Building Danxi Reservoir requires a drop of my sweat

Building the Danxi Reservoir was a drop of my sweat

Author: Ni Mengzhu

? In 1958, in the "Strive to work hard, strive to reach the upper reaches, achieve more, faster, better and save land" Inspired by the general line of "Building Socialism", the country's "Great Leap Forward" and in the spirit of "A Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains and Transforms Mountains and Rivers", Yueqing set off an upsurge in water conservancy construction. In September, the Danxi Reservoir and a dozen reservoirs in the county were put into operation at the same time, and the project was in full swing. On the day of the start of construction, the scene was spectacular, with huge crowds of people. Migrant workers were dispatched from Hongqiao and Furong areas to participate in the ceremony. The migrant workers were militarized and organized into regiments, camps and companies. The square formations were orderly and majestic, condensing souls and energy, and becoming people.

? I was a second-year student in Hongqiao Middle School. The school’s work-study program organized us to participate in voluntary labor in Danxi Reservoir. Because the students are around fifteen or sixteen years old, there is no heavy manual labor arranged at the construction site. They can only help the migrant workers who carry the burdens, pick up the loess and load it into baskets, beat the wooden rams, help the migrant workers pulling the carts, or help the laborers. The competing migrant workers cheered and cheered, using native speakers to announce good people and good deeds. Our students’ immature songs and calls were heard in various places on the construction site. The leaders of the construction site called us a dynamic propaganda team. Since it is difficult to provide accommodation and meals at the construction site, we set off from Hongqiao Town every morning, bring our own meals and drink some boiled water at noon, and walk back to Hongzhong after finishing work.

? For more than a month, we have worked together with thousands of migrant workers and personally witnessed the lively scenes of the majestic mountains and rivers on the construction site. The majority of cadres and the masses have always carried forward with full political enthusiasm "One is not afraid of hardship, and the other is not afraid of death." With the revolutionary spirit of fighting against the sky and the earth, working hard and skillfully, many touching deeds and advanced role models have emerged. Some even sacrificed their precious lives for the construction of the reservoir. Although the work in Danxi Reservoir was short, it gave us unforgettable memories. We benefited a lot and felt a lot, which will be used throughout our lives.

? The construction of Danxi Reservoir was full of difficulties and conditions were limited. Migrant workers slept on the construction site, setting up tents and spreading straw mats. Dozens of people crowded into one tent, and everyone was crowded. Migrant workers from the villages (brigade) near Danxi Commune go to work in the morning and go home at night. They run back and forth every day and bring their own lunch.

? Tents and thatched huts are like steamers in summer, which makes people miserable, and they are also subject to mosquito bites, making it difficult to sleep; in winter, there are no heating facilities, and the water for washing is often bitingly cold. On windy days, people When I woke up, my face was covered in dust. All meals were served in large pots provided by the commune, including rice, porridge, sweet potato soup, and potatoes. If there was not enough food, they would even eat bran cakes, drink boiled water, endure hunger, and do hard primitive labor day after day for the construction of the reservoir. Without any mechanical equipment, everyone used the simplest tools - carts, picks, shovels, hoes and poles to create the miracle of "man can conquer nature". The foundation of the dam needs to be cleared in winter. The weather is cold, freezing and water accumulates at the foot of the dam. Workers must go into the water to clear the foundation and move out the sand and gravel. At this moment, many volunteers jumped into the water risklessly, and migrant workers took turns working in batches, day and night, and finally completed the task of clearing the foundation. Ni Yanjin, a migrant worker, relied on his sense of responsibility and ingenuity for his career to carry out technological innovation and create a winch. The winch can flow the yellow mud from the mountain into the mountain like a golden waterfall, improving work efficiency dozens of times. There is an Allegro poem praising him:

Ni Yanjin, the pacesetter of the reservoir,

A good gentleman who works hard and skillfully.

Create an automatic winch,

improve work efficiency.

Danxi Commune and its people have tried their best to build the reservoir. People from nearby brigades have vacated their houses for migrant workers to stay, and their families have no regrets huddled together. The immigrants of the reservoir made a small home for everyone, saying goodbye to their homeland and settling down in a foreign land, which made a good start for the smooth implementation of the reservoir project. It embodies the good custom of the people of Tamxi to support selflessly, actively contribute, and change the face of mountains and rivers. ?

?Danxi Reservoir has brought good news to the people in the Hongqiao area. It blocks floods, stores water, regulates water flow, prevents floods and droughts, and forms a complete water conservancy network that can drain waterlogging and irrigate droughts. 80,000 people in the Hongqiao Plain Mu paddy fields bid farewell to the fate of relying on the sky. The reservoir will lay the foundation for supplying 100,000 cubic meters of tap water per day in the future. It is really about controlling water for the people and benefiting thousands of families.

The source of Danxi Reservoir is upstream from Yanshangchang at the junction of Yongle, which is called Xigang. In the past, Xigang was also known as "Caibanxi". "Cai Lanxi" cannot store water. It will be flooded if it rains, and it will be drought if it doesn't rain. Hongqiao Plain often suffers. There were droughts and floods in summer and autumn, and roads were often built on the bottom of rivers. Typhoons struck, and barns were often flooded. Floods are approaching and farmers are complaining. As the saying goes: "Avalokitesvara is so powerful that the basket can carry water to the west." In order for the basket to carry water, Guanyin Bodhisattva must "appear". If you don’t believe in gods, the people will be the contemporary Guanyin, and all miracles on earth will happen.

At that time, the four to five hundred students of Hongqiao Middle School all participated in the construction of the reservoir, and now they are all nearly 80 years old. Most of the migrant builders at that time have passed away, and those who survive are also old, but their achievements will last forever and will always be brilliant! We should commemorate them, sing songs and write biographies for them. In the blink of an eye, 60 years later, the reservoir stands majestic today. What would happen if they saw the full view of the beautiful reservoir today? I must be proud of the contribution I made back then. Only by cherishing the good life we ??have now can we be worthy of these predecessors!

Floods occur once in a century.

After three major repairs, the reservoir has become increasingly perfect and beneficial to future generations.

Nowadays, the benefits of Danxi Reservoir are becoming more and more obvious. Its irrigation, flood control and water supply have been praised by the people. I am relieved that a drop of sweat was shed in the construction of Danxi Reservoir.

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