Chapter 507: With So Many Coincidences, Could There Be Something Fishy Going On?

After exercising and cleaning up, Gu Gu Xiaoxia lay beside Li Long and asked softly:

"Is the work finished? Do you need to go again tomorrow?"

"I still need to go for half a day," Li Long said, hugging her. "Regarding the hand-pumped well, I forgot about the cement yesterday. It's usable now, but since both families have children, if they get mischievous, the platform of the pump will likely break soon. I plan to buy a bag of cement tomorrow, go over there to plaster and reinforce it, and I'll be back before noon. After that, there won't be much else to do."

"Mm, that's proper." Gu Gu Xiaoxia, also from a rural background, naturally knew that if a household had a hand-pumped well and happened to have several children, that pump would likely never have a moment's peace all year round.

When children returned from school or from playing, if they were thirsty, they wouldn't think to go inside to pour a drink; instead, they would go straight to the hand pump, blocking the spout with one hand while pumping with the other, then once water flowed, they would release the handle, leave a small gap with the hand blocking the spout, and lean their mouths over to sip slowly.

Sometimes, after filling the pipe with water, several people could take turns drinking, feeling that this water tasted much better than the tea at home.

For children, the fact that a hand pump could produce water was a very magical operation, so even if they weren't thirsty, they couldn't resist operating it. If the platform of a rural hand pump wasn't built of concrete, it was inevitable that it would break frequently.

"Those two colleagues of mine, after leaving our home the other day, kept praising various things about our place on and off for several days. Sister Tao even told me today that she wants to bring her child over this weekend to see our little deer. She said her child has never seen a deer in person, only knowing about them from books; since our county doesn't have a zoo, after hearing Sister Tao say we have a little deer at home, the child was extremely surprised and wanted to come over this weekend to take a look, even saying they wanted to buy some things to feed the deer."

"Let them come then; it's a good chance for you to get closer to your colleagues," Li Long said indifferently. "Our home is usually quite quiet; having children come over would be nice, adding some liveliness. Shouldn't we also make an effort to have a child of our own soon?"

"That's not something you can have just because you want it," Gu Gu Xiaoxia said shyly, clearly sensing the changes in Li Long's body. "Besides, if we do have a child, how would we raise them?"

"If we have a child, don't worry about the raising part." Li Long had actually already thought it through, though this wasn't the right time to say it. His mother could naturally come to help raise the child, but given his mother's way of childcare, Gu Gu Xiaoxia might not necessarily accept it.

Of course, the primary issue was whether they could conceive a child at all; as for how to raise one, there were many ways to solve that.

Therefore, they needed to make an effort right now.

Li Long turned and pressed his body against Gu Gu Xiaoxia.

The two of them worked together, exercising to conceive a new life.

The next day, after breakfast, Gu Gu Xiaoxia went to work; Li Long fed the roe deer, teased the hedgehog that was no longer afraid of people, then drove the tractor to buy cement and headed toward the Animal Husbandry Team.

Zhang Zhang Xin Hua, a reporter from the Autonomous Region Daily, and Zheng Mingyue, an intern reporter, had originally planned to go to Ili, but after hearing the county broadcast yesterday, they decided to change their itinerary and clarify this matter first.

As a senior reporter for the Autonomous Region newspaper and a university graduate from the Class of '73, when Zhang Zhang Xin Hua settled in Ma County, personnel from the county propaganda department accompanied her. Although they clearly knew she wasn't interviewing there, they actively introduced the county's situation, including some typical cases, hoping to leave an impression.

After all, getting into a major newspaper would be a significant achievement.

Originally, they planned to send the guests off today, but unexpectedly, Zhang Zhang Xin Hua suddenly said she wanted to stay; Ma Ma Xiao Yan, the propaganda officer accompanying them, was so happy she was stunned—was this going to be an interview?

While Zhang Zhang Xin Hua and Zheng Mingyue were eating breakfast at the guesthouse, Ma Ma Xiao Yan went to report to the leadership; Zheng Mingyue, holding her porridge at the table, whispered:

"Teacher Zhang, do you think it's possible that this article was fabricated by the county specifically because we arrived? Isn't this too coincidental?"

"Doesn't seem like it," Zhang Zhang Xin Hua said, eating a flower roll with pickles. "I listened carefully to that article; the writing style is a bit immature, suggesting the writer isn't very old. Although it has been edited, you can tell it wasn't written by an old hand. If the propaganda department had fabricated such a story just because of us, they wouldn't have written it so naively. Besides, we'll know within half a day at most; if it's fake, do you think I wouldn't be able to tell?"

