Chapter 389: Going to See the Village Chief

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Jiang Xia smiled as she carefully put away the money, saying, “Dad, don’t worry, I won’t let them suffer any loss.”

Jiang Chuan calculated the time, figuring that Tian Zao wouldn’t have returned to the commune so early. He decided to sit at home a little longer and recounted the content of the morning’s meeting to Jiang Xia. He then voiced his concern, “I worry that the cold weather will make it hard for the corn seeds to sprout, which could dampen the villagers’ enthusiasm for farming. I’m thinking of using interspace water to help them.”

Zhou Lan was in the yard, cleaning a large jar, preparing to pickle vegetables in the afternoon. Hearing the father and daughter discuss, she became interested and eagerly asked, “How can we help? Do we need to water the fields?” She loved sneaking around at night doing tasks, like the superpowered family in the movies—thrilling, to say the least.

Jiang Xia pondered for a moment, “Mixing interspace water with regular water can indeed help plants to germinate, but our entire village has dozens of acres; surely, the three of us can’t water it all?”

Zhou Lan hesitated, realizing the low feasibility of her plan, and said, “Moreover, we can’t let them find out we’re watering. Even if we include Jiang Gu, we’re only four people. It would take days of exhausting work to finish watering!”

Jiang Chuan was speechless. Weren’t his wife and daughter usually clever? Why were they not thinking straight now?

He countered, “Is there a possibility that we can just mix the interspace water into the regular water everyone uses for irrigation, without us having to water the fields ourselves?”

Zhou Lan and Jiang Xia had an epiphany, slapping their foreheads, “Right, why didn’t we think of that?”

Jiang Chuan said resignedly, “Perhaps this is what they mean by ‘great wisdom may appear stupid’.”

Jiang Gu looked up curiously, “Dad, what does ‘great wisdom may appear stupid’ mean?”

“Uh…”

After work in the evening, Jiang Chuan took some fish and wild mushrooms from home to visit the village chief.

The village chief’s wife warmly welcomed him and even invited him to stay for dinner. Jiang Chuan politely declined, “Don’t trouble yourself, I just came to see how the village chief is doing, Zhou Lan has already prepared dinner at home.”

The village chief’s wife placed the items Jiang Chuan brought in the yard, then led him inside to see the village chief.

The aging village chief, hunched over, leaned against the bed under a thick cotton quilt. The room was cold as the charcoal had just been lit, not yet warm, making it uncomfortable to sit.

When the village chief saw Jiang Chuan, he tried to get out of bed to greet him, but Jiang Chuan stopped him, “Village Chief, rest well if your leg is bothering you. I just came to check on you, and seeing that you’re alright gives me peace of mind.”

Perhaps because he had moved a bit earlier, the village chief coughed a few times before saying, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s just that since winter started, I suddenly feel less energetic than before, and this old leg problem has left me bedridden and of little use.”

As one ages, it’s inevitable to feel some self-disgust. Jiang Chuan comforted him, “Village Chief, don’t talk like that. You are still in your prime. The village relies on you to lead.”

After exchanging a few more words, Jiang Chuan stood up to leave. Before departing, he gave the village chief, who lay weak in bed, another look. He had a hunch that the chief’s illness was not solely due to rheumatism in his legs. It could be a cold or some other sickness, and he needed to be taken to the hospital soon. With the current level of medical care being poor, even a common cold could be life-threatening.

The village chief’s wife warmly escorted Jiang Chuan to the door. As he was about to leave, Jiang Chuan couldn’t help but ask, “Has the village chief eaten anything unusual recently?”

“The daily meals are just wild vegetables and coarse grain porridge. There’s nothing fresh,” replied the village chief’s wife.

Then, as if something suddenly came to her mind, she said, “But he did have something unusual the other day.”

“Oh? What was it?”

The village chief’s wife began to reminisce, “Didn’t it rain a few days ago? A lot of mushrooms popped up on the mountain. Xiao Wu went up there and picked some mushrooms and brought us some. I cleaned them and stir-fried them with wild vegetables. The whole house was filled with the fragrance when I cooked them.”

The village chief’s wife’s expression became wistful, surely remembering the delicious aroma of the mushrooms..