Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 37: The Water Battle with the Neighboring Village
Rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea—how could a large family living together avoid quarrels? The Zhu family courtyard didn’t quiet down until dinner, and even then, it only ended because of Grandfather’s strong intervention.
It was a pity, though, for the five fish that had been caught. Fourth Aunt, in her discontent, had cooked the meal, and the fish ended up burned in the pan.
It was the worst fish anyone had ever tasted.
Eldest Uncle did not appear at dinner. He had taken the money and gone to town early that morning to study with friends. In truth, Eldest Uncle was not exactly being fair. He took the money and left to enjoy himself, while Eldest Aunt remained behind to face the suspicions and questioning of the other sisters-in-law. Yet she defended him fiercely and would not tolerate a single bad word about him. One had to admit Eldest Uncle had some skill: not only was he educated, he was also remarkably adept at household maneuvering. He certainly knew how to keep everyone else busy.
At dinner, Grandfather gave Zhu Ping’an an extra flatbread and Zhu Pingjun half of one, telling both grandsons to eat their fill.
“Old man, flatbreads don’t appear out of thin air.” Grandmother was already angry after the daughters-in-law’s quarrel, and now the old man was generously feeding the grandsons. Giving Jun’er extra was one thing, since he attended school, but the youngest grandson had already received half a flatbread and was now getting a whole additional one. That was nearly an adult’s portion.
“What do you women know? In a few days it’ll be time for our village to compete with Shanghe Village for water again. One of the village elders came today and said both Jun’er and Zhi’er will take part this year. They’re two of our village’s fighters, and this concerns everyone’s livelihood. The fields are our lifeline. We lost to Shanghe Village last year and the harvest suffered badly. Especially over the next few days, we need to make sure Zhi’er and Jun’er eat their fill and get the best food we can spare.”
Grandfather twisted his neck and glared at Grandmother, frustrated that she, being a woman, didn’t understand the situation.
Mother Chen’s face brightened upon hearing this. Although the village had lost the last water fight, Zhu Pingchuan had performed well and earned a lot of praise from both inside and outside the village. It would likely make it much easier for him to find a wife in the future. Now that the two little ones could participate at only five years old, there would be plenty of chances for them to make a name for themselves in the future.
After dinner, Zhu Ping’an learned from his father, Zhu Shouyi, what this so-called water dispute with Shanghe Village was all about.
As the saying went, those who lived by the mountains relied on the mountains, and those who lived by the water relied on the water. But when two villages depended on the same mountain and the same stream, conflicts of interest were inevitable. The mountain was large enough for both villages, but the water was different. Both Shanghe Village and Xiahe Village depended on Qingxi Stream to irrigate their fields.
Shanghe Village was upstream, while Xiahe Village was downstream, and for generations, the two villages had relied on the same stream for irrigation. But when the crops needed watering, or during droughts, the water from the Qingxi stream wasn’t enough for both. Whenever this happened, Shanghe Village would cut off the flow of Qingxi, ensuring their own village had water for irrigation, which Xiahe Village wouldn’t tolerate. With the stream already running low, cutting it off meant that Xiahe Village would get nothing, leaving their crops dry and their fields barren. Naturally, this was unacceptable.
And so, one village would try to block the stream, while the other refused to let it be blocked. If you cut it off today, tomorrow, I’ll bring people to dig it open and let the water flow again. When no agreement could be reached, the two villages would engage in physical fights—forks, sticks, hoes, and shovels flying everywhere. Once the fighting heated up, things would spiral out of control, leading to bloodshed, injuries, and even death. Every year, the water disputes resulted in over a dozen casualties between the two villages. Even after the main conflict, the losing families would sometimes seek revenge, sparking smaller skirmishes that continued to cause harm.
The village elders of both villages felt that things couldn’t continue this way. So many people had died or been injured, causing too much loss to their villages, and the constant fighting over water was delaying the crops, reducing the harvest significantly.
The elders of both villages eventually met to discuss a solution. To prevent needless deaths and serious injuries, they established a tradition for settling the water dispute, one that had been followed ever since.
Each village would choose thirty children between the ages of five and ten to take part. Children could fight without causing the kind of serious casualties that adult brawls produced; at worst, most would need a day or two in bed before bouncing back.
There was also a set of rules for the 60 children to follow during the water dispute; otherwise, how would they determine a winner?
Each village had ten flags, with one side attacking and the other defending. The defending side would be stationed on a small hill, while the attacking side would be below the hill, attempting to capture the defending village’s flags. Within the time it took for one incense stick to burn, the attacking side would capture as many flags as they could and deliver them to their village elders. After the incense burned out, the roles would switch—the attackers becoming the defenders and vice versa. The new attackers would then try to capture flags for the same duration of one incense stick. The flags they captured would also be handed to their village elders.
The elders would count the captured flags to determine the winner and allocate irrigation priority for the coming year. Each flag represented five days. For every flag by which one village exceeded the other, it gained another five days of priority use. The winning village could draw from Qingxi Stream first, and the losing village could not obstruct the flow or irrigate until those allotted days were finished.
Last year, Shanghe Village had won by two flags, leaving Xiahe Village at a disadvantage when it came to irrigation. Fortunately, there had been no serious drought, or the consequences could have been disastrous.
As the time for this year’s water dispute approached, the village elders began selecting participants for the competition. Since the number of children aged 5 to 10 was limited, they carefully chose the best candidates. Zhu Ping’an and Zhu Pingjun were both selected. Zhu Ping’an, who had just turned five, was likely chosen because of his chubby build. His older brother, Zhu Pingchuan, was not selected because, according to the village’s age calculation method, he had just turned 11 and was too old.
This water dispute tradition had been followed by the two villages for over a hundred years. By now, it had become more like a social gathering for the villages, and a chance for the younger generation to show off. Children who performed well during the water disputes had a great advantage when it came to finding a spouse. Matchmakers would often praise them, and the families of potential brides would hold them in higher regard.
Every year on the day of the water battle, the surrounding area turned into a small fair. The younger generation fought for flags on the hill while elders cheered and joked nearby. Village heads and respected elders sat on raised platforms drinking tea and wine, and vendors set up stalls to sell their goods. It had become one of the liveliest annual events shared by the two villages.
Zhu Ping’an wasn’t particularly excited about a bunch of kids fighting over flags, but seeing how excited his mother, Chen, looked, he wisely kept quiet.
That night, Zhu Pingchuan also shared his water dispute experience with Zhu Ping’an before bed. Usually a man of few words, Zhu Pingchuan rambled on for quite a while, but Zhu Ping’an fell asleep while listening.