As a university graduate from the Class of '73, Zhang Zhang Xin Hua had experienced much; although her time in the countryside during special years delayed her considerably, it instead honed her strong will and keen intuition.

Therefore, she could distinguish true from false news at a glance.

After eating, the county dispatched a 212 vehicle to take them to the Animal Husbandry Team. On the way, propaganda officer Ma Ma Xiao Yan introduced the situation to Zhang Zhang Xin Hua and the others:

"This article was written by an intern broadcaster of ours at the Animal Husbandry Team. We called the team to ask her, and the matter is true; it is roughly as described in the article. As for the parties involved, both families are here, but Li Long, the one who repaired the houses, is not. Since the houses and courtyards are finished and the wells are dug, he probably won't be coming back."

"Do you know which unit Li Long belongs to?" Zhang Zhang Xin Hua asked.

Ma Ma Xiao Yan shook her head and said:

"We could learn very little over the phone, so I thought once we arrive, we could ask the two families and find out."

Zhang Zhang Xin Hua nodded and stopped speaking.

That was correct; if Ma Ma Xiao Yan could immediately state Li Long's unit or the village team he belonged to, there would likely be a problem.

The 212 drove very smoothly, arriving at the Animal Husbandry Team in one hour. Ye Laya had been waiting by the roadside for quite some time.

She was very excited. The county had called and said these were big-time reporters from the Autonomous Region! Even a few casual pointers from them would be enough for her to study diligently. Ye Laya never expected her article to attract such prominent reporters; in her heart, she was truly both surprised and delighted.

"So you are Ye Laya, hello, hello." Zhang Zhang Xin Hua smiled and shook hands with Ye Laya; the girl's expression looked somewhat apprehensive and fearful, not seeming feigned.

She hadn't expected Ye Laya to be able to write such an article; its realism was very strong.

"Hello, Teacher Zhang! Hello, Teacher Zheng! Hello, Officer Ma!" Ye Laya shook hands and greeted each of them. "Ha Li Mu's home is just ahead; I will lead the way."

Although this Reporter Zhang looked to be in her thirties, her gaze was very sharp, feeling as if she could see through everything at a single glance. Ye Laya immediately felt a bit nervous.

Zheng Mingyue wanted to say that she wasn't a teacher, that she was only two or three years older than Ye Laya, but there was no time to say these words.

"Shall we take the car over?" Ma Ma Xiao Yan said. "It would be faster."

"If the road isn't far, let's walk; it gives me a chance to ask Ye Laya some basic questions," Zhang Zhang Xin Hua said. "Little Ye, I hope calling you this isn't too abrupt? I know your naming conventions aren't like this, but at our newspaper, we're used to joking with ethnic comrades and addressing them this way; for instance, there's someone named Ye Ersen, and we all call him Old Ye..."

"It's fine, it's fine," Ye Laya hurriedly said. "It's acceptable; Teacher Zhang, please feel free to ask whatever questions you have."

"Alright, I want to ask when that Li Long came over to repair the houses."

"The day before yesterday; he worked for two days. The day before yesterday, he repaired the house and courtyard wall for Ha Li Mu's family and leveled the ground; yesterday, he dug hand-pumped wells for both families. That well water is truly sweet. Many people in our team are envious; early this morning, quite a few people went to these two homes to pump water and carry it back to drink; it's much better than the river water."

"Then how many people did he bring with him, and how did they eat lunch?"

"He brought six people," Ye Laya said after thinking for a moment. "At noon the day before yesterday, Li Long bought a sheep from our team, and everyone ate together. At noon yesterday, Brother Brother Yushanjiang's wife made pilaf; I heard her say the meat was also brought over by Li Long last time."

"Last time?" Zhang Zhang Xin Hua noticed a point.

"Yes, since April this year, after the families of Ha Li Mu, Brother Brother Yushanjiang, and others moved over, this Li Long has come three times. The first time, he brought rice and flour, as well as school supplies for the children; the second time, he brought mutton for the two families; this is the third time."

"So that's how it is." Zhang Zhang Xin Hua was now certain; this was a very newsworthy point worth her digging into.

The reason the two of them went to Ili to gather material and find news was because May this year was the Autonomous Region's second Ethnic Unity Education Month. Collecting such news carried implications from above and served the cause of ethnic unity. The Autonomous Region is an area where many ethnic groups live together; in this place, to achieve stability and development, ethnic unity must be vigorously promoted and advanced.

