Chapter 243: The Old King Looking at the Reservoir

Secretary Cheng took Liu Siyu and Shen Wanxin and his party along the road covered by thatch. After walking for nearly half an hour, he saw the road along the Baishu River and turning into a valley. However, at this time, Baishu River was not as clear as when passing through the county town. Even the sound of the rustling water became very small. Large stones in the river were everywhere, shining white in the sun. Walking along the road, the valley was also beautiful. There were many kinds of trees on the hillside, all of which grew tender leaves, and there were several trees and flowers. A few birds flew around among the trees and kept chirping, adding infinite vitality to the entire valley.

Secretary Cheng walked while introducing the situation of the valley to Liu Siyu. According to his introduction, a valley was very long. When you walked straight forward, you would reach the highest peak of Yuling, but it was a primeval forest and there was no people. Only people who occasionally went to the mountains to hunt or collect herbs appeared there.

Yangwan Reservoir was built in a valley not far ahead. This Yangwan Reservoir was built forty years ago. At that time, Yangwan Township was called Yangwan Commune, and the village was not called a village, but a brigade. In order to solve the irrigation problem of Yangwan dam, the Commune Revolutionary Committee at that time called on the people of the commune to take advantage of the winter, thousands of people worked constantly on the construction site. Finally, at the narrowest part of the valley, a large reservoir in the county was built. After completion, a small power station was built, and Yangwan became the earliest commune to use lights in the county.

Of course, the people at that time did not have as many electrical appliances as they are now. Each of them only had a few lights with very small power, and of course there were no electricity meters or so. The power stations were charged according to the number of lights in the home.

Now Yangwan does not use the electricity from this power station. After the county power company sets the high-voltage line to Yangwan, it is closed directly, and there is only one reservoir manager living there.

Everyone was walking while talking, but the speed was not slow. After a while, Liu Siyu saw a tall dam appearing in front of him. Shen Wanxin pointed to the dam and said, "County Magistrate Liu, that is the dam of Yangwan Reservoir."

As everyone approached, Liu Siyu found that the dam was about 30 meters high and about 60 meters long. It was inclined outside and covered with grass. Depending on the situation, the dam should be made of soil, at least the outside of the dam was made of soil. As for the inside, it had to be up to see clearly.

At the bottom of the reservoir dam, there are two ditches covered with stones, which flow out along the banks of Baishu River. After everyone got on the dam, Liu Siyu discovered that the dam was very wide, about five or six meters above. The two meters inside the reservoir were made of stones, and the outside was piled up soil. However, the dam seemed to have not been repaired for many years, because the water level of the reservoir was very shallow, and you can see that there were large cracks in some places between the stones.

Liu Siyu observed the dam of the Yangwan Reservoir and couldn't help but worry. The flood discharge path of the reservoir was built about ten meters from the top of the dam, blocking it with a huge iron gate. Liu Siyu walked over and saw the turntable on the gate rusty. Liu Siyu called Jiang Mingqiang and said with a smile: "Come on, let's move."

Seeing Liu Siyu eager to try, Shen Wanxin and Qin Chuping hurriedly said, "County Magistrate Liu, you are in command, just let me and I come."

Hearing a few subordinates say this, Liu Siyu will certainly not move it again, but he didn't expect that the four of them were exerting enough strength, but the wheel did not move at all. Liu Siyu looked carefully and said, "Secretary Chen, this gate is probably rusted. If you ask someone to get some oil and soak it, you must make this gate be put into use."

At this time, the guardian reservoir came over. He was a bachelor from Shangba Village. He was fifty-five years old this year. Anyway, he had only one person, so the township government asked him to guard the reservoir.

Seeing Chen Wanxin, the person who was in charge of the reservoir smiled humbly and shouted in awe: "Secretary Chen, Township Chief Qin, you are here."

Chen Wanxin looked at him majesticly and said, "Lao Wang, this is County Mayor Liu from the county, who is here to check the situation of the reservoir."

When Lao Wang heard Secretary Chen introduce that the youngest of the five people was the county magistrate. His body bent lower and shouted timidly: "County Magistrate Liu."

Liu Siyu reached out and said enthusiastically: "Lao Wang, thank you for taking care of this reservoir for the whole township. Thank you for your hard work."

Lao Wang asked County Magistrate Liu to reach out, hurriedly stepped forward and shook it excitedly. Afterwards, Liu Siyu asked about Lao Wang's living conditions. Lao Wang said that the village gave him 1,200 yuan in living allowance every year, and he planted some crops around the reservoir, so his life was pretty good.

Hearing Lao Wang say this, Liu Siyu turned his head, looked at Chen Wanxin and Qin Chuping, and said solemnly: "Secretary Chen, Township Mayor Qin, you must solve Lao Wang's life problems. It is indeed not easy for him to guard the reservoir for the people of the township alone."

Chen Wanxin and Qin Chuping naturally nodded and said that they would follow County Mayor Liu's instructions.

Then, Liu Siyu and the others visited Lao Wang's residence again. Lao Wang now lives in the house of the original power station. The power station was very prosperous at that time, so several brick houses were built next to the reservoir. Now that the power station has disintegrated, the brick house has become Lao Wang's residence.

