PCJ – Chapter 648 The Mountain Spring

Although Gu Baishui patted his chest and assured Zhang Jiaohua that he would take care of persuading the villagers, in reality, the matter wasn’t so easy to handle.

The mindset of small-scale peasant farming had long taken root in this remote mountain village. To re-consolidate land that had already been contracted to individual households was indeed difficult for the villagers to accept.

Even Gu Yongyi was puzzled and specifically came to speak with Zhang Jiaohua.

“Comrade Zhang, truth be told, you have the villagers’ best interests at heart, and I shouldn’t be opposing you. But land can’t just be consolidated like that. Back in the day, when we all ate out of the communal pot under the production team, wasn’t that a disaster?” Gu Yongyi said.

“Elder, think about it. Was life during the production team days harder, or have the past few years been more difficult?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

“Well, that was because of the salinization! If it weren’t for that, our village wouldn’t be dealing with famine,” Gu Yongyi replied.

“Elder, then tell me—how many more years do you think you can still work the land? Once you’re too old, who will farm your fields? When Chuanbao grows up, do you think he’ll stay in the village to farm those few acres?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

“So according to you, all this land will eventually go to waste? But if no one farms anymore and everyone goes to the city to struggle, surely the state will find a way to grow food?” Gu Yongyi said, now a bit frightened by the idea.

“Of course the land won’t go to waste. In the future, the country will consolidate farmland and push for mechanized agriculture. But our village has another issue. Based on how land was previously divided, some families received land that’s completely salinized. Even if we implement desalinization measures, that land still can’t be planted for a while. So the land will have to be redistributed again anyway. But instead of distributing it and then watching it get abandoned again, why not consolidate it now?

“We can bring in investment and start an eco-agriculture project here, build a new countryside, and even promote agri-tourism. When the village has more opportunities, young people won’t need to leave for migrant work. They can work right in our own cooperative, earning both wages and dividends. And even if they go out to work, they’ll still receive dividends from their land shares. Don’t you think that’s better?” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Comrade Zhang, are you really sure our place can become what you say? What if we can’t pull it off, and we lose our land in the process? What will the villagers do then?” Gu Yongyi asked.

“There is risk in any investment. But the villagers aren’t really taking on much risk. Their land is just being contributed as shares. If it fails, the land still belongs to them. At worst, they go back to farming. Have you heard of Meizi’ao Village in Xintian County?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

Gu Yongyi nodded, “Yes, I’ve heard of it. But they got rich through tea cultivation. Are we going to grow tea too?”

Zhang Jiaohua shook his head, “We don’t have the conditions for tea here, and there’s no need to force it. We have our own advantages.”

“What kind of advantages do we have?” Gu Yongyi asked.

“Even though our environment has been affected by salinization in recent years, the landscape here is still beautiful—rugged mountains, stunning scenery. If we can develop this into a tourist destination, it has real potential. As people in cities become wealthier, they’ll have the money and time to travel. Scenic spots will become valuable resources. If we want Yingpan Village to become prosperous, we must take full advantage of what we have,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Comrade Zhang, what you’re saying is hard for me to understand. The villagers will understand even less. Your plan sounds great, but getting everyone to accept it will be very difficult,” Gu Yongyi said worriedly.

“Elder, I came to Yingpan Village for one purpose—to make it better. That way, when I leave, I can do so with pride. If no one cooperates, how am I supposed to do my job?” Zhang Jiaohua said with a wry smile. He understood that his ideas were a bit ahead of their time for the villagers, so it was no surprise they struggled to accept them.

Gu Yongyi looked embarrassed. “Comrade Zhang, I know you mean well. But this idea of yours is really… well…” He trailed off, not sure how to continue.

Zhang Jiaohua smiled and said, “There’s no need to rush. Let’s take our time. Everyone can think it over carefully. If it really doesn’t work out, we can revisit the idea later.”

Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t in a hurry, because the desalinization work was still ongoing and the village’s water source hadn’t been restored yet. It was a bit early to worry about long-term planning.

The desalinization plan for Yingpan Village didn’t just involve fixing the small reservoir. One key part of it was reconnecting the village to its original mountain spring to solve the drinking water issue. Even after the reservoir was cleaned, its water—due to past salinization—wouldn’t be suitable for drinking for quite some time. So Zhang Jiaohua planned to redirect a mountain spring back to the village.

From previous fieldwork in the mountains, Zhang Jiaohua had figured out why the old mountain spring had dried up: a pangolin had tunneled underground and diverted the groundwater flow. All he had to do was guide the water back, and the problem would be solved. Since the creature had caused the issue, it made sense to have it fix it.

The pangolin had been in Zhang Jiaohua’s “cultivation map” space for a long time. In that spiritually rich environment, its cultivation had advanced quickly. Although it hadn’t yet reached the level of shapeshifting like Fat Cat or Leopard, its intelligence had greatly improved.

As soon as Zhang Jiaohua entered the cultivation map, the pangolin trembled and flattened itself against the ground in fear, worried that Zhang would punish it.

“You little rascal! You never do any good, only make trouble. The mess you made before—now I have to clean it up. But this part, you’ll fix yourself.” Zhang Jiaohua picked up the pangolin and threw it out of the cultivation map.

Back in its old environment, the pangolin looked confused. It had grown accustomed to the spiritual energy of the cultivation space.

“Hurry up and get the water flowing back here. If you don’t, don’t even think about going back to that place again!” Zhang Jiaohua said, giving it a little kick.

The pangolin had gained enough intelligence to understand. After all, in the cultivation map, it had spent time interacting with other intelligent beasts like Fat Cat and Leopard. Upon hearing Zhang’s command, it immediately burrowed into the earth.

The place where Zhang Jiaohua stood was about 200–300 meters from the entrance of Yingpan Village and at a higher elevation. If he could guide the mountain spring here and build a reservoir, he could set up a tap water system for the whole village and finally solve the drinking water problem.

After several hours, a mound of dirt the size of a small hill had accumulated where the pangolin was digging. Its tunneling ability was impressive—it had dug very deep in a short time. However, based on the dry soil being excavated, it seemed it hadn’t yet reached the underground spring.

Zhang Jiaohua waited patiently, but as time passed and no spring water appeared, he began to worry whether the pangolin would be able to redirect the water after all.