country bumpkin

Chapter 50 Butter Water

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month, June 8th. The weather is neither too hot nor too cold, just perfect for relaxation.

In the farmhouse courtyard, Yunya sat on the swing set, eating zongzi and eggs with Caixia.

Kong Jianguo came running over to play with them. The little ones ate together and played in the mud, having a great time.

Zhou Caiyun didn't come in the morning, but she came for lunch. With more people at home, the house became lively.

During the meal, Zhou Caiyun took a sip of soup and then vomited.

Mu Shuyun rushed over, "Caiyun, what's wrong?"

"It's okay, Mom, I guess I just have morning sickness!"

Mu Shuyun said firmly, "Impossible. You're almost six months pregnant now, how could you have these symptoms? Let's go to the clinic to get checked out later."

Zhou Caiyun said, "Mom, I'm fine. It's just that the food tastes a bit strange today. It's like..."

She thought for a moment and finally remembered what it smelled like, saying, "It smells like butter. Like the smell of a bicycle chain."

Mu Shuyun asked uncertainly, "Really? Why does our food taste like that?"

She then looked at the little ones. They all shook their heads to indicate that there was no strange smell.

Still worried, Mu Shuyun poured Zhou Caiyun another glass of water, saying, "Then you should drink plain water!"

Zhou Caiyun came over and brought a glass of plain water to her lips. "Ugh..." The smell of butter made her vomit again.

This time, Mu Shuyun was also scared. She supported her daughter-in-law, "Caiyun, don't eat yet, come with me to the clinic."

Zhou Caiyun was also a little scared. She couldn't let anything happen to the child she had finally conceived.

Mu Shuyun and Zhou Caiyun led a group of children toward the village clinic.

On the way, Zhou Caiyun was filled with anxiety, her hand unconsciously resting on her belly. The children, on the other hand, were very excited, chirping like a flock of cheerful little birds, as if they were going to a fun party.

Upon arriving at the clinic, the village doctor, Dr. Li, was organizing the medicine cabinet. Seeing the mother and daughter-in-law enter, he quickly went forward to inquire about their situation.

Mu Shuyun hurriedly described Zhou Caiyun's symptoms. After listening, Doctor Li frowned slightly and asked Zhou Caiyun to lie down on the hospital bed for examination.

After examining him, Dr. Li looked puzzled.

"Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case, it's been six months already." After a moment of thought, he said, "Well, our medical resources here are limited, you'd better go to the town hospital for a thorough check-up, so as not to delay."

Upon hearing this, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law turned deathly pale. Mu Shuyun gripped Zhou Caiyun's hand tightly, as if giving her strength, and said firmly, "Caiyun, don't be afraid, we'll go to town now."

So the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law hurriedly took the children home and left them at Li Caixia's maternal grandmother's house.

They found a donkey cart, paid the fare, and headed towards town. No one spoke along the way; only a somber atmosphere enveloped everyone.

Upon arriving at the town hospital, the mother-in-law helped her daughter-in-law to pay the fees and register. They then explained the situation to the doctor.

After listening, the doctor said, "There's nothing seriously wrong. It's just that there's something wrong with the food or water you're drinking. Maybe there's something unclean mixed in with the water. I suggest you go home and check your water source carefully."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were finally relieved. Back home, Mu Shuyun began searching for the source of the problem.

They drink water from their own well. There's a spring in the well, and the water is very sweet, cool, and has no unpleasant smell.

Mu Shuyun went to the well, drew a bucket of water, and the water that had just been drawn up had a layer of oil floating on it.

"What's going on?" Mu Shuyun frowned in confusion.

She poured the water down the drain to water the vegetables, then filled another bucket, but it was still the same.

She felt that things were not simple; perhaps there was something unclean in the well.

She ran to the commune and called Kong Tongming back. She also explained her conjecture.

Kong Tongming took out a flashlight and peered down the well. He could only see a plastic bag containing a yellowish object in one corner of the well bottom.

He found some retrieval tools and scooped up the yellowish stuff. It turned out to be butter.

While butter itself is not poisonous, it can cause abdominal pain and diarrhea if accidentally ingested. Children, being more vulnerable, are more susceptible to its effects.

Because there is a spring at the bottom of the well, the water is constantly flowing, which dilutes the butter, so the water content of the butter that is pumped up is not very high.

Pregnant women are more sensitive and have a keen sense of smell, so they will be the first to notice any unusual odors.

Fortunately, a pregnant woman discovered it; otherwise, if children had drunk the butter water for several days in a row, many would probably have had stomach aches and diarrhea.

Everyone was furious.

"No wonder the water smelled of butter, who did this?" Kong Tongming was furious.

All the villagers who were watching the spectacle chimed in, saying, "That's just too immoral! Putting this thing in the water is a waste of water resources!"

Some people were cursing, "You heartless bastard! Everyone on this street drinks water from this well. Aren't you trying to ruin us all?"

Granny Zhang said, "I just fetched the water this morning. Luckily it was butter. If it had been rat poison, everyone on this street would have been poisoned."

The villagers were all indignant. Old Lady Niu said, "We have to call the police. We can't just let this go. It's too immoral."

Another neighbor called the village chief over. After hearing what had happened, the village chief was also very angry and made it clear that "we must call the police and catch this bad guy so that we can be safe."

Niu Pozi's son, Kong Tiezhu, and Zhang Pozi's son, Zhang Qingguo, rode bicycles to the town to report the incident to the police.

After the situation was explained, police officers quickly arrived in the village to conduct an investigation.

After questioning and interviewing, the police learned that the water was fine last night. This morning, the water was no longer clean, so they deduced that someone had thrown butter into the water last night.

Police officers went door-to-door on the street, asking residents if they had seen any suspicious people pass by the well the previous night.

After visiting more than ten companies, there was no progress whatsoever.

Just then, a child stepped forward and said timidly, "Police officer, I saw it."

All eyes immediately turned to the child. The child pointed to a dilapidated house at the end of the village and said, "Last night when I got up in the middle of the night, I saw Li Guanggun, who lives there, carrying something towards the well."

The officers immediately headed toward the dilapidated house, and the others followed behind.

After knocking for a long time, there was finally a response from inside. When the door opened, Li Guanggun was seen with a look of terror on his face.

When the police officer asked him if he had thrown butter into the well last night, Li Guanggun stammered that he had.

It turned out that he had been ostracized by everyone and harbored resentment, so he wanted to cause some trouble to vent his anger.

The villagers were both angry and helpless. The village chief sighed and said, "What you did was wrong, but we haven't been caring enough for you either. We won't do it again."

The police took Li Guanggun away. The village chief and Kong Tongming decided to clean the well again and put a cover on it to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

After this incident, the villagers became closer and more united.

The cost of cleaning the well was to be shared by everyone. Kong Tongming always felt that it was his own well, and since the incident happened in his own yard, he wanted his family to pay for the cleaning themselves.

The villagers on the street disagreed, saying that they drink water for free every year and they should just let it go without paying them.

Now that this has happened, everyone should do their part, otherwise we'll be too embarrassed to come and get water in the future.

Kong Tongming understood his neighbors' feelings, so he didn't refuse.

Even after being cleaned, the water is still cool, refreshing, and sweet.