Chapter 238: Chapter 238 The Worsening Drought (1)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Mistress, you’re back. 1 have something to tell you.” When Sun Hongliang saw Zhou Ying enter, he walked out from behind the counter.
“Then let’s go to the back.” Zhou Ying nodded and led him to the back.
After sitting in the central room, she poured herself a glass of water and asked, “Tell me, what’s the matter?”
“When I was taking water, I realized that the water level in the well had dropped again.”
Zhou Ying’s hand that was holding the cup immediately froze. She asked, “How much has it dropped this time?”
“About half a meter. It’s probably because we’ve been using too much water recently. The porridge stand alone needs about 20 buckets of water daily.”
“It’s because it hasn’t rained for too long, causing the water level to drop.” With a sigh, Zhou Ying said.
…..
There was a snowfall after the new year. She thought it would be better this year, but it turned out worse. She was still determining if the spring wheat would ripen this year.
“Then…”
Zhou Ying paused for a moment before replying, “Even so, we can’t stop providing porridge. Otherwise, those refugees will tear down our restaurant. Let’s try to save as much as possible.
“As for the future…
“Right now, everyone is in the same boat. There will be others who can’t continue this charity before us, so there’s no need to be the first to step out.
“Oh, right. How much food is left in the warehouse?”
“About 2,000 pounds of rice and less than 5,000 pounds of black flour.”
“Increase oil and water in the porridge stands. The beef oil and mutton stored in the ice cellar can be put in. Also, put in dried vegetables to save as much grain as possible.
“This year’s situation isn’t optimistic, so we must plan early.”
“I understand. Please rest while 1 carry that out.” Sun Hongliang responded and got up.
Zhou Ying couldn’t sit still after drinking a glass of water. She immediately went to the well and tied a rope to a clean stone to measure the depth.
She didn’t expect the water to be less than two meters deep.
Their well was a well-known deep well in town. What about the other wells if the water in this one was almost at the bottom?
She carried the stone out of the restaurant and wanted to find a public well to test. However, when she arrived, she discovered that she did not need to run a test.
Beside the well, there was a long line of people waiting for water.
After asking around, she found out that the water in the well had reached the bottom. It was already decent if they could wait for one or two buckets of water per day.
Zhou Ying found two more wells, and the general situation was similar.
“Manager Zhou, what are you doing walking around the street with that stone?”
Zhou Ying looked toward the source of the voice and saw Manager Qian driving a carriage. He pulled a carriage full of things and parked it on the side, with another carriage following behind.
“Uncle Qian, you’re not thinking of leaving, are you?” she asked.
“I am. The drought is worsening, and business isn’t going well.
“In addition to the large influx of refugees, the water supply is the main problem. We thought of heading south to seek refuge with my wife and sister. What about you guys? What are your plans? Do you want to go together?” Manager Qian asked.
“We have a big family, and there are still crops in the fields. We can’t just move them as we please. Let’s wait until the summer harvest is over.”
“That’s true. We’ll be leaving now. See you again.”
“I wish you all the best.” Zhou Ying waved her hand.
After they left, Zhou Ying didn’t bother to check anymore and went back to the restaurant.
On the other side, Gu Chengrui drove the carriage to the county government office and found Mayor Kong. He told him about the three people’s situation and said, “I’m sorry, Mayor Kong. I’m afraid I’ve implicated you because of my sister’s matter..”