Originally, the number of ethnic minorities in the Beitun Prefecture area wasn't very large, and news leads were all rather ordinary; Zhang Zhang Xin Hua wanted to find something more novel.

Wasn't there precisely one lead right here that could be dug into?

Arriving at Ha Li Mu's courtyard, they indeed saw people lining up with buckets to fetch water; an old woman sat on a log at the entrance, smiling as she twisted yarn.

The platform of the hand pump was a bit unstable, but the water output was huge; pumping vigorously a few times filled a bucket. The courtyard had been tidied up; the side near the house was higher, so the overflowing water flowed southward. Zhang Zhang Xin Hua thought that it would be great if vegetables were planted there.

Seeing Ye Laya accompanying several Han Chinese people over, the people in the courtyard were somewhat at a loss; someone asked Ye Laya, and she explained that these were cadres from the Autonomous Region who wanted to ask Ha Li Mu's mother some questions.

Hearing that the cadres from the Autonomous Region had business, those fetching water scattered and left.

Ha Li Mu's mother stood up, spoke a few words to Ye Laya, then turned and went inside.

"Auntie says she wants to pour milk tea for you; let's go inside."

Zhang Zhang Xin Hua shook her head and said, "I'll look at the courtyard first. Little Zheng, take some photos of this courtyard; it's a pity we don't have photos of them working..."

"I have some," Ye Laya spoke up. "I took photos the day before yesterday and yesterday, but they haven't been developed yet."

"Really? That's excellent." Zhang Zhang Xin Hua showed some pleasant surprise. "What made you think of taking photos?" This was a habitual professional question.

"I thought I'd have them developed when I had time; they can serve as material for the year-end report," Ye Laya explained. "We need to submit our year-end summaries, and I feel this can be included."

Well, the simplest answer often reflects the truest situation. This precisely indicated that the matter was not deliberately staged; Zhang Zhang Xin Hua and the others hearing this news report was purely coincidental.

Ma Ma Xiao Yan saw and heard this; in her heart, she gave a thumbs-up to Ye Laya's reply. This time, it was secure!

This news story had a high probability of making it into the Autonomous Region Daily!

Zheng Mingyue patted the newly plastered roof surface, the courtyard walls, and the leveled ground she had shoveled, then went to capture a distant view, contrasting the front courtyard with Ha Li Mu's home. After all, the condition of both the front and back courtyards represented the true situation in this team; everything was dilapidated, with Ha Li Mu's courtyard being the most conspicuous.

"Is the water you usually drink river water?" Zhang Zhang Xin Hua took out her notebook to record. "Where is it located?"

"About four or five hundred meters from here," Ye Laya said after a moment's thought. "Teacher Zhang, please wait." She jogged to the house across the way and soon returned with a horse ladle, scooping up a ladleful of water to show Zhang Zhang Xin Hua.

!.

The water appeared slightly turbid, filled with numerous organisms; particularly, many black mosquito larvae were wriggling rapidly within it, looking quite disgusting.

"You usually drink this water?" Zhang Zhang Xin Hua said nothing; the reservoir water she drank during her time in the countryside was just like this. But Zheng Xinyue found it hard to bear; she took a photo with her camera and couldn't help but remark:

"Can this be drunk? It's full of bugs!"

"It's drinkable; once the water is boiled, the bugs die," Ye Laya said with a smile. "Of course, now that Ha Li Mu's family has a well, and Brother Brother Yushanjiang's family also has a well, many people will likely come to draw water. This water is truly good. I tasted it yesterday; it's really sweet."

Zhang Zhang Xin Hua, however, noticed that the well platform was already teetering on the brink of collapse; if not addressed, the hand pump might break before the day was out.

Fortunately, this wasn't a major issue; propped up with bricks, it could still barely function.

Just as she was contemplating this matter, the puttering sound of a tractor came from outside.

Ye Laya heard it and started; turning her head, she ran out of the courtyard. Taking one look, she happily said to Zhang Zhang Xin Hua:

"Teacher Zhang, that Li Long has arrived!"

Li Long has come?

Is he coming for me?

Zhang Zhang Xin Hua couldn't help but feel suspicious again.

This arrival is too coincidental; did the county send a notification?

She looked at Ma Ma Xiao Yan, who also wore a blank expression; she didn't even know which unit Li Long belonged to.

Seeing the Model 212 parked in front of Ha Li Mu's house and observing Ye Laya's expression and movements, Li Long made a guess.

