Urban Witcher

The pony asked: "How long will it take to get there?"

Ye Shaoyang thought for a while and said, "Theoretically, it's less than a day."

Xiao Ma's eyes widened: "Why does this thing have a theory?"

"To get to the county seat, you have to take a black car into the mountains. Sometimes you can get on it, and sometimes you can't get on it for half a day." Ye Shaoyang said, "Of course this happened a few years ago. I haven't been back for a few years, so I don't know."

Xiao Ma's face was full of black lines, "Does your family live on Mars? It's so complicated."

After wandering on the bus for several hours, after getting off the bus, the two came to a small county town: Huaishang County.

When I got out of the station, black car drivers immediately surrounded me, shouting various place names in the local dialect.

Although the Central Plains Mandarin is a bit rustic, it is not much different from Mandarin, and Xiao Ma can understand it.

Ye Shaoyang spotted a driver, and first asked him how much it would cost to go to Jiang's gate in Mandarin, and the driver said eighty. Ye Shaoyang said it again in the local language, the driver froze for a moment, and immediately subtracted forty.

Ye Shaoyang told Xiao Ma to follow the driver.

"Didn't you leave home when you were five years old? How can you still speak in dialect?" Xiao Ma asked a little puzzled.

"Even if I can speak at the age of three, I have been able to speak the dialect for two years." Ye Shaoyang rolled his eyes at him, and said, "The things learned in childhood are the easiest to remember, and the local accent is hard to change."

It was said to be a black car, but it was actually a small minibus. The car looked like a scrap car, and Xiao Ma was a little afraid to get on it, but there were already a few people in the car.

After the two got up, they occupied the back seat. After waiting for 20 minutes, the car got on one after another. After 70% to 80% of the time, the people on the car started to urge them together. The driver waited for a while, but no one got on the car. , and then the train starts.

The minibus left the county town and started rattling along the asphalt road in the middle of a crop field.

Feeling that he was getting closer to his hometown, Ye Shaoyang couldn't help being a little excited. Although he had no home, this nostalgic feeling was still there.

Suddenly, the pony took him with his arm and said, "Is your hometown in the desert?"

Ye Shaoyang frowned and said, "What do you mean?"

Xiao Ma pouted at the passengers in front, and said, "Otherwise, why would everyone buy so much mineral water?"

Ye Shaoyang looked one by one, and it was true that almost all the passengers had large buckets of purified water or a large bottle of mineral water, as well as various beverages, under their seats.

Just at this time, a three or four-year-old girl sitting in front of them spilled a can of drink because of the car shaking. Her mother immediately slapped her on the arm and cursed: "What are you drinking?" Drink, what a waste, do you know how much you paid for it?"

How much does a bottle of drink cost? Ye Shaoyang and Xiao Ma looked at each other, feeling that something was a little unusual.

Xiao Ma said: "Otherwise, you can ask what's going on."

Ye Shaoyang thought for a while and said, "No hurry, let's talk after getting out of the car, anyway, they are all going to the gate of Jiang's house."

The gate of the Jiang family is a town, not because there are many people with the surname Jiang, but because there was once a family with the surname Jiang who had a champion. The emperor built a memorial archway on the street, which looked like a gate, and later it was called Jiang. The gate of the house, the name spread, and later became the name of the town.

Yejia Village, where Ye Shaoyang's family is located, is still twenty miles away from the town. When the two got off the car, it was already dark and there was no car going into the mountain, so Ye Shaoyang planned to spend the night in the town.

"Buy some water first." After Xiao Ma finished speaking, he plunged into a small shop by the side of the road and asked for two bottles of activation.

"No." The boss, a middle-aged man in his forties, said simply.

The pony said: "What drink do you have?"

The boss glanced at him and pointed to the two bottles of mineral water on the freezer, "This is the only one, eight yuan a bottle."

"Eight Yuan" pony called, "Fuck you, this is a black shop."

"Young man, be careful what you say. I don't want to sell it for eight yuan. If I don't buy it, I will leave. See if there is any one in this town that is cheaper than mine."

Ye Shaoyang sensed something was wrong, stepped forward and said in local dialect: "Uncle, I just came home and don't know why a bottle of mineral water is so expensive."

Hearing his local dialect, the boss had a better attitude, looked him up and down and said, "College student, didn't your family call you to tell you that the water in the town is about to run out, only Ali Reservoir still has a little water.

If you go further south, there is no water at all. Now water is more expensive than oil, and mineral water is almost out of reach. If you are really thirsty, take a bottle and drink it. There is no money, but I can only give you a bottle. "

"Thank you Uncle, let me ask, why is there no water in the town?"

The boss spread his hands, "Ghost knows what's going on. Since last month, the water level in the well has dropped again and again. Last month, no water came out of any deep well. There hasn't been a single drop of rain in three months. The river is completely dry, and the drinking water in the town is now all brought in from the county, so you can tell how expensive it is."

Ye Shaoyang recalled the scene he saw in the car, and finally understood that those passengers bought water to drink at home, so he asked, "Have you found the cause of the drought?"

The boss sighed, "I also contacted the media and the government. An investigation team came down from the city. After a few days of investigation, there was no clue. They said it was due to the once-in-a-century drought. Two water trucks are sent to deliver water every day, but there is only enough water for everyone to drink, not enough for daily use.”

Hearing what he said, Xiao Ma was surprised and asked: "There is no running water in the town."

"No, our town is hundreds of miles away from the nearest county seat, and there are many mountains, so the cost of laying water pipes is too high. Besides, we used to have no shortage of water. Every family has wells, and there are reservoirs in the mountains. No one drinks tap water. .

After the drought happened, the city was actively trying to lay water pipes, but it couldn't be done in a day or two, and it couldn't quench the thirst. Besides, the drought was not only in the town, but also in the small villages in the south. The situation was much more serious. "

Ye Shaoyang asked a few more words, thanked him, and left the shop with Xiao Ma to find a hotel.

The little horse on the road asked: "What's the matter, did you often have droughts in the past?"

Ye Shaoyang shook his head, "There has never been a real drought in the Central Plains. This is very unusual."

Xiao Ma said disapprovingly: "What's unusual, whether it's raining or not, God's business, who cares."

Ye Shaoyang snorted and said, "It can be said that there is no rain for three months, but why is the water in the well dry?"

Xiao Ma was stunned for a moment and said: "It's not raining, let's dry it out."

Ye Shaoyang was speechless for a moment, "The water in your well was accumulated in the rain, and you never took a nature class in elementary school."

"Uh, isn't it?" Xiao Ma chased after him, "Then tell me, what else can cause drought?"

Ye Shaoyang said: "At least one reason is drought."

Today is my birthday, I am happy to have everyone with me. Congratulations to everyone. The song "Being a Leaf of You" was written by me in a very short time. It may not be good, but it is absolutely original. The story has entered a new chapter, and it will be even better. Thank you all.

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