At Lao Wang's residence, Liu Siyu asked in detail about the situation of heavy floods in the Baishuxi River. In this mountain, whenever there is heavy rain or mountain torrents, the water is fierce and very scary. The capacity of this reservoir is very large. When ordinary mountain torrents enter the reservoir, they are stored and rarely reach the warning line. However, according to Lao Wang's introduction, it has been raining heavily for two consecutive days, and the water level of the reservoir continues to rise. Once, a dam appears.

When Liu Siyu heard this, his heart was hanging. He asked with concern: "Old Wang, today I saw many cracks on the embankment. If there was a huge mountain torrent, would this reservoir embankment stand it?"

"County Magistrate Liu, this reservoir dam should be repaired long ago. I observe every day. Seeing these cracks seem to be getting bigger and bigger, my heart is hanging in the air." When Lao Wang heard Liu Siyu ask about this situation, he said with emotion.

At this time, Chen Wanxin didn't know whether it was a problem with his throat or other reasons. After coughing lightly, Lao Wang looked at Chen Wanxin with a serious face timidly and stopped answering Liu Siyu's questions boldly.

Liu Siyu saw it in his heart and didn't say much. At this time, he thought of an important question and asked hurriedly: "Secretary Chen, is Lao Wang installing a phone number here?"

"County Magistrate Liu, this reservoir is so far away from the township government. It costs tens of thousands of yuan to install a telephone, but it doesn't count the phone bill. The finances in the village are already very nervous, so where can I have money to pretend?" Chen Wanxin heard Liu Siyu ask about this and quickly complained.

Liu Siyu frowned and said seriously: "Secretary Chen, this communication problem is a big deal. I have seen the situation of this reservoir. If the reservoir is full of water, the capacity will be very huge. If there is a dangerous situation in the dam and the communication is not smooth, how to fight against floods and rescue? If the dam collapses, it will be a disaster for Yangwan Dam. I hope you can pay attention to it. In any case, you must install a telephone number here as soon as possible. As for the embankment, it will also be organized and repaired in the recent period. After I go back, I will ask the technicians of the Water Conservancy Bureau to come down to provide guidance and must do these tasks well."

Although Chen Wanxin and Qin Chuping disagreed, Liu Siyu was the deputy county magistrate after all, and he came to inspect the work as a member of the county flood control command center, so naturally they did not dare to object.

After returning from Yangwan Reservoir and arriving at Secretary Cheng's house, Liu Siyu agreed to go to Cheng Xiaoqian's house for dinner. Chen Wanxin and Qin Chuping naturally had no choice but to go back first, so at the invitation of Secretary Cheng, he arrived at Cheng Xiaoqian's house together.

Seeing Liu Siyu and the others coming, Cheng Xiaoqian's father came out to greet him with a cane. He was injured in his waist and could not do heavy work, so he could only do some light farm work at home. This was also the reason why he had to let Cheng Xiaoqian go to Baishu Hotel to be a waiter. Later, when Cheng Xiaoqian didn't want to continue working in Baishu Hotel, it was Chen Wanxin who came to his home to do the work.

Cheng Xiaoqian's father still remembers Chen Wanxin's majestic appearance at that time. When he saw Chen Wanxin, he felt a little upset.

"You are Cheng Xiaoqian's father, you've caused you trouble. Xiaoqian is a child who is very sensible and works hard. I believe he will have a promising future." Liu Siyu stretched out his hand, shook Cheng Xiaoqian's father, and said sincerely.

"County Magistrate Liu, I heard Xiaoqian come back and say that you are a good person. There is nothing delicious at home today. I'm so sorry." Cheng Xiaoqian's father said guiltily.

He heard Xiaoqian talk about County Magistrate Liu saving himself, and Xiaoqian also took out the money Long Haitao compensated her and handed it to her father, asking his father to go to the provincial capital to treat his illness.

He had long regarded Liu Siyu as his family's benefactor, so his attitude was naturally unspeakable.

When Cheng Xiaoqian had supper at her house, Cheng Dashan had two drinks with Liu Siyu. He was helping prepare for life at Cheng Xiaoqian's house this afternoon.

Xiaoqian originally wanted to follow Liu Siyu back to the county, but later, at Liu Siyu's order, she decided to spend a good time with her parents at home and rest for two days before going back.

After leaving Cheng Xiaoqian's house, Liu Siyu and Jiang Mingqiang did not rest in Yangwan Township. After explaining a few words to Shen Wanxin and Qin Chuping, Liu Siyu and Jiang Mingqiang returned to the county directly. However, when they arrived in the county, it was already past twelve o'clock. Shi Gang sent the two to their residence and then went back to rest. Before leaving, Liu Siyu took out two bags of Zhonghua from his bag and stuffed them into Shi Gang's hand.

The next day, Liu Siyu called Director Zeng of the Water Resources Bureau and talked about the Yangwan Reservoir. Director Zeng heard Liu Siyu introduce the situation of Yangwan Reservoir and knew that the problem was serious, he immediately agreed to ask the technicians in the bureau to cooperate with the village to inspect the Yangwan Reservoir and determine the repair measures. Liu Siyu asked Director Zeng to notify his technicians and contact his secretary Chen Liang at that time to try to go down early.
Chapter completed!