Chapter 188 – The Canal

“Hongxin Commune is planning to dig a canal—have you heard?”

Village Chief Wang suddenly asked.

A canal?

Zhou Yimin and the old party secretary were both a bit surprised but quickly came to terms with it.

The drought was too severe, and everywhere people were trying to come up with solutions. Among them, channeling water through irrigation canals had naturally become a top priority. They couldn’t just let things continue like this.

What if the same thing happens next year?

Although Zhou Yimin’s invention, the hand-pumped well, had temporarily eased the water shortage, that method of extracting groundwater wasn’t sustainable in the long run!

From what they knew, once the groundwater level dropped, those hand-pumped wells might become useless. So they had to prepare in advance, rather than panic when they run out of water.

“Was that the focus of the meeting at the commune today?” asked the old party secretary.

He was aware of the meeting— the brigade leader had gone to attend it but hadn’t returned yet.

“That’s right. The commune is planning to dig a canal from the Miyun area,” Village Chief Wang revealed.

He was well-informed.

There was a massive reservoir over in Miyun that had only just been completed this year. They weren’t short on water resources, but it was pretty far. If they were to dig a canal, the Hongxin Commune probably couldn’t handle it alone—it was dozens of kilometers away!

The old party secretary immediately got a headache.

Building a canal was undoubtedly a good thing.

But for such a large project, they’d definitely need to mobilize villagers from all the surrounding villages—and quite a few of them, too.

However, after the wheat harvest, Zhoujiazhuang wouldn’t exactly be idle. Their own village still had a ton of things to do! Growing vegetables, raising chickens, building their reservoir… none of those tasks could do without manpower.

“That can’t be right. Miyun’s too far from us,” the old party secretary felt the news was unreliable.

That wasn’t something one or two communes could pull off.

Zhou Yimin speculated, “It might not be water directly from the Miyun Reservoir, but rather a branch canal off the Jingmi Diversion Canal.”

He remembered there being such a canal—the Jingmi Diversion Canal—which channeled water from the Miyun Reservoir to the urban districts of the capital. It was said to be over a hundred kilometers long.

That project was started during the period of the Three Years of Difficulties and economic restructuring in China.

Zhou Yimin recalled that construction had begun this very winter, with the state investing over sixty million yuan.

That was a mind-boggling figure for that time—truly astronomical.

The Jingmi Diversion Canal primarily served to supply water for suburban industrial production, agricultural irrigation, and urban living, as well as feeding water to lakes in major parks.

Along the way, several small hydroelectric power stations were to be built.

“Yimin’s guess is spot on.”

Just then, the brigade leader’s voice came from outside.

He had returned from the meeting.

Just as Zhou Yimin had guessed, Hongxin Commune had partnered with two or three other communes to plan a branch canal from the Jingmi Diversion Canal to make spring planting next year easier.

“The commune made the decision?” asked the old party secretary.

The brigade leader greeted everyone present, found a place to sit, and then answered the question.

He nodded. “Yep. Construction starts right after the wheat harvest. Each village under the commune has to send thirty people.”

The old party secretary’s face darkened.

Pulling thirty laborers all at once would hinder Zhoujiazhuang’s development plans. But this wasn’t something they had a say in—the higher-ups were notifying them, not negotiating.

Zhou Yimin said, “Water conservancy projects benefit the country and the people. We should participate actively.”

Even if the water drawn in might not benefit Zhoujiazhuang directly, from a broader perspective, it was still a good thing.

Once the water reached Hongxin Commune, there likely wouldn’t be much left. How could Zhoujiazhuang, which was further out, expect to use it?

The old party secretary gave a bitter smile. That reasoning was sound—he understood that.

Zhou Yimin continued, “Taking thirty people won’t impact our village too much.”

That did it. With that reassurance, both the old party secretary and the brigade leader felt a lot more at ease. Since Yimin said so, it meant he had a plan in mind.

“Then how about we try to channel some of the water for ourselves, too?” suggested Village Chief Wang.

If no one pushed for it, the water from the canal would mostly go to the central farming areas of Hongxin Commune. Villages like Zhoujiazhuang or Shangshui Village, which were a bit farther out, wouldn’t be included.

Village Chief Wang was feeling a bit indignant.

After all, every village was contributing labor, but if they didn’t get any tangible benefits in return, how could anyone be satisfied?

If they hadn’t been asked to send people, then having no share in the water would make sense. No reason to complain. But since they were being asked to pitch in manpower…

Village Chief Wang was shrewd. He knew that speaking up alone as a single village would be useless. But if he rallied a few villages together to jointly make a proposal, the commune would at least have to offer some sort of response, right?

“Sure, if you take the lead, Zhoujiazhuang will support it,” said the old party secretary. He didn’t want to be the first to speak up, but if another village led the charge, he didn’t mind chiming in to push for it.

Zhou Yimin was speechless. Waiting on water from Miyun? They probably wouldn’t see a drop anytime soon.

Exactly. In his past life, the first phase of the Jingmi Diversion Canal was completed quickly, and by 1961, it was already supplying fresh water to the urban areas of Beijing.

For the first phase, the government didn’t fully mobilize the farmers. Instead, about 50,000 workers were dispatched from the city’s basic infrastructure, hydroelectric engineering, and commercial sectors.

In addition, 5,000 more were drawn from government agencies and schools, and a number of rural laborers were also recruited to support the effort.

The construction period was only about five months—a rapid pace.

But that also meant the canal was small, and its water volume was insufficient. It couldn’t meet the needs of the areas along its route. As a result, it only supplied fresh water to the city center. Suburban areas like theirs couldn’t use it—at least not yet.

Whether it was food or fresh water or other resources, the cities were always prioritized first, while the countryside had to wait its turn.

Village Chief Wang rolled his eyes in frustration but said nothing more. After all, it had been his suggestion.

“Our reservoir…” The brigade leader had just started speaking when he realized there were outsiders present and immediately stopped himself.

“Your reservoir?” Village Chief Wang looked confused.

“Nothing. Do you have any other business?” the old party secretary began to usher him out.

Zhou Yimin chuckled. In truth, the reservoir project couldn’t be kept a secret—after all, it wasn’t some tiny endeavor. Besides, there was no reason to hide it.

“Come on, Old Zhou. Our Shangshui Village and Zhoujiazhuang have always had good relations. There’s no need to keep things under wraps,” said Village Chief Wang anxiously.

He was afraid of missing out on an opportunity.

“We’re planning to build a reservoir behind the mountain,” Zhou Yimin said straightforwardly.

The old party secretary and the brigade leader both figured—yeah, it really wasn’t something that needed to be kept secret.

“Huh? A reservoir? Do you even have water back there?”

If there was no water, what were they building a reservoir for?

“It’s not like it’ll never rain again. The reservoir is for collecting rainwater—to prepare for the future,” the old party secretary explained.

Even if there’s no rain, wouldn’t there still be snow? Once it snows in winter, and it melts, that’s water too!

Besides, there used to be a small stream behind the mountain, though it dried up last year. Maybe before long, it would start flowing again.

Village Chief Wang fell silent.

(End of Chapter)