Chapter 28: The old village chief (3)

With everyone’s hard work, the plan to raise fish in the river was quickly implemented, and a part of the river became a fish farm.

The benefits of raising fish in this way are quite a lot. The technician once said that the meat of this kind of fish does not have the fishy smell of fish raised in fish ponds, and it can also maintain a certain degree of freshness of river fish.

Everyone was full of hope, waiting for the harvest from the fish farm. If the harvest was good, it would mean wealth.

Although the land route is not very smooth, the fish can be transported out by boat.

Everyone is looking forward to it, including the old village chief, who has no children and a wife who passed away three years ago. He is now single-mindedly devoted to his work. He hopes to achieve results, not for fame or profit, but simply because he wants to do things for everyone.

Spring turned to autumn, and before long, a year had passed and the fish farm was ready for harvest.

Everyone was very excited, but at this time, someone came to pour cold water on the old village chief.

This person is an old man in the village who mainly manages the village’s sacrifices and other things. It is said that he knows a lot about ghosts and spirits and has many rules.

With the liberation of the area, new ideas gradually spread, and the villagers gradually stopped respecting the old man, thinking that he was superstitious. However, no one said anything explicitly. After all, the villagers still paid attention to the ancestral sacrifices, and he still had to preside over this work.

One day, he went to the old village chief’s house.

“I think we should hold a ceremony to worship the river god. After all, we have to show our gratitude to the river god for providing us with food,” he said to the old village chief.

The old village chief frowned. As a village official, he was very opposed to this waste of labor and money. He had accepted new ideas and new education, and thought that this was a bad habit that must not be tolerated.

But after all, the old man was in charge of the village’s sacrificial work, so he still had to be respected. So the old village chief tactfully refused: “I think that now the village is poor, and the sacrificial offerings have to be live cows and pigs thrown into the river. In the future, when the village is rich, we can do such activities, and it’s not bad to row dragon boats or something.”

The old man was a sensible person and knew that this was actually a rejection. The sacrificial activity was simply impossible. If he didn’t do it, others might think he was stirring up trouble and seeking fame. Sighing, the old man said to the old village chief, “The river god is not satisfied and will take away people’s lives. Maybe the harvest will be taken back as well. Forget it. Do what you think is best.”

This statement made the old village chief a little angry. This was definitely using feudal superstition to intimidate, but the old village chief still suppressed his anger and respectfully sent the old man out the door. No matter what, the old village chief was a person who was willing to compromise with others. He didn’t want to get angry with an old man.

In fact, I don’t want to comment on whether or not the sacrificial rites are a bad habit. After all, at that time, there were always people who liked to take things to the extreme, to the extreme, to oppose something, and even to deny it all.

Nowadays, such sacrificial activities are actually encouraged, to protect folk culture and the like. Some sacrifices have even become a means of attracting tourists.

The reason for the revival of this ritual is not the focus of this discussion. The point is that the old village chief refused the request to hold the ritual. He thought that as a party member, he should uphold certain principles, and the ritual was indeed a bit extravagant and wasteful, which the poor little mountain village could not afford.

The harvest season was approaching, and no matter how determined the old village chief was, he still had some doubts in his heart. It’s like no matter how much you don’t believe in a person, when they say something in front of you, it still casts a shadow over your heart.

On this day, the old village chief decided to go to the fishing grounds to take a look for himself. He took his own small boat and went on a tour with several people who were busy at the fishing grounds. Among these people, one of them was the old village chief’s nephew, who was the closest blood relative in his village.

The atmosphere was very pleasant. After all, it was a beautiful day with a gentle breeze. After all, who wouldn’t be happy to see the fish jumping out of the water from time to time?

But when they reached the edge of the fishing ground, the weather suddenly turned gloomy and a strong wind blew.

The villagers are experienced. In such situations, they usually head for shore. When the wind is strong, it is easy for small boats to become uncontrollable. Now, at the edge of the fishing ground, although there is still a certain distance from the middle of the river, it is also dangerous.

Just as everyone was rushing to shore, the wind suddenly intensified, quickly becoming uncontrollable. The water also began to become turbulent, and the fish that had been jumping out of the water began to sink to the bottom.

“Don’t panic, everyone. Take it easy,” the old village chief said, calmly directing everyone as he rowed his boat.

This is a small village in Sichuan. Due to the many mountains, the wind is not as strong as it could be. This situation is not the first time that everyone has lived here for many years. Although it is a bit strange to have such a wind in the fall, everyone quickly calmed down when the old village chief shouted.

One of the young men even jokingly shouted, “Old Mayor, why don’t we race to see who gets to the shore first?”

The old village chief was about to agree, but then the wind suddenly became stronger, and the water, which had just been a little agitated, began to churn and became very violent. This was something the river had never experienced before.

The old village chief’s heart ‘clicked’ and he suddenly remembered the words of the village’s sacrificial elder, that the river god must be appeased, or else human lives would be sacrificed!

But it was too late to say anything. The old village chief had his own convictions. Although he was beginning to doubt, he was only half-believing. But no matter what, he could not allow anyone to die under his watch. He desperately resisted the effects of the wind while shouting, “Everyone row hard. Whoever reaches the shore first, call someone to help!”

But things did not go as planned. In the face of nature, human power is laughable. In less than two minutes, the boats were carried by the wind and water to the middle of the river, where they kept spinning around…

What is going on in the middle of the river? Everyone is both surprised and scared! After all, there have been strong winds before, and the best experience is not to row, but to let the wind carry the boat. As long as the boat does not overturn, the wind will always stop.

There is only one possibility for this whirling, and that is a huge whirlpool!

At this point, it began to rain heavily, accompanied by thunder and lightning, as if the heavens were angry, making people feel even more panicked.

The old village chief had already completely believed the river god’s words, because in the blink of an eye, their boat had been spinning in the river for ten minutes. At this time, some villagers, seeing this violent weather, thought of the fishing grounds or relatives who had come to inspect the fishing grounds, and rushed to the riverbank, shouting and yelling on the shore.

Before long, more and more people gathered, and almost the entire village turned out. Everyone was talking at once, and some of the more active people were preparing to throw ropes in the hope of reaching the people in the middle of the river.

But is that possible? The river is not a big river, but the old village chief and his group are at least 50 meters from the shore. How can they throw it over? Swim over? Even less likely. How can people swim in this weather?

As if the rain wasn’t enough, a sharp-eyed man suddenly shouted, “What is that?”

It was only then that people noticed that the water was actually bubbling, like boiling water. The people on the boat were already a little desperate, because they had noticed the bubbling of the water for a long time. It was bubbling around their boat.

Suddenly, a loud thunderclap came, the water stopped bubbling, the wind stopped blowing, and it was as if a great hand had stopped the storm in its tracks, stopping it dead in its tracks.

The people were suddenly surprised. Well, the tension was only temporary, and the people on the boat were saved.

But life is like a tragicomedy, and this brief moment of relief was not enough for the people to breathe a sigh of relief. A more terrifying situation arose, because less than two miles from the boat, suddenly there were huge waves. The waves were not the normal churning of the water, but rather, it was as if something huge was swimming beneath the surface.

“The dragon spirit is coming!” the village elders cried out.

“The river god is angry! He’s come to take our lives!” Suddenly, a voice broke out from the crowd. It was the old man who had been performing the sacrifice. He shouted and then knelt down.