Mr. Xiaoguo, also known as Xia Guobang, doesn't believe what Xia Ming says. When Xia Ming is playing with mud in the reservoir, he has no idea where he is.
Although he doesn't know every detail of the reservoir, he understands the difficulty of storing water in Tongwa Reservoir. After all, this mountain is not a famous one; it's just an ordinary mountain with a length of only a dozen kilometers. However, the width is quite impressive, as you can reach the neighboring town after crossing two or three mountains.
Xia Guobang said, "Are you sure you didn't use a water pump to draw water from somewhere else?"
Putting down his bowl quickly, Xia Ming replied, "How is that possible? I dug up an underground river a couple of days ago, that's why it filled up so fast."
Xia Guobang doubted, "An underground river? How come I didn't know there's an underground river beneath this lousy mountain?"
Xia Ming affirmed, "It's definitely an underground river. If you want, you can go up and see it tomorrow. But I estimate that the reservoir should be at least half full by tomorrow."
Xia Guobang still had some doubts, "Alright, I'll go up and take a look tomorrow. But speaking of this underground river, it reminds me of an old story from long ago."
Xia Ming became interested and quickly asked, "What story?"
Xia Guobang raised his cup and took a sip, saying, "Do you know about the Dragon Bone Dragon Cave? In fact, there's a legend about this cave."
"I know about Dragon Cave, but what does it have to do with the underground river? Dragon Bone Dragon Cave is quite far from our village. Moreover, I've been inside Dragon Cave, and it's only about a dozen meters long. It's just a small cave. What kind of legend can there be?"
Old Xia said, "Actually, Dragon Bone Dragon Cave is very long, extending all the way to Jiaohu Lake more than twenty kilometers away, but humans can't enter. The water in Dragon Cave is the water from Jiaohu Lake. As long as Jiaohu Lake doesn't dry up, Dragon Cave will always have water."
Hearing this, Xia Ming couldn't believe it, "How is that possible? This legend sounds too fake."
At that moment, his mother interrupted and said, "I've heard about this from your grandmother too. It seems that one year when there was a boat carrying bran on Jiaohu Lake, the dragon's movement caused the boat to capsize. The whole Jiaohu Lake was covered in bran, and it floated for many days.
Later, when someone burned incense at Dragon Bone Dragon Cave, they saw bran floating on the surface of the water in the cave. Who would have spread bran in Dragon Cave for no reason? That's why the legend of Dragon Bone Dragon Cave being connected to Jiaohu Lake exists."
Father was not happy that his wife took over his words and retorted, "You're certain? You're certain? It's just a legend, after all."
Mother was not pleased and said, "I am certain. What's wrong with that?"
"Hmph, you think you're always right," Father muttered under his breath.
Xia Ming listened with great interest. He didn't expect Dragon Bone Dragon Cave to have such a legend, even though he didn't know if it was true or false. It was probably more likely that it was a distorted story passed down through generations. The location of Dragon Bone Dragon Cave was halfway up a small mountain. Although the elevation was not high, it was still higher than
the water level of Jiaohu Lake. So, such a legend could only remain a legend.
However, Xia Ming made a mental note of it. When promoting the reservoir in the future, he could embellish it and add a highlight. Whether others believed it or not, he himself was sure not to believe it.
Just as they were talking, Big Cousin, also known as Xiaobiao's father, walked in. Xia Ming's village calls their uncle's wife "big cousin," and for females, they call them "cousin's wife."
"You're still eating? Finish up and hurry up there, everyone is already going up."
Father said, "Come, come, have a drink."
Mother replied, "I'm done eating. Do you want me to bring you some more?"
Big Cousin said, "I've eaten too. Make me a cup of tea."
Mother said, "The tea leaves are on the ancestral shrine table, and there's water in the water dispenser. Check if it's already boiling. If the kettle isn't boiling, there's water in the thermos."
Big Cousin skillfully walked into the ancestral shrine room and opened the red tea tin, adding some tea leaves to her glass thermos.
"The water dispenser isn't on, it's not working," Big Cousin in the ancestral shrine room shouted.
"It's not on? I forgot. Come here and pour water from the kettle; it just finished boiling," Mother yelled.
So Big Cousin came from the ancestral shrine room, picked up the hot water kettle from the kitchen floor, and poured hot water into her glass thermos.
After that, Big Cousin said, "Hurry up, I'll go up first."
"Alright, I'll finish this bowl of rice, then I'll go up."
After Big Cousin left, Xia Ming picked up his freshly brewed tea and drank it. The tea leaves were bought by his father from a tea garden in the neighboring village, and it was the newly harvested autumn tea, which cost over 500 yuan per kilogram. Infused with the water from the spiritually enhanced well, it felt like it had been upgraded by at least one level, and the fragrance became more intense.
"Did you feed Wangcai (the dog)?" Xia Ming asked while drinking.
"Not yet. You just finished eating; go and feed him, give Bobby (another dog) a few cabbage leaves too," Mother said.
Xia Ming scooped some rice, poured meat soup on it, added a big piece of fat, and poured it into Wangcai's own clean bowl.
Yes, the bowl was cleaned by itself. Since Wangcai ate the white crystals from the stone tooth, it had become smarter and sleeker. After Wangcai witnessed Xia Ming using the water from the pressure well to wash the dishes, the dog started washing its own bowl after meals, much to the surprise of Father and Mother, who exclaimed that Wangcai was clever.
