few words, so Zhou Wen also walked into the courtyard and announced in public that the county would send a well-drilling team to help Xiamapo Village completely solve the problem of draught difficulties, and allocate whatever was needed, and if it didn't work, the fire truck of the county fire brigade would be sent to deliver water to the villagers.

There was another round of applause, and the people of Kushuijing Township still had a good impression of him as the county magistrate, and a few younger ones even joked about the county magistrate: "County magistrate Zhou, there is no water to eat, let your family go to eat." ”

Zhou Wen smiled and said, "Okay, if you can't complete the task, everyone will come to my house for dinner." There was another burst of laughter below, and the atmosphere gradually became lively, Zhou Wenyou wanted to talk about the land acquisition of the Xuanwu Group, but he thought that today's occasion was not very suitable, so he opened his mouth and stopped, but Ye Qing didn't open any pot and asked him directly: "County Magistrate Zhou, when we came, the villagers were stones and traps, which one is this singing?" ”

"That's the case, in order to develop the economy and take off the poverty hat as soon as possible, our county and the Xuanwu Group signed an agreement to requisition more than 2,000 acres of land in the three administrative villages of Kushuijing Township, most of which are saline-alkali land, some villagers do not understand, and the employees of the Xuanwu Group have some contradictions, Kushuijing is an old revolutionary area, the people are fierce, and the means of fighting devils back then have also been used, the county government is responsible, and the work is not in place, but we will further coordinate the relationship between the two sides and strive to achieve the satisfaction of both parties."

Ye Lao nodded and said: "Land is the lifeblood of farmers, if you leave the land, is it still called a farmer, this problem must be properly solved, and we must pay attention to ways and means, not for the sake of immediate interests, chill the hearts of the people, the truth that water can carry a boat can also overturn a boat, the ruler should keep it in mind." ”

After saying this, Ye Lao was a little out of breath, the doctor quickly took the oxygen package and gave the old man oxygen, and at the same time measured his blood pressure and pulse, and after being busy for a long time, Chong Yeqing nodded, indicating that it was okay.

Ye Lao recovered a little and asked Liang Laohan: "I see that you are a little familiar, who are you Liang Changgui?" ”

Liang Laohan said: "Commander Ye really has a good memory, that is my uncle, the village chief of our Xiamapo Village, in order to cover the wounded of the Eighth Route Army, he insisted on letting the Japanese die on the threshing floor." ”

Ye Lao took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of his eyes, and continued to ask, "I remember that Village Chief Liang has a son and a daughter, are they all doing well?" ”

Liang Laohan said: "My uncle's eldest daughter, in 59 years I got edema and died, my son went out to ask for food and never came back, Xu died outside, that year, the whole village and the whole village of the dead, the township also sent militia to guard the intersection, no one is allowed to go out to ask for food......

Suddenly, Liang Laohan realized that he had lost his mouth, and quickly changed the topic: "It's all in the past, now although I am poor, I have also opened roads, pulled up wires, and a few have built small western-style buildings. ”

Zhou Wen looked at his watch, it was already one o'clock at noon, the convoy didn't stop eating after coming from the city, it was said that he should be hungry, he gave Liang Dazhong a look, Liang Dazhong gave Liang Xiaojun a look, Liang Xiaojun coughed dryly, Liang Laohan understood, and said: "Old commander, let's eat lunch at my house, there is nothing to eat, kill a chicken, grow your own vegetables, and then stew a pot of rice." ”

Ye Lao waved his hand: "If you don't eat it, there is still a place to go." ”

"That's not right, can you still let the guests go at noon?" Liang Laohan didn't agree to anything, and the villagers also coaxed, insisting on keeping the guests to eat, and in the end, Sang Jingxian pulled Liang Laohan aside and whispered a few words before persuading him.

Liang Laohan said: "Since Commander Ye is still going to pay tribute to his old comrades-in-arms, then we will not leave you, and we will definitely come to the house when we come back." ”

"Alright, let's go, goodbye folks." Ye Qing pushed up his grandfather's wheelchair, but Ye Lao stretched out his hand to shake hands with everyone to say goodbye, Liang Laohan was the first to step forward and hold the old man's hand, his heart was sour, the muscles and veins on his wrist could not be found, and on a hot day, Commander Ye's hand was cold, which showed how weak he was.

At this time, the big pothole on the highway has been filled, the car drove to the entrance of the village, the whole village and a group of dogs wagging their tails have been sending Ye Lao to the car, and the smoke and dust of the convoy have been watched away, and the villagers have gone home, Liang Laohan sighed and said, "Good man." ”

……

I don't eat in Xiamapo Village at noon, mainly because I don't want to add a burden to the village, the people in the old area are simple, and if they really want to stay and eat, they can't eat all the chickens in the village with these dozen strong young men, and another reason is that Ye Lao can't eat normally now, and his teeth are all gone, so he can only rely on liquid to maintain nutrition.

Everyone solved the lunch in the car, and they didn't eat much in the hot season, so they just ate some military hot food and canned food, fruits and so on, and the convoy drove towards Tianjie Township, and Ye Lao wanted to go to Wild Boar Valley to pay tribute to his old comrades.

Drove along the winding mountain road for an hour, and finally arrived at Tianjie Township, and the difference at noon is that it has received a notice from the leader that it is about to inspect early, and it is cleaned everywhere, and there are welcome banners on the street, but the convoy does not stay here at all, and drives directly to Wild Boar Valley, this road is much more difficult to walk, except for off-road vehicles, it is difficult to drive other low-chassis vehicles, but the military division has long taken this into account, and sent a high-end imported Land Cruiser to transfer Ye Lao to the off-road vehicle, Keep moving.

After a difficult trek, finally arrived at the canyon in the depths of Daqing Mountain, the former chain bridge finally became a solid cage iron bridge, Ye Lao saw it and sighed, continue to move forward, the mountain road even the off-road vehicle can not go anymore, everyone had to carry Ye Lao forward, fortunately, the scenery in the depths of the mountain is beautiful, the climate is pleasant, and the heat is not felt at all, more than a dozen young men take turns to carry the sliding rod, but they are not tired.

After climbing two more hills, we finally arrived at Wild Boar Valley.

Looking at the small village that had barely changed from seventy years ago, Ye Lao's emotions were a little excited, and he wanted to stand up from the sliding pole, but Ye Qing hurriedly stopped him: "Grandpa, be careful." ”

Ye Lao pushed his granddaughter away and turned back to greet Zhao Hui: "Xiao Ming, come here." ”

Zhao Hui stepped forward quickly: "Grandpa, I'm here."

"Your grandfather's grave is here, child." Ye Lao said tremblingly.

[.]