PCJ – Chapter 414 The Water Level Drops

A few days later, Zhou Baojin, who had been keeping watch over Luo’atang, hurried to the Meizi’ao hotel.

Xie Yunliu remained calm, as if these matters had nothing to do with him. He slowly sipped his Jade Immortal drink and replied, “Really? Let’s go have a look.”

A few days ago, Xie Yunliu had told them that if the water level dropped, they must inform him immediately. If something happened, he would not intervene. Xie Yunliu wasn’t the type to waste time talking to He Shouye or Long Wuyi’s people. Nor would he explain why they should notify him. But no one dared to ignore Xie Yunliu’s words, whether they were from He Shouye or Long Wuyi’s camp.

The mute and Zhang Yuanbao rushed to Zhang Jiaohua’s house, scaring the lazy dog that was sleeping at the door to run away. Two nursing mother dogs immediately charged angrily at the two men.

“Jiaohua! Help!” The mute and Zhang Yuanbao didn’t dare to stop, quickly running into Zhang Jiaohua’s house.

The two mother dogs stopped at the door, barking twice before begrudgingly leaving. They were clever enough to know that these two men were Jiaohua’s friends. If they harmed them, Jiaohua would never forgive them. So, they vented their frustration by chasing them, but they were satisfied once they saw the two men in such a pitiful state.

“Why are you two in such a rush?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, puzzled.

“Wasn’t it because we were chased by your dogs?” The mute said. “Come on, Luo’atang’s water is being pumped out by that Boss He and his people. They’ve been using over ten pumps for several days, and now we finally see the water level starting to drop. At this rate, it’ll be dry in a few days.”

“The water’s drying up?” Zhang Jiaohua was shocked.

“Yeah, they say it won’t take three days to completely drain the pond,” Zhang Yuanbao said.

“Let’s go see,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

The water level at Luo’atang had been steadily decreasing, and the shallow areas around the pond were already dry. However, the center of the pond still seemed bottomless.

A crowd had gathered around, and Zhang Jiaohua recognized several familiar faces.

“How many years has it been? I remember when we were in the production team, and there was a serious drought. The county sent water trucks to pump water from the pond. We were so desperate that the village took turns working for over half a month to save most of the crops in Luo’atang. In some places, the drought was so severe that the crops completely failed, and some people even starved to death. I never thought I’d see Luo’atang’s water drained again,” Zhang Manyin sighed.

Zhang Jiwang nodded. “What else can we do? These outsiders have thrown the village into chaos.”

Zhang Dechun said, “The film crew has been good for our village. The tourist tea garden is more popular than ever, which was unimaginable before. The hotel business is also booming. Qiao Ye thought we’d only get a basic bonus this year, but now it looks like the dividends will be much higher than what you all have earned in the past. And the young people have jobs now, with decent pay, better than working in the city. What I’m worried about now is that something will happen here. Jiaohua always says there’s something hidden here.”

“Who knows if Jiaohua is just talking nonsense? But if he’s right, then we’re in trouble. Oh, isn’t Jiaohua over there?” Zhang Jiwang happily pointed toward Zhang Jiaohua.

“He’s really there. Those kids are brave enough to come here!” Zhang Manyin quickly walked over.

Zhang Manyin squeezed through the crowd and approached the kids. “Jiaohua, what are you kids doing here?”

“Grandpa, aren’t you here too?” Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t scared.

“You said this place is dangerous. Why aren’t you kids going home?” Zhang Manyin glared at Zhang Jiaohua, annoyed.

Zhang Jiaohua immediately pointed to Zhang Yuanbao. “It’s Big Brother Yuanbao who brought me here.”

Zhang Yuanbao chuckled. “Jiaohua, you’d be the only one able to trick anyone else.”

Zhang Manyin wasn’t actually trying to chase the kids away; he was just trying to scare them a bit. A dry pond? What was there to be afraid of? The villagers gathered around to see the pond that hadn’t been dry in decades. No one knew how big the fish were inside. When Meizi’ao was drained like this years ago, dozens of pumps worked together to irrigate all the water fields, but they still couldn’t drain the pond. Now, after so many years, without these outsiders bringing so many pumps, there would be no hope.

“Grandpa, you should tell Grandpa Dechun. When the water dries up, the things in the pond will get angry. If everyone stays here, something bad will happen!” Zhang Jiaohua urgently warned.

Zhang Manyin knew Jiaohua wouldn’t make baseless claims. Since he said it was serious, it must be true. He quickly went to where Zhang Dechun and Zhang Jiwang were standing. “Dechun, Jiaohua says you need to tell everyone to leave. This place is too dangerous.”

Zhang Dechun’s face grew serious. “Did Jiaohua really say that?”

Zhang Manyin nodded. “Those were his exact words. Standing here, I can feel an uneasy feeling in my chest. Even if nothing happens, I don’t want to stay here.”

Zhang Dechun quickly shouted to the villagers, “Everyone, listen up! We need to hold an emergency meeting right now! Every family must go to the village’s small playground immediately. Anyone who doesn’t come will have their dividend for this year deducted.”

When the villagers heard Zhang Dechun, they began heading down the mountain.

“Wait! Anyone who brought children must take them home. Don’t disturb the film crew’s work,” Zhang Dechun added.

Before long, only Zhang Jiaohua, Zhang Yuanbao, and the mute remained on Meizi’ao Mountain.

“Big Brother Yuanbao, why don’t you and the mute leave first? I’m worried you’ll be in danger,” Zhang Jiaohua tried to send them away.

“We’re not afraid of death. And I’m not the same as before. I’m not scared even if I face an adult,” Zhang Yuanbao said.

“Me neither,” the mute also refused to leave.

Xie Yunliu arrived at Luo’aling, looked at the pond, and still couldn’t see the bottom. “I knew it! The water won’t be drained in a few days. Forget it, I’ll leave it to you. Don’t bother me until it’s completely drained.”

Just as Xie Yunliu was about to leave, he suddenly heard a loud splash from Luo’atang—something was coming out from the bottom of the water!