Chapter 385: The Meeting Begins

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Jiang Chuan was moved by Lao Zheng’s sincerity and held a great fondness for him in his heart.

The people of Pushan Village were always suspicious of Jiang Chuan because they couldn’t bear to see him getting on better and better—a fact that everyone knew deep down, but no one would speak as plainly and clearly about it as Lao Zheng had.

Although Xiao Wu and Xiao Li also tried their best to protect Jiang Chuan, they found it difficult to show the obvious partiality that Lao Zheng did. Jiang Chuan had no intention of blaming anyone; it was just that Lao Zheng’s behavior was more touching.

Seeing the two quarrel like children, Jiang Chuan quickly intervened, “Lao Zheng, I appreciate your kindness, but my eldest daughter is about to move back soon, and our new house is only half-built. It’s simply unrealistic for me to move suddenly, but I’ll keep your offer in mind. If there’s anything I can help you with in the future, just let me know, and I’ll be there!”

Indeed, Jiang Chuan had a way with words. His response pleased everyone; Xiao Wu, who was fearful that Jiang Chuan might leave, immediately felt relieved upon hearing that he wouldn’t.

Lao Zheng, on the other hand, was keen on making friends with Jiang Chuan and could see his sincerity in his words, so he felt very comfortable in his heart.

After a short while of conversation, Tian Zao came over, waving to everyone to quiet down.

Once everyone had gathered around her, she said, “The village meeting room has been tidied up. It can accommodate about forty people. Those villagers who wish to listen in will have to stand, I’m afraid, but we’ll try to keep the meeting brief so you won’t have to stand too long. Now, let’s head into the meeting room to start the meeting.”

In truth, saying the meeting room could accommodate forty people was quite conservative. By squeezing in here and there, the small meeting room somehow managed to fit over sixty people.

Seeing everyone’s enthusiasm for the village development, Tian Zao didn’t say much else. As soon as the meeting room quieted down, she began the meeting.

She briefly went over the recent work plans and emphasized the documents distributed by the authorities once again. The topics were the same old issues and somewhat dry, so everyone felt a little bored.

Tian Zao knew these subjects weren’t of much interest, so she quickly moved on to the topic everyone was most concerned about: the seed issue.

A few days ago, after a rain that moistened the soil, everyone had urgently planted two thousand catties of corn seeds. However, these corn crops would only mature in three months, and what to plant next spring was now a worrying concern.

What’s more critical is that planting corn in winter isn’t its growing season, so the villagers didn’t have high hopes for the harvest.

They had only planted these seeds urgently because the government had said that all grains grown in winter would be kept by the growers themselves, without needing to contribute to state quotas, which motivated them.

A distant water source cannot quench an immediate thirst. Even if the corn seeds grew into crops and combined with the state-distributed grain, it would only sustain them for a month. The pressing issue now was to plant some food that was more filling.

The crowd was abuzz with discussion; some proposed planting wheat, others rice, but most were inclined to plant wheat. Wheat could be made into flour, mixed with sorghum and cornmeal, lasting longer and offering a variety of food options. In contrast, rice seemed too monotonous.

Most importantly, this year’s autumn wheat harvest had been mediocre, causing people to lose hope in rice, and privately, discussions had started that the village’s soil might not be suitable for rice cultivation. Therefore, people were reluctant to continue planting rice and preferred to shift to grains like corn and wheat.

Jiang Chuan understood everyone’s concerns, but he believed people should not go without rice nor be defeated by temporary difficulties, so he stood up amidst the myriad of opinions.

“I’ve surveyed the village’s land and water channels and found that due to the drought in the past two years, the canals can no longer hold enough water. The current water levels are dangerously low, but these channels do have one advantage—they can be used for growing grain.”

Someone asked, puzzled, “Even if the water level in the canals is low, they’re still ditches full of water.. How can we grow grain there? We can’t afford to waste that water!”