18
Zhou Xiye Helps Jiang Zhizhi Speak
Jiang Zhizhi found it somewhat amusing—this was the first time someone had described her as naive and easily deceived.
However, when she first saw her reflection in the mirror, her initial impression of the original host was also that this girl was pretty and looked easily fooled.
Whenever Yang Fengmei mentioned the Educated Youth Housing, her tone dripped with disdain. Because of the behavior of a few female educated youths, she looked down on the entire Educated Youth Housing and detested all pretty women even more.
Jiang Zhizhi simply listened quietly. When she heard that Old Liang had been seen rolling in the cornfield with a female educated youth, she was shocked. Her first thought was, “The cornfield? Wouldn’t that be prickly on the butt? And wouldn’t there be lots of mosquitoes?”
Yang Fengmei cursed the woman as shameless: “How old is she? Dashuang’s father is over fifty—he could be her father! And she still went to seduce him. How loose must her pants be?”
Jiang Zhizhi still refrained from commenting. First of all, in this matter, Old Liang wasn’t exactly a saint either.
After venting her anger and finishing the housework, Yang Fengmei skipped her noon rest and took the family’s clothes to the river to wash.
Only then did Jiang Zhizhi’s ears find peace. She picked up paper and a pen, leaning over the small dining table to continue sketching her diagrams. She needed to finish them quickly so Old Liang would trust her, allowing her to settle here with peace of mind.
After staying indoors for two days, she completed the draft sketches and brought them to Old Liang.
Old Liang had limited education—he could recognize some characters, but these highly technical diagrams were beyond his comprehension. He scrutinized them over and over, frowning. “Xiao Jiang, I really don’t understand these. Will this work?”
Jiang Zhizhi was confident. “It will. As long as we follow this plan, it will definitely work.”
Old Liang scratched his head, thinking hard. “Today, another educated youth discussed this with me. She mentioned using some suction method, saying just a few pipes would be enough to draw up the water. Much simpler than your idea.”
Jiang Zhizhi was surprised. “A few pipes? Without a pump? That’s completely unrealistic.”
Old Liang didn’t understand. “That girl seemed very convincing. How about this—Captain Zhou is coming this evening. We can ask him then?”
Jiang Zhizhi thought it over and guessed that the educated youth was probably referring to the siphon method. That might work for drawing small amounts of water or lifting well water over short distances. But for steep slopes and long distances, siphoning simply wouldn’t work.
If that were the case, then her method was sure to win.
In the evening, Zhou Xiye and Zhang Zhao arrived together. They were heading into the mountains the next day to start road construction, so they came to confirm the plan with Old Liang one more time.
Zhou Xiye brought two cans of fruit and a jar of malted milk powder—all rare luxuries.
He gave the canned fruit to Old Liang and casually handed the malted milk powder to Jiang Zhizhi. “Your arm needs nutrients. This will help you recover faster.”
Jiang Zhizhi took it, slightly bewildered. “Thank you.”
Zhang Zhao struggled to keep a straight face. He’d insisted that their leader must have taken a liking to the girl, yet Zhou Xiye stubbornly claimed she was just promising soldier material. Now he was saying she was suspicious and needed closer observation.
Closer observation? And yet he was giving her chicken and going out of his way to buy malted milk powder?
Zhou Xiye reiterated to Old Liang that under no circumstances should anyone go into the mountains.
Old Liang thumped his chest. “Don’t worry! I’ve made it clear repeatedly—keep a close watch on your children. No one is allowed into the mountains for now, or they’ll face the consequences!”
Zhou Xiye felt relieved: “During the blasting, falling debris can still be quite dangerous.”
Old Liang nodded: “I’ve already explained the risks and benefits to them, Captain Zhou. You can rest assured.”
He then showed Zhou Xiye the blueprint drawn by Jiang Zhizhi: “Captain Zhou, since you’re here, why don’t you take a look at this diagram? I can’t make heads or tails of it—it seems very complicated. Would implementing this require massive engineering? Today I heard about another method called siphoning, where you just connect a pipe to the river and can draw water up.”
Zhou Xiye took the blueprint and examined it carefully. Jiang Zhizhi wrote with her left hand—the characters were somewhat childish yet neat, and the drawings were incredibly detailed, even including internal schematics. Only someone with professional knowledge could produce something like this.
After reviewing it, he looked up at Old Liang: “So what’s the party secretary’s opinion?”
Old Liang gave a dry laugh: “Naturally, I’d prefer a method that’s both economical and simple. This looks far too complicated.”
Zhou Xiye nodded: “It is indeed complex, but it’s the only solution that can bring real improvement. As for the siphoning method you mentioned—if it’s that straightforward, why hasn’t it been used before? Have you ever seen someone siphon gasoline from a fuel tank? You insert one end of a tube into the gasoline, take a sharp inhale, and the fuel flows out. Seen that?”
Old Liang pondered for a moment before nodding: “Yes, I have. Are you saying drawing water from the river works the same way?”
Zhou Xiye affirmed: “Exactly. Do you think it’s feasible? What force could lift that volume of water? Human effort certainly won’t suffice—you’d need a pump. In the city, there are electric pumps that can draw water up. But we have no electricity here. How would we pump it?”
Old Liang smacked his lips, completely stumped.
Zhou Xiye pointed at the blueprint: “If you want a fundamental solution, this is the method to adopt. You could propose it to the commune—if the entire commune implements this approach, with water available, crops could be irrigated properly. Wouldn’t that boost yields?”
“The cost is temporary, but the returns are long-term.”
Jiang Zhizhi watched Zhou Xiye with sparkling eyes, surprised by how knowledgeable he was and how skillfully he handled persuasion!
She had assumed he was like those later-era domineering CEOs—cold, reticent, acting as if uttering an extra word would kill him.
Zhou Xiye glanced at Jiang Zhizhi and noticed the girl puffing out her chest, her small frame erect, eyes gleaming, corners of her mouth upturned—like a primary school student praised by her teacher, radiating a bit of pride and joy.
He handed the blueprint back to Jiang Zhizhi: “Your diagram is very professional. If the party secretary applies for approval, it should be fine.”
Jiang Zhizhi happily accepted the blueprint: “Thank you for the compliment. This method will definitely work.”
Old Liang was also convinced: “Shall I give it a try then?”
Zhou Xiye nodded: “Improving the water environment is a good cause. The higher-ups will surely support it.”
…
Sun Xiaoyue waited for the village party secretary’s response. Her siphoning method could enhance the village’s water supply—a commendable initiative. Once successful, the party secretary would surely view her in a new light, and even Jiang Donghua would regard her more highly.
She had also learned that Jiang Zhizhi was staying at the party secretary’s house, though she couldn’t fathom how Jiang Zhizhi had suddenly become some sort of technician.
Nevertheless, she wouldn’t expose her—this made the game more interesting.
Once the village party secretary approved her plan, she would gain a voice in front of him. Dealing with a mere Jiang Zhizhi would then be as easy as pie!
Sun Xiaoyue grew more pleased with herself the more she thought about it. Since it wasn’t convenient for her to show up personally, she went to find Chen Shuangyan to inquire about the news at the village party secretary’s house…