60s: I have a store

Chapter 17 Out of Water

With the efforts of several farmers, they drilled to a depth of seven or eight meters in about an hour.

"Look, there's no water?" someone started to talk after the fact.

If digging a well was that easy, they would have dug more wells long ago. Why would they worry about not having enough water? They wouldn't have to fight with other villages for water.

"The location shouldn't be right."

"It's not a matter of location. It's a drought right now. Don't you see that our old wells have no water?"

……

Zhou Yimin didn't expect to find water from a well seven or eight meters deep. The original well in the village seemed to be eight meters deep, right? But the well was larger, so two or three people could gather around it to draw water at the same time.

Since that well is dry, it means that the groundwater level is even lower than that well.

So, we have to keep drilling down.

Since Zhou Yimin and the old branch secretary did not call for a stop, the people operating the drill rods naturally continued to work.

The old branch secretary still couldn't help but feel doubtful.

"Yimin! The drill is so small, even if we drill out water, how can we pull it out?"

With such a small hole, I'm afraid only a teacup can fit in it? That's also very inconvenient, right?

As for the water pump Zhou Yimin mentioned at the beginning, there is no electricity in their village. Will it really work?
"Yeah! I'd say don't bother with that."

Zhou Yimin's grandfather glared at those who "sang a different tune" and said, "You know nothing. You are illiterate and can't even read a few words. Since my Yimin did this, he must have a way to get the water up."

Why are you attacking me personally?

Everyone was very depressed, but because Zhou Yimin's grandfather was older than them, they didn't talk back.

Zhou Yimin smiled and explained: "What I want to dig is a water pressure well. As long as we drill out water, we can install those and press them a few times with our hands to press the water up. You will know when the time comes."

Zhou Yimin did not explain the specific principles in detail, and it would be useless even if he did.

His uncle also said to those people with disdain: "Even if I tell you, you won't understand. Why ask so many questions?"

The others were speechless, acting as if you understood.

Who are you looking down on here?
9 meter

10 meter

There is no water yet.

The further the drill rod went down, the more difficult it became.

Just when someone was about to disrupt the morale of the army, underground water suddenly appeared.

"There's water. There's water."

"Really? How did Yimin know there was water there? Ask the villagers to look for it, and we'll dig it up."

"If it were up to you, I'd dig a bigger well here to replace the original one."

……

Before Zhou Yimin's grandfather could get angry, the old branch secretary shouted, "Shut up, is it your turn to speak?"

People have just come out of the water and you are already thinking about them. Even clay figures can get angry!

Besides, don't forget that their village was able to get through the difficult times thanks to Zhou Yimin. What about you? Do you want to take over the well that someone just drilled?
"Old Party branch secretary, let me be frank first! This pressurized well was built to make it easier for my grandparents to draw water, but it did not use any resources from the village. Even the land where the well was dug was my family's vegetable garden," Zhou Yimin said.

If anyone thinks he's easy to bully, they've got the wrong guy.

Well, as long as it doesn't affect his grandparents' water use, it's fine for others to fetch water at other times.

But I'm sorry if you say that.

The old Party Secretary nodded and said, "Yes! I understand. Don't worry! This is your private well. No one can tell you what to do. If anyone has any objections, I will talk to them."

Are you kidding me?
Don't offend Zhou Yimin, no matter who you offend! Do you still want to eat in the future?

Besides, what does it have to do with you if someone digs a well near their home? These days, a well is an important asset of a family. It is quite prestigious to have a private well at home.

Who is willing to give it away for free for public use?

It makes absolutely no sense.

The old man looked at the guy who had just spoken and said sinisterly, "Your father, and even your grandfather, don't dare to be presumptuous in front of me. You are quite brave! Very good."

The guy then realized that he had said the wrong thing and his face turned pale.

He hesitantly explained that he just spoke his mind at the time and had no other intention.

Zhou Yimin's grandfather didn't care about these things. He decided to have a chat with his parents later.

"Uncle San, keep drilling down, it's not deep enough." Seeing that his uncle San wanted to hit someone, Zhou Yimin quickly assigned him a task.

There's no need to hit people, we're from the same village.

That guy might have some ulterior motives, but this warning is enough. If he still doesn't know what's good for him and keeps looking for trouble, don't blame him.

With this warning, I believe I can save myself a lot of trouble in the future.

Uncle San deliberately kicked a piece of mud at the guy before continuing to work.

The guy felt embarrassed to stay and left in shame.

Others tried to comfort Zhou Yimin and said a few words to criticize the guy just now, and their attitude was clearly biased towards Zhou Yimin.

When the drilling reached about 14 meters, the groundwater began to bubble up slightly, but the water pressure was not enough to bubble out of the borehole. Zhou Yimin directed everyone to put plastic pipes along the well hole and install the wellhead.

The wellhead is made of an iron pipe with a diameter of about 10 cm. There is a piston rod inside, which is connected to the force handle. The piston is made of rubber.

"Is that all right?"

Zhou Yimin didn't answer, but held the power handle and started pressing up and down.

After pressing the pump less than ten times, turbid water began to flow out of the iron pipe at the head of the well.

Everyone present, including the old branch secretary, had their eyes wide open and were excited. It was magical.

"Bring a bucket, don't waste it." shouted the old branch secretary.

Zhou Yimin gave up his position to his uncle and said to him, "Uncle, keep pressing until clear water comes out."

"Okay! Let me do it."

Uncle San spat on his hands, rubbed them together, then took the power handle and shook it up and down at the same frequency as his nephew had used to press the water.

Isn't this more convenient than fetching water from that spring?
Others also wanted to try it and thought it was fun, so they took turns pumping water, and then someone would immediately carry the water to irrigate the fields.

After about twenty minutes, clear water finally came out.

"It's okay." Zhou Yimin shouted.

At this time, most of the people in the village came to watch.

It was the first time for them to see such a well, and they looked at Zhou Yimin's grandparents with envy in their eyes.

Of course, this is the first time I have seen it! This type of water pressure well only became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. At that time, almost every household in the countryside had such a water pressure well.

When other old men and women in the village learned that this pressurized well was dug by Zhou Yimin to make it easier for their grandparents to use water, they all praised Zhou Yimin for his filial piety.

Someone else’s grandson!

Looking at the children at home, they are all ugly and heartless, which makes me very angry.

The old Party Secretary came over and asked, "Yimin, how much did those parts cost?"

Seeing that Zhou Yimin had really pumped out water, he began to think about pumping a few more in the village to facilitate irrigation. Otherwise, relying on that spring to irrigate the land would be too inefficient.

(End of this chapter)