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墨書 Inktalez
Not long after the start of high school, on a Saturday, I returned home as usual. My mother, seeing that the "main" labor force was back, immediately arranged for us: "Biaosong, you and your brother go help with the drought relief at the Goose Chestnut Hollow field."
In the countryside, irrigating rice fields is a significant undertaking. Although during the era of collectivization, reservoirs were built by the Commune and canals were constructed by the platoon, water supply remained insufficient. Disputes over water often led to arguments and even fights; in some places, collective brawls broke out over water rights. Additionally, some fields located on high embankments were naturally higher than the canal and required manual labor for drought relief.
Our family was allocated more than five acres of land, varying in quality. Three plots were situated below the canal, so as long as there was water in the canal, we didn’t have to exert much effort to manage irrigation. Two plots had springs, allowing us to barely sustain our crops even in dry years when the reservoir ran dry. The remaining five or six plots required drawing water from the canal over a long distance; we either had to pass through someone else's field or clear out a long-unused makeshift canal, or share limited water resources from a small canal with others. I hadn’t fully grown up yet and couldn’t assert myself in front of others; even when sent to fetch water, I often ended up with just a little "leftover water." After several attempts, my parents stopped sending me for this task. Only the Goose Chestnut Hollow field, situated more than a meter above the canal and covering an area of just over two mu, consumed most of our efforts for drought relief.
After land was allocated to households, perhaps because the only water cart from the original production team had aged and fallen apart, or perhaps because each family didn’t need much water for their fields, the scene of strong laborers using carts for irrigation gradually disappeared. Many families chose to rely on nature for their rice fields that couldn’t draw from the canal; if it rained enough, they would plant; if not, they would leave it fallow. In the mountainous areas near Wugang County, everyone seemed to agree: they plowed their fields during spring rains and rushed to plant early rice. If there happened to be heavy rain during Double Grab season, they would plant late rice; if there was no soaking rain, they would abandon that season. However, my mother was both strong-willed and frugal; since this two mu field was right above the canal, she refused to give up on it. She always found ways to get some water so we could plant late rice like "adding a wedge to a stone slab," arranging for us to go help with drought relief every three to five days.
Without a water cart, our only tools for drought relief were buckets and basins. At first, our family of five worked together: each parent had a bucket while my brother and I used basins; my younger sister simply took a ladle. We built a small dam across the widest part of the canal and dug out a small pool in the enclosed area. We took turns fetching water from this pool with buckets and basins to deliver it to the fields. After a whole day’s work, we managed to provide just an inch of water for that small plot.
After several drought relief efforts, we gradually figured out an efficient method: we worked in pairs. We dug a small hole at a sturdy spot slightly higher than the canal embankment on one side of the paddy field. We selected a solid wooden board—one end placed in this hole while the other rested on the canal embankment. One person stood in the canal filling a bucket with water while supporting it with one hand on its rim and another under its bottom to lift it up. The other person stood on the board ready to catch the handle of the bucket as it was lifted up. Standing on that board allowed them just enough reach to pour water into an already prepared channel leading into the field.
This method significantly increased our efficiency compared to one person carrying water up and down alone; we could fetch ten buckets in a minute. After resting for half an hour, we could accumulate about two thousand buckets of water in an afternoon—more effective than our entire family's labor in one day.
Initially, this two-person teamwork could only be performed by my parents since my brother and I were still small; whether standing on the board or in the canal, we struggled to reach each other. Gradually, I joined in when my parents were tired and after one or two years could manage entirely on my own. By the time I entered high school, my brother also joined this effort but initially could only handle tasks in the canal. Compared to standing on the board, working in the canal required less effort; he didn’t have to bend down constantly and enjoyed a sense of playfulness while working in cool water that alleviated his fatigue.
In rural areas, it seemed there was always farm work that never ended. Once my brother was able to help with drought relief, our parents almost entirely entrusted this responsibility to us two; they busied themselves with other tasks either in or out of the fields. Many weekends found us at Goose Chestnut Hollow by the canal engaged in our "double dragon fetching water" routine.
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