"Eat up, I'll go get some cabbage for your little companion. Bobby, don't stick your head out, or else your big brother will beat you up."
There were plenty of Chinese cabbage in the kitchen, all picked from their own vegetable garden. Xia Ming's family no longer cultivated the land; the fields in the village were contracted to Xia Ming's cousin, or else why would his cousin buy an excavator?
After rinsing off the dirt from the Chinese cabbage with well water, Xia Ming placed it next to Wangcai's food bowl. Bobby, who had been eagerly waiting, immediately lowered its head and started devouring.
Tonight, Xia Ming didn't plan on going up the mountain; he would go with his father and mother tomorrow.
After Wangcai and Bobby finished eating, Xia Ming
prepared to take them for a stroll in the village.
The winter solstice had just passed, and the daytime would gradually become longer. Although it wasn't very noticeable yet.
Around half-past six, it was already half-dark, and the streetlights in the village had turned on. These streetlights were not solar-powered, so there was no need to worry about sunlight during the winter.
The cement road in the village was clean, with only a few leaves and no animal feces. Additionally, each household regularly swept the front of their houses.
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The cement roads in the village are very clean, with only a few leaves and no animal feces. Each household also regularly sweeps the area in front of their homes.
Nowadays, you can't see any litter being thrown around in the village. Each household collects their garbage and throws it into the large garbage bins, which are then cleaned up and taken away by the garbage truck from the town.
The young people are all working outside, so the village mainly consists of elderly people and children. Since the fields have been rented out and there's no more rice cultivation, there are fewer chickens, ducks, and geese being raised. However, the number of dogs hasn't decreased; in fact, there are even more. Some households even have two or three dogs, most of which are Chinese rural dogs, also known as mongrels.
Although the village has fewer people, it is not deserted. Various dog barks can be heard one after another.
As they continued walking, they arrived at the village's information center, a small square at the entrance of the village.
Wangcai and Bobby had already reached the square ahead of time and mixed with the other dogs. Bobby blended in so well that it was hardly noticeable.
The other dogs didn't pay much attention to Bobby either, indicating that under Wangcai's guidance over the past few days, Bobby had completely integrated into the group.
Seeing this scene, Xia Ming stopped paying attention to them.
The streetlights hung high on the electric poles, illuminating the entire small square.
Although the weather was cold, it couldn't stop the gathering of the village's intelligence personnel.
At this moment, the information center was filled with voices, and the sound of drums and gongs was deafening.
It was indeed deafening, quite literally. The elderly people in the village were having a meeting, preparing to play dragon lanterns this year, so everyone was practicing.
Men played drums and beat gongs, while women danced Yangko and rowed colored boats.
A group of elderly people who could no longer participate in the activities were cracking melon seeds and discussing various village information.
Quietly, Xia Ming moved behind the electric pole where the group of elderly people stood, hoping to eavesdrop and see if there was any exciting information.
As he listened, Xia Ming's face twitched with black lines and his mouth involuntarily twitched. Because Xia Ming himself became the center of their discussions, with three out of five sentences somehow involving him.
They talked about Xia Ming being dumped by his girlfriend, having a bad temper, being clever when he was young but becoming dull after studying, and how he would definitely suffer losses from contracting the reservoir, and so on.
Xia Ming remembered that they used to talk about his cousin like this, but now the focus had shifted to him.
His cousin's surname was Huang, Huang Dong, one year older than Xia Ming and also a graduate in fine arts. After working outside for two years after graduation, he returned to the village and contracted the village's land.
At that time, the news spread like wildfire in the village, and it was a constant topic at the information center.
A few years had passed, and the excitement surrounding this news had finally subsided.
Now Xia Ming had become the hottest topic.
Thinking about it, it wasn't surprising. The elderly people rarely had contact with outside matters, and they only watched TV occasionally. Once there was a topic of discussion, it would last for a long time.
After eavesdropping for a while, Xia Ming couldn't sit still anymore. It was just too outrageous. For the sake of his mental and physical health, he decided to quickly leave the place.
At this time, Xia Ming's father also arrived. After a brief chat, they started
to get involved. His father was mainly responsible for beating the gongs. The gongs weren't large, with a diameter of about thirty centimeters, just the right size for one person to hold with one hand.
Because of their loud and crisp sound, they were crucial during the dragon lantern performance. The dragon head would move in the direction of the gongs. The rhythm and intensity of the gongs corresponded to the movements of the dragon lantern.
The gongs' rhythm varied from fast to slow, sometimes resounding, sometimes deep, combined with the drums and cymbals. Although it wasn't very melodious, it had a sense of rhythm.
In fact, there was also a suona horn on the side, but the awkward part was that it seemed no one knew how to play it.
Xia Ming walked to the side, picked up the suona horn, and prepared to give it a try.
His older cousin's aunt, who was tired of beating the gongs, rested on a bench and saw Xia Ming's actions, asking, "Do you know how to play?"
"No," Xia Ming honestly replied.
His older cousin's aunt laughed and said, "You may not even be able to make a sound. This suona horn has been around for quite a few years. We had it since we were young, but I don't know exactly when we got it."
Looking at the suona horn in his hand, dark and polished, with a patina, Xia Ming was stunned. "Has this thing been around for such a long time? I didn't expect it to be an antique."
"It can't be considered an antique anymore, as it can't even make a sound now."
"Why keep it if it can't make a sound?"
Taking a sip of tea, his older cousin's aunt said, "It's about the sense of ceremony, don't you understand?"