Chapter 73: Why Is There No Water?

"Zhao Zejun, why is there no water!"
The June weather was gradually growing hotter. Jiang Xuan, bare-chested, was taking a cold shower in the courtyard on the first floor. Halfway through, the water stopped. Eyes narrowed against the soap suds clinging to his head, he shouted upstairs, "Zhao Zejun!"
Zhao Zejun emerged from his makeshift office and hollered back down, "Am I your landlord? How should I know why there’s no water? If you’re out, go fetch some from the well. Isn’t there one right by the door?"
Jiang Xuan glanced toward the room where the old volunteer army couple lived and waved his hand. Someone had died in that well.
“So squeamish!” Zhao Zejun rolled his eyes. This wretched place, Gaogang Village, had such poor infrastructure—power and water cuts were an everyday occurrence. Over the decades, several people had drowned in that well, and yet the locals still used its water, some even drank it straight. What was so terrible about rinsing off with it?
Just then, the elderly man from next door, propped on his cane, shuffled out, trembling. "Little Zhao, my TV seems broken. Can you come take a look?"
This old man was a welfare recipient, living alone. He clung to his black-and-white TV for news—it was his lifeline, salvaged by Zhao Zejun during a rainstorm.
Zhao Zejun followed him inside. The TV was indeed dead. He tapped the case and checked the plug.
"It’s not the TV, Grandpa. Seems like there’s no power," Zhao Zejun said, flicking the light switch to confirm—the lights stayed dark.
"How come the electricity is out? There was no notice," another old man muttered in confusion.
Zhao Zejun had already guessed most of it. He went outside, checked the other rooms, and found that none had electricity.
Quite a few people nearby were coming out of their homes, asking each other,
"Is the power out?"
"My place has no power either, even the water’s gone!"
"I didn’t get any notice…"
"Notice? What notice—this must be the relocation office’s doing!"
After circling the area, Zhao Zejun found that nearly half of Gaogang Village, especially the eastern side, was without water or electricity, but further out everything seemed normal.
No need to ask, it was obvious what was happening. Just yesterday he’d had a falling out with Old Li, and today, retribution had come. Among the households here, the largest and most defiant were Zhao Zejun and the Zejian Company.

A man living diagonally across the street came over and offered Zhao Zejun a cigarette with a forced smile. "Boss Zhao, maybe you could talk to the relocation office? It’s unbearably hot—life’s impossible without water and electricity."
"Yes, Little Zhao, if not for yourself, think of all the elderly living here. We might manage, but they can’t endure this," another chimed in.
"Talk? What’s the use? The relocation office is making its move—they’re forcing us to move out!"
A burly, shirtless man shouted, "Mark my words, this is just the beginning. First they cut off water and power, next will be even nastier tricks!"
"If we’re moving, we move together. If not, we endure it together!" someone said.
"I can’t take it anymore. Keep this up and it’ll kill us!" The burly man waved his hand in defeat. "We’re just ordinary folks—how can we fight the government?"
"This is Baoye Company’s relocation, not the government’s…"
"Baoye is just as bad—we can’t handle them either. I’m planning to move; you do what you want." The burly man glanced at Zhao Zejun and said, "Boss Zhao, take my advice and move out soon. We can’t win against the relocation office. When the bulldozers come to tear down your house, you’ll have no recourse."
Some people were definitely colluding with the relocation office—perhaps this burly man among them. His words stirred a few families to discuss moving out quickly.
Yet most were still watching Zhao Zejun, waiting for his stance.
The people of Gaogang Village were poor, but by no means stupid—they were shrewd. Right now, Zejian Company and Zhao Zejun were the ones taking the lead. If the relocation office managed to force them out, that would be the signal to pack up and leave. On the other hand, if nothing major happened to the Zhao family, the rest could keep resisting.

"Alright, I’ll go see what the relocation office says."
The relocation office sat right on the edge of Gaogang Village. Zhao Zejun soon found Old Li.
"Ah, Little Zhao, what a coincidence," Old Li greeted him, grinning under his hard hat. "You know, a few families moved out on the east end, and while the demolition crew was working, they accidentally broke a water pipe and a power line."
"Oh, what a coincidence," Zhao Zejun said dryly. "Of all the pipes and wires, it’s the ones to my part that got cut." Then he asked, "So when will they be fixed?"
Old Li pretended not to notice the sarcasm. "Hard to say, with all hands focused on relocation. We’re short-staffed. We’ll get to it as soon as we can."
"I’ve got workers—my company does engineering. Give me the blueprints and I’ll send my crew to repair them," Zhao Zejun suggested.
Old Li ignored that, sighed, and patted Zhao Zejun’s shoulder. "Little Zhao, you’re a smart guy. Tell me, even if those pipes are fixed, what if someone ‘accidentally’ breaks them again? Take my advice: move out sooner and save yourself the trouble."

"Old Li, I’d like to move, but the terms aren’t right. How can I move?" Zhao Zejun replied.
"As I’ve told you a hundred times, in-place relocation is impossible!" Old Li waved him off.
"Then there’s nothing I can do," Zhao Zejun said, turning to leave. At the door he asked, "Old Li, is there really no way to restore water and power?"
"If you won’t move, you’ll just have to wait. My hands are tied," Old Li said.
"Alright, got it."
Zhao Zejun returned to the two-story building. A crowd had gathered at the door, all talking at once, eager to know what he’d learned.
"Get your buckets ready and fetch water yourselves. There’s no telling when water and power will be restored," Zhao Zejun announced.
"It’s no use. The well’s been filled in!" someone said, pointing toward the well.
Following the direction of the finger, Zhao Zejun saw that the well had been packed full of rubble and construction waste.
"Boss Zhao, didn’t I tell you? We can’t outlast the relocation office!"
The burly, shirtless man spoke again, "While you were gone, a dozen carts filled with bricks came from the demolition site and buried the well! Now, if you want water, you’ll have to walk a couple of miles to another neighborhood for tap water…"
Zhao Zejun was almost ready to throw in the towel—this relocation office was truly creative; there was always a higher mountain!
Now, with no water and no electricity, life was truly impossible. Zhao Zejun’s situation was a little better—his two-story building still had supplies left over from the last disaster relief, especially dozens of cases of bottled water, enough for everyone inside to drink for a while. As for bathing, that could wait.
Other households weren’t so lucky. The flood had come just last month—who would have thought to stock up on water at home?
Some people really did end up carrying buckets far and wide, looking for water in neighboring districts and construction sites.
Soon, yet another piece of news came: all the nearby neighborhoods, construction sites, and residential buildings around Gaogang Village had been warned—not to give water to the villagers.