Is this really such a coincidence, or does this matter have a significant impact?

Although the county had conducted propaganda and issued documents to various departments, he had not participated in the Supply and Marketing Cooperative's study sessions, nor would the team specifically organize people to study such matters; therefore, Li Long was unaware that this May was the Autonomous Region's second Ethnic Unity Education Month.

Since he was already here, he naturally wouldn't turn back. Parking the tractor on the roadside in front of the Model 212, Li Long turned off the engine, got out, carried a bag of cement into the courtyard, nodded to Zhang Zhang Xin Hua and the others, and then asked Ye Laya with a smile:

"Xiao Ye, why is it so lively today?"

Seeing Li Long carrying cement, Zhang Zhang Xin Hua immediately understood. She had probably overthought it; this young man must have come to reinforce the well platform.

So she took the initiative to ask:

"Are you Li Long? Have you come to reinforce the well platform?"

"Yes." Li Long nodded. "I overlooked this point when digging the well yesterday. Actually, digging the well itself was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Repairing the house was something I had planned long ago; two days ago, while working on the repairs, I saw that river water was still being used here—it's unclean and far away. The old lady is in poor health; how exhausting it must be for her to carry water from such a distance. I thought installing a hand pump would be more convenient. It worked out fine; we struck water on the first try."

"You've never installed a hand pump before?" Zhang Zhang Xin Hua found this somewhat miraculous.

"No, but my brother has. He used to be in the County Well-Digging Company. The hand pump in our own courtyard was installed by him; I watched him do it and thought it should be relatively easy." Li Long smiled. "It's just that the work was done rather hastily, so the well platform wasn't handled properly. When I went back yesterday, I thought this would surely break easily, so today I bought a bag of cement to make it into concrete; it should last for a long time."

"Good thinking." Zhang Zhang Xin Hua nodded. "When did you and Ha Li Mu become acquainted?"

Li Long looked at her and asked:

"May I ask who you are..."

"This is Reporter Zhang from the Autonomous Region Daily," Ma Ma Xiao Yan said from the side. "Reporter Zhang heard about your deed and came specifically to investigate the situation."

She emphasized that Zhang Zhang Xin Hua had come from the Autonomous Region, implying that Li Long should treat this with greater importance.

"Yes, I heard the draft written by Xiao Ye at the county yesterday and found what you did quite interesting, so I wanted to learn more."

"Could you wait a moment?" Li Long pointed to the well platform. "This is more important. I'll go get some sand; how about we talk while we work?"

Before Zhang Zhang Xin Hua could say anything, Ma Ma Xiao Yan became displeased; putting on a stern face, she said:

"Comrade Li Long, how can you say that? How can repairing a well platform be more important than an interview? You need to correct your attitude. Reporter Zhang has come from the Autonomous Region; her time is precious. You can repair this well platform anytime..."

"And you are..." Li Long asked, looking at Ma Ma Xiao Yan.

"I am a clerk in the County Propaganda Department," Ma Ma Xiao Yan said with a touch of arrogance.

"Comrade Clerk, I believe you are mistaken. If not for my digging the well and repairing the house, I don't think Reporter Zhang would have come here; therefore, repairing the well platform is actually the important matter. Moreover, I am just going to fetch some sand; it won't take much time. We can chat while working."

Li Long's words left Clerk Ma speechless.

Zhang Zhang Xin Hua found this Li Long quite interesting; she smiled and said:

"Alright, go ahead. We'll wait for you; in the meantime, we can ask the old lady some other questions."

Li Long was very satisfied; this reporter's attitude was quite correct.

An interview is an interview, but it shouldn't interfere with important matters. Getting into the newspaper again is no big deal; it's not like I haven't been featured before. For him, this well platform was the truly important thing.

The sand had to be fetched from the riverside; Li Long had already identified the location when he drew water two days ago. He drove the tractor, scooped up a pile of sand, and returned to Ha Li Mu's courtyard, where he found the old lady had already brought out the small kang table and set it outside, with milk tea on top. Seeing Li Long return, the old lady smiled and waved to him, gesturing for him to drink some milk tea.

Li Long went over, drank a bowl, and then began mixing the cement and sand; once nearly blended, he added water.

The bricks of the well platform were somewhat loose; Li Long simply removed them one by one, leveled the base underneath using the trowel he had brought, and then began laying them back layer by layer.

At this moment, Zhang Zhang Xin Hua also began her interview with him.

"How did you become acquainted with Ha Li Mu?" (End of